Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert Chapter 682

Chapter 682

BEEEEEP!

“Argh!”

“Ghk!”

Countless Awakened clutched their ears and collapsed under the ultrasonic attack.

The one unleashing the ultrasonic assault with its enormous maw wide open was a gigantic bat-type monster.

With a wingspan well over fifty meters, the colossal bat flew freely through the sky, indiscriminately firing waves of ultrasonic attacks.

Caught completely off guard, many Awakened fell without being able to resist.

Even if they covered their ears, the ultrasonic waves burrowed through and struck their brains.

B-rank and above Awakened could barely endure it, but C-rank and lower Awakened suffered devastating damage.

“Damn it!”

“Aagh!”

Many Awakened staggered, their brains rattled so badly they could barely stay conscious.

Those who lost their balance became easy prey for the monsters.

—KWAAANG!

Mid- and low-grade monsters immediately seized the opportunity, charging in to kill or devour the Awakened.

“What the hell is that?”

“An S-rank monster.”

The expressions of the Awakened who remained unaffected by the ultrasonic attack hardened.

It was their first time seeing such a monster as well.

They had never encountered it in Neo Seoul, the Forest of Beginning, or the Steel Fortress, so they had no idea what it was. But judging by its size and abilities, it was easy to conclude it was an S-rank monster.

“Fuck!”

“How are we supposed to hit that thing?”

Since it attacked while flying freely through the sky, there was no obvious way to bring it down.

As a desperate measure, they fired Mana Particle Cannons at it, but the creature dodged effortlessly with a single flap of its wings.

Even when one occasionally landed a hit, it failed to inflict any meaningful damage.

It was an S-rank monster, after all.

An energy field enveloped the entire body of every S-rank monster.

It was impossible for Mana Particle Cannons to pierce that field and injure one.

Even without the energy field, the result likely would have been the same.

Grain, one of the Numbers, tried to use his Gravity Concentration skill on the giant bat monster. But it was impossible to land the skill accurately on a target darting wildly through the sky at terrifying speed.

To properly use his skill on the giant bat, Grain himself would have had to fly. But while he could fly, he couldn't maneuver through the air with the same freedom as the giant bat.

If he rashly took to the skies, he would simply become prey for the giant bat and the other flying monsters.

“Damn it!”

Feeling powerless for the first time, Grain bit his lip.

The giant bat was not the only S-rank monster that had appeared on the battlefield.

In the distance, a gigantic centipede rampaged while swinging hundreds of scythe-like legs, and an enormous gorilla with six arms was massacring martial-type Awakened.

The giant centipede and giant gorilla were S-rank monsters as well.

Martial-type Awakened swarmed them and launched an all-out assault, yet they couldn't leave so much as a scratch on the creatures' fur and hide.

Their offensive and defensive power were overwhelming.

Only two S-rank monsters had joined the battlefield so far, but the situation was already spiraling completely out of control.

The giant gorilla at least seemed like it might be stoppable.

The real problem was the giant bat.

As hideous as if it had crawled straight out of hell, the monstrous bat soared joyfully through the skies, mercilessly slaughtering the Awakened.

It knew it too.

It knew there was no one in Neo Seoul capable of stopping it.

But it was about to realize just how arrogant that thought was.

Flash!

A massive bolt of lightning suddenly descended from high above and struck its body.

—KRAAAH!

The unexpected impact startled the giant bat, causing it to flap frantically.

Thanks to its energy field, it didn't suffer serious injuries, but it was more than enough to catch it off guard.

“How's that taste, you bat bastard?!”

The one who had unleashed Giga Lightning was Levin.

Levin transformed into a ghost and flew into the sky.

—KIEEE!

—KRAA!

The flying monsters spotted Levin and attacked immediately.

But Levin ignored every single attack from the flying monsters.

Very few flying monsters possessed the means to injure Levin while he was in Ghost Form.

Just like that, he reached the giant bat.

A vicious gleam flashed in the monster's eyes.

Levin did not avoid its gaze.

Its bloodshot eyes were overflowing with killing intent and a desire for destruction.

It looked like a beast driven mad with rabies.

—BEEEEEP!

The monster unleashed another ultrasonic attack at Levin.

Pain twisted Levin's face.

The ultrasonic attack made his ghostly body ripple like water.

The damage reached his insides as well.

Ever since awakening his Ghost Form ability, this was the first time he had suffered such severe damage.

That alone showed how terrifying the giant bat's ultrasonic attack truly was.

Even Levin, who was immune to physical attacks, suffered heavily from it.

But Levin did not retreat.

In Neo Seoul, only he and Zeon could face the giant bat.

For some reason, Zeon still had not entered the battlefield, so it fell to him.

The burden of facing an S-rank monster alone weighed heavily on him.

But there was no one else.

If he backed down, countless people would die to the giant bat's ultrasonic attacks.

If it broke through and invaded Neo Seoul, an unimaginable catastrophe would follow.

“Your breath stinks. Giga Lightning!”

He called down another Giga Lightning upon the giant bat while it was in the middle of its ultrasonic attack.

But this time, the attack failed to hit.

The instant Giga Lightning formed, the monster made an emergency dodge.

“Damn it! Does it have some kind of Danger Detection skill?”

Levin's guess was correct.

The giant bat's senses were unbelievably sharp for a creature of its size.

It possessed the ability to detect the minute atmospheric changes that occurred just before lightning was generated.

That was how it sensed Giga Lightning the instant before it struck and evaded it.

Levin attacked several more times with Giga Lightning, but every single attack was detected and avoided beforehand.

“Hah... So ordinary skills won't work against you.”

Levin bit down hard on his lip.

Crackle!

Sparks burst from his translucent body.

Since he couldn't strike the giant bat from afar with Giga Lightning, he intended to transform into the Thunder God himself and attack it directly.

Levin became lightning itself and charged the giant bat.

Crackle!

This time, the giant bat couldn't dodge.

An overwhelming surge of lightning wrapped around its entire body, making its energy field fluctuate violently.

The giant bat had taken a tremendous hit.

“Here I come.”

Realizing his attack worked, Levin charged again.

The giant bat did not simply sit there and take it.

It flew evasively while continuously unleashing ultrasonic attacks.

Boom! Bang!

The giant bat and the man transformed into lightning collided repeatedly, and thunder echoed continuously across the heavens.

Watching the scene, Sung Hoyeon and Grain let out relieved sighs.

“That buys us some breathing room.”

“If Levin hadn't been here, the casualties would've been far worse.”

“The problem is that giant gorilla...”

Even now, the giant gorilla monster rampaged like a rabid beast.

The fifty-meter-tall monster possessed astonishing jumping power.

With a single leap, it could instantly cross hundreds of meters, making it impossible for ordinary Awakened to react to its movements.

KWAANG! BOOM!

Every time it landed and slammed both fists into the ground, countless Awakened died, while massive shockwaves swept across the battlefield.

“That bastard...”

“Damn it!”

They wanted nothing more than to rush out and fight the giant gorilla themselves.

But they couldn't.

—The two of you will move shortly.

The twin sisters relayed Kim Muyeong's orders through telepathy.

For some reason, Kim Muyeong was preventing the two of them from entering the battlefield.

As a result, they had no choice but to watch helplessly.

Then—

A group of translucent beings rushed all at once toward the giant gorilla.

—Bad!

—We'll teach you a lesson!

The spirits chattered noisily as they attacked with water, wind, fire, and more.

But the strength of nothing more than mid-grade spirits was nowhere near enough to injure the giant gorilla.

It was an S-rank monster.

The spirits' attacks were blocked by its energy field and vanished without accomplishing anything.

The High Elves who had directed the spirits to attack the giant gorilla were not disappointed.

From the beginning, Kim Muyeong's order had not been to damage it, but to provoke it.

And they succeeded perfectly.

—KRAAAAAA!

The giant gorilla roared.

It had become enraged by the elusive spirits that remained just out of reach.

The spirits continued taunting the giant gorilla while luring it toward the center of the second defensive line.

Thanks to that, the Awakened finally had a chance to catch their breath.

“Now! Evacuate the wounded and reorganize the formation!”

“Move!”

The giant gorilla's rampage had already produced countless casualties.

The bodies of the Awakened crushed beneath its fists were so mangled that they were almost impossible to look at.

Forcing themselves to look away from their flattened comrades, they hurriedly transported the wounded to the rear.

Meanwhile, the giant gorilla, chasing the spirits, reached the center of the second defensive line.

At that moment, Kim Muyeong's order came.

—All Awakened, fall back at least one hundred meters.

Through wide-area telepathy, the twin sisters relayed the command to every Awakened on the second defensive line.

Without a second thought, everyone retreated.

The very next instant, a massive explosion erupted from the center of the second defensive line.

KWAKWAKWAAANG!

An enormous quantity of explosives buried underground detonated all at once.

The chain explosion swallowed the giant gorilla whole.

The energy field surrounding its massive body shook violently, as if it were about to shatter.

It was a specially developed anti-monster napalm bomb.

The inextinguishable flames of hell engulfed the giant gorilla.

The creature was consumed by the inferno.

Yet, true to an S-rank monster, it remained standing even within the blazing napalm.

Its energy field continued to shield its body.

Kim Muyeong had never believed that alone would be enough to kill an S-rank monster.

—Now.

His order reached the Awakened who had been standing by.

“Our turn. Move!”

Jang Yongbeom shouted loudly the moment he heard Kim Muyeong's command.

“Uwaaaa!”

“Let's go!”

“Kill it!”

Jang Yongbeom's assault unit, along with numerous monster-hunting teams waiting in reserve, charged toward the giant gorilla all at once.

Every one of them was a high-ranking Awakened honed through monster hunting and dungeon raids.

Even with an S-rank monster standing before them, they did not falter.

Instead, their fighting spirit blazed even brighter.

Led by Jang Yongbeom, the Awakened began hunting the giant gorilla.

Then—

—WOOOOOO!

—KRAAAAH!

—KUOOO!

Roars from other S-rank monsters erupted elsewhere across the battlefield.

The monsters that had remained on the sidelines until now finally moved after seeing the giant gorilla in danger.

At that moment, Kim Muyeong's deployment order reached the waiting Numbers.

—Move now.

Sung Hoyeon and Grain, who had been gritting their teeth, shouted.

“Finally!”

“Let's go!”

Each of them rushed toward an S-rank monster.

Neo Seoul's high-ranking Awakened followed behind the Numbers.

KWAANG! BOOM!

As the S-rank monsters collided with the high-ranking Awakened, the earth shook as though an earthquake had struck.

It was at that very moment that Zeon appeared on the battlefield.

Countless corpses entered his sight.

“Haah...”

As he let out a sigh, killing intent filled his face.

Rumble!

The desert, stained crimson with blood, responded to his murderous aura and began to surge like waves.