Chapter 313
“Is the little bastard deaf? I just asked you who the hell you are.”
One of the scavengers approached Zeon.
He swaggered forward like a street thug, one hand gripping the dagger tucked into his waist. He was fully prepared to draw and strike at any moment.
Despite his crude attitude, gaze, and tone, his movements belonged to someone who actually knew how to fight.
“Hyaak! Ptui!”
The scavenger stepped right up to Zeon and spat phlegm onto his shoe.
It was a typical scavenger intimidation tactic.
Crack!
At that instant, with an explosive sound, the scavenger’s body was launched into the air.
The moment the spit touched his shoe, Zeon had kicked him in the jaw.
The scavenger’s head snapped backward so violently it looked as though his neck would break.
As his consciousness faded beneath the overwhelming pain, a single thought crossed the scavenger’s mind.
‘What?’
That was his last thought.
His shattered jawbone had pierced into his brain.
Thud!
By the time the scavenger hit the ground, he was already dead.
Zeon wiped his shoe against the dead scavenger’s clothes.
“Disgusting…”
At Zeon’s indifferent remark, the scavengers felt chills run down their spines.
A man who had been joking crudely with them just moments ago had become a corpse in an instant.
The scavenger Zeon had killed with a single kick was a D-rank Awakened.
Not particularly high-ranked, but he was a veteran known for his cruelty and skill at killing.
He wasn’t someone weak enough to die from a single kick.
And yet he had lost his life instantly.
Without even putting up proper resistance.
It wasn’t that the scavenger was weak.
Zeon was simply that strong.
Shing!
The scavengers drew their weapons.
The oldest among them spoke with a smile on his face.
“Looks like someone impressive has wandered in. Don’t know where you came from, but if you enter our nest, you ought to follow the rules.”
“Rules?”
“No killing fellow scavengers inside the nest. That’s our rule.”
“Then I guess I don’t have to follow it. I’m not a scavenger.”
“If you’re not a scavenger, how did you find our nest?”
The man’s eyes turned red with killing intent.
The other scavengers also released their bloodlust as they surrounded Zeon.
To scavengers, the nest was practically their lifeline.
One of the few safe places where they could rest without worry.
An inviolable sanctuary that could never be exposed under any circumstances.
And now a non-scavenger had entered it.
To the scavengers, this was a serious matter tied directly to survival.
Zeon glanced around the inside of the nest and spoke.
“I’m looking for someone. But it seems they’re not here. Is there maybe some kind of hidden secret area?”
“A secret area?”
“Yes. I thought maybe they could be hiding there.”
“Fuck, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Well, it doesn’t look like there is one, but I’ll know once I search the place.”
“And who says we’ll let you?”
“It’d be better if you did.”
“Fuck off!”
At that moment, the scavengers surrounding Zeon attacked all at once.
Swords, axes, and kukris flew toward his vital points.
Every one of them was a weapon designed to maximize lethality.
A graze meant serious injury.
A direct hit meant death.
Of course, that only mattered if they actually landed.
Crack!
Zeon grabbed the wrist of the scavenger attacking with a kukri and twisted it.
“Aaaagh!”
The scavenger let out a desperate scream as his forearm snapped and hung limply.
Zeon immediately struck him in the mouth.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, the scavenger’s head snapped backward.
All of his teeth shattered, tearing apart the inside of his mouth.
The scavenger collapsed in an instant, covered in blood.
But Zeon didn’t stop there.
Using the Gauntlet of Scorching Heat, he smashed aside the battle axe coming at him from behind.
Craaang! Crack!
The battle axe shattered like glass.
The scavenger’s eyes widened in disbelief.
At that moment, Zeon’s elbow exploded into his temple.
“Ghk!”
With a dying scream, the scavenger crumpled to the ground.
Zeon kicked the collapsing scavenger.
The massive body, well over two meters tall, flew through the air and crashed into the other scavengers.
“Ugh!”
“Ghk!”
The scavengers were sent flying in all directions like bowling pins, screams bursting from their mouths.
The face of the older scavenger who had first spoken to Zeon stiffened.
Without even using any special skills, Zeon had subdued numerous scavengers with nothing more than simple movements.
‘And these guys are martial-type Awakened who are supposedly pretty strong.’
Now he understood exactly what kind of monster he was dealing with.
Clang!
The man threw down his sword and immediately raised both hands.
“I surrender.”
“What’s wrong? Why not keep going?”
“I think I temporarily lost my mind there… hyungnim!”
“Hyungnim?”
Zeon looked utterly dumbfounded.
The scavenger looked at least twice his age.
But the scavenger remained completely shameless.
“The strong are the hyungnim, hahaha!”
“You make decisions quickly.”
“For bastards like us, quick judgment is essential if we want to survive. And I’m especially good at reading the room.”
“Then I suppose you know why I came here.”
“You’re looking for someone, aren’t you?”
“And?”
“There’s a high chance that person came to our nest?”
“That’s right. Then I guess you also know what you should do now?”
“I’ll immediately contact the other nests too.”
“I hope it won’t take too long. As you can see, I’m not a very patient person.”
“Please don’t worry. Just wait about ten minutes, and I’ll bring you news right away.”
The scavenger bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
It looked as though he had thrown his pride away for the dogs.
For survival, pride meant nothing.
What truly mattered to him was getting through this situation without a single injury.
He knew all too well that an injured scavenger simply became prey for other scavengers.
In fact, once this crisis passed, he was already planning to rob the scavengers lying on the floor.
Zeon saw straight through the scavenger’s rapidly turning thoughts.
It was so absurd he almost laughed.
So he asked:
“What’s your name?”
“David.”
“David? Your real name?”
“Of course. I’ve got no reason to lie to you, hahaha!”
David answered smoothly without batting an eye.
But Zeon could already tell the name was fake.
It was probably just the first name that came to mind.
Still, he didn’t care.
He wasn’t interested in a scavenger’s real name anyway.
“Good. David. Starting now, you have ten minutes. If you can’t find what I want within ten minutes, you’ll end up like those guys on the floor.”
“Oh dear, that won’t do. Please tell me everything you know about the people you’re looking for. Names, characteristics, anything.”
“The Helbrin Mercenary Group.”
“Huh?”
“They were operating in the desert under the name Helbrin Mercenary Group.”
“Ah!”
David unconsciously let out a gasp.
He knew exactly who they were.
Carefully, David spoke.
“There are quite a few of them, so finding them shouldn’t be difficult.”
“There aren’t many left now.”
“What?”
“Hashim and one subordinate. The two who entered Neo Seoul first. About four in total.”
“Four?”
David looked like he couldn’t believe it.
And understandably so.
He knew very well how strong the Helbrin Mercenary Group was.
Ordinary scavenger gangs wouldn’t even dare stand against them.
For a group like that to be reduced to only four people—and for Zeon to know that fact—
David wasn’t stupid enough not to understand what that implied.
‘This man definitely wiped out the Helbrin Mercenary Group.’
Goosebumps spread across his body.
He hurriedly pulled a black gem from his pocket.
It was identical to the one Zeon possessed.
The black gem’s official name was a Moss.
Just like the method Zeon had used to locate the nest, it could also be used for simple communication through Morse-like signals.
Of course, to use Moss signals, the mana frequencies between scavengers had to be synchronized beforehand.
David had been a scavenger for a long time, so he had plenty of contacts.
Tap! Tap-tap!
His fingers busily tapped against the Moss.
Zeon carefully observed the movement of David’s hands.
‘So that’s how it’s used.’
Urtian had roughly explained the method before, but seeing it in person was different.
After a while, David smiled brightly.
“I’ve sent messages to everyone, so we should hear good news soon.”
“You’ve done well.”
“Um… may I ask just one thing?”
“What are you curious about?”
“Could I perhaps know your name?”
“Why? Planning revenge?”
“N-no! Absolutely not. I’m just curious…”
“It’s not hard to tell you. But once you hear it, you’ll have to die.”
“Gah! Never mind. I’m not curious at all.”
David frantically waved his hands in panic.
Zeon laughed.
“I’m joking. Why are you so startled?”
“Huh? But…”
“My name is Zeon.”
“Ghk! The Sand Mage? Dear god!”
David clamped a hand over his mouth.
There wasn’t a scavenger alive who didn’t know Zeon.
To scavengers, he was practically a disaster incarnate.
But very few had actually seen him in person.
Most scavengers who encountered Zeon lost their lives.
Instead of answering, Zeon merely smiled.
That smile felt as chilling as the blade of the Grim Reaper.
Cold sweat continuously ran down David’s back.
‘Fuck! The Sand Mage? One wrong move and I would’ve ended up buried alive in the sand.’
He silently praised himself for not recklessly attacking Zeon earlier.
David anxiously waited for a response from his comrades.
‘Why the hell are these bastards taking so long? Don’t tell me they’re ignoring me.’
One minute felt like ten.
Just as the silent gaze from Zeon beside him became unbearable—
Tap-tap!
A signal finally came through the Moss.
“It—it came!”
David hurriedly focused on the incoming signal.
After a moment, wiping sweat from his forehead, he spoke.
“They say Hashim and his men are at Nest Number Five.”
“Are you certain?”
“Those bastards apparently caused a huge scene at Nest Number Five. The guy who contacted me said he got beaten up by them and is pissed off, so it’s probably true.”
“Where is Nest Number Five?”
“Well…”
For some reason, David hesitated.
Zeon’s voice turned cold.
“Where?”
“It’s… near City Hall.”
David tightly shut his eyes.
Zeon looked dumbfounded.
No matter how dark it was under the lamp, building a scavenger nest near City Hall was crossing the line.
“They’ve got guts. Building a nest near City Hall of all places.”