Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 122

Ethan summoned the Awakeneds.

Most of them were of E-rank, practically useless in real combat. However, they were sufficient for appearances.

As long as Zeon, a powerful presence, existed, other Awakeneds were unnecessary. However, to showcase their strength to the White Bear Caravan, they had to accompany him.

So, twenty Awakeneds were gathered.

With Ethan, Zeon, and Brielle, they became twenty-three.

They left the slums and headed towards the White Bear Caravan. However, they were not the only ones heading there.

“Those are Dongdaemun guys.”

“Oh? I see.”

Those who spotted the crowd heading towards the White Bear Caravan from afar murmured.

Several men clad in shining armor marched forward, carrying a flag with a cross painted on it.

In Neo Seoul, there was only one group that brandished the cross.

It was Dongdaemun, led by Johan.

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

“Is Johan coming too?”

“Johan is not visible. Ah! I see Brixton.”

At the response of his subordinate, Ethan’s eyes trembled.

“Brixton? That berserker?”

“The one carrying that big hammer must be Brixton.”

“Damn it! Is Johan insane? Sending such a crazy bastard to this kind of place.”

Ethan’s expression turned grim.

At Ethan’s reaction, Zeon glanced at Brixton.

With a stature surpassing ordinary people, appropriate armor, and a massive hammer that seemed capable of smashing skulls in an instant, he was intimidating to behold.

The man’s name was Brixton.

He wasn’t called the berserker for nothing.

If he went on a rampage with that enormous hammer, there would be no one to stop him.

He was one of Johan’s fanatics.

If Johan ordered, he would charge into hell without hesitation.

However, he was not suitable for executing complex commands due to his simple and ignorant nature.

Then, a woman walking alongside Brixton caught Zeon’s attention.

Wearing nun’s attire and walking on the sand, the woman was someone Zeon was familiar with.

‘Kim Jae-kyung!’

She was Johan’s confidante and a woman with brainwashing abilities.

It wasn’t a usual occurrence for her to come personally.

At that moment, Kim Jae-kyung, who also seemed to recognize Zeon, showed a surprised expression.

It wasn’t unreasonable for her to be surprised, considering she had almost been killed by Zeon before.

She exchanged words with Brixton.

Then Brixton, glaring at Zeon with an eerie gaze, approached with his subordinates.

Finally, arriving in front of Zeon, Brixton spoke.

“Are you Zeon?”

“Your Brixton?”

“That’s right. I’m Brixton, Johan’s right-hand man, in the flesh.”

Brixton replied, thumping his chest.

Zeon chuckled and asked.

“You didn’t come here just to say hello. What’s your business?”

“I came to give a warning.”

“A warning?”

“That’s right. Dongdaemun will monopolize the trade with the White Bear Caravan. There will be no chance for you and Sinchon, so it’s best for you to turn back now.”

“Dongdaemun will monopolize the trade with the White Bear Caravan?”

“Ha! Even if you dislike it, it will happen. We will make sure of it.”

“If that really happens, we’ll withdraw cleanly.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes!”

“Good. I’ll withdraw for now, trusting your promise. It’d be best to keep your promise. Otherwise, I’ll smash your head to pieces with this hammer.”

Brixton flaunted his strength, swinging the hammer he had draped over his shoulder into the air before turning away.

“That arrogant bastard.”

Ethan erupted in anger belatedly.

Seeing Ethan’s frustration, Brielle smirked inwardly.

‘This guy is also secretly a coward.’

It wasn’t difficult to understand.

Regardless of whether it was Ethan or any other Awakened, anyone would feel intimidated in front of Brixton’s imposing figure.

It wasn’t Ethan who was strange, but Zeon, who remained calm.

Zeon nonchalantly moved forward, seemingly forgetting Brixton’s warning.

Finally arriving at the fortress built by the White Bear Caravan, Zeon exclaimed in admiration.

“So, cargo trucks could be used like this too. They’ve really put a lot of thought into it.”

“Indeed, this setup would be useful for staying in the desert. Ordinary monsters wouldn’t even be able to approach.”

Brielle agreed with Zeon’s thoughts.

Ethan voiced his own thoughts.

“It doesn’t seem like ordinary vehicles. It appears to be reinforced with very special materials.”

“That’s right.”

There was no way an ordinary vehicle could cross the desert.

It was evident that the chassis had been reinforced or enhanced with special materials. Otherwise, it couldn’t explain why there wasn’t a scratch on its surface.

At that moment,

“Where are you all from?”

An Awakened guarding the entrance to the fortress approached Zeon’s group.

When Zeon gestured to Ethan, he stepped forward.

“I’m Ethan, from Sinchon. We’ve come to trade with the White Bear Caravan.”

“Ethan from Sinchon? Confirmed. You may enter.”

It seemed that the White Bear Caravan already understood the power dynamics in Neo Seoul.

Thanks to this, Zeon and Brielle could easily enter the fortress with Ethan leading the way.

The inside of the fortress was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

And no wonder, as it was a fortress made using fifty large vehicles. It was so spacious and tall that even a small building from the slums could fit inside without a problem.

At that moment, an Awakened from the White Bear Caravan approached Ethan’s group.

“Are you Ethan’s group?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I am Sergey from the White Bear Caravan. I will guide you.”

“Ah, yes!”

Ethan nodded.

Since they had entered the caravan, Ethan thought they could just go up and buy items, and if there was any need for a guide.

Sergey smiled and spoke, as if reading Ethan’s thoughts

“All the items we have brought were secured by the Awakeneds of Yakutsk through risking their lives. There are corpses of monsters and items excavated from dungeons. For convenience, we’ve arranged the items into five grades and divided them into floors.”

“How are the grades divided?”

“Monster corpses and unique materials are on the first floor, classified as D-grade. Unusual materials excavated from dungeons are on this floor, classified as C-grade. On the third floor are Mana Stones extracted from dungeon bosses, and items made by Yakutsk Colony and other colonies. On the fourth floor are items from dungeons, and finally, the items on the fifth floor are…”

“Why aren’t you saying?”

“I apologize, but we cannot reveal the items on the fifth floor yet, as they are reserved for an auction.”

“An auction? What kind of items are they?”

Ethan inquired, but Sergey didn’t respond.

Sergey led the group to the vehicles on the first floor.

“Woah!”

As soon as they entered the vehicle, Brielle exclaimed in admiration.

It wasn’t because of the items displayed on the first floor but because of the vehicle itself.

As Zeon looked, Brielle whispered secretly.

“There are multiple magic circles drawn on this vehicle.”

“Multiple magic circles?”

“Yes! It’s made by overlaying several magic circles, and it’s very sophisticated.”

“Do you know the purpose of the magic circles?”

“It’s impossible for me to know at my current level.”

Brielle’s expression turned sullen.

It was not known whose work it was, but she couldn’t understand the extremely high-level magic circles spread across fifty vehicles.

It was clear that a Magic Awakened far superior to Brielle had laid them out.

“It’s okay! Multiple magic circles aren’t the most important thing anyway.”

“But still…”

“Focus on whether there are items you need. Even if you have money, you might not be able to buy them.”

“That’s true!”

Only then did Brielle regain her composure.

People from Dongdaemun had already entered. They didn’t know how many more would come in the future.

If competition arose, the auction might start with the items on the first floor.

“I need to stay sharp.”

Brielle squared her shoulders, slapping her cheeks with both hands to psyche herself up.

Zeon chuckled as he looked up at the fifth floor.

Suddenly, his expression stiffened slightly.

A significantly strong aura emanated from the fifth floor.

Despite being sealed with magic circles or barriers, the energy was powerful enough to penetrate through.

This was evidence of the remarkable items stored on the fifth floor.

Such a powerful aura was unprecedented even for Zeon.

‘What kind of item could produce such an aura?’

Among Awakeneds of the same rank, naturally those with better items had an advantage.

The higher the grade, the greater the difference.

While possessing good items wasn’t a guarantee of victory, it certainly provided a slight advantage.

That’s why higher-ranking Awakeneds risked their lives to obtain better items.

That’s also why the workshops in Neo Seoul flourished.

Items crafted by each workshop’s vision made Awakeneds much stronger.

That’s why renowned workshops attracted Awakeneds automatically. But there were items that even the craftsmanship of workshops couldn’t match.

Those were the items occasionally excavated from dungeons.

Items that served as the core of the dungeons boasted unimaginable power, beyond what Neo Seoul’s technology could replicate.

Especially items excavated from high-risk dungeons possessed even greater power.

However, it was rare for items to be excavated intact, so not many were reported to possess them.

If the items on the fifth floor were indeed items from dungeons, the competition would be fierce.

‘Perhaps Neo Seoul will be turned upside down because of those items…’

Just then,

Bam!

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the opposite side of the first floor.

It was the moment everyone looked at each other in confusion.

“This crazy bitch dares to use brainwashing skills.”

“Shit!”

“We’ve caught them. Crush them all.”

Suddenly, people began to fight, entangling with each other.

Awakeneds from Dongdaemun, who entered at a similar time as Zeon’s group, clashed with the Awakeneds from the White Bear Caravan.

Brixton, who had confronted Zeon’s group earlier, wielded his massive hammer to protect Kim Jae-kyung.

Kim Jae-kyung’s face showed signs of defeat.

Zeon immediately understood the situation.

‘That woman must have tried to use her brainwashing skills again and failed.’

Kim Jae-kyung had attempted to use brainwashing skills on Zeon as well. Fortunately, Zeon’s mental barrier was strong enough to repel the attempt, but if it had succeeded, it would have been quite dangerous.

Brainwashing skills weren’t omnipotent.

They didn’t work on those with strong mental barriers or items that protected the minds.

That seemed to be the case this time as well.

The Awakeneds had necklaces emitting a blue light around their necks. Perhaps the necklaces protected them from the brainwashing skills.

Thanks to these necklaces, Kim Jae-kyung’s attempt to use her brainwashing skills was revealed, leading to the enraged White Bear Caravan Awakeneds attacking.

“Who do these bastards dare to attack so recklessly?”

Brixton protected Kim Jae-kyung, blocking the attacks of the enraged White Bear Caravan Awakeneds with his entire body.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The thick armor perfectly protected Brixton from various skill attacks.

His armor was also a specially crafted item boasting strong defense against various physical attacks.

“Hehehe! It doesn’t even tickle. Is this all you’ve got? In that case, I’d rather take it by force.”

Brixton’s eyes gleamed with madness.

Originally, the plan was for Kim Jae-kyung to brainwash the one in charge and have them hand over the items to Dongdaemun at a low price. However, after fighting directly, Brixton gained confidence that they could simply seize them by force.

Kim Jae-kyung urgently spoke.

“We need to get out of here.”

“It’s noisy. Who takes orders from a failed subject? From now on, I’ll be the one in command.”

“You crazy bear! We need to get out now and resolve the situation.”

“I don’t listen to the orders from losers.”

Brixton and his subordinates went even more berserk.

At that moment, it seemed as though no one could stop Brixton’s rampage.

“That’s enough. You fanatic!”

A man with a huge build, not less than Brixton, swung his fist.

It was Alexandro, the leader of the White Bear Caravan.