Chapter 422

Chapter 422

Corin muttered as he looked at Zeon’s tent.

“I really can’t stand that human.”

After finishing his meal, Zeon had gone into his tent to rest alone.

While everyone else endured the sandstorm, he was relaxing in comfort by himself.

“The moment I get the chance, I’ll tear that bastard apart. No matter how much of a fire mage he is, once he’s caught in my claws, he’ll shred like paper in an instant.”

“Humans putting on airs—it’s disgusting.”

Shaping and Dempleton agreed with Corin.

Only Aronia spoke with a gloomy expression.

“Can’t we all just get along?”

“Aronia! How long are you going to live so half-heartedly? By now you should know it too—between humans and us lies an unbridgeable gulf.”

“But we can’t live like this forever. Even working together, it’s hard enough to survive in this world.”

“Then humans should be the ones to bow their heads to us first.”

“Why?”

“In this world, the weak are the ones who must bow their heads first.”

“So you’re saying humans are the weak ones?”

“Of course. Just look at El Harun’s situation. Honestly, what role do humans even play there? Elves and dwarves lead, and humans simply follow.”

“But without humans’ help, El Harun wouldn’t have grown this big either.”

“I’ll admit they’ve been somewhat helpful, but without them, there wouldn’t have been any major problem.”

“Still…”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear any more of that talk.”

“…Alright.”

“Don’t give your heart to humans. Don’t show them kindness either.”

At Corin’s cold words, Aronia’s face stiffened.

Dempleton tried to comfort her.

“You may feel hurt now, but in time, you’ll understand. Humans are a race that can never be trusted. Just look at Derode. The bastard ran off with El Harun’s treasure.”

ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net

“…Yeah.”

Aronia answered briefly, but her expression was uneasy. Still, when everyone insisted humans couldn’t be trusted, she couldn’t keep arguing alone.

Her gaze shifted toward Zeon’s tent.

The moment he’d finished eating, he had gone inside and never come out.

Even if it was made with Neo Seoul’s latest technology, a tent was still just fabric in the end.

How much sound could fabric really block?

Unless Zeon was deeply asleep, he would be hearing every word Corin and the others were saying.

And yet, Zeon showed no reaction.

Whether it was because he thought it wasn’t worth responding—or because he was cowed by Corin’s bravado—no one could tell.

When Zeon gave no response, Corin and the others raised their voices even louder.

FLAP!

At last, unable to bear it any longer, Zeon threw open the tent flap and stepped outside.

Startled, Corin shot to his feet and glared at him.

“What? What is it?”

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, ready to draw it at any moment. If it came to it, he would strike Zeon down.

But Zeon didn’t spare Corin a glance—his eyes were fixed on the darkness beyond.

Uslann approached him.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you hear that sound?”

“Sound?”

With a puzzled look, Uslann focused in the same direction Zeon was staring.

After a moment of concentration, he finally caught a faint noise.

Click-click-click!

The sound of teeth chattering.

Uslann’s face paled, and he shouted.

“Everyone, battle positions!”

“Captain?”

Corin looked at Uslann, baffled. He tried to focus as Uslann had, but heard nothing.

Uslann’s eyes turned cold as he spoke to Corin, who still looked doubtful.

“If you don’t want to die, draw your sword.”

“Wh-what? Yes, sir!”

The killing edge in Uslann’s voice snapped Corin to attention.

He drew his sword and fixed his eyes on the darkness. A few moments later, even his ears picked up the sound Uslann had sensed.

His face went pale.

An elf’s hearing range was about five hundred meters. Among elves, Corin’s senses were sharp even by that standard. But Uslann had heard the sound from even farther.

Corin had to admit it.

Though Uslann was human, he was stronger than most elves. That was why they followed him as their captain.

‘Then what about that human? Zeon’s senses are even sharper than Captain Uslann’s? Just how keen are they?’

Goosebumps crawled up his body.

He had thought Zeon was just lucky to awaken a fire skill. But now it seemed even his physical senses surpassed the elves.

“Damn it…”

Biting his lip, he swallowed the bitter taste of defeat.

Click-click-click!

This time, the sound of teeth grinding came clearly from the darkness.

“No way…”

“The Red Locust swarm.”

Shaping and Dempleton realized the source of the ominous sound.

Soon, locusts the size of a meter each emerged from the shadows.

Their bodies glowed red, with huge eyes and ever-churning mandibles.

There was no mistaking it—these were the Red Locusts controlled by Derode.

“That bastard Derode…!”

“He dares counterattack? Bold of you, Derode!”

Rage flared through them all.

The prey had turned on the hunters.

Being treated like prey—they could not forgive it.

In that instant, the Red Locust swarm descended upon Uslann and his men.

This was the same swarm that had claimed countless lives.

Human or beast—it made no difference. They devoured everything, swelling their numbers.

By now, the Red Locusts numbered in the thousands.

They were an army.

At this scale, ordinary Awakeners would be swallowed whole in seconds. But Uslann and his men were no ordinary Awakeners.

They were proven warriors, dispatched to hunt down a traitor of El Harun.

“Chaah!”

“Haaah!”

Weapons swung, and the slaughter began.

CRUNCH!

SPLAT!

Every swing crushed the Red Locusts like brittle snacks.

Shaping transformed into a werewolf, smashing locusts with terrifying power.

Jupiro cut them down with his sword.

Dempleton, Corin, Alonso—they each held their ground.

But none compared to their captain, Uslann.

“Chaah!”

Each swing of his greatsword unleashed a massive aura blade, slicing through three or four Red Locusts at once.

“Haaap! Wind Slash!”

Aronia’s voice rang out, and a cutting gale tore through the locusts.

As a druid, she also wielded some attack skills. Wind Slash was one of them.

It was identical in form and power to the Wind Cutter skill used by human Awakeners.

In moments, over a hundred Red Locusts had fallen.

But still, thousands remained.

Click-click!

Flap-flap!

The grinding of mandibles and the beating of wings echoed from every side.

It felt like they had stepped into hell itself.

These Red Locusts were far stronger and more relentless than ordinary ones.

And worst of all—they feared no death.

The most terrifying beings in the world were those that did not fear death. And here, thousands of them filled the air.

Uslann realized their current tactics would never hold.

Against sheer numbers, martial Awakeners were ill-suited. What they needed was a magic Awakener capable of mass slaughter.

The only one here who fit that role was Aronia—but her magic wasn’t enough to handle so many Red Locusts.

SLASH!

Uslann cut down a locust lunging at him and swept his gaze around.

As expected of El Harun’s elites, none were injured or dead yet. But they couldn’t keep this up forever.

His eyes moved to Zeon.

He was the only one who could turn the tide.

Thankfully, Zeon hadn’t fled. He stood nearby, calmly fending off locusts with Fire Missiles.

“Zeon!”

“Yes!”

“Why aren’t you fighting seriously? With your skills, you could clear these things much faster!”

“I was observing the surroundings.”

“Why?”

“I wondered if Derode might be hiding nearby, watching.”

“You mean he’s close?”

“Doesn’t it seem likely?”

“…You have a point.”

Uslann nodded.

If he were Derode, he too would want to watch the results from afar.

“Zeon!”

“Say it.”

“Can you use that skill again—the one you used on the undead?”

“Of course.”

“Then unleash it with all your power.”

“It’ll get really hot. You sure you’re alright with that?”

“That’s the only way to give Derode a real shock.”

“…You’re right.”

Zeon understood Uslann’s intent at once.

‘To startle the snake by rustling the grass.’

A frightened snake would inevitably reveal itself.

Zeon smiled faintly.

“Then let me light up this night as brilliantly as I can.”

“I’ll be grateful if you do.”

Uslann’s eyes sharpened.

In that moment, Zeon spoke.

“Fire Rain.”

FWOOSH!

No sooner had the words left his mouth than fire poured down from the sky.

The fiery rain struck the locust swarm blanketing the earth.

KIIIIEEE!

SKREEEEE!

Locusts shrieked, thrashing as flames engulfed them.

They tried to scatter, to escape the burning rain—but it was useless.

Fire Rain was a skill specialized in wide-area slaughter.

And this time, Zeon had poured immense mana into it.

The fireballs were larger, hotter, more terrifying.

The heat could be felt from a distance.

SIZZLE! POP! CRACK!

Carapaces melted and burst under the infernal heat.

In an instant, thirty percent of the swarm was annihilated.

The power was overwhelming.

Corin and the others from different races stood slack-jawed, speechless at the destructive force they had tried so hard to dismiss.

Even compared to the fight with the undead beasts, this was far more powerful, far more dazzling.

It was as though the world itself had become a sea of fire.

“Damn it… what the hell…”

“Shit! This is unfair. Some of us hack away with swords until we drop, and he just flicks a finger and turns the whole field into an inferno.”

The absurdity left them beyond jealousy.

At that moment, Uslann’s eyes flashed.

“There you are.”

His gaze locked on a hill beyond the locust swarm. Mana turbulence rippled there.

Startled by Zeon’s display of power, Derode had revealed his presence.

“Chaah!”

Uslann launched himself toward the hill.

The remaining locusts hurled themselves at him to block his path.

But Uslann’s greatsword spun like a whirlwind.

CRRRUNCH!

Locusts shattered to pieces against the massive blade.

Bursting through the swarm, Uslann brought his sword down on the hill.

“Derode!”

BOOOOM!

The sandy hill exploded like a volcanic eruption under the strike.