Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 206

"Damn it!"

"It's not too late yet. We need to knock them off."

The Awakeneds, finally realizing the situation, started attacking the Orcs climbing the cliff.

"Chwiit!"

"Kreek! S-save me..."

Orcs screamed as they were hit and fell. However, there were more Orcs climbing up the cliff than those falling.

The Orcs following Ashanka began to fight against the human Awakeneds as they reached the top of the cliff.

While the vanguard blocked the Awakeneds, the subsequent waves of Orcs kept climbing up.

"Damn it! If more of them get up here, we're in serious trouble. We need to stop them somehow."

"Dirty pig bastards!"

The Awakeneds attacked the Orcs with all their might, and the Orcs responded mercilessly.

"Aargh!"

"Ugh!"

Both sides suffered casualties.

Orcs died in large numbers, but neither side retreated.

Corpses piled up at the entrance of the underground cavern, and blood flowed like a river.

"Kill all the humans."

Ashanka roared.

As the second-in-command of the Orc tribes, Ashanka's shout carried a power that shook the spirits of those who heard it.

It was the fearsome presence of an Orc hero.

Nearby Awakeneds clutched their ears in agony from the powerful roar.

"Ugh!"

"My ears..."

Ashanka crushed the helpless, kneeling Awakeneds with his battle hammer.

Smash!

One's skull shattered as he died instantly.

Ashanka moved to claim another life.

Smash!

Someone intercepted his battle hammer.

It was Urtian, the leader of the Red Storm.

"Orcs dare to invade? I won't let any of you leave alive."

"Humans killed our young, so this is only fitting."

"Shut up, Orc."

"You shut up, elf!"

Ashanka swung his battle hammer with a roar.

A grayish aura emanated from his hammer.

It was the unique energy of the Orcs, known as battle aura.

Just as humans acquire skills as they awaken, exceptional Orcs discover this energy.

Clang!

Ashanka and Urtian clashed.

Urtian countered with his aura blade but felt a powerful shock.

It wasn't a difference in the power of their energies.

The destructive power of both was equal.

The problem lay in the physical disparity between Ashanka and Urtian.

Though Urtian was large for an elf, Ashanka was twice his size.

He was stronger and far more destructive.

"Ugh!"

Blood appeared at the corner of Urtian's mouth.

With just one clash, his internal organs were shaken.

His whole body tingled, feeling as though it was being torn apart.

Urtian swallowed the blood and swung his shamshir again.

Slash!

His shamshir aimed for Ashanka's neck at terrifying speed, but Ashanka dodged nimbly and countered with his hammer.

Despite his massive size, Ashanka was incredibly agile.

His speed matched Urtian's.

"Die, human!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ashanka chased Urtian, swinging his massive hammer wildly.

Urtian evaded the attacks while countering with Wind Cutters.

The Awakeneds of the Red Storm tried to assist Urtian, but it was futile.

Interfering in their fight would result in being crushed within seconds.

They had to focus all their efforts on fighting the Orcs in front of them.

"Haah!"

"Yah!"

Eloy and Brielle also played their part.

But the Orcs continued to climb the cliff relentlessly, outnumbering the Awakeneds.

At this rate, the Steel Fortress would soon fall to the Orcs.

"Ha."

Zeon let out a light sigh.

After solving the problem with the Four-Eyed Bats, a bigger issue awaited him.

He couldn't let the Steel Fortress fall.

Zeon stepped outside the fortress.

Even though he was walking on empty air, he didn't fall.

The sand automatically formed a platform beneath his feet.

From the air outside the fortress, he could see how dire the situation was for the humans.

Even now, the Orcs were climbing the cliff like ants.

If they all reached the top and entered the Steel Fortress, the battle would be over.

The result would be the annihilation of the humans.

"I can't let that happen."

Zeon wasn't interested in power struggles among humans. But the survival of the human race was a different matter.

He had to prevent the extinction of humans by another species.

It was the only sense of duty Zeon held.

"Chwiit! A human is floating."

"Attack him."

Orcs noticed Zeon and began to attack.

Spears and other projectiles flew towards him, but most fell short of reaching him.

An Orc shaman noticed this.

The old Orc shaman instinctively sensed the danger posed by Zeon.

'If we leave this human alone, it'll be disastrous. We must kill him!'

The shaman's instincts were sharper and more accurate than those of ordinary Orcs or humans.

He knew they had to kill Zeon immediately.

The shaman pulled out a black crystal from his robes.

It was a cursed artifact that every Orc shaman possessed.

It exponentially amplified their spells.

The downside was that using this black crystal would drain all his energy, leaving him bedridden for months. But there was no time to be picky now.

The old Orc shaman used the black crystal to curse Zeon.

'Confusion, division, disease, suicide.'

All sorts of amplified curses were directed at Zeon.

Zeon instantly felt an overwhelming sense of lethargy.

His control over the sand weakened, his muscles lost strength, and he was consumed by a high fever.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

'A curse?'

Zeon quickly realized what had happened.

He had experienced curses before.

Zeon remembered that he had something in his subspace that could counter curses.

'The Reaper's Scythe.'

He immediately retrieved the enormous scythe from his subspace.

It was the scythe used by the Grim Reaper.

Although it was also a cursed item like the black crystal, its power was incomparable.

Just holding the Reaper's Scythe brought a flood of curses upon him.

His strength drained, his vision blurred, his heartbeat slowed, and his skin dried up.

Already weakened by the shaman's curse, Zeon's body faced immense strain.

Enduring the pain, Zeon swung the Reaper's Scythe.

His target was the old Orc shaman.

Slash!

The invisible force from the Reaper's Scythe cut through the Orc shaman precisely.

"Arrgh!"

The Orc shaman let out a horrified scream.

The black crystal shattered, and excruciating pain overwhelmed him.

All the curses from the Reaper's Scythe descended upon the shaman.

He went blind, his skin dried up, his mind fractured, and countless diseases gnawed at him from within.

His consciousness faded rapidly, but the pain remained vividly.

In his final moment, he felt his soul being sucked out.

The Reaper's Scythe had harvested the old Orc shaman's soul.

Thud!

The shaman's dried-up corpse fell lifelessly to the ground.

Zeon then returned the Reaper's Scythe to his subspace.

Although the Reaper's Scythe was an overwhelmingly powerful item, its backlash was equally severe.

Zeon quickly channeled energy into his Inferno Gauntlet. The intense heat burned away the curses affecting his body.

"Huu!"

He finally felt alive again.

But there was no time to rest.

Numerous Orcs were still climbing the cliff.

He needed to deal with them.

Zeon concentrated and heightened his control.

Whoosh!

A wind began to blow around him.

It was wind mixed with sand.

The wind grew stronger and stronger.

The desert sand filled the air.

"Ugh?"

"Chwiit! Why is there sand?"

The Orcs climbing the cliff looked puzzled.

The world had suddenly turned white, obstructed by sand.

A terrifying sound echoed.

It was similar to the sound of thousands of Four-Eyed Bats flapping their wings, but sharper and more piercing.

The Orcs finally realized a sandstorm was brewing.

The sandstorm was hurtling towards them on the cliff.

The high-speed rotating sand scraped their skin away.

"Ugh?"

"Chwiit?"

The Orcs hunched over in shock.

Until then, they thought the sandstorm was a natural occurrence.

But the sandstorm was summoned by Zeon.

'Sand Storm!'

Zeon muttered, and the sandstorm transformed into a fierce storm.

The blade-like sandstorm ruthlessly tore into the Orcs clinging to the cliff.

Their thick hides were peeled away, exposing raw, red muscle.

Despite their formidable defenses, the Orcs were helpless against the Sand Storm.

"Argh!"

"Chwiit!"

Orcs caught in the storm spun in the air before being flung out and falling to the ground.

Thud! Splat!

The Orcs that fell from tens of meters high were crushed into pulp.

They died instantly without even a scream.

The ones still spinning in the air faced a worse fate.

The high-speed rotating sand particles shredded them to pieces.

"Argh!"

"S-save me..."

The Orcs screamed, but their voices never reached outside the Sand Storm.

Pop! Pop!

The massive bodies of the Orcs burst like water balloons, spraying blood everywhere.

The blood stained the sand red, but it was minuscule compared to the vast amount of sand.

Many Orcs were ground to nothing by the Sand Storm.

The Awakeneds watching shivered.

"Insane!"

"Is that even possible?"

"Oh my god!"

The sight of the Orcs being turned into red sand terrified them.

Zeon displayed overwhelming power against the Orcs they had struggled with.

They knew being a Sand Mage was formidable, but seeing it firsthand brought a surge of fear.

Whoosh!

The sandstorm slowly dissipated, revealing the scene below.

There were no Orcs in sight.

They had all been turned into red sand, disappearing without a trace.

In the desolate land, only Zeon stood alone.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]