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Urtian looked at the woman kneeling before him with an expression of interest.

She was covered in sand, her clothes tattered, indicating she had experienced a significant ordeal.

And indeed, she had.

The woman had survived an attack by a Sandworm.

She had almost been swallowed whole by the beast but managed to escape, collapsing to the ground.

The shock had caused her to lose consciousness, and Urtian and the Red Storm had found her nearby.

Urtian asked.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Sera.”

“Hmm! So, Sera, you’re saying there’s a place called Steel Fortress nearby?”

“Yes… that’s correct.”

Sera’s voice trembled.

She had left Steel Fortress with Jacob, Lucy, and others to gather sunflowers when they were attacked by a Sandworm.

When she regained consciousness, instead of her companions, she found herself surrounded by Urtian and the Red Storm raiders.

Fear was evident on her face as she looked at them.

Steel Fortress was highly isolated.

Most of the elders despised contact with the outside world and enforced strict seclusion policies.

Only those hunting monsters or gathering sunflowers were allowed to leave, and even then, only under strict conditions.

The elders indoctrinated the villagers to believe that outsiders were untrustworthy and as dangerous as monsters.

Sera had been taught this and thus feared outsiders.

In reality, Urtian was just as terrifying.

He wasn’t making an effort to look fierce or threatening, but his very presence was intimidating.

Urtian smiled.

“You’re scared. Don’t worry, Sera! I’m not such a scary person.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s have a chat. So, you came from a place called Steel Fortress? Is it safe from monsters?”

“Yes.”

“It’s large enough to house two thousand people?”

“Yes!”

Sera looked like she was about to cry.

She didn’t want to talk, but Urtian’s overwhelming presence compelled her to answer.

“And there’s a stable water supply?”

“Yes.”

“Good! Very good!”

A smile spread across Urtian’s face.

Having a stable water source was a huge advantage.

Finding an oasis, especially one with a Sand Angler, was rare.

The last time they captured a Sand Angler was sheer luck, and if they had been a bit late, it would have disappeared along with the oasis.

Urtian always prioritized securing water.

“Sera, we’ll escort you back to Steel Fortress.”

“No! That’s not necessary. I can go alone.”

“That won’t do. It’s not right to let a lady travel alone at night. That’s not how a gentleman behaves.”

“Really, it’s fine.”

“We’re the ones who aren’t fine with it. Isn’t that right?”

Urtian asked his subordinates behind him.

“Of course. How can we let a weak woman go alone?”

“We have to protect her, hehehe!”

The subordinates answered, making it very obvious.

Urtian shrugged and looked at Sera.

“You see?”

“That… that’s…”

“You don’t have a choice. Just lead the way. Now.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

It was nighttime.

Night was the time for monsters.

No matter how skilled an Awakened was, they didn’t travel at night. But the Red Storm didn’t care.

They were confident in their abilities and, more importantly, desperate.

The Red Storm wasn’t just made up of Awakeneds. Most of their members were ordinary people who needed a safe place to stay.

Steel Fortress was the perfect spot.

Urtian gave the order.

“Everyone, head to Steel Fortress immediately. Aslan, Duduyan!”

“Yes!”

“Leader!”

Aslan and Duduyan stepped forward.

“You heard her?”

“Yes!”

“Can you find the place without her guide?”

“No problem.”

Aslan answered confidently.

A smile played on Urtian’s lips.

“Scout the inside of Steel Fortress. And…”

“We’ll handle the preparations. Do not worry.”

Duduyan said as she and Aslan set off, disappearing into the night.

Urtian looked at Sera.

“Sera, let’s go.”

“Hic!”

Sera couldn’t hold back her tears. But no one in the Red Storm showed any sympathy.

Urtian urged her.

“Hurry!”

His voice was gentle but firm.

＊＊＊

Elder Gawen’s house was the largest and most ornate in Steel Fortress.

To assert his authority, Gawen had surrounded his house with the homes of numerous Awakeneds, creating a nearly impenetrable defense.

A lively party was underway at Gawen’s house.

“Ah!”

“Mmm!”

The Awakeneds lounged in chairs or on the floor, groaning in pleasure.

Their eyes were glazed over.

They had inhaled powdered sunflowers.

The substance Zeon called corrupted herb contained narcotic properties, plunging the users into hallucinations.

In an enclosed space with few entertainment options, the processed powder from sunflowers was a prized indulgence.

Gawen used this powder to control the Awakeneds of Steel Fortress.

Once addicted, they could never escape its grip.

However, harvesting sunflowers was challenging.

Sunflowers grew only from the corpses of certain monsters, and finding these corpses was difficult.

Recently, they had been fortunate to discover a monster’s corpse with sunflowers deep underground.

However, the narrow passages meant they had to use children to retrieve the flowers.

Jacob and Lucy had been enlisted for this reason.

Although this expedition ended in failure, Gawen sat in his chair, muttering.

“Tsk! This mission was a complete failure. Not a single sunflower, and we returned with extra burdens.”

His gaze turned to Matthew’s house.

Matthew’s death meant nothing to him.

Matthew had been a follower of Holtran, the second elder.

The problem was the outsiders in Matthew’s house.

Gawen had enforced strict seclusion policies.

By cutting off all contact with the outside, he believed he was ensuring the safety and purity of Steel Fortress.

Initially, he hadn’t been so isolationist.

They used to interact with other survivors and engage in barter, leading to a more prosperous life.

However, an attack by outsiders who coveted Steel Fortress resulted in many casualties and injuries.

This led Gawen to implement his isolationist policies.

He aimed to create a self-sustaining ecosystem by severing external contacts.

At first, it seemed successful.

Without external interaction, there were no invasions, and there was no need to be constantly on alert.

But over time, problems arose.

Food became scarcer, and children with genetic disorders from inbreeding were born.

People lost their sense of challenge and stopped taking risks.

As a result, Steel Fortress began to regress, and people lost trust in Gawen.

Gawen turned to sunflowers as a desperate measure.

Using the narcotic to control and addict people.

Holtran, the second elder, opposed Gawen’s actions and consistently challenged him.

Allowing Zeon’s group into Steel Fortress was Holtran’s doing.

While ostensibly to repay the saviors of Jacob and Lucy, Holtran intended to use them to undermine Gawen.

Gawen smiled, muttering.

“You think I don’t see through your schemes, Holtran? This is my kingdom. No one will take it from me. The outsiders you brought will be gone before the night is over. Hehehe!”

* * *

Deep into the night, figures moved stealthily.

Their destination was the house on the outskirts of Steel Fortress.

Upon reaching the house, they scanned the surroundings.

Every house was dark and silent.

Confirming there were no witnesses, they took out a sealed pouch.

Opening a window, they carefully placed the pouch inside.

Thud!

The seal broke, releasing an invisible gas.

The colorless, odorless gas quickly filled the house.

After some time, the intruders opened the door and entered.

This was the house where Zeon and his group were sleeping.

The intruders checked each room.

Zeon’s group lay unconscious.

Smiles spread across the intruders’ faces.

“They’re all out. They won’t wake for at least a day, thanks to the Four-Eyed Bat venom gas.”

Four-Eyed Bats were monsters that lived in the depths of Steel Fortress. These creatures had four eyes and venomous fangs that paralyzed their prey.

The venom, processed into a sleep-inducing gas, could knock out even large monsters.

Each intruder picked up one of the unconscious group members.

“This girl is really pretty. Can’t we have some fun before we kill her?”

One of the men, carrying Eloy, said.

At that moment, the leader snapped.

“Don’t talk nonsense! She’s an Awakened. If she wakes up, we’re in trouble.”

“Who said I’d actually touch her? Tch! Can’t even talk.”

“That’s enough, let’s go now.”

“Got it.”

Grumbling, the man carrying Eloy followed.

The intruders carried Zeon’s group out of the house.

They headed to a deep, hidden part of Steel Fortress.

There, a narrow vertical tunnel led underground, home to the Four-Eyed Bats.

Iron bars prevented the bats from escaping.

The intruders planned to kill Zeon’s group and dispose of their bodies in the tunnel.

“Let’s finish this quickly. The others are probably high on sunflower powder by now.”

“Yeah. Let’s slit their throats.”

They laid Zeon and his group on the ground.

All four were unconscious.

The man carrying Eloy looked at the leader with a pleading expression.

“Boss, can I really not have a little fun first?”

“You bastard!”

“They’re going to be bat food anyway. It won’t leave any marks.”

“Ten minutes. No more.”

“Hehe! That’s plenty.”

The man gleefully dragged Eloy to a corner.

The leader sighed deeply and muttered.

“Haa! That animal bastard.”

“Not like you’re any better.”

At that moment, a voice came from behind him.

Thinking it was one of his men mocking him, the leader turned around angrily.

“What? Which bastard…”

The moment he identified the owner of the voice, his eyes widened.

Zeon, who was supposed to be unconscious from the sleeping gas, was standing there perfectly fine. Even Levin and Brielle were looking at him with clear, alert eyes, as if they had never been knocked out.

The men who had carried them were all lying unconscious.

It happened without the leader even realizing it.

‘When… how?’

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

“Aaagh!”

A blood-curdling scream came from the corner where the man had dragged Eloy.