Chapter 39

The dwarf Gofrey glared with bulging eyes.

"As expected of humans—so deceitful. Pretending to be unconscious to trick us."

"And who are you calling deceitful? You half-pint runt."

"Grrk!"

At Deioden's biting remark, Gofrey's face twisted horribly.

His expression was filled with fury.

He had long heard rumors about Deioden.

He knew he was an awakened who hated other races and possessed terrifying strength.

From a human perspective, he could understand it.

To them, his kind might be invaders.

But their actions had also been a choice for survival.

A choice made to live was not something that deserved condemnation.

Fighting to survive, the strong living on and ruling—this was only natural.

At least, in Kurayan, where they came from.

"I'll show you the true power of our dwarven race!"

Gofrey raised his hand. At once, dwarf warriors waiting within the Valley of Death revealed themselves.

The dwarves were riding vehicles mounted with massive cannons.

Originally, there were no cars in Kurayan.

They had studied Earth's vehicles and recreated them.

By combining dwarven engineering and magic, they had produced vehicles equipped with mana particle cannons.

These too were modeled after Earth's weapons.

They weren't yet perfect—far from their intended power—but Gofrey was confident they were more than enough to kill Deioden.

Around the dwarves appeared elf rangers.

The elf rangers rode crimson horses.

These horses, called Red Blood, had crossed over from Kurayan with the elves. They were unusual in that they were carnivorous.

Fierce and powerful enough to hunt and devour smaller demonic beasts.

The elf rangers had tamed them and rode them into battle.

In the desert, their mobility was unmatched.

The rangers wore light armor and carried bows and arrows.

They were charging forward at tremendous speed.

Deioden's lips twisted.

"Heh… I wondered why I couldn't find you no matter how much I searched the desert. Turns out you were hiding like cockroaches, making toys like these."

"Be honored, human! You'll be the first offering to the great dwarves' mana particle cannon!"

"You're still just servants of a dragon…"

"Who are you calling servants? We merely made a deal with it!"

Gofrey snapped back.

"A deal? With a dragon? Do half-sized runts like you even have that kind of ability?"

"Shut up, human! Don't underestimate the power that created Elharun! Even a great dragon cannot treat our city lightly!"

"Elharun, huh. So that's the name of the city you built."

"Ghk!"

Gofrey sucked in a breath.

Without realizing it, he had revealed a secret.

Just as humans built colonies to survive after Earth became a desert, those who came from Kurayan had secretly built a city.

Far from human eyes.

A massive city where humans, elves, dwarves, and other races lived together—

Its name was Elharun.

The elves led it, the dwarves designed it, and humans supplied technology and funding. Other races contributed as well, pooling their efforts to complete it.

Its scale, its location—even its very existence—were top secrets.

And yet, Gofrey had just exposed it himself.

Deioden spoke to Zeon,

"Idiot. You hear that?"

"Yes."

Zeon nodded.

Gofrey may have spoken carelessly, but his words carried a wealth of information.

First, that a city called Elharun existed.

Second, that it wasn't far from Kamchatka Colony.

Third, that it was a place where magic and science coexisted, much like Neo Seoul.

Fourth, that they looked down on Earth's humans as insignificant.

And finally, that they were in a cooperative relationship with a dragon named Hieltun.

Their ultimate goal was unknown.

But the fact that they were united alone posed a massive threat to humanity.

Hammerson glared at Gofrey and muttered,

"Stupid dwarf bastard."

"Watch your mouth, human! Who do you think you're insulting?"

"You're the one who leaked the secret."

"It doesn't matter. If we kill everyone here, no secret will escape. Wasn't that the whole point of bringing the mana particle cannons in the first place?"

At Gofrey's words, Hammerson's expression twisted.

Seeing this, Zeon muttered to himself,

"They may be united, but not perfectly. None of the three races fully trust each other."

He noticed the elf from earlier standing apart, sighing.

From their earlier exchange and her current reaction, she clearly stood apart from the others.

Perhaps it was simply an elven trait—but it was obvious she was uncomfortable working with dwarves and humans.

Deioden sneered at them.

"Heh… what a joke. Not only do you kidnap innocent passersby, now you're bickering among yourselves. Are you all missing a few screws?"

"Shut up!"

Gofrey shouted angrily and quickly retreated backward.

Hammerson and the elf followed.

The moment they moved, the dwarves in the Valley of Death fired their mana particle cannons.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With thunderous explosions, beams of mana shot toward Deioden and Zeon.

Deioden didn't dodge.

"Kahahaha!"

He charged straight at the incoming blasts, Crayon held forward.

"What a crazy old man…"

Zeon shook his head.

Unlike Deioden, he had no intention of taking the attack head-on.

A wall of sand rose up around him.

BOOOOM!

The mana particle cannons detonated.

Sand exploded outward, blasting high into the sky.

The intense heat melted the sand, while a massive shockwave erupted in all directions.

It was an overwhelmingly destructive force.

"Ugh!"

Zeon groaned.

He continued raising sand barriers for protection, but the impact that pierced through them struck his body like a sledgehammer.

"So they really managed to create something like this…"

At this level, it could melt most demonic beasts instantly.

Whether Elharun possessed more of these weapons was unknown—but there was no doubt they would pose a tremendous threat.

A sand barrier alone wasn't enough to fully withstand the mana particle cannons.

Zeon quickly dove into the sand.

In an instant, he burrowed deep beneath the surface and changed direction—

toward the Valley of Death.

I need to eliminate those mana particle cannons.

He released Exion outward. The sand parted around him, creating space to move.

Zeon activated his sand-stepping technique and advanced forward.

The sand ahead brushed past him and was pushed aside.

Deep underground, where neither sight nor direction could be relied upon—

yet Zeon moved with perfect precision, as if he could see.

The sand within a radius of dozens of meters transmitted information directly to him.

BOOM! BOOM!

Even then, the impact from above continued to reach him.

The mana particle cannons were still bombarding the ground.

But at some point, the shockwaves suddenly ceased.

Right then, Zeon reached the entrance of the Valley of Death.

He burst through the sand and emerged above ground.

What he saw at that moment was a scene of absolute slaughter.

"I'll kill every last one of you."

Deioden was rampaging like a madman.

Despite taking the full force of the mana particle cannons, he didn't have a single scratch.

If anything, the attacks had only fueled his rage.

BOOM!

With a single swing of his blade, a vehicle equipped with a mana particle cannon exploded.

Crayon didn't just destroy the vehicle—it pulverized the dwarf riding it.

"Aaaargh!"

"Aaaah!"

The screams of dwarves echoed throughout the Valley of Death.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Realizing the cannons were useless, the dwarves dismounted, wielding war hammers and various weapons.

They too were awakened.

They couldn't simply run away in fear of Deioden.

They attacked him with everything they had.

The elf rangers joined in as well.

They fired arrows infused with mana to restrain him—but none of their attacks reached him.

The aura emanating from Deioden deflected every arrow.

CRACK!

"Gah!"

A dwarf's head shattered under Deioden's blade.

He could have killed dozens at once—but instead, he deliberately killed them one by one.

That made it all the more cruel.

"Y-you monster…"

Hammerson trembled.

His shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Deioden's overwhelming power instilled fear deep within him.

When he had first accepted Hieltun's request, he had looked down on Deioden.

He believed a human from Earth could only be so strong.

But the reality before him far exceeded his imagination.

"Aaaargh!"

"Ugh!"

Deioden crushed the powerful dwarf warriors and elf rangers like ants.

No matter how fiercely they attacked, they couldn't inflict even the slightest damage.

It was like watching a dragon.

"Damn it! We're retreating."

Hammerson ordered his subordinates.

"You're abandoning the elves and dwarves?"

"We're not abandoning them. It's a tactical retreat."

Hammerson replied coldly.

"But—"

"Just make sure you secure the Guide. Even if we only take him, it won't be a loss."

"Understood."

As the subordinate turned to leave—

"Ugh!"

"What the hell?!"

Suddenly, confused shouts came from behind.

Hammerson turned around in shock.

Damian was gone.

"What? What happened?!"

"H-he vanished into the sand!"

The subordinates looked utterly baffled.

They had been guarding Damian just moments ago—but he had disappeared into the sand in an instant.

When Damian reappeared, he was far away from them.

Zeon had taken him underground and brought him out.

Zeon asked,

"Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine…"

Damian nodded, still shaken.

His mind was in chaos as well.

Hammerson shouted,

"Get them!"

His subordinates charged at Zeon and Damian.

As if to boast their status as awakened, they unleashed various skills toward Zeon.

But Zeon raised a sand barrier, effortlessly neutralizing the attacks.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The skill attacks dissipated without breaking through.

"What is that?"

"That's a strange ability."

"Don't let him use his skills!"

The awakened rushed forward and struck the sand barrier directly.

BOOM!

With a loud explosion, the barrier collapsed.

But Zeon was no longer there.

Using the barrier to obscure their vision, he had already moved underground.

He reappeared behind them.

Without a sound, Zeon unleashed Sand Missile.

SHHHHH!

Dozens of sand projectiles shot toward the backs of their heads.

In an instant, several awakened had their heads shattered into dust.

Only then did the others realize Zeon had moved behind them.

"He's using some kind of bizarre skill!"

"Is it Blink?"

Confusion spread across their faces.

Zeon smiled faintly.

"You're getting surprised too early."

"Insolent human!"

"Kill him!"

Enraged, the awakened rushed at him.

Watching them charge with full force, Zeon muttered,

"Sand Mixer."

WHRRR!

At that moment, the sand beneath their feet began spinning at high speed.

"W-what is this?!"

"The sand—!"

The awakened were caught in the vortex.

Before they could escape, the spinning sand ground them apart instantly.

"Aaaargh!"

"Gaaah!"

Their desperate screams echoed briefly within the churning sand—

then disappeared completely.

Leaving behind sand stained red with blood, Zeon turned his gaze to Hammerson.

"Now you're the only one left."