Episode 169:
A day has passed since the demonic beasts attacked.
Meanwhile, the Pegasus raid team recovered the bodies and completely repaired the vehicle.
Now all you have to do is start at any time. But a problem arose.
The chase team that went to catch the deserter did not return.
After that, we waited for two more days, but the chase team never came back.
Kelda spoke carefully to Lee Ji-ryeong.
“At this rate, we should consider them dead as well.”
“Were there any dangerous demons other than the Twin Head Buffalo?”
“sorry. “I should have looked into it a little more.”
“it’s okay. How do humans know about the constantly changing habitats of demonic beasts? Let’s start first. “If he’s alive, he’ll follow me.”
“All right.”
In the end, Kelda conveyed Lee Ji-ryeong’s orders to the Pegasus raiding party.
The cars drove off, raising dust.
Among them was the buggy that Zeon and his crew rode in.
Inside the buggy, Mandy cautiously opened her mouth.
“Have I been attacked by a demonic beast?”
“We can’t rule out the possibility of being attacked by a scavenger.”
“How on earth do scavengers detect and avoid demonic beasts? “Could it be that they also have navigators?”
“If navigators were that common, they would trade with more colonies.”
“then?”
“It’s an experience. They have learned how to survive in the desert for over a hundred years. “It is a precious experience that the awakened people of Neo Seoul, within the safe walls, can never obtain.”
“So the scavengers are all Awoken?”
“no. “There are quite a few ordinary people among them.”
“How do people with no abilities survive in the desert? “Awakened people have the power to do that, but ordinary people…”
“Don’t ignore human power. Even though their natural strength is weak, their will to survive is stronger than that of any other living being. “There was even a case where a seven-year-old child caught a witch using just a trap.”
“Is it real?”
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
“Mmm! Human power is truly terrifying. In fact, they built a huge city in the middle of the desert with their bare hands.”
In the end, Mandy had no choice but to acknowledge humans’ strong ability to survive.
Even as they were chatting, the buggy moved forward through the sand.
Fortunately, the demonic beasts did not attack this time.
Thanks to this, the Pegasus raiding party was able to safely reach a hundred kilometers away from where the dungeon was discovered.
Even then, the tracking team that went to catch the deserters did not return.
Since this had happened, it had to be seen that they had definitely lost their lives.
Because of that, the atmosphere of the Pegasus raid team was at its worst.
The mood of the awakened people in the western district who accompanied me was not so good.
This is because he suffered many injuries while dealing with Twin Head Buffalo.
One of the problems of mechanized awakeners is that if they are injured in the desert, it is difficult to properly repair them.
The mechanical body that replaced the human body is vulnerable to sand, and it is especially difficult to repair parts.
Of course, we brought spare parts, but problems arose as too many people were injured.
There is a shortage of replacement parts.
At least those who had self-repair skills were slightly better, but those who did not have those skills had no choice but to use temporary repairs.
Even the cool-headed Cha Jin-cheol could not help but be embarrassed by the unexpected situation.
‘Shit! ‘I haven’t even arrived in the dungeon yet, but I’ve lost a lot of my power.’
I had no idea that the Mechanized Awakenings would suffer so much damage from something like Twin Head Buffalo.
His original plan was to greatly increase the distribution rate by launching a much larger attack than the Pegasus raid. However, as there were so many injuries from the beginning, the plan had to be modified.
‘No, there is still a chance. We’re going to put our kids back and bring the Pegasus raiders to the front.’
Of course, I couldn’t do it openly.
If you sneak back during a fierce battle, the Pegasus raid team won’t notice.
Cha Jin-cheol muttered.
‘Hyeonmu.’
-yes! master.
In an instant, an answer came from his mind.
It was Hyunmoo, the AI given by Kim Hyeonsu.
Hyeonmu, a deteriorated version of the three-legged crow, always makes it a priority to maintain Cha Jin-cheol’s physical condition in optimal condition.
Thanks to this, Cha Jin-cheol was able to move safely even in the sand-covered desert. However, awakened people in other western areas did not enjoy such benefits.
This is because Kim Hyun-soo only downloads the Three-Legged Crow’s deteriorated AI to his henchmen.
‘From now on, make a detailed plan to maintain our strength intact.’
-yes! master.
There was no need for Cha Jin-cheol to make complicated plans.
All you have to do is give a big command and Hyunmoo, the assistant AI, calculates and executes the rest.
It was the biggest advantage of the mechanized Awakening and the reason why all Awakenings in the western region wanted AI so much.
Zeon and his party were the only ones in this raid that did not suffer any damage.
Only they were running on the sand with all their power preserved.
‘This guy’s abilities are too dangerous. ‘I caught the griffin alone even though no one saw it.’
The battlefield for the flying monster was the sky.
The reason humans are attacked by flying monsters is because they cannot fly. Of course, there were some who had mastered flying skills, but their combat power was weak. Because of this, it is of little help when faced with a magical beast like this.
But Xeon was different.
As long as you had sand, you could fly.
Even though I couldn’t see it with my own eyes, I could tell how dangerous the griffin was just by hearing about him catching it.
‘This guy’s ability to manipulate sand is nothing short of a natural enemy for mechanized awakeners like us. Once we finish clearing this dungeon, we have to eliminate him. Definitely…’
―That’s a good decision. Should we make a plan to eliminate Awakened Xeon after completing the dungeon?
‘Just make a plan first. I’ll decide on the implementation then.’
-yes! master.
＊＊＊
“Off!”
Kim Ki-kwang, the leader of the Pegasus attack team, was lying on the floor and moaning.
There were corpses scattered around Kim Ki-kwang, who was covered in blood.
It was a tracking team that was Kim Ki-kwang’s subordinates.
Kim Ki-kwang had one of his arms blown off and his abdomen was split apart.
It felt like a miracle that he was still breathing.
Fortunately, Kim Ki-kwang is still alive because he is a high-ranking awakened person. If he were an ordinary person, he would have already lost his life.
A large man was sitting in front of Kim Ki-kwang.
A man with pointy ears and a face full of tattoos of unknown meaning.
He was an elf, not a human.
The identity of the elf is Urtian.
A group of scavengers led by him attacked and exterminated the pursuers and deserters.
“Look at this bastard’s equipment.”
“oh my god!”
“Fuck! “This bastard is a bitch.”
The scavengers searched the dead awakened people and stripped them of any useful items or equipment.
This was how desert scavengers survived.
The scavengers stole not only equipment but also food.
In fact, the most important thing for them was not equipment but food. However, there was no way the hastily made tracking party could have carried much food.
Fortunately, the vehicle the escapees were riding in was loaded with some food. Thanks to this, the urgent fire was extinguished.
Urtian gave orders to his subordinates as he looked down at Kim Ki-kwang.
“The equipment will be distributed on its own, and Deborah will distribute the food on her own.”
“all right.”
Deborah, who was nearby, answered.
Deborah was Urtian’s wife and was responsible for the safety of the scavenger group.
All the food plundered by the Urtians and scavengers was distributed equally through her.
Kim Ki-kwang opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Do you think you guys will get away with this?”
“What if I’m not safe?”
“Our raid team will not leave you alone.”
“okay?”
“The captain will avenge us.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
Urtian grinned.
The uncharacteristically cruel nature of an elf was clearly visible on his face.
It was different from most elves hiding their emotions with an expressionless face.
It was then.
“Here is the sword.”
“Can’t you give it to me?”
“no!”
“Ah bro!”
Children who looked exactly like Urtian were talking as they took out daggers from the bodies of the awakened people.
Kim Ki-kwang looked at them with blurred eyes.
“Half… elf? “Is it a hybrid?”
Kwasik!
At that moment, Urtian’s fist smashed Kim Ki-kwang’s head.
Kim Ki-kwang, who lost his head, died.
Urtian muttered, shaking off the blood and brain fluid from his hands.
“How dare you call someone a mongrel?”
Children born to Urtian, an elf, and Deborah, a human.
It had both elf and human characteristics.
Urtian was willing to give up his life for his children.
Urtian called out to Cormac with a wave of his hand.
“Urtian!”
“Where are these guys’ headquarters now?”
“We set up temporary shelter 70 kilometers away.”
“I guess there’s a dungeon nearby?”
“Maybe so.”
“With this many people, it must be a very large dungeon, right?”
“yes!”
“Then there must be plenty to eat.”
Urtian smiled brightly.
“yes! “The greater the risk, the greater the cost.”
“It’s always a risk.”
“But…”
“Why?”
“They have a lot of power, so we will have to mobilize all our power. If that happens…”
Cormac’s gaze turned to Urtian’s children.
The children were still bickering over who got the dagger.
If the scavengers are fully mobilized, even young children will have to be sent into battle.
“Now those kids need to experience real combat, too.”
“They are still young children.”
“Cormac!”
“yes?”
“How old were you when you first killed someone?”
“When I was ten…two years old.”
“The first one is twelve and the second one is eleven. I’m old enough to be put to work. “There are no exceptions, even if they are my children.”
“But…”
“For your information, I killed my first person when I was seven years old.”
“All right.”
Cormac eventually agreed.
As Urtian said, scavengers are sent into battle from an early age.
It was an inevitable choice to survive in the desert.
Just because it was a child, I couldn’t take care of it forever.
Once I started walking and running, I had to learn how to hold a weapon.
Some lucky children woke up, but there were many more who did not.
Children who are awakened are sent to plunder from an early age, and children who are not awakened also do their part by supporting the rear.
The scavengers banded together to survive.
They also wanted to enter Neo Seoul at one time.
I wanted to live a comfortable life within the high walls of Neo Seoul. However, Neo Seoul had no intention of accepting baseless scavengers.
They were not even allowed to live in slums, let alone Neo Seoul.
Those who were not allowed had to wander the desert and find food on their own.
Another group of scavengers.
Everyone was their enemy.
In order to survive against enemies, children also had to take up weapons.
I had to kill the demon beast, kill another group of humans, and survive.
Now Urtian’s children also had to set foot in such a cold world.
That was the fate of those who lived in the desert.
Urtian muttered while holding a handful of sand.
“We kill and kill and take and take again until we are given a handful of land where we can live. That is our destiny.”
Red sand was flowing between his fingers.
