Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 130

The Ear Collector—that was the nickname the man was known by among the scavengers.

Scavengers never reveal personal information such as their real names or professions.

They know well that the moment their information is leaked, their life is over.

Scavengers operating within Neo Seoul are different from those in the desert.

In their daily lives, they thoroughly hide their desires and live like normal people.

It’s a necessary choice because Neo Seoul is a city where many Awakeneds exist, not just them.

Once it’s revealed that they are scavengers, their situation changes, and they become prey for other Awakeneds.

Thus, scavengers, including the Ear Collector, lived parasitically in Neo Seoul, hiding their identities thoroughly.

The scavengers who lived in Neo Seoul while concealing their identities formed their own network.

This was called the Black Network.

Through the Black Network, scavengers shared information and hideouts with each other.

The underground space where the Ear Collector was now was one such hideout.

Nest 7.

That was the name of this hideout. It implied that there were at least six other similar hideouts.

Nest 7 was a very important hideout.

Its existence allowed them to hunt humans in the slums with peace of mind.

No one ever imagined that a scavenger’s nest could exist in Dongdaemun, the territory of the fanatics.

Even Johan, the ruler of Dongdaemun, didn’t know about it.

Thus, the scavengers, including the Ear Collector, used Nest 7 conveniently.

Currently, about a dozen scavengers were resting in Nest 7.

The scavengers who met here exchanged information while thoroughly hiding their identities.

The Ear Collector had just returned from a human hunt and was resting in Nest 7 when he discovered the intruders.

Bzzz!

He thrust his electric shock rod towards Zeon’s face.

“I’ll ask you one last time. How did you get in here?”

“We opened the door and came in.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re saying you opened a door that had a perception-blocking spell and a special lock? Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“It’s true, but you don’t believe it.”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

If it weren’t for Brielle, Zeon wouldn’t have found the scavengers’ nest so easily.

So it was natural that they wouldn’t believe him.

“Some people only understand after experiencing hell.”

The Ear Collector smirked and pressed the electric shock rod against Zeon’s face.

Bzzz!

Blue sparks flew as Zeon’s body convulsed.

“Heh! Bastard, you should have just spoken up.”

The Ear Collector laughed, watching Zeon convulse violently.

He naturally expected Brielle, who was also caught in the net, to be crying with tears and snot, but Brielle was just staring blankly at the Ear Collector.

The Ear Collector muttered.

“What’s with this girl? Is she dumb?”

“You’re the dumb one. Do you think Zeon would be shocked by something like that?”

“What?”

Finally realizing something was wrong, the Ear Collector looked at Zeon.

He didn’t know when, but Zeon had stopped convulsing.

Behind the flickering blue currents, Zeon’s face was calm and composed.

The Ear Collector instinctively realized something was wrong.

“Shit!”

Slash!

The net that had been tightening around Zeon and Brielle was torn like a piece of paper, and a gauntleted hand shot out.

Grab!

“Guh!”

Zeon’s hand grabbed the Ear Collector’s neck.

It all happened before the Ear Collector could react. Zeon’s movements outpaced the Ear Collector’s reactions.

But the Ear Collector didn’t go down without a fight.

He abandoned the now useless electric rod, drew the machete from his waist, and stabbed at Zeon’s abdomen.

Zeon twisted slightly to avoid the blade and slammed the Ear Collector’s body into the ground.

Bang!

“Gah!”

The Ear Collector let out a short scream at the immense impact on his back. The force was enough to incapacitate an average person instantly.

But the Ear Collector was a D-rank Martial Artist Awakened.

He had a sturdy body and excellent physical abilities.

He wasn’t weak enough to be subdued by this level of impact.

The Ear Collector tried to jump back up and counterattack. But his body wouldn’t follow his will.

Zeon’s knee was pressing down on his chest.

An enormous pressure pinned the Ear Collector down.

“Guh!”

The Ear Collector’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

His ribcage felt like it was going to break, and his internal organs felt like they were being crushed.

No matter how much he struggled or moved his mana, his body didn’t budge as if pinned by a huge boulder.

Eventually, the Ear Collector gave up trying to escape and shouted.

“Who the hell are you? Why is this happening…?”

“Air Shield!”

At that moment, Brielle cast a spell, preventing his voice from spreading outside.

The Ear Collector’s attempt to call other scavengers failed.

Zeon smirked.

“Nice try.”

“You bastard…”

“As a price for your attempt, I’ll take one of your ears.”

The Ear Collector’s eyes widened at Zeon’s words.

“No, don’t!”

Slice!

In that instant, with a sharp sound, one of the Ear Collector’s ears was cut off.

The Ear Collector screamed in pain from his ear.

“Aaaagh!”

“If you don’t keep quiet, I’ll cut off the other ear too.”

“D-damn it! Why are you doing this to me? We just met today.”

“The owners of the ears you’ve collected so far were all people you just met too, weren’t they?”

“Bastard!”

“It seems you still haven’t come to your senses.”

Zeon brought his hand to the Ear Collector’s other ear.

“Damn it! I’ll talk. I’ll say anything.”

“First, everyone here is a scavenger, correct?”

“Yes!”

“How many are there?”

“Eleven including me.”

“How many such nests are there?”

“I don’t know!”

“Do I need to cut the other ear to make you talk?”

“I really don’t know. All I know is that this is Nest 7.”

“Nest 7? So there are at least six more nests like this?”

Zeon’s eyes gleamed.

He hadn’t expected there to be so many nests.

This meant the scavengers were much more numerous and organized than he had thought.

The Ear Collector spoke in a defensive tone.

“Yeah! I know that too.”

“Where are the nests located?”

“Including this one, there are only two that I know of.”

“You’re lying again.”

“Fuck! It’s the truth. One in Neo Seoul, and one in the slums. The network only tells you about nests in the area where you’re active.”

“The network? Do scavengers have a network?”

“Yeah! The Black Network. We all connect to it to get information.”

“Who runs it?”

“I don’t know!”

“You use the network and don’t know?”

“No one knows that. We just use it because it’s there. Who cares who runs it? We’re not interested.”

“Fine. Then how do you access the network?”

“A code, a code! You need a biometric code to access it.”

“Biometric code?”

Zeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.

Boom!

Suddenly, fireballs flew out of the darkness and struck Briellele’s air shield.

A tremendous blaze engulfed Zeon and Briellele.

As the air shield shattered, Zeon pulled Briellele back.

But the Ear Collector didn’t get that chance.

“Aargh!”

The Ear Collector’s body was engulfed in flames from a direct hit.

He writhed in agony from the intense heat until he died.

Zeon looked to where the fireballs came from.

Heavily armed figures emerged from the darkness.

They were scavengers resting at the Nest 7.

“What a waste of the nickname ‘Ear Collector.’ Chattering like a magpie.”

“Bastard! Blabbering away.”

“This is why you shouldn’t trust the rootless.”

The scavengers laughed and jeered at the burning body of the Ear Collector.

An alarm spell, unnoticed by Zeon and Briellele, had been installed in the corridor.

The moment they intruded, the alarm sounded, and the scavengers came rushing in.

Scratching his head, Zeon said.

“This was quite a crucial moment, but you guys messed it up.”

“Haha! How to receive a biometric code? Even that bastard doesn’t know that.”

“Why?”

“Because the memory of receiving the biometric code is erased. Me, him, everyone. All memories remain intact except for when the biometric code is received. So it’s useless. Haha!”

The lead scavenger laughed, revealing yellowed teeth.

The others agreed.

“Haha! Our world isn’t that shabby. Kid!”

“Oh, looks like a pretty kid is here.”

“I’ll be first.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Bastard. I’m first.”

The scavengers erupted into chaos as they argued upon seeing Briellele.

“Subhuman.”

Briellele made a disgusted expression.

Having suffered at the hands of human hunters, she detested these kinds of humans more than anyone.

“Die, all of you!”

Briellele unleashed her magic with a scream.

Splat!

Dozens of air arrows flew towards the scavengers.

“Oh! Quite a cute attack.”

“Useless.”

The scavengers deployed defense skills to block her attack.

Their clothes and armor were all items of protection or looted from other Awakeneds.

Naturally, they were exceptionally powerful.

With her still-developing elven magic, Briellele found it difficult to inflict damage.

The scavengers immediately counterattacked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Weapons from Martial Artist Awakened and skills from Magic Awakened filled the corridor.

“Shit!”

Briellele’s eyes widened.

Her response to the enemies’ attack was simple.

To hide behind Zeon.

With a baffled expression, Zeon swung his fist. In response, dozens of flame arrows poured forth toward the front.

It was Fire Arrow from the Inferno Gauntlet.

Bang! Bang!

Dozens of Fire Arrows clashed with the incoming attack skills, exploding.

“Urgh!”

“Ugh!”

The scavengers screamed.

They were thrown back by the explosion.

At that moment, Zeon moved.

Wham!

He pushed off the ground and launched himself at the scavengers.

In an instant, Zeon reached the scavengers and swung his fist.

His punch struck the scavengers hard.

Crack!

It was as if a storm had swept through.

The scavengers didn’t even have time to react before being hit by Zeon’s fist.

Their armor was useless against Zeon’s attacks.

Shields shattered, and armor made of special materials broke like glass.

In the face of the tidal wave that was Zeon, the scavengers couldn’t even scream and were swept away.

A moment later, the scene revealed was horrifying.

The scavengers lay on the ground, their limbs twisted grotesquely or bearing severe wounds.

“Damn!”

“Urgh!”

The scavengers’ desperate screams echoed through the corridor.

Zeon looked at the scavenger lying in front of him and locked eyes with him, saying.

“I think we’re ready to have a conversation now. Right?”

“Damn it!”

The scavenger groaned instead of answering.

Nodding, Zeon said.

“I knew it would be like this.”