Chapter 223
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The sand in the area was melting under the terrifying heat.
The molten sand flowed like lava.
“Ugh!”
“Tch!”
Faced with heat reminiscent of a blazing inferno, both the Awakeners and the orcs recoiled in shock and retreated.
Even after withdrawing dozens of meters, it felt as though their entire bodies were being cooked.
Every breath they took scorched their nasal passages, mouths, and lungs, while all the hair on their heads and bodies burned away.
The overwhelming heat threatened both Awakeners and orcs alike.
“Fall back further.”
“Damn it!”
“Chiit!”
With no other choice, they retreated once again.
The Awakeners and the orcs even forgot that they had been fighting fiercely just moments ago.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was escaping the dreadful heat.
26
Only after retreating a full hundred meters were they finally able to escape the hellish heat that seemed capable of burning everything to ash.
“Haa!”
“Gasp! Gasp!”
“Chiit! What about the Great Chieftain?”
“We have to save the Great Chieftain…”
The orcs belatedly came to their senses and looked toward the heart of the blazing inferno.
Whiiiirrr!
There, a sandstorm still raged, imbued with hellish heat.
The only difference from before was that it had condensed into something small enough to trap just a single orc.
Though its size had shrunk to a fraction of what it once was, its power had increased dozens of times.
Gaaaang!
At the eerie sound of the wind, not only the Awakeners but even the orcs shrank back, unable to approach.
The sandstorm, which had seemed endless, finally came to an end.
The raging storm, filled with terrifying heat, vanished without leaving a trace, as if it had never existed.
In the place where it disappeared stood a massive object presumed to be the Orc Great Chieftain.
Orca looked like a melted, blackened chunk of rock.
Even the battle axe he had been holding had melted under the extreme heat, making it hard to recognize its original form.
Zeon walked toward Orca.
Just as he drew close—
“Kraaaagh!”
Orca let out a monstrous roar and swung his fist at Zeon.
Even though his eyes, skin, and internal organs had melted, he was still alive.
It was truly monstrous vitality.
Orca endured, and endured, and endured until the very end—
All to kill Zeon.
This was his final attack.
Zeon easily avoided Orca’s strike and delivered a blow to his chest.
Thud!
The mana infused into Zeon’s superheated gauntlet pierced through Orca’s thick chest and reached his heart.
The heart shattered like glass, and Orca coughed up the blood he had been holding back.
“Ghk!”
At last, Orca dropped to his knees.
No matter how powerful a being was, it could not survive with a shattered heart.
Orca was no exception.
Though he had endured the hellish sandstorm of searing heat, the moment his heart broke, he lost all strength and collapsed to his knees.
Orca slowly raised his head and looked at Zeon.
Even though his eyeballs had burned away and he could no longer see, he was staring precisely at where Zeon stood.
“Kh… Enemy of the orcs. You possess a power far too great for me to handle. Because of you, the orc race will scatter like grains of sand once more. But you too will be abandoned by humans. Your power is too dangerous for them to accept.”
It was almost like a prophecy.
Though he could not see, it was as if Orca could clearly perceive Zeon’s future.
Unlike the orcs, who revered strength unconditionally, humans reject those who wield excessive power.
And the power Zeon wielded was far too alien and threatening.
There was no way humans would accept someone with such power.
Zeon silently looked down at the dying Orca.
With his gaze lowered and lips tightly sealed, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Thud!
At last, Orca collapsed.
His breath had completely ceased.
“Great Chieftain!”
“Uwaaaagh!”
The orcs who witnessed it cried out in despair.
Orca had been the Great Chieftain who would fulfill the hopes of their race.
It was only natural for them to grieve his fall.
At that moment—
KABOOOM!
Another explosion rang out.
When the Awakeners and orcs turned in shock, they saw a massive corpse golem exploding.
The corpse golem created by the orc shaman had been blown apart by Jang Yongbeom.
Jang Yongbeom burst through the golem and launched himself toward the shaman.
“No!”
The shaman unleashed a barrage of magic to stop him, but Jang Yongbeom ignored it all.
BOOM! BOOM!
The spells exploded right in front of him, but they inflicted no damage.
A faint glow surrounded Jang Yongbeom’s body.
Giselle and Aiden recognized it and shouted in shock.
“…That’s an aura shield.”
“Damn! Does that mean he ranked up?”
Jang Yongbeom had been an A-rank.
Even then, he had been unable to use an aura shield.
The fact that he could now deploy one meant his rank had increased.
Sure enough, seven clear stripes of rank insignia were glowing on his right wrist.
It was proof that he had become S-rank.
He had clearly awakened something while fighting the corpse golem.
Boom!
After deflecting all the magic, Jang Yongbeom reached the shaman in an instant.
Their gazes met briefly.
Thrust!
The massive claymore pierced straight through the shaman’s chest and burst out through his back.
“Ghk!”
Wracked with immense pain, the shaman’s body trembled violently.
Jang Yongbeom pulled the shaman into an embrace and drove the claymore in even deeper.
The shaman coughed blood onto Jang Yongbeom’s chest.
Holding him in place, Jang Yongbeom spoke.
“I should thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to break past my limits.”
The massive wall that had blocked him all this time—
While fighting the corpse golem, he had gained the realization needed to shatter the barrier between A-rank and S-rank.
The insight itself had been small, but its impact was immense.
That towering wall collapsed in an instant.
And just like that, Jang Yongbeom shed the suffocating constraints of A-rank and became an S-rank Awakener.
“Hu…man…!”
“Then you can follow your chieftain to hell.”
Crunch!
Jang Yongbeom twisted the claymore embedded in the shaman’s chest.
Like Orca, the shaman’s heart was completely shattered.
As Jang Yongbeom pulled the blade out, the shaman’s body collapsed lifelessly.
With both Orca and the shaman dead, the orcs fled in all directions.
Their numbers still overwhelmingly exceeded the Awakeners. Yet the moment they lost their center, they scattered like grains of sand.
Revenge didn’t even seem to exist in their minds.
Thanks to that, the surviving Awakeners were finally able to catch their breath.
Only a handful had survived.
Just Zeon’s group, Jang Yongbeom’s party, and five Awakeners from another party remained.
At that moment, Jang Yongbeom gave a subtle signal to Aiden and Giselle.
Though no words were spoken, they understood his intent.
They launched a sudden attack on the unsuspecting Awakeners.
“Gah!”
“Why are you—…ghk!”
Caught off guard, the Awakeners were helplessly slaughtered.
Zeon frowned as he watched the scene, then spoke to Jang Yongbeom.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m protecting you.”
“…What?”
“The fact that you’re a sand mage is no longer a secret. The power holders of Neo Seoul already know.”
“And?”
“But they don’t know how strong you truly are. They’re judging you within the bounds of their own common sense. But what do you think they’ll do once they realize your strength goes far beyond that?”
Zeon didn’t answer. But Jang Yongbeom continued as if he already knew.
“Humans instinctively reject anything that exists far beyond their understanding. Even I’m no different.”
“So you killed them to keep my secret?”
“That’s right.”
“That doesn’t make me grateful.”
“You don’t have to be. I didn’t do it purely for your sake.”
“…So you want to keep your secret too.”
“Exactly. I don’t want anyone to know I’ve become S-rank yet.”
Jang Yongbeom spoke honestly.
If Neo Seoul found out he had reached S-rank, pressure and interference from all sides would be inevitable.
A-rank and S-rank were completely different.
To lower-ranked Awakeners, both were equally unreachable heights—but to those in power, the level of threat was entirely different.
An A-rank was a potential threat.
An S-rank was a blade pressed against the throat.
If they couldn’t bring him under their control, they would rather eliminate him.
If he commanded a massive force like Lee Jiryung, they wouldn’t dare act easily. But a small group like Jang Yongbeom’s party could be targeted at any time.
He needed time to prepare for the future.
That was why he silenced the other Awakeners.
Jang Yongbeom had thoroughly erased all evidence.
He felt no guilt for what he had done.
Zeon did not blame or condemn him either.
There was no reason to make an enemy of him in this situation.
“Everyone’s exhausted. Let’s rest.”
“Good idea.”
Jang Yongbeom nodded at Zeon’s suggestion.
They moved away from the battlefield, where the corpses of orcs and Awakeners lay scattered.
Jang Yongbeom’s party settled a short distance from Zeon’s group.
Soon, laughter and chatter broke out among them—it seemed they were celebrating his advancement to S-rank.
Now that he had truly become S-rank, their party’s standing would rise significantly.
It was understandable.
Zeon turned his gaze away from them and looked at his own companions.
Eloi collapsed onto the ground.
“Damn… I thought I was dead.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’ve got a few injuries, but I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But seriously… Jang Yongbeom becoming S-rank? Once Neo Seoul finds out, it’s going to be chaos. Tch. We went through hell just to make things better for him.”
“It’s fine. It’s not just them who got stronger.”
“…What?”
“Our side improved too.”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me—”
Eloi’s eyes widened.
At that moment, Zeon was looking at Levin.
Levin gave an embarrassed smile and showed his wrist.
Five glowing stripes shone clearly.
Proof that he had become B-rank.
Through the fierce battle with the orcs, Levin had advanced as well.
Though not S-rank like Jang Yongbeom, reaching B-rank was still remarkable.
Especially since Levin had only recently awakened.
His rate of growth far surpassed Jang Yongbeom’s.
His abilities were extraordinary too—
Intangibility, along with lightning-based magic.
For now, Jang Yongbeom was stronger. But no one could say what things would look like ten years from now.
Eloi and Brielle spoke with bright smiles.
“Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Congrats, Levin!”
“Thanks, everyone!”
Levin smiled.
His gaze remained fixed on Zeon.
It was because of Zeon that he was who he was today.
If Zeon hadn’t guided him, he would never have advanced this quickly.
He realized it once again.
He needed Zeon.
‘No matter what happens, I’ll follow hyung to the end.’
Even if the place Zeon was heading was hell itself.