Chapter 18: Auction

There were two protagonists in Knight Saga.

The protagonist of the Demon World was Zephyr Ragnaros, the strongest and worst demon king in history.

The other was the warrior, Locke, protagonist of the Human World.

The story had begun in the Demon World in year 513, when Zephyr Ragnaros received a new mission from the Merits Department.

Whereas Locke’s adventure had started in the summer of Year 514, when Locke left the temple he had grown up in to go on an adventure.

At the beginning of winter in Year 512 that changed to Year 513, Zephyr had left for the north to carry out a mission.

So, what was Locke doing now?

In Knight Saga, he had invaded the Demon World with an army and eventually killed the demon king.

&

In-gong closed his eyes and searched through his memories. Then the appearance of a big bookshelf popped into his head.

There was a total of five books. Compared to the large bookcase, the number of books was embarrassingly small, but In-gong didn’t care. Anyway, it was a bookcase that no one else could see.

All five books described the elder dragons. They were the books he had borrowed from the library and read once.

He thought about one of them, then the part he wanted automatically came up in his head. It was vivid as though he had photographed the book.

It wasn’t the so-called ‘photographic memory’ ability. It was a little bit different, but the end result was similar.

In-gong had ‘conquered’ the books he borrowed from the library.

Thanks to that, he could recall them any time he wanted.

‘I read all of it roughly, but… it really is a fraudulent skill.’

A Conquest Knight could conquer and dominate all things. This applied to books as well as techniques, so he was eager to test out the applications.

What else could he conquer? Could he apply the power of Conquest to everything?

However, first, it was time to look at his memories.

The five books in the library varied from simple storybooks to history books. Each had a different story about the elder dragons, and according to the books, there were many more stories not present.

However, there was one thing they had in common.

In-gong simultaneously recalled different pages of the five books.

The disappearance of the elder dragons…

The Great Enkidu, who had lived in the Jishuka Mountains, had suddenly left his treasures and dungeon for another place.

It had occurred approximately 1,000 years ago. One of the dwarf keepers had left a record of this behind.

The time when Violent Kaltein had last been seen was also similar. It couldn’t be guessed precisely as to when because the record left behind by the dwarf and the storybook were created at different times, but it was close to 1,000 years ago.

There were no records related to Watcher Ainkel, but because of Green Wind, In-gong knew that Watcher Ainkel had been murdered 1,000 years ago.

The rest of the elder dragons were in similar situations. The witness reports, such as for the Brutal Talia, were cut off long ago, and it was important that they hadn’t appeared anywhere in the last 1,000 years.

‘The only exception is Guardian Queian.’

There were no records found in the books of the library, but In-gong knew about him thanks to Knight Saga’s setting.

During the past 1,000 years, Guardian Queian had acted several times in the Human World.

Five of the six elder dragons had disappeared from this world 1,000 years ago.

Watcher Ainkel had been killed and Violent Kaltein’s dungeon had been violently destroyed by someone.

If so, perhaps the others were the same. There had probably been a big fight 1,000 years ago that wasn’t revealed on the surface of the history records.

The Four Knights of the Apocalypse…

And the four people who selected them—

In-gong recalled some information that might be helpful in the present situation.

‘Guardian Queian’s lair is hard to pass through… but is it possible to guess the location of the Brutal Talia?’

If he looked at the places where the elder dragons’ legends were based, he could guess the locations of their lairs.

The records of Brutal Talia were concentrated in the northern cold zone.

Considering that Talia had the power of the cold, it was an interesting combination.

‘It isn’t too far right now… My next target should be obtaining Talia’s equipment.’

Queian’s lair was in the human world, while the lair of the last elder dragon, Record Keeper Torres, was hard to pinpoint due to the records talking about the entire Demon World.

After he finished thinking about the elder dragons, In-gong put away the virtual books and opened his eyes.

Even without his sight, he could tell the location just through hearing and scent. In-gong was in the middle of a grassland with dry wind.

Just like Thunderdoom Fortress, Evian didn’t have a transportation formation, so he had to move to the closest area with one.

As always, there was a guide at the transportation formation. Fortunately, this one was a man. The party and their supplies moved on carriages towards Evian.

One day after their departure…

In-gong was riding Maybach, whom he had not seen in a long time. White aura and green magic power were tangled together and rotating in each of his hand.

‘Okay.’

Even while he had his eyes closed and mind occupied with other thoughts, In-gong could operate aura and magic power as naturally as breathing.

Moreover, it was not simply operating; the aura and magic power in front of him were pushing at each other and creating a synergistic effect.

When using Gigantic Piston and Dragon’s Bane, he had been unconsciously using aura and magic power simultaneously.

In-gong didn’t use mana for specific skills but added magic power to the aura itself.

The result was successful. All actions that used aura, as well as Divine Sura Authority, had become faster and stronger.

‘It is a pity that I didn’t meet the sword duke again.’

The sword duke had promised to meet again during his stay at the Demon King’s Palace, but he unfortunately had to leave the next day.

He didn’t know any of the details, but it seemed like the sword duke needed to leave in a hurry.

The demon king had mentioned the sanctuary.

Perhaps there was something wrong with the sanctuary that the sura were guarding.

“Shutra.”

“Huh?”

He had thought he was alone when he heard a voice next to him. In-gong looked around to see Caitlin approaching him on a stunning black horse.

Caitlin looked down at In-gong’s hands and asked,

“That— What are you doing? Are you operating aura and magic power at the same time?”

“Yes.”

Caitlin’s golden eyes lit up at In-gong’s answer. She mumbled, “Amazing” a few times, then asked again with an excited face,

“Shutra, do you have any tips?”

Originally, aura and magic power would push against each other.

In-gong shrugged at Caitlin’s question.

“There is no such thing… I just do it.”

In-gong’s words were unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped. He really just did it.

Caitlin frowned at In-gong’s answer, then closed her eyes and activated her aura. Caitlin’s blue aura and white magic power gathered on her right hand, but both of them disappeared instead of tangling together like In-gong’s.

Aura interfered with the operation of magic power while magic power destroyed the aura’s flow.

After several more attempts, Caitlin sighed and opened her eyes. She stared at In-gong and grumbled,

“Shutra is too much.”

“What?”

“Too much.”

Her grouchy expression was cute. In-gong tried to stop his laughter, but it was inevitable that a small smil formed.

On In-gong’s other side, a new voice was added,

“That’s right, Shutra is too much.”

It was Felicia who was riding on a draco. As In-gong looked back, the voices continued,

“Right, too much.”

“Way too much! Too much! It is too much!”

The last voice belonged to Amita who was riding on a horse with Daphne. Daphne became confused as the waving tail hit the horse.

He could understand why Amita was upset, but why was Felicia— no, Carack upset as well?

‘Shouldn’t I be the one saying that Carack is too much?’

In-gong looked at Delia, Seira and Karma who were beside Carack, then he looked back at Carack. It was because he suddenly had an ominous premonition.

‘Surely, Nayatra won’t like Carack as well?’

He felt anxious. Despite there being no basis for this,, he couldn’t help the ominous feeling.

In fact, he didn’t even know why Seira, Delia and Sepira had started liking Carack in the first place. It seemed like he was a aide killer.

‘N-no. Nayatra can’t be the same.’

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Locke had a harem around him, however, Zephyr was different due to his grim nature. Therefore, his only hope in the Demon World was Nayatra, who was like a flower blooming in a desert.

While thinking about Nayatra, In-gong was reminded of something… There was one more problem.

‘What excuse can I use to go to the auction?’

If he were alone, then he would just go with Carack. However, right now, In-gong wasn’t alone. In order to avoid Caitlin’s and Felicia’s cold eyes, he needed a good reason to visit Takar’s slave auction house.

‘Well, there are a lot of assets to process right now.’

There were the goods from the dungeon and the ruin.

Even the dwarf weapons that he found in the dwarf cave hadn’t been processed yet. This was a chance to obtain Nayatra, but he should also use it to organize his things.

‘Slaves aren’t the only things sold at the auction house.’

There were various types of artifacts as well as various magic tools that could be used in battle.

There were valuable ingredients like elixirs and dragon hearts that could luckily be obtained if they had enough money.

In-gong looked at Carack’s shield for a moment. Thanks to Amita joining them, the party could receive the best equipment, but it was still lacking. Right now, Carack was the only one who had received a shield from Amita. Weapons were still needed.

‘Moreover…’

The materials that Amita could use currently were the leather, bones and scales from the black dragon and the sea serpent. Both were top quality materials, but there wasn’t a variety of material.

If a variety of material were added, then Amita would be able to produce better and more unconventional equipment.

In-gong looked at Amita who started trembling. They felt something like a ominous feeling.

‘I should go to the auction house to liquidate the assets and see if there are any good items.’

Just thinking about it convinced In-gong, and he nodded with a cheerful expression. Meanwhile, Caitlin was grouchy as she tried to join aura and magic power together a few more times.

As In-gong was thinking about how to comfort her…

‘Master, a group of people are approaching from the front.’

Green Wind’s voice entered his ears, and In-gong focused aura on his eyes. As Green Wind had said, a group of people were rushing towards them from far away.

&

“I just need to stop them here.”

Richard, one of the five captains of the Demon King’s Palace, turned his gaze to a distant place.

He was in one of his dwellings at the Demon King’s Palace, and the room was designed to allow adequate light to enter.

As he gazed into the sunlight pouring through the window, he touched the things on his desk gently.

His hand stopped on a seal made of wrought iron that only the members of the five families leading the draconians could use. Richard’s hands were rough from holding a sword his entire life, and even among draconians, his hands were particularly big and hard.

He wasn’t alone. A few steps away from him was a young man called Henry, who was particularly prominent among the children of the five families.

Richard was a man with blonde hair that was reminiscent of a lion’s mane, and a pair of long white horns stretched from his head. He had just been listening to Henry’s report.

He had known the answer since a few days ago, so this was just a procedural check.

“Do you know what you have to do?”

Richard asked Henry who was standing with a stiff expression. Henry hesitated for a moment then nodded.

Instead of blaming Henry, Richard just laughed.

The instructions that Richard had given Henry a few days ago were simple.

‘Attack 9th Prince on his way to Evian.’

The people behind the attack wouldn’t be soldiers from the Demon King’s Palace or draconian warriors. It would be someone who had been kicked out from the Evian military and was already a wild dog.

The aim wasn’t to kill 9th Prince; Richard just wanted to learn more about him.

9th Prince’s appearance was too sudden. Therefore, Richard didn’t know much about him.

What type of person he was, how strong he was now and his fighting style…

Richard wanted to know all these things. He had no thoughts about taking away 9th Prince’s life.

The demon king—the sura king, Mitra didn’t want that, and Richard didn’t intend to go against the demon king’s will.

However, he couldn’t help letting some words escape from his mouth.

“The demon king said that the strongest person should become the demon king. His thoughts haven’t changed. But to not want a direct fight between the successors… This is a bit contradictory, isn’t it?”

His tone was moderate, but Henry could hear the growl of a lion in it.

The strongest person would become the demon king.

Yet it wasn’t acceptable for the siblings to harm each other while contesting for the position of demon king.

It was a contradiction. How could there be no fighting when they were trying to determine the strongest?

There were the factions. Competition between factions existed, but it was all about spying and gaining information.

The 4th Princess—she had the blood of the serpent-like 2nd Queen Titania, so she used both females and males. No, she didn’t fear any violence at all. She had drunk the tea given by the 1st Prince without any hesitation. The tea party was in a place widely known to everyone, not a secret location that no one else knew about.

Yet the 1st Prince had laughed and poured tea, and the 4th Princess had drunk it without any hesitation nor fear of poison.

This was despite the fact that it was tea from the 1st Prince.

They had lived for 20 years without suspicion of each other.

However, could a real power truly be born in this type of environment? What did missions matter when they would return to a greenhouse that was the Demon King’s Palace?

Richard laughed once again.

“That face looks like you want to say something. So, tell me.”

With Richard’s permission, Henry stood next to him. Although he wasn’t a small child, the problem was that his loyalty to the demon king was too strong.

Unlike Richard’s bright blonde, Henry had dark hair and blue eyes.

“When he was kicked out, he was at the level of the lower generals, but he is different now. His strength will be at the level of an intermediate general.”

“Yes, I know how strong he is. That way, I can also measure 9th Prince’s strength.”

“Uncle… no, Captain. If 9th Prince dies…”

“6th Princess and 8th Princess is with him. So, dying won’t be a problem. And even if one of them loses their lives… it is a matter that doesn’t involve me. Moreover, we are being hit by the enemies on the periphery. 1st Prince and 2nd Prince have already experienced an encounter with the enemy. We have nothing to do with this.”

Richard interrupted Henry’s words and said it was inconsequential. He knocked against Henry’s shoulder.

“Henry, what are you afraid of? Such a thing will never happen. If I really intended to do that, then I would have used a much stronger person.”

This logic reassured Henry,but it was only for a second. In the end, the fact that someone strong was ambushing the 9th Prince didn’t change.

Richard spoke in a calm tone,

“Maybe he will receive an injury that will make him give up his mission or doubts will start to form.”

It was only a matter of planting a few suspicious buds. However, that wasn’t bad enough. He was going to change the current atmosphere, little by little.

“Tomorrow, we will return to the northern front. Be prepared to leave.”

At Richard’s words, Henry departed the room with a stiff expression. Richard stared at his back and laughed.

“9th Prince.”

Only a few months ago, he had been known as the Prince of Scraps, and now, he had created a new faction.

Richard didn’t know how many skills the sword duke had taught him.

‘I can’t possibly guess.’

Would he notice that the ambush was instigated by someone?

Even if he did, it would be impossible to find the person behind it.

The mad dog was a draconian, but he was already a notorious enemy in the vicinity of Evian.

This would lead to some doubts and a sense of crisis. Richard’s purpose was to plant seeds of doubt, and that was enough.

It would also be good if 9th Prince didn’t notice at all. There would be no problem in achieving his desire to know 9th Prince’s abilities.

‘I never thought it would begin with the 9th Prince.’

Richard stopped touching the seal, and his gaze moved in the southwest direction where 9th Prince was.

&

“Things are never easy.”

Carack said with a bitter smile as he prepared to fight. The group of people running wildly towards them were enemies. They had to either run away or prepare to fight, but the former action was unreasonable.

In-gong’s eyes narrowed.

“I think you are right. I think it is because of me.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Instead of answering Carack, In-gong just laughed. He had seen a familiar face at the front of the rushing group.

“Richard is doing this.”

In-gong muttered in a small voice. He was sure of it.

It was an event that he had experienced many times in Knight Saga.

In Knight Saga, Zephyr had gradually worsened the relationship between the demon king’s children. He had made them suspicious until they thought they would be killed if they didn’t strike first, ruining the relationship between siblings.

This was one of the processes. The ambush at Evian—rather than aim directly for the royal children’s lives, it was an operation designed to disturb them and cause suspicions.

The one behind this wasn’t Zephyr but Richard.

The royal child attacked was always different, but the person doing the ambush was the same.

“Mad Dog Jiks.”

The soldier who had joined them as a guide agreed with In-gong.

“T-that’s right. Mad Dog Jiks!”

Fear, confusion and doubts were all seen on his expression.

Mad Dog Jiks was notorious around Evian. However, his activities were far from here, so it was the first time the soldier had seen him. He was just able to tell due to Mad Dog Jiks’ unique characteristics.

“Shutra?”

Enemies had appeared in front, but it had been an unexpected ambush. So, she wondered how he knew.

“I was prepared.”

“What?”

Felicia replied with a dumbfounded expression, but it was only for a moment. The fight was about to occur soon. Rather than continuing to ask questions, Felicia was convinced by Shutra’s words.

In-gong heard Green Wind’s voice once again.

‘Master, it isn’t just at the front. If I count all the enemies…’

“Around 40? Most of them are cavalry?”

‘That’s right. How did you know?’

“Everything was dragged out.”

Mad Dog Jiks was a real mad dog.

Although he had never been ambushed while playing as Zephyr, Richard had been his sponsor, so he had been able to learn more about the mad dog’s abilities.

Among the intermediate generals, Mad Dog Jiks was average.

Before the Starlight Core, Caitlin wouldn’t have been able to win against him. In fact, victory wasn’t guaranteed even with the Starlight Core.

‘But what if it isn’t Caitlin?’

“Shutra.”

“Huh?”

In-gong turned around. Caitlin, who was prepared to fight while sitting on the black horse, was staring at In-gong.

“What are you thinking of right now?”

Did her wild intuition sense something?

Instead of answering, In-gong smiled towards the front, and Caitlin’s eyes narrowed.

After fighting so many monsters in Spider Forest, the party remained relatively calm despite the 40 enemies. Only the guide soldier became speculative.

“Prince, what do you want to do?”

Carack asked him. In-gong equipped Earth Quaker and White Eagle. After Amita’s adjustments, Earth Quaker gave a low roar as it glowed red and yellow through the black scales.

It was an ambush event, but he had no intention of losing. He would smash through Richard’s intentions.

In-gong nodded thoughtfully. Instead of answering, an angry white aura was activated.

&

Mad Dog Jiks had left the army for almost 10 years now.

However, he never forgot that the blood of a draconian flowed through his body.

One of the elder draconians, Richard, had ordered him to attack the 9th Prince and learn his skills. It didn’t matter if there were injuries, but he was ordered to not take their lives.

However, Jiks wasn’t displeased. He couldn’t take their lives, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do other things.

Besides 9th Prince, there was the 6th Princess and 8th Princess who were renowned for their beauty. Touching them would incite the retaliation of the dark elves and lycanthropes, but he didn’t think that far. Why else did he have the nickname of mad dog?

‘If I do this, I will need to flee from the Demon World.’

Mad Dog Jiks’ logic was simple. The task assigned to him was to fight 9th Prince and report on his skills. Apart from that, he could do anything.

Instead of a horse, Jiks rode on a big wolf as he made some hand gestures. He had trained each member himself and was certain they would be elites if they were in the Demon King’s Army.

There were 40 of them, so it was clear that the 8th Princess would struggle.

‘I wish to taste her with my own hands.’

He had already forgotten about the fight with the 9th Prince. Jiks was just considering a confrontation with the 8th Princess.

It was at that moment that…

The 9th Prince ran out alone. He wasn’t riding a horse or even a draco.

Jiks laughed and whispered, ‘I’m not the only crazy one.’

However, it was only for a second. Jiks’ instincts screamed at him, and he used his aura reflexively, using the dragon authority that all draconians had inherited.

This wasn’t the time to relax. He pulled out his sword hurriedly. The reason for this was simple.

‘So fast!’

The dozens of meters between himself and 9th Prince felt meaningless. 9th Prince didn’t stop and ran straight toward Jiks. In just a few seconds, he brutally trounced all the people in his path.

Two shields emitting a green light opened the way. His men couldn’t even do anything as they fell to the ground with a moan. It happened so quickly that they couldn’t perceive the fact that 9th Prince was among them.

The next moment, 9th Prince was standing right in front of Jiks.

Kwang!

With a roar, the white aura exploded in the air. Jiks swung his sword reflexively to block the blow and felt a strong pain in his right arm. It was hard to hold the sword. Moreover, he couldn’t keep his current position any longer.

Lightning struck in front of him. The moment it struck the wolf’s head, blood poured from it. Jiks hurriedly threw himself backwards off the wolf, but the pair of black shield and white shield kept tracking Jiks. Jiks swung his sword to block the path of the shields. He succeeded in stopping the orbits of the shield but lost his sword in the process.

Jiks had bought some time. He needed the time to refine his aura management technique. It was only a few seconds, but he needed this time to calm his breathing and draw power.

However, 9th Prince didn’t allow it. He was overly quick and reached Jiks again.

Jiks grabbed a spare sword hurriedly and swung it roughly with his left hand through instinct. Of course, he was quick and strong due to his aura, but his opponent was also an aura user. So far, he hadn’t managed to deal a fatal blow to 9th Prince.

Yet there was a sensation at his fingertips. His blow had struck the 9th Prince’s chest.

‘How?’

He was amazed that he had gotten a blow in. However, Jiks wasn’t a novice, and that was why he knew that he hadn’t succeeded because he was lucky. It was because the opponent allowed it.

‘Why?’

Moreover, why was 9th Prince smiling so happily in the midst of this painful situation. Surely, he wasn’t enjoying this?

The reason didn’t matter. Jiks used the time to try and pull out an extra sword. However, an invisible force crushed Jiks’ arm. There wasn’t a gap that allowed him to fight.

“Thank you.”

Jiks couldn’t tell if those words were actually said or just seen through the eyes.

9th Prince laughed as he made a fist, then something white and green exploded in front of him.

The moment that Jiks was struck in the chest, the shock was greater than the pain.

9th Prince’s fist…

It was filled with the dragon power that was the aura characteristic of the draconians.

‘A success!’

In-gong smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his fist containing the dragon style.

The dragon style had added a new power to In-gong’s aura.

In Knight Saga, there were slight differences in the auras of each species.

A lycanthrope’s aura was characterized by momentary explosive power. The various techniques of Divine Beast Authority were developed towards exploding aura due to the fact that the lycanthropes specialized in this.

Just as the name implied, the dragon style was based on the power of a dragon. Dragons reigned at the apex of all species, so their power was efficient in many areas.

Even if they had the same amount of aura, the dragon’s style was much stronger than other auras. It was also easy to add various attributes to the aura, and it was easy to handle the aura in various ways, such as through emission or focusing it on one spot.

In-gong had conquered a piece of Ainkel’s dragon heart, but he hadn’t been able to use the dragon style until now. Additionally, in the past, In-gong had always the delicate aura unique to gandharvas.

However, after gaining the characteristics of a dragon, his aura had become stronger and more violent than before. It was like riding a wild horse.

Instead of continuing to attack Jiks, In-gong brought his left hand to his chest and used recovery magic.

‘Hurts!’

The pain was truly not a joke. The strike that contained the dragon style was stronger and sharper than had had expected.

However, the pain was also good. In-gong swallowed back the pain and laughed.

On the other hand, Jiks was stunned when he was pushed backwards. 9th Prince was a gandharva and sura, so how could he use the dragon style? Perhaps 9th Prince wasn’t the son of the demon king? Or maybe he was the child of a female draconian, not the 5th Queen.

Jiks stopped thinking about it. He would explore the secrets of 9th Prince’s birth later. He was called mad dog for always going on a rampage, but he had survived to this day due to his excellent fighting instincts.

The blow had increased his distance with 9th Prince. Additionally, 9th Prince didn’t attack immediately.

This was an opportunity for Jiks. He gathered his aura hurriedly while his left hand grabbed something. Then Jiks threw a pouch toward 9th Prince, causing a blast of violet smoke to fill the air.

It was poison. It had been made by collecting various infectious poisons around Evian and was unable to be neutralized with magic due to how terrible it was.

He would buy some time with the poison. After adjusting his breath and gathering aura, he would attack the poisoned 9th Prince.

Jiks used the time to try and pull out an extra sword. He took one step back and refined his breathing, but his plan only went well up to here. This was because there was something happening which he didn’t know about.

[Hundred Poisons Resistance is activated.]

[Hundred Poisons Resistance is activated.]

[As a result of the resistance against the rare poison, Hundred Poisons Resistance has been upgraded to Thousand Poisons Resistance.]

[Poison resistance has increased greatly.]

Fire Arrow and the various recovery spells needed to be used many times to increase their levels.

Hundred Poisons Resistance wasn’t much different.

The other day, Hundred Poisons Resistance had already reached its maximum level. Now, due to the rare poison, it had progressed to the next level.

In-gong breathed freely in the smoke as he headed to Jiks. He rushed over and shouted unknowingly,

“Truly, thank you!”

After the dragon style, it was Thousand Poisons Resistance!

In-gong smiled brightly and activated aura and magic power simultaneously. In-gong’s magic power, which originally possessed the attribute of a dragon, matched well with the dragon style. Compared to before, the synergy effect of the combination between aura and magic power was superior.

Jiks was confused. 9th Prince had smiled after being hit, and he was now thankful for the poison. No matter how Jiks looked at the situation, it clearly wasn’t normal.

“Hat!”

Jiks swung his sword. It wasn’t the time to be confused.

Jiks’ blade was fast and sharp. He had wandered in the wilderness after being kicked out of the army, but his skill was real. If they were just discussing pure martial arts skill, he was much better than In-gong.

‘Master!’

Green Wind cried out, and there was a sharp metal sound at that same moment. Black Eagle moved between In-gong and Jiks and blocked the sword. However, the strength of Jiks’ sword was so powerful that Black Eagle’s orbit was altered, and Black Eagle hit the ground instead.

In-gong regained his composure, erasing his smile as he moved toward Jiks.

However, Jiks didn’t panic. Now that it was just a competition of strength, it was difficult to reverse the situation, but a draconian’s superior physical ability made it possible.

Sparks flew as the battle between In-gong and Jiks continued. Neither side was able to gain an advantage. White Eagle and Black Eagle flew back to In-gong’s side, blocking Jiks’ sword, while In-gong exploded with a storm of attacks that contained the dragon style.

Jiks clenched his teeth as he fought In-gong. He also used dragon style to respond to In-gong’s attacks, which In-gong counterattacked in an unexpected place.

However, all of Jiks’ attacks were in vain due to White Eagle and Black Eagle. There seemed to be no end to the frontal confrontation.

‘I have to dig into it.’

He never thought about breaking through In-gong’s defense. He just needed to penetrate the gap between White Eagle and Black Eagle.

All of 9th Prince’s movements were aimed towards attacking as he believed in the two shields. If he could penetrate through the trajectory of the shields, he would be able to get a critical hit.

Jiks started emitting dragon style randomly. It was inefficient, but thanks to that, he was able to delay In-gong’s offensive. Jiks took a big step back and widened his view, which had only been concentrated on In-gong. This was because the easiest way to get In-gong’s attention was to pursue his companions.

Jiks had brought along 40 people. Some subordinates had been lost due to In-gong’s mad rush, but there were still 30 left. Moreover, this wasn’t a small number as each one of them were trained elites.

However, as soon as Jiks expanded his field of view, he was forced to swallow back a pained groan.

8th Princess was literally going crazy. Blood was pouring down her body as she acted far more violently than 9th Prince. His men were being torn apart by the unbelievable power springing from that slender body. 8th Princess couldn’t afford to look after 6th Princess, but it was clear that 6th Princess was also putting up a good fight. Due to the brilliant magic bursting from her, his men couldn’t approach at all.

6th Princess defended while 8th Princess and 9th Prince attacked crazily.

Jiks narrowed his field of view again, focusing only on In-gong.

It was fight or be killed. In that case, he would fight like a mad dog. He should at least use all his strength to bite 9th Prince’s neck.

JIks rushed at In-gong. In-gong avoided it and turned to face Jiks.

White Eagle and Black Eagle were circling In-gong. Jiks not only focused on In-gong but also on the movements of White Eagle and Black Eagle. The trajectory of the two shields around him was relatively simple.

Jiks was looking for a gap. He would go through that gap to deal a blow to 9th Prince!

Immediately before colliding with In-gong, Jiks changed directions suddenly. It was an abrupt movement as he swung his sword.

In-gong’s eyes naturally turned toward the sword, and they widened. As soon as Jiks swung the sword, the blade split into dozens of pieces as it flew toward In-gong.

The pieces of the sword were manipulated by the dragon style and pierced through the gap between White Eagle and Black Eagle. All the pieces flooded toward In-gong.

It was at that moment…

In-gong turned into a dark blue mist. The pieces of the sword flew through the air in vain.

Jiks was reminded of one of the vampires’ lineage abilities. Surely the blood of a vampire didn’t flow through 9th Prince’s body as well? What type of bloodline did he have?

However, this was just a conjecture. In-gong hadn’t turned into a dark blue mist.

It was a close-distance space jump.

This was a technique embedded in Violent Kaltein’s Night Watch.

Although it was limited to three times a day, that was enough.

In-gong laughed as he appeared at a spot 10 meters away from his original location.

‘Too bad for him.’

If In-gong was in Jiks’ position, he would’ve had a tantrum. In-gong called White Eagle and Black Eagle. Instead of using dragon style, he activated the quad-core.

“Caitlin.”

At his low call, Caitlin passed by In-gong’s side. Thanks to the quad-core, she was much faster and more powerful than before.

As Caitlin ran ahead, In-gong soon followed behind her. He further amplified his aura by synchronizing it with Caitlin’s.

In-gong and Caitlin moved as one in a pincer attack. An intermediate general like Jiks had no way of dealing with it.

Jiks had lost his sword. It was now impossible for him to run away.

In-gong and Caitlin took deep breaths at the same time. The two of them formed fists and crushed Jik’s chest.

&

[Your level has risen.]

A white light surrounded In-gong as he heard the soft voice.

Caitlin, who had already seen it, looked at In-gong with wide eyes.

‘It reminds me of old times.’

He remembered how he had seen Caitlin right after the first major battle against the Red Lightning tribe. At the time, her whole body had been bloody just like it was now.

It was only a couple of months ago, but it felt like so long because they had been through many things in the meantime.

“Are you okay?”

Caitlin asked, tilting her head. In-gong was standing idly, so she wondered if something was going to happen.

In-gong laughed and said,

“Uh, I’m fine, but is Noona okay?”

“Yes, it isn’t my blood.”

Caitlin gave the same answer as before. In-gong laughed as he recalled the battle when they were rescuing Felicia.

“Shutra! Caitlin!”

In-gong and Caitlin turned their heads simultaneously at Felicia’s call. Felicia was waving and running towards them with Carack.

“Prince! Are you okay? He seemed pretty strong.”

They had been watching the fight from a distance. In-gong scanned Carack up and down and said,

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. My shield protected me well.”

Carack grinned and stroked his shield.

In-gong looked around. The men that Mad Dog Jiks had brought were running away in different directions. Almost all of them had died, so In-gong didn’t chase them.

“I-indeed, a royal family. You managed to deal with the infamous Mad Dog Jiks.”

The guide soldier, who ran over with Carack, gazed at Jiks’ corpse and exclaimed with admiration. It seemed like he was more notorious than In-gong thought.

In-gong looked down at Jiks’ lifeless body. He had been an outlaw who didn’t hesitate to do actions like rape and murder. Thanks to him, In-gong learnt things like dragon style and Thousand Poisons Resistance.

‘Yes, let me thank you one last time.’

Jiks still had more to give him.

In-gong asked the guide soldier,

“How much is the bounty on Jiks?”

The more money In-gong had, the better.

In-gong smiled at the number that the guide soldier stuttered out.

The location of Evian was similar to the Demon King’s Palace.

Evian, one of the peripheries of the Demon World, was at the east boundary. East of Evian was a place that would be called the Eastern Limit Line. Beyond that were the barbarians who chose to stay outside the Demon World instead of succumbing to the reign of the Demon King’s Palace.

It wasn’t just the location and seasons that determined the climate of the Demon World; there were some mysterious and wonderful elements due to the flow of magic power throughout the area.

Evian was a winter land all year round. As a result, it was virtually barren and the barbarians wandering beyond the Eastern Limit Line made it a difficult place to live.

However, it wasn’t a land that the Demon King’s Palace could leave alone. It wasn’t possible to give the land to the barbarians who wouldn’t submit to the Demon King’s Palace.

The areas around Evian weren’t very hospitable either. Basic laws existed in the Demon World, but there were no such rules around Evian. It was obviously a messed-up land with outlaws like Mad Dog Jiks running around. Takar was located near Evian and used this confusion to its advantage. Being a lawless zone meant that regulations and controls were weak.

Takar exploited this fact to become a pleasure ground. Things that would be done underground in other places were openly committed on the streets of Takar in broad daylight.

Takar paid a fair amount of taxes to the Demon King’s Palace and the Demon King’s Palace tolerated the existence of Takar instead of getting rid of them.

In-gong looked at the mini-map and thought about the movement route of the party. There were two main ways to get to Evian Fortress, the ultimate destination of the party. One was via Takar, while the other was moving in a straight line towards Evian.

‘I need to go to Takar.’

It was ridiculous to stay for very long since they were heading for a mission. There was a limit to stopping for a while.

‘I can use the excuse if liquidating my assets that I thought of the other day.’

In-gong slowly nodded and looked at Felicia.

“Excuse me, Noona.”

Felicia, who had entered her sleeping bag early, stretched out her head at In-gong’s call. Her eyes were full of mischief.

“What? Do you want to go to Takar?”

It was a teasing tone, not cold. In-gong took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“I think it would be good to cash in the treasures I gained in the dungeons.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Felicia’s eyes were full of laughter. As In-gong blushed without knowing it, she kept laughing.

“Yes, we should go with Shutra. I’ve decided that the meeting place is Takar.”

“Meeting place?”

“Yes, aren’t the lycanthropes also coming to Takar?”

Felicia turned her head to the side and asked. The target of her last question was Caitlin, not In-gong. Caitlin, who was sitting in a comfortable position and circulating her aura, gently nodded.

“That’s right. It’s because Shutra wanted to go there.”

Unlike Felicia, there was a little bit of distaste in her tone as she finished talking and stared at In-gong.

Felicia laughed as if she found Caitlin funny and spoke to In-gong again.

“I’ve coordinated it in advance. This is a military mission so it is a good idea to bring some troops as support. The support troops have been preparing for a week already.”

In Knight Saga, there were always reinforcements from draconians during military missions. Even during the Red Lightning Tribe mission, Chris and Caitlin had more than 100 lycanthropes with them. It was natural for there to be reinforcements.

“The reinforcements can’t use the same transportation formation as ours since their departure location isn’t the Demon King’s Palace. So they have to find one of the nearby transport formations, and there is a pretty big one in the vicinity of Takar. So the meeting place is there.”

Felicia winked at the end of her words. It was already decided that they would meet at Takar before leaving the Demon King’s Palace, yet she still became irritated when In-gong said he wanted to go to Takar.

Felicia just laughed at In-gong’s expression. He took a deep breath as Felicia spoke again.

“Shutra, there is something else… the dark elves will be coming as well. So I mean…”

Felicia hesitated as she studied In-gong’s face. Despite the military mission, In-gong couldn’t receive any support from the gandharva. Felicia and Caitlin both received reinforcements while In-gong had none. Instead of being upset like Felicia thought, In-gong just smiled pleasantly.

“I’m fine. Thank you for taking care of me. In addition, I can think of them as my own due to Noona.”

Apart from being in the same faction, this was Felicia, it wasn’t like she was a stranger. Felicia’s face turned lively again at In-gong’s words.

“Isn’t it?”

“It is the same with the lycanthropes.” Caitlin quickly added. His greatest allies were probably Chris and the lycanthropes, since he hadn’t met with the queen of the dark elves yet, so he just smiled at Caitlin.

Felicia giggled at Caitlin’s interruption and spread out her fan.

“Well, we will be able to explore it properly. The meeting place is at Takar but it will take a day or two.”

“Princess, why does it seem like you want to go more than Prince?”

The quietly listening Carack asked and Felicia just shrugged with a cheeky expression.

“Well, the auction house will be fun.” Caitlin, don’t you think it will be fun?”

“Unni has been to Takar before?”

Caitlin was immediately interested. Felicia nodded and tapped her fan against Caitlin’s shoulder.

“I’ve already been a few times. So there is no need for a guide. The city won’t meet Shutra’s expectations.”

“E-excuse me?”

In-gong muttered, but Felicia pretended not to hear him and looked over at Amita.

“It will also be interesting for Amita.”

“Hmm, that noisy and busy place is too annoying.”

Amita said in a rough voice as they pounded their tail against the ground. They were holding a large jewel in their hand and carving a complicated magic pattern on it.

“Talking raccoon, is the tuning still not finished?”

Green Wind appeared behind In-gong and asked. It had obviously been over a day since they left the Demon King’s Palace but the readjustment still wasn’t completed. Thanks to that, In-gong was forced to use an Earth Quaker that wasn’t finished yet.

Amita looked at Green Wind with grim eyes before pounding their tail again. “Of course it takes a long time without a workshop!”

Amita took a deep breath before speaking to In-gong. “But it will be finished by the end of tomorrow. So don’t worry. It will definitely be finished before we arrive in Evian.”

From the appearance, it seemed like the last task was carving the jewel and inserting it. Felicia reached out to Amita and said in a humble voice,

“Amita, don’t be offended. I will buy you whatever you want in Takar.”

“Bah, do you think that I’m a child? Don’t think that I will be relieved by such a thing.”

Then why was their tail waving?

Felicia held back her laughter as she looked over at In-gong who nodded. Caitlin, Carack and the rest of the group also laughed with their eyes, not saying anything out loud.

However, there was one person in the party who was unaware of this.

“Talking raccoon, your tail is waving.”

Amita quickly stopped moving their tail at Green Wind’s words, and In-gong made Green Wind turn off her solid state.

&

Takar, the city of pleasure, was divided into two major districts by a central wall. The poor entertainment area was outside the walls while the safe and colourful entertainments were inside the walls.

Outside the walls, the outlaws from around Evian gathered since the security was bad. Sword fights often took place in the gambling halls, the entertainment was in the streets and there were many large and small battles. Many forbidden items in the Demon World were openly sold by streets vendors.

Obviously, Felicia had visited Takar several times, but she’d been inside the wall, not outside.

Felicia headed straight down a relatively safe central road and talked to a gate guard. A few minutes later, a well-dressed man appeared to lead the party to a VIP place.

The place where they were guided had large rooms filled with brilliant colour. It was obviously a house to be rented out since there were several rooms. After unpacking and having a light rest, Felicia grabbed Caitlin and said to In-gong.

“Go with Carack. I’ll go shopping with Caitlin. Amita, do you want to go with us?”

Instead of answering Felicia’s question, Amita jumped into Daphne’s arms. Daphne had a perplexed expression as she nodded on Amita’s behalf.

Felicia smiled before turning to Carack who was standing beside In-gong.

“Carack, I’ll ask you to control him.”

“Leave it to me.”

Carack hit his chest with his fist. In-gong just sighed.

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

“I guess we’ll see?”

Felicia laughed while Caitlin sent a ‘hrmmm’ look towards In-gong.

Felicia spoke again.

“Let’s meet in the afternoon. We need to participate in the auction at night, so be sure to come back before then.”

Felicia finished and left with Amita and the other females first. The guide soldier had gone to meet the reinforcements so there was only In-gong and Carack left.

In-gong took a deep breath and said to Carack.

“Okay, then let’s go to the slave market.”

He would be able to get rumours about Nayatra’s whereabouts from there.

Carack’s eyes widened at In-gong’s words.

“Huh? Are you really interested in the slave market?”

“I’m not interested. I have to check something.”

“Um, I understand.”

Carack nodded with a serious expression. Carack was really a good aide for In-gong. In-gong left the hotel with Carack and looked at several slave shops nearby. However, he didn’t find anything.

“There is no slave called Nayatra.”

He thought she might be using another name so he looked through the catalog of succubus slaves, but there was nothing.

‘It is reasonable.’

In Knight Saga, Zephyr had met Nayatra at the end of Year 513. This was Year 512 so there was a one year difference.

‘Should I take the next chance?’

In-gong entered the last slave shop with a face full of regrets.

Carack was looking at In-gong with a mixture of warmth and doubts, while In-gong searched through the succubus slaves. Instead of making fun or teasing In-gong, Carack asked with a serious expression.

“Is the succubus called Nayatra that important to Prince?”

“She is important.”

It wasn’t just because Nayatra was his subordinate in Knight Saga. She was the key to the lycanthrope subjugation.

Carack narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Well, Prince. Can you tell me what she looks like? I can ask the slave dealer. Once she comes in, the slave dealer can contact us.”

“The method isn’t bad.”

Nayatra had appeared in the slave auction one year later, so it was likely that she would be in Takar within the next few months.

In-gong described what he remembered.

“Her hair is pink. Her face is beautiful, even as a succubus… a bit like Flora. I mean, the atmosphere. She has a cool personality like Flora. And there are two yellow horns on her head. Her height is like Felicia noona? Her skin is as white as Caitlin noona’s and her eyes are blue…”

“Does she wear her hair in a ponytail? The ponytail is long enough to reach her hips.”

Carack interrupted his description. In-gong’s eyes widened.

“That’s right, how did you know?”

Instead of answering, Carack pointed to a female talking to the slave dealer. She wasn’t a slave but a customer who came to buy a slave.

And In-gong knew her name.

‘Nayatra?’

The succubus Nayatra who appeared in the slave auction in one year.

Except right now, she wasn’t a slave.

It was an unexpected situation.

Nayatra wasn’t a slave.

In fact, this was more natural. If he looked at the entire Demon World, the number of slaves traded was actually quite small. Apart from places like Takar, it was difficult to find a proper slave market.

Of all the places that In-gong had been to, there hadn’t been a place exclusively for slave trading.

So, why had Nayatra become a slave?

What type of experience changed her from a free person into a slave in just one year?

However, now wasn’t the time to deduce this. While In-gong was thinking, Nayatra had finished her conversation with the slave dealer. She turned and walked away.

“Nayatra!”

In-gong shouted reflexively, but Nayatra didn’t look around and just walked away like it didn’t involve her.

Instead of asking if he was mistaken, Carack started running toward Nayatra, and In-gong hurried to follow. There were so many people on the narrow road, but he still moved quite quickly.

Nayatra turned the corner. In-gong felt an ominous feeling the moment she disappeared from sight. In movies and novels, the person always disappeared after turning the corner.

It was the same in this case as well.

He turned the corner hurriedly but couldn’t see Nayatra. Among the people present, there was no pink hair or even red hair.

In-gong looked around, while Carack peered over the top of the heads but couldn’t see her either. Nayatra must have used stealth or something similar to disappear.

“She looks like the one you called Nayatra, but she ran away. There wasn’t even a reaction.”

Carack said while scratching his forehead.

She hadn’t even blinked at her name being called and just continued on her way. Additionally, she had showed no signs of hurry.

Normally, people couldn’t react like this unless they were prepared for the situation. There would usually be a small flinch or reaction.

Carack’s common sense told him there were only two occupations with such behaviours: one was a thief and the other was assassin.

“Prince, is the relationship between the two of you bad?”

Carack asked In-gong with an expression of concern.

“It isn’t like that. Nayatra doesn’t know me yet. I was a little careless.”

In Knight Saga, Nayatra was both a thief and assassin. If someone she didn’t know called her name, it was natural for her to run away.

Carack was confused by the ‘doesn’t know me yet’ but didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, he comforted In-gong like a good aide.

“It isn’t Prince’s fault. Prince isn’t to blame. She is just too familiar with the area.

His smiling expression was comforting. Was this why Karma, Delia and all the aides were crazy about Carack?

In-gong smiled after being reassured and spoke to the air,

“Green Wind, take a look around.”

‘I understand Master.’

Green Wind, who appeared in a solid state, turned into wind and disappeared. She would observe the area from a high location.

“Carack, let’s go to the slave trader who talked to Nayatra.”

In this current situation, it was In-gong’s only clue. Perhaps he could get more information than expected.

As he entered the store, the trader, who had spoken to Nayatra, came up to him first.

“How can I help you?”

“There is something that we want to ask you.”

Carack smiled widely and handed some money to the trader. In-gong didn’t know how much was given, but it seemed to be an appropriate amount judging by the trader’s expression.

Unfortunately, the slave trader didn’t know that much about Nayatra or how to contact her. He knew that Nayatra had visited once a few months ago and was very curious about the type and number of slaves being traded.

When In-gong saw her, it had been her second visit. If there was a second visit, the possibility of a third visit was also high.

“I want to leave a letter.”

In-gong gave a few ancient gold coins from the dwarf inventory to the slave trader. The trader’s face brightened at the unexpected windfall.

“I’d be happy to lend you my writing instruments. Make yourself comfortable.”

Based on his reaction, there was no need to worry about the letter not being delivered properly.

In-gong thought for awhile before writing the letter.

It was a letter with a brief description of how In-gong wanted to meet her as well as a way to contact him.

At first, it seemed innocuous, but it contained a secret that Nayatra couldn’t ignore.

The next time Nayatra visited, the slave trader should contact In-gong after the letter was delivered, and he would be awarded with more ancient gold coins. Looking at his face, it seemed like In-gong’s request would be fulfilled faithfully.

As he handed the letter over, he heard Green Wind’s voice in his ears. It was a crestfallen voice.

‘Master, I couldn’t see her. I’m sorry.’

“No, good job. Thank you for the hard work.”

In-gong stroked Green Wind’s head. Then he returned to the other slave stores and started questioning them about Nayatra.

There were several more stores that she had visited with the purpose of knowing how many slaves they had.

In-gong left letters at all those stores. Carak, who was watching from the side, reassured In-gong that anyone would be curious after seeing so many letters.

‘It isn’t bad if I spend some money on Nayatra.’

Just as In-gong received information from the slave traders, Nayatra could also get information about the letters.

By the time he visited all the slave stores in Takar twice, it was late afternoon. It was now time to return to the hotel.

Even though In-gong returned to the accommodations with heavy steps, the atmosphere of the others were different.

‘The talking raccoon has become a happy raccoon.’

Like Green Wind said, Amita had become happier as they sat on their tail eating sweets. Every time they ate, their body shook. So, they tried hard to maintain a calm expression.

“What type of candy is that?”

“I went to a sweets shop with Unni. Shutra and Carack should try it. It is really delicious.”

Caitlin laughed at Carack’s question and handed over the sweets. They looked like a bunch of mooncakes.

Although he didn’t really like mooncakes, there was no way to turn down Caitlin’s expectant eyes. In-gong picked up the smallest one and put it in his mouth.

“How is it? Delicious? Yes?”

“Yes, delicious.”

It was as he had expected although the taste wasn’t too bitter. It felt like he was eating a macaroon with a very high sugar content.

“Shutra? Did something bad happen?”

Caitlin inquired about In-gong’s complexion. In-gong smiled and shook his head.

“I’m just tired from walking around.”

However, the worry on Caitlin’s face just increased further. Felicia frowned from where she was sitting on the couch and asked,

“Well, why don’t you just rest and not go to the auction in the evening?”

“No, I don’t know when I will be able to come again. I need to participate. And isn’t there still a lot of time left? I will be fine after taking a break.”

They would leave Takar tomorrow afternoon with the reinforcements. So, if he missed this opportunity, there would be no way to participate in the auction for a while.

He had missed Nayatra right in front of him, so he couldn’t miss the auction.

“Then I’m glad. If there is any trouble, just tell me. You don’t have to overdo it.”

“I understand. Then I will get some rest first.”

In-gong entered the room that was assigned to him.

Then after approximately two hours…

The party of well dressed people gathered in the living room of the hotel.

Caitlin was wearing a cute yellow dress, revealing her shoulders which was unlike her usual style.

As In-gong’s eyes widened, Seira laughed and whispered to Carack. It seemed like her usual dresses were due to Chris.

“Does it suit me?”

Caitlin asked with red cheeks. She was very excited about wearing a type of dress that she normally couldn’t wear because of Chris.

In-gong looked Caitlin up and down and laughed.

“Caitlin noona is great.”

As he mimicked Caitlin’s reaction, Seira covered her mouth with her hands while Carack just laughed.

Caitlin looked coy, but it was only for a moment. Then she smiled widely again.

“What about me? Shutra, isn’t this provocative compared to the Demon King’s Palace?”

Unlike Caitlin, Felicia was wearing the same type of clothes. In other words, it was a purple dress with a high degree of exposure. Even though he was familiar with Felicia’s style, In-gong still blushed for a moment.

Felicia laughed as she laid a shawl over her shoulders, then she evaluated In-gong’s attire.

“Black suits you well. Don’t you look a little more mature?”

In-gong usually wore a white suit to the court gatherings.

While Felicia and Caitlin were interested in In-gong’s outfit, Seira and the other aides showed interest in Carack.

Delia approached Carack and said casually,

“Carack, your tie is crooked. I’ll fix it.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“It isn’t a big deal.”

Delia smiled gently as she stuck close to Carack, while Seira, Karma and Daphne’s eyes widened.

In-gong just sighed at the sight.

‘Nayatra can’t be like this.’

Of course, Nayatra still hadn’t joined him.

Felicia laughed and approached In-gong.

“Well, I’ll fix Shutra’s suit.”

In-gong had a bow tie, so there was nothing to fix, but he still accepted Felicia’s helping hand.

&

Even if Takar was the city of pleasure, the auction house was just an auction house.

Not only were that various valuables that could be seen in any auction house, there were also things traded in the underground market such as the slave trade. Therefore, a huge amount of money passed through there.

The red auction house shone very brightly.

Sofas were arranged in a semi circle, and In-gong’s party received a great spot in the center.

In-gong looked around from where he was sitting between Felicia and Caitlin. Due to the bright room, it wasn’t difficult to see the faces of those attending.

“Then, I will start today’s auction.”

Everyone’s attention became concentrated on the host, an incubus with red skin, who rang a bell on the stage. Amita, sitting on Daphne’s lap, gazed at the stage with interested eyes and seemed to be feeling better due to the sweets.

The auction was quite interesting, but In-gong was looking around instead of towards the stage.

‘My nerves are irritated.’

Somehow, there were a few recognizable faces. He had seen these faces while playing Knight Saga.

However, he didn’t remember where he had seen them since they were either an extra or supporting character.

In-gong was searching through his memories when he suddenly looked at the entrance of the auction house. Someone had come in late.

Their body was substantially larger than Carack’s. He had a pale face, yellow eyes and scar over his right eye. The black hair wriggled randomly like it was alive.

In-gong knew this face. Unlike the others, he clearly remembered where he had seen it.

‘Paratus.’

He was the brother of the barbarian king Karatus, who ruled over the Eastern Limit Line to the east of Evian.

The memories continued… Paratus was one of the generals under the barbarian king.

Why had he appeared in Takar? Was it simply to participate in the auction?

In-gong shook my head. If Paratus coveted something, he would steal it, not buy it. It was clear that he had another reason.

“Carack, something unusual is going to happen.”

In-gong whispered to Carack, who suddenly looked very serious.

“What is it? Is it better to go back straight away?”

The incidents that involved In-gong always turned out unusual. It was natural to be nervous.

In-gong felt somewhat sad but soon regained his spirit. Anyway, he was really worried about the situation.

“There is nothing definite… for the time being -.”

Kwa kwang!

A roar coming from outside the auction house swallowed up the rest of In-gong’s words, and In-gong and Carack stood up without talking.

There were other people who were surprised by the explosions and stood up. The staff of the auction house tried to calm people down, but it wasn’t enough.

“Dear customers! Calm down—”

The head of an auction house employee, who was shouting loudly, was destroyed. A barbarian warrior had murdered the employee with a huge hammer-like fist. Someone screamed, and there was an explosion from the auction house. As the auction house shook, flames were spreading everywhere.

In mere seconds, the auction house had become a mess. People were rushing around in the middle of the explosion, and the indiscriminate killing committed by the barbarians added to the confusion. The security personnel around the auction house couldn’t calm down the situation alone.

“Prince!”

Carack exclaimed hurriedly. Instead of responding to his call, In-gong opened the mini-map and searched it.

The explosion had first occurred outside. Maybe it wasn’t just the auction house but all of Takar that was attacked. No, it was reasonable to think so. Otherwise, the current situation couldn’t be explained.

‘A small strike?’

If a large number of barbarians had crossed the Eastern Limit Line, people would have already known about it already. It was obvious that they had to break up into small units in order to infiltrate the city.

In-gong saw that all the barbarian warriors were marked red on the mini-map. In-gong’s allies were blue, while the auction house employees and general customers were grey.

In-gong’s gaze turned toward the brightest red dot. Paratus, the younger brother of the barbarian king Karatus and probably the mastermind of this incident, was heading towards the stage with a ferocious smile on his face.

In-gong sensed it intuitively. The purpose of this incident was evidently the auction items.

However, what type of item would make him do such a bold thing?

The ruler of Takar and the owner of the auction house, Vulcanus, was a tough person. He was sure to retaliate in some way.

In-gong couldn’t think about it for long. The situation was desperate, but it was also due to the new blue dot that appeared on the mini-map.

The blue dot had appeared far away from In-gong’s party and was moving quickly towards the stage. In-gong shifted his gaze hurriedly. Apart from his group, there was only one person in Takar who would be recognized as In-gong’s ally.

‘Nayatra!’

Nayatra was dressed in a black china dress that revealed her thighs. He was drawn back into his memories for a moment but quickly snapped out of it. Nayatra appeared deeply confused by the current situation.

“Prince!”

Carack shouted again. In-gong delayed no longer. He opened his inventory and armed himself.

In-gong equipped White Eagle on his left arm and Earth Quaker on his right arm, while Night Watch was placed around his neck and shoulders.

Earth Quaker had been tuned just before coming to the auction site, so it sparked with a red and yellow glow as it roared. In-gong glanced toward Caitlin.

“Noona, this is a request.”

Instead of asking what he was talking about, Caitlin wound up her long dress. After freeing both legs, a blue aura erupted around her like flames.

Felicia asked in a confused voice,

“Shutra?”

“The barbarians of the Eastern Limit Line!”

In-gong shouted and ran towards the stage. He heard Felicia’s voice again from behind him, but the urgent thing was Nayatra.

As always, time flowed equally as it seemed both fast and slow. Paratus, who had jumped on the stage while In-gong was arming himself, killed the auctioneer in one blow. He threw a scroll that caused a huge explosion and headed behind the stage.

Nayatra moved towards the back of the stage as well. As expected, she was tracking Paratus from a distance.

In-gong jumped onto the stage and threw himself through the flames. At the back of the stage, the screams of the employees could be heard in succession.

“Paratus!”

In-gong didn’t know about the situation inside, so he shouted loudly several times. As soon as he arrived at the place where the auction items were stored, Paratus turned toward In-gong.

As expected, the auction house employees were almost all dead. Paratus had grabbed the neck of an orc security officer and was about to kill him.

Paratus glared at In-gong. Instead of paying attention to Paratus, In-gong looked at the mini-map and the area in front of him simultaneously. Nayatra could no longer be seen on the mini-map as she had gone into stealth. However, the pile of auction items couldn’t escape In-gong’s eyes.

‘The Dragon King’s Golden Helmet!’

He was able to recognize it at a glance because it was special among the A rank items.

As the name suggested, it was a golden helmet carved in the form of a dragon’s head.

The Dragon King’s Golden Helmet was a symbol of King Taratos, the legendary barbarian king.

He could now understand why Paratus was so reckless.

For those who didn’t know the history, it was just a good golden helmet. However, it was different for the barbarians. It was an item that could strengthen the legitimacy of the kingship and elicit absolute support from the tribes.

Paratus squeezed his right hand and killed the orc security officer. Simultaenously, In-gong turned off the mini-map.

“Green Wind!”

White Eagle split into two and flew toward Paratus. While Paratus was surprised by White Eagle and Black Eagle that were emitting a green light, In-gong sprang forwad.

Kwang!

In an instant, In-gong narrowed down his distance toward Paratus and ran past him instead of attacking. Paratus panicked, but White Eagle and Black Eagle acted under Green Wind and blocked Paratus’ view.

In-gong arrived at the place where the auction items were piled up and reached out to the glass box containing the golden helmet. He had felt the anti-theft spell when he entered the auction house, but he ignored it. In-gong instantly conquered the spell and put the item in his inventory.

Paratus ignored White Eagle and Black Eagle and sprang toward In-gong. However, Green Wind blocked Paratus once again. White Eagle and Black Eagle created a green barrier that blocked Paratus’ way.

In-gong didn’t miss the gap created. He reached for the auction items piled up with the golden helmet. It was obvious that all the items would be destroyed when they fought here, and as expected, there were items he knew Nayatra was targeting.

‘Nayatra’s secondary occupation is a thief!’

Although she had been called Zephyr’s knight, Nayatra’s expertise wasn’t fighting but in infiltration and information gathering.

Due to this, In-gong had Nayatra perform more information gathering missions, instead of escort missions in Knight Saga.

Additionally, Nayatra’s ability as a thief shone every time.

He had used her skills in Knight Saga without thinking, but where had Nayatra learnt her thief skills? Was she an assassin and thief before she became a slave?

If had she appeared at the auction to steal one of the items, maybe she had been caught and turned into a slave.

It was just a guess, but everything fit.

Then as if to prove In-gong’s reasoning, he heard a swallowed moan. She was astonished to see the auction items disappearing as soon as In-gong’s hands reached for them.

“You bastard!”

‘Master!’

Paratus and Green Wind exclaimed. Instead of aiming for Paratus, In-gong triggered Night Watch’s Blink and moved to Nayatra. Nayatra turned her head at the blue fog, but In-gong had already grabbed her arm.

‘Master!’

Green Wind shouted again. It seemed like she had reached the limit of stopping Paratus.

“Carack!”

In-gong pulled Nayatra and used Call on Carack. Carack appeared with whirling eyes and In-gong said quickly,

“Take Nayatra and leave here!”

“W-wait a minute!”

Nayatra cried out in a confused voice. Carack grasped the situation immediately and looked up at the ceiling with a surprised expression.

“Heok! Look at that!”

It was a tense and desperate situation, so Nayatra and Paratus reflexively looked up at the ceiling.

Just then, Carack moved. He hit the back of Nayatra’s neck.

“Keok?”

Nayatra leaned forward with a pained moan. It was a situation where he had failed to stun her with a blow, but Carack didn’t care. Nayatra wasn’t knocked out, but she was defenseless. Carack carried her onto his shoulders and started running.

Both In-gong and Paratus were surprised by what happened in front of them, but it was only for a moment.

Today was the first time Paratus had seen Nayatra. Although unfamiliar things were popping up in succession, this was irrelevant to Paratus. The only thing that mattered to Paratus right now was the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet.

In-gong regained his spirit as well. The process was quite violent, but he was able to secure Nayatra. He would chat with her later.

‘Master!’

Green Wind called to In-gong once again. Her call felt somewhat sad. This time, In-gong produced white aura and green magic power simultaneously.

Paratus was in a frenzy because he couldn’t get the golden helmet. Even if In-gong had come to defend Evian, he couldn’t let the golden helmet pass into the hands of the barbarians.

White Eagle and Black Eagle, which had been desperately interfering with Paratus, returned to In-gong’s side. Earth Quaker responded to the dragon style by growling angrily as the scales darkened.

Paratus then triggered an explosive aura of vengefulness. In-gong felt the creepy roar of a lion, but he didn’t turn his gaze. He formed a fist and activated Dragon Blood.

Paratus, the brother of the barbarian king—he was considered a strong warrior even among the barbarians.

In-gong took a deep breath.

Then the battle began.

In Knight Saga, it had been Year 515 when he fought the barbarians beyond the limit line.

At that time, Caitlin had been much weaker than she was during the lycanthrope subjugation in Year 516, but that was because she had still been a teenage girl.

The already mature Paratus would have a similar strength to Mad Dog Jiks. Paratus’ strength was at least that of an intermediate general. However, he was much fiercer than Mad Dog Jiks, and he was also aiming for In-gong’s life.

‘The unique characteristic of barbarians is their Body Hardening technique!’

As the name suggested, it was a technique that strengthened the body. However, it wasn’t a skill that could be acquired. Just as dragon technique required dragon characteristics, the barbarian’s Body Hardening required a body that inherited the blood of a barbarian.

After triggering Body Hardening, Paratus’ upper body swelled. The suit he was wearing tore apart in an instant, revealing a grey shell, that was like a crustacean’s, which covered the skin. It went beyond strengthening the body and appeared more like he was forming an armour around it.

Paratus normally carried a large weapon in Knight Saga, but he was now bare-handed. However, In-gong wasn’t fully alert, and Paratus didn’t miss this moment.

Kwang!

A huge crack formed on the ground where Paratus had been, but In-gong didn’t confront Paratus, who was like a runaway train. He avoided the blow quickly using Wind Style.

Kwa kwang!

Paratus’s fist struck the place where In-gong was standing. The floor that was hit by the hardened fist cracked and dozens of stones flew up.

In-gong looked at the floor and Paratus at the same time. As In-gong used Wind Style again, he transferred aura into Earth Quaker.

Paratus turned toward In-gong. As White Eagle and Black Eagle rushed toward Paratus, In-gong poured aura, magic power and divine power into Earth Quaker.

It was a different feeling from when he fought Mad Dog Jiks.

There was no sense of incompatibility with Earth Quaker. It was as if Earth Quaker had been made for In-gong from the beginning. The flow of aura had also changed. Earth Quaker accepted In-gong’s aura naturally. Not only was the aura absorbed faster than before, the absorption efficiency was even better now.

Amita had strengthened White Eagle externally; Black Eagle had been added, and there were new accessories.

Earth Quaker had been tuned, and the Great Enkidu’s equipment was now reborn as In-gong’s.

While In-gong focused all his consciousness on it, Paratus read White Eagle’s and Black Eagle’s movements and rushed toward one side. In-gong continued to inject aura into Earth Quaker.

It took a few seconds for Paratus to catch up with In-gong, who retreated again and activated Night Watch’s Blink.

Blink was different from the magic installed in the transportation formations. It only moved a short distance, and there had to be no obstacles between the caster and the target destination. Night Watch’s Blink could be used three times a day.

A dark blue fog appeared as the second Blink was triggered, and Paratus’ punch went through the air. In-gong landed on the ground 10 meters away, but Paratus didn’t stop and searched around for In-gong like a wild beast.

However, 10 meters was not a short distance, and Paratus narrowed the distance between him and In-gong in an instant.

Instead of blinking or stepping back, In-gong ran toward the spot where Paratus had first hit the ground.

“You!”

Paratus cried out angrily. As In-gong kept on running away, Paratus was incensed.

However, In-gong just ignored it. Rather, he was hoping that Paratus would lose his temper. During the few seconds of time Blink had created, he inserted more aura into Earth Quaker.

Paratus had an ominous and urgent feeling. In-gong was focusing power on his right hand, and it seemed like a big thing that might explode at any moment.

Paratus roared loudly. The powerful energy from the roar was a weapon in itself. It would cause the body to freeze momentarily.

However, In-gong just ignored Paratus’s roar. In-gong had endured the gaze of the demon king. So, he didn’t even need to use the power of the Tears of a Dark Elf as he ignored Paratus’ roar and prepared the technique.

Paratus, who rushed toward In-gong as soon as he roared, hesitated. Indeed, he had the gut instinct of a beast. Instead of rushing toward Paratus, In-gong raised his fist high.

He couldn’t allow Paratus to get the golden helmet, but that didn’t mean he had to deal with Paratus here. Right now, Paratus didn’t have the golden helmet. It was In-gong who had it!

‘True Destruction!’

This was Earth Quaker’s super special move. A white aura spread as In-gong’s knuckles hit the ground. Like collapsed dominoes, hundreds of cracks covered the ground instantly.

Paratus’ mouth dropped open, but In-gong hadn’t used True Destruction on Paratus.

Kwaaaaaang!

In-gong had seen the aftermath of True Destruction in Spider Forest, where the terrain had been destroyed. He had hit the ground directly, so it couldn’t endure the pressure despite In-gong controlling the power. The thick stone floor, that was a few meters in diameter, broke into dozens of pieces, and Paratus fell along with the floor.

Takar’s auction house was located in a sunny spot, not the shade. Furthermore, under the auction house, there was a wall with a high ceiling of approximately 20 meters.

In-gong, who had grasped the floor plan of the auction house from the mini-map, had no intention of having a full frontal battle with Paratus from the very beginning. The most important thing had been to secure Nayatra and the golden helmet, not fight the boss on the premises.

Thanks to Night Watch’s ability to fly, In-gong flew up and stepped on White Eagle. He could hear Green Wind crying that she didn’t want to lose to Night Watch.

In-gong looked down below. The damage was so enormous that it seemed like the building itself was going to collapse. Additionally, he couldn’t see Paratus because he was buried in heavy debris.

In-gong was satisfied with this much.

It was unlikely that Paratus would die from this, but he would take a long time to climb back up. At that point, he might be blocked by subordinates of Takar’s ruler, Vulcanus, and be unable to return at all.

In-gong stopped thinking about Paratus and flew in the direction that Carack had headed toward. It wasn’t long before he found Carack’s hiding place through the mini-map.

‘Prince!’

Carack mouthed while hiding against a wall. He was hugging Nayatra tightly with one hand, while his other hand covered her mouth.

‘A complete kidnapper.’

He felt sorry for Carack, but there was no other interpretation of the scene. In-gong jumped from White Eagle and approached Carack.

“There was the sound of fighting over there, so I had to hide.”

In-gong nodded. Carack was currently unarmed, and he was carrying Nayatra. He would be unable to counterattack properly, so going out would just lead to death.

“What about that big guy? I heard a huge sound.”

“I made it so he can’t chase us.”

In-gong responded and looked at Nayatra. He could only see half her face since it was covered by Carack’s large hand, but she was accepting the situation quite calmly.

It was indeed Nayatra, who had been called the ‘Ice Knight’ among Zephyr’s subordinates. Instead of struggling to escape from Carack, Nayatra stared straight into In-gong’s eyes.

Fear and wonder could be seen in that calmness. In-gong narrowed the distance with Nayatra, and instead of giving her the same greeting as when he had first encountered Vandal, In-gong delivered a name to her through magic.

‘Rafiseria.’

At that moment, Nayatra’s eyes widened. She tried to speak despite her mouth being blocked,

‘How— How do you know that name!’

Nightmares were a species known for indulgence, but there was a contradiction. Although they joined their bodies easily with others, they had one true love.

There was only one in their life, and once found, they would never betray their love. Even their parents weren’t allowed to know their true name. This name was something that only their true love would know.

‘The path that Zephyr used to learn it was a bit different though.’

A nightmare slave was forced to tell their master their true name. Since the name itself contained magic, the nightmare couldn’t go against their master.

‘Rafiseria.’

Nayatra fell into confusion after hearing her true name. The calmness, that hadn’t been lost due to the kidnapping, collapsed completely.

In-gong glanced at Carack, who then let Nayatra go. In-gong grabbed Nayatra’s hand and said,

“I’ll explain everything later. Just follow me once. I don’t mean to do anything to you.”

Nayatra’s eyes shook, and she bit her lip before nodding.

“I understand. It is an emergency, so I will listen to the story later.”

“Yes, thank you.”

In-gong sighed with relief, not that it was unlikely that she would vanish.

‘There is a high chance that I have the things Nayatra is looking for.’

In fact, he had one more reason to smash the floor and destroy the place where the auction items were stored. He had placed the auction items in his inventory.

In Knight Saga, Vulcanus was like a villainous merchant, so In-gong’s conscience wasn’t affected.

Moreover, if he left the items there, they would have been lost or destroyed by Paratus.

‘It is a good thing. Uhh, yes. That’s right.’

In-gong coughed and opened his inventory hurriedly. He didn’t know what items he had gotten aside from the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet, but now wasn’t the time to look through them one by one.

In-gong took out a dwarf axe and shield and threw them to Carack.

Then In-gong looked back at Nayatra. She was amazed by In-gong, who had pulled the axe and shield out of the air. However, Nayatra held a dagger in her hands—she was a skilled thief and assassin.

“Nayatra, follow me. And Carack, I will lead the way. Protect my back.”

“Understood. Be careful, Prince.”

Carack smiled and stepped back. Nayatra’s eyes widened again.

“P-prince?”

The shock in her eyes wasn’t like when females met the idol singers they worshipped but a pleasant surprise in the eyes that were as calm as a lake.

‘That reminds me, didn’t Nayatra like fairy tales?’

Moreover, it seemed like her personality was more active than it had been before she became a slave in Knight Saga.

“I will also explain that later.”

In-gong said with a smile before starting to run.

&

“Shutra!”

There were still barbarians in the passage leading from the back of the stage to the auction house. They were amazed by the tremendous noise that triggered the collapse, but they seemed to be waiting for Paratus to join them.

‘Well, that doesn’t really matter!’

With White Eagle and Black Eagle surrounding him, In-gong narrowed the distance to the nearest enemy.

He had used True Destruction, but due to regulating his power and Earth Quaker being readjusted, his stamina, aura and mental state weren’t drained like they had been when he fought against the guardian. Currently, half of his aura was left, and his stamina was recovering thanks to a recovery potion.

Most of the barbarian warriors Paratus had brought were elites and had fairly high levels of Body Hardening. So, instead of fighting them, In-gong used Explosive Power and Great Mountain to push them far away.

Arang was good when hitting the body directly, but Arang was clearly a technique of Divine Beast Authority and consumed a lot of aura. In-gong wouldn’t be able to stand up if he continued using Arang.

“Kuooh!”

In-gong used Great Mountain to split the enemies on either side of him and grasped the remaining number of enemies by using the mini-map. After this event, he would think about developing an internal blow technique similar to Arang or try to develop a weaker version of Arang with Caitlin.

‘Master!’

Green Wind called from in front of In-gong. White Eagle and Black Eagle revolved like a dancing couple in the middle of the passage, striking the chest of a barbarian. It was the last enemy on the mini-map.

“Well done! Green Wind!”

In-gong didn’t forget to praise Green Wind who laughed brightly. While In-gong had been striking from the front, Carack hadn’t forgotten to push the enemies away with the shield.

“There will be enemies inside the auction house. Don’t relax!”

“Understood!”

Carack cried out in response, and Nayatra nodded gently. In-gong couldn’t help smiling. It was reassuring that he had Nayatra, one of his three most trusted subordinates in Knight Saga, with him.

‘Vandal.’

In-gong was reminded of Vandal, with whom he had shaken hands. Now that In-gong had secured Nayatra, the next one was Vandal. It wouldn’t be long before they could shake hands again.

In-gong recalled White Eagle and Black Eagle, and instead of jumping right into the auction house, he paused for a moment and looked at the mini-map. Fortunately, the situation inside the auction house was better than In-gong had expected.

“Caitlin.”

Caitlin played a big role this time. Unlike previously, she didn’t have any blood covering her body because she was fighting barbarians with hard skins. However, she had defeated a significant number of them.

She was bare-handed because it was forbidden to carry weapons inside the auction house, but Carack and Delia were the only ones who required a weapon in the first place. Caitlin and Seira used their fists, while Felicia was a magician, and Karma use her legs and the spirit magic that she was learning. Additionally, there was also the druid, Daphne.

In movies, terrorists would try to hold hostages, but these barbarians didn’t even try.

The situation was favourable to In-gong’s side.

It was due to the outstanding performance of their big party, but there were other factors that made the situation better. In addition to the fact that the troops who searched for Paratus hadn’t returned, most of the people who attended the auction house were prominent figures. Moreover, although the casualties were large at the beginning, most of the damage had been concentrated on the auction house personnel, so the power of the escorts were preserved.

After grasping the situation, In-gong ran towards Caitlin and the party. Instead of opening the road, White Eagle and Black Eagle escorted Carack and Nayatra.

“Shutra!”

Caitlin, who had been busy fighting, was the first to notice In-gong’s approach due to the Starlight Core. It was strange to see her smiling so prettily while holding the head of a barbarian warrior.

In-gong laughed and joined Caitlin.

“Shutra! What on earth happened? I heard a huge sound! Are you okay? You aren’t hurt anywhere?”

Felicia hurried forward and poured out a barrage of questions. Even while asking questions, Felicia looked In-gong up and down to check if he was wounded.

“I’m fine. There was a fight with Paratus, the younger brother of the barbarian king. That sound was the sound of the floor crumbling. He fell down, but I’m safe.”

In-gong answered the questions one by one, but there were still some questions remaining. Felicia made a startled expression.

“The barbarian king’s brother? How do you know… no, that doesn’t matter. It isn’t the important thing right now.”

Felicia took a deep breath and muttered ‘Because it is Shutra.’ before speaking in a louder voice.

“As you can see, the situation is almost calm. However, there is still a disturbance outside.”

There were few people fighting inside the auction house right now. Most of the barbarian warriors fled or were collapsed, while those who were still fighting were being attacked one-sidedly.

“The barbarians are attacking Takar itself?”

Felicia nodded at In-gong’s question.

“That’s right. There must have been some enemies hiding inside the castle. They set fire everywhere to cause a fuss. If the barbarian king’s brother is inside like you said… Was it perhaps for the auction goods?”

It was impossible that the brother of the barbarian king would be under someone’s command. The strongest power had attacked the auction house, so it was right to presume that the auction house was the goal.

‘The place where the floor collapsed— is it the temporary storage place for the auction items? Did you take the auction items?’

Felicia asked the question through a magic spell. Her eyes showed that she had already guessed the answer.

“Perhaps. Let’s talk about that later.”

Felicia nodded with a satisfied expression at In-gong’s answer.

“Yes, let’s wait here for a while. Vulcanus knows the importance of the auction house and will send people soon. It would be safer to stay here than to go elsewhere.”

Takar was literally his domain. The situation had already calmed, so there was no need to venture to a place where there was still fighting.

In-gong nodded in agreement. It was a situation where the auction items had already been stolen, and they could act like the ‘royal family’ had repelled the enemies. The main priority was to ensure the safety of the party.

‘Even if Paratus comes back, it is better in here.’

As Felicia said, Vulcanus’ troops would come sooner or later. Moreover, Caitlin was here as well. In-gong might struggle alone against Paratus, but the story was different with the addition of Caitlin. Rather, Paratus should be the one worrying about his life.

After Felicia and In-gong wrapped up their conversation, Delia asked a question,

“9th Prince, who is that person with you?”

She was pointing to Nayatra, who stood between In-gong and Carack. In-gong brought Nayatra forward and said,

“Nayatra. She’ll be coming along with us for a while.”

“A succubus?”

Felicia asked with confusion. Nayatra smiled gently and said,

“It’s a honour to meet you. I am Nayatra.”

While listening to the conversation, she determined that Felicia was a princess. Felicia looked over at Nayatra and introduced herself,

“6th Princess Felicia Doomblade. This is my younger sister, 8th Princess Caitlin Moonlight.”

Nayatra glanced over at Caitlin and bowed politely.

Felicia glanced at In-gong.

“Is this also something to talk about later?”

“Yes, later.”

He had to finish discussing things with Nayatra first. Right now, the situation was difficult, so it was hard to speak.

In-gong replied with an awkward grin, while Felicia laughed and introduced the rest of the companions to Nayatra. They started greeting each other, then Caitlin tugged at In-gong’s sleeve.

“Excuse me, Shutra.”

“Huh?”

“That… do you have something like a big cloth or cloak?”

“Cloth or cloak? Why?”

Caitlin turned red at In-gong’s question. In-gong understood Caitlin’s words when he looked at her.

Caitlin’s hands were holding down the short, torn hem. She hadn’t noticed while fighting, but now she was shy about her clothing after the fight had ended. Instead of embarrassing Caitlin, In-gong handed over a high quality piece of cloth from his inventory. It was something he had found in Thunderdoom Fortress.

“Thank you.”

Caitlin hurriedly formed a temporary skirt by tying it around her waist and sighed with relief. Then she thanked In-gong with a bright smile.

‘Relax.’

In-gong stroked Caitlin’s head unknowingly due to forming the habit with Green Wind. Caitlin laughed and looked at the entrance of the auction house.

Vulcanus’ troops were entering the auction house.

&

The ones who entered the auction house were Vulcanus’ elites called the Red Wolves. As the name suggested, all of them wore red suits and explained the situation to the customers of the auction house.

This was a rough summary:

“Some barbarians attacked Takar, but they were almost exterminated. We are extremely sorry that you, our customers have become involved in this. and you will be compensated. There are still barbarians left, so please stay in the auction house for now.”

Most of the deaths were the auction house employees, so there were few fatalities among the customers.

Thanks to the repeated emphasis on compensation and the energy coming from the red wolves, the customers stopped their angry remarks.

It was at that moment that a few of the Red Wolves, who had gone to look behind the stage of the auction house, reported back to the commander with pale faces. They were speaking in whispers, so In-gong couldn’t hear it. However, he had a rough idea of the contents of the conversation.

The place where the auction items had been stored was empty. That was the only possible conversation they could be having.

Felicia poked In-gong’s side gently, and he restored his expression.

Then after approximately dozens of minutes, someone approached the Red Wolves guarding the entrance. It was the guide soldier who assisted In-gong’s party.

Felicia explained quickly to the Red Wolves, and the guide soldier was brought to the party.

The soldier seemed like he had sprinted here as he was gasping roughly for air.

“Your Highness, it is urgent.”

“What is urgent?”

In-gong and Caitlin sensed the atmosphere and approached the guide soldier. The guide soldier hurriedly said,

“The barbarian army has crossed the boundary. The barbarian king is attacking directly!”

Barbarian King Karatus… was crossing the Eastern Limit Line!

Felicia swallowed her saliva. In-gong grabbed the guide soldier’s shoulder and asked urgently,

“General Vandal? What happened to the general?”

“H-he led troops to intercept them. Evian is calling for support.”

In-gong was reminded of the battle with the barbarians in Knight Saga. He could now understand why Paratus had done such a reckless robbery.

It was a simultaneous attack. Evian and Takar’s auction house were both attacked in order to secure the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet.

“Shutra.”

Felicia looked at In-gong with a desperate face, and In-gong was reminded of the barbarian king as he looked at Felicia.

The barbarian king was even stronger than Zephyr in Year 515. That meant he was stronger than Vandal.

Now wasn’t the time to stay in Takar. In-gong looked towards the south-east where Vandal was.