Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 220

Crash!

The deadly sand wave engulfed hundreds of Orcs as it surged toward the Orc Great Chieftain.

Even as the enormous wave, towering ten meters high, rushed toward him with the force of swallowing everything in its path, Orca didn't blink an eye.

Just as the sand wave was about to crash over him, Orca raised his right fist high into the sky.

"If you think this is enough to kill me, you're sorely mistaken."

At that moment, Orca slammed his raised fist into the ground.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, a massive shockwave erupted.

The shockwave shattered the gigantic sand wave that had nearly reached him into countless fragments.

Poof!

The sand particles that collided with the shockwave scattered in all directions.

As the sand rained down on him, Orca spoke.

"This won't be enough. Human! Show me everything you've got. I'll crush it all into pieces."

Orca was a born warrior.

He preferred direct confrontation over tricks or cunning.

A true warrior proves his worth with sheer strength alone.

Zeon stared at Orca for a moment.

With a single punch, he had destroyed the Sand Wave.

It wasn't just an ordinary punch; it was imbued with an aura of energy.

Just as humans and Elves sense and manipulate mana, Orcs are said to wield this aura.

While the exact difference between mana and aura isn't clear, Orcs, like humans, undergo an awakening, after which they can control this aura.

Orca had been able to wield aura since birth.

He was a naturally gifted Awakened and warrior.

He controlled his aura as naturally as breathing, and with that power, he became the Great Chieftain of the Orcs.

Aura surged through Orca's entire body like molten lava.

The heat was so intense that even the Shaman beside him had to step back.

Zeon muttered to himself.

"Good!"

It had been a long time since he had faced someone with such intense fighting spirit.

Regardless of rank, this was an opponent who made him want to fight with everything he had.

Zeon descended from the air and began to walk toward Orca.

Jang Yong-beom followed behind him, gritting his teeth.

Orca's aura was pressing down on him.

He felt fear and terror.

But he was also excited.

'So there are still so many strong opponents in this world. I’ve been living all this time thinking I was so great.'

After becoming an A-rank Awakened, he had lost his sense of purpose.

He didn't want to work under anyone, but he also didn't have the confidence to lead many subordinates.

So, he settled for being in a small party.

Behind that decision was the confidence that there were only a few people in Neo Seoul who could defeat him.

He had deluded himself into thinking that his combat experience could rival even that of an S-rank, all while justifying it as his pride.

'It was all a hollow illusion created by my ego. I’ve been shutting myself up in a dark room, convincing myself that I’m the best. Now, I’m going to break all the limits I’ve created for myself.'

Deep down, he wanted to face this Orc Great Chieftain.

Just looking at him sent shivers down his spine and made his heart feel like it would stop.

This was the first time he had felt such pressure and overwhelming presence.

But he knew this opponent was out of his league.

Maybe if he were S-rank, but with his A-rank power, he couldn't take on the Great Chieftain.

Jang Yong-beom accepted this reality and set his sights on the shaman instead.

The shaman seemed just as threatening as Orca, but at least he didn't exude the same suffocating presence.

'I’ll take you down and move up.'

With this resolve, Jang Yong-beom followed behind Zeon.

The area where the Sand Wave had swept through was devastated.

Hundreds, thousands of tons of sand had buried everything in its path.

Hundreds of Orcs were buried alive beneath the sand under Jang Yong-beom's feet.

Zeon walked across the scene of the massacre he had created with a calm expression. From his face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

It was only then that Jang Yong-beom realized.

'This guy has been through countless battles like this. He’s clearly experienced this kind of chaos more times than I can imagine. What kind of life has he led?'

The same shiver he had felt from Orca, he now felt from Zeon.

Even though Zeon was right in front of him, it felt like no matter how hard he reached out, he would never be able to touch him.

There was a vast gap between himself and Zeon.

By now, Zeon had reached Orca.

Orca bared his fangs.

"Human!"

"Orc!"

"I'm going to kill you and eat you. By doing so, I will take your strength."

"You can’t gain abilities just by eating someone."

"I know that. What I'm talking about is the strength of the soul. A warrior's soul strengthens the soul of the one who consumes it."

"Then go ahead and try. If you can."

Zeon smiled.

A bright, unshadowed smile.

Seeing that smile, Orca felt his fighting spirit surge even higher.

"Roarrr!"

Orca roared, releasing his fierce aura.

The aura of the Great Chieftain, who stood at the pinnacle of tens of thousands of Orcs, inspired courage and vitality in the Orcs, while sapping the morale and stiffening the bodies of their enemies.

Thump!

Orca stomped the ground.

His massive body soared dozens of meters into the air before plunging down toward Zeon.

No other weapon was necessary.

His enormous body was the weapon.

Like a meteor crashing down, his massive body reached Zeon in an instant.

Zeon didn’t dodge the attack.

Instead, he built a wall.

A wall made of sand.

It was ten meters high and over three meters thick.

Though it was just sand, this wall was as solid as any rock due to its sheer density.

Boom!

But the sand wall was too easily shattered.

With the sound of an explosion, the sand that made up the wall scattered in all directions, revealing Orca.

"Grk?"

Orca had intended to rip Zeon apart in one swift move, but Zeon was no longer there.

Orca's eyes rapidly scanned the surroundings.

He quickly located Zeon.

Swoosh!

Pivoting on his left leg, Orca swung his fist toward his left.

The punch, filled with aura, caused the air to burst, and the area where Zeon was expected to be exploded.

Sand flew in all directions.

Zeon moved through the chaos.

Even without his abilities as a Sand Mage, Zeon was strong.

Stronger than most combat-focused Awakened.

Dyoden had trained him that way.

But in pure physical prowess, he couldn't match Orca.

In raw strength, reaction speed, and dynamic vision, Orca far surpassed Zeon.

It wasn’t that Orca planned ahead or anticipated moves; he simply reacted to each situation with instantaneous judgment, relentlessly pursuing and attacking Zeon.

Like a cat herding a mouse.

Boom!

Orca's fist narrowly missed Zeon, slamming into the ground instead.

A massive crater, over three meters in diameter, formed where the punch landed.

The power was truly terrifying.

If Zeon were to get hit by that massive fist, it wouldn't just break bones and crush muscles.

Even a single hit would be fatal.

It had been a long time since Zeon had felt such tension.

And so, Zeon smiled.

As he had just confirmed, Orca had the upper hand in every physical aspect. But there was one area where Zeon held the advantage.

He could see the bigger picture and devise a strategy.

In his mind, the plan to bring down this powerful monster was slowly coming together.

Boom!

Once again, Orca's fist grazed past Zeon’s side and exploded on the ground.

Even though it wasn't a direct hit, Zeon’s side throbbed in pain.

If he hadn’t been wearing a robe made from Leviathan's hide, his ribs would have been shattered by this attack.

Zeon retreated using Sand Stride. Orca immediately gave chase.

In an instant, Orca closed the distance.

Ten meters, twenty meters—these were distances Orca could cover with a single leap.

Escaping within his range was impossible.

'This time, you won’t be able to dodge.'

Orca swung his fist with all his might.

His target was Zeon’s head.

At that moment, Zeon’s figure vanished from his sight.

Using his Sand Stride, Zeon silently moved to the left.

It was as if someone had pulled him along with an invisible string.

As a result, Orca's fist once again slammed into the ground, creating another needless crater.

Frustrated, Orca roared.

"How long are you going to keep running? Cowardly human!"

"Cowardly? I’m just carefully crafting a strategy and moving accordingly."

"Shut up."

"Well, since you told me to shut up, I suppose it’s time to get serious."

Suddenly, the sand around Zeon began to move, and dozens of Sand Soldiers were summoned.

The summoned Sand Soldiers attacked Orca.

Orca scoffed at their assault.

"These sand puppets are useless against me."

Thud! Thud!

Orca took the attacks from the Sand Soldiers head-on.

Although they couldn’t use special skills, the Sand Soldiers had the combined speed and mass of sand, making their destructive power greater than that of most Awakened.

But Orca endured all the attacks with his bare body, completely unfazed.

The Sand Soldiers even clung to Orca's body.

Each Sand Soldier weighed at least a hundred kilograms, and with dozens of them attached, their combined weight easily reached several tons.

With all these Sand Soldiers hanging off him, Orca still charged at Zeon.

Orcs were generally classified as small-class beasts.

Ogres were considered medium-class, but the power Orca displayed now surpassed even that, nearing the level of a large-class beast.

It was a power that defied common sense and exceeded the limits of his species.

Zeon was slightly surprised by Orca's power, but he wasn’t intimidated.

"I get the sense of your strength; now let’s see how tough you really are. Self-destruct!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In that instant, the Sand Soldiers clinging to Orca detonated all at once.

Though individual grains of sand might seem insignificant, when several tons of sand explode simultaneously, it’s a different story.

The explosion was powerful enough to obliterate an entire village.

Yet, even within the explosion, Orca remained unscathed.

His heavy armor was only slightly damaged on the surface, and his body bore no injuries at all.

It was a durability that defied logic.

While he wasn’t harmed, Orca’s anger reached its peak.

He was infuriated by Zeon’s continuous use of strange tricks.

"Raaah!"

Once again, Orca unleashed his aura with a roar, releasing it along with a fierce battle cry.

The aura whipped into a storm, sweeping across the area.

Zeon couldn’t avoid being caught in the storm of aura.

"Ugh!"

Zeon’s body wavered under the impact of the storm.

Orca didn’t miss this opportunity and charged at Zeon.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Zeon launched a series of Viper and Sand Blaster attacks, but they weren’t enough to stop Orca.

However, Zeon had prepared for this.

"Quick Sand."

Squelch!

Suddenly, Orca’s legs sank into the sand up to his knees.

"……"

Orca looked down in puzzlement.

While sand might be loose, it had never swallowed him up like this before.

That was when it happened.

The sand beneath Orca began to flow like a river, moving with terrifying speed.

Quick Sand.

A river of rapidly flowing sand, or quicksand, had formed.

The quicksand that swallowed Orca continued to flow endlessly underground. Just like the other Orcs, the Great Chieftain was being buried alive.

Orca struggled to free himself from the quicksand, but it was futile. In an instant, Orca disappeared into the sand.

"Roooaaar!"

Even the Great Chieftain's roar was swallowed up by the hellish quicksand.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]