Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 549
Chapter 549
“Whew!”
Jetoya let out a sigh.
His face and body were caked with sweat and dust.
Even so, he was smiling because the dungeon raid had ended successfully.
They had gained no small amount of loot, but what made him happiest above all was that there hadn’t been a single casualty.
The fact that every awakened who had gone into the dungeon had come out safely made Jetoya breathe a sigh of relief.
They had entered the dungeon fully prepared, but they could never guarantee success or failure. There were simply too many unexpected variables inside.
Each time a variable arose, it was the leader’s job to respond and set up the proper countermeasures.
The responsibility was heavier than that of any other awakened.
It was far too big a burden for the still-young Jetoya to bear. And yet, he had completed the mission safely without a single casualty.
Naturally, the eyes of the awakened who looked at Jetoya were filled with deep trust.
“Captain! You worked hard.”
“Thanks to you, we made it out alive. Thank you, Captain.”
The underground city’s awakeneds thanked Jetoya.
Jetoya, too, praised their efforts.
“Everyone, you all did great. We’ll distribute the spoils once we get back to the underground city, so let’s head out quickly.”
“Haha! Sounds good.”
“I’m craving a cold drink. Let’s hurry back.”
The awakeneds laughed loudly and headed out of the dungeon.
The moment they stepped outside, Jetoya’s gaze changed.
“Wait. Something feels off.”
Outside the dungeon were transport vehicles brought from Neo Seoul.
Naturally, awakeneds should have been guarding the vehicles. But there was no sign of them.
“Those bastards… Don’t tell me they left their posts?”
“They’re not the type to do that.”
The awakeneds who had entered the dungeon with Jetoya kept their guard up.
That was when it happened.
“Kill them all!”
“Waaah!”
A group burst out from the transport vehicles and the sand.
Jetoya recognized them at a glance.
“Scavengers. Everyone, be careful!”
“Damn it!”
“Those looting bastards dare…!”
The reason their comrades weren’t at the transport vehicles was because the scavengers had already gotten to them.
Scavengers, like hyenas, always went after the weakest side first.
“Kuahaha!”
“Die!”
The scavengers charged with madness in their eyes.
They had arrived here last night.
After killing all the awakened guarding the transport vehicles, they had rested enough and were brimming with energy.
On the other hand, Jetoya and his awakened had just finished the dungeon raid and were badly exhausted.
“Ghk!”
“Khk!”
In the end, they had no choice but to be pushed back one-sidedly.
“Don’t let up. Don’t give them even a moment to recover.”
A bearded scavenger urged the others on.
His name was Bryson.
He was the leader of the scavengers mobilized today.
Bryson was an experienced and crafty raider.
He had attacked at the exact moment when the dungeon raiding party was most tired and off guard.
“Damn it!”
Jetoya blocked the scavengers’ attacks at the front, but they were too many, and he fell into a disadvantage.
Bryson approached Jetoya with a battle axe in hand.
“Kid. While I’m being nice, hand over all the loot. I’ll spare your life.”
“Don’t make me laugh! You think I’d believe that?”
“Oh? The kid’s got some backbone. Too bad you’re fated to die by this axe anyway.” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Bryson let out a snicker.
With his experienced eyes, he could see that Jetoya was tired.
For a kid, he possessed formidable strength, but in that state he couldn’t properly use his power.
Bryson had no intention of going easy on him.
“I’ll split your skull and suck out the marrow. They say a young brat’s marrow is real good for the body.”
“You think I’ll fall to some old hyena like you?”
Jetoya shouted and rushed at Bryson.
His fist shot toward Bryson’s head, but Bryson easily blocked it with the side of his battle axe.
Bang!
With a thunderous crash, Bryson’s body slid backward.
The destructive power packed into Jetoya’s small fist was far beyond what he’d imagined.
In an instant, the smile vanished from Bryson’s face.
‘This kid is dangerous. If I leave him alive, he’ll be trouble down the road.’
He hadn’t planned to spare him anyway, but now his resolve was even firmer.
No matter what it took, he would kill Jetoya.
Bang! Bang!
Jetoya pressed Bryson hard.
Under Jetoya’s storm-like assault, Bryson couldn’t even properly respond and was pushed back. But that was exactly what Bryson wanted.
Jetoya’s movements had grown bigger, thinking he’d seized the initiative.
At that moment, Bryson crushed a capsule he had at his waist.
Pang!
With a loud bang, the capsule burst and smoke billowed out.
Jetoya failed to dodge in time and inhaled the smoke.
“Khk!”
Instantly, Jetoya’s complexion changed drastically.
The moment he breathed it in, all the strength drained from his body.
Bryson smiled slyly.
“How is it? My special nerve toxin—”
“Y-you…?”
“Why am I fine? Of course, because I took the antidote in advance. Heh-heh!”
“Ghk!”
Jetoya groaned and staggered.
“Die, brat!”
Bryson brought his battle axe down toward Jetoya’s head.
It was the moment Jetoya’s head was about to be split in two by the axe.
“That’s why I told you not to let your guard down.”
Suddenly, along with someone’s playful voice from the air, lightning crashed down.
Flash!
The pure white bolt struck exactly on top of the battle axe Bryson was holding.
The battle axe acted like a lightning rod.
“Kraaaagh!”
Struck by the lightning, Bryson let out a horrific scream.
He was electrocuted to death and collapsed to the ground.
The man who killed Bryson in an instant was Levin.
He appeared in front of Jetoya while in ghost form.
“Hyung?”
“Good grief. You’re such a handful, little brother. I told you not to let your guard down.”
Levin released his ghost form and hurriedly pulled out a healing potion from subspace, making Jetoya drink it.
After downing the entire bottle, color returned to Jetoya’s face.
“How did you get here?”
“Let’s talk after we finish off all the scavengers.”
“Okay, hyung!”
Jetoya nodded and rushed at the other scavengers.
“Gah!”
“Khk!”
Having lost their leader, the scavengers lost their cohesion.
Jetoya and the awakeneds calmly took them out one by one.
Levin watched their fight, and whenever it looked like they were at a disadvantage, he sent down lightning to help.
Thanks to that, they were able to clean up the scavenger group with ease.
“Whew! We lived.”
“Haa! Haa! Thought I was going to die.”
The surviving awakened lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
From exhaustion and injuries, they could barely move a finger.
“Whew…”
Levin let out a sigh.
He had flown without rest as soon as he got the information that scavengers were attacking Jetoya’s raiding party, but even so, there were still many casualties.
Some of the awakeneds who had regained a bit of strength were seen crying at the sight of their comrades’ bodies.
More than any other group, the underground city’s awakeneds were bound together by tight bonds of affection and loyalty. To them, losing a comrade was as painful as losing a real brother.
That was when Jetoya spoke.
“We don’t have time to grieve. Instead of grieving, we need to recover our comrades’ bodies and return to the underground city.”
Jetoya’s eyes were bloodshot as well.
He was forcing himself to endure the sorrow.
Seeing Jetoya like that, the awakened suppressed their grief and began to move.
Levin patted Jetoya on the shoulder.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“But how did you know and come here, hyung?”
“Well, about that…”
Levin honestly told him everything that had happened.
After hearing it all, Jetoya let out a sigh.
“So we looked easy. That’s why the scavengers targeted us.”
“A newly formed dungeon raiding party is easy prey for scavengers. So don’t blame yourself.”
“I know. Still, it’s frustrating.”
“This kind of thing will happen often in the future. To prevent it…”
“Me and my comrades just have to become stronger, right?”
“That’s right!”
Levin nodded.
In this hellish age, having no power in itself was a sin.
Only those with power could protect what was precious.
Jetoya must have clearly realized now the truth Levin had learned first.
“Thank you, hyung. Thanks to you, the losses weren’t that big.”
“Let’s hurry and recover the bodies and go back to the underground city. The funeral should be held there.”
“Yes!”
The awakeneds loaded their comrades’ bodies and the loot from the dungeon onto the transport vehicles.
Fortunately, the scavengers hadn’t touched the vehicles, so there was no problem driving them.
Levin considered returning to Neo Seoul first in ghost form, but decided instead to ride in the same car as Jetoya.
Just being together seemed to put Jetoya at ease, and his expression relaxed noticeably.
“Nothing going on in the underground city, right?”
“Up until the moment I left, nothing was happening.”
“Then it should be fine.”
“With Zeon hyung there, what is there to worry about?”
“True…”
Jetoya agreed.
The strongest person they knew was Zeon.
With Zeon there, it was unthinkable that anything big would happen.
“Kh!”
Suddenly, Jetoya frowned.
It felt like he was being stabbed with needles in the abdomen.
“Looks like the healing potion didn’t completely detoxify it. As soon as we get back, get treatment from Remura.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Jetoya nodded.
Just then—
“Captain!”
A subordinate’s voice came from the lead vehicle.
“What is it?”
“There are people up ahead.”
“People?”
Jetoya got out of the car with a puzzled expression, his face full of wariness.
‘Scavengers?’
In this vast desert, how likely was it to run into humans by chance?
Levin thought it was extremely unlikely.
If they met someone, it would only be because they’d come with a specific purpose, like scavengers.
The young Jetoya had now become unable to trust humans he met in the desert.
In the distance, about a dozen people riding two-humped camels came into view.
They were completely wrapped in wide robes that covered their entire bodies.
They were heading straight toward Jetoya’s group.
Jetoya spoke to the raiding party.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
“Got it.”
“Okay!”
The awakeneds took up their weapons without complaint.
Levin also kept his guard up as he watched the approaching figures.
Then one of those riding the camels pulled down the scarf that covered her face.
A strong yet beautiful face was revealed.
She spoke.
“My name is Liala. Are you people from Neo Seoul?”
