Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 360
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 360
“What? A monster attack?!”
“Shit!”
“Everyone, get up!”
The moment Kim Jinsoo’s voice rang out, those who had been sleeping soundly shot up to their feet.
They quickly scrambled onto the roofs of the transport vehicles.
“What’s going on, Captain? A monster attack out of nowhere?”
“Don’t you hear it? Armored Ants.”
At Kim Jinsoo’s words, the Awakened pricked up their ears.
They too could hear the clicking sound of Armored Ant mandibles.
“It’s real! The Armored Ants chased us all the way out here?”
“Damn it! Trying to avenge their kind or what? These insane beasts!”
The Awakened couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
Their camp was a good 60 to 70 kilometers from the crevice that was the ants’ nest. At an Armored Ant’s pace, that was a journey of at least ten hours on foot.
It was hard to believe they would march all that way just for revenge.
The idea that an F-rank monster could possess such a strong sense of kinship was difficult to accept.
Moments later, dark silhouettes emerged from the shadows.
“Holy—!”
“My God, how many are there?!”
The Awakened turned pale.
A massive swarm of Armored Ants surged toward them, countless and overwhelming, breaking through the darkness like a tidal wave.
“Shit! What about a retreat?!”
“Too late. We’re surrounded.”
“Damn it!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
From all directions—north, south, east, and west—Armored Ants encircled them in overwhelming numbers.
There was no chance of escape.
Even the porters, not just the Awakened, prepared to fight.
Though not as skilled as the Awakened, the porters were no slouches in combat.
They pulled out specialized anti-beast rifles developed in Neo Seoul.
These guns might be ineffective against high-level monsters, but they were more than enough to take on F-rank creatures like Armored Ants.
Levin and Brielle stood beside Zeon.
Levin scratched his head and muttered,
“Armored Ants abandoning their territory this easily? That doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Someone’s behind this.”
“Behind it?”
“There’s no other explanation for what’s happening.”
No one knew monsters better than Zeon.
He understood the behavior of Armored Ants as if it were second nature.
Even if they bore an intense grudge over their fallen kin, Armored Ants almost never ventured beyond their territory.
Their range was usually about 20–30 kilometers from their nests. Any farther, and they wouldn’t be able to return in a single day.
Marching such a distance was, by all measures, unnatural.
Someone had clearly driven them this far.
“Who would do this? And why?”
“That’s what I need to figure out. In the meantime, I’ll need you to handle things here.”
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, they won’t get past us.”
Levin answered confidently.
He was a B-rank Awakened. If he gave it his all, wiping out the swarm wouldn’t be a problem.
It would just take some time.
Zeon nodded, turning to Brielle.
“Be careful too. If things get dangerous, ask Gaia for help.”
“I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”
“Alright then, I’m counting on you.”
BOOM!
The Armored Ants’ assault began.
The massive transport vehicles shook under the onslaught, looking ready to collapse.
Kim Jinsoo swung his sword and shouted,
“Don’t let a single one of them get over the vehicle barricade!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Don’t worry, Captain! We’re on it!”
The Awakened fended off the ants trying to climb the makeshift wall of trucks.
The porters fired their anti-beast rifles nonstop.
Levin shifted into ghost form and unleashed a burst of Purple Lightning.
CRACKLE!
The violet current scorched the ants black.
Even as their comrades died beside them, the Armored Ants pressed on without hesitation.
“Tch!”
Brielle, watching the situation, launched a magic attack. A simple Wind Cutter—but it got the job done.
Together, the humans fought to repel the Armored Ant swarm.
Meanwhile, Zeon moved quietly on his own.
He rode a current of sand into the sky. From above, something odd caught his eye.
Large objects dotted among the swarm of ants.
Zeon descended to inspect them.
“Flame Armadillos.”
The carcasses of Flame Armadillos had been scattered all the way from the crevice to here.
It was now clear—someone had used those bodies to lure the ants toward the camp.
Drawn by the scent, the Armored Ants had followed, as if in a trance.
“Whoever it is… they’re clever.”
Clicking his tongue, Zeon scanned the surroundings.
KRRIIIE!
CLACK!
Nearby ants lunged at him.
Zeon casually cast a Sand Blaster to take them out, then rose into the air again.
Perched atop a swirling pillar of sand, he looked around.
But all he could see were Armored Ants. No sign of whoever had orchestrated this.
“Why lure the ants this way? Do they have a grudge against us?”
Zeon quickly shook his head.
They hadn’t encountered any humans during the journey. No one could have a personal vendetta.
He also dismissed the idea that scavengers were involved.
Armored Ant corpses, while useful for making sand hardener, weren’t valuable enough to warrant such a complex plan.
Even hauling hundreds of them wouldn't match the value of a single D-rank monster. There was no reason to go through this much trouble.
“Then why?”
Zeon’s mind spun rapidly.
Suddenly, he turned his head toward the crevice—the ants’ nest.
“If that many ants are out here… then the crevice is empty. Is this a diversion?”
Without hesitation, Zeon activated Sand Strides and bolted toward the crevice.
KIEEEK!
Ants along his path struck out, but Zeon dodged effortlessly.
He didn’t want to waste a single moment using skills on them—dodging was faster.
He tore through the swarm like the wind.
After about an hour of sprinting, the crevice came into view.
Around the massive rift, not a single Armored Ant could be seen.
It was, quite literally, an empty nest.
Zeon dove into the crevice without hesitation.
He plummeted at terrifying speed—but just before impact, the sand rose gently to catch him, allowing him to land without injury.
Tap.
Standing on the crevice floor, Zeon looked around.
The interior was made of sandstone.
Countless tunnels had been dug into the walls—Armored Ant homes.
Normally, the place would be swarming with them. But now, the tunnels were empty.
If someone wanted to raid the ant nest, this was the perfect opportunity.
Zeon paused, concentrating.
He felt faint disturbances in the air coming from a tunnel to the left.
“There.”
He moved toward the source of the disturbance.
The tunnels were narrow and dark, making it hard to move quickly. They split in multiple directions like a maze.
Without sensing the air currents, even Zeon would have struggled to navigate.
He followed the occasional ripples in the air.
He walked for what felt like ages.
He must have gone several hundred meters underground by now.
BONG!
While searching for the right path, another wave of energy hit him.
This one was far stronger than the earlier ones.
Soon, the source appeared before him.
A massive underground chamber—large enough to fit dozens of Armored Ants.
At its center was a particularly large Armored Ant.
Its head bore a crown-like shape, and it had long antennae.
The moment Zeon saw it, he knew—it was the queen.
His suspicions were confirmed by the numerous eggs attached to the chamber walls.
All of them were laid by the queen.
Surrounding the queen were the bodies of soldier ants, slain in battle.
Their killers were currently attacking the queen.
Zeon scowled.
The group assaulting the queen was highly unusual.
Slender figures in black turbans and desert robes.
Clearly not ordinary humans.
They were elves—jet-black elves as dark as obsidian.
Dark Elves.
The Dark Elves were moving swiftly, circling the queen and launching attacks.
“Don’t rush. We’ve got time.”
“Focus on the antennae. Once those are gone, she’s nothing.”
Some shot arrows, others wielded shamshirs and rapiers. Some cast spells.
That much, Zeon could understand.
Elves were known for their archery, swordsmanship, and affinity for magic.
The problem was the presence of a race that could never coexist with elves.
“Tsch! Don’t let her escape!”
“Leave it to me! Tch!”
Orcs.
Wielding axes as large as their own bodies, the orcs struck at the queen.
CLANG! CLANG!
Their axes bounced off the queen’s hard shell, failing to cause serious damage. But they applied enough pressure to overwhelm her.
Elves and orcs were natural enemies.
Their relationship was abysmal.
Elves considered orcs to be filth beneath their feet.
Though they cooperated in multi-species cities like El Harun out of necessity, elves and orcs living in the wild despised each other to the point of bloodlust.
Dark Elves were even worse.
They didn’t even consider orcs intelligent beings, let alone potential allies.
So to see Dark Elves and orcs cooperating in a coordinated hunt—it was unthinkable.
Yet here they were, attacking the queen with seamless teamwork.
At the center of it all was an old orc.
The same one Zeon had seen earlier that day.
Each time the old orc gestured, the formation of the Dark Elves and orcs shifted.
SLICK!
At last, one of the queen’s antennae was chopped off by an orc’s axe.
KIEEE!
The queen shrieked in agony. The attackers pounced, pressing their advantage.
Once the remaining antenna was severed, the queen lost her sense of direction and flailed helplessly.
The Dark Elves and orcs didn’t miss their chance—they rushed in and delivered the killing blow.
THUD!
With a heavy sound, the Armored Ant Queen collapsed.
The old orc wasted no time and shouted,
“Tch! Gather all the queen’s eggs!”
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
