Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Zeon was wrapped in fine black sand.

He had released Exion.

One good thing about releasing Exion outside his body like this was that his proficiency and range of use increased.

Zeon operated Exion and shaped it into all kinds of forms.

At times, he made it round like a protective barrier, and at other times, he made it ripple like wings.

At a glance, Zeon’s figure with Exion released outside his body called to mind a Reaper.

Because he walked as if sliding with Sand Walk, he looked even more that way.

Deioden said nothing as he watched Zeon play with Exion.

After his battle with Akaruk, he had become so taciturn that one could barely hear him say a single word in a day.

His eyes had sunk even deeper, and all expression had vanished from his face.

To someone seeing him for the first time, merely facing his face would have been frightening enough to make them piss themselves.

Zeon, at least, could remain calm because he had watched Deioden for a long time.

Throughout the walk, Zeon tested Exion and thought about how to increase its usefulness.

The battle between Deioden and Akaruk had made Zeon think about many things.

Simply watching a high-level battle had greatly broadened Zeon’s vision.

Throughout the fight, Zeon had felt his heart pound.

I want to fight like that too.

I want to reach a realm that high.

That longing stimulated his heart.

It had been quite some time since they left the ancient castle, but the longing had not disappeared. Rather, it had grown even stronger.

That was why Zeon kept testing Exion.

In order to reach a realm similar to Deioden’s, no, higher than his, he could not rest for even a moment.

Deioden’s strength was not something he had gained in a day or two.

It was the result he had obtained by struggling for a hundred years.

To catch up with such a Deioden, Zeon had to save even the time he would spend sleeping or resting.

Thanks to that effort, Zeon’s skill grew day by day.

Zeon, who had been playing with Exion for a long while, suddenly furrowed his brow.

It was because of the unbelievable sight he saw far away.

Zeon withdrew Exion and asked Deioden,

“Am I the only one seeing a mirage right now?”

“It is not a mirage.”

“Then it’s real?”

“If my eyes are not broken......”

“Wow! That’s real?”

Zeon opened his eyes wide and looked ahead.

Beyond the distant horizon, something enormous was approaching.

A body larger than a three-story house, four thick legs that looked as if several adults had been combined, a drooping nose, and terrifying tusks curved like bows.

It resembled the mammoths he had only heard of in stories.

The only difference was that it was far more terrifying and enormous.

It was like a small mountain was moving.

But behind the mammoth, a huge artificial structure could be seen.

The artificial structure, much larger than the mammoth, was an enormous warehouse on wheels.

Warehouses were connected one after another behind the mammoth.

Like a train.

On top of the warehouses, humans who looked like tiny dots were moving busily.

Deioden said,

“They are a caravan.”

“A real caravan?”

Zeon blinked in surprise.

Caravan was originally a word referring to a group of merchants who loaded goods onto camels or horses and traveled together to distant places to trade local specialties in regions where transportation had not developed, such as deserts or grasslands in the distant past.

Caravans existed even in the present era.

They traveled between colonies, acting as a kind of intermediary trade.

It sounded simple, but it was never easy.

The whole world had turned into desert.

The desert was never friendly to humans.

The blazing sunlight and the heated sand.

On top of that, the desert swarmed with all kinds of monsters and Scavengers.

Enduring all those harsh conditions while traveling between colonies was never an easy task.

Some people said it would be simple if one flew by plane or drove a car. But if one knew even a little about the desert, one would understand that it was impossible to realize.

Monsters lived in the sky as well.

Wyverns, griffins, unicorns, or monsters in the form of pterosaurs were representative examples.

They could not tolerate other flying bodies existing in the same sky. Ordinary planes could never withstand their attacks.

Above all, the desert sky was filled with fine dust and polluted energy, which ruined airplane engines in an instant.

Cars and various machines were the same.

Desert sand was the natural enemy of machinery. For short distances, they could somehow be repaired and driven, but if driven long distances, they broke down completely.

Because of that, even Neo Seoul used cars only when conquering nearby dungeons.

As for exchanges with other colonies whose locations were unknown, they could not even dream of them.

Everywhere one looked was the same scenery, and there was not even anything that could serve as a landmark.

The only ones who overcame such harsh conditions and conducted intermediary trade between colonies were caravans.

How caravans could move accurately toward colonies in the vast desert was a secret among secrets.

Even Neo Seoul had tried to uncover the caravan’s secrets, but their efforts had ended in failure.

When Zeon first heard about caravans, he thought people were lying.

To his mind, it was impossible.

But the moment he saw the caravan procession in person, he had no choice but to accept it.

He thought that with a mammoth that huge, Sandworms and other monsters would not be able to attack recklessly.

It was smaller than Archelon, the ancient turtle commanded by the Mott Clan that he had seen before, but with that size, ordinary monsters were clearly no match for it.

Deioden said,

“Encountering a caravan in the middle of the desert is never common.”

“Something that’s absolutely uncommon just happened to us, of all people.”

“Yes!”

Deioden stood with his arms crossed and watched the caravan procession draw closer.

The caravan seemed to have discovered the two of them as well and came straight toward them.

THUD! THUD!

The heavy footsteps of the mammoth traveled through the sand and could be felt throughout the whole body.

The mammoth that approached was truly enormous.

It looked not the size of a three-story house, but closer to a five-story house. And the pair of ivory tusks emerging on either side of its trunk were truly tremendous.

If pierced by those tusks, any monster would likely die instantly.

PAAAOOO!

At last, the mammoth arrived before the two and cried loudly, raising its trunk toward the sky. Then people came down from the enormous warehouse the mammoth had been pulling.

To block the hot sunlight, they wore turbans on their heads and loose clothing on their bodies.

It was clothing called a Deraa, mainly worn by men who had lived in the old Sahara Desert region.

There was no better clothing for enduring the desert’s scorching heat.

“Travelers roaming the desert. I can hardly believe my eyes.”

A man who seemed to be the caravan’s leader lowered the cloth covering his nose and mouth and let out an exclamation.

He looked to be in his fifties.

His beard grew thick around his nose and mouth, but his eyes were sharp, naturally giving off dignity.

“My name is Belov. What are the names of the brave adventurers crossing the desert?”

“Deioden.”

“Oh! Deioden, you say? I can hardly believe my eyes and ears.”

Belov opened his eyes wide.

“You know me?”

“How could I not? You are a man who may perhaps be the strongest on Earth. Your name is widely known even in the Kamchatka Colony.”

“Kamchatka Colony? There was a colony in such a place?”

“Haha! It is only natural that you do not know. Unlike Neo Seoul, it is an extremely barren and small place.”

Belov scratched his head and laughed.

Kamchatka Colony was, just as its name suggested, a colony that existed on the old Kamchatka Peninsula.

The old Kamchatka Peninsula boasted great nature that had hardly been developed. Naturally, its population density was also absurdly low.

Compared to places in the same Russian territory, such as Moscow or Sakhalin, it would not be wrong to say that almost no people lived there.

Paradoxically, that was why many people survived when the Sixth Great Extinction occurred.

Because their numbers were so small, they chose to join forces and survive rather than compete with one another for survival.

At first, they gathered in village units and survived. Then, as Awakened and survivors who heard rumors came to join them, their scale gradually grew.

The size of Kamchatka Colony was only one-tenth that of Neo Seoul.

Even if they wanted to grow larger, they had no leeway because of the monsters that attacked them constantly.

Zeon asked with a puzzled expression,

“Monsters attack?”

“What is strange about that? Of course monsters attack. To them, humans are nothing but delicious prey.”

“But Neo Seoul......”

“Neo Seoul is special. There is only one colony that special in this world.”

Neo Seoul’s walls possessed monster-repelling power. Because of that, monsters were reluctant to approach.

Neo Seoul was the only colony on Earth with such walls.

Other colonies fought desperate battles against monsters every day. Because circumstances were like that, it was not easy for them to increase their scale.

In exchange, their Awakened had improved their skills through wars with monsters.

Especially when it came to anti-monster battles, all of them could be called specialists.

Perhaps because of that, everyone who had come out following Belov gave off an unusual atmosphere.

The most impressive thing of all was their size.

With only slight exaggeration, every one of them was as large as a brown bear.

They were not inferior at all even compared to the enormous Deioden.

Belov said to Deioden,

“Haha! Since meeting in the middle of the desert is fate, how about spending today with us? We will treat you as honored guests.”

“Good.”

“Haha! As expected, you are straightforward.”

At Deioden’s permission, Belov burst into hearty laughter.

Zeon looked at Deioden with a surprised expression.

That was because he had naturally thought Deioden would refuse.

‘He must have something in mind.’

Outwardly, he looked simple and ignorant, but Zeon knew well that he was not like that at all.

Nothing he had done until now had been without reason. He had set up far-reaching plans and acted accordingly.

It was something that could not be done without an excellent mind.

Belov guided the two of them onto the enormous warehouse pulled by the mammoth.

On top of the huge warehouse, awnings and chairs for people to stay under had been installed.

Inside the warehouse, goods purchased from Kamchatka Colony were loaded full, and people lived on top of the warehouse.

When they climbed onto the warehouse, Belov spoke loudly.

“Haha! We have met a hero of the desert, so we cannot just sit still. Bring out the vodka.”

“Vodka? That alcohol still remains?”

“Heh-heh! We obtained it with great difficulty from Kamchatka Colony. As it turned out, one old Russian liquor distributor still remained. It is no longer produced, but a little alcohol made long ago still remains.”

“That is impressive.”

“It is impressive! If I take this liquor to Neo Seoul and sell it, I will make a great deal of money.”

In the present era, alcohol was difficult to obtain.

That was because all the grains that served as ingredients for alcohol had disappeared.

Now, even grains were produced in colony factories. Since the amount was not abundant, no one even dared think of making alcohol.

Even if it was made, the amount was extremely small.

In a way, alcohol was more precious than Mana Stones.

Moreover, if it was vodka made in the old era, it was certain to sell for whatever price was asked.

It was only natural that Belov was so confident.

He brought out a bottle of that precious vodka for Deioden and Zeon.

A light of greed appeared in Deioden’s eyes, as he had not drunk alcohol for a very long time.

Belov looked at Zeon.

“You seem still young, brother.”

“I do not drink alcohol.”

“Then I will give you specially smoked venison jerky, brother. Once you taste it, you will never forget it.”

When Belov gestured, a boy who looked only around twelve years old approached with jerky.

He was a beautiful boy with an impressive abundance of blond hair.

“He is my son, Damian. Damian, give the jerky to our brother.”

“Yes!”

The boy called Damian handed the jerky to Zeon.

Zeon stared at Damian’s face.

As if burdened by Zeon’s gaze, Damian lowered his head slightly and avoided his eyes.

Zeon accepted the jerky.

“Thank you.”

“Yes! Brother.”

Damian seemed very shy.

He still could not meet Zeon’s eyes directly.

Then Belov raised his glass high and said,

“Now, let us drink and eat together. Do not worry about monsters. My subordinates and the mammoth will stop them from coming anywhere near us. Hahaha!”

CLINK!

Deioden struck his glass against his, and Zeon chewed the jerky.

The venison jerky Damian had given him was on an entirely different level from jerky made from monsters.

It truly melted gently in his mouth.

It was so delicious that it felt like he was dreaming.