Chapter 300
Sand Tornado was exactly what its name implied—a tornado of sand.
Its range was smaller than Sand Storm, but its concentrated destructive power was far greater.
It became especially deadly against a single target.
Just like now.
Grrrrrk!
The Sand Tornado spun violently, grinding apart the Blade Frigatebird’s body.
The Blade Frigatebird flapped its wings desperately, trying to escape the tornado, but it was useless.
The Sand Tornado’s terrifying rotational force absolutely refused to let it break free.
Kiiieeeek!
The Blade Frigatebird let out a shrill scream.
The steel-hard feathers protecting its body were all being ripped away, exposing bare flesh directly to the sand.
The reason the Blade Frigatebird could fly at supersonic speeds was because of those feathers covering its entire body.
They possessed hardness comparable to diamonds while remaining incredibly lightweight—durable enough to withstand even the Sand Tornado itself.
But once those feathers were stripped away, the Blade Frigatebird’s true body was pitifully fragile.
Kwagagagak!
The Blade Frigatebird was completely shredded apart, and the feathers torn from its body scattered through the sky like snow.
“I think these feathers could be useful.”
Brielle removed her pointed hat and caught the falling feathers.
After storing them inside her subspace, she looked toward Zeon.
Having killed the Blade Frigatebird, Zeon rose even higher into the sky while scanning the surroundings.
Then he spotted it.
A yellow cloud of dust billowing up along the horizon.
“There they are!”
The moment Zeon pinpointed the Scavengers’ location—
Screeeech! Screeeech!
Terrifying tearing sounds echoed repeatedly through the air.
More Blade Frigatebirds had appeared.
Enraged by the death of their kin, they charged toward Zeon at horrifying speed.
Zeon spoke to Brielle.
“Let’s head back down.”
“Okay!”
Now that he knew the direction the Scavengers were moving in, there was no reason to waste time fighting the Blade Frigatebirds.
Zeon rapidly descended toward the ground with Brielle.
Fortunately, the Blade Frigatebirds did not attack them once they descended.
Apparently, the creatures never descended below a certain altitude.
That alone was a blessing.
If monsters like those came down to ground level, humanity wouldn’t stand a chance.
Unless someone literally had eyes on top of their head, avoiding attacks from Blade Frigatebirds diving from the heavens was practically impossible.
After confirming that the circling Blade Frigatebirds had disappeared into the distance, Zeon spoke to Brielle and Gaia.
“Let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
–Bbe!
Zeon moved toward the direction he had identified from the sky.
Using Sand Step, he surged forward rapidly across the desert, while Gaia and Brielle followed behind.
As Brielle repeatedly fell behind, Gaia eventually became so worried that she simply carried her on her back.
“Thanks!”
–Bbiii!
Gaia replied that it was nothing while speeding after Zeon.
‘At this rate, we’ll catch them within two hours.’
No matter how mobile the Scavengers were, they couldn’t outrun Zeon using Sand Step.
They were far away now, but at this speed, he would catch them soon enough.
But then an unexpected obstacle appeared.
KROOOAR!
A gigantic demonic beast suddenly burst out from beneath the sand.
It resembled a beetle enlarged hundreds of times over.
Flames poured from its mouth every time it breathed.
“A Titan Beetle? So this was its territory?”
The Titan Beetle was exactly what its name implied—a colossal beetle.
Its shell, as hard as titanium, possessed incredible defensive power, while the superheated flame breath it spat from its mouth could melt most demonic beasts instantly.
That was what made it such a troublesome monster.
Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
Zeon could simply avoid it or take his time dealing with it.
But if he wanted to catch the Scavengers quickly, he had no choice but to pass through this area.
The Titan Beetle immediately fired a blast of flame breath at Zeon.
Fwoooosh!
Zeon raised a sand wall to block the attack.
The next moment, the creature charged straight at him with its gigantic body.
The Titan Beetle clearly understood that its massive, hardened body itself was a weapon.
That was why it attacked by throwing its entire weight forward.
BOOM!
The Titan Beetle’s gigantic body slammed into the spot Zeon had just vacated like a falling boulder.
At that instant, Zeon unleashed Sand Mixer.
GAAAAANG!
Sand particles spun at high speed around the Titan Beetle.
The Sand Mixer could instantly grind apart most demonic beasts, but it had no effect on the Titan Beetle.
Its shell’s durability completely exceeded imagination.
In some ways, it was a natural enemy to Zeon.
A monster that couldn’t even be shredded by sand naturally required a long time to kill.
And on top of that, the Titan Beetle could use flame breath.
Which meant it possessed resistance to fire.
Ordinary Awakened who used flame magic could never defeat a Titan Beetle.
But Zeon was no ordinary Awakened.
“Sand Gehenna!”
The rapidly rotating sand particles glowed red-hot.
The sand melted down, transforming into lava.
Though its fire resistance prevented it from taking massive damage, the superheated lava was more than enough to throw the Titan Beetle into panic.
Over half its gigantic body sank into the lava as it struggled wildly.
Its body began glowing red from the intense heat.
At that moment, Zeon called out to Gaia.
“Gaia!”
–Bbii?
“Move the elemental energy and rapidly cool the area around it. You can do that, right?”
–Bbe!
Gaia gave a short reply.
It meant yes.
For an elemental lifeform like Gaia, such a thing wasn’t difficult at all.
“Freeze it instantly.”
–Bbe-bbi!
At Gaia’s response, the air around the Titan Beetle rapidly cooled.
Sssshhhh!
The temperature plummeted in an instant.
Frost formed over the Titan Beetle’s superheated shell.
Seeing that, Zeon spoke in a cold voice.
“Objects heated intensely and then cooled become far easier to destroy. Claymore.”
KWA-BOOOOM!
The sand beneath the Titan Beetle exploded instantly.
Its shell, weakened by the repeated assaults of extreme heat and extreme cold, exploded alongside it.
Without even sparing a glance at the gigantic Titan Beetle erupting like a volcano, Zeon simply walked past it.
Meanwhile, Brielle secretly stuffed fragments of the Titan Beetle’s shell into the subspace inside her pointed hat.
She thought they might become useful someday.
***
KWAAAANG!
A thunderous explosion echoed from far away, and in the distance, a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
“What the hell?”
“Did a volcano erupt or something?”
The Awakened members of the Helbrin Mercenary Company, who had been deeply engrossed in plundering, stared toward the horizon in shock.
They were at least dozens of kilometers away.
Yet the explosion was so massive that even from that distance, the vibrations and pressure could still be felt.
It wasn’t strange at all that they thought a volcano had erupted.
Hashim frowned deeply.
“A volcano? If it were one, there would’ve been signs like earthquakes beforehand.”
“Then what was it?”
At the foolish question from the subordinate beside him, Hashim’s gaze turned even fiercer.
“When something abnormal happens in this desert, it means trouble. Akashi!”
“Yes, boss.”
“Isn’t that the place where you said a demonic beast was hiding?”
“I believe so.”
Akashi answered with a serious expression.
The location where the mushroom cloud had risen was exactly the area the Helbrin Mercenary Company had deliberately avoided because of Akashi’s warning.
At the time, Akashi had detected a gigantic demonic beast hiding beneath the sand using his detection magic.
Since there was no need to fight such a creature, the mercenary company had taken a wide detour around the area.
Thanks to that, they had passed through safely without provoking the monster.
“You said it was a B-rank beast?”
“Judging by the biological reaction and mana density, it was definitely at least B-rank.”
“Is that so…”
Hashim’s expression grew even darker.
Even for him, dealing with a B-rank demonic beast hiding beneath the sand would’ve been difficult.
If the entire Helbrin Mercenary Company fought together, they might have been able to kill it, but it would’ve taken a long time.
And they would’ve suffered heavy casualties.
That was how dangerous giant demonic beasts were.
There was a reason the Helbrin Mercenary Company preferred avoiding such creatures rather than confronting them.
Which meant it was almost certain that someone had hunted that monster down.
“It’s possible another demonic beast invaded its territory and fought it, but that’s unlikely.”
Normally, other giant demonic beasts didn’t invade the territory of a creature that large.
Not unless they were absolutely confident they could win.
And Hashim knew such cases were extremely rare.
“Someone hunted it intentionally.”
“Hunted it? You mean a person did that?”
“Could’ve been a human. Could’ve been an elf. But you all know, don’t you? Sometimes absurd monsters in human form appear.”
One of the reasons the Helbrin Mercenary Company had survived in the desert this long was because they avoided such beings whenever possible.
“So someone really killed the Titan Beetle?”
“That’s what I think.”
“But who?”
“That’s what’s bothering me. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
At Hashim’s words, every Awakened present turned grim.
They all knew just how accurate Hashim’s instincts were.
If he said something felt wrong, then something was definitely wrong.
Hashim called over one of his subordinates.
“Alton!”
“Yes, boss!”
“Let’s do that thing.”
“That thing?”
“Yeah. The environment’s perfect for it too.”
Hashim looked around.
They were currently at a survivor village.
A settlement where around thirty people had once lived.
Among them, only about ten were suitable to be slaves.
The rest had been too old or too young.
Those people had all been slaughtered.
As a result, the entire village reeked of blood.
Alton answered,
“Understood, boss. I’ll show you what I can do.”
“We need to finish this as quickly as possible.”
“Don’t worry.”
Alton immediately got to work.
The Helbrin Mercenary Company withdrew from the village with their captured slaves and watched Alton work.
Alton was an Enchanter.
A specialist who had devoted himself entirely to explosions.
He possessed the ability to infuse his mana into objects and make them explode.
He was still only D-rank, and preparing his abilities required time, so he rarely used them during ordinary raids.
But when given enough preparation time, his destructive power surpassed almost everyone else’s.
He planted explosive enchantments throughout the survivor village.
Once Alton finished his preparations, the Helbrin Mercenary Company retreated to a massive sand dune dozens of kilometers away.
Hashim took out a telescope and monitored the village.
The telescope itself had been enchanted by an Enchanter, allowing it to observe targets from dozens of kilometers away.
After some time passed, someone finally appeared in the village they had plundered.
Though the distance prevented them from seeing clearly, it looked like an adult man and a young girl.
Beside them floated a large balloon-like object.
“Just as I thought. Pursuers showed up. Alton!”
“Yes, boss!”
“Blow them away.”
“Right now?”
“Immediately.”
“Understood.”
The moment Alton activated his ability—
KWA-BOOOOM!
A gigantic explosion swallowed the man, the girl, and the floating balloon whole.