Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 185

Lee Ji-ryeong’s eyes widened in shock.

“Unbelievable! You’re carrying sand in a subspace?”

He was astonished not only by the vastness of Zeon’s personal subspace but also by the fact that it was filled with sand, something he had never imagined.

Shhh!

Sand continued to pour out of Zeon’s subspace, piling up to their ankles.

Zeon spoke.

“Do you still think I can’t handle it?”

“Are you sure you want to reveal this? It can’t be good for others to know you carry sand in your subspace.”

“I don’t have the luxury of keeping secrets in a fight.”

“Fair enough…”

Lee Ji-ryeong nodded.

At that moment, both the Knight Commander and Trigion launched their attacks.

Lee Ji-ryeong, eager to face Trigion and prove his might, was frustrated that he had to contend with the Knight Commander instead.

“I’ll fry you to a crisp.”

Lee Ji-ryeong unleashed blinding white lightning at the Knight Commander.

Zeon lunged at Trigion.

“Hahaha!”

Trigion, seemingly pleased with his new metallic body, laughed wildly as he swung his fist.

In an instant, a highly compressed, invisible projectile shot from his fist.

‘Mana Particle Cannon?’

Zeon’s eyes widened.

The skill Trigion just used wasn’t one of Cha Jin-cheol’s.

It closely resembled the Mana Particle Cannon used by the elves who attacked Dyoden a long time ago.

No one had taught him this.

Through assimilation and calculation, Trigion had devised the strongest attack possible with Cha Jin-cheol’s body.

His terrifying learning ability was unmatched.

There was no time or space to dodge.

Zeon manipulated the sand to form a wall in front of him.

Boom!

The sand wall shattered under the Mana Particle Cannon. However, it did not reach Zeon.

He had constructed multiple sand walls in succession.

Hisss!

Zeon, having blocked the attack, floated in the air, supported by the swirling sand.

From this position, he swung his arm.

Hissss!

Dozens of sand serpents shot toward Trigion.

It was Viper, an advanced form of Sand Blaster.

The Vipers viciously bit into Trigion’s body, but he only laughed mockingly.

“Hahaha! That tickles. Such attacks cannot penetrate my iron body.”

He was highly satisfied with the mechanical parts of his new body.

He didn’t tire, and any damage could be repaired with new parts.

The concept of combining human flesh with machinery was beyond anything from his world.

Trigion saw immense potential in his mechanical body and was eager to test all its possibilities against Zeon.

Boom! Boom!

Mana Particle Cannons fired repeatedly.

Zeon blocked or evaded every attack with sand walls.

However, nearby Awakeneds were hit by the cannons.

“Argh!”

“Ughh!”

Screams erupted from all around.

Already, more than half of the Pegasus Raid Force members were down.

As time passed, Trigion grew stronger while the Pegasus Raid Force weakened.

‘I must defeat him here, no matter the cost. If he gets out, it will bring disaster.’

Now, while his resurrection was still incomplete, was the opportunity.

If they waited longer, Trigion would regain his full strength, making him much harder to defeat.

Trigion’s taunts fueled Zeon’s resolve.

“Are you going to keep dodging forever, you rat?”

Frustrated by his inability to hit Zeon, Trigion’s anger boiled over.

“Time to show you the danger of a cornered rat.”

Zeon intensified his control over the sand.

Vrrrr!

The sand particles in the air began to spin at an incredible speed.

Sensing something was off, Trigion furrowed his brow.

Shhh!

The sand particles swirled rapidly around Trigion.

“What is this?”

Trigion initially dismissed it, believing sand couldn’t harm his mechanical body.

But as the fine sand particles began to grind away his metal exterior, he realized his mistake.

“Ugh! Sand, of all things…”

The surface of his mechanical body started to erode and disintegrate.

There was nowhere to escape or a way to block it.

His only option was to use a shield, but even that was ground away by the sand particles.

Maintaining his Sand Mixer, Zeon called out.

“Brielle!”

“Yeah!”

Nearby, Brielle responded immediately.

“Do you still have those bombs?”

“Bombs?”

“The ones that froze the Mechanized Awakeneds.”

“Oh, those? I have two left.”

“Give them to me.”

“Here!”

Brielle pulled two bombs from her hat and tossed them to Zeon.

Thud! Thud!

Trigion’s heavy footsteps echoed as he approached Zeon.

He was willing to endure the erosion to reach Zeon.

This only made the Sand Mixer stronger. But Trigion never stopped advancing.

“If I just kill you, this metal body can be repaired easily.”

The area was littered with the bodies of West District Awakeneds.

Some were already dead, their parts stripped by Trigion, but others were still alive.

Trigion knew that even if his mechanical body was damaged, he could repair it using parts from the surviving Awakeneds.

Clank! Clank!

Within the Sand Mixer, his arm began to transform.

After a complex process, it morphed into a long barrel.

Electric currents ran through it.

Trigion had constructed a railgun.

From Cha Jin-cheol’s memories, he identified the railgun as the most powerful weapon. Thus, he fashioned his arm into a railgun.

“Die!”

Boom!

Trigion fired the railgun.

Zeon narrowly avoided the projectile, but not everyone was as fortunate.

The beam vaporized all the Awakeneds in its path, leaving no trace.

“Damn it!”

“Oh my god!”

The remaining Awakeneds froze in horror at the sight of their comrades being obliterated.

Boom! Boom!

Even as they spoke, Trigion fired the railgun repeatedly.

Zeon dodged each attack and threw the bombs he had received from Brielle at Trigion.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Boom!

The bomb exploded at Trigion’s feet.

“What do you think you can achieve with such toys?”

“What happens when those toys mix with sand?”

“What?”

Hiss!

The substance from the bomb mixed with the sand and seeped into Trigion’s metal body.

The lubricant that allowed his movements smoothly began to solidify rapidly. The sand compounded the issue, causing the joints to grind and break.

Crack!

Breaking sounds emanated from various parts of Trigion’s body.

“What is this?”

His face darkened with rage.

While Trigion was momentarily immobilized, sand continued to infiltrate his body.

The sand flowed through his mechanical parts, completely destroying them.

Boom! Boom!

The mechanical body, unable to withstand the pressure, began to explode from the inside.

Red sand flowed out from the shattered metal body.

The sand attacked not only the mechanical parts but also the blood-flowing flesh.

“Ugh!”

Trigion grimaced in pain as the sand invaded his bloodstream.

As he fell to the ground and coughed, sand spewed out of his mouth.

“This… can’t be…”

Trigion’s body convulsed.

Zeon’s sand was thoroughly ravaging his internal and external parts simultaneously.

“Arghhhh!”

Finally, Trigion couldn’t bear it any longer and screamed.

―My King!

The Knight Commander sensed Trigion’s peril and tried to rush over, but Lee Ji-ryeong blocked his path.

“Hey!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Other undead knights tried to attack Zeon, but Levin and Eloy intercepted them.

Crash!

At that moment, the arm that had transformed into a railgun fell off.

The connection points had been eroded by the sand.

Clang! Clang!

One by one, other parts of his body detached and fell.

Eventually, only his torso remained.

Trigion stared at Zeon in disbelief.

“Impossible! My resurrection cannot be stopped like this.”

“Stay here as a ghost. The outside world is chaotic enough without you.”

“If only I had more time, the situation would be different.”

“It wouldn’t change.”

“Do you even know my true power?”

“And do you know mine?”

“You mean you didn’t use your full strength against me?”

“There are too many eyes for that.”

Zeon replied calmly.

Trigion looked at him incredulously.

“How… can a monster like you exist? But don’t feel safe just because you defeated me…”

“What do you mean?”

“Your world, Neo Seoul… Hahaha!”

With a cryptic laugh, Trigion’s life ended.

Zeon frowned as he looked at Trigion’s corpse.

Even in death, Trigion left an unsettling feeling.

―Ah! My King!

The Knight Commander went berserk, sensing Trigion’s death.

He tried to rush to Trigion, but Lee Ji-ryeong kept him at bay.

Seeing the Knight Commander’s reaction confirmed Trigion’s death for Zeon. However, the uneasiness persisted.

If Trigion’s body was left as it was, the West District Awakeneds would likely retrieve it. Or the Pegasus Raid Force might take it back to Neo Seoul for research.

Leaving such a potential threat wasn’t Zeon’s style.

Fwoosh!

Flames engulfed Trigion’s corpse.

Zeon used the power of the Inferno Gauntlet to burn it.

The flames slowly melted Trigion’s body.

“No!”

“Captain…”

The West District Awakeneds rushed to extinguish the fire, but it was futile. Ordinary means couldn’t put it out.

All they could do was watch as Trigion turned to ash.

“You bastard, you killed our captain…”

“Do you think you’ll get away with this?”

They glared at Zeon with hostility, but none dared to attack.

“You stupid bastards! Can’t you see? Your captain was taken over by the dungeon boss. If you still want to fight, I won’t hold back.”

“Who the hell do you think you’re messing with?”

Eloy and Levin stood in their way.

Their fierce presence silenced the West District Awakeneds.

They looked at Zeon with a mix of fear and resignation.

‘Sand Demon. As long as he exists, we may have no future.’

[Translator – Peptobismol]