Episode 16
The 6th Great Annihilation had completely changed the world's climate.
Most of the earth had become desert, and many life forms had gone extinct.
When demonic beasts appeared on top of that, even the life forms that had barely managed to survive were devoured.
Thus, most existing life forms went extinct. But there were life forms that survived.
One of them was the Ssangbongnakta.
As expected of a creature that had originally lived in the desert, it survived.
They not only survived but also evolved to become larger and stronger, becoming F-rank demonic beasts.
On their necks was a mane, the symbol of their evolution. Each strand of the mane possessed strong elasticity, like steel wire.
The Ssangbongnakta protected itself by firing this mane.
The mane's uses were not limited to this alone.
It served as a sort of radar, capable of detecting other demonic beasts even from afar.
Thanks to this evolution, they survived even in a desert swarming with demonic beasts.
The Scavengers crossed the desert riding Ssangbongnaktas.
The Ssangbongnakta was truly the best means of transportation.
Dozens of Scavengers were riding Ssangbongnaktas, charging toward Archelon.
There was still considerable distance remaining, but it would close in no time.
Pabilsa clicked his tongue.
"Those persistent bastards! They actually chased us all the way here. And of all things, it's the notorious Black Shark Crew."
"Black Shark Crew?"
"They are guys who suddenly expanded their forces tremendously. They say their captain is a D-rank Awakened."
"D-rank?"
"That's quite a high rank for an Awakened leading a Scavenger crew. With that level of skill, he could enter Neo Seoul, but for some reason, he remains as the head of the Scavengers."
Pabilsa was frowning deeply.
At that moment, Jeon and Keilli entered.
"They're Scavengers."
"I saw them too."
"Shall we move Archelon?"
"Even if we do, they'll just follow again."
"Then shall we fight?"
Keilli asked cautiously.
"I'll handle this."
The one who answered was Deiodeun.
Pabilsa was not surprised.
Because he had thought that Deiodeun would naturally show this kind of reaction.
Deiodeun spoke to Jeon.
"You handle the Scavengers."
"Me, sir?"
"You received a treasure, so you must pay the price."
At Deiodeun's words, Jeon bit his lip.
He had fought demonic beasts several times, but this was his first time facing humans.
He naturally couldn't help but hesitate.
To such a Jeon, Deiodeun sneered.
"Are you scared? Then back out."
"What happens if I back out?"
"What do you think will happen?"
Madness dwelled in Deiodeun's eyes as he looked at Jeon.
He seemed to know even without hearing the answer.
"I will fight."
"Good thinking."
Jeon went outside of Archelon.
Watching Jeon walking alone toward the Scavenger horde, Pabilsa said,
"Do you really intend to make that kid fight the Scavengers alone? It'll be dangerous."
"If he can't overcome even that, he deserves to die."
"Hah! Still extreme as ever."
Pabilsa shook his head.
Though it had been a while since they last met, Deiodeun hadn't changed one bit.
Because of his extremeness, no one could stay by his side and had all left.
Deiodeun watched Jeon's back with his arms crossed. He didn't even take out his Crayon.
It was clear he had no intention of intervening at all. But Pabilsa knew that this was, conversely, the greatest show of interest Deiodeun could give.
Pabilsa looked at Jeon with an expression of interest.
'What kind of potential do you hold? Kid!'
***
"Hoo! That damned old man."
Cursing Deiodeun, Jeon watched the rapidly approaching Scavenger horde.
He had thought the day would come when he would fight humans, but he never imagined that day would be today.
What was fortunate was that his physical condition was quite good, he had the gauntlet he had received from Keilli, and not long ago he had advanced a rank to become an E-rank Awakened.
Since there was still some distance left, Jeon calmly surveyed his surroundings.
He had learned something while following Deiodeun.
The basics of combat are, first, to survey the environment. And to grasp the enemies' strengths and weaknesses.
Once such basic information was obtained, he used his imagination.
He drew a picture in his head of how to efficiently attack based on the information.
What was important was the detail of that imagination.
'My weapon is sand. This entire desert is my weapon.'
His control was still weak, so he could only move the sand around him, but even that was enough to demonstrate tremendous power in the desert.
Jeon clenched his fist and looked at the Scavenger horde charging at a terrifying speed.
Even with a rough count, there were clearly more than forty.
Like Jeon, they covered their bodies with robes and wrapped cloth around their faces, revealing only their eyes.
An unusually intense fighting spirit emanated from the man standing at the front.
He was an exceptionally large giant with a head bigger than the others, uniquely riding a camel with his arms crossed.
No weapon was visible.
Judging by his size, fighting spirit, attire, and atmosphere, he was definitely a martial artist-type Awakened.
And an unarmed martial artist at that.
It was something impossible to do unless one had considerable confidence in their own strength.
He was Gawein, the leader of the Scavenger horde.
Gawein was a D-rank Awakened.
As was typical for martial artist-type Awakened, he too had obtained tremendous physical abilities and skills.
His skill was Shockwave.
It was a skill that struck the wall of air with a bare fist to generate a shockwave.
It was a difficult skill to master, and its power was so tremendous that no one in the Scavenger crew could match him.
The moment Gawein Awakened, he gathered the desert vagrants and created a Scavenger crew.
Most of the Scavengers following him were merely vicious, ability-less thugs, but a few among them had luckily Awakened abilities.
The ones who could be called his arms, Keulreing and Masimoto, were Awakened.
Keulreing and Masimoto were also martial artist-type Awakened like Gawein, each using a scimitar and katana as their main weapons.
They were one rank lower than Gawein, E-rank.
Though their ranks were low, they were evaluated as being even more ruthless than Gawein.
A disgusting smile rose on Gawein's savage face.
"We finally caught up. Hehe!"
In the desert, the Archelon that the Moteu tribe rode was called a treasure house. The saying that treasures were piled up like mountains inside Archelon's shell circulated openly.
Because of that, Gawein too had targeted Archelon.
The giant turtle Archelon was concerning, but it was a demonic beast with a docile nature. It was known to have tremendous defense but no notable offensive skills.
So if they just didn't provoke Archelon's temperament and only attacked the people, victory was sufficiently possible.
Gawein raised his fist and shouted.
"Don't touch the Archelon, kill them all. All the treasures inside are ours."
"Kuahaha!"
"Uwooo!"
The Scavengers let out a roar.
It was when they had approached close to Archelon.
They saw someone in robes blocking the way ahead.
It was Jeon.
Gawein furrowed his brow.
"What is that now?"
A man blocking the path between Archelon and the Scavengers.
Judging by the atmosphere, he was clearly intending to face them.
"How arrogant! Trample him."
At Gawein's shout, the Scavengers increased their speed even more.
In an instant, Jeon and the Scavengers drew close.
The distance between them was now ten meters.
At that moment, Jeon took off his robe's hood and raised his head.
Jeon and Gawein's gazes met in the air.
The moment he saw Jeon's eyes, Gawein felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. But it was too late to stop the camel now.
That was when it happened.
Kuuuu!
Suddenly, the sand in front of Jeon collapsed.
The sand flowing down like a waterfall instantly created a deep gorge.
Jeon had used his control to create a sand ravine in front of him.
The width was only about ten meters, and the depth was merely one meter, but it was enough to make the charging Ssangbongnaktas tumble head over heels.
Kuhihing!
"Argh!"
"Keuk!"
The camels and Scavengers screamed as they crashed into the sand ravine.
"What?"
"Crazy!"
The camels carrying Gawein, Keulreing, and Masimoto were the first to dive headfirst into the sand ravine. But all three of them, befitting Awakened, instantly kicked off the camels' backs and flung their bodies into the air.
After landing on the other side of the sand ravine, they turned around.
"What is this?"
"Eek!"
"Good heavens!"
All the Scavengers except them were buried in the sand ravine.
The problem was that being buried with the heavy camels resulted in severe injuries such as broken arms and legs, or broken necks.
A few subordinates barely crawled out of the sand mound, but they sat down in a daze, unable to take any action.
Gawein shouted while looking at Jeon.
"You cowardly bastard! You had a sand trap dug in advance."
"No need for words, Captain! We must take the head off a bastard like that."
Masimoto charged at Jeon, wielding his katana.
The katana emitted a red light.
It had been infused with Aura.
The katana's cutting power instantly increased severalfold.
Masimoto swung his katana with the momentum to blow Jeon's head off in one strike.
Shwuu!
The katana split the air and instantly reached in front of Jeon's neck.
Now, if it reached out just a little more, Jeon's neck would be cleanly cut like a gourd. But Masimoto's wish was not fulfilled.
Because the sand in front of him suddenly formed a wall and surged up. Thus, instead of his target, Jeon's neck, he struck only the sand wall.
Kwaang!
The sand wall struck by the aura exploded, scattering and distorting his vision. Therefore, he didn't see.
That among the sand scattering in all directions, Sand Missiles were mixed in.
Puk!
A Sand Missile pierced Masimoto's head.
Masimoto lost his life without even being able to scream.
"Masimoto!"
Keulreing ran at Jeon, enraged by his comrade's death.
His scimitar too held a red aura.
"Hoo!"
Jeon took a deep breath.
Up until now, things had proceeded according to the picture he had drawn.
Dig a sand ravine to strip the enemies of their mobility while inflicting maximum damage. And take advantage of the confusion to eliminate the leaders.
That was the picture Jeon had drawn.
Until now, it had proceeded perfectly. But if he couldn't finish it well, the picture he had drawn with effort would all be ruined.
Jeon raised his hand.
Instantly, five strands of sand rose like vines around him.
Jeon sent the sand strands flying toward Keulreing.
It was Sand Blaster.
Keulreing snorted.
"Hmph! I'll cut down something like this in one go."
Pubeobeobeok!
The Sand Blasters all burst apart at the sword he swung.
As Keulreing tried to blow Jeon's head off in one go while he was at it,
"Watch below!"
Gawein's urgent voice was heard.
Keulreing looked at his feet.
At that moment, a strand of sand condensed and shot up like lightning.
It was a Sand Missile.
The speed was too fast for Keulreing to even think of dodging.
Peok!
The Sand Missile directly pierced Keulreing's lower abdomen.
"Keuugh! Cowardly......"
Keulreing glared at Jeon with a resentful expression before collapsing. Like Masimoto, he had lost his life.
"Uwaaa! You son of a bitch......"
Gawein, who had lost his trusted subordinates in an instant, charged in.
Jeon looked at Gawein with cold eyes.
The finishing touch.
It was time to draw the pupils on the fully drawn dragon.