Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 121

Late at night, there were people approaching the fort built by the White Bear Caravan.

Their number totaled fifty.

They were all Awakeneds.

They each had their faces covered with a mask or a hood.

It was a minimal measure to prevent each other from knowing their faces or identities.

They were all Awakened from the slums, a raid hastily assembled today to plunder the White Bear Caravan.

Leading the assault was Lee Beom-ho.

A D-rank mage Awakened.

As soon as he received the information that the caravan had entered, he made plans for the raid.

‘I don’t know where Yakutsk is, but there must be valuable items.’

The subspace backpacks he obtained with difficulty from the Goblin Market were ten in total.

Each backpack was enchanted with a small space the size of a small room.

They were items that were difficult to obtain even with money. And he didn’t have enough money to buy them.

He borrowed them from the merchants of the Goblin Market under the condition of distributing the plundered items.

He didn’t think he could plunder all the items of the White Bear Caravan. But if he could fill even a part of them with the subspace backpacks, it would be profitable enough.

It was a gamble with his life. But it was worth trying.

‘If I succeed this time, I can enter Neo Seoul. I’ll live a cushy life in Neo Seoul too.’

Lee Beom-ho and all the Awakened who participated in the raid had the same thought.

The small fort came into their view.

The fort, built with stacked carts, looked very sturdy. But they weren’t overly worried.

They trusted the items they had prepared.

Lee Beom-ho shouted.

“Use the explosion scrolls.”

“Okay!”

The Awakeneds attached explosion scrolls to the outer wall of the fort.

Shortly afterward, the explosion scrolls, burning red, caused an explosion.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion occurred.

Lee Beom-ho and the Awakeneds expected a large hole to be blown in the outer wall of the fort, in other words, the carts.

Their main plan for this operation was to enter through the hole, plunder the items in a flash, and escape.

But things didn’t always go as planned.

“Fuck! Why is it intact?”

“Is the explosion scroll malfunctioning?”

The Awakeneds, who were looking at where the explosion occurred, widened their eyes.

The outer wall of the fort was intact even after such a powerful explosion.

There wasn’t even a trace of soot from the flames.

“What material is it made of?”

“Does that matter? Damn it! We’re screwed.”

Before one of the Awakeneds finished speaking, the Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan jumped out of the fort.

“It’s intruders.”

“Capture and kill them.”

Without any hesitation, they attacked the raiding party.

Lee Beom-ho couldn’t hide his momentary confusion at the situation, so different from his plan. But he quickly regained his composure.

“Damn it! Kill them all and loot everything.”

“Kaaaah!”

It was do or die anyway.

Even if they returned empty-handed, they would die.

“Ahhhh!”

Lee Beom-ho unleashed his skill, Magic Missile.

Zap!

Five Magic Missiles flew towards the Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan.

Other intruders also unleashed their main skills with all their might.

Boom!

“Aargh!”

“Ugh!”

Explosions and screams erupted everywhere.

But most of those dying were the intruders.

All the Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan were elites.

They had fought against numerous threats and monsters on their way here, so the inferior Awakeneds from the slums posed no threat to them.

Alexandro, the leader of the caravan, looked incredulously at the intruders fighting the Awakeneds.

He had anticipated that something like this might happen.

Similar incidents had occurred in other colonies.

But he hadn’t expected an attack on the first day.

“Kill them all! Let Neo Seoul know that the White Bear Caravan is no easy place.”

“Don’t leave a single one alive.”

“They’re all wiped out. Damn bastards! We’ve been through this kind of thing once or twice.”

“No one can take the White Bear Caravan’s goods for free. It’s a matter of our lives.”

The Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan rampaged like bloodthirsty demons.

The items they brought with them were collected with the utmost effort of everyone in Yakutsk.

The lives of the people in Yakutsk Colony and those living inside were at stake in the caravan’s upward journey.

Naturally, their mindset was different from that of the intruders.

“Argh!”

“Kugh!”

The intruders fell screaming.

As more than half of them lost their lives in an instant, the intruders hesitated.

“Fuck! They’re so strong.”

“We might all be wiped out at this rate.”

Among the intruders, deserters began to appear one by one.

They attempted to flee to Neo Seoul after breaking away from the group. However, none of the Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan were willing to let them go.

“You damn scavengers!”

“Die!”

They relentlessly pursued and killed the intruders.

“This is unbelievable! They’re so strong.”

With the situation unfolding as it did, even the organizer of the raid, Lee Beom-ho, couldn’t help but hesitate.

Still, considering they were a caravan traversing the desert, Lee Beom-ho had assumed that the Awakeneds within the caravan would be formidable. However, he had never anticipated such a stark difference in strength.

That became the factor contributing to their failure.

“Dammit!”

In the end, Lee Beom-ho opted to flee. But there was someone blocking his path.

Unlike other Awakeneds, he was a handsome boy with an unusually slim build.

“You’re just going to leave after causing this much trouble?”

“Get out of the way, you little bastard.”

Lee Beom-ho shouted as he launched a Magic Missile.

Five Magic Missiles flew towards Damien at frightening speed. However, just before the Magic Missiles hit, someone intervened.

It was none other than Alexandro, the leader of the White Bear Caravan.

Bam!

The Magic Missiles hit Alexandro’s body instead of Damien’s. However, there wasn’t a single scratch on his body.

“That’s impossible!”

Lee Beom-ho exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide.

At that moment, Alexandro reached out and grabbed Lee Beom-ho’s head.

“That doesn’t make any sense…!”

Crack!

Lee Beom-ho’s head burst like a watermelon.

Alexandro, who killed Lee Beom-ho in an instant, brushed his hands off and looked at Damien.

“Are you okay?”

“I could’ve handled him myself.”

“I never said you couldn’t, did I? You’re the core of our caravan, so please take care of yourself.”

“Haha! There’s no need to protect me like I’m a child.”

“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have made it this far. Damien, I hope you realize how remarkable and valuable you are.”

“I will.”

Damien smiled brightly.

***

The attack on the White Bear Caravan last night quickly spread through the slums.

“So the raid led by Lee Beom-ho, a D-rank Awakened, was completely wiped out?”

“They didn’t plunder a single item? Insane!”

“It seems the strength of the White Bear Caravan is even greater than we thought.”

As soon as two or more people gathered, they discussed yesterday’s events.

Lee Beom-ho wasn’t a remarkable Awakened, but he wasn’t so weak that he would easily fall. If he were, he wouldn’t have been able to lead the raiding party.

The rumor that Lee Beom-ho and his raiding party were wiped out without achieving anything was enough to shock people.

There were quite a few others besides Lee Beom-ho who organized raiding parties. However, as soon as news spread that Lee Beom-ho’s party had been wiped out, they disbanded.

The White Bear Caravan, having made a display of its strength once, did not emerge from the fort it had built outside Neo Seoul.

Their appearance seemed to be a message for those with business to come and find them personally.

Indeed, there were reports that they were moving to formally visit the White Bear Caravan from various places.

Zeon thought it was only natural.

The ones with the goods were the White Bear Caravan.

They also hold the supply rights.

So naturally, those who need goods should go and request a trade with them.

That was the way of the world, and the White Bear Caravan knew well their power and influence.

With demand abound, there was no need to laboriously seek contact.

If they simply waited, people would come to them.

The problem was that among those seeking to go on their own volition was a person named Brielle.

“Let’s go to the caravan!”

She suddenly approached Zeon and said out of the blue.

Zeon blinked.

“Why?”

“I’m curious about what kind of goods they brought. Aren’t you curious, Zeon?”

“Not particularly!”

“Stop lying and come with me. There’s nothing more to get from the Goblin Market now.”

Acquiring materials necessary for alchemy was never an easy task.

One had to secure goods when the opportunity arose.

Whether there would be goods that Brielle needed in the White Bear Caravan was uncertain, but it was worth a visit.

The problem was that Brielle couldn’t enter the White Bear Caravan alone.

The White Bear Caravan did not permit individual visits.

If they did, it was certain that all sorts of people would come in. So they strictly restricted visitation qualifications.

At least one leader of a group had to come to enter the White Bear Caravan.

That was why Brielle was pressing Zeon.

Looking up at Zeon, Brielle pleaded.

“Hmm? Let’s go!”

“Ha!, okay, let’s go.”

“Really? I’m so excited.”

Unable to refuse, Zeon agreed, and Brielle danced happily.

Zeon put on his robe.

Even though Brielle was urging him to go, he was also curious about the White Bear Caravan.

Just by looking at the items they brought, one could speculate about the environment of Yakutsk Colony and the distribution of monsters.

Before going to the White Bear Caravan, they stopped by Ethan’s place.

Naturally, Ethan was wary of Zeon’s visit.

With a troubled face, he asked

“You want to visit the White Bear Caravan?”

“Yes!”

“Right now?”

“Yes!”

Zeon smiled and replied.

Ethan wanted to punch him in the face. But if he did, he knew his head and body would be in two.

He also coveted the goods brought by the White Bear Caravan. So he was just waiting for the right timing to visit.

But Zeon had beaten him to it.

Of course, there was no preparation to visit at all.

Seeing him hesitating, Zeon smiled and said.

“Can’t we?”

At that moment, Ethan felt a threat to his life.

He shouldn’t be fooled by that soft tone.

The other party was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, no, a monster.

If he let his guard down because of appearances, he would be eaten alive in an instant.

Ethan stood up and said.

“Of course, you can. We were planning to visit the White Bear Caravan anyway.”

“Right now?”

“Yes! Right now.”

“Perfect. I was worried that it might be a nuisance.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? It’s peaceful in Shinchon because of you, Zeon. Of course, we should make things convenient for you.”

Ethan said with a smile.

But his inner thoughts were different.

‘Your very existence is a nuisance. Damn bastard!’