Chapter 359

Zeon frowned.

At first, he thought he had seen something wrong.

A hideous face covered in wrinkles, with massive tusks jutting out between its lips.

A necklace strung with unidentified bones dangled around its neck, and in its hand was a huge bone spear.

It was an Orc.

An old Orc of indeterminate age was secretly watching Kim Jinsu and the Awakened hunt the Armored Ants.

Humans grew weaker as they aged, but Orcs were different.

The older an Orc became, the stronger it was.

The world of Orcs was governed completely by the law of the jungle.

Old Orcs received no special treatment.

Only the strong survived long enough to grow old.

Weak Orcs never lived long enough to age—unless they were extremely rare beings like shamans.

That was why, in Orc society, the elderly were not weaklings but powerhouses.

At the very least, they were strong enough not to lose to younger Orcs in battle.

On top of that, they possessed the experience and wisdom accumulated through age, making them even more dangerous than young Orcs.

The old Orc observing from behind the rock was highly likely to be such a powerful warrior.

‘Was there an Orc settlement around here?’

Zeon searched his memory, but he was certain he had never seen Orcs in this area before.

‘Did a new Orc tribe settle here?’

If an Orc tribe really had settled nearby, things would become troublesome.

Orcs never tolerated others hunting within what they considered their territory.

They viewed everything within sight as belonging to them, and any living being active within that area was automatically considered an enemy.

Countless Orc tribes roamed the desert.

Even though Zeon had dealt with the Orc Lord and his subordinates, many Orcs still remained and continued reproducing vigorously.

Completely exterminating Orcs was impossible.

“Block the right side! The Armored Ants are breaking through over there!”

At that moment, Kim Jinsu’s urgent shout rang out.

The defensive line on the right side was collapsing.

If the Armored Ants broke through there, hunting them would become much more difficult, which was why Kim Jinsu was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Fortunately, one of the Awakened who still had some energy to spare rushed over to reinforce the vulnerable right flank.

Thanks to that, the line stabilized once more.

Zeon, whose attention had briefly been diverted, looked back toward the rock where the old Orc had been hiding.

But the old Orc was already gone.

“...Tsk.”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

He had a bad feeling about it.

But by now, it was too late to track the old Orc.

By the time Zeon crossed the fissure, the old Orc would already have vanished without a trace.

Old Orcs were experts at leaving no tracks in the desert.

Tracking one was no easy task.

In the end, Zeon cleanly gave up on pursuing the old Orc.

Right now, hunting the Armored Ants was more important.

Drawn by the Flame Armadillo corpses, the Armored Ants continued swarming endlessly onto the surface.

They had already killed over two hundred.

There was no point killing any more.

They simply lacked enough transport vehicles to carry additional corpses.

Zeon shouted toward Kim Jinsu.

“Throw the Flame Armadillo corpses into the fissure. Once you do, the Armored Ants will stop coming up.”

“Understood!”

With that reply, Kim Jinsu pushed the Flame Armadillo corpses into the fissure.

Immediately, the number of Armored Ants emerging onto the surface noticeably decreased, and eventually they stopped appearing altogether.

Only then did Kim Jinsu and the Awakened collapse onto the ground to rest.

“Haa! Haa! I’m dying here.”

“I used skills to my heart’s content today.”

“Heh! Just how many did we kill?”

“Fuck! That felt amazing.”

The Awakened burst into laughter.

They had fought countless battles before, but this was the first time they had beaten down magical beasts so overwhelmingly one-sidedly.

There had been dangerous moments, but every time they had overcome them together.

Most of all, Levin joining the battle had helped tremendously.

It had become incredibly easy to kill the Armored Ants that had been electrocuted, stunned, or paralyzed by Purple Lightning.

Thanks to that, they conserved a great deal of energy.

Even after killing so many Armored Ants, they still had strength left over.

Zeon approached Kim Jinsu’s group and spoke.

“If you’re done resting, let’s retreat with the corpses. Right now they’re distracted by the Flame Armadillo corpses, but once they finish devouring them, they may come swarming out for revenge.”

“Understood. Everyone heard him, right? Load the corpses onto the vehicles and get out of here.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

The Awakened and the porters worked together to load the Armored Ant corpses onto the transport vehicles.

It took less than an hour to finish loading all the corpses.

“We’ve loaded everything.”

“Okay! Let’s get the hell out of here before those ant bastards come looking for revenge.”

“Yes!”

With thunderous replies, the vehicles began leaving the fissure behind.

Once they were a considerable distance away, the Awakened erupted into cheers.

“We succeeded without a single casualty!”

“This feels fucking incredible!”

“Uwahaha!”

More than completing the mission itself, the fact that not a single person had died filled them with joy.

Even Awakened, who lived constantly close to death, found it unbearable to lose comrades.

Until now, they had mourned countless companions.

But this time, there was no need for that.

They could not even remember the last time they had felt this carefree.

The convoy moved far away from the fissure.

Zeon found a suitable spot and had the armored bus stop there.

“This should be far enough. Everyone must be exhausted, so let’s rest here tonight and head for Neo Seoul tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Kim Jinsu answered readily.

Once the campsite was decided, the porters sprang into action.

Using the armored bus and the transport vehicles, they formed a circular perimeter and created a temporary camp while preparing food.

Kim Jinsu shouted.

“The hunt ended successfully, so bring out all the food we brought!”

The Awakened and the porters cheered at his decision.

Because of their brutal schedule, they had been sick and tired of eating nothing but tasteless preserved rations.

“Hell yeah!”

“Bring everything out!”

“Tonight we feast until our belts burst!”

The workers brought out all the special food they had prepared.

Zeon, Brielle, and Levin each took a seat as well.

A few of the Awakened approached Levin.

“Thanks! We were able to hunt much more easily because of you.”

“I’m grateful too. You saved me when things got dangerous.”

All of them were people Levin had rescued.

Levin’s face reddened slightly as he replied,

“It was nothing. It was only natural.”

“If you ever need anything later, tell us. We’ll help however we can.”

“Yeah! We’re all from the same slums, so come find us anytime.”

“You’re one of our brothers now.”

The Awakened in Neo Seoul and the Awakened from the slums had different personalities.

If the Awakened of Neo Seoul were more calculating, the Awakened of the slums were far more driven by emotion.

It was because they shared the same hardships at rock bottom, creating a strong sense of kinship.

Once they suffered together like this, even strangers were accepted as friends.

To Kim Jinsu and the other Awakened, Levin was already a comrade-in-arms and practically a friend.

Levin felt the same way.

He, too, came from the bottom.

The Awakened and Levin quickly hit it off, laughing and chatting together.

Kim Jinsu approached Zeon.

“Thank you for your guidance. Thanks to you, we learned an efficient way to hunt Armored Ants. I won’t forget this kindness.”

“It’s nothing worth calling a kindness. Anyone could figure it out with a bit of thought.”

“I’ve fought quite a lot of magical beasts myself, but I never once thought about hunting them the way you do, Mr. Zeon. If it weren’t for you, we never would have known methods like this existed. Then even more people would’ve died. It may not seem like much to you, but for bottom-tier Awakened like us, this is precious knowledge that drastically increases our chances of survival. Thank you.”

At Kim Jinsu’s lavish praise, Zeon awkwardly scratched his cheek.

It made him feel strangely embarrassed.

To avoid the awkwardness, Zeon looked toward the transport vehicles surrounding the campsite like a fortress wall.

The massive transport trucks were packed with Armored Ant corpses.

With this many, they could probably produce enough sand hardener to build homes for tens of thousands of people.

The corpses of F-rank magical beasts—considered trash in Neo Seoul—could become a miracle for the slums.

Now all they had to do was safely transport the Armored Ant corpses back to the slums.

Then homes for tens of thousands of people could be built.

That alone made the hardships of this expedition worthwhile.

***

After the feast ended, Zeon and Brielle returned to the armored bus.

—Beii!

Gaia, who had remained alone inside the bus, happily welcomed them back.

Floating around Zeon and Brielle while wagging its tail, Gaia circled excitedly.

Brielle hugged Gaia tightly and apologized.

“Sorry! You must’ve been lonely all by yourself, right?”

—Ppii!

“Thanks for understanding!”

Zeon also stroked Gaia’s head and spoke.

“You behaved well, Gaia. You stayed alone without causing trouble.”

—Beiiing!

“Right. Now go play with Brielle as much as you want. Nobody’s going to interrupt you.”

Outside, Levin and the Awakened were still laughing and chatting noisily.

Even though they were on an expedition and hadn’t touched alcohol, the atmosphere was so lively it felt as if everyone were drunk.

Levin and the Awakened were proudly sharing stories of their exploits.

It looked like their conversation would continue for a long while, so Zeon and Brielle had come into the bus first.

Leaning his chair back, Zeon said to Brielle,

“I’m going to sleep first.”

“Okay! I’m gonna talk things over with Gaia for a bit before sleeping.”

“Alchemy?”

“Yeah! I suddenly thought of something…”

“Go ahead.”

Recently, Brielle’s inspiration had been exploding nonstop.

Good ideas came to her constantly.

Even during the journey here, it had happened several times.

Whenever inspiration struck, Brielle would conduct simple experiments with Gaia or jot ideas down in a notebook.

Together with Gaia, Brielle moved to a secluded corner at the rear of the armored bus and whispered quietly.

She was trying not to disturb Zeon’s sleep.

“So the Armored Ants smelled the Flame Armadillo and came up from the fissure. How else could the ants below know there was a Flame Armadillo corpse up above? They definitely smelled it. Then instead of going through the trouble of hunting Flame Armadillos, couldn’t we just recreate the scent itself? If we make a perfume that smells exactly like a Flame Armadillo and spray it around, wouldn’t it lure Armored Ants much more efficiently?”

—Ppii!

“Exactly! The problem is the formula. On the way back, we should catch another Flame Armadillo and analyze it.”

—Ppii! Ppi!

“Okay, okay.”

Listening to Brielle and Gaia’s conversation, Zeon gradually drifted off to sleep.

He did not know how long he had slept.

Suddenly, Zeon opened his eyes with an uneasy feeling.

The inside of the vehicle was dark, while Brielle and Gaia were fast asleep.

Careful not to wake them, Zeon quietly stepped out of the bus.

At the campsite, the Awakened, the porters, and Levin were all sprawled out asleep.

After briefly scanning the camp, Zeon climbed onto the roof of a transport vehicle.

“Huh? Why are you already awake? It’s still before dawn…”

Kim Jinsu, who had been standing guard atop the vehicle, looked puzzled at Zeon’s appearance.

“Wait…”

Interrupting Kim Jinsu, Zeon stared sharply into the darkness beyond the transport vehicles.

His behavior instantly put Kim Jinsu on edge.

This was the first time Zeon had acted like this during the entire journey.

After staring into the darkness for a moment, deep lines formed between Zeon’s brows.

“I think we need to wake everyone up.”

“…What?”

“Magical beasts.”

“Are you serious?”

“If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of teeth clacking together. It’s Armored Ants.”

“What?”

Following Zeon’s words, Kim Jinsu focused his hearing.

Then he heard a faint noise.

Clack! Clack-clack!

Just as Zeon said—it was the sound of teeth grinding together.

Without another thought, Kim Jinsu shouted toward the campsite.

“Everyone, wake up! Magical beasts!”