Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 80

Zeon tracked Goran.

Goran left almost no traces, but he wasn’t completely hidden either.

Moving in the city inevitably left traces.

Walls, floors, or people’s reactions, their gaze – all became clues to deduce the situation.

Zeon was very skilled at this type of tracking.

Just by scanning his surroundings, he could deduce Goran’s movements.

The problem was the people obstructing Goran’s pursuit.

Boom!

A person passing by Zeon exploded without any warning.

Fortunately, Zeon managed to dodge before the explosion and suffered no harm. But everyone around was swept away by the explosion and lost their lives.

“Ugh! Keuk!”

“It hurts!”

Even those barely surviving were overwhelmed with fear, crying or screaming.

The street turned into chaos in an instant, and people scattered in all directions like locusts.

Suicide bombings targeting Zeon occurred one after another.

What made these self-bombings different from the usual ones was that the deceased didn’t do it willingly.

While those who take their own lives do so by their own will, those who died in the explosions didn’t even know they exploded.

Cruelly, Goran used the residents of the slums as human bombs. The victims didn’t even know they were chosen as bombs by Goran.

Baaang!

Another explosion occurred.

This time, two people nearby exploded simultaneously.

People in the vicinity either died or got injured, and the street turned into chaos.

As Zeon pursued Goran, the damage increased.

Only then did Zeon understand why people feared Goran.

“It’s because of that bastard.”

“Explosions happen wherever he is.”

“You piece of shit!”

The victims were angry at Zeon.

They thought Zeon was the cause.

It was a self-bombing attack using civilians, not Awakened individuals.

Even if one survived without being swept away by the explosion, they couldn’t help but be tormented by guilt.

Goran knew well how to dominate people with fear and how to strike a decisive blow to the opponent.

He was pushing Zeon to become a public enemy in this way.

In some ways, it was more terrifying than a direct attack.

If people suffered harm or died because of oneself, anyone would inevitably falter in their actions.

Goran understood this human psychology better than anyone and exploited it well.

They were the most difficult type of enemy to deal with.

Rumors that Zeon was tracking Goran spread throughout the Sinchon area in no time. Goran deliberately leaked the information.

It was a kind of message.

A message Goran conveyed to the residents of the slums.

If you don’t stop Zeon, you will die.

So, kill Zeon.

His message was clearly delivered to the residents of the slums.

“You bastard!”

“How dare you chase after Lord Goran?”

“Die!”

Tremendous hostility was directed at Zeon.

This was the first time Zeon encountered such a situation.

In the desert, everything was clear.

The enemies and allies were clearly distinguished.

But not here.

People moved according to their own interests.

To them, justice or revenge was a distant story.

Their immediate priority was their own gain and safety. That’s why they attacked Zeon.

But their attacks didn’t affect Zeon.

It was the people who approached closely and then exploded who were the problem.

Even until the moment of death, they were completely unaware that they had become human bombs.

For a very long time, Goran had been steadily turning the residents of the slums into human bombs as a means of protecting himself.

Although he couldn’t create many at once due to the extreme mana consumption, he had placed enough of them throughout the streets to explode for his own sake.

Zeon scanned those who were approaching him.

But after being hit several times, Zeon could now discern whether they were Goran’s created human bombs just by looking at their physical condition.

“You, bastard! Lord Goran…!”

A middle-aged man with widened eyes shouted.

Zeon knew that was a precursor to an explosion. But the middle-aged man didn’t realize that fact.

‘I don’t know if it will work, but…’

Zeon lunged towards the middle-aged man.

By the time the middle-aged man realized the situation, Zeon’s palm was covering his face.

“What are you doing…?”

“I’m saving your life, so stay still.”

Thwoong!

In an instant, Zeon’s mana was injected through the middle-aged man’s face.

Using the Inferno Gauntlet, he infused flames into the body.

The concentrated flames instantly ravaged the inside of the middle-aged man’s body. In the process, impurities inside the body were incinerated.

The impurities were the mana and blood Goran had infused.

It was like removing a kind of detonator from the middle-aged man’s body.

“Ugh!”

The middle-aged man collapsed as the strength left his legs.

He didn’t even know that Zeon had saved him. And Zeon didn’t feel the need to tell him.

Right now, it was more urgent to track Goran.

Zeon increased his tracking speed.

He didn’t even give the self-bombers a chance to approach.

At the end of the relentless pursuit, Zeon arrived at a small warehouse on the outskirts of Sinchon.

Upon opening the warehouse door and entering, there was an entrance to the underground inside.

Zeon muttered to himself.

“These filthy bastards have all established bases underground.”

Of course, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Even if it were himself, he would have prepared a hiding place underground.

Zeon went straight into the underground.

Having had experienced entering the underground before, there was no hesitation in his movements.

The narrow underground sewer was filled with a foul odor.

The stench was so strong that it would make most people lose consciousness upon smelling it. But Zeon ran through the sewer without even wrinkling his nose.

—

“He’s tracking us.”

Goran showed a slight impression at Ava’s words.

“He’s persistent. To track us all the way here.”

He had sent several human bombs to warn him.

He told him not to cross the line further because it was dangerous. Yet Zeon continued to track them at a frightening speed.

Goran looked at the passage they had passed through.

“I never thought such a mess would be created because of one man.”

“He’s a strong man.”

“I know. He’s at least B-rank, maybe even A-rank or higher.”

“Could he be someone sent from Neo Seoul?”

“That’s a possibility.”

Neo Seoul doesn’t want the influence of slum factions to grow beyond a certain point.

That’s why they oppress the slum factions in various ways.

Scouting for new Awakened individuals appearing in the slums was also for the same reason.

Zeon was like a bolt from the blue, suddenly appearing.

Nothing was known about him.

It was suspected that he might have been sent from Neo Seoul.

Goran gritted his teeth.

If Zeon really was sent from Neo Seoul to weaken his power, he had to prepare for war. But for now, dealing with Zeon took priority.

It wasn’t because he had come to the filthy and dirty underground sewage that he was scared of Zeon.

It was because there was a way to deal with him here without using his own power and influence.

Goran asked Ava.

“Do you know what the phrase ‘breaking things off’ means?”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard that phrase.”

“Hehe! I just learned it recently too. It’s a phrase used before the Great Cataclysm, meaning that the one who caused the problem must resolve it.”

“I see.”

Ava smiled knowingly.

It was only then that Goran realized why Zeon had come here.

Goran said.

“He will deeply regret daring to defy me.”

“As expected, boss.”

“I have no intention of just being the ruler of Sinchon. I will unify all of the slums and someday become the ruler of Neo Seoul beyond those walls. That’s my mission and destiny.”

“Until then, I will follow you, boss.”

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

The two disappeared into the darkness of the sewers.

After they disappeared, Zeon appeared.

Zeon stood still where they had been standing, looking around for a moment.

“It seems like this is it.”

Zeon wasn’t a fool.

He had sensed Goran’s intentions.

It was increasingly strange to be lured deeper into the sewers like this without realizing it.

Although he realized Goran’s intentions, he had no intention of turning back.

Zeon continued to walk.

At some point, the air in the sewer changed.

The damp feeling underfoot disappeared, replaced by soft sand.

It seemed like they had left the area where water flowed.

Zeon touched the sand with his hand.

Soft sand flowing between his fingers.

A smile played on Zeon’s lips.

“As expected, there’s sand in the depths.”

Neo Seoul was a city built on top of sand.

Of course, sand also entered the sewers.

Sand carried along with water could only accumulate in such deep places.

Zeon walked on the sand and finally reached his destination.

Goran and Ava were there.

The problem was that they weren’t the only ones waiting for him.

Many others were gathered in an empty area, including a man with crocodile-like skin.

Zeon immediately recognized their identity.

“Crocodiles.”

As expected, this place was a crocodile’s den.

The man with rough skin was Crocker, who led the crocodiles.

Crocker was staring at Goran instead of Zeon.

“Surely my request was to deal with him?”

“That’s right!”

“Then why did you lure him here?”

“Hehe! He turned out to be stronger than I thought. It was hard to handle.”

Goran showed his white teeth and laughed.

In contrast, Crocker’s face hardened like a rock.

If they were going to deal with Zeon themselves, there was no need to ask Goran for help. Using Goran was meant to prevent unnecessary sacrifices, but instead, Goran ended up bringing disaster to them.

This place was one of the most important crocodile dens.

If this place collapsed, the crocodiles living in the sewers would suffer a big blow. Despite knowing this, Goran lured Zeon here.

Goran said casually.

“Let’s work together and live. We’re in a symbiotic relationship anyway.”

“This bastard is really…”

“Calm down. Our enemy is that bastard…”

Goran pointed at Zeon.

Having fought Zeon before, Crocker knew how strong he was.

In the end, Crocker had no choice but to release Goran’s collar.

It wouldn’t be too late to vent his anger later.

Right now, it was time to deal with the intruder, Zeon.

Crocker looked at Zeon and said.

“You’ve created such a mess just for one mana generator. You’re really something.”

“Why did you covet my things? You could’ve just found other items.”

“If we could find other items, we wouldn’t covet yours.”

“That’s because your abilities are lacking.”

“Let’s see if you can still yap after a while.”

Crocker thudded over to Zeon.

The crocodiles followed him.

Goran laughed as he watched them.

“Hehe! Finally, the scene I wanted has come true.”

His eyes were burning with madness.

He had been paying attention to this place for a long time.

Although Crocker tried to keep it a secret, Goran had already found out about it.

“Hehe! Fight. It’d be better if both of you die while fighting.”