Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 129

“Ha!”

Mandy sighed.

She had received such stares too many times before to not know its meaning.

As a half-elf, Mandy possessed extraordinary beauty.

Naturally, many men approached her with lustful intentions.

Just like the man standing before her now.

The man in heavy armor was a paladin.

Not awakened as an actual paladin, but a man holding the title of paladin within Dongdaemun.

Johan had formed a unit of exceptionally loyal Awakeneds from Dongdaemun.

They were the Paladins, protectors of the Church.

The heavy armor the man wore was the symbol of the Paladins.

The man’s name was Patrick.

He was a member of the Paladins who followed Johan.

Patrick felt his heart race the moment he saw Mandy.

He was captivated by her unique beauty, rare in Dongdaemun.

“You need to come with me for an investigation.”

“Where exactly?”

“There’s an office of the Paladins nearby. We’ll investigate there.”

“No, thank you.”

Mandy answered firmly.

Patrick’s face twisted in response.

“Are you defying the Church?”

“I don’t believe in your Church. I’m not from Dongdaemun. I have no reason to follow your orders.”

“In Dongdaemun, the Church is the law. Once you enter Dongdaemun, you must obey the Church.”

“That’s absurd. No matter how much the Church controls Dongdaemun, you can’t force people from other districts.”

“Silence, woman!”

Unable to win the argument, Patrick shouted angrily.

Conversely, Mandy’s expression grew colder.

“You’re the one who should be quiet.”

“You bitch…”

Mandy took out her ID and spoke.

“My name is Mandy Systein, a supervisor from Neo Seoul, affiliated with the City Hall.”

“……”

Patrick’s lips tightened at Mandy’s unexpected response.

The corners of his eyes twitched.

‘Damn it!’

If she was indeed a supervisor from the City Hall, he couldn’t treat her carelessly.

He scrutinized her ID.

It was genuine, issued by the City Hall.

The ID had special magical processing that made it impossible to forge.

Mandy spoke confidently.

“Why do you find me suspicious?”

“Why is a supervisor from the City Hall here?”

“Answer my question first.”

“I must have been mistaken.”

“So, we don’t need to go to your office then?”

“You are not completely cleared of suspicion yet. Your companions need to identify themselves as well.”

Patrick glared at Zeon and Brielle.

He was trying to cling to any reason to hold them.

Zeon sighed and spoke.

“My name is Zeon.”

“Zeon? From Sinchon?”

“Yes, I’m from Sinchon.”

There was no point in hiding it, so Zeon boldly revealed his identity.

Patrick’s reaction was dramatic.

“Zeon from Sinchon! Are you here to target Dongdaemun?”

He drew his sword and shouted.

Dongdaemun had been closely monitoring Zeon’s activities.

Though he hadn’t done anything particularly threatening, he was considered dangerous simply because he was the secret ruler of Sinchon.

Naturally, the Paladins were wary of Zeon.

Zeon sighed deeply.

“Hah! Does this look like someone targeting Dongdaemun? We just ended up here while walking.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“My words will be vouched for by Supervisor Mandy here.”

Zeon pointed to Mandy beside him.

“We ended up here while talking. There’s nothing for the Paladin to worry about.”

“Ha! Fuck.”

Patrick cursed under his breath.

Mandy’s eyes narrowed.

“What did you say?”

“Just talking to myself.”

“You Paladins are no better than street thugs.”

“What did you just say?”

“Just talking to myself.”

“You dare!”

Patrick’s anger exploded.

He lost his composure and swung his sword at Mandy.

Mandy’s eyes widened, not expecting him to attack so suddenly.

Just as Eloy’s persona was about to surface, Zeon stepped in front of her.

Clang!

He blocked Patrick’s sword with his Inferno Gauntlet.

“Ugh!”

The strong rebound sent Patrick’s sword flying backward.

Patrick stumbled, losing his balance.

The heavy armor made loud thumping noises, drawing the attention of the surrounding people.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, a Paladin is fighting.”

The commotion attracted more Paladins from a distance.

“What’s happening here?”

“Someone dared to attack a Paladin in Dongdaemun.”

Without considering the circumstances, the Paladins were furious at the sight of Patrick stumbling.

“Hold on a moment.”

Mandy stepped forward, trying to talk, but the Paladins had no intention of listening.

“Shut up, woman.”

“Subdue them!”

Swish!

Their swords aimed at Mandy, Zeon, and the others.

The Paladins’ swords were imbued with a milky white aura.

“You fanatic bastards, enough already.”

At that moment, Eloy’s persona emerged.

A spear appeared in her hand.

It was a powerful weapon that could be automatically summoned to its owner.

The appearance of the spear, with its nine prongs, resembled a Nine-Tailed Fox.

Hence, the spear was called the ‘Mad Gumiho.’

Once Eloy wielded the Mad Gumiho, no one could stop her.

Already furious, she swung the Mad Gumiho at the paladins.

Boom!

“Gah!”

“You crazy bitch…”

The paladins screamed in agony under the overwhelming power of the Mad Gumiho.

Eloy went on a rampage befitting the weapon’s name.

With every swing of her spear, the paladins were swept away.

The commotion grew, and more paladins rushed to the scene.

Brielle muttered as she watched.

“We’re screwed.”

“Brielle!”

“Am I wrong? Because of that crazy half-elf, we’ve drawn all the aggro. All the paladins in Dongdaemun will be coming here. Instead of finding the scavengers’ hideout, we might end up starting a war with Dongdaemun.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“What?”

“Thanks to Eloy drawing all the attention, we’re free.”

Brielle smiled broadly at Zeon’s reply.

“Oh, right.”

“She’s a supervisor from the City Hall. Even Dongdaemun can’t just kill her.”

If they killed Eloy recklessly, it would give the City Hall an excuse to intervene in Dongdaemun.

No matter how powerful Johan was, it would be a burden.

So, they might injure her, but they wouldn’t kill her.

It would take many paladins and a lot of time to subdue the rampaging Eloy.

In the meantime, Zeon and Brielle could roam freely around Dongdaemun and gather information.

Leaving the rampaging Eloy behind, Zeon and Brielle quietly slipped away.

With all eyes on Eloy, no one paid attention to them.

Freed from the crowd, the two easily distanced themselves from the chaos.

“That crazy half-elf has her uses after all, hoho!”

Brielle laughed smugly.

Zeon asked her.

“Don’t you worry about her, being an elf too?”

“Seeing her fight, there’s no need to worry.”

“True…”

“Sympathizing with or helping an elf warrior is an insult to them. Even though she’s only a half-elf, she’s still a proud warrior. Helping her would be disrespectful.”

“I see.”

Understanding a bit more about the elf mindset, Zeon nodded.

Despite their bickering and mutual annoyance, the two elves actually acknowledged each other deep down.

Thinking they were just being honest, Zeon moved on.

Thanks to Eloy drawing all the aggro, the streets were deserted.

Not just the paladins but also the people had flocked to the fighting scene.

This allowed Zeon and Brielle to explore the nooks and crannies of Dongdaemun without attracting attention.

“Huh?”

Brielle suddenly exclaimed, having spotted something.

“What is it?”

“Look here.”

Brielle pointed to a nearby alley.

“What about it?”

“Doesn’t it look strange?”

“What?”

Without answering, Brielle walked into the alley.

Zeon quietly followed her.

At the dead end of the alley, Brielle murmured.

“Hidden truth, reveal yourself.”

Light emanated from her palms, and the scenery inside the alley changed.

The wall disappeared, replaced by a small door.

“Was it a perception-blocking spell?”

“Yes! It’s so delicate that even sensitive elves wouldn’t notice. But they can’t fool a High Elf like me. Ahem!”

Brielle looked up at Zeon with an expression that begged for praise.

Zeon chuckled and patted her pointed hat.

“Well done.”

“Hehe!”

“Still, a high-level perception-blocking spell in Dongdaemun…”

“Suspicious, isn’t it?”

“Very.”

“Shall we go in?”

“Let’s go.”

“Alright!”

Brielle grabbed the doorknob.

As expected, the door was locked from the inside. But Brielle easily dealt with it.

“Unlock!”

She unlocked it with magic.

Despite being an alchemist, she had no trouble casting simple spells like this.

Click!

They opened the door and entered.

It was pitch dark inside.

The passage extended underground without a single light.

Brielle led the way without hesitation.

She wasn’t just charging ahead without a plan.

“Cover-up Detection.”

She cast a spell to detect hidden traps.

Her detection magic revealed several concealed traps.

The exposed traps posed no threat.

Thanks to this, Zeon and Brielle easily passed through the traps.

After passing a few traps,

Whoosh!

Something flew at them from the darkness at a terrifying speed.

“Eeek! What’s that?”

Brielle cried out in surprise.

By then, a thin membrane-like object had already enveloped both her and Zeon.

As Brielle tried to escape, the membrane tightened around her and Zeon.

“Ugh!”

Brielle’s face turned pale as the membrane squeezed her with tremendous pressure.

Zeon spoke.

“It seems to be a net used by scavengers. The more you move, the tighter it gets.”

“Damn it! What kind of thing is this…”

At that moment, someone emerged from the darkness.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?”

He carried a special alloy bow and arrows on his back and a machete at his waist.

In his hand, he held a rod that emitted high-voltage electricity.

Zeon frowned.

As the man approached, a strong scent of blood filled the air.

The smell of blood was too intense for it to be from killing just one or two people.

“Looks like you just killed someone.”

“Sharp kid. How about it? Do you want to become part of my collection? You have pretty ears.”

The man gestured to his waist, revealing numerous ears hanging from his belt.

“My nickname is Ear Collector. Hehe!”

He grinned, revealing yellow teeth.