Chapter 225

Chapter 225

“Stop there.”

“Identify yourselves.”

As they drew close to the Mana Stone Mine, the Awakened standing guard shouted.

“Tch!”

Jang Yong-beom stepped forward with a displeased expression.

The moment the guards confirmed his face, their expressions turned pale.

“Huh!”

“Why is that man here?”

Whenever Jang Yong-beom went out on external missions, he always stopped by the Mana Stone Mine, so the Awakened here knew his face well. They also knew just how filthy his personality was.

The security chief hurriedly ran to Jang Yong-beom.

“Didn’t you go out with the other parties?”

“They were wiped out.”

“Pardon?”

“I said everyone except us was completely killed. Do you need me to explain more?”

“N-no, sir.”

“Whew! I’m tired from coming all this way, so give us quarters. We’ll rest for a day and return to Neo Seoul.”

“Understood.”

The security chief answered with his discipline visibly tightened.

He had no choice. When he had been a rookie, he had challenged Jang Yong-beom’s party without knowing better and been smashed to pieces.

He had been beaten so harshly that even now, he sometimes had nightmares about that day.

Revenge was something he did not even dare imagine.

Jang Yong-beom had been strong even then, and now he was even stronger.

While the security chief had wasted his days standing guard at the Mana Stone Mine, Jang Yong-beom had taken on and completed countless dangerous missions. Naturally, the gap between them could only grow.

The security chief carefully asked,

“And the people with you?”

“They’re with me, so mind your own business.”

“Still, we need to know their identities......”

“I told you to mind your own business.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Jang Yong-beom’s irritated words, the security chief stepped back.

He knew very well that provoking Jang Yong-beom’s nerves any further would do him no good.

He gave an order to his subordinates.

“Open the gate!”

Grrrrr!

As soon as his words ended, the gate leading into the Mana Stone Mine opened.

Jang Yong-beom said to Zeon,

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

In that way, Jang Yong-beom’s party and Zeon’s group safely entered the Mana Stone Mine.

Watching Zeon’s back as he grew farther away, the security chief tilted his head.

“I think that’s him.”

“Do you know him?”

“The Sandmancer.”

“What? You mean that’s him? But he was known to have died after going with the Pegasus Raid Team.”

“This smells fishy.”

“What? What kind of smell?”

“The smell of money.”

“Really?”

“Use that thing sitting on your shoulders and think for once. How well has the Pegasus Raid Team been doing after returning from the dungeon clearing? Lee Ji-ryeong became Grade S, and the raid team’s size grew too.”

“So?”

“Ah, seriously, you bastard!”

At his subordinate’s stupid question, the security chief glared at him.

“Is your head just an ornament? Why don’t you think?”

“I’m asking you to explain it.”

“They specially took the Sandmancer with them to clear the dungeon. That means the Sandmancer was the key to clearing it. But after the dungeon clearing ended successfully, the Sandmancer didn’t return, and the Pegasus Raid Team has been enjoying one success after another. Naturally, they’re also enjoying all the glory the Sandmancer should have received. But the Sandmancer they announced as dead is alive and well. Then there’s only one answer.”

“You mean the Pegasus Raid Team betrayed the Sandmancer?”

Only then did the subordinate understand the security chief’s words and widen his eyes.

“Exactly! Whether they drove him into a trap or abandoned him somewhere, whatever happened, they must have thought he was dead. That’s why they publicly announced that the Sandmancer had died.”

“Oh! As expected of you, Captain. To think you figured that much out. But how does this become money?”

“Heh-heh! Do you think the Pegasus Raid Team will welcome the Sandmancer returning to Neo Seoul?”

“Absolutely not.”

“So if we sell them the information that the Sandmancer has returned......”

“It’ll be worth a lot of money.”

The subordinate’s eyes flashed.

Only then did he also smell the money.

The security chief smirked.

“Right! Now you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes!”

“Then I need to go to Neo Seoul.”

“A truck loaded with Mana Stones leaves for Neo Seoul in an hour. Don’t worry about this place and go. But......”

“Heh-heh! Don’t worry. I’ll give you a big cut.”

“Yes, sir!”

The two looked at each other and smiled wickedly.

---

Eloy and Levin looked around the assigned room with satisfied expressions.

“It’s clean.”

“How long has it been since I lay on a bed? Ugyagya!”

Levin outright lay on the cot and kicked his feet.

Briel smiled faintly at his childish behavior, but she did not scold him.

She did not show it, but she too liked the comfort of civilization she was feeling for the first time in a long while.

Zeon said,

“Rest well today. We’ll return to Neo Seoul tomorrow.”

“Great!”

“I’m going to bathe first.”

“Me too!”

Levin threw an uppercut while lying on the cot, and Eloy and Briel entered the bathroom to wash.

Compared to Neo Seoul, it was shabby beyond words, but the two women were happy just because they could shower with water.

Zeon sat on a chair by the window.

Perhaps because this was lodging for honored guests, the window gave him a full view of the Mana Stone Mine.

“I’m back.”

It had taken quite a long time, but in the end, he had returned to Neo Seoul.

He had not entered Neo Seoul yet, but now that he had entered the Mana Stone Mine, entering Neo Seoul was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, a truck leaving the Mana Stone Mine entered his eyes.

The truck’s cargo bed was full of Mana Stones the miners had dug out during that time. But he saw a man sitting on top of the piled Mana Stones.

Zeon recognized him as the security chief.

The security chief was laughing loudly, unaware that Zeon was watching. Even from far away, Zeon could tell he was in an excellent mood.

“Hmm!”

Zeon watched the truck and the security chief growing farther away for a while.

Levin said while lying on the cot,

“You must be tired too, Brother. Get some rest.”

“I am resting. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Should I come with you?”

“No. I’ll go alone.”

“Yes, sir! Call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

Zeon nodded and went outside.

It had been a long time since he had come here, but the Mana Stone Mine had not changed much.

It faithfully served as Neo Seoul’s most important source of Mana Stones and as an outpost.

Because of that, the streets of the Mana Stone Mine were always full of people.

Miners who worked in the mines, exploration teams departing in search of dungeons, parties tasked with eliminating monsters that appeared around the mining city, and prostitutes who tempted them.

Countless people were packed into the narrow streets.

“Hey, handsome guy, come here. I’ll treat you well.”

“Oh my! You’re really handsome. Shall we have some fun? Hoho!”

The prostitutes who spotted Zeon flirted with him. But Zeon walked down the street without even glancing at them.

“Fuck! What is that? Does he think he’s special because he has a handsome face?”

“Ptooey! What a prick.”

The prostitutes spat and cursed behind him, but Zeon paid them no attention.

After passing through the street occupied by prostitutes, Zeon arrived at the street where merchants had spread out stalls and were doing business.

After looking around the merchants for a while, Zeon’s eyes flashed.

He walked straight toward one merchant.

“Welco......”

The merchant’s face stiffened when he recognized Zeon.

“It’s been a while.”

“Lord Zeon?”

“You’re Will, right? Why are you here?”

The merchant with a huge build and a large apron was Will, old man Clexi’s right-hand man.

He ran a butcher shop selling monster meat beside old man Clexi.

It was strange that a man who always assisted old man Clexi from close by was here.

“Did old man Clexi also come here?”

“No. Only I came.”

“Did something happen?”

“This doesn’t seem like a conversation to have here. Please come inside.”

Will brought Zeon into a shop near the stall.

After confirming that no one was around, Will locked the door.

“You weren’t dead. I’m glad.”

“What happened? Did something happen to old man Clexi?”

“The old man is safe. But a major change has occurred in the slums.”

“What?”

Zeon frowned.

That was because he sensed an ominous atmosphere.

Will looked at Zeon and continued,

“Shinchon is no longer the Shinchon it used to be.”

“Then?”

“While Lord Zeon was away, Dongdaemun dug its way in.”

“Are you saying Johan took control of Shinchon?”

“He hasn’t completely taken control yet. But half of it has fallen into his hands.”

“What was Eaton doing?”

“You know, don’t you? Eaton never had the capacity to rule Shinchon in the first place. He was just right as Goran’s secretary.”

Eaton had been the secretary of Goran, who had previously ruled Shinchon.

After Zeon killed Goran, he made Eaton the ruler of Shinchon.

Eaton had managed Shinchon fairly efficiently, and thanks to that, no major problems had erupted.

There had been quite a few people aiming for Eaton’s position, but none of them had dared to make a move. That was because they knew Zeon stood behind Eaton.

After it became known that Zeon was a Sandmancer, those aiming for Eaton’s position disappeared completely.

After that, Eaton’s life had gone smoothly.

He became the true ruler of Shinchon and indulged in every pleasure. Even so, there was no one who threatened him.

“That day too, Eaton spent a hot night with a prostitute.”

“That day?”

“The day Dongdaemun launched its sudden attack. Like a fool, he was enjoying himself defenselessly when Dongdaemun attacked.”

“Did he die?”

“He didn’t die. He merely fled disgracefully.”

Eaton’s survival instincts were extraordinary.

Even in that urgent situation, he had managed to escape safely with his subordinates.

The only reason Johan and Dongdaemun had not completely taken control of Shinchon was because Eaton and his subordinates were still alive and fighting.

Perhaps because he still had the pride of someone who had once ruled a district, Eaton had not surrendered and was stubbornly waging guerrilla warfare.

“Because of that, Shinchon became a complete shitshow. Naturally, problems also arose for the Goblin Market and the street where the old man does business.”

The Goblin Market and old man Clexi were thorns in Johan’s side as well. But that did not mean he could simply crush them by force.

Too many factions’ interests were tied to the Goblin Market. Because of that, instead of attacking the Goblin Market directly, Johan was currently working to isolate it.

“In the past, no matter how strong Johan and Dongdaemun were, they would never have dared touch the Goblin Market.”

“But not anymore?”

“No. Because they joined hands with a powerful existence.”

“A powerful existence?”

“Someone Lord Zeon knows too. Lee Ji-ryeong.”

“......”

“Yes. Johan and Lee Ji-ryeong have joined hands.”

Zeon’s face hardened.

Lee Ji-ryeong, who had become a Grade S Awakened.

Johan, who commanded countless fanatics.

With the two of them joining hands, the worst possible combination had been born.

Will looked straight at Zeon.

“It’s because of you, Lord Zeon. Your absence made those two join hands.”

Just by existing, Zeon had maintained the balance of the slums.

He had been a kind of counterweight.

When the enormous counterweight disappeared, the hyenas aiming for the empty place bared their teeth.

Right now, Shinchon was on the verge of being torn apart by wolves’ fangs.

Zeon quietly said,

“Then I should let them know.”

“Let them know what?”

“Just how wrong their decision was.”

“......”

Will flinched.

That was because he saw the illusion of a massive sandstorm raging inside Zeon’s eyes.

Goosebumps were rising all over his body.