Chapter 358

Chapter 358

Grrrr!

Where the flame wolves' gazes converged—there stood Zeon.

In their eyes, filled with fear, was a human.

Flame wolves, creatures that normally exuded confidence and aggression, were cowering in terror before a mere human—Zeon.

Kim Jinsoo and his subordinates watched the bizarre scene with bewildered expressions.

It was an incomprehensible situation based on everything they knew.

A monster fearing a human? It was unheard of. Not once had they seen such a case.

And yet, it was happening right before their eyes.

There was no doubt—the flame wolves were terrified of Zeon.

Whimper... Whiiine...

Even though Zeon was standing still, some of the wolves were already whimpering as if on the verge of collapsing.

They looked exactly like frightened puppies.

Zeon silently looked over the pack of flame wolves.

One particularly large specimen caught his eye.

Nearly twice the size of the others, it had a deep crimson coat and a distinctive torn ear—cut halfway down.

That one was the alpha.

Grrrr...

The alpha let out a low whimper, as if offering an excuse, while looking at Zeon.

Zeon stared back and spoke.

"So it’s you. You've grown a lot."

That deep red coat was unmistakable, but the torn ear made it even more obvious.

Zeon was the one who had slashed that ear.

As Zeon’s gaze met its eyes directly, the alpha trembled and looked away, unable to endure the pressure.

It turned its head and shuddered.

Though a long time had passed, it still remembered clearly.

The moment when Zeon had mercilessly slaughtered its kin.

Of course, the flame wolves had attacked first.

To their eyes, a lone human wandering the desert looked like easy prey. But it didn’t take them long to realize how mistaken they were.

Every wolf that lunged at Zeon had been shredded by the sand.

Hundreds of them, gone without a trace.

The wolves here today were the offspring of those slain that day.

Zeon had spared them because they were too young.

Those young wolves had grown up and formed a new pack, but the memory of that day was still vividly etched into their minds. That’s why they recoiled the moment they saw him.

The bus carrying Zeon passed right through the middle of the flame wolf pack. Behind it followed the buggies with the Awakened and the transport vehicles driven by porters.

Normally, the flame wolves would’ve attacked long before now—but instead, they parted to the sides, creating a clear path for the convoy to pass.

It was a sight no one had ever seen before, and both the Awakened and the porters could only focus on driving, stunned.

The wolves didn’t make a single aggressive move until every last vehicle had passed through.

Standing atop the bus, Zeon continued to watch the alpha flame wolf.

The wind gently rustled its mane.

It looked quite majestic, he thought.

In truth, the rational choice would’ve been to wipe them all out, for the safety of future travelers. But even if he did, another pack would eventually take their place.

The most terrifying thing about monsters was how explosively they reproduced. Eradicating them completely was impossible.

It was better that these wolves, already imprinted with fear of humans, remained here.

They’d think twice before attacking people again.

And so, the convoy made it safely through the territory of the flame wolves.

“Ha! That was insane. We just passed straight through a monster pack without even fighting.”

“You’re laughing? I was clenching everything trying not to piss myself.”

“One thing’s for sure—we’ll never experience anything like that again.”

Relieved, the Awakened and the porters exhaled and exchanged banter.

Passing through a monster pack without swinging a single weapon—it was exhilarating.

Kim Jinsoo looked toward the armored bus.

Zeon, who had been standing on the roof, was gone—he must have gone inside right after they cleared the wolves.

“I’m speechless. What do you even do to make monsters afraid of you and open a path?”

“That’s just insane. Truly insane!”

His subordinate shook his head in disbelief.

It was a thrilling experience, enough to make their knees weak—and somehow, it felt like they'd be having more such experiences as long as they traveled with Zeon.

And that feeling proved true immediately.

Beyond the flame wolves’ territory, they encountered another beast—one of the desert’s tyrants: the Sandworm.

Zeon stepped down from the bus and spoke briefly with Kim Jinsoo.

“This area has especially fine sand. Sandworms love it. The grains transmit vibrations well, so they’ll notice the vehicles as soon as we enter.”

“What should we do, then?”

“We find a path.”

“Excuse me?”

“At a glance, all sand might look the same, but there are coarse patches that give off a particular smell. It’s barely noticeable to humans, but extremely unpleasant to sandworms. When they detect that scent, they avoid it.”

“How can we tell the difference? Ah—of course. You can. You’d detect even the subtlest variation in the sand.”

“Exactly. Do you see that?”

Zeon pointed at a high ridge.

“Yes.”

“Look closely. See that darker brown trail running along the crest? It stands out from the rest.”

“Yes! It looks like a stripe running through the sand.”

“Right. That trail is the one to follow. It’s your best bet to avoid a run-in with the sandworms.”

“Thank you so much.”

Kim Jinsoo was genuinely grateful.

It might’ve seemed like nothing to Zeon, but to people like Kim Jinsoo, it was life-saving information.

Tips like these were rarely shared.

Guilds and dungeon raiders hoarded their knowledge, never leaking it to outsiders.

In Neo Seoul, everything had to be learned through personal risk and experience.

In that sense, Kim Jinsoo was lucky.

Zeon had offered this vital information without asking for anything in return.

Following his advice, the First Escort Squad moved toward the ridge where the brown sand trail ran.

Crunch!

Their vehicle wheels rumbled noisily across the sand.

If a sandworm had been present, it should’ve come charging at the sound.

But even with the ruckus, no sandworms appeared.

“Maybe there just aren’t any sandworms here?”

One of the porters voiced his doubt quietly.

Pshhh!

Suddenly, a plume of sand shot into the sky in the distance.

A moment later, the massive head of a beast burst forth.

A sandworm had emerged from the depths.

It writhed, as if sniffing the air.

The Awakened and porters watched it in breathless silence.

After soaking in the fresh air for a moment, the sandworm slithered back underground.

Even long after it vanished, the people could barely let out a sigh of relief.

“There really was one…”

“Damn! I nearly pissed myself again.”

“Who was the idiot saying there weren’t any sandworms?”

Zeon had been right.

There were sandworms here.

Had they not followed his instructions and taken the brown sand path, they would’ve been attacked.

Because of him, they avoided combat, conserved their strength, and gained invaluable knowledge.

No one doubted Zeon anymore.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Kim Jinsoo and the Awakened followed Zeon’s directions without question.

After ten days, they finally reached their destination—without a single casualty or injury.

It was a first in the history of the First Escort Squad.

For Awakened and porters used to suffering wounds on every trip, this had been the most peaceful journey ever.

They were immensely grateful to Zeon, who made it possible.

“This is where the Armored Ants live?”

“Yes. This place has the ideal conditions for them.”

“Hmmm.”

Kim Jinsoo let out a hum as he stared ahead.

A massive crack split the earth before them—like a god had struck the land with a giant axe.

It was so deep, sunlight couldn’t reach inside, and it remained dark even at midday.

“Whew! With a crevice that big, there must be an insane number of them.”

“You’re right. At least several thousand ants are living in there.”

“Yikes. That’s seriously dangerous.”

“We don’t need to fight all of them. We’re only hunting the ones on the outer edges.”

“But won’t the others come swarming out when their kin are attacked?”

Kim Jinsoo’s voice rose in alarm.

“As I said, this place is a special case. There are so many of them packed in that food is scarce. The ants won’t care if a few go missing.”

“Then this is the perfect opportunity for us.”

His eyes sparkled.

He wasn’t a fool.

He understood that food shortages led to competition and division.

With thousands of Armored Ants crammed together, they wouldn’t see each other as family—but as rivals.

This was one of those times.

“Should we head down now?”

“No need for that.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll lure them up. Makes hunting easier.”

“How?”

“Bait. If we use the right bait, the outer ants will surface on their own.”

“Don’t tell me…”

Kim Jinsoo and the Awakened turned their gazes toward the rear transport vehicle.

Inside were the carcasses of several monsters.

They were Flame Armadillos, hunted en route.

While they had avoided most monsters, Zeon had insisted they go after the Flame Armadillos.

Flame Armadillos were D-rank beasts.

With five-meter bodies and scales harder than steel, they were heavily armored.

When attacked, they would launch fiery scales, making them extremely troublesome to deal with.

And even when you killed one, it wasn’t worth much.

Aside from the scales, the rest of the carcass had little value.

Because of that, Awakened generally avoided hunting them.

But Zeon had insisted—and even made them bring the "useless" carcasses all the way here.

With a smile, Zeon explained,

“Yes. The Flame Armadillo carcass is the Armored Ant’s favorite food. Because their fiery, dense scales make them nearly impossible to hunt, they go crazy for it.”

“So then…”

“Yes. If we place the carcasses at the mouth of the crevice, the ants will come up on their own.”

“Such a method exists? This is a whole new world.”

Kim Jinsoo and the others marveled in admiration.

Zeon clapped and spoke.

“That’s enough marveling. Let’s get moving.”

“Yes, sir! You heard him. Get those Flame Armadillo corpses unloaded.”

“Understood!”

The Awakened rushed to the transport.

Each carcass was five meters long and immensely heavy.

They all worked together to unload them.

Once they laid the bodies near the crevice, they waited in silence.

Chik, chikit!

Soon, a strange sound filled the air—and a pair of antennae emerged.

An Armored Ant.

It twitched its antennae excitedly and released pheromones in all directions.

Others, catching the signal, began to surface.

Zeon stared them down and said,

“We have to hunt them before they carry off the bait.”

“Got it. Everyone, attack!”

“Yes, sir!”

With a shout, the Awakened charged the Armored Ants.

As they emerged, one by one, the ants were struck down by swords and blades.

But the Awakened alone weren’t enough.

Levin rolled up his sleeves.

“I’d better join in.”

Zap!

Turning spectral, Levin unleashed Purple Lightning upon the ants.

It was a slaughter.

Watching him, Brielle murmured,

“He’s really enjoying himself.”

At that moment, Zeon looked across the crevice.

On the rocks opposite—he saw a head peeking out.