Chapter 122
Eaton gathered the Awakeners.
Most of them were E-rank—forces that were practically useless in real combat. But they were sufficient for appearances.
With a powerful figure like Zeon present, there was no real need for other Awakeners. However, to show strength in front of the White Bear Caravan, they needed to bring a group.
The number of Awakeners he gathered was twenty.
Including Eaton, Zeon, and Brielle, they totaled twenty-three.
They left the slums and headed toward the White Bear Caravan. But they weren’t the only ones going there.
“Those are the Dongdaemun guys.”
“Huh? Yeah, you’re right.”
People murmured as they spotted another group in the distance heading toward the caravan.
A large number of men in gleaming heavy armor were walking forward, carrying a flag emblazoned with a cross.
In Neo Seoul, there was only one group that used the symbol of a cross.
Dongdaemun—led by Johan.
Eaton’s eyes gleamed.
“Did Johan come out himself?”
“I don’t see Johan. Ah! I see Brixton.”
At his subordinate’s reply, Eaton’s eyes twitched.
“Brixton? That berserker is here?”
“That man holding the massive hammer—that’s definitely Brixton.”
“Fuck! Has Johan lost his mind? Sending that crazy bastard to a place like this.”
Eaton grimaced.
At his reaction, Zeon turned his gaze toward Brixton.
An enormous physique surpassing that of ordinary people, heavy armor to match, and a massive hammer that looked capable of crushing even the heads of monsters in an instant.
Just looking at him was enough to make one’s legs tremble.
The man’s name was Brixton.
He wasn’t called a berserker for nothing.
Once he started swinging that hammer wildly, there was no stopping him.
He was a fanatic follower of Johan.
If it was Johan’s command, he would jump into hell without hesitation.
However, he was far too simple and brutish to handle complex orders.
At that moment, Zeon noticed a woman walking beside Brixton.
Strangely, she was walking across the sand wearing a nun’s habit.
She was someone Zeon knew well.
‘Kim Jaekyung!’
Johan’s confidant—a woman with brainwashing abilities.
The fact that she had come personally meant this was no ordinary matter.
Just then—
Kim Jaekyung seemed to recognize Zeon as well and flinched in surprise.
Given that she had nearly been defeated by him before, her reaction wasn’t unreasonable.
She exchanged a few words with Brixton.
Then Brixton glared at Zeon.
His gaze was filled with chilling madness.
Brixton led his subordinates toward Zeon’s group.
Finally, standing before him, Brixton spoke.
“So you’re Zeon?”
“And you must be Brixton?”
“That’s right. I am Brixton, the right hand of Lord Johan.”
He pounded his chest as he spoke.
Zeon let out a small chuckle and asked,
“You didn’t come all this way just to exchange greetings, did you? What do you want?”
“I came to give you a warning.”
“A warning?”
“That’s right. The trade with the White Bear Caravan will be monopolized by our Dongdaemun. There will be no opportunity for you or Sinchon, so it would be best for you to turn back now.”
“Did the White Bear Caravan agree to grant Dongdaemun exclusive rights?”
“Hmph! Whether they like it or not, it will happen. We’ll make sure of it.”
“If that really happens, we’ll withdraw cleanly.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll trust your word and step back for now. You’d better keep that promise. Otherwise, I’ll smash your head into pieces with this hammer.”
Brixton swung the hammer resting on his shoulder through the air, showing off his strength, then turned and left.
“That arrogant bastard.”
Only after he was gone did Eaton burst out in anger.
Seeing his delayed reaction, Brielle smirked.
‘This guy’s kind of a coward too.’
It wasn’t hard to understand.
No matter who it was, any Awakener would feel intimidated in front of someone like Brixton.
It wasn’t Eaton who was strange—it was Zeon, who remained completely calm.
Zeon, as if he had already forgotten Brixton’s warning, continued walking without a care.
Finally, upon arriving at the fortress built by the White Bear Caravan, Zeon let out a remark of admiration.
“So this is one way to use cargo wagons. They must have put a lot of thought into it.”
“Yeah, this would definitely be useful when camping in the desert. Most monsters wouldn’t even be able to get close, right?”
Brielle nodded in agreement.
Eaton added his own observation.
“These don’t look like ordinary vehicles. They seem to be reinforced with very special materials.”
“That would make sense.”
Ordinary vehicles could never cross the desert.
They must have reinforced or enhanced the frames with special materials. Otherwise, there was no way to explain how they remained completely unscathed.
Just then—
“Where have you come from?”
An Awakener guarding the entrance of the fortress approached Zeon’s group.
Zeon gestured to Eaton, and he stepped forward.
“I am Eaton from Sinchon. We’ve come to trade with your caravan.”
“Eaton of Sinchon? Confirmed. You may enter.”
It seemed the White Bear Caravan had already grasped the power structure of Neo Seoul.
Thanks to that, Zeon and Brielle were able to enter the fortress comfortably with Eaton leading the way.
Inside, the fortress was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
Naturally so—it had been constructed using fifty large vehicles. It was spacious and tall enough to easily fit an entire small building from the slums.
At that moment, one of the White Bear Caravan’s Awakeners approached Eaton’s group.
“Are you Eaton’s party?”
“That’s correct.”
“I am Sergey of the White Bear Caravan. I will guide you.”
“Ah, alright.”
Eaton tilted his head.
Since they had come into the caravan, he thought they could simply choose and purchase items—there didn’t seem to be any need for a guide.
As if reading his thoughts, Sergey smiled and said,
“All the goods we brought were secured by the Awakeners of Akutsk at the risk of their lives. From the lairs of monsters—”
“…There are also monster corpses, as well as items retrieved from dungeons. For convenience, we’ve divided all the goods into five grades and arranged them accordingly.”
“How are the grades classified?”
“Monster corpses and unusual materials are placed on the first floor as D-grade. Rare materials excavated from dungeons are displayed on the second floor as C-grade. On the third floor, you’ll find mana stones extracted from dungeon bosses, along with items crafted in Akutsk Colony and other colonies. The fourth floor contains items unearthed from dungeons… and finally, the items on the fifth floor are…”
“Why are you hesitating?”
“My apologies, but the items on the fifth floor cannot be disclosed yet, as they are reserved for a later auction.”
“An auction? Just what kind of items are those?”
Eaton pressed further, but Sergey did not answer.
Instead, Sergey led the group to a vehicle on the first floor.
“Wow!”
The moment they stepped inside, Brielle exclaimed.
It wasn’t because of the items on display.
She was astonished by the vehicle itself.
Noticing Zeon looking at her, she whispered quietly,
“There are multiple magic circles engraved into the vehicle.”
“Multiple magic circles?”
“Yeah! Several magic circles layered together. It’s incredibly intricate.”
“Can you tell what their purpose is?”
“Not at my current level.”
Brielle’s expression dimmed.
Whoever created them, the magic circles spread across all fifty vehicles were of such a high level that she couldn’t decipher them at all.
They were clearly cast by a magic-type Awakener far superior to Brielle.
“It’s fine. The magic circles aren’t what matter right now.”
“But still…”
“Focus on whether there’s anything you need. You might not even be able to buy it even if you have the money.”
“Right!”
Only then did Brielle snap back to her senses.
People from Dongdaemun had already entered. There was no telling how many more would come.
If competition intensified, even the items on the first floor might end up being auctioned.
“I need to stay sharp.”
Brielle slapped both her cheeks lightly, steeling her resolve.
Zeon smirked slightly and glanced toward the fifth floor.
Then his expression subtly hardened.
From the fifth floor, he could feel an incredibly powerful aura.
Even though it was likely sealed with magic circles or barriers, the energy was still leaking through.
That alone proved how extraordinary the items stored there were.
Even Zeon had never encountered an item emitting such overwhelming energy.
‘What kind of item could it be…?’
Among Awakeners of the same rank, the one with better equipment naturally held the advantage.
And the higher the rank, the wider that gap became.
While having superior items didn’t guarantee victory, it undeniably provided an edge.
That was why higher-ranked Awakeners risked their lives to obtain better equipment.
It was also why the workshops in Neo Seoul thrived.
Items crafted with each workshop’s unique techniques made Awakeners far stronger.
Renowned workshops always had long lines of Awakeners waiting.
But there were items even those workshops couldn’t replicate.
Items occasionally excavated from dungeons.
Some of these items even served as the core of the dungeon itself, possessing power far beyond Neo Seoul’s technological capabilities.
The more dangerous the dungeon they came from, the more powerful they were.
However, it was extremely rare for such items to be recovered intact, so very few people actually possessed them.
If the item on the fifth floor truly came from a dungeon, the competition for it would be fierce.
‘This might be enough to shake all of Neo Seoul…’
At that moment—
BOOM!
A sudden explosion rang out from the opposite side of the first floor.
Everyone turned toward the sound in confusion.
“Did that crazy bitch just try to use a brainwashing skill?!”
“Damn it!”
“She’s been exposed. Kill them all!”
Suddenly, chaos erupted as people began fighting.
The Dongdaemun Awakeners who had entered around the same time as Zeon’s group clashed with the White Bear Caravan’s Awakeners.
Brixton, who had earlier confronted Zeon, swung his massive hammer while protecting Kim Jaekyung.
Her face was filled with panic.
Zeon immediately grasped the situation.
‘Looks like she tried to use her brainwashing skill again and failed.’
Kim Jaekyung had once attempted to use that skill on Zeon as well.
Fortunately, his mental defenses were strong, so it failed—but had it succeeded, it would have been extremely dangerous.
The brainwashing skill wasn’t absolute.
It didn’t work on those with strong mental defenses or those possessing items that protected the mind.
That seemed to be the case this time as well.
The Awakener who had shouted was wearing a necklace emitting a blue glow—likely an item that protected him from the brainwashing.
Because of that, Kim Jaekyung’s attempt was exposed, and the enraged White Bear Caravan Awakeners attacked.
“You bastards! How dare you attack us without fear?!”
Brixton shielded Kim Jaekyung, blocking the attacks with his entire body.
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Even under a barrage of skills, his thick heavy armor protected him perfectly.
His armor, too, was a specially crafted item, boasting immense resistance against physical attacks.
“Khahaha! That doesn’t even tickle. Is that all you’ve got? Then I might as well take everything by force!”
Brixton’s eyes gleamed with madness.
Originally, the plan had been for Kim Jaekyung to brainwash someone in charge and force the caravan to sell their goods to Dongdaemun at a low price.
But after testing their strength, Brixton became confident they could simply take everything by force.
Kim Jaekyung spoke urgently,
“We need to retreat now!”
“Shut up. Who are you to give orders after failing? From now on, I’m in command.”
“You crazy brute! Now is the time to pull back and handle the situation!”
“I don’t take orders from failures.”
Brixton and his men rampaged even more wildly.
For a moment, it seemed like no one could stop him.
Then—
“That’s enough, fanatic!”
A man with a massive build rivaling Brixton’s threw a punch.
It was Alexandro, the leader of the White Bear Caravan.