Chapter 170
“Kiiiieee!”
It began with the roar of an unknown magical beast.
With that cry as the signal, scorpion-like creatures launched their attack.
Their shells bore patterns resembling ghosts.
“Ghost Scorpions!”
“Watch out for their tail stingers. One hit means instant death!”
The awakened of the Pegasus raid party immediately identified the monsters.
Like the Twin-Headed Buffalo, Ghost Scorpions lived in groups.
They formed colonies underground in the desert, creating maze-like tunnels.
Their venom had the property of hardening sand.
It turned it solid like concrete.
Ghost Scorpions burrowed through sand and sprayed their venom along the walls, reinforcing them. In this way, they expanded their territory, turning the underground into a vast labyrinth.
Once such a nest was established, their numbers would grow exponentially.
It was commonly said that if you saw one Ghost Scorpion, there were hundreds nearby.
Lee Jiryung unleashed lightning and shouted,
“Gesling! What’s going on? There was no mention of a Ghost Scorpion nest around here!”
“There definitely wasn’t when we first came to locate the dungeon!”
Gesling replied while killing a Ghost Scorpion.
He was the leader of the exploration team.
It was his team that had discovered the dungeon they were now heading toward.
When they had passed through this area before, there had been no sign of Ghost Scorpions. If they had seen even one, they would have taken a different route.
“Gesling’s right. We didn’t see a single Ghost Scorpion back then.”
MacNine, another member of the exploration team, backed him up.
Lee Jiryung’s expression hardened.
“Then they must have settled here afterward.”
Several months had passed since the exploration team discovered the dungeon.
It wasn’t strange to think the scorpions had moved in during that time.
The real problem was their sheer number.
Hundreds of Ghost Scorpions were crawling out endlessly.
A force of this size counted as a large army even among magical beasts.
“Could it be… a queen has appeared?”
That would explain it.
A queen, which was rarely born, could give birth to dozens of Ghost Scorpions at once.
Lee Jiryung shouted,
“Everyone, stay alert. There’s definitely a Ghost Scorpion queen nearby!”
“Yes!”
“Got it, Commander!”
The awakened formed a tight formation and fought back against the Ghost Scorpions.
Even so, casualties occurred.
“Aaagh!”
“Ghk!”
Awakened struck by the scorpions’ venomous stingers collapsed with screams.
The punctured areas turned pitch black and quickly spread throughout their bodies.
“Aaaargh!”
“S-save me!”
Those poisoned writhed in agony.
“Shit!”
“Does anyone have a potion?!”
At that moment, a girl wearing a pointed hat stepped forward.
It was Brielle.
She administered small doses of potion to those struck by the stingers. Almost immediately, their conditions improved noticeably.
“Haa! Haa!”
“I… I’m alive…”
The potion Brielle used was one she had made herself—a detoxification potion.
It was something not yet available in Neo Seoul, only circulating in the slums.
Those whose lives she saved thanked her.
“Thank you. You saved me.”
“Kid, I’ll repay this debt someday.”
“Hmph! No need to repay anything—just get back to fighting.”
Brielle sent them back into battle.
At that moment, Levin approached her.
“That’s a detox potion, right? Did you get it from the Goblin Market too?”
“Idiot.”
“Huh? What now?”
“I made it.”
“What?”
“I said I made the detox potion.”
“Seriously?”
Levin’s eyes widened in shock.
His dumbfounded expression made Brielle snicker.
“The detox potions circulating in the Goblin Market? Yeah, I made those.”
“I had no idea… Wow, you’re amazing.”
“You’re only realizing that now? I’m just that incredible of an elf.”
Brielle puffed up with pride.
At that moment, Kelda approached her.
She had seen Brielle saving her subordinates with the potions.
“Do you happen to have more detox potions?”
“I have a few.”
“Please give them all to us. We’ll pay generously.”
Even now, more injured were appearing.
If those stung by the Ghost Scorpions weren’t treated quickly, they would die.
At present, Brielle’s potions were the only means of treatment.
Brielle readily handed them over.
“There are ten in total. Each bottle can treat about five people.”
“Thank you.”
Kelda took the potions and rushed to the fallen.
The sooner they administered them, the higher the chance of survival.
Fortunately, those who received the antidote in time all survived.
However, those caught in the scorpions’ pincers could not be saved.
Their bodies had been torn apart completely.
No matter how many they killed, more Ghost Scorpions kept crawling out.
At this rate, it felt endless.
All the while, Zeon did not move.
His gaze was fixed on the hole from which the scorpions were emerging.
Rumble…
A far stronger vibration than before could be felt.
‘The queen.’
Unable to tolerate the loss of her subordinates, the queen had finally emerged.
‘Can’t let that happen.’
Zeon quietly manipulated the sand.
The sand in the surrounding area silently poured into the hole.
Whoooosh!
The sand filled the tunnel and surged forward at terrifying speed—until it collided with the Ghost Scorpion queen.
Kraaaash!
The high-pressure sand ground against the queen’s carapace, wearing it down.
“Kiiiieee!”
The Ghost Scorpion queen’s agonized scream echoed through the tunnels.
It was, after all, a B-rank magical beast.
Naturally, it had a barrier surrounding it.
It was a sturdy shield that wouldn’t budge against most physical attacks—but it was useless against sand flooding a narrow tunnel from all directions.
Thud!
The queen’s eye burst.
Sand immediately invaded through the ruptured eye.
The sand attacked relentlessly—its eyes, brain, esophagus, heart—one after another.
Under simultaneous assaults from inside and outside, the Ghost Scorpion queen convulsed violently.
Zeon muttered,
“Claymore.”
Boom!
In that instant, all the sand inside and around the queen exploded at once.
The Ghost Scorpion queen didn’t even get a chance to scream before it was blown apart.
With the queen’s death, the Ghost Scorpions that had been ferociously attacking humans began to panic and scatter in all directions.
“What the hell? They’re running?”
“We’re saved!”
The awakened cheered, unaware of why the scorpions were retreating.
Only a few—including Lee Jiryung and Cha Jincheol—realized that Zeon had killed the queen.
‘Controlling sand so freely in the desert… that’s just broken.’
‘What rank is he, to eliminate a Ghost Scorpion queen so easily?’
Determining an awakened’s rank was simple—
Check the insignia engraved on their wrist.
Some displayed it proudly, but those who were more cautious kept it hidden.
Lee Jiryung had his covered with a guard, and Cha Jincheol concealed his completely beneath long sleeves.
To confirm someone’s rank, one would have to subdue them and check directly.
But there was no way Zeon would allow that—and this desert was his domain.
Sand, his weapon, was everywhere.
It was an environment overwhelmingly in his favor.
Fighting him here would be nothing short of suicide.
If they ever intended to fight him, they would need a far more advantageous environment—certainly not a desert filled with nothing but sand.
Meanwhile, Zeon discreetly checked whether a mana stone had formed from the Ghost Scorpion queen.
But he couldn’t sense one anywhere.
‘Unfortunate… looks like there wasn’t one this time.’
Not all magical beasts produced mana stones.
Even high-ranking ones often didn’t.
Just like this case.
Zeon didn’t dwell on it and turned away.
The Pegasus raid party was cleaning up the chaotic battlefield.
“Too bad. If we used their shells, we could make some solid armor.”
“We’ve got nowhere to store them anyway. No choice but to leave them.”
Even though they had brought dozens of transport vehicles, there was no space to carry monster corpses.
Even if they did, they had to reserve space for those obtained from the dungeon.
From experience, corpses from dungeon monsters were far more valuable.
That’s why, during dungeon raids, monsters killed in the desert were usually abandoned.
At that moment, Lee Jiryung approached Zeon.
“We’re in your debt again.”
“I only did what needed to be done.”
“I appreciate you seeing it that way.”
Lee Jiryung’s gaze then shifted to Brielle.
“I heard you gave Kelda detox potions?”
“Yes.”
“The effect was remarkable. Where did you get them?”
“You can find them at the Goblin Market.”
Brielle casually hid the fact that she had made them herself.
“The Goblin Market in the slums?”
“Yeah.”
“What a shame. If we had known earlier, we would’ve prepared some as well. Still, thanks to you, many lives were saved. We’ll repay this properly.”
“Do as you like.”
Brielle replied indifferently, as if she had no interest in repayment.
In truth, she didn’t consider handing over a few potions as something worthy of a reward.
Lee Jiryung stared at her for a moment before returning to his people.
As soon as he moved away, Brielle muttered,
“Man, that was terrifying. What kind of look was that…?”
“You get scared too?”
“Of course I do. I have emotions.”
“I thought you were fearless.”
“Ugh, seriously…”
Brielle glared at Levin.
Levin pretended not to notice and whistled.
Fortunately, since there were relatively few deaths, the cleanup was completed quickly.
“Alright, let’s move out.”
“Move out!”
The raid party boarded their vehicles again and set off toward the dungeon.
Zeon’s group followed in their buggy.
Rattle!
After traveling for a while—
An ominous vibration suddenly came from the buggy.
Levin, sitting in the driver’s seat, frowned.
“I think something’s wrong with the drive shaft.”
“Is it going to stop right away?”
“Not immediately, but at this rate… it’ll probably break down by evening.”
“Then just keep going. We’ll reach the dungeon by then anyway.”
“Got it, hyung.”
Levin nodded.
Even so, it had held up quite well.
Other vehicles had already broken down several times and were constantly being repaired by the support team led by Jeloei.
Compared to them, Zeon’s buggy had made it this far without a single breakdown.
Levin knew it was thanks to Zeon.
Zeon had used his control to protect the vehicle from the sand.
Even so, the harsh desert environment had finally taken its toll.
By sunset, the buggy Zeon’s group was riding in came to a complete stop.
Still, no one was disappointed.
Because they had already reached the vicinity where the dungeon was believed to be.
As Zeon stepped out of the buggy, he felt a powerful energy beneath his feet.
“There really is a dungeon here… and a very strong one at that…”