Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert Chapter 580

Chapter 580

Zeon strode across the desert expanse.

Yet he wasn't traveling solo.

Levin, Tesserina, and a few others trailed right behind him.

“Hoo!”

The lady who paused briefly to gaze across the barren sands featured sharply pointed ears.

Her striking grace and allure belonged to none other than Serion, the North District's leader.

Flanking Serion stood the North District's top warriors.

“You didn’t need to venture out personally.”

“With Lady Serion heading out, we have to escort you, naturally.”

The response came from the Black Lake Guardians, the North District's premier squad.

These were elite fighters made up solely of elves.

The Black Lake Guardians served as Serion's close-protection detail, safeguarding the North District's ruler.

Though their ranks were small, each member ranked as a powerhouse in the North District.

It stood to reason they'd join Serion on this outing.

Raphael, captain of the Black Lake Guardians, voiced his concern carefully.

“But is this really necessary? We could’ve just sent another elf.”

“Raphael, are you fretting over me?”

“No, that’s not…”

“I get it. It’s been a century since I last stepped into the desert myself. Still, you know this too, Raphael—I battled desert beasts back then.”

“Naturally, I don’t doubt your strength, Lady Serion. I’m just concerned…”

“I understand. But this issue demands my personal attention. I need to witness it firsthand—the spot where Lord Zeon intends to place the new portal…”

“Hmm.”

“Relax, Raphael. Traveling alongside Lord Zeon is safer than lingering in Neo Seoul.”

Serion directed her eyes toward Zeon.

Zeon chatted at length with Levin and Tesserina.

Even amid the harsh desert, their faces and demeanors radiated calm assurance.

They exuded certainty that no desert monster could threaten them.

Not even the Black Lake Guardians protecting Serion could conceal their strained looks.

All Black Lake Guardians were exceptional awakeners—at A-rank, few in Neo Seoul could rival them.

Still, even they stiffened up upon entering the desert.

They seldom ventured out while guarding Serion.

To them, the desert remained a mysterious realm.

The mere challenge of shielding Serion in this alien terrain already heightened their tension.

Serion deemed their fears utterly unfounded.

Though Tesserina appeared human, her essence was draconic.

Serion had crossed paths with a dragon in Kurayan before, recognizing that unique aura.

The rest of the elves remained clueless.

From Zeon and Levin's relaxed exchanges with Tesserina, it appeared they knew her dragon heritage too.

With Zeon, the desert's mightiest sand mage, and Tesserina, a true dragon, by their side, peril would be the real surprise.

Yet Serion couldn't share this insight with Raphael and his team.

She avoided exposing Tesserina's secret, lest it provoke her ire.

Zeon cast a glance at Serion and declared.

“Rest break over—time to move out.”

“Yes!”

Serion responded and resumed the march.

The Black Lake Guardians fell in step behind her.

Zeon turned to eye their steadfast pursuit and grinned.

Right then, Tesserina addressed Zeon warily.

“But do we truly need to drag them to a spot like the Forest of Origin?”

Their goal was the Forest of Origin, home to Gohar.

He guided the party to Earth's inaugural revived green woodland.

Tesserina's features lit up with thrill as they neared the Forest of Origin.

She'd visited the World Tree village already, yet another forest stirred her eagerly.

Despite tales from Zeon and Levin, this marked her debut visit to the Forest of Origin.

Somehow, she disliked introducing the North District elves to a woodland she was discovering herself.

Hence her comment.

Zeon answered with a nonchalant look.

“We require a buffer zone.”

“A buffer?”

“The Forest of Origin houses not just humans but plenty of dark elves too. They’re not keen on mingling with outsiders.”

“That tracks. They’ve endured heavy persecution. So you plan to let dark elves and true elves connect, softening their suspicions.”

“Exactly—to foster mutual understanding. They’ve dwelled in vastly different worlds for over a century, after all.”

“Ah, got it.”

Tesserina nodded, glancing at Serion and the Black Lake Guardians.

They stumbled frequently on the trek, plainly unused to desert navigation.

They differed sharply from desert-hardened elves.

Tesserina let out a sigh.

“Hauling that kind of luggage will drag out the trip considerably.”

Zeon, Levin, and Tesserina could all take to the air.

Without Serion's crew, they'd have soared overhead to the Forest of Origin by now.

Levin flashed a smile at Tesserina's complaints and remarked,

“No rush anyway, noona. Let’s stroll leisurely.”

“Alright, fine.”

“It’s refreshing to walk like this occasionally. Feels like a real vacation.”

“You’re right.”

Tesserina agreed with a nod.

To set up a portal, Zeon needed to inspect the site in person.

Thus, he'd departed Neo Seoul toward the Forest of Origin.

“Even so, linking the Forest of Origin will flip Neo Seoul on its head.”

“The shock will dwarf everything before.”

Levin responded gravely.

The portal to the Steel Fortress and Magic Stone Mine had already stunned folks.

But the Forest of Origin's reveal would eclipse that entirely.

Sand blanketed the world, with forests clinging to tiny pockets.

Only El Harun and Neo Seoul's inner green zone persisted.

El Harun stayed secret, and the green zone barred entry.

Even elite awakeners viewed forests as mythical domains beyond reach.

A sprawling forest lay inconceivable.

Yet a portal to such a vast greenery would drive everyone into a frenzy.

“Will the residents even welcome intruders?”

“No way.”

“Still proceeding with the portal?”

“I’ll set it up regardless. Their call after that. But isolation can't last forever. For progress, they'll need outside ties eventually.”

Zeon's choice factored in the Forest of Origin's likely stability by now.

Past upheavals had delayed his visits.

He lacked updates on the green expanse's growth.

Still, he figured it had swollen massively.

Suddenly—

Zeon's instincts picked up an incoming monster.

He alerted Serion at once.

“Sandworm incoming, one kilometer ahead, burrowed underground.”

“A sandworm?”

Raphael positioned himself before Serion.

A rapier gleamed in his grip, drawn at some point.

He readied to defend her from the beast.

Zeon instructed him.

“Sheathe the weapon.”

“But…”

“No point in needless combat.”

“How so?”

Raphael eyed Zeon in confusion.

Rustle—

Sand erupted afar then.

The sandworm neared the surface, just as Zeon predicted.

It homed in on Serion's party.

Zeon summoned Levin.

“Levin!”

“On it, hyung!”

Without details, Levin nodded knowingly and ascended skyward.

“Wow!”

“He’s like a genuine specter.”

The Black Lake Guardians marveled at Levin's ghostly shift, a first for them.

Ghost-form Levin zipped over the sandworm swiftly.

Then unleashed lightning.

Flash!

The bolt stung the buried sandworm mildly, inflicting little harm.

Levin never aimed to slay it outright.

He sought merely to jolt and redirect it.

His plan succeeded flawlessly.

The sandworm fixated on Levin.

Flash!

Levin pelted lightning bolts, drawing the worm astray.

The sandworm pursued Levin avidly, veering off course.

Once distant enough, Levin rejoined the group.

They'd sidestepped the desert's prime menace effortlessly.

The Black Lake Guardians tongue-clicked in awe at Levin's feat.

It was a tactic beyond their wildest thoughts.

‘No wonder they roam the desert unbound.’

Later encounters with beasts followed, but Zeon's crew dodged or dispatched them with ease.

This left the Black Lake Guardians feeling redundant.

They'd come to shield Serion, yet never drew blades.

The path stayed eerily serene.

Even camp proved tranquil.

Zeon picked monster-free havens.

His dominion scanned nearby threats, avoiding their routes.

Serion's team thus rested soundly, attack-free.

“This seems too smooth.”

Serion murmured it herself.

She cradled steaming herbal tea.

Her own brew, with Levin-heated water.

Desert luxury, sipping tea amid dunes.

Such journeys she'd repeat gladly.

Meal done, Zeon announced.

“All set? Let’s go.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Okay.”

Levin and Tesserina packed quickest, rising first.

Serion and Guardians scrambled to follow.

Zeon pressed on sans direction check.

Serion puzzled over it.

“Compasses fail here—how does he navigate?”

“Beats me.”

Raphael shook his head.

Overhearing, Levin chuckled,

“Don’t overthink it. Just trust. In the desert, Hyung Zeon defies limits.”

Levin's tone brimmed with unwavering faith in Zeon.

Longest companion, he grasped Zeon's prowess deepest.

As Serion nodded wordlessly—

Thud! Thud!

Intense tremors shook the ground abruptly.

“What’s that? Monster again?”

“Battle stations, everyone!”

The Black Lake Guardians panicked at the unprecedented quakes.

But Zeon merely halted, gazing fixedly whence the shakes emanated.

A colossal beast warranted vigilance at least.

Instead, Zeon's lips curved into a smile.

Levin queried him.

“Hyung! That one, yeah?”

“Yep.”

“Haha! Spotting it again here is fortune.”

Tesserina, irked by their vagueness, demanded,

“That one? What’s ‘that’?”

“Noona.”

“Yeah?”

“Ever laid eyes on a walking fortress?”

“Please. That real?”

“It is. Check there—the mobile fortress Arkelon.”

Levin indicated a colossal turtle lumbering their way.