Chapter 170

Chapter 170

SCREEEE!

It began with the roar of an unknown monster.

Starting with that roar, monsters resembling scorpions attacked.

There were patterns on their carapaces that resembled ghosts.

“Ghost Scorpions.”

“Watch out for the stingers on their tails. If you’re stung, you die instantly.”

The Awakened of the Pegasus Raid Team recognized the monsters’ identity at once.

Ghost Scorpions were monsters that lived in groups, like Twin-Head Buffalo.

They created their own labyrinths beneath the desert and gathered in herds.

The stingers of Ghost Scorpions had the effect of hardening sand.

They made it harden like concrete.

Ghost Scorpions dug through the sand and sprayed their venom on the walls, making them firm. In this way, they expanded their territory and turned the entire underground area into a labyrinth.

Once a labyrinthine nest was created like that, their numbers increased exponentially from that point on.

The accepted theory was that if one Ghost Scorpion appeared, there were hundreds nearby.

Lee Ji-ryeong released lightning and shouted,

“Gesling! What happened? There was no report of a Ghost Scorpion nest nearby.”

“There definitely wasn’t one when we found the dungeon.”

Gesling answered while killing a Ghost Scorpion.

Gesling was the team leader of the exploration team.

The dungeon they were heading toward now had also been discovered by the exploration team he led.

When they passed through this place back then, there had definitely been no Ghost Scorpion nest. If they had seen Ghost Scorpions, he would have led the group along a different path.

“Gesling is right. We didn’t see a single Ghost Scorpion back then.”

McNine, a member of the same exploration team, reinforced Gesling’s words.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s face hardened.

“Then did the Ghost Scorpions settle here after that?”

Several months had passed since the exploration team explored the dungeon.

It would not have been strange if Ghost Scorpions had entered and nested here during that time.

The only problem was that there were too many Ghost Scorpions for that to be the case.

The number of Ghost Scorpions crawling out in swarms exceeded several hundred.

A herd of this size counted as a large army even among monsters.

“Could a queen have been born?”

If so, it made sense.

A rarely born queen could give birth to dozens of Ghost Scorpions at once.

Lee Ji-ryeong shouted,

“Everyone, be careful. There is definitely a Ghost Scorpion Queen nearby.”

“Yes!”

“Okay, Captain!”

The Awakened formed a firm scrum and fought the Ghost Scorpions. Even so, casualties appeared.

“Kraaak!”

“Kuhk!”

The Awakened stung by the Ghost Scorpions’ venomous stingers screamed and rolled across the ground.

The places where they were stung turned pitch-black, and the discoloration soon spread across their whole bodies.

“Aaaargh!”

“S-save me!”

Those poisoned by the Ghost Scorpions’ venom thrashed in agony.

“Fuck!”

“Does anyone have a Potion?”

At that moment, a girl wearing a pointed hat stepped forward.

It was Briel.

She fed a little Potion to the Awakened who had been stung by the Ghost Scorpions’ stingers. Then the condition of the Awakened visibly improved.

“Haa! Haa!”

“I’m...... alive.”

The Potion Briel gave them was the Detoxification Potion she had personally made.

It was still only distributed in the slums and could not be obtained in Neo Seoul.

Those whose lives had been saved thanks to Briel expressed their gratitude.

“Thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

“Little girl! I’ll definitely repay this favor.”

“Hmph! You don’t have to repay the favor, so just get back to fighting.”

Briel drove them back into the battlefield.

At that moment, Levin approached Briel.

“That was a Detoxification Potion, right? Did you get it from the Dokkaebi Market too?”

“Idiot!”

“Huh? What now?”

“I made that.”

“What?”

“I said I made the Detoxification Potion.”

“Really?”

Levin’s eyes widened.

Because his expression looked rather stupid and funny, Briel ended up laughing.

“The Detoxification Potions distributed in the Dokkaebi Market were made by me.”

“I didn’t know. Wow! You really are amazing.”

“You’re only realizing that now? I’m that amazing an elf.”

Briel’s nose rose higher than the sky with pride.

At that moment, Kelda approached Briel.

She had seen Briel saving her subordinates with Detoxification Potions.

“Do you happen to have any Detoxification Potions left?”

“I have a few.”

“Please hand them all over to us. I’ll pay you properly.”

Even at this very moment, the injured were appearing one after another.

If those stung by the Ghost Scorpions’ venomous stingers were not treated quickly, they would lose their lives.

At present, the Detoxification Potions Briel had brought were the only means of treatment.

Briel readily handed over the Detoxification Potions.

“There are ten in total. One bottle can treat about five people.”

“Thank you.”

Kelda took the Detoxification Potions and hurried to those who had collapsed.

The sooner they took the Potions, the higher their chances of survival.

Fortunately, everyone who took the Detoxification Potions before it was too late was able to save their life. But those caught by the Ghost Scorpions’ pincers could not be saved.

Those caught in the pincers had their entire bodies torn to pieces.

No matter how many they killed, the Ghost Scorpions crawled out endlessly.

At this rate, there seemed to be no end.

Even until then, Zeon had not moved.

His gaze was fixed on the hole from which the Ghost Scorpions were crawling out.

RUMBLE!

A powerful vibration, on a different level from anything before, could be felt.

‘The queen.’

The queen, unable to endure any longer as her subordinates died, had personally stepped forward.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Zeon secretly moved the sand.

The sand in the area silently poured into the hole.

SHAAA!

The sand that filled the hole rushed forward at terrifying speed and collided with the Ghost Scorpion Queen.

GRRRRIND!

High-pressure sand scraped away the Ghost Scorpion Queen’s carapace.

SCREEEE!

The Ghost Scorpion Queen’s agonized scream echoed inside the cave.

It was a Grade B monster in name and truth.

Naturally, it had a force field wrapped around itself.

It was a sturdy protective barrier that did not budge against ordinary physical attacks, but it was useless against sand fired through the narrow cave while filling it completely.

SQUELCH!

The Ghost Scorpion Queen’s eye burst.

Sand invaded through the burst eye.

The sand attacked the Ghost Scorpion Queen’s eyes, brain, esophagus, and heart in order.

Under the sand attacks coming from inside and outside at the same time, the Ghost Scorpion Queen convulsed.

Zeon muttered inwardly,

‘Claymore.’

BOOM—!

At that instant, the sand inside and outside the Ghost Scorpion Queen’s body exploded all at once.

The Ghost Scorpion Queen died in an explosion without even being able to scream.

Once the queen died, the Ghost Scorpions that had been attacking humans so fiercely lost all direction and scattered everywhere.

“What? Are they running away?”

“We survived.”

The Awakened cheered without even knowing why the Ghost Scorpions were fleeing.

Only a few people, including Lee Ji-ryeong and Cha Jin-cheol, noticed that Zeon had killed the Ghost Scorpion Queen.

‘An ability that freely controls sand in the desert. That really is absurdly unfair.’

‘What grade is he, to eliminate the Ghost Scorpion Queen so easily?’

The method to confirm an Awakened’s grade was simple.

One had only to check the Rank Insignia engraved on their wrist.

Some people displayed their Rank Insignia as if boasting, but most thoughtful people thoroughly concealed theirs.

Lee Ji-ryeong also covered his wrist with a guard, and Cha Jin-cheol too perfectly hid his Rank Insignia with long sleeves.

To see such an opponent’s Rank Insignia, one had no choice but to subdue them and check directly. But Zeon would not be subdued easily, and this place was the desert, his domain.

Sand he could use as a weapon was spread everywhere.

It was an overwhelmingly favorable environment for Zeon.

Fighting Zeon in a place like this was no different from suicide.

If they still wished to fight, they had to choose an environment far more advantageous to themselves. At the very least, it could not be a desert with nothing but sand like this.

Meanwhile, Zeon secretly checked whether a Mana Stone had emerged from the Ghost Scorpion Queen. But he could not sense a Mana Stone anywhere.

‘A shame, but it seems one didn’t appear this time.’

Not every monster carried a Mana Stone.

Even among high-grade monsters, there were many that did not produce Mana Stones.

This was one such case.

Zeon turned away without regret.

The Pegasus Raid Team was clearing up the chaotic battlefield.

“What a shame! If we made armor from their shells, something good would come out.”

“There’s nowhere to load them anyway. It’s a shame, but we have to leave them.”

Although they had brought dozens of transport vehicles, there was no space in them to load monster corpses.

Even if they were going to load monster corpses, they had to load the ones from the dungeon.

Experience showed that the corpses of monsters from dungeons were more valuable.

Because of that, when clearing a dungeon, most people left behind the corpses of monsters caught in the desert like this.

At that moment, Lee Ji-ryeong approached Zeon.

“We owe you again.”

“I merely did what I had to do.”

“I am grateful that you think so.”

Then Lee Ji-ryeong’s gaze turned toward Briel.

“You gave Kelda Detoxification Potions?”

“Mm!”

“Their effects were impressive. Where did you get them?”

“They’re at the Dokkaebi Market.”

Briel calmly hid the fact that she had made them.

“At the Dokkaebi Market in the slums?”

“Mm!”

“That is unfortunate. If we had known earlier, we would have prepared them too. In any case, many people survived thanks to you. I will certainly repay this.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Briel spoke with an indifferent expression, as if she had no interest in repayment.

In truth, she really did not care about any reward.

She did not consider handing over a few Detoxification Potions to be some kind of favor.

Lee Ji-ryeong looked quietly at Briel for a moment before returning to where the Pegasus Raid Team members were.

Once he had moved some distance away, Briel grumbled,

“He’s scary as hell. What kind of eyes are those......?”

“There are things you’re scared of too?”

“Of course. I have emotions too.”

“I thought you’d lost your fear.”

“Ah, seriously......”

Briel glared at Levin.

Levin pretended not to notice her gaze and whistled.

Fortunately, since almost no one had died, the aftermath was quickly handled.

“Now, let us depart.”

“Depart!”

The raid team climbed back into their vehicles and set out toward the dungeon.

Zeon’s group also got into the buggy and followed them.

Rattle!

How long had they gone?

Suddenly, an unusual vibration came from the buggy.

Levin, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, frowned and said,

“I think there’s a problem with the drive axis.”

“Does it seem like it’ll stop right away?”

“No, but at this rate, it’ll probably break down around evening.”

“Then keep driving. We’ll reach the dungeon around evening anyway.”

“Understood, Brother!”

Levin nodded.

Even so, it had lasted quite a while.

The other vehicles had already stopped several times, and the base team led by Jeloei had repaired them constantly.

Compared to those, the buggy Zeon rode had come this far without breaking down even once.

Levin knew that was thanks to Zeon.

Zeon had protected it from the sand using his control.

Even so, the vehicle could not withstand the harsh environment of the desert and broke down.

Around the time the sun began to set over the desert, the buggy carrying Zeon’s group came to a complete stop. Even so, the group was not disappointed.

That was because the place where the buggy stopped was near the location where the dungeon was presumed to be.

When Zeon got out of the buggy, he felt a powerful energy beneath his feet.

“There really is a dungeon. And an extremely powerful one at that......”