Chapter 423

Chapter 423

“Fire Rain!”

Zeon once again brought down a rain of fire upon the desert.

Hundreds of Red Locusts were charred to a crisp.

The stench of burnt locusts spread thick through the desert.

By Zeon alone, half the swarm was annihilated.

Clack-clack!

At that, even the Red Locusts dared not rush him. They fell back, gnashing their mandibles from a distance.

Corin muttered with a look of disbelief.

“Never thought I’d live to see beasts cower before a human.”

“The Red Locusts are frightened. And well they should be. No matter how fearless, if they see their own kind slaughtered like this…”

Dempleton shook his head with a weary expression.

Insect-type beasts that swarmed by nature did not fear death.

For them, dying for the swarm was a given.

Death was not the end, but a new beginning for the next generation—that belief was deeply ingrained.

That was why insect-type beasts never hesitated to charge even an enemy that meant certain death.

And yet now, the Red Locusts denied their own instincts, trembling in fear.

That was how overwhelming Zeon’s power was.

The swarm, which had wavered before him, suddenly shrieked and pulled back.

Kiiiieee!

Clack-clack!

The survivors beat their wings frantically and fled.

Their speed was so great that the Awakeners didn’t even dare to give chase.

Only once the locusts had vanished did Zeon approach Uslann.

At Uslann’s feet lay a severed arm.

One thing was certain—it wasn’t Uslann’s.

Both his arms were firmly attached.

Zeon asked him,

“You missed him?”

“He got away, left one arm behind.”

“Let’s pursue immediately.”

“You think you can track him?”

“Following the Red Locusts isn’t difficult. They leave plenty of traces.”

“Then let’s do it. Give him time, who knows what tricks he’ll pull.”

Uslann agreed at once.

Derode had come charging in so boldly, only to lose an arm. He would be shaken now.

If they let the moment slip, catching him would only grow harder.

Uslann barked an order to his men.

“Track him, now.”

“Yes, Captain!”

They began pursuit at once.

At the lead was Corin, the elf ranger.

“They went east.”

He immediately pinpointed the direction Derode and the swarm had taken.

Without hesitation, Uslann and the rest ran that way.

When it came to tracking, Corin was the best in El Harun. No one doubted his skill.

Zeon silently followed after them.

Kiiii!

Now and then a Red Locust would leap from hiding to ambush, but Jupiro or Shaping cut them down before Zeon even needed to move.

Red Locusts were terrifying only in swarms. Alone, they were no great threat.

And there was no way Derode didn’t know that.

Leaving stragglers behind wasn’t just to buy time.

He was burning through them, forcing his way to somewhere he had to reach.

Judging from his movements so far, it could only be a dungeon.

Sensing his intent, Uslann shouted,

“Faster! His final destination will be a dungeon nearby!”

“Yes!”

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Corin pushed harder.

No one knew how long they ran.

A pursuit in the dead of night was deadly dangerous for both sides, but neither stopped.

KRAAASH!

Suddenly, a giant beast burst out of the sand and attacked.

“Damn it!”

“Die already!”

CRUNCH!

Shaping and Dempleton stepped forward, tearing it apart.

But that was only the beginning.

Whether by accident or by design, Derode had roused the beasts of every territory he crossed.

Beasts woken from slumber, beasts lurking in the dark for prey—one after another they fell upon Uslann’s group.

“Urgh!”

“Damn it all!”

No matter how elite they were, against such relentless assaults they were wounded and worn down.

If not for Zeon intervening to aid them, one of them might already have fallen.

That was how dangerous it had become.

And still, they refused to give up.

They hadn’t been chosen for this pursuit team by chance.

Though of different races and temperaments, they shared a common trait: a will of iron, unyielding persistence.

No matter how wounded, no matter what hardship blocked the way—they never gave in.

Thanks to that, they steadily closed the distance with Derode.

WHRRRR!

In the distance, a locust swarm beat its wings furiously.

Atop the largest of them rode Derode.

“Urgh! Faster—fly faster!”

Clutching his severed shoulder, he spurred the locust on.

“It was a mistake! I should have gone straight into the dungeon!”

He bit his lip until it bled.

The dungeon he sought, he still hadn’t found—while Uslann’s party pressed ever closer, recovering the dungeons he’d disturbed.

So he had struck them in the night, desperate.

He had never truly expected to wipe them all out.

He only hoped to kill a few, weaken their strength.

But none had died. Instead, he had lost an arm.

“That bastard! If not for him, using that fire skill…”

Many insect beasts were vulnerable to fire magic.

Red Locusts more than most.

Ordinary flames they could endure, but once it passed the threshold into extreme heat, they were helpless.

The grand swarm he had risked so much to gather had been devastated by Zeon.

Now, he had no choice but to flee.

“Damn it! Damn it all!”

VMMM!

Suddenly, a vibration pulsed from his chest.

The black horn he carried hidden surged with power.

“What?”

He had touched many dungeons, but never had the horn reacted like this.

“Could it be tied to this one?”

His eyes gleamed with madness.

It was for this horn he had betrayed El Harun.

A desperate gamble, chasing the legend of the Queen’s Horn.

“This way! Quickly!”

He drove the locust toward where the horn resonated.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

Behind him came a chilling sound.

Uslann’s group was cutting through the swarm’s rear guard, massacring them.

So few were left now.

Only a few hundred.

When they had ambushed Uslann, they had been in the thousands. In the meantime, they had been nearly wiped out.

At this rate, even if they survived, it would take ages for the swarm to recover.

“You think I’ll die here? I won’t fall before I’ve avenged Brula!”

Derode commanded the remaining locusts to hold Uslann back.

VMMM!

At that moment, the horn resonated even stronger.

He knew instinctively.

The dungeon tied to the black horn lay just ahead.

As the resonance peaked, Derode poured his remaining mana into the horn.

“Open!”

ROOOAR!

At his words, a massive dungeon gate appeared before him.

The horn was a key.

By channeling mana, he could force open dungeons.

That was how all the dungeons Uslann had been cleaning up were opened.

Forced, unstable openings.

But this time was different.

It was still forced open—but the dungeon itself answered.

Something inside responded.

RUMBLE!

From within, an overwhelming aura spilled out.

“Go!”

Derode drove the locust into the dungeon.

“Not so fast.”

In that instant, Zeon hurled a Fire Spear.

It slammed into Derode’s back.

“Graaaagh!”

He screamed in agony, yet somehow clung to the locust’s back.

And with sheer will, he plunged into the dungeon.

ROOOAR!

As if to welcome him, the gate rippled.

“Damn it!”

Zeon ground his teeth.

He hadn’t expected Derode to force his way in even with a Fire Spear through his back.

Zeon leapt after him.

There was resistance, but only for a moment—then he too was inside.

“…What is this place?”

Zeon looked around.

An immense forest stretched before him.

Towering trees, grass waist-high, packed so densely there was no space between.

“A dungeon like this?”

His mouth fell open in shock.

He had seen many dungeons, but never one so thick with trees.

Compared to the Primordial Forest, this was even denser.

If such a place existed in reality, it would be a blessing for humanity. But alas—this was a dungeon.

A fragment of Kurayan before its fall.

In other words, a vision of Kurayan’s past.

It wasn’t real. More like a mirage.

Shaking it off, Zeon searched for Derode.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

Then, the gate rippled again—and Uslann stepped through.

He too had entered, right on Zeon’s heels.

One by one, his men followed after.

Uslann asked,

“Where is he?”

“Already hiding.”

“Damn rat, slippery bastard.”

“He won’t be easy to find.”

At Zeon’s words, Uslann scanned the forest.

Even he was struck by the sight of the dungeon’s interior.

“This place…?”

“It’s… a forest.”

“Unbelievable! A dungeon with a forest?”

Corin the elf and Shaping the beastman were moved to their core.

Of all in Kurayan, their races had lived closest to nature.

Born on Earth, they had never seen a true forest before.

Now, seeing one for the first time—they were overcome.

Uslann forced his surging emotions down and spoke.

“A forest dungeon… I’ve never seen one.”

“Could we take the seeds out, plant them outside?”

“You could take them, sure. But they’d never grow.”

He shook his head at Corin’s question.

Even El Harun had tried countless times to grow trees in the desert.

But this cursed land allowed not a single one.

Only a few sparse patches grew within El Harun itself.

So many trees in one place—this was new even for Uslann.

He turned to Zeon.

“Burn the whole forest down.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s the only way to smoke him out.”

“You won’t regret it?”

“Even if we carried them out, they’re useless. Better to burn them all than leave regrets.”

“…Fair enough.”

Zeon found his reasoning sound.

He raised his hand, ready to cast Fire Rain over the forest.

RUSTLE…!

Suddenly, the forest itself trembled.