Episode 39
The dwarf Gopeurei glared, his eyes bulging like bells.
“As expected of the human race, how cunning. Pretending to faint to deceive us.”
“Who’s calling whom cunning? You ground-hugging midget barely the size of half a finger.”
“Keuk!”
Gopeurei’s face twisted terribly at Deiodeun’s venomous tongue.
His face was filled with the light of rage.
He had heard the rumors about Deiodeun well enough.
He also knew that Deiodeun was an Awakened who hated other races like himself and possessed fearsome strength.
From an Earthling’s perspective, he thought it might be understandable.
From their point of view, he and his kind could be invaders. But they too had made this choice to survive.
A choice made for survival was not something to be condemned.
Fighting to survive, and the strong surviving to dominate, was an extremely natural thing.
At least, that was the case in Kurayan, where they had lived.
“I’ll show you the true power of us dwarves!”
Gopeurei raised his hand. At that, the dwarf warriors waiting in the Valley of Death revealed themselves.
The dwarf warriors were riding vehicles mounted with large cannons.
Cars had not originally existed in Kurayan.
They had been made by researching Earth’s cars.
The vehicles, completed by combining dwarven technology and magic, were installed with mana particle cannons.
This too was something made by imitating Earth’s weapons after seeing them.
Though still imperfect and far from the originally planned power, he was confident it was still enough to kill Deiodeun.
Those who appeared around the dwarves were Elf Rangers.
The Elf Rangers were riding red horses.
The horses called Red Bloods had crossed over from Kurayan with the elves. Strangely, they were carnivorous.
They were fierce and strong enough to catch and eat small magic beasts.
The Elf Rangers tamed such Red Bloods and rode them.
Because in the desert, their mobility was unmatched.
The Elf Rangers were all dressed in light armor, holding bows and arrows.
They were charging at tremendous speed.
Deiodeun’s lips twisted.
“Hehe! I thought it strange that no matter how much I searched the desert, I couldn’t find you. So you were hiding like cockroaches, making these things.”
“Consider it an honor, human! You shall become the first sacrifice to the mana particle cannon created by the great dwarf race.”
“You’re just a dragon’s servant, and yet…….”
“Who are you calling a servant? We merely made a deal with him.”
Gopeurei flared up.
“A deal? A deal with a dragon. Did you stunted little runts have that kind of ability?”
“Shut up, human! Do not underestimate the power of those who created Elharun. Even the great dragon cannot treat our city Elharun recklessly.”
“So it’s called Elharun. The name of the city you lot built.”
“Hah!”
Gopeurei drew in a breath.
Because he had unintentionally revealed a secret.
Just as humans had built colonies to survive after Earth became a desert, those who had crossed over from Kurayan had also secretly built a city.
In a place beyond human sight.
The name of the massive city where various races including humans, elves, and dwarves lived together was Elharun.
The elves took the lead, the dwarves designed it, and the humans provided science, technology, and funds. The remaining races also pooled their strength together to complete it.
Its scale and location were secret, and even its very existence was a secret among secrets. Yet he had blurted out with his own mouth that Elharun existed.
Deiodeun spoke to Jeon.
“You idiot, did you hear that?”
“Yes!”
Jeon nodded.
Gopeurei had spoken carelessly, but within those words was a great deal of information.
First, that a city called Elharun existed.
That Elharun’s location was not very far from the Kamchaka Colony.
That it was a city where magic and science harmonized like Neo Seoul.
That they considered Earth’s humans to be very insignificant.
Finally, that they were in a cooperative relationship with a dragon called Haieltun.
They didn’t know what their goal was. But the mere fact that they were united posed a great threat to the humans of this land.
Haemeoseon glared at Gopeurei, who had leaked the secret, and muttered.
“You stupid dwarf bastard!”
“Shut your mouth! Human! How dare you speak such insolence to whom?”
“Wasn’t it you who leaked the secret?”
“Anyway, if we kill everything present here, the secret won’t leak out. Wasn’t that the intention from the start, which is why we brought the mana particle cannons?”
Haemeoseon’s expression twisted at Gopeurei’s words.
Jeon muttered upon seeing that appearance.
‘They’ve banded together as one, but it’s not perfect. All three races don’t fully trust one another.’
He saw an elf sighing while standing far away.
From the previous conversation to the current reaction, he was standing alone, out of place.
It might be the elves’ nature, but regardless, it was clear he felt uncomfortable being with dwarves and humans.
Deiodeun sneered at them.
“Hehe! You lot are funny. Not content with kidnapping someone just passing by, you’re fighting amongst yourselves. Are you perhaps lacking in brains?”
“Silence!”
Gopeurei shouted furiously and quickly stepped back.
Haemeoseon and the elf followed behind him.
The moment they moved, the dwarves in the Valley of Death fired their mana particle cannons.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With an explosion, the mana particle cannons flew toward Deiodeun and Jeon.
Deiodeun did not dodge the mana particle cannons.
“Kahaha!”
He charged at the incoming beams of light with Keureion leading ahead.
“See, I told you he’s a crazy old man.”
Jeon shook his head.
He had no intention of taking the mana particle cannon head-on like Deiodeun.
Sand walls rose around Jeon.
Crash! Crash! Boom!
Immediately after, the mana particle cannons detonated.
Sand exploded and shot high into the sky.
Terrifying heat melted the sand, and tremendous shockwaves burst out in all directions.
It was truly fearsome power.
“Keuk!”
Jeon let out a suppressed groan.
He had been raising sand walls repeatedly to protect himself, but the impact penetrating through the sand pounded his body like iron hammers.
“They actually managed to make something like this.”
At this level, they could probably melt most magic beasts in an instant.
Though they couldn’t know if mana particle cannons existed in Elharun, it was certain they would be an enormous threat.
Sand walls alone had their limits in blocking mana particle cannons.
Jeon hurriedly entered the sand.
Jeon, having dug deep into the sand in an instant, changed direction.
It was toward the Valley of Death.
‘I have to eliminate the mana particle cannons.’
He released Eksion externally. At that, the sand was pushed aside, creating space to move.
Jeon unfolded Sand Step and moved forward.
The sand in front brushed past him and was pushed back.
Deep underground where vision was impossible to secure and direction was impossible to grasp.
But Jeon moved, grasping the direction as accurately as if he were seeing with his eyes.
Because the sand within a several-dozen-meter radius transmitted information to him.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Even at that moment, shocks from outside were being transmitted little by little.
The mana particle cannons were still pounding the earth.
But at some point, the impacts of the mana particle cannons were no longer felt.
Jeon had just reached the entrance to the Valley of Death.
Jeon broke through the sand and came out.
What he saw at that moment was a scene of massacre.
“I’ll kill you all.”
Deiodeun was rampaging like a madman.
Despite being pounded by mana particle cannons like that, Deiodeun didn’t have a single scratch.
The mana particle cannons had only greatly inflated his rage.
Boom!
With a single slash of his sword, a vehicle mounted with a mana particle cannon exploded.
Keureion didn’t just destroy the vehicle but also pulverized the dwarf riding it.
“Kuaaack!”
“Aaack!”
The dwarves’ screams echoed throughout the Valley of Death.
It was truly a one-sided massacre.
The dwarves, realizing there was nothing they could do with the mana particle cannons, got down holding battle hammers and various weapons.
They too were Awakened.
They couldn’t run away just because Deiodeun was frightening.
They attacked Deiodeun with all their might.
Even the Elf Rangers joined in.
They fired arrows imbued with mana to contain Deiodeun. But their attacks didn’t reach Deiodeun.
The aura radiating from Deiodeun deflected all the arrows.
Snap!
“Keuak!”
A dwarf’s head was shattered by Deiodeun’s slash.
Though he could have killed dozens at once, Deiodeun carefully killed them one by one.
That appearance looked even more cruel.
“H-how cruel…….”
Haemeoseon trembled with fear.
His shoulder was convulsing.
Deiodeun’s martial might that surpassed imagination frightened him.
Even when he had received Haieltun’s request, he had looked down on Deiodeun.
He had thought that no matter how strong an Earthling human was, there would be a limit. But Deiodeun’s martial might seen with his own eyes surpassed his imagination.
“Kuaaack!”
“Keok!”
Deiodeun was crushing those powerful dwarf warriors and Elf Rangers like ants.
The dwarves and Elf Rangers were attacking with all their might, but they couldn’t inflict any damage on Deiodeun.
That appearance was like watching a dragon.
“Damn it! We’re falling back.”
Haemeoseon gave orders to his subordinates.
“Are you saying we’re abandoning the elves and dwarves?”
“We’re not abandoning them. It’s a strategic retreat.”
Haemeoseon coldly replied to his subordinate’s question.
“But…….”
“Make sure to secure the guide. If we catch him, we won’t be at a loss.”
“Understood.”
It was when the subordinate answered and was about to withdraw.
“Keuk!”
“Damn it!”
Suddenly, confused voices of other subordinates were heard from behind.
Haemeoseon was startled and looked back, but Demian had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.
“What? What happened?”
“H-he disappeared into the sand.”
The subordinates made baffled expressions.
They had clearly been keeping proper hold of Demian, but he had disappeared into the sand in an instant.
The place where Demian reappeared was quite far from them.
Jeon had moved through the sand, taking him with him, and come out.
Jeon asked Demian.
“You alright?”
“I’m... alright.”
Demian answered, shaking his head.
He too was out of it.
Haemeoseon shouted.
“Catch them!”
His subordinates rushed at Jeon and Demian.
As if boasting that they were Awakened, all sorts of skills were fired at Jeon. But Jeon erected sand walls and simply neutralized their attacks.
Thud-thud-thud!
The offensive skills failed to penetrate the sand walls and dissipated.
“What?”
“He’s using strange skills.”
“Stop him from using skills!”
The Awakened instantly closed the distance and directly struck the sand wall.
Boom!
With an explosion, the sand wall collapsed. But Jeon, who should have been behind the sand wall, was not visible.
He had used the sand wall to obstruct their vision and moved underground.
The place he reappeared was behind the Awakened.
Jeon, revealing himself without a sound, unfolded Sand Missile.
Fwoosh!
Over ten sand missiles flew toward the backs of the Awakened’s heads.
In an instant, four or five Awakened had their heads shattered and turned to powder. Only then did the other Awakened realize Jeon had moved behind them.
“He’s using bizarre skills.”
“Is it Blink?”
Bewildered expressions rose on the Awakened’s faces.
Jeon looked at them and smiled slightly.
“It’s too early to be surprised.”
“Insolent human.”
“Catch him!”
The Awakened rushed at Jeon in anger.
Seeing them charging with all their might, Jeon muttered.
“Sand Mixer!”
Vrrrroom!
At that moment, the sand beneath the Awakened’s feet began spinning at high speed.
“Wh-what?”
“The sand?”
The Awakened were swept up by the spinning sand.
The sand ground them up in an instant without giving the Awakened any chance to escape.
“Kuaaack!”
“Aaack!”
The Awakened’s desperate screams burst from within the high-speed spinning sand. But even those completely disappeared shortly after.
Leaving behind the sand dyed red with blood, Jeon looked at Haemeoseon.
“Now only you remain.”