Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 631

Chapter 631

El Harun and the Steel Fortress continued their back-and-forth clash.

Countless monsters and Awakened were killed or wounded.

The sand in the region where the battle had taken place had been dyed red with blood.

Del Roa’s complexion as he looked toward the Steel Fortress was extremely dark.

They had already launched assaults for ten straight days, yet the fortress halfway up the sandstone mountain still stood firm.

Del Roa thought the name Steel Fortress suited it perfectly.

Even Del Roa, an enemy, could not help but admire the Steel Fortress’s incredible defensive power.

Even gigantic monsters had approached and attacked the fortress, yet failed to inflict any real damage.

That only made him want it more.

He wanted it desperately.

No matter how many sacrifices it took.

He regretted not discovering and claiming such a natural fortress for himself beforehand.

“It’s still not too late. If we can seize that fortress, there won’t be any more defections.”

Even while the war raged on, countless people deserted.

Some were overwhelmed by the Steel Fortress’s terrifying defensive power and fell into despair, while others were frightened by the massive casualties.

Del Roa imposed strict control to prevent deserters, but it was useless.

Defectors were appearing everywhere.

Those who abandoned the fight for various reasons vanished into the darkness of the desert in groups of dozens or even hundreds.

There was no way to know how long they would survive.

Getting here safely with little damage had only been possible thanks to Del Roa’s authority and their overwhelming numbers, but surviving in the desert as a small group was an entirely different matter.

The difference between having Del Roa’s enormous umbrella of protection and not having it was beyond comparison.

But the deserters did not realize that.

They believed they too could survive in the desert just fine, unaware of what a massive delusion that was.

The problem was that the number of deserters was increasing noticeably.

At this rate, their forces would be cut in half before they even captured the Steel Fortress.

“Today, we must capture the Steel Fortress no matter what.”

Del Roa gazed toward the front lines with deeply sunken eyes.

Today was special.

It was the day all the forces that had not been deployed until now would be mobilized.

Krudu and the giants stood at the front, waiting to sortie.

Normally, giants almost never wore armor.

They trusted their bodies, which were tougher than most armor.

Yet now they were clad in all kinds of armor.

Helmets, breastplates, even shields.

That was how much they were staking everything on this battle.

They had cast aside all pride.

Right now, they had to survive and seize the Steel Fortress.

Only then could they stop the defections and fractures among the heteromorphs and rebuild a united El Harun here.

Krudu shouted,

“Today, we will absolutely seize this place. Fight with your lives on the line.”

“UOOOOOH!”

“We’ll stake our lives on it!”

The giants roared, rousing their courage.

They were called a warrior race.

Monsters whose raw physical strength alone rivaled ogres.

Seeing them fully armed while raising their morale was overwhelmingly intimidating.

Behind the giants stood countless heteromorphs in full battle gear, waiting only for the order to charge.

“Move out!”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

With a loud shout, Krudu led the charge.

Countless giants and heteromorphs followed behind him.

The advance of the great army sent thick clouds of sand billowing into the air.

Seong Ho-yeon and Grain watched the enemy advance from the Steel Fortress.

Behind them waited countless Awakened.

Like the heteromorphs, they too had fully prepared themselves.

These were Awakened who had fought for over ten days straight.

It was the first time they had ever battled heteromorphs for this long.

Countless people had been injured.

The reason the death toll was lower than expected was thanks to Remura and Brielle’s potions.

No matter how severe the injury, as long as someone still clung to life, they somehow managed to save them.

As a result, Remura and the healers were being worked to the bone, yet they endured with the sole determination to save even one more person.

Thanks to that, the number of deaths was far lower than anticipated.

Some of those who had suffered life-threatening wounds could not easily return to the battlefield even after recovering.

They had developed a kind of trauma.

But their numbers were very few.

Awakened were beings far removed from ordinary people to begin with.

Their minds and nerves were far tougher and stronger than normal people could ever imagine.

Experiencing a brush with death once was not enough to break them so easily.

The Awakened who returned to the battlefield became even stronger through combat.

After fighting side by side for ten days, the camaraderie among the Awakened deepened even further.

Once peace returned, they would go back to their respective districts and compete fiercely again, but for now, they recognized one another as comrades they could entrust their backs to.

The leaders dispatched from each district were the same.

Under the command of the Numbers, they clearly understood their roles and directed their subordinates accordingly.

Because of that, their combat power had grown even stronger.

No one had to say it aloud.

They all felt it.

That today would be the final battle fought here.

There were no more monsters left between El Harun and the Steel Fortress.

They had all been killed over the past ten days.

As a result, the damage had been immense, but regardless, every obstacle had been removed.

Now the real battle was beginning.

The Steel Fortress intended to stake everything on today’s battle.

Seong Ho-yeon quietly said to the leaders of each district,

“Let’s go. We end this today.”

Unlike Krudu, he did not say anything to boost morale.

Yet not a single person doubted him.

Because until now, he had displayed overwhelming combat power worthy of being the leader of the Numbers.

The number of large monsters that had fallen to him was beyond counting.

That was why everyone trusted and relied on him.

The leaders of each district shouted,

“Let’s go! Today we crush those bastards completely!”

“The Steel Fortress belongs to us! Don’t let a single one of them set foot in here!”

“WAAAAAH!”

“Move out!”

The lined-up Awakened answered with thunderous cheers.

Seong Ho-yeon and the other Awakened poured out of the Steel Fortress like a receding tide.

Leaving behind only the minimum number of Awakened necessary to defend the fortress, everyone else headed into battle.

Those not directly participating in combat were mostly ordinary people or support personnel from the rear.

They desperately prayed for the Awakened fighting in battle to return safely in victory.

Jin Geum-ho and Seo Tae-ran watched those people from a distance.

“At last, Neo Seoul is becoming one.”

“But will this really be alright?”

Seo Tae-ran asked carefully.

Winning the war was good, but the districts becoming united could threaten City Hall’s authority.

But Jin Geum-ho replied as though it were nothing important.

“We can’t keep them divided forever. The situation has changed, so we must adapt flexibly. Now that there’s a common enemy called El Harun, the districts’ power is far less likely to turn toward City Hall.”

“You mean there are plenty of places to expand beyond Neo Seoul itself?”

“Exactly! This portal made that possible. As long as the portals exist, Neo Seoul’s territory can expand infinitely. Find a safe place and install a portal there, and that place becomes Neo Seoul.”

“But aren’t portals limited?”

“You really don’t know Zeon.”

“Hm?”

“Do you think that fox will be satisfied with the existing portals?”

“Then…”

“That’s right! There are many talented people around him. They’re probably already researching portals. It may be difficult for now, but eventually they’ll produce real results.”

“Mm!”

Seo Tae-ran let out a low sound.

She wanted to deny Jin Geum-ho’s words, but she could not.

Because she too acknowledged Zeon.

Things impossible even with the power of Neo Seoul’s massive city, Zeon had accomplished alone multiple times.

One individual was surpassing the strength of Neo Seoul’s twenty million citizens.

Moreover, numerous talented people surrounded Zeon.

Levin, Brielle, Remura, Jeto, and many others were stationed throughout various places.

Their strength and potential rivaled even the Numbers.

Most of the Numbers had not possessed that level of ability at the same age.

In terms of growth potential, Levin and the others were far superior.

“The underground city, the Steel Fortress, the Forest of Origins—what else is he hiding? He’ll definitely install portals in those hidden places. Imagine a future where all those places are connected to Neo Seoul. Compared to such a brilliant future, power struggles within Neo Seoul become nothing.”

“You’re right.”

Seo Tae-ran nodded.

When circumstances change, one’s way of thinking and perspective must change as well.

Just like Jin Geum-ho.

Seo Tae-ran thought she needed to learn that flexibility from him.

If even the aging Jin Geum-ho could change, she could not remain bound to old ways forever.

BOOOOM!

At that moment, a massive explosion erupted right in front of the Steel Fortress.

At last, the heteromorphs of El Harun and the Awakened of the Steel Fortress had collided.

“Dieee!”

“YAAAH!”

“HYAAT!”

Roars and battle cries rang out chaotically.

The Awakened on both sides unleashed their strongest skills as they pressured each other.

Since the Great Cataclysm, this was the first time so many Awakened had fought in one place.

The sight of Awakened—who normally seemed so lofty—howling like beasts as they swung their weapons was utterly desperate.

The heteromorphs from El Harun were no different.

After brutal life-and-death struggles, killing their opponents and becoming drenched in blood from head to toe, there was no trace of elegance left in them.

“KRAAAH!”

“AAAH!”

As they screamed and launched attacks, they looked no different from beasts.

They swung weapons and unleashed skills at the enemies directly before them.

But because their opponents responded in the exact same way, the battle only grew fiercer.

It looked like how ancient wars from hundreds of years ago must have been fought.

Though the battle had only just begun, countless people were already dead or wounded.

Even so, the Steel Fortress side had it better.

Whenever there were injured, those waiting behind risked their lives to rescue them.

Then Remura and the healers treated them with everything they had.

Those with lighter injuries drank Brielle’s potions themselves and jumped right back into battle.

The heteromorphs, on the other hand, had no such means of treatment.

Healing potions were extremely precious to them as well, and only a few possessed them.

And anyone wealthy enough to own healing potions was usually such a powerful expert that they rarely got injured in the first place.

Because of that, the low-ranking Awakened were the first to die.

As the battle progressed to a certain point, everyone instinctively sought opponents matching their own level.

Low-ranking Awakened avoided stronger opponents, while the powerful had no spare attention for the weak.

“You’re my opponent.”

The one who blocked Krudu, who rampaged like a madman, was a man wearing a necklace strung with round chunks of metal.

Though tiny compared to the giant Krudu, he possessed an enormous muscular build for a human.

The man’s name was Oh Moo-jin.

He was the third member of the Numbers.

Oh Moo-jin instinctively realized that, in terms of compatibility, he was Krudu’s opponent.

Krudu looked at Oh Moo-jin blocking his path and sneered.

“You think someone like you can stop me? I could crush you with a single finger.”

“Try it. If you can.”

“What?”

At that moment, Oh Moo-jin ripped all the metal chunks from around his neck and hurled them onto the ground.

KRRRK!

Instantly, the chunks of metal transformed with a metallic screech.

Countless pieces fused into one, giving birth to a gigantic being.

It was a golem.

A massive metal golem as large as Krudu himself.

Oh Moo-jin’s title was Master of Steel.

The owner of a broken ability that could create golems as long as there was steel.

Oh Moo-jin shouted,

“Now you get it? I’m your opponent, big guy!”

“How dare you!”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The two gigantic beings collided in the middle of the desert.