Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert Chapter 630

Chapter 630

“We’ve brought a hundred boxes of anti magical beast rounds.”

“Thirty replacement barrels for the mana particle cannons have arrived.”

“Ten trucks carrying artificially cultivated meat have come in.”

Truck after truck loaded with supplies poured into the open lot where the portal had been installed.

All of them were supplies being sent to the Steel Fortress.

While the Steel Fortress held the front line against El Harun’s invasion, Neo Seoul was mobilizing all of its military production facilities to manufacture enormous quantities of supplies in support.

The goods produced in that way gathered at this portal before being sent to the Steel Fortress.

Thanks to the portal, the supplies needed by the Steel Fortress could be sent over immediately whenever necessary.

Countless companies and people had been mobilized for this effort. Yet no one complained.

Because they all knew this incident would become an important turning point for Neo Seoul’s future.

Until now, Neo Seoul had prospered within a safe space. But a safe space had clear limitations, and eventually brought stagnation.

Then, through the portal, the Steel Fortress and the mana stone mine became connected.

A revolution in logistics had occurred.

Through this, Neo Seoul greatly expanded its sphere of influence, allowing it to break through its limits.

They could not afford to miss this once-in-a-century opportunity.

If the Steel Fortress were taken by El Harun’s other races, Neo Seoul would lose one of its gateways to the wider world.

Had they never experienced it in the first place, things might have been different. But those who had already enjoyed the convenience of using the Steel Fortress could no longer give it up.

That was why every factory was producing and supplying the materials needed by the Steel Fortress at full capacity.

The supplies gathered here were instantly transported to the Steel Fortress through the portal.

Naturally, the number of awakened guarding the portal had also increased greatly.

Since it had nearly been destroyed once already by the other races, security had been tightened even further.

“If there’s anyone suspicious, identify them immediately and report it.”

“Anyone approaching within twenty meters of the portal without authorization may be killed on sight.”

Since they were protecting vital supplies, the awakened guarding the portal carried an even more murderous atmosphere.

Because of that, many people merely watched from afar, unable to recklessly approach the portal.

Among those watching were Serian, Queen of the North District, and her trusted subordinate Borin.

Looking at the mountain-like piles of supplies, Borin said,

“Do you think El Harun knows about this situation?”

“They do. That’s why they tried to brainwash me and destroy the portal.”

“This is a fight they can never win.”

War was ultimately fought with manpower and money.

The supplies needed would never simply fall from empty air.

People were ground down, and money burned, to create them.

Neo Seoul was home to more than twenty million people and possessed countless production facilities, the most advanced on Earth.

Above all, they were moving in perfect coordination under the command of Mayor Jin Geum-ho.

The true strength of Neo Seoul was terrifying.

The supplies needed by the Steel Fortress were being produced in overflowing quantities.

Because of that, the awakened at the Steel Fortress could wage war in optimal condition without worrying about support supplies.

Meanwhile, El Harun was fighting the war without any support at all.

For now, they were somehow keeping the battle even through the overwhelming strength of the other races and the support of magical beasts, but the longer time passed, the more disadvantageous it became for them.

Time was on Neo Seoul’s side.

Borin spoke to Serian.

“Then we’ll be going now.”

“Please be careful, Borin.”

“Do not worry, Lady Serian! I will do my utmost to ensure everyone returns safely.”

Borin answered with a smile.

Behind her stood hundreds of elites from the North District, including the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Forces.

The other races of the North District, enraged after learning that Serian had nearly been harmed by Osollo and the Shadow Clan, were joining the war.

Originally, the North District’s other races had been passive about this war.

Even though El Harun and Neo Seoul had split apart, they still shared a sense of kinship from having crossed over together from Kurayan.

But after the news spread that Serian had nearly suffered great harm at the hands of the Shadow Clan, their attitude changed.

They could tolerate anything else, but harming Serian—their spiritual pillar—was absolutely unforgivable.

So many followed Borin toward the Steel Fortress.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Move out.”

The other races of the North District led by Borin crossed through the portal into the Steel Fortress.

Serian stood motionless, staring at the portal through which they had disappeared for a long while.

Her expression was dark.

“With this, we’ve crossed a river we can never return from. Hoo…”

Her sigh scattered into the wind.

Her heart felt heavy, but she still did not regret today’s decision.

Because she was convinced her choice was for the sake of the other races who had settled on Earth.

---

Among bipedal lifeforms, ogres possessed physiques belonging to the upper ranks.

Ogres were tyrants with monstrous strength capable of tearing a human in half in an instant.

As overwhelming as their size was, their temperament was equally savage.

That was why they absolutely could not tolerate other magical beasts entering their territory.

Even if the intruding beast was a giant species several times larger than themselves.

An ogre was a mad magical beast that would bare its fangs and charge even at giant-class magical beasts without hesitation.

Among such ogres, Gray Ogres possessed especially large bodies and tremendous strength.

The ogre named Kuracha was the strongest individual among the Gray clan.

Within only a few years of being born, Kuracha had already grown larger than most adult ogres.

There existed no rival for him.

The moment he became independent from his mother, he secured an enormous territory.

Today as well, Kuracha was hunting within his domain.

—Kwoooar!

Crunch!

With a monstrous roar, he brought both arms crashing down, and the head of a drake over twenty meters long burst apart like tofu before collapsing.

Standing atop the drake’s body, Kuracha let out a victorious roar before beginning to feast.

Tearing off the drake’s foreleg, Kuracha chewed noisily.

In terms of magical beast hierarchy, drakes were a superior species to ogres.

A drake could prey upon an ogre, but the reverse should have been impossible.

The only reason this law of nature had been overturned was because Kuracha was such a special individual.

Riiip!

Kuracha devoured one leg in an instant and tore off another.

The sight of a drake two or three times larger than an ogre vanishing into Kuracha’s stomach in moments was surreal.

Such a thing could never happen naturally.

Watching the scene, someone finally spoke.

“So you absorbed one of Krasias’s Thought Crystals as well.”

The one who spoke was a man standing over two meters tall.

Wearing a gray coat over gray armor crafted from the skulls of gigantic beasts, the man was none other than the Chaos Dragon, Reikas.

—Kuaaaah!

Seeing Reikas, Kuracha let out a furious roar in warning.

But Kuracha’s intimidation meant nothing to Reikas.

No matter how much of a mutant Kuracha was—strong enough to ignore species hierarchy—Reikas was fundamentally a being beyond comparison.

When Reikas failed to retreat despite his threat, Kuracha strode forward.

His eyes were dyed violet.

The corners of Reikas’s lips twisted upward.

It was a smile so dry it was chilling.

But Kuracha could not see Reikas’s smile.

His mind held only one thought—to tear apart the unwelcome intruder who had dared enter his territory.

Reikas muttered,

“Krasias’s Thought Crystal gave you immense power, but apparently it didn’t make you smarter.”

If Kuracha had been an ordinary ogre, he would have recognized Reikas as a dragon and submitted absolutely.

Magical beasts possessed an instinctive sense for recognizing superior beings.

But Kuracha, who had absorbed Krasias’s Thought Crystal while young, lacked that instinct.

Because he possessed such overwhelming power, he had never needed caution to survive.

That was why he failed to realize Reikas was a dragon.

The price for that ignorance was brutal.

Slash slash slash!

—Kraaaah!

With a casual wave of Reikas’s hand, blades of wind erupted, carving countless wounds across Kuracha’s entire body as he charged forward at terrifying speed.

An ordinary magical beast would have died from that alone.

But Kuracha, who had absorbed Krasias’s will, was different.

Like a troll, he possessed monstrous regenerative abilities.

The wounds deep enough to expose bone bubbled and regenerated almost instantly.

By the time he reached Reikas, all severe injuries had already healed.

Kuracha immediately reached out and grabbed Reikas by the neck.

Though Reikas was large for a human, compared to Kuracha he was no different from a child.

A fragile neck like that would snap and fall away like the bones of other magical beasts with only a slight exertion of force from Kuracha.

But unfortunately for Kuracha, things did not go as he intended.

Because Reikas caught his wrist.

Kuracha was confident he could easily break free from Reikas’s grip.

That was how much confidence he had in his own strength.

Crack.

—Kuh?

But the situation flowed in the opposite direction from what Kuracha expected.

Instead, the bones in Kuracha’s wrist shattered like crackers within Reikas’s grip.

Kuracha tried to regenerate through his terrifying healing ability, but it was useless.

Reikas’s authority no longer permitted Kuracha to regenerate.

Fear appeared in Kuracha’s eyes.

Only then did he realize that Reikas was a being on an entirely different level from himself.

Kuracha tried to shake off Reikas’s hand and flee.

But Reikas’s iron grip granted him no freedom.

Creeeak!

Overpowered by Reikas’s terrifying strength, Kuracha’s waist bent backward.

“A mere low creature absorbed Krasias’s Thought Crystal and started rampaging around without knowing the heights of heaven.”

What filled Reikas’s eyes was madness.

Krasias had been a great existence.

There was no other being capable of terraforming the entirety of this vast Earth.

Compared to Krasias, even Reikas’s authority was no more than a child’s level.

That mighty being, Krasias, had crumbled to dust and vanished from this world due to the backlash of terraforming.

But he had not disappeared completely.

Crystallized fragments containing his thoughts had scattered throughout the world, creating irregulars.

“I’ll be taking your crystal. From the beginning, this was never something a low creature like you could handle.”

—Kwoooar!

Kuracha tried to protest, but Reikas paid him no attention.

Fwoosh!

As Reikas invoked his authority, flames erupted across Kuracha’s entire body.

The ultra-high-temperature fire fiercely incinerated him.

With the smell of burning flesh, Kuracha’s gigantic body instantly turned to ash and disappeared.

In the place where Kuracha vanished remained a fairly large violet gem.

It was Krasias’s Thought Crystal.

Reikas extended his hand and absorbed the crystal.

The moment he absorbed it, Reikas felt his strength increase greatly.

Yet dissatisfaction still filled his face.

“This isn’t enough. I need greater power.”

He recalled the memory of his defeat at Zeon’s hands.

He, a great dragon, had been forced to flee after losing to a mere human.

Gaia, the spirit lifeform, had helped Zeon, but defeat was still defeat.

After that, Reikas became pathologically obsessed with power.

The method for someone who had already reached his limits to gain more strength was simple.

Steal the fragments of Krasias’s thoughts absorbed by other magical beasts and make them his own.

Having absorbed the Thought Crystals, the current Reikas had become incomparably stronger than before.

But he was still dissatisfied.

This level was not enough to satisfy him.

“There are still two large ones left. Only after absorbing those two will I finally become complete.”

Reikas looked toward the northern sky.

For some reason, he could feel a dense aura of chaos coming from the north.

It was a phenomenon that occurred when the world descended into chaos.

The world’s chaos made Reikas stronger.

“Just wait a little longer, Zeon. I’ll show you who the true master of this world is.”