Chapter 08: Excavation

In-gong opened his eyes slowly. His head was still blank as he woke up from his sleep.

“Prince, are you still asleep?”

A green sight entered his blurred vision but it wasn’t Green Wind’s hair. Green Wind’s voice wasn’t so crude.

“Umm… Carack?”

The first thing he saw when he woke up in the bed was Carack. It was the correct answer as Carack’s big and crude hands lifted In-gong up.

“Come, here is some cold water to wake you up.”

He always started his day with cold water. In-gong swallowed the cold water given by Carack and started waking up.

“It is almost lunchtime.”

The clock next to the mini-map showed that it was already 11:20 a.m. It was unusual since normally, he would never have overslept this long.

However, Carack’s gaze was quite strange.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

Carack scratched his chin at In-gong’s question and muttered,

“It is really amazing. How does a person know the time after just waking up?”

“I just know.”

There was no need to explain about the features of his mini-map. Just like a good subordinate, Carack just nodded and brought him a washbasin instead of asking more questions.

“The other people?”

In-gong asked as he wiped his hair with a dry towel. Carack removed the washbasin and replied,

“They are working outside. It is almost time for lunch, so shouldn’t Prince come out?”

“I will do that. I’ll take a look around.”

In-gong combed his hair, put on some outer garments and left the tent. There was a welcome face at the temple entrance.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, Karma. Good afternoon.”

Once In-gong said good afternoon instead of good morning, Karma bit her lip like she was trying not to laugh. Somehow, her respect for In-gong had spread into a strange shape.

In-gong took a look around with Carack and Karma. Like Carack said, everyone was busy working.

The most important thing was to process the bodies.

Yesterday, this place was a battlefield. Their allies’ bodies were cleaned up last night, but there were still the bodies of the casios and drake ogres.

Usually they would be left for scavengers, but this case was different. Hundreds of bodies were next to the temple where a miracle had occurred, so they couldn’t be left alone.

The casios’ bodies were dismantled into leather, bones, teeth, etc. On the other hand, they didn’t know the identity of the drake ogres and how to dismantle them. Therefore, they were buried in the ground.

In-gong’s gaze turned to the other side. Behind the temple was a small forest of treants.

The treants were taking in the sun like yesterday’s movements were a lie. They seemed like ordinary trees.

‘Still, it is noticeable.’

There was suddenly a forest in the grasslands.

After looking around properly, In-gong decided to visit Ferocious Eyes. It was to discuss various post-casios problems.

However, there was someone who was one step ahead of him. It was also in his head.

‘My master.’

“Green Wind! Is your body okay?”

In-gong looked up and asked. As expected, Green Wind’s shape didn’t appear but her voice was slightly clearer than before.

“It is okay. I’m sorry our conversation got cut short last night.’

Green Wind had lost consciousness last night and turned into wind instead of waking up again.

It didn’t matter since he could still feel Green Wind through Conquest, but it was comforting to hear her voice.

“It is fine. Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

‘I remember talking about Master’s power of Conquest. I don’t know why, but… the remnants of Ainkel that remain inside me came to the forefront of my consciousness.’

“What about now?”

‘I can’t feel it now that it has subsided.’

There was regret in Green Wind’s voice. She seemed to miss Ainkel’s essence.

In-gong nodded thoughtfully.

‘It is pointless to ask any more about Conquest.’

It was clear that last night’s story about Conquest had evoked Ainkel’s voice, but it was unlikely that Ainkel would appear again from the same thing.

‘The king’s power… and the Conquest Knight.’

That, itself, was a harvest. Elder dragons were more likely to have special knowledge about Conquest and a Conquest Knight. If not, there would have been no reason for Ainkel to wake up.

‘I’ll have to really explore the library in the Demon King’s Palace.’

However, his merit level was still lacking to use the large library. He needed a little more time to investigate.

‘I shouldn’t be hasty.’

He needed to build up his merits and strength and he had to stop the Day of Massacre that Zephyr would cause.

The things he needed to do hadn’t changed.

In-gong settled his heart and looked at the air again. He heard Green Wind’s voice.

‘Master, I want to tell you a story. Can you come to the small temple?’

“I understand, I’ll do so.”

‘I’ll be waiting.’

Not only Green Wind’s voice but the wind circling In-gong disappeared. Feeling strange, In-gong looked back to see Karma’s eyes shining like lanterns.

“Your Highness, were you talking to Green Wind just now?”

She asked in an excited voice. In-gong responded with his hand slightly raised, as if he was calming her down.

“Uh, it happened so suddenly.”

“Oh, my god… Having a conversation so naturally at your age… It is great. Excuse me, but if Your Highness becomes a druid, you will surely be crowned with greatness.”

Respect was shining in her eyes. It was burdensome, so In-gong turned his gaze away, only to see Carack having a different type of look in his eyes.

“Thank goodness. I thought Prince had gone crazy all of a sudden.”

“I did.”

In-gong shrugged and Carack laughed. Karma’s eyes moved between them as she ate up their conversation.

“Anyway, I will be going back to the temple.”

Karma quickly raised her hand and asked In-gong,

“Can I go with Your Highness?”

She was excited because she wanted to meet Green Wind. In-gong shook his head with a sorry expression.

“I’m sorry, but Green Wind wants to discuss something with me.”

“I understand. Then I will protect the entrance of the temple.”

Karma was slightly disappointed, but she still gave a spirited answer. Carack, who was watching quietly, interrupted the conversation.

“Prince, then I will go to Ferocious Eyes to sort things out. This needs to be reported to the Demon King’s Palace.”

Carack had completed In-gong’s miscellaneous duties even when it was the Red Lightning tribe mission. In-gong gave a thumbs up to Carack, his all-rounder assistant.

“Yes, you are the best. I’ll give you a present once we return to the Demon King’s Palace.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Carack laughed and went his own way. Karma stared after Carack with envy.

‘Is it due to the reward or does she want to go the Demon King’s Palace?’

It reminded him of the drunk Karma from last night.

‘Well, I really am thinking of taking her.’

However, right now, the meeting with Green Wind was more urgent. In-gong delayed the interview with Karma and headed to the temple hastily.

“Master.”

He left Karma at the entrance and entered the temple alone, then saw Green Wind sitting between the tree trunks. However, unlike yesterday, her body was transparent. She seemed like the wind spirit that Felicia had called.

“Uh, is it difficult?”

In-gong asked as he approached the tree trunk and Green Wind shook her head.

“It’s not like that. I am just saving my strength. After this conversation with Master, I will start working on replacing my parts.”

“Then I’m glad.”

In-gong sighed with relief and sat down on the bed. It was in order to converse with Green Wind.

Green Wind got in a comfortable position and said,

“Master, my conversation with Master yesterday was based on the premise that you are my temporary master. However, now I know that you are my permanent master. It is about something Master told me last night.”

“Uh… Collecting the powers of the six dragons?”

“That’s right. It was a story I didn’t get a chance to tell you yesterday.”

Green Wind rose from the tree trunk and reached into the air. Then a map of Enger Plains appeared before Green Wind.

“In the northernmost part of Enger Plains, there is a relic of Watcher Ainkel.”

A bunch of lights started to form around the map. The shape was clear, so In-gong recognized it instantly.

“A shield?”

“That’s right, it’s Watcher Ainkel’s Shield of Life. Just like Master’s Earth Quaker, it contains the power of an elder dragon.”

It was a shield but the shield had fairly colourful corners. There was a large green gem in the middle of a rhombus shaped grey plate and pieces of ash-white metal bordering it.

Green Wind pushed the map and shield to one side and told In-gong,

“It is a story from more than a thousand years ago. Watcher Ainkle gave the Shield of Life to the bravest and most righteous warrior among the centaurs. The warrior led the centaurs to fight against their enemies and won many victories, but he wasn’t invincible. He was unharmed on the battlefield thanks to the Shield of Life, but he didn’t carry the shield to his bed. He was killed while sleeping by a woman who coveted his shield.”

He thought it was a warm story about a warrior, yet there was a surprising ending. Green Wind ignored In-gong’s confusion and continued,

“The Shield of Life is something that Ainkel had given to the brave warrior. Due to this, no one other than the warrior can use or move the Shield of Life.”

In-gong nodded. It was the same with Earth Quaker. The dwarves were unable to gain Enkidu’s permission and were forced to leave Earth Quaker behind in the dungeon.

The centaurs in this story weren’t much different.

“The warrior’s loyal subordinates eventually abandoned the Shield of Life and returned. The Shield of Life was buried in the warrior’s tomb in the north and over a thousand years have since passed. The Shield of Life became a legend and the centaurs attached the name of the brave warrior to the shield. White Eagle, that is the new name of the Shield of Life.”

Green Wind finished her story and looked back at In-gong.

“Master, was my story good? Then please praise me. I am ready to hear praise.”

Green Wind puffed up and smiled.

However, In-gong didn’t respond. His mouth gaped open and he shouted while jumping up.

“White Eagle!”

Of course, he knew it. It was obviously a name in his memory.

It was a fantasy that existed in Knight Saga. In Knight Saga, it was a top-notch shield that couldn’t be found despite In-gong challenging it many times.

‘Yes, if it is in the northernmost area, then I wouldn’t have found it.’

In Knight Saga, not all the land located in the north could be explored. Beyond the north side of the Demon King’s dominated area, the demons lived in harsh environments. The reason why the casios headed south every year was because it was hard to live beyond the Northern Limit Line.

The Enger Plains were one of several areas in contact with the long stretch of the Northern Limit Line. The Northern Limit Line was virtually outside the Demon World, so it was a land that he couldn’t travel to when playing Knight Saga.

‘White Eagle – it is a relic of an elder dragon.’

It contained the power of an elder dragon, but he was given a clue about where to find it. Moreover, In-gong had Ainkel’s strength, so it was clear that he could obtain it.

As In-gong clenched his fist with joy, Green Wind pouted,

“I am in a bad mood again. I am upset.”

Then she kicked the ground and In-gong turned his attention back to Green Wind.

“Thank you for the great information. Do you know the location of the tomb?”

“I know it, but I don’t know the exact location. If I get closer, I will probably know.”

In-gong nodded thoughtfully.

“Will it take three or four days to restore your parts?”

“Yes, but if I review it again, I think I can finish it faster. The life magic was activated due to the protection magic. That part relies on me less.”

In other words, it would be easy to replace her.

“Okay, then please do so.”

“I understand. I will start working on it straight away.”

Green Wind said with somewhat slumped shoulders. At that moment, something flashed through In-gong’s head and he said quickly,

“Thank you, it was a really great story.”

“It is late, but my pain has been resolved.”

Her voice brightened. In-gong smiled involuntarily and said.

“Just let me know when it is done. I will compliment you again.”

“I will expect it.”

Green Wind smiled brightly and disappeared into the wind.

Once alone, In-gong flopped down on his bed and started thinking.

‘I can use the task of punishing the casios as an excuse to go to the north.’

He didn’t think of reporting everything directly to the Demon King’s Palace. He had to hide the fact that he had conquered Green Wind.

‘The problem is who will be dispatched from the Demon King’s Palace.’

He couldn’t hide the defense magic of the small temple. It was highly likely that the Demon King’s Palace would dispatch an expert of harmful ruins.

‘There is a person from Knight Saga that I want to see.’

If they still had the same value,In-gong wanted them. Someone would come anyway, so it was better if that person was someone he knew information about.

‘The merit is likely to be reported today… At the latest, a specialist from the Demon King’s Palace will arrive in a week to 10 days.’

It would take time to select and send the specialist. It might even be later than that.

‘Maybe I should leave without waiting.’

There would be no problem because he could use the subjugation of the remaining casios as an excuse.

In-gong finished his calculations and headed out of the temple. He wanted to talk to Carack.

However, after three days, In-gong was forced to modify his plan. It was because the expert from the Demon King’s Palace had arrived early. Moreover, the ruins expert was well known to In-gong.

&

“Felicia noona?”

“Felicia noona?”

“It has been a few days. It is nice to see you again.”

It had only been five days since In-gong had left the Demon King’s Palace.

Felicia and Delia, who entered the central room of the small temple where In-gong was staying, were as gorgeous as ever.

In-gong slightly shrugged and said,

“Noona, did the Demon King’s Palace dispatch you?”

“Yes, I volunteered.”

Felicia answered before sitting down on the bed. Delia stood quietly behind Felicia like a shadow.

‘She planned this.’

He didn’t know about Felicia’s arrival until she came to the temple. This meant that Felicia had deliberately hidden her visit from him.

‘She doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions.’

Judging by her expression, it seemed she had wanted to surprise him as a joke. In-gong was familiar with Felicia, so he welcomed her appearance.

However, a separate question still remained.

“What about the Thunder Light Anvil?”

Felicia had gone to the Jishuka Mountains to investigate the Thunder Light Anvil. She wouldn’t have gone back to the Demon King’s Palace if it hadn’t been for the court gathering.

Felicia laughed at In-gong and crossed her legs.

“I wanted to go, but you ended up finishing it too early.”

They weren’t just words. Felicia’s eyes narrowed and she leaned her body forward.

“It was barely two days. Two days… Do you know that Chris and Caitlin haven’t even left the Demon King’s Palace yet?”

The casios subjugation mission was one that normally took at least 15 days. Sometimes, it took more than a month. They had to keep track of the randomly moving casios.

Yet the work this time had finished early. It was no wonder that Felicia and Caitlin hadn’t left yet when word reached the Demon King’s Palace.

‘Indeed, in Knight Saga, I normally stayed for at least a week after returning to the palace.’

It was unusual for In-gong to leave for a mission so early.

In-gong nodded slowly as he was convinced by Felicia’s words. Felicia uncrossed her legs, got up and approached In-gong.

”Shutra, right now, you are attracting a lot of attention.”

Her voice wasn’t playful anymore. Rather, there was anxiety in her eyes.

“Honestly, the casios subjugation mission is a difficult task. It is an annual event, so there isn’t a high awareness of it in the Demon King’s Palace. However, two days… that period is too short.”

The first mission was always eye-catching. Moreover, the casios mission was a tradition that had lasted for a long time. There were many who knew about the casios mission, so they had no choice but to be surprised about the two day period.

“Moreover, the contents of the mission are too different from the usual. It has grabbed people’s attention.”

Drake ogres had appeared among the casios.

The casios had showed different movements from the usual.

Strong protection magic had been activated on the Enger Plains.

Just one of these was enough to attract attention and all of these were combined in a period of two days.

The three things combined in a two day period wasn’t meaningless, but the important thing was the reaction of the people.

“It is a shock after the court gathering, which was only a few days ago. Everyone was curious about you and now you’ve thrown them something else. You are a very fresh and interesting person.”

The details of which royal child was responsible for the mission and how they solved it wasn’t a secret.

However, not everyone had access to these contents. The only person who knew In-gong’s merit level was Isabella who was in charge of the Merits Department.

However, the situation had changed. The moment the demon king called In-gong’s name, the world had changed. Many people knew of In-gong’s first mission after the court gathering and they were exposed to this surprising news.

“So, why is Noona here?”

Felicia was embarrassed at In-gong’s words and she turned her gaze to another place. Covering her face with a hand fan that she pulled out of nowhere, she said,

“Well, the other people would try to spy on you or take a bite out of you.”

So, she had volunteered. It was to protect In-gong from any malice.

In-gong was sincerely touched and sent Felicia a warm gaze. That made it harder for Felicia to look at him. She looked around with embarrassment and continued speaking,

“That’s not all. I am also interested in the magic of this temple that you have activated. There is also the purple light that wrapped around the casios… That’s right, those are the reasons. That is why I volunteered.”

“Thank you.”

In-gong replied honestly and Felicia’s ears started turning red. She sat back down on the bed and started talking about something else.

“Did the Tears of a Dark Elf help when you were fighting enemies?”

“Of course. It gave me a chance to win.”

It wasn’t just flattery but true words. The Tears of a Dark Elf had completely blocked Mustafa’s mental attack, creating a gap for him to call Carack.

After In-gong finished talking, Felicia laughed with a very pleased expression.

“Of course. It is one of the strengths of a dark elf. Look forward to seeing more of its strengths in the future.”

It really seemed like that, so Felicia felt good after hearing In-gong’s words of gratitude. Felicia laughed and said,

“Anyway, you obtained nice merits this time. As I said earlier, it is the usual casios subjugation mission but the contents are completely different. If the temple can be used the defend Enger Plains from now on, then the merit will become bigger. Isabella said that.”

Due to the nature of her job, Isabella maintained a fairly friendly relationship with the children of the demon king. In-gong suddenly had a question after remembering Isabella.

“Are Chris hyung and Caitlin noona well?”

“Chris is the same and Caitlin wanted to come along, but she had no justification for it. They told me to say hello for them.”

In-gong laughed at Felicia’s answer. This wasn’t because of the news of Chris and Caitlin.

“You have become pretty close to both of them.”

As soon as he asked, the answer had popped out instantly.

It was an atmosphere he couldn’t imagine having when he had first met them during the Red Lightning campaign. It seemed like Chris was still somewhat distant, but she had completely befriended Caitlin.

Felicia blushed at In-gong’s words and stood up.

“Anyway, both of them are ready to return to the land of the lycanthropes. They will probably leave the Demon King’s Palace tomorrow or the next day.”

In-gong nodded because he had already expected it.

‘It is unfortunate.’

It was likely that it would be several months before he could meet the two of them again.

This regret was revealed on In-gong’s face and Felicia spoke in a bright voice like she was comforting In-gong.

“Perhaps we should end the private meeting so the people stop waiting?”

Carack just blinked from where he was standing next to In-gong and Delia gave a faint smile. He knew that Felicia wasn’t referring to Carack.

With the exception of some exceptional circumstances, they were an existence that were the hands of the royal children and kept their secrets. They talked with their most trusted counselors next to them.

In-gong understood and looked at Carack.

“Carack.”

“Understood.”

Carack opened the firmly closed door and brought in the person who had been waiting outside. It was Ferocious Eyes.

“6th Princess Felicia Doomblade, it has been a while.”

“Yes, it has been a while.”

The two of them had already met during a previous casios subjugation mission. In-gong was able to feel the joy that both Ferocious Eyes and Felicia felt.

‘It seems like he is close to everyone except Zephyr.’

As In-gong thought this, another person entered the room. In-gong’s eyes widened as he saw the new person.

‘Daphne?’

The dryad Daphne, a child of one of the demon king’s concubines.

She was a beautiful girl with green skin and blue hair that looked like an illustration in a book.

Felicia introduced Daphne to In-gong.

“Have you ever met? This is Daphne, daughter of the 5th concubine.”

When looking at the status of the concubines, Felicia was ranked higher than the 5th consort. Daphne graciously introduced herself to In-gong.

“It is great to see 9th Prince. I am Daphne, the daughter of the 5th concubine Echo.”

“Nice to meet you, I am Shutra.”

In-gong received her greeting. Fortunately, her reaction showed that she had almost no interaction with the previous Shutra.

Felicia spoke again.

“This work is also related to the guardian of Enger Plains. She is a very talented druid. She will be very helpful.”

‘Yes, she is certainly a competent druid.’

Among the children of the concubines, she was one of the best three talents that he wanted to get his hands on.

Daphne lifted her gaze gently and said,

“9th Prince, I heard that you have met Green Wind of the Enger Plains.”

“Yes, I heard her voice. We fought together on the plains.”

In fact, he had ended up conquering her after they met.

Daphne jumped at In-gong’s reply. She took one step closer to In-gong and said,

“She has preserved the Enger Plains for more than a thousand years, but no one has seen her. Among the centaurs, isn’t it extremely rare to hear her voice?”

Daphne was strangely excited while Ferocious Eyes nodded deeply.

“Almost never. Green Wind’s voice hasn’t been heard in the past few decades?”

Yet In-gong had met Green Wind. It occurred one day after he had arrived at the Enger Plains, beating the record of the local centaurs and satyrs.

“Great.”

“Yes, it is great.”

Felicia said with admiration and Ferocious Eyes agreed. Karma, who was standing in the corner, didn’t open her mouth but her eyes showed she also agreed.

‘So, Master, treat me more carefully.’

Green Wind whispered in his ears. The others couldn’t hear her voice.

In-gong pretended not to know and Felicia brought up a new topic.

“Then Shutra, what are you planning to do next? This mission ended too soon, so it isn’t a good idea to return to the Demon King’s Palace. In the case of this mission, there is room for an extension.”

It was obvious what she was suggesting and In-gong nodded.

“There are still remnants of the casios. Green Wind also wants to take care of them.”

‘Master, I never said that.’

Green Wind spoke again, but this time she could be heard by the others. Ferocious Eyes expressed his surprise.

“Is that Green Wind?”

“Yes, she is being considerate.”

At first, he had intended to use scouting the north as an excuse but he changed his mind in a few days.

Obtaining White Eagle was still his top priority, but In-gong really felt the need to scout the north.

As Felicia had said, there were many strange things about this work. Maybe something unusual truly was happening beyond the Northern Limit Line.

In-gong thought of Enger Plains and the centaurs living there. For them, it was necessary to investigate the cause of this situation.

‘Of course, I also have to consider the merits.’

Moreover, In-gong had some doubts. The rampage of the casios and the participation of the drake ogres weren’t things that had happened in Knight Saga.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“Ferocious Eyes?”

Ferocious Eyes looked around the room and then at In-gong.

“This occurred on Enger Plains. 9th Prince has prevented the immediate crisis, but many people are concerned about the future. If I go to the north with 9th Prince, the tribes will feel comforted.”

It was quite reasonable. Felicia laughed and agreed,

“Okay, it has been decided. Then I will follow.”

“6th Princess?”

Felicia winked at Ferocious Eyes’ question and spoke to In-gong,

“Didn’t I tell you? One of the reasons why I am here is to investigate the violent casios. Wouldn’t it be better to investigate the living casios instead of the dead ones?”

That was also reasonable. It was what he had expected since Felicia appeared. So, In-gong had used the excuse of Green Wind. It would strengthen the reasoning behind the scouting mission.

“Then I will also join you.”

Daphne carefully looked at both Felicia and In-gong. Then In-gong made a decision,

“Please do so.”

Daphne smiled happily.

“Thank you. I will do my best to help Prince and Princess.”

‘Yes, I will use this opportunity to become friendly.’

In-gong became resolved again and looked at Felicia. She shrugged and said,

“We are both royal children but you are the representative. Look after me this time.”

“Please take care of me as well.”

Ferocious Eyes shook slightly and asked,

“9th Prince, when will we start?”

“There is no reason to lose our sleep. I recommend that we start tomorrow morning.”

Due to the nature of the scouting, he didn’t intend to go with many troops. Ferocious Eyes nodded.

“I understand. I will start preparing and carefully select the most outstanding warriors.”

“Then today, I will check the temple with Daphne.”

The last one to speak was Felicia. Each person’s work was neatly decided.

The centaurs heard the news after the meeting ended. They were satisfied that In-gong was going with their chief and the satyrs appreciated the fact that the 6th Princess came here after the 9th Prince. It was proof that the Demon King’s Palace thought about the Enger Plains.

On the day of departure…

There was one person who didn’t look excited at the thought of the new journey.

“Carack, what is it?”

In-gong asked Carack in a small voice as he had Ferocious Eyes and 20 centaurs behind him.

Carack moaned and said, “I feel like something is going to happen… No, it is probably nothing. Let’s depart.”

Carack closed his mouth and looked straight ahead. And exactly three days later, in the afternoon, Carack’s words became a reality.

&

“This-! Why did you have to say that?”

“You are the one who asked!”

“This-! Why did you have to say that?”

“You are the one who asked!”

In-gong screamed at Carack after seeing the mini-map. There weren’t just one or two red dots. There were more than 30 dots coming from different directions.

Almost all of them were casios. There were some drake ogres mixed in but not many.

‘Remnants of the enemy forces?’

In-gong raised his head and looked around quickly. His companions, who had been setting up a camp, hurriedly pulled out their weapons as the casios and drake ogres came running.

It was an unreasonable guess since the monsters didn’t have any identification marks, but In-gong felt like they weren’t the ones who had fought at the same temple. It was because they were running like crazy with a purple aura surrounding them.

“Don’t panic! Get ready for battle!”

Ferocious Eyes cried out fiercely. The centaurs held spears instead of bows and Delia blew a whistle to gather the dracos.

For the past three days, In-gong’s party had never been attacked by an enemy. They had just found the corpses of the casios and drake ogres occasionally.

In-gong finished organizing his thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to think leisurely. Like Ferocious Eyes said, it was time to prepare for battle.

Carack threw down the pile of firewood and picked up his dwarf axe. In-gong quickly opened his inventory and equipped Earth Quaker.

‘Dragon Blood!’

A reaction came as soon as he opened the power of a dragon humanoid. Earth Quaker cried angrily as it emitted a red and yellow light and In-gong’s white aura grew like oil had been added to fire.

However, that wasn’t all. In-gong raised Earth Quaker and gave a loud shout,

“Green Wind! Magic!”

He called upon the support magic that Green Wind had used in the battle against Mustafa!

However, unlike his expectations, nothing happened. In-gong looked urgently toward his waist. Green Wind had a temporary home in a small piece of wood, so her voice was heard from it.

‘Master, it is impossible. I don’t have the strength right now!’

In-gong understood immediately. Green Wind had spent most of her power making a substitute of herself. He hadn’t thought she would be so weak that she couldn’t use her secondary magic, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things.

‘I will do it myself!’

[Battlefield Protection Lv1] [Grassland Reclamation Lv1]

It was the secondary magic that Green Wind had used in the battle over the small temple. It was level one, so it wasn’t as powerful as before, but it was better than nothing.

A green wind wound around In-gong’s limbs and his body felt lighter. At that moment, Green Wind exploded,

‘H-how? Master, how can you use my magic?’

Instead of replying, In-gong gave Protection of the Wind and Grassland Reclamation to Carack. Green Wind’s devastated voice was still buzzing at In-gong’s ears.

‘T-this is my presence…!’

The image of Green Wind in his head flopped down weakly, but he couldn’t afford to worry about it right now. The centaurs at the edge were on the verge of collapsing under the casios.

In-gong raised a dwarf dagger with his left hand in order to use Below the King’s Flag. However, before he could do so, screams rang from before him.

“Kyaaack!”

There were four women in the group and In-gong’s gaze headed toward Delia who was riding a draco.

In-gong rushed out hastily after hearing the screams while Daphne screamed as huge monsters dived down from the sky.

Many things flashed through his head instantly.

The monsters, geist – a flying humanoid monster with the wings of a bat instead of two arms, were a vampire species that sucked the blood of their prey.

It went without saying that their goal was Daphne. A geist grabbed at Daphne with sharp legs.

In-gong immediately activated Aura. Explosive running speed unique to Beast Authority was triggered and In-gong moved in between Daphne and the geist, swinging his fist without any particular aim.

‘Explosive Power!’

In-gong fist struck the upper body of a geist. He had used the skill urgently but the strength was enough.

The body of the geist, that had been floating in the air, flew out a few meters and slammed into the ground. In-gong also lost his balance and fell to the ground, but it was only for a moment. In-gong’s body recovered quickly and he rushed toward the geist. The geist was a man with a huge body, over two meters tall, but his body was light because he was a flying person.

In-gong had to finish it in one blow. A geist’s most powerful close combat weapon was his large wings and sharp claws at the tips of his wings. The two wings were made of a special leather that was excellent in defense. Additionally, the battle could drag on for a long time if the geist flew up.

In-gong struck the geist’s chest once again. In-gong’s explosive power rushed out and cracked the geist’s ribs; Earth Quaker was breaking his body. Blood spilled out as his chest literally caved in and he died.

In-gong breathed roughly. His aura was exhausted due to the explosive, but he could still afford to use it due to Dragon Blood.

“Kiaack!”

It was Daphne, not the geist. Daphne was shaking on the ground while Carack was standing in front of her. Thanks to In-gong’s spell, Carack was surrounded by wind as he swung his axe at the geist rushing toward Daphne.

“Prince!”

“Fire Arrow!”

In-gong heard Carack’s call and instantly cast a spell. A fire arrow extended from In-gong’s left hand and flew straight at the head of a geist. The person blocked the fire arrow hastily with his wings.

The fire arrow exploded against the wings, but it was only a level one magic. So, there was only smoke and soot.

However, In-gong’s intention from the beginning had been to seal the man’s movements. Carack’s weapon was a large battle axe and not a fist, like In-gong’s. It wasn’t long before it hit the wings.

Carack swung the axe like a cleanup hitter and smashed the geist. The geist screamed and fell onto the ground. Carack stepped forward and took the geist’s head off with his axe, just like he was splitting firewood.

“Kuraha!”

Carack raised his head and gave a battle cry. It wasn’t a boast but to warn against any other flying geists.

After confirming that there weren’t any more geists, Carack turned and approached Daphne who was panting on the ground.

“Young lady, are you okay? Can you stand?”

Carack asked impolitely without honorifics but in a kind manner. He stretched out a hand toward Daphne.

Daphne stared blankly before nodding slowly.

“I-I’m okay. I can stand.”

Daphne swallowed her saliva and grabbed Carack’s hands. Carack then pulled Daphne up at once. Instead of intervening in the battles occurring elsewhere, it seemed like he was devoted to defending Daphne.

Daphne gazed at Carack’s trustworthy back and started to chant a spell. She used a druid magic unique to dryads.

When In-gong saw this, he went into a strange mood.

‘What is this? There is a strange sense of deprivation.’

In-gong had tried to save Daphne and it was In-gong who had prevented the first attack.

Yet, what was that gaze? Shouldn’t she be gazing like that toward In-gong?

‘Perhaps, she doesn’t like younger people?’

Or was it the shaky leg effect?

However, the important thing right now was Daphne’s inexperience in battle. The Daphne that In-gong had known in Knight Saga wouldn’t have frozen up like this before an enemy.

The gap in time between Year 512 and Year 513, which was the start of Knight Saga, seemed to be bigger than expected.

‘Master, it isn’t the time to be thinking! The battle hasn’t ended yet!’

Green Wind’s voice woke In-gong up and he looked around. Ferocious Eyes had a blue aura around him as he dealt with the drake ogres and casios while the centaurs were fighting fiercely.

Just like the battle against the Red Lightning tribe, Felicia didn’t attack directly but restricted the enemy’s movements with various spells. The casios slipped on the grass while the drake ogres sank deep into the ground.

In-gong decided to support Ferocious Eyes. Delia was next to Felicia, so Felicia would be fine.

“Carack! Watch Daphne!”

“Understood! I will protect her!”

While Daphne stared excitedly at Carack’s back, In-gong rushed into the crowd of casios. Green Wind whispered into In-gong’s ears.

‘Master, I will strive to be helpful even without my power.’

It seemed to be an extension of what happened earlier. She didn’t want to hear ‘Yes, you are useless!’ There was slight depression in her voice but In-gong dismissed it. It was because the group of casios was right in front of him.

The number of casios, drake ogres and geist was nearly double that of In-gong’s party, but it was an almost one-sided battle due to Felicia and the overwhelming combat power of Ferocious Eyes.

Once the fighting ended, the casios were literally wiped out. On the other hand, there were no deaths in In-gong’s party.

After confirming that the last casios had fallen under the hands of an elite centaur spearman, In-gong took a deep breath. The battle time itself was short, but he had a lot of fatigue because he had to focus on the battle.

Dragon Blood ended and Earth Quaker was returned to his inventory. Then he belatedly recalled Green Wind’s words.

“Thank you, that was great help. You were very helpful.”

‘Thank you for telling me that. Although you are a bit harsh, Master is a good master.’

In-gong laughed after hearing her voice mixed with relief, resentment and gratitude. She had lived alone for many years, so she seemed to have a lot of pride.

After finishing talking to Green Wind, In-gong headed towards Daphne and Carack.

“Daphne, are you okay?”

Daphne responded quickly to In-gong’s question.

“I’m okay. Thank you for saving me.”

Her movements and voice were stiff, so it seemed like the effects of the battle were still with her.

“I’m glad that you are okay. Can you help with the treatment of the injured?”

“I understand.”

Daphne ran instantly towards the centaurs. Although there weren’t any casualties, there were some injuries that could cause death or loss of limbs if not treated.

As Daphne left, Carack spoke to In-gong,

“I didn’t know that this was her first encounter.”

“Huh?”

“That young lady said it. She was in shock throughout the battle.”

Daphne was 16 years old. The children of the demon king usually performed missions from their early teens, but the children of the concubines were different. If they didn’t volunteer, they didn’t need to participate in any combat missions.

In-gong watched Daphne as she used recovery magic on the centaurs. Certainly, signs of shock could still be seen.

“Your eyes are good.”

“You must have noticed quicker.”

Carack smiled and looked In-gong up and down. It seemed like he was looking for any signs of injuries. Then a voice was heard from behind In-gong and Carack.

“Shutra, should I be jealous that you protected Daphne?”

The owner of the voice was Felicia. In-gong shrugged and replied,

“Delia was next to Noona.”

Both Delia and Felicia laughed. Felicia moved closer to In-gong and said,

“Your strength was great. Did you become stronger?”

“Thank you.”

During the three days traveling together, In-gong had told Felicia about Earth Quaker. There was a high possibility of a combat situation in the north. Therefore, he couldn’t avoid using Earth Quaker as that would cause a sharp decline in his combat strength.

In-gong had thought of some excuses, including that it was a relic of the 5th Queen. However, in the end, he told her honestly that it was a weapon he had found in the same dungeon as the Thunder Light Anvil. He omitted that it contained Enkidu’s strength but it was still the truth.

At first, Felicia seemed somewhat upset but that disappeared when In-gong apologized sincerely.

In fact, what he had done was quite common among the children of the Demon King.

As a specialist in ruins exploration, Felicia had gone to many sites and secretly taken many relics. She couldn’t persecute In-gong for something she had done as well.

Felicia was more upset that In-gong had hidden this fact, that he had acquired Earth Quaker, from her.

There were factions among the royal children and subtle alliances between the different factions. Of course, it wasn’t really important but information was often hidden.

Felicia didn’t want to be in that type of bad relationship with In-gong and it was the same for In-gong as well.

‘I am glad that it turned out well.’

He was determined to form a close relationship with Felicia.

While Felicia and In-gong were exchanging regards, Delia and Carack were speaking to each other. Ferocious Eyes neared the four people.

“9th Prince, 6th Princess, once the wounded soldiers are treated, we should move.”

It definitely wasn’t good to stay in one place after being attacked.

“Yes, let’s do that. I will leave this place to Chief.”

Ferocious Eyes’ gaze moved from Felicia to In-gong. In-gong nodded and Ferocious Eyes ordered the centaurs to leave.

After 30 minutes of traveling, the group set up camp next to some collapsed stone walls.

Naturally, In-gong and Felicia were next to Ferocious Eyes. Felicia spoke first.

“Those guys, they were covered in a purple aura?”

“Does Noona know what it is?”

Felicia folded her arms at In-gong’s question and replied,

“I can’t say outright but… It was a really ominous aura. It felt like I was facing a curse magic.”

“Curse?”

“Yes, a curse. Thanks to the purple energy, they became stronger, but their health was being exhausted. It is like raising strength by reducing life expectancy. Their emotions were also mentally neutered… It can only be seen as a curse.”

Felicia was a competent magician, but she couldn’t figure out anything else.

In-gong looked at Ferocious Eyes.

“Ferocious Eyes, it seems like the ones who fought at the temple aren’t the only ones.”

“I thought so as well. The geist are monsters that are hard to find on the Enger Plains.”

There were more monsters apart from the ones who attacked the small temple. Perhaps, there were also more monsters, like Mustafa, who could use the purple energy.

Ferocious Eyes closed his eyes and said in a heavy voice,

“Maybe there will be a second attack.”

Usually, the casios would come all at once, but everything was different this time.

In-gong recalled the group of casios he had met on the first day he arrived at Enger Plains.

The appearance might have been a strategic move for the centaurs to head in the wrong north-west direction, instead of going to the north-east where the small temple was.

If so, such an action wouldn’t have been directed by Mustafa. There was a bigger pattern behind Mustafa.

‘And there is one more thing.’

How did they figure out the true value of the small temple? The centaurs, who lived on Enger Plains with Green Wind as their guardian, hadn’t known about it.

In-gong had many questions. Felicia pressed a hand against her temples like her head hurt and spoke to Ferocious Eyes.

“It is worth going a bit further north, but what about defense?”

“I will send a few people back. The warriors of the other tribes haven’t been dismissed yet.”

After the casios were blocked, the tribes were going to scatter back to where they lived. However, now wasn’t the time for that.

“Go to the north. We should go at least to the Northern Limit Line. Something will be there. Right now, we need information.”

Felicia said and In-gong nodded. They had no intention of running away.

In-gong had to find White Eagle in the north and obtain information. Raising his head, In-gong looked towards the north.

The Enger Plains were very wide. Even the centaurs, who were very fast, needed a considerable amount of time to get from one end to the other end of Enger Plains.

Travelling from the south to the north, the elevation increased as they headed north. By the time they got to the Northern Limit Line, the place that the centaurs considered the end of Enger Plains, there was a high altitude comparable to a mountain.

The surrounding terrain also contained rocky slopes, wastelands and hills. It was because Ainkel’s magic power weakened the further away it was from the small temple.

After five centaurs returned to the south, In-gong’s group encountered more casios and geists as they moved further. He wasn’t sure about what type of surprises there would be, but he was certain that they shouldn’t spend that much time in the north.

They traveled a further two days towards the north. In-gong’s group reached the point that the centaurs thought was the end of Enger Plains.

“The Northern Limit Line is a little further ahead, but we call this place the end of Enger Plains.”

Ferocious Eyes said as he held his spear and gazed back and forth. He seemed to be drawing an invisible line.

Felicia explained further for everyone,

“The centaurs moved from season to season and the northernmost settlement is here.”

The centaurs had a nomadic life and used the entire Enger Plains as their home. The environment got worse the further north it was. However, if the season was right, it was a good place to live.

Despite being the first time they came here, In-gong and Carack just nodded. However, Daphne showed a different reaction. After listening to Ferocious Eyes’ and Felicia’s words, she spoke with an uneasy voice.

“The strength gets stronger the closer we get to the north. I can feel the fear of the spirits.”

Even In-gong shivered from the chills.

Daphne gazed at Felicia with anxious eyes. Daphne’s condition worsened the closer she got to the Northern Limit Line. She was more sensitive than In-gong or Felicia  to the atmosphere of the north because she was a dryad.

Green Wind whispered in In-gong’s ears,

‘Master, I can feel an ominous energy from the north. If the energy felt from the drake ogres and casios was a firefly, the energy from the north is like moonlight. The reason for the purple energy is probably there.’

In fact, that was the purpose of his party. Moreover, it wasn’t just that.

‘The tomb of White Eagle is in the vicinity. I can feel it. I can only tell the direction right now, but it is obvious that it is located before the Northern Limit Line.’

White Eagle was also nearby. They reached the de facto end of the Enger Plains, but they had to go a little further north.

Carack, who was unable to hear Green Wind’s voice, turned around and asked,

“What do you want to do? We haven’t found anything special for two or three days. Should we keep going?”

Delia used to frown at Carack’s rudeness, but she was used to it now and just waited for Felicia’s reply.  Felicia turned away from the north and said,

“It is dangerous, but… is it okay to go back without confirming after feeling something so blatantly ominous?”

If they were going to return, what was the point of coming here in the first place?

Ferocious Eyes lifted a spear and pointed to the northwest.

“If we go that way, there is a watchtower built by my ancestors. It is somewhat collapsed, but it was originally made to watch the Northern Limit Line. If we don’t get a clue when we go there, then we will return.”

‘Master, that is almost the same direction as White Eagle.’

Green Wind added.

White Eagle had been used by a brave centaur warrior who fought at the Northern Limit Line. It was natural for his grave to be near the watchtower.

“What is the distance?”

Ferocious Eyes visualized it in his head and replied to In-gong’s question,

“If we move at the current speed, we will arrive in an hour.”

It was early afternoon, so that distance was sufficient to visit.

“I will follow your judgement. Like I said before, you are the leader of this operation on Enger Plains.”

Felicia told In-gong. She didn’t want the burden, so she looked elsewhere. In-gong nodded.

“Okay, let’s go there.”

“I understand. I will take the lead.”

Ferocious Eyes and the centaurs started to move at the same time. In particular, Karma moved next to Ferocious Eyes since her role was a guide. In-gong turned the draco towards that direction when he suddenly asked Carack,

“What is it?”

He had a strange look on his face. It was similar to his expression on the first day that they departed.

Carack faced In-gong and shook his head.

“I won’t say it.”

However, In-gong already knew the answer just by his expression. In-gong sighed before smiling. In-gong also felt an ominous feeling, but it was time to move.

“Let’s go, Maybah.”

The draco immediately responded when In-gong called his name and he started running lightly after the centaurs.

&

“That is the watch tower.

Just as Ferocious Eyes said, they ran for an hour and saw a watch tower in the middle of steep mountains that stretched out like a folding screen. The outer wall was severely damaged and one side was completely stuck to the stone mountain. In the first place, it seemed to be a building made for the mountain.

“Let’s go up.”

Fortunately, the stairs were wide enough for the centaurs and dracos to climb up. Ferocious Eyes went up first to check the dangers and everyone else followed.

The watch tower was bigger than expected and the height of the top floor was at least 10 meters.

In-gong swallowed as he moved closer to an outer wall. A cold, dry wind blew against his cheeks.

With the instincts of a creature, he looked at one specific point. Not only In-gong but everyone close to the outer wall was watching a single place.

There was something in a spot hundreds of meters away. It was a huge purple flame, and the various monsters around it were engulfed in a small purple aura. There seemed to be more than 200 creatures.

Green Wind had said that the flame was the source of her ominous feeling.

He heard a low scream the moment his intuition felt something. It was from Daphne.

“Young lady, are you okay?”

Carack rushed to ask Daphne, but she shook her head and didn’t answer. Felicia watched Daphne and said,

“I can feel the ominous aura directly. As I said before, this child is sensitive to it as a half-spirit.”

In-gong retreated from the outer walls with the centaurs and they gazed at each other.

Daphne seemed to regain stability from Felicia’s words and said to In-gong,

“An undead. It is also an advanced one. At the very least, it should be a lich.”

Two types of undead existed in the Demon World. One was an undead that was naturally caused by the flow of magic through the Demon World. The other type was undead created by necromancy.

The naturally occurring undead were usually low grade ones, such as skeletons or zombies, but sometimes an object could create a powerful undead that surpassed that.

“It must be the culprit in this situation. There is an undead that’s this intelligent, so I have to go back and prepare. We need to inform the Demon King’s Palace about this situation.”

That was the original plan. However, just when he finished speaking, Felicia suddenly looked back in the direction that In-gong had climbed up from.

“Felicia noona?”

“I can hear a sound from behind us.”

Felicia’s ears pricked up. Her dark elf hearing was the best among the party.

The centaurs, including Ferocious Eyes, listened intently to the sound. It sounded like the ground was ringing.

Instead of waiting, In-gong asked Green Wind,

“Green Wind, can you share your gaze?”

When Green WInd brought In-gong to the temple, she showed her viewpoint. Green Wind had directly conveyed what she saw to In-gong.

‘I’ll try.’

“Go up to the sky!”

At In-gong’s order, a green light sailed into the air. Green Wind looked at the south and in the next moment, In-gong swallowed a moan.

The mini-map was filled with red dots. Thanks to the shared view of Green Wind, red dots endlessly appeared inside the extended range.

“Shutra?”

“We’re surrounded.”

In-gong cried out after coming to a realization. From the beginning, it had all been a trap. A large number of monsters, including casios, had been hidden from In-gong’s party throughout the north.

It was clear that the undead had been waiting for the moment to surround In-gong’s party.

The undead could also share its gaze. This was a means of receiving information in real time from distant subordinates.

Otherwise, the elaborate movements In-gong was currently seeing wouldn’t be possible.

“Escape! Enemies are flocking from everywhere!”

There were no questions asked. Carack picked up Daphne, who couldn’t stand properly, and got on the draco. Felicia and Ferocious Eyes both looked at In-gong. In-gong nodded straight away.

“I’ll lead the way! Run!”

In-gong looked simultaneously at the mini-map as well as what was in front of him. The siege was still forming. If they poked a gap, they could open a path to escape.

‘Master! Look at the sky!’

Green Wind shouted when he first started running. In-gong looked up hurriedly at the sky.

“Kieeek!”

Five geists were gliding toward him. Ferocious Eyes quickly pulled out a bow and shot at them. An arrow pierced the neck of one while Felicia caused a sharp wind to divert the path of another one. However, there were still three remaining. The centaurs rushed to take out a spear or bow, but they weren’t as fast as Ferocious Eyes. Two centaurs were unable to escape the attacks of the geists and fell to the ground.

“Just go!”

There was no room to save them. Ferocious Eyes shouted as he fired an arrow at a geist attacking a centaur on the ground. Like Ferocious Eyes said, there was no time to delay.

“Stick together!”

In-gong screamed loudly as he stabbed his dagger into the air. The power of Conquest rose like a storm.

“Below the King’s Flag!”

A pure white light emerged from In-gong and wound around his companions. The legs of the dracos and centaurs were filled with an unhealthy power as In-gong’s party ran at a faster pace than usual.

“Daphne!”

Felicia called out to Daphne. It was to ask for her dryad magic to help escape, but Daphne wasn’t in a position to respond properly. She shook her head with a pale expression and trembling lips.

‘Master! That person! He is coming!’

There was no need to think. There was only one reason for Daphne’s condition to deteriorate.

At the same time, a cold chill was felt from behind them. One of the centaurs couldn’t resist the anxiety and turned around, only to let out a moan.

A huge undead with a purple aura around him was traveling through the air on a phantom steed. The head of the skeleton was covered with a large plate made of the bones of various monsters. The armour around his body was made of bones and his hands held a black sword. He was a monster that could be seen as both a warrior and magician.

At first glance, he was a huge five-meter-tall skeleton knight on a phantom steed. The man wearing black armour blew a horn, making bizarre noises fill the air.

He was still quite a distance away, but it seemed like he would catch up after a little while.

In-gong looked at the mini-map. The red dots didn’t show a completely unified movement, so the control wasn’t complete. They weren’t moving following the path of In-gong’s group but were moving as commanded.

‘Find the weakest spot.’

The moment that In-gong thought so…

“Kuraha!”

Carack shouted towards the sky. The geists were once again flocking in droves. Ferocious Eyes and the centaurs shot a series of arrows, causing many of them to fall. However, that didn’t slow them down. Furthermore, the surviving casios were blindly rushing at the party. A few centaurs were trapped by them.

The encirclement was narrowing. Every time the party had to take care of the geists, they slowed down while the huge undead was still behind them.

Finally, they could see the monsters surrounding them with the naked eye. In addition to the group of casios that were surrounded by a purple aura, there were monsters like zombies and skeletons.

Would they be able to escape? It was possible if they broke through this siege!

Kwaang!

There was a roar and the formation of In-gong’s party collapsed. The huge undead had reached within 20 meters of the party and cast a spell. A huge blaze of fire poured from the sky and the explosion swallowed up a few centaurs.

The giant undead fired another ball of fire. This time, he aimed toward the front of In-gong’s party and the dracos stopped with surprise. The draco carrying Carack and Daphne fell to the ground. The centaurs weren’t killed but most of them weren’t able to run.

A decision was needed. In-gong and Felicia exchanged glances. With no more words needing to be said, Felicia summoned the fire and wind spirits in both hands. A barrier made of giant flames was created in front of them. The wind spirit adjusted the size of the fire wall and the direction it spread.

It was a barrier that prevented them from retreating but also stopped the monsters surrounding them. In-gong jumped down from the draco and equipped Earth Quaker.

‘Master! Do you mean to fight?

After Mustafa was destroyed, the monsters who lost the purple aura were mentally confused and their combat power deteriorated. Then there was only one way to survive the huge encirclement:

Defeat the giant undead. If he was killed, that purple aura would disappear and the encirclement would collapse.

‘Dragon Blood.’

The power of the dragon humanoid. Earth Quaker growled and entered its battle form as a white aura rose from In-gong’s body like flames.

Carack knew his role. He lifted his battle axe while Karma swallowed her saliva and glared at the undead skeleton knight in the sky.

Daphne was still shaking, but she was moving her mouth endlessly, pouring all her strength into a spell.

The dryad’s blessing covered the entire party, including Below the King’s Flag.

[Activation Lv1 has been learnt.]

Although In-gong hadn’t activated the magic, he sensed that the spell Daphne used was at a much higher level. It was like receiving Heal when Felicia had used Massive Heal. The magic being used was an evolved form for the Activation skill.

‘Spirit Enlightenment!’

It was a buff skill that raised all the stats using the power of the most suitable spirit. In-gong felt the spirit of life and spirit of wind enter him. In Knight Saga, only one spirit could nestle in a body at the same time. However, thanks to Protagonist Body, the powers of two different spirits could rest in In-gong’s body.

The power of his body rose. It was the same for Ferocious Eyes, Carack, Felicia and the others.

As Carack was filled with strength, he grabbed the battle axe and stood in front of Daphne. Ferocious Eyes held a spear instead of a bow and activated his blue aura while the centaurs called out Green Wind’s name.

The giant undead, Balkarova, looked down at In-gong’s party and smiled. He had the face of a skeleton, but his emotions were displayed vividly. As he looked down on his prey, it was arrogance that was shown.

Balkarova jumped down from his ride and hit the ground. Thanks to the huge weight, the shaking of the ground was loud as the skeleton knight stood up.

In-gong could clearly see the height difference now that they were on even footing. Moreover, the purple energy around his body was much stronger than Mustafa. In-gong felt like he would be cut just facing him.

However, he had to fight. It felt like just yesterday that he had been fighting orcs, but now, he had to face this monster.

‘Indeed, a protagonist.’

In-gong didn’t hesitate to think nonsense in order to get rid of this excessive tension. Following Dragon Blood and Activation, the magic of Green Wind was added and he used Below the King’s Flag once again.

The flag of white light floated behind In-gong and a white light surrounded all the people in the vicinity. Daphne’s complexion became better and the centaurs, who had been barely able to face Balkarova, gained some bravery.

Using Below the King’s Flag twice exhausted him mentally but In-gong endured it. Now, there was only one thing left.

“Grassland warriors! Go!”

Ferocious Eyes shouted angrily and charged toward Balkarova. The centaurs ran toward the skeleton while Karma retreated to the rear with Daphne. Carack looked toward Felicia and Delia nodded from beside her.

“Karaha!”

Carack gave a war cry and joined Ferocious Eyes. Balkarova moved between the two of them while wielding his sword. The purple aura formed into dozens of sharp blades and stabbed at the two of them.

“Ohhh!”

The blue aura around Ferocious Eyes broke the purple energy. Carack, who had escaped behind Ferocious Eyes, quickly rushed toward Balkarova after the purple aura was broken. Meanwhile, In-gong sprang up from the floor.

Carack struck Balkarova’s leg with his axe, but the bones were so hard that, while holding the axe, Carack’s arms shook terribly. Moreover, the purple aura rose like it was going to swallow Carack.

At that moment, In-gong caught Balkarova’s eye. Balkarova’s eyes blazed and the violet aura chased In-gong, not Carack.

A ball of fire flew from Balkarova’s left arm. In-gong rolled on the ground to avoid the flames while Ferocious Eyes aimed at Balkarova.

“Kuoooh!”

The blue aura was concentrated on the end of Ferocious Eyes’ spear. Immediately after shooting the ball of flames, Balkarova turned his head toward Ferocious Eyes and opened his mouth.

It was a type of breath attack. A purple pillar poured out from Balkarova and hit Ferocious Eyes.

Kwaaaang!

Ferocious Eyes was pushed away, but he wasn’t hit directly by the violet pillar. It was thanks to the light pillar’s power being alleviated by the quickly swinging spear.

Karma sighed with relief as she watched, but it was too early. Ferocious Eyes avoided a direct hit but couldn’t prevent the additional effects of the violet pillars.

A wicked curse covered Ferocious Eyes’ body. Below the King’s Flag reduced the power of the curse greatly, but it did not eliminate it completely. The remaining bits of the violet pillars ate at Ferocious Eyes’ flesh and health.

Ferocious Eyes further resisted the curse by activating his aura. Carack shifted Balkarova’s gaze back to him by wielding his axe while In-gong attacked from behind him.

However, Balkarova swung his black sword at Carack. Carack ducked down to avoid the attack and struck Balkarova’s leg. Once again, he wasn’t able to do any damage but it was enough to break Balkarova’s balance.

Balkarova staggered for a moment. It was a movement that In-gong, who was behind Carack, cared about.

In-gong observed Balkarova. He turned his body to avoid five fireballs and activated Beast Authority on his left hand. As flames poured down, he evaded all five of them and aimed the explosive power at Balkarova’s feet.

Kwaang!

There was a loud roar and a part of Balkarova’s leg was broken. Balkarova staggered and Carack poured all the power of the earth spirit inside him into his axe. It wasn’t as good as the elves, but the orcs had a high affinity for spirits. Carack struck Balkarova’s other leg.

“Kuaaaak!”

Balkarova screamed and stumbled again. He burned the purple aura and Carack and In-gong moved urgently to avoid it. The grass, where they had been standing died, in an instant and the land itself turned completely black.

Balkarova gathered the energy and fired it from his mouth. If the first one was a pillar of light, then this time, it was a wave. Balkarova’s first target was Carack.

“Carack!”

Just before the purple aura swept through Carack, In-gong called his name and Carack appeared in front of In-gong. Call was a skill that could only be used once every three days, but now wasn’t the time to save it.

In-gong and Carack were then forced to split apart. Not only did the land, that was swept by the wave of light, turn black, poison had also started to rise from it.

The centaurs, who were fighting the creatures near the area of the purple energy, had their bodies melted down. It was horrible enough to be called a poison rather than a curse.

He finished spewing out the light wave and raised his sword toward In-gong. Receiving Balkarova’s gaze, In-gong gathered his white aura on Earth Quaker.

It drew the focus of Balkarova’s eyes and he didn’t look anywhere else. He was only concerned with In-gong.

At that moment!

As Balkarova rushed forward, wielding his sword, Felicia finally used a spell. After casting the flame barrier, she had spent all that time preparing this.

Felicia was a magician who was unsuitable for direct combat, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t use any attack spells at all.

“Triple Blast!”

It was a powerful synergy attack that combined three properties.

A dazzling blue, red and yellow light emerged in a magic circle from Felicia’s stretched out hand. It swirled and headed toward Balkarova.

‘That’s right.’

The moment that In-gong thought so…

Balkarova’s body suddenly disappeared. Triple Blast penetrated through the air as In-gong looked back hurriedly. Delia, who was next to Felicia, screamed.

“Blink!”

It was a close range space jump magic!

Balkarova had never lost sight of Felicia. He was able to share the gaze of every monster that was surrounded by the purple aura. While Felicia had been preparing her magic, he also prepared Blink. He then activated it the moment Felicia unleashed her spell. He moved 10 meters from his original position and opened his mouth toward the defenseless Felicia. A purple pillar of light stretched out toward her!

Kwaaaaaang!

Once again, there was a deafening sound. The purple light scattered into many pieces as Felicia and Delia stared helplessly at a person in front of them.

“Ferocious Eyes!”

Instead of responding, Ferocious Eyes knelt down. His injuries were separate from the curse as he had to raise his aura hastily to prevent the urgent moment.

Laughter burst from Balkarova’s skull. Instead of aiming the sword directly at Felicia, he turned to In-gong while dozens of geists dived down from the sky. Their goals were Felicia, Delia, Karma and Daphne.

It was too reckless.

He couldn’t do anything, yet he couldn’t give up. In-gong continued gathering his aura on Earth Quaker. He still had Gigantic Piston remaining.

Balkarova laughed at In-gong. The casios and drake ogres were already gathered beyond the flame barrier that Felicia had created.

Carack grabbed his axe quietly and In-gong took deep breaths before his last rush.

It was at that moment…

‘Master!’

He heard Green Wind’s voice. However, it was strange. Her voice was too far away. It felt like she was barely reaching him from a distance.

In-gong touched his waist with his left hand reflexively. He couldn’t feel Green Wind in the small piece of wood. There was only a mere bit remaining.

When had she left and why?

‘Master! Activate Ainkel’s power! Shoot her power into the air!’

Her voice was too far away. It felt like she was using all her power just to reach out with her voice.

In-gong observed Balkarova and smiled for no reason. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the power of Conquest. It was crazy to close his eyes for a few seconds in front of an enemy.

However, he didn’t care. In-gong just concentrated. He recalled the power he had felt when he became a dragon humanoid as well as the illusion of Ainkel that he had seen.

Watcher Ainkel.

The elder dragon with the power of life. The words she had said and the power she had given In-gong…

In-gong opened his eyes and Balkarova was charging right before him. In-gong unleashed the Gigantic Piston that he had gathered and stopped Balkarova’s rush. Then he roared towards the sky.

It was similar to Aura. No, he honestly didn’t know if he did it properly. The roar of a dragon humanoid filled the sky as Balkarova appeared before In-gong. He gave an eerie laugh and swung the black sword.

Then at that moment…

A terrible rumbling noise was heard from afar. A pure white and green light rushed through the air like a blade of wind.

They couldn’t help looking back. Balkarova and everyone on the battlefield looked in the direction of the sound. It was preceded by wind. Traces of white and green moved in the air and passed by the geists attacking Felicia. Red blood spurted in the air from their necks and wings as the geists fell to the ground.

It was a beautiful trajectory. It fell to the ground at In-gong’s and Balkarova’s feet, causing Balkarova to retreat with surprise from the huge power of life it was emitting.

It was located in front of In-gong.

It was a shield. Pieces of white metal spread like wings while a green glow emitted from between the metal plates!

‘Master!’

Green Wind’s voice was heard clearly. Her voice was heard clearly from White Eagle and In-gong was the only one who understood the situation.

Shortly after the battle began, Green Wind had left In-gong’s side. She had headed for the tomb where White Eagle was buried and entered it.

It was unreasonable and reckless. There was a possibility that they would have been defeated before she reached White Eagle.

However, she took the chance and found White Eagle. She succeeded in awakening White Eagle and making it recognize its new owner by having In-gong activate Ainkel’s power.

“Green Wind!”

‘Praise me later! Instead, you have a lot to do! A lot!’

In-gong laughed coolly. He could feel Ainkel’s strength of life pushing at Balkarova’s aura.

The antithesis.

In-gong knew instinctively what he had to do to fight Balkarova. He didn’t delay any further and reached out toward White Eagle.

Green Wind and White Eagle flew over to In-gong’s left arm. A gauntlet made of a white piece of metal formed on In-gong’s arm and White Eagle, reminiscent of a kite shield, settled on top of it.

He didn’t have to wait for the golden crowned white woman to speak. In-gong formed fists and invoked the power of Conquest.

Earth Quaker and White Eagle.

The strength of two elder dragons emanated from him.

The piece of Ainkel, which had been kept in the small temple, had transformed In-gong’s body into a dragon humanoid.

Now, more of Ainkel’s magic power was added to the dragon humanoid body formed from Ainkel’s magic.

It was the power contained in White Eagle… Ainkel’s magic power which had been kept for a thousand years!

Dragon Blood, which had already been in play, became even more powerful. A brilliant green light shone from White Eagle, where it rested on In-gong’s left arm, and there was a roar from Earth Quaker on his right arm.

Life and destruction…

The power of Watcher Ainkel and the Great Enkidu!

Balkarova felt an instinctive fear. He was surprised at the unexpected power of life and moved backwards. Then he regained his mentality, looked at In-gong and suddenly pulled up the purple aura.

Breath weapon.

In-gong knew what Balkarova was doing. Instead of avoiding it, In-gong swung his left arm the moment the purple pillar poured out from Balkarova’s mouth.

“Prince!”

Carack shouted and Felicia also gave a short scream. Ferocious Eyes tried to raise his body while coughing up blood.

White Eagle flashed.

Kwaaaaaang!

There was a roar and the purple aura spread everywhere. White Eagle left In-gong’s left arm and blocked the violet pillar. The white metal pieces spread out like wings and emitted a green light. After colliding with White Eagle, the purple aura was broken and scattered.

However, Balkarova didn’t back off. Once again, he poured out an overwhelming amount of purple aura. In the midst of breaking and scattering, the purple pillar had become thicker and more intense.

In-gong didn’t wait. He moved to the side.

White Eagle was still confronting the purple aura, so Balkarovan was confused by In-gong moving and leaving White Eagle by itself.

When he thought about it, he realised it was natural as In-gong wasn’t holding onto White Eagle. White Eagle floated to the side and blocked the purple pillar. There was no reason for In-gong to stand behind White Eagle.

Balkarova couldn’t conceal his agitation and hurriedly chased In-gong’s movements with the purple pillar.

However, In-gong’s movements were too fast to chase using that method. In-gong moved and circled behind Balkarova.

“Kuha!”

Balkarova gathered the purple aura hurriedly. It was painful because he was gathering it too hastily, but he didn’t stop. He turned and aimed his left hand at In-gong. Fireballs poured out from Balkarova’s five fingers.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

The fireballs exploded, causing a deafening roar, but In-gong wasn’t there anymore. In-gong had merely appeared at Balkarova’s back before moving away while continuing to watch him. Meanwhile, a white aura was gathering on In-gong’s right arm in preparation for Gigantic Piston.

Balkarova was very angry. He raised his sword and rushed toward In-gong with a momentum akin to a crashing car.

In-gong breathed in deeply. He was sweating, but he stood there and concentrated on Balkarova’s movements. It was meaningless to move too early. Just as In-gong was looking at Balkarova, Balkarova was also looking at In-gong. It was like a bullfighter dealing with a raging bull at the appropriate moment.

The black sword Balkarova swung poured out lightning bolts. At that moment, In-gong moved. He ran to the front without fleeing backwards or sideways. He took a few steps to the side to avoid Balkarova’s attacks and passed by Balkarova. In-gong focused patiently on Balkarova’s movements until the end. He was capable of this due to the explosive speed of Beast Authority.

In-gong counted inwardly. Not only did he gather his aura on Earth Quaker, he also used the remaining powers he had left within him.

There was the spirit of life that Daphne’s blessing had allowed to dwell inside him.

There was also Ainkel’s magic power which contained the power of life.

He used both of them. Rather than pushing them onto Earth Quaker, which had the power of destruction, he circled the power around its surface.

This formed a white ring.

After putting on the power of life, it acted as a sharp trial for Earth Quaker. It was an unstable power, but In-gong didn’t mind. He turned around, swung his left arm widely and White Eagle started flying again at In-gong’s command.

Kakakang!

White Eagle flew over Balkarova’s head. The white metal collided with the purple aura and Balkarova staggered.

It was truly a trampling!

“Kiaaaaaah!”

Unable to bear the anger, Balkarova swung his left hand at random and shot out fireballs again, while swinging his sword with his right hand.

Meanwhile, In-gong focused only on evasion. White Eagle flew to In-gong’s side and blocked the spheres of flames while In-gong rolled to the ground to avoid the blade.

Balkarova tried to pursue In-gong, but he couldn’t. Balkarova and In-gong weren’t the only ones in this area!

“Kuraha!”

Fury had narrowed Balkarova’s field of view and at that moment, Carack struck Balkarova in the shins with his axe which contained the power of an earth spirit. There was only a metallic ringing, but it was worth it. Carack’s only aim was to draw Balkarova’s attention away from In-gong.

“Kuha!”

Balkarova swung his left hand toward Carack. So far, Carack had dodged the attack, but he couldn’t this time. Exposed to Balkarova’s power, Carack was pushed back dozens of meters.

Despite the fact that it was only one blow, blood poured from his mouth and he stiffened from the purple aura. However, Carack didn’t care. He saw Balkarova was still running toward In-gong and raised his upper body while coughing up blood. He shouted for his king.

“Karaha!”

In-gong responded to the battle cry. Previously, he had devoted everything toward evasion. However, now, In-gong ran straight toward Balkarova, who then used his breath weapon in desperation. White Eagle swirled around In-gong and defended him. Once again, the green and purple lights clashed and there was a deafening howl.

Kwang!

In-gong kept moving forward. Divine Beast Authority, which contained a brilliant explosive force, was used to compress the distance between In-gong and Balkarova.

Balkarova was approximately five meters tall. It wasn’t easy to aim for his head or upper body because the height difference was too big. At this moment, Balkarova instinctively sensed something; he had to prevent In-gong’s strike. He couldn’t permit himself to be hit by the power contained in the gauntlet!

Balkarova raised his sword, but it wasn’t for an attack. It was to protect his important upper body and head.

However, In-gong didn’t jump forward. He aimed at Balkarova’s legs like he had been doing so far.

Gigantic Piston screamed as it emerged.

It wasn’t necessarily a frontal strike.

He aimed from below.

In-gong stopped right in front of Balkarova and punched the air with his fist. He couldn’t strike Balkarova directly, but it was enough. The mass of white aura clung to Balkarova as he was swept away by the force of Gigantic Piston.

“Kiaah!”

With that, Balkarova’s breastplate was shattered. Balkarova stepped back from the force of Gigantic Piston and the power of life took off the purple aura enveloping his upper body. It was only for a short time, but as a result, Balkarova’s upper body was left defenseless for a while. It was right at this moment!

“Felicia!”

“Triple Blast!”

Felicia shouted the moment that In-gong cried out. A tricolour ray of light shot out once again from his outstretched hands.

There had been no promises. In-gong had simply believed in Felicia. He believed she wouldn’t have given up and that she would find some way to win while watching the fight. She was a dark elf, Felicia Doomblade of Knight Saga!

Kwaaaaaang!

The blue, red and yellow light penetrated Balkarova’s chest. There was a huge roar and hundreds of bone fragments flew everywhere. Balkarova’s body cracked and a purple aura emerged from his eyes and mouth. It wasn’t an attack. It was the release of the aura as Balkarova could no longer control it.

Felicia, who had prepared Triple Blast while In-gong prepared Gigantic Piston, didn’t stop the eruption of her magic power. Using Triple Blast, not just once but twice, was painful for her.

Blood flowed down her jaws and tiny blood vessels in her arms burst, causing many bruises to form.

However, Felicia just smiled. She swallowed the pain and finished the magic.

Kwakwang!

The tricolor light exploded. Balkarova’s bone armour was shattered and the aura that had surrounded him could no longer be seen.

However, Balkarova hadn’t died yet. Instead of collapsing, he used the last of his power to lift his sword.

In-gong raised his left arm instead of avoiding it. There was no need for a command as In-gong wasn’t alone in this moment.

‘Master!’

White Eagle struck Balkarova’s head and Balkarova started to crumble. White Eagle then turned in the air and landed on In-gong’s left arm, just like a hawk landing on a hunter’s arm.

That wasn’t all.

Balkarova’s knee was broken and Balkarova literally crumbled to pieces. The skeleton knights dealing with the centaurs also returned to death with terrible screams.

Ferocious Eyes looked at In-gong and chanted Green Wind’s name, while Karma embraced Daphne with a silly smile.

Delia helped support Felicia and Felicia leaned on Delia, expressing both pain and joy.

Despite the blood, Carack laughed.

Hearing a familiar voice, In-gong was pleased.

[Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Boss: Skeleton King Balkarova has been defeated.] [Title: King Slayer Lv1 has been acquired.]

Level 19.

In-gong breathed out and a white light wrapped around him as Felicia released the flame barrier.

The master of the purple aura had died, so the monsters started scattering.

&

‘Hmm, I am prepared. Now is the time for praise, Master.’

‘Hmm, I am prepared. Now is the time for praise, Master.’

“Sorry, just wait a little longer.”

He wondered what Green Wind’s expression would be at his answer. In-gong imagined that she was quite disappointed but now wasn’t a situation where they could easily talk.

In-gong searched the mini-map. Just like the battle at the small temple, the monsters who lost the purple aura started scattering. They hadn’t headed their way due to Felicia’s fire barrier but that wasn’t enough. It was weak but there were still hundreds of monsters in the area.

In-gong closed his eyes. His stamina was restored due to the level up, but not his mental power. He used Below the King’s Flag twice, used White Eagle and exhausted his concentration in order to avoid Balkarova’s attacks. Right now, he felt like laying down on a bed and sleeping for 12 hours.

In-gong started thinking. Now, what should he do? Was it possible to break through the monsters with his troops?

Felicia was too weak to maintain the fire barrier. The flames had been maintained thanks to the fire spirit, but Felicia who maintained the spirit was weak so the power of the spirit weakened.

In-gong made a decision.

“Karma! Grab Daphne! Carack, can you stand up?”

Karma quickly lifted Daphne onto her back while Carack stood up. In-gong then looked at Ferocious Eyes and Felicia.

“Ferocious Eyes, run. We are going back to the watchtower.”

“Under… stood.”

Ferocious Eyes responded briefly and raised his body. Felicia was using recovery magic on Ferocious Eyes’ wounds, but they soon understood what In-gong’s meant.

It was hard to think of breaking through with their current exhausted power. It was obvious that there would a big sacrifice if they tried to get away.

Then he would rather go to the watchtower. It would be easy to defend while resting there, instead of crossing the grasslands.

There were now only nine elite centaurs left. Ferocious Eyes and the centaurs protected In-gong’s companions as they ran towards the watchtower.

Fortunately, the monsters lost their controller and didn’t think of attacking In-gong’s party. The monsters were actually more wary of In-gong’s party.

Although the watchtower was half collapsed, there were several floors with safe walls and ceilings. In-gong used various miscellaneous scattered items to block the entrance.

Carack helped In-gong with the entrance and gazed out a small opening.

“I don’t think they will come here to attack. Rather, they seem to be busy fighting among themselves.”

Felicia sighed with relief at Carack’s words. Delia whispered to Felicia and approached In-gong.

“9th Prince, I will climb up and keep watch on the north.”

When Balkarova was first discovered, more than 200 monsters had the purple aura around them. Thanks to the stone mountain, they couldn’t attack In-gong’s party but they might use a different path. Watching the north was the right choice.

“Okay, please do so.”

“I am pleased to do it for Her Highness.”

Delia smiled and headed upstairs. In-gong sat down and looked at everyone.

The centaurs were a mess. Some of them were quite severely injured.

Ferocious Eyes maintained his strong gaze, but his face also didn’t look good.

Karma sighed with relief as Daphne lay on her thighs. She had been running on her two legs instead of riding a draco like In-gong, so it was natural for her stamina to be exhausted.

Instead of sitting or lying down, Felicia stood up and wandered around the centaurs. She was using recovery magic.

“Noona should rest.”

Felicia was a mess. He could see all the bruises on her body due to the unique clothes of the dark elves.

But Felicia shook her head and responded with a mischievous voice.

“After I’ve finished the recovery magic. I am a princess.”

She winked slightly in the end but seemed to be doing too much. Sweat was flowing down her forehead and her voice was full of exhaustion.

‘Felicia is like this.’

She was a princess.

Despite that, she prioritized healing the centaurs rather than saving her magic power.

In-gong respected Felicia’s will so he lay his body down in a more comfortable position. Carack sat at a window seat and stared out the window.

“Prince should close your eyes. I will watch the south.”

“We’ll do it in shifts so wake me up.”

Carack was also tired. He coughed up blood a few times.

But Carack laughed and pointed to the centaurs.

“There are many people who can take over for me. We lived thanks to the royal family so shouldn’t you enjoy it?”

Although it was a cheap luxury, they received the highest level of treatment in this situation. It was foolish to be stubborn so In-gong decided to rest. Green Wind was beside In-gong.

‘Master, rest easy.’

Only In-gong could hear her but there wasn’t much reaction. Green Wind stroked In-gong’s forehead and he naturally closed his eyes. He fell into a deep sleep.

&

“So, this is White Eagle?”

Deep in the night.

Everyone was gathered around a small campfire. There were leftover meat, bones and leather from the casios in the corner. While In-gong was sleeping, the centaurs had gathered them from the battlefield.

In-gong lightly touched his belly and answered Felicia’s question.

“Yes, it is one of the reasons why Green Wind wanted me to go north.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the White Eagle placed next to In-gong. The gauntlet and metal plates that made up the wings returned to their original positions, and it now looked like an ordinary kite shield.

But everyone had seen White Eagle in action. Ferocious Eyes stared at it.

“I never thought the legend of White Eagle was true.”

The story of the brave warrior who fought monsters across the Northern Limit Line a thousand years ago.

That was the history that Green Wind told In-gong, but it was different for the centaurs. It was one of the legends they’ve heard since their childhood.

The eyes of the centaurs and Karma starting shining like lanterns. Felicia laughed.

“The guardian of Enger Plains really likes you. Can I see it just once?”

In-gong hadn’t found White Eagle. White Eagle had flown to him.

Felicia didn’t know the precise cause but she thought it was due to Green Wind.

Daphne also spoke.

“I feel a strong life force from White Eagle. Moreover, that… This is just my feeling, but I don’t think all its power is revealed in this state.”

In-gong immediately understood. It was the same with Earth Quaker. Both of them were restricting their strength to match In-gong.

‘I need to become stronger.’

As soon as he became a dragon humanoid, Earth Quaker transformed one step higher.

Felicia stretched and said with a warm smile.

“Anyway, it is your Shutra. If you want I won’t report it to the Demon King’s Palace. Even if it is reported, it will be yours.”

The Demon King’s Palace generally didn’t take away the royal children’s achievements. While the Thunder Light Anvil was a historical relic, White Eagle was recognized as belonging to In-gong.

Ferocious Eyes looked at In-gong and said.

“Green Wind has stipulated that Prince is White Eagle’s master. The centaurs of Enger Plains recognize 9th Prince as the successor of White Eagle. Whenever Prince wants, we will be with Prince.”

He was the successor of the Great Warrior, who was an agent of Green Wind and led the centaur clan a thousand years ago. For the centaurs, In-gong was no longer the same as the other children of the demon king. He was a much more special presence.

Felicia stared at Ferocious Eyes but he didn’t seem to be joking. In-gong thanked Ferocious Eyes and asked Felicia.

“Can I go to the tomb of White Eagle for a while? It is a sacred place so I think I should go once.”

It was natural after receiving White Eagle. Felicia blinked and asked.

“You alone?”

“No, Carack as well. I don’t want to stay here for a long time so I should go now.”

They had to leave the watchtower and head south tomorrow morning. It was the middle of the night but he had the mini-map, so he was confident about going with just Carack.

Felicia sighed and nodded.

“I want to follow but it can’t be helped. Be careful.”

Felicia had severe body aches due to treating the others. She could talk, but it wasn’t possible to run or walk like usual.

In-gong smiled and turned towards Ferocious Eyes.

“Ferocious Eyes, please look over Felicia noona.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ferocious Eyes replied heavily. In-gong didn’t need to wait anymore so he instantly stood up.

“Let’s go, Carack.”

“Understood.”

In-gong got on the draco.

&

The tomb of the White Eagle wasn’t far away.

Instead of rushing, In-gong looked at the mini-map and adjusted his movement speed.

‘My skill points are pretty good.’

It was natural since he gained two levels at once. In Knight Saga, he could get more skill points as his level went up.

‘In retrospect, it is a very fast speed.’

In ordinary RPGs, bosses and normal mobs were used to level up. In-gong couldn’t remember leveling up so quickly in recent years.

In fact, the gap between bosses was too short.

As soon as he found the Thunder Light anvil and raised his level, he had gone to the Demon King’s Palace. Of course, there was no fighting there.

After arriving at Enger plains, he had faced the casios and leveled up after obtaining Ainkel’s power.

Soon after that, he fought Mustafa and gained another level.

‘Including the small temple and the fight in the north, isn’t it five levels?’

If his level was still in the single digits then it would be a shame. But it was quite good since it was in the double digits. He just needed a bit more to reach level 20.

And the fight with Balkarova.

Thanks to the short interval between bosses, he leveled up quickly. But every single battle was hard fought.

“Prince, I see it.”

Carack’s voice broke through his thoughts. He turned in the direction that Carack pointed and saw a pile of stones.

“It is completely smashed.”

When he came up close, it was a mess. Most of the stone pillars were broken as White Eagle came out.

Green Wind whispered to In-gong.

‘Don’t worry, Master. The brave warrior won’t be angry. Rather, he would want to Master to have it. A warrior’s equipment is only worthwhile when dealing with the enemy on the battlefield.’

Then there was no reason to resist. In-gong took on the attitude of an RPG warrior breaking into a house and told Carack.

“Let’s go.”

This grave was a sacred place, but the main reason he came here was to collect the rest of the possessions.

Apart from White Eagle, there were several other magic artifacts. They were all used by the brave warrior when he was alive.

‘The power of the White Eagle seems to have preserved the others.’

If not, it would have been hard to endure for thousands of years even with magic.

After a moment of silence, In-gong started to remove the stones. Carack moved a stone to the side and asked.

“Should I keep this a secret this time as well?”

“A secret. Ah, an axe. This is for Carack.”

The first thing they found was a big battle axe. Carack felt the magic power of the battle axe and said with a grin.

“This is a secret that must be kept from the world.”

In the tomb, there was a spear, a sword, and a ring. Although they were equipment worn by the brave warrior, their state wasn’t as good as before.

Just like the axe earlier, the spear, sword, and ring had magic but each type was different.

‘The axe has simple strength magic, the spear has limited recovery abilities once a day… even the spear?’

The sword had an enchantment to maintain the sharpness while the bow enhanced the wearer’s eyesight. Even though the centaurs already had good eyes,with the bow, it was like having a telescope attached.

The basic performance of all four equipment was excellent. He didn’t know what they were made of, but the material itself seemed to be special.

‘One day I will be able to use it all.’

Even if he couldn’t use them, he would still take them. In-gong even kept the giant sword that Balkarova used.

Once the excavation was complete, In-gong silently bowed towards the grave and started to rebuild the stones. It was the very least he could do for the brave warrior.

‘Then it is time for the final thing.’

In-gong looked at White Eagle, and a green light emitted from the shield like it had been waiting.

Green Wind emerged from White Eagle. Carack was astonished by Green Wind suddenly appearing out of White Eagle while In-gong smiled at her.

“Well done. Good job. The best.”

In-gong stroked Green Wind’s head who was sitting on White Eagle.. Green Wind blinked with a completely childish attitude.

“I feel bad but also good. Continue Master.”

In-gong refrained from laughing as he kept praising Green Wind, while Carack’s expression changed as he looked at the two people.

Green Wind disappeared with a satisfied face after being praised for nearly 10 minutes. Rather than the piece of wood hanging at In-gong’s waist, her home was now White Eagle.

After placing all the equipment of the brave warrior in his inventory, In-gong gazed at the Northern Limit Line.

The purple aura had controlled the monsters in the north.

Was it all over now? Was Balkarova the cause of the purple aura?

Yet some doubts remained. Why did Balkarova attack the south? How did he know the secret of the small temple?

Beyond the Northern Limit Line. Things were happening beyond it.

“Prince, we should go back. Don’t dwell on it any longer.”

Carack said, causing In-gong to smile and nod.

“Yes, your words are true.”

In-gong didn’t linger. He had completed the mission by defeating Balkarova. The work beyond the Northern Limit Line would be left to the Demon King’s Palace.

“Let’s go, Maybach.”

The draco started running towards the watchtower after In-gong spoke.

The moon was shining brightly in the sky.

&

It was dark and deep.

The Great Enkidu lifted his head to the sky.

He was an elder dragon born in lava, so he enjoyed looking down at the ground rather than up at the sky. But today, he faced the moon and stars in the dark blue sky. He heard a call from far away.

Enkidu.

“Ainkel.”

One of the six elder dragons supporting this world. The first elder dragon to be killed.

Her death was a thing of the past and it had already been 1,000 years. But a part of her will still remained in the world.

The wind blew her whispers into Enkidu’s ears.

Enkidu didn’t say anything. He just gave a low roar and gazed up at the sky.

Conquest, war, famine, and death.

The Four Knights of the Apocalypse.

The time was approaching.