Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 551

Chapter 551

There were people moving across the desert where the sun blazed, riding two-humped camels.

To block the scorching sunlight, they wore wide robes and deshadas.

Under hats pulled low, strong jawlines and tightly pressed lips could be seen. All of them gave off an unusual air, and they stopped for a moment to look around.

The man who looked like the leader pulled down the scarf that had been covering his nose and mouth.

Hot air immediately rushed into his nose and mouth.

Mixed with fine sand, it felt even more stifling.

Frowning, the leader muttered,

“How in the world are we supposed to find the World Tree in this vast desert? No—does another World Tree even exist in the first place?”

The name of the leader, his brows deeply furrowed, was Repo.

He was the leader of the beastfolk of El Harun.

By Del Roa’s order, he was leading the beastfolk to search for a new World Tree that might be growing somewhere in the desert.

It wasn’t only the beastfolk.

The elves, the Zelas race, and all the elites of El Harun had come out into the desert to search for the World Tree.

Repo was moving independently with the beastfolk elites.

The beastfolk he led possessed exceptional stamina and strong endurance.

Because of that, they could search farther than the other races.

They kept moving south after leaving El Harun.

On the way here, they had no idea how many times they had encountered monsters.

It felt like they had been attacked at least dozens of times.

The types of monsters that attacked them were diverse.

Sand worms and flame wolves were nothing special.

They even ran into medium-sized monsters they had never seen before, and gigantic large monsters.

With no information, they couldn’t respond properly, and many casualties occurred.

Repo and the beastfolk learned for certain why the desert was called hell.

Not for a single day, not for a single moment, had they been able to rest in peace.

If they let their guard down even a little, monsters would ambush them.

Thanks to that, Repo and the beastfolk were feeling the terror of the desert and monsters down to their bones.

“Now that it’s come to this, we must find the new World Tree. It’s too late to go back empty-handed.”

Repo swept his sharp gaze around. But nowhere in his sight was a World Tree to be found.

Repo wasn’t disappointed.

If it were something that could be found that easily, it would have been discovered already.

Repo took out a compass from his chest.

It wasn’t an ordinary compass.

It was a compass that could sense the spiritual energy of the World Tree.

It was an item Del Roa had made, and he said it could detect a World Tree if it was within dozens of kilometers.

Repo stared at the compass intently, but the needle didn’t move at all.

“Damn it! Looks like there’s nothing around here.”

With a disappointed expression, Repo put the compass back into his chest.

Then one of his subordinates came up and said,

“The sun will set soon. We need to find a place to rest.”

Once the sun set, the desert became the world of monsters.

The monsters that had hidden underground to avoid the heat would all come out and start moving.

Repo and the beastfolk warriors moved to find a place where they could avoid the monsters’ eyes.

Before long, they found a place suitable to stay for one night.

It was a flat area with a large sand dune behind them.

In front, the view was wide open, a terrain where they could quickly notice if monsters approached.

The beastfolk skillfully prepared camp.

They set up alarm items that would immediately alert them if monsters approached, and they ate.

Calling it a meal, it was just jerky they had brought from El Harun. Even that was running low, so at this rate they would have to hunt monsters to secure food.

Monster meat was tough and tasted bad, so even the beastfolk didn’t want to eat it if they could help it.

Because of that, the mood of the beastfolk was very gloomy.

Some of them thought about wanting to go back to El Harun.

‘The desert is truly horrible. If I had to keep living in a place like this, I’d go crazy.’

‘I already miss my home in El Harun.’

Originally, the beastfolk were very wild and could live well no matter where they were released. But the beastfolk living in El Harun lacked that kind of wildness.

Because they had lived in a safe place called El Harun for over a hundred years.

Repo didn’t like those subordinates. But in truth, he himself wasn’t adapting to the desert either.

“Damn it.”

He grumbled as he gnawed on the jerky.

That was when it happened.

Kuurrr!

Suddenly, a strong vibration was felt beneath their feet.

Repo and the beastfolk all stopped moving and focused their senses on their feet.

Kwarrr!

The vibration grew stronger.

The color drained from Repo’s and the beastfolk’s faces.

From past experiences, they knew well what this meant.

“Monsters!”

Repo’s shout echoed through the desert night sky.

The beastfolk all sprang up and prepared for battle.

Then sand began to slide down from the sand hill behind where they were.

“What the—?”

“Get away from the hill!”

Sensing danger, Repo and the beastfolk hurriedly moved away from the sand hill.

At that moment, the sand hill suddenly stood up.

Sand poured down like a waterfall, revealing the enormous presence inside.

“Damn it!”

“What is that? A… hippo?”

What emerged from the sand was a gigantic monster that resembled a hippopotamus. Its mountain-like body was covered in blood-red scales, and two horns stood tall on its forehead.

Its four legs were thick and towering, as if they could support the sky.

At the appearance of a monster they had never seen even once before, Repo and the beastfolk were stunned.

“Such a monster existed?”

“Damn it!”

The eyes of the beastfolk shook as they looked at the gigantic monster.

Even they, who were more aggressive and fearless than other races, were overwhelmed by its size.

If it had just been big, they might have thought about trying to fight it. But around the giant monster’s body, a clear force field was wavering.

At least a B-rank monster.

‘B-rank? That’s a joke. That thing is S-rank or higher.’

Repo felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

Rururuk!

At that moment, the eyes of the giant hippo turned toward Repo and the beastfolk.

The instant their eyes met, Repo and the beastfolk awakened ones felt their whole bodies stiffen.

They were subdued in an instant by the gaze of the giant hippo.

Then Repo shouted,

“Everyone, retreat!”

KRAAANG!

His roar woke the freezing minds of the beastfolk.

“Gah!”

“Run!”

Repo and the beastfolk fled all at once.

KUUWOOO!

The giant hippo monster let out a roar.

“Kgh!”

“Ugh!”

Just by hearing the roar, Repo and the beastfolk staggered, blood flowing from their eardrums.

Repo clenched his teeth.

‘It’s a monster above the Black Queen. Why did something like that have to wake up now of all times….’

Repo couldn’t continue the thought.

Thud! Thud!

Because the giant hippo monster was leisurely chasing them.

For the first time, they, who had always hunted other races, were now the ones being hunted.

They couldn’t even think of resisting.

‘I have to find a safe place.’

＊＊＊

“Insane.”

That was how Liala, Uslan, and the others felt after looking around the slums.

Because the condition of the slums on the outskirts—not even Neo Seoul—felt better than El Harun.

When they came into Neo Seoul to ask Zeon for help, they hadn’t imagined the gap would be this big.

Even though it was a slum, there were many dozens-of-stories buildings, and countless electrical products they had never heard of or seen before.

The electrical products born from magitech shocked them greatly.

Items developed not just for survival, but for the convenience of daily life, were hard to find in El Harun.

Even if they did exist, they would never be distributed all the way to such shabby slums.

Because El Harun was also a place where the logic of power and status applied. But Neo Seoul was different.

Although there might be a gap between rich and poor, there was no blatant discrimination among humans themselves.

If you had ability, you could live in a good house and enter Neo Seoul.

To Liala and the others, who had lived under blatant discrimination from other races, even the slums looked like a paradise on earth.

Above all, the place that gave them the most surprising feeling was the goblin market.

Even though it was a black market, the fact that you could buy what you wanted as long as you paid a fair price was a huge shock to them.

El Harun also had markets, but most of them were based on barter.

If the two sides’ opinions didn’t match, it was hard to exchange goods at all.

Because of that, it was easier to obtain necessary monster byproducts or items by hunting monsters directly or clearing dungeons.

It was a primitive system that didn’t suit a big city like El Harun. But since so many different races lived together, it wasn’t easy to establish a system like Neo Seoul’s.

The surprise of Uslan and the others, who had always looked down on Neo Seoul, was nothing compared to Liala’s.

“A city where humans lead everything….”

“Isn’t this the ideal land the humans of El Harun have always wanted?”

“If it weren’t for our kin in El Harun, I’d want to settle here myself.”

Jupiro and Alonso, who were with Uslan, had tremendous pride. But even they were cowed just by looking around the slums.

Creeden asked Uslan,

“So this city was really built under the leadership of a single human?”

“Yes. Jin Geumho, the mayor of Neo Seoul. They say he led and completed this entire great history.”

“If I get the chance, I’d like to meet him at least once.”

“I feel the same.”

Not only Creeden, but Uslan too was curious about the human called Jin Geumho.

Liala felt the same way.

“Jin Geumho. Would it be impossible to meet him?”

“It’s not necessarily impossible.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Her gaze turned to Zeon, who had been silent until now.

Zeon stood up and said,

“I said meeting the mayor isn’t impossible.”

“Then you can let us into Neo Seoul?”

“We don’t necessarily have to go into Neo Seoul. He’s nearby right now.”

“He’s in the slums?”

“Close. He’s staying underground in the slums.”

Zeon spoke honestly.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have let them meet Jin Geumho.

They also had preconceptions about Neo Seoul, and he didn’t know what Jin Geumho thought about the city of other races called El Harun.

But after going through the Tridgion incident this time, his thoughts had changed.

At the very least, he had confirmed that Jin Geumho’s heart for humans was sincere.

Zeon said,

“The others stay here, and only Lady Liala follow me.”

“Will you really let me meet the mayor?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll follow you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Liala stood up.

Uslan asked with a worried expression,

“Will you be all right going alone?”

“Zeon is going with me. He won’t deliberately put me in danger.”

“Understood.”

At her firm answer, Uslan stepped back.

That was how strong their trust in Zeon was.

Zeon thought the time had come.

The time for the leaders of El Harun and Neo Seoul’s humans to meet.

Perhaps this meeting would become a great turning point for Earth.

“Let’s go.”