Chapter 31: Overwhelming

Zephyr was the protagonist of the Demon World in Knight Saga.

He was a strong warrior and magician, but he never stood alone on the battlefield. As a commander, Zephyr ruled the battlefield with his loyal subordinates and soldiers.

In-gong stood on the wall and looked down at the battlefield. His line of sight was filled with barbarians; there were over ten thousand of them. This wasn’t like the army of eastern barbarians he’d fought in Takar.

Their numbers were several times that, and the army was at least three times stronger. In-gong couldn’t fight using Zephyr’s method, as he lacked the forces to fight against a big army.

Then what should he do? In-gong took a deep breath. There was another protagonist in Knight Saga.

The protagonist of the Human World was the warrior, Locke.  Locke wasn’t a prince. He had trustworthy companions whom he shared life and death with, but he didn’t have a loyal army of thousands who would die for him. Locke was a leader—a mighty warrior who brought hope to a desperate battlefield.

‘It is irrational.’

Locke’s style of fighting was different from Zephyr’s, so he was always at a disadvantage in a fight.

He was the brave warrior who advanced toward the Demon King’s Palace. After passing through tens of thousands of soldiers to reach the demon king, Locke finally became the hero who killed the demon king.

Locke’s method was different from Zephyr’s, and In-gong had to fight using it. In-gong would become a one man army who would reverse the situation. However, Locke was strong and had learnt Knight Saga’s SS rank technique, the Warrior’s Sword.

‘I don’t know.’

In-gong let out a long breath. The SS ranked Divine Sura Authority created a flow of aura which was breathtaking. He had three equipment from the elder dragon, and Amita had tuned them so well that they were incomparable to normal S rank equipment.

‘Master.’

Green Wind became a breeze which wrapped around In-gong’s whole body. She was just like Beatrice was to Locke.

Truth be told, it didn’t matter if she was lacking in support when compared to Beatrice.

Green Wind only had the strength of the wind. However, unlike Beatrice, she was always with In-gong. If he had to choose between Beatrice and Green Wind, In-gong would choose Green Wind without any hesitation.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Green Wind who accompanied In-gong.

‘Conquer.’

From the depths of his soul, the voice of the white woman with red and blue eyes was heard. The power of Conquest continued to increase.

In-gong felt a sharp sensation on his lips, and divine sparks rose over Amita’s newly created Dragon Scale Greaves. It was the final flame—the woman who took In-gong’s first kiss. For reference, the second one had been Green Wind. Somehow, it didn’t feel like he had been kissed twice, but a kiss was still a kiss.

In-gong laughed and made a fist, then he concentrated aura and magic power on Earth Quaker.

Anastasia had said, ‘What can you do alone?’ Her words were right. It was impossible for In-gong to overthrow an army alone. However, In-gong didn’t have to take out the big army alone.

“Carack.”

Using Night Watch’s power, In-gong hovered in the air slightly and used Call. Carack was a capable aide and knew why In-gong had called him. Instead of asking questions, he walked over to the disconcerted Anastasia. Carack’s role was to act as Anastasia’s escort. He would be able to protect her from blind attacks on the battlefield.

In-gong shifted his gaze toward the sky and the ground, prioritizing them both.

It was definitely far from Zephyr’s battle style. Moreover, Zephyr wouldn’t be here in the first place. Anastasia was a competitor for the throne. So, from Zephyr’s point of view, it would be best to just let her die.

However, In-gong was here. It wasn’t because Felicia had begged him to save Anastasia. Nor had he calculated that saving her would improve their relationship and gain a political favour. In-gong wanted things to change. He wanted to destroy the ending of Knight Saga where all of the demon king’s children died.

‘I like this about Master.’

Green Wind said suddenly, as though she had read his heart. In-gong smiled and separated White Eagle from Black Eagle. The two of them shone with a green light and started to revolve around In-gong.

“Let’s go, Green Wind.”

‘Let’s go, Master.’

No further preparation was needed, and In-gong rose up into the air. The power of Conquest spread out, focusing everyone’s attention on him.

‘Like a warrior!’

In-gong flew forward like a flash toward the closest wyvern. The dark blue Night Watch made a rough trajectory in the wind.

Kwakakakang!

There was a huge roar. In-gong accelerated past the wyvern instantly, with White Eagle and Black Eagle breaking its neck. As red blood splashed out from the wyvern, In-gong was already flying toward the second wyvern. There were continuous roars, and In-gong accelerated past each wyvern. It wasn’t long before the seventh wyvern fell to the ground.

The loud sounds in the sky, along with the falling wyverns, were enough to make a strong impression. The number of eyes staring at In-gong increased. There were still a few wyverns left in the sky, but In-gong’s next goal was the ground.

While soaring in the sky, In-gong changed direction suddenly. He dived toward the ground and stretched out his right hand, grabbing Ascalon from his inventory. He then unfolded the Dragon Bane—Ascalon’s super special move!

In-gong appeared as a lightning bolt as the charging lance struck the neck of a huge monster. The monster couldn’t endure the horrific shock and collapsed instantly. Astonishment and shock ensued as the monster cried out with pain.

As Dragon Bane was stronger against dragons, the monster wasn’t killed with one blow.

However, In-gong didn’t mind. The important thing wasn’t to stop the monster’s breath—it was enough to show that the monster could be neutralized by a single strike.

More gazes gathered on him. The battles on all sides of the fortress subsided, and as all eyes stared at him, In-gong inhaled deeply. He placed Ascalon back in his inventory, while he climbed onto the neck of the monster!

‘Black Specter!’

A dark blue fog spread out. The flapping sounds of hundreds of wings caught everyone’s ears. The dark fog started from the neck of the monster, crossing more than 100 meters to reach the main force of the barbarians.

It was a fearsome sight. The black fog descended and swallowed everything in its path. Despite the flapping wings, loud screams could be heard clearly. Then the sound of the wings stopped. The dark fog dissipated, and a white light emerged.

In-gong raised the king’s flag once again, then he spread out the power of Conquest. The red energy of war, which had been covering the barbarians, was destroyed. There were hundreds of barbarians at In-gong’s feet, but none of them were able to shoot their bows or throw their spears.

In-gong had overwhelmed them temporarily. The whole battlefield looked at him, and he stared out at what was before him.

He looked at Actius, the king of the western barbarians. In-gong already knew what to do next. He wasn’t a warrior who led through fighting like Karatus, the king of the eastern barbarians. Actius was a cowardly ruler. Therefore, he was always away from the main area of his first attack.

“Bedora!”

A monster standing beside Actius, opened its mouth at Actius’ command.

The monster was a horn drake, a land type dragon. It was a monster whose body was 30 meters long, and it ran on the ground with four feet without any wings. A fearsome power was focused on the giant horn on the forehead, and a pillar of light three meters in diameter shot out from its mouth. It was a fearsome breath incomparable to that of the wyverns’.

In-gong glared at it. Instead of using Blink, he combined White Eagle and Black Eagle before him. Following Night Watch’s super special move, Black Specter, he used White Eagle’s super special move this time.

‘Absolute Area!’

The moment the red pillar hit White Eagle, the sky turned red. The pillar split into hundreds and thousands of pieces, alternating their direction toward the sky and the ground.

Then someone screamed. This was just the beginning.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

A heavy rain of light poured down from the sky. Confusion and terror spread every time a ray of light hit the ground.

Actius panicked and so did the horn drake, who shot out the breath. However, In-gong didn’t wait for either of them. The dark fog exploded once again under the torrent of light. Blink—In-gong used Blink three times in succession to break through the zone of heavy firepower. He then drew back his right fist as he moved forward.

His target wasn’t Actius. In-gong focused all the power of his quad-core on one point. Then he used one attack. Following Night Watch and White Eagle, it was Earth Quaker’s super special move!

‘True Destruction!’

In-gong struck the neck and chest of the horn drake. The power of destruction sprang out and crushed the horn drake’s body.

Kwaaaaaang!

It was like thunder had struck the ground. The power of destruction, which combined both aura and magic power, seemed to break both the sky and the earth. The horn drake didn’t scream. Its head simply fell to the ground, and once the huge body collapsed, it caused the earth to shake.

Dust and dirt rose up. Surprised by the sound of thunder near him, Actius gasped. He couldn’t comprehend the situation and was paralyzed by what happened. It seemed like a terrible nightmare. The other barbarians were the same. It was pointless to see how many had died and how many were left. The only thing that remained in their heads was the power of the destruction.

There was a calm in the storm. Once again, the black fog exploded in the midst of the tension, anxiety and fear. With the last Blink, In-gong landed on the ground in front of Actius.

In-gong was tired as well. He had used four successive super special moves, but he couldn’t stop here. He had to finish it properly.

In-gong gathered his remaining aura and magic power as he stared at Actius. He took out various scrolls he’d received from Felicia from his inventory as well. Wind, fire and lightning exploded in all directions, causing a disruption in the surrounding area.

Actius was overwhelmed by In-gong and moved quickly. Instead of rushing toward In-gong, he started to escape urgently. He had already witnessed In-gong’s movements, so he didn’t stop.

It was as In-gong thought. In Knight Saga, Actius would escape if there was any sign of danger. It happened when Actius was convinced he couldn’t keep fighting or win the battle. The barbarians around Actius panicked. They fell into confusion and didn’t run toward In-gong, nor did they escape with Actius.

Instead of attacking the barbarians, In-gong burnt the banner of war which was next to Actius. The flag played a central role in supplying energy to the battlefield, so the effect was indeed enormous. The aura of war covering the whole battlefield was removed, causing further confusion.

That wasn’t all. Green Wind appeared next to In-gong and shouted toward the sky,

“The barbarian king has fled!”

“Fled!”

“Fled!”

The amplified voice spread over the sky of the battlefield.

There were those who couldn’t see the entire battlefield, so it was easy to be deceived. Moreover, the spirit of war which had been controlling the barbarians’ spirits had disappeared. It wasn’t possible for the barbarians to maintain a sense of calm.

The ranks of the main body, who had actually witnessed Actius fleeing, collapsed. They were also witnesses to In-gong’s overwhelming ability, so they chose to escape instead of fighting him. As dozens of barbarians ran away, the flow quickly grew to hundreds and then thousands. Those at the left and right wings, which were distant from the centre, were confused by the movements of the center. It was the same for those on top of the fortress.

Anastasia blinked with a dumbfounded expression. She couldn’t believe everything that had happened before her eyes. At that moment, Carack shouted from in front of Anastasia,

“Princess! Now!”

Anastasia’s eyes widened, and she immediately understood the situation. It was now the time to give support from the rear. The barbarians’ escape was just a temporary phenomenon. In order to spread that phenomenon to all the barbarians, military power was necessary.

Anastasia pulled out a potion and drank it. After recovering her magic power forcibly, she gave a command she had never imagined would be shouted today.

“Open the gates! Support Shutra!”

&

The whole battlefield began to transform.

The barbarians, who had lost the energy of war, were no longer immune to spirit magic. The result of Anastasia’s long term spirit magic was really frightening. The completely deceived wyverns then poured energy shots toward the barbarians. The individual barbarians were not controlling the monsters—the nightmares were. Complicated commands were not needed. Simple control was enough to make the monsters go crazy.

There were thousands of troops in the central fortress. It was unreasonable to pursue the barbarians who outnumbered them. However, the barbarians had suffered considerable damage while escaping. There were those who were trampled by their own allies or killed by a raging monster. Anastasia pretended to pursue them aggressively. This meant that the barbarians couldn’t stop moving. She didn’t drive the barbarians in one direction but scattered them in every direction.

In-gong looked at the mini-map while sitting on White Eagle, up in the air. In-gong let out an involuntary sigh of relief. There was still some aura and magic power remaining, but his physical and mental strength were completely exhausted. So, he was really glad.

‘As expected from Anastasia.’

It was a timely response. Moreover, her ability to dismantle the barbarians was really like art. She was really capable.

In-gong closed his eyes. He wanted to fall asleep, but this place was the battlefield. Moreover, In-gong wasn’t alone right now.

“Master, did I do well before? I mimicked what the lycanthropes did at Takar.”

In-gong stroked Green Wind’s head as she sat next to him. In-gong laughed as he recalled Green Wind spreading the news that the barbarian king had escaped.

“Yes, well done.”

He took off Earth Quaker and stroked her head with his bare hands. Green Wind looked at him with a pleased expression and said,

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“You were really cool today.”

Green Wind spoke honestly, and the effect was powerful. In-gong shifted his gaze to avoid Green Wind’s eyes.

Then the voice of a woman was heard in In-gong’s ears.

[You have led a desperate battle to victory.]

[Title: Great Hero has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen.]

In-gong smiled with satisfaction.

Level 38…

In-gong looked at the level displayed in his status window with a satisfied expression.

‘I will soon be level 40.’

In Knight saga, something special happened every time his level went up by 10. The usual thing would be raising the level of a special skill which couldn’t be raised in normal ways, or acquiring a new special skill.

Even among the other levels, level 40 was a special axis.

‘Occupation upgrade, or an additional occupation.’

Both of them were like their names suggested. An occupation upgrade was to shift an existing occupation into a higher position, or to gain an additional occupation which wouldn’t normally be possible.

At level 40, he was able to choose only one of them. However, both options made him stronger, not weaker.

Upgrading was the most conservative choice. There was no big change in the way he would use his abilities, since this was just a shift to a higher position within the existing occupation; upgrading would only improve its effects.

On the other hand, In-gong had to consider gaining an additional occupation as well. Synergy could be created in different ways, depending on which occupations could be combined with his existing occupation.

‘Now that my occupation is Protagonist… what would happen if I upgrade Protagonist? Would something like Fake Protagonist come out?’

In-gong laughed and closed his status window. He didn’t know what additional occupations would emerge, so there was no point in worrying about it right now. He hummed lightly before feeling a gaze on him again. Green Wind was obviously staring at In-gong.

“Master.”

“Huh?”

In-gong said as he stroked Green Wind’s head. Instead of her usual expression, she blinked a few times before aiming her lips at In-gong’s cheeks. It was a kiss on the cheek, with a duration too short to be something special. However, In-gong’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Greenie?”

He looked at Green Wind with a face which seemed to be asking, ‘What are you doing?’

“I suddenly wanted to do that. I told you before, but Master looks cool today. Does Master dislike it?”

She once again kissed him on the cheek. It seemed to be an extension of the normal affection which Green Wind aimed at In-gong, but In-gong couldn’t help flinching. Unlike the hugging, he wasn’t used to this yet.

“Master, you are cute as well as cool. I think that Master is really good.”

Green Wind laughed and hugged In-gong’s arm. A heavy weight was weighing down on his arms. At that moment…

“What are you doing? What, is the hero playing around now?”

It was a rude voice, but it wasn’t unwelcome. In-gong turned to see Carack on a big black horse. In-gong cried out reflexively,

“No? By the way, what about Anastasia noona?”

Carack was supposed to be Anastasia’s escort. So, it was somewhat strange that Carack was now alone. Carack laughed like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Princess will come soon. It seems like she wants to thank Prince. I told her I would go ahead and give you the news.”

When In-gong looked at the mini-map, the barbarians were running away. Rather than chasing the barbarians aggressively, the forces of the central fortress celebrated the end of the battle or healed the wounded.

“I think you are even cooler today. General Vandal will be surprised. The nightmares were surprised. My shoulders were raised with pride.”

Carack had been watching In-gong since time with the Red Lightning tribe until now. So, his face was full with strong emotions.

“I didn’t do that much.

In-gong replied as he shrugged, while Green Wind hugged his arm again.

“Yes, Orc. Master is cool. You should continue to praise him.”

In these cases, Carack and Green Wind fit well together. Carack laughed and knocked on his chest.

“Prince was very cool today. I am proud to be Prince’s aide.”

“Yes, you were awesome.”

Carack didn’t show his pride through his actions like Green Wind but expressed it through words.

Some more time passed by, and as he talked with Carack, another person approached—Anastasia. A few nightmares, including her aide Chandra, were following her. It seemed they had headed straight to In-gong’s location after finishing the battle.

In-gong looked at Anastasia in silence after Green Wind lost her solid form. Anastasia was riding a unicorn which only a pure woman could ride, despite being a succubus. Speaking of which, Anastasia had been fairly quiet in Knight Saga as well. She wore a white dress with low exposure and gave off an elegant impression.

‘If I just look at the clothing, Felicia is more like a succubus.’

Even now, Anastasia was wearing solid armour. Her hair was tied up, so it wouldn’t interfere with fighting, and she didn’t have any feminine embellishments. Nevertheless, she was very beautiful. Despite her blunt facial expression, she was the daughter of Titania Nekrion and a succubus.

Once she was within talking distance, Anastasia jumped down from the unicorn and stood before him. There was a gentle smile on her face as she spoke,

“Thank you for your help. I was able to escape from a difficult situation today thanks to you.”

Unlike Felicia and Caitlin, In-gong felt a sense of distance from her. However, her words weren’t untrue. In-gong looked into Anastasia’s eyes. He didn’t have the talent to read things just by looking, like the sword duke or demon king, but In-gong could see some things. Just like Felicia and Caitlin, Anastasia had a slightly different look from the version of her in Knight Saga.

‘Well, the situation between the children of the demon king isn’t bad yet.’

It was only after the winter of Year 515 that she had become really wicked in Knight Saga. All the negative emotions between the children of the demon king, such as rivalry, hatred, and a sense of crisis, had been stirred up by Richard and Zephyr.

However, right now, it was Year 512. The children of the demon king didn’t hate each other yet. In-gong had confirmed this fact at Baikal’s tea party. Although Anastasia had argued with Felicia at the tea party, there wasn’t any sense of enmity or rivalry. Her attitude towards Felicia was more because she was skeptical about the reason why Felicia had chosen someone else.

‘I can make a difference now.’

Fortunately, Anastasia didn’t see them as enemies yet. In-gong had also appeared out of nowhere to save her, and Anastasia wasn’t a shameless woman. Moreover, this was an emergency situation. Rather than compete, they had to combine strengths. Her tone was a bit hard, but her eyes and voice were soft, so In-gong felt satisfied. He smiled at her and said,

“I am glad to help. It looks like I barely made it in time. Felicia noona was very worried… I was as well.”

Anastasia was somewhat confused by In-gong’s worry, but that only lasted for a moment. She soon smiled with joy, and her smile was more sincere than before.

“I think I understand a little bit about why Felicia chose you.”

Anastasia murmured in a small voice. She asked In-gong,

“It might not be suitable right after the battle, but I need to talk to you because it is urgent. Shutra, what are your plans for the future?”

Although the barbarians surrounding the central fortress had been driven out, the other fortresses were still in the hands of the enemy. As time went by, new enemies would surround the central fortress.

After taking a deep breath, In-gong made eye contact with Anastasia. His height had grown, and he was almost at eye level with her.

“I’ve thought about it roughly. Before that, I want to ask you one thing. Where is Victor hyung now?”

Victor and Anastasia had always been together, just like how Chris and Caitlin were one set and Felicia and Silvan were another set. However, he couldn’t find Victor anywhere on the battlefield.

Anastasia responded to In-gong’s question in a quiet tone.

“Victor orabeoni went on a mission outside the fortress. He is probably heading south now to rally the lizardmen.”

Her expression and voice showed no signs of resentment for Victor who had come to rescue her. No, maybe she was just hiding it inwardly. Anastasia changed the topic.

“Shutra, you might be expecting this, but it is likely to be the work of the Paran clan’s chief, Berkintox. Do you know anything about his current movements?”

“It isn’t clear, so he is probably going east. Unlike the south, the eastern troops are more likely to join Berkintox.”

The fact that almost all the fortresses in the west had been taken over meant Berkintox had at least an agreement with the orcs. Most of the forces in the east were orcs, so there was a good chance they would cooperate with Berkintox, along with the western orcs.

In-gong recalled what he knew about Berkintox. The Paran clan chief was a careful and thoughtful person, so it was unexpected that he would rebel while knowing about the greatness of the Demon King’s Palace.

‘Perhaps the cause is the War Knight.’

It was just like how the War Knight had reached out to the eastern barbarians. This led In-gong to think the reason for Berkintox’s rebellion was the War Knight. Perhaps Berkintox had become an apostle of war like the eastern barbarian king. In-gong put off thinking about the War Knight. The important thing right now was to escape from this isolation.

“As you can see from today, the western barbarian king, Actius, is cowardly. As long as I jump onto the battlefield, he will want to give up. Furthermore, he won’t the reduce the number of troops around him. It is a good situation for us.”

It was one of the reasons why he didn’t bother pursuing Actius. His escape would buy In-gong more time and opportunities.

“But even so, it won’t buy us that much time. It is just that the barbarians won’t surround the central fortress.”

In-gong’s fingers drew a picture in the air. Soon, they saw a map made of green magic power in the air.

Anastasia looked at the map and said,

“Shutra, are you planning to abandon this fortress?”

“It is a strategic decision. Is Noona willing to do so?”

Anastasia nodded silently. If the barbarians hadn’t created an encirclement, she would have escaped.

“Felicia noona is heading to the north with a unit of Gullams. We will move to the 12th base using the shortest distance. We can join Felicia noona there and work with Victor.”

In-gong drew a few new lines in the air and asked Anastasia,

“Can the wounded people move?”

“It is possible if we don’t worry about saving recovery magic potions and magic. Some wyverns and monsters were captured this time, so we can move somehow. Rather, the problem is the movement speed. We may be stopped before we get there.”

The distance to the 12th base wasn’t short. Additionally, it wouldn’t take long for the news about today to spread around. So, there was a chance they would get caught from the back or the side while running toward the 12th base.

It wasn’t just Anastasia. The nightmares expressed concern as well. However, Carack laughed as he judged the distance from the map.

“Once again, faster than the wind.”

“Faster than the wind?”

Anastasia asked In-gong what it meant. She seemed to think it was the name of an operation.

In-gong shrugged and asked a question instead of answering,

“Anastasia noona, are you good at recovery magic?”

“Recovery magic?”

“Recovery magic.”

In-gong grinned, and Anastasia nodded as she felt an ominous feeling.

The news that Actius had been routed didn’t make its way to many of the fortresses and bases near the central fortress. This was because Actius prioritized fleeing to a safe area, rather than spreading what happened. The barbarians, who occupied each fortress and base, weren’t informed by Actius but by the forces which scattered in every direction.

It had already been a day since the battle of the central fortress. The Paran clan chief, Berkintox, arrived at the ninth stronghold, the largest warehouse in eastern Curtis, before hearing the news about Actius.

At first, he didn’t believe it. No, it was unbelievable. It was an impossible situation. The troops had been overwhelming. Moreover, thanks to the energy of war, the nightmares’ specialty of mental magic could be ignored. It was simply impossible for the barbarians to be defeated, although the battle might take longer than expected.

‘How?

‘How on earth?’

Actius was clearly a coward who only thought of his own safety. However, he wasn’t stupid. Rather, he was cunning and clever. He would fight to win and needed to be strong to had become the barbarian king. Yet he had been defeated in a single day? It had been a siege and yet he had been routed? What the hell had happened?

That wasn’t the only thing he couldn’t understand. There were some unbelievable stories mixed in.

In the midst of a siege, a white light had appeared and massacred the wyverns in an instant. A white shield and black shield defeated the monsters attacking the gates. A man in a dark blue cloth fell across the large army and killed a horn drake with one punch. They didn’t know what happened, but a rain of fire had poured down from the sky.

The first story was somewhat understandable, but the next two weren’t. The monsters brought by the western barbarians were gigantic monsters. One of those monsters had been taken down with one blow? Additionally, the one who had done it was a normal species and not a giant?

Berkintox instantly thought of the five captains of the Demon King’s Palace. He had only encountered Gallehed, the leader of the suras, but that was enough. It was possible for a captain of the Demon KIng’s Palace. In that case, all the stories spreading around wouldn’t be a problem. No, he would be able to believe them even more.

Berkintox shook his head. A captain couldn’t appear at the central fortress. They were somewhere else, not at Curtis. It was clear the stories were exaggerated as it was very common for those defeated to inflate the enemy’s power and rationalize their defeat.

‘Yes, it’s common.’

However, it wasn’t just a rationalization. On a battlefield, there were many factors which could cause the soldiers to reject the situation, such as: an uneasy psychology state; the shock of being defeated; the fear of death; and so on.

‘But even so…’

Berkintox didn’t jump to any conclusions. Even if the process was exaggerated, it was clear Actius had lost. There might be a mixture of intermediate level generals at the enemy base with a combination powerful enough to to match a senior general.

It was an unexpected variable. Did Anastasia have a strong succubus as a supporter?

Berkintox laughed suddenly.

As expected from Anastasia… she had hidden a trump card.

Berkintox looked down at the large map the Paran clan used. He was currently in the ninth orc stronghold, so he wanted to review the current situation.

Actius had retreated to the north. Victor was headed southwest to contact the lizardmen, and Berkintox was currently in the east. 6th Princess Felicia Doomblade and 9th Prince Shutra Ignus were at the southernmost tip of Curtis. Perhaps their goal was to join the lizardmen in the south-west.

‘And there is Anastasia.’

Berkintox made a decision. The original plan had been to leave the task of defeating Victor to Actius, while Berkintox would head south to isolate Victor by defeating the Gullams. However, he now had to do something else.

Berkintox would head west personally. After defeating Anastasia, he would lead the barbarians and seize all of Curtis. There was no reason to delay the decision. Berkintox stood up instantly.

&

Felicia looked toward the northwest. It was the direction In-gong had headed in.

She had been marching for two days with the Gullam hunters, including Galang. Their destination was the 12th base which In-gong had designated as the meeting point. There was no way she could hear news from the north. Therefore, Felicia looked at the north with uneasy eyes several times while using recovery magic on the Gullams.

‘He is okay.’

Felicia touched her forehead slowly. She was able to know this because she was a member of the King’s Knights. In-gong was currently safe. This also meant that the central fortress was still standing.

‘It is really ridiculous.’

He had gone alone to save Anastasia unni and the central fortress. It was even more absurd that Felicia believed In-gong could do it.

‘He just needs to get there in time. Then he will do it. This time as well, Shutra will show a wonderful appearance.’

Felicia took deep breaths as she calmed herself, but she couldn’t help laughing.

‘It isn’t the same without Shutra.’

Felicia’s main task was to use recovery magic whenever the soldiers were exhausted, in order to maintain their marching during the day and night. However, it was much better than when they had been in Evian. She didn’t have to worry about being exhausted due to overusing her magic.

“Shutra is really too much.”

It was really exciting every time. Felicia muttered with a smile as she looked toward the north. As she recalled something, a different worry formed in her mind.

Anastasia and Shutra, the heads of two factions…

‘Are they still doing well?’

Felicia felt an ominous foreboding.

&

“Faster than the wind!”

“Faster!”

“Faster!”

As they became accustomed to the slogan, the central fortress defenders shouted it repeatedly as they ran frantically.

It had been a day since the battle. As soon as the wounded soldiers were recovered, In-gong and Anastasia left the central fortress while leading 3,000 defenders.

Due to the vast majority being infantry, the march was forced to slow down. However, In-gong didn’t tolerate it. Green Wind’s Protection of the Wind lightened the legs of the central fortress defenders. In-gong’s flag of light enhanced their physical abilities as well.

After the first preparations, In-gong ordered the central fortress defenders to follow him.

Then In-gong continued. He ran forward, but it wasn’t a frenzied rush.  Regardless of the magic and periodic rests, there was a limitation to their physical strength. However, In-gong didn’t allow the defenders of the central fortress to collapse.

Anastasia was located in the middle of the pack and used recovery magic periodically. Thanks to that, the central fortress’ defense troops didn’t collapse from exhaustion, but she was mentally exhausted as she ran.

The nightmares used a magic spell which paralyzed the reasoning of the central fortress defenders. Of course, the nightmares had to run endlessly as well. The effect of the nightmares’ magic was effective.

The fortresses and bases had received the news about the rout late and were unable respond to the sudden movements of the central fortress defenders. They only blocked the road after the situation was already over, but it wasn’t their fault. The central fortress defenders just had an abnormally fast speed. Thus, the central fortress defenders were able to pass through the fortresses without experiencing any battles.

“Take a short break.”

“Break!”

“Break!”

Once In-gong stopped in place, the nearby soldiers shouted and spread the command. The 3,000 soldiers sat down without hesitation.

In-gong looked at the mini-map. They had almost left the north-west area of Curtis. There was now only a little bit left. Of course, it was hard to feel at ease as it was obvious the enemies would plan something after adapting to the unusual speed of the central fortress defenders.

In-gong looked at the mini-map continuously as he moved from the front of the procession to the middle with Carack. It was to see Anastasia.

‘Surely, she hasn’t fainted.’

In-gong remembered Felicia’s and Daphne’s stats and hurried. Then he involuntarily let out a cry of admiration,

“Oh!”

Unlike his expectations, Anastasia had a fairly straight posture. She was sweating, but she wasn’t lying on the floor like Felicia or Daphne had done.

“Are you okay?”

Anastasia blinked at In-gong after hearing his words. Her expression was somewhat weaker than usual.

“You—do you normally make Felicia do this?”

Her voice was relatively restrained, but it was mixed with resentment, irritation and nausea. Instead of answering, In-gong just laughed. It was at that moment that In-gong heard Green Wind’s voice in his ears.

‘Master, there are enemies.’

The voice came from White Eagle which was floating in the sky. In-gong hurriedly shared his gaze with Green Wind while opening the mini-map. Like Green Wind said, a group of people were running this way.

There was approximately 500 of them. It wasn’t a large number, but the problem was that they were armed cavalry, and they were designed to grab the ankles of the infantry troops.

If they delayed too long here, they might be surrounded by enemies on all sides. After confirming the movement path of the cavalry, In-gong closed the mini-map and shifted his gaze. It seemed like there was a dusty place in the distance.

“Shutra?”

“There is a pursuit.”

After hearing In-gong’s words, Anastasia hurriedly turned in the direction he was looking at, and her eyes shone white as she used magic.

“They are cavalry. There are approximately five or six hundred of them?”

Anastasia frowned as she finished talking. After seeing the type and number of enemies, she thought the same thing as In-gong. Despite their physical strength having been maintained by magic, the central fortress defenders were mentally exhausted. They had no problem running forward, but fighting was difficult.

“I’ll stay here and buy some time. Noona should lead the troops forward.”

Anastasia’s eyes widened at In-gong’s words. In-gong shrugged and continued speaking,

“It is impossible to defeat them, but I can buy some time. I will fight in moderation and join you guys later.”

He had White Eagle and Black Eagle to protect him. If he mixed and matched techniques properly, he would be able to prevent any troops from passing by In-gong.

‘Wah, I have truly grown.’

He was thinking about stopping 500 cavalry alone. Although the scale was smaller than yesterday’s, they might rush toward the 3,000 troops, so he couldn’t choose the option of flying over the enemy heads like he had done yesterday. It was dangerous and hard work.

After In-gong’s words, Anastasia thought for a moment before making a determined expression. Then she replied in a quiet voice,

“No, I’ll stop them with you. I am the one responsible for the forces of the central fortress. It is unreasonable to make Shutra do this.”

It was a problem associated with her sense of honour and responsibility. The nightmares beside Anastasia gazed at her with an admiring expression. but In-gong was different.

“Well, yes. Then I’ll leave it to Noona. Let’s go, Carack.”

In-gong said lightly before turning around. Anastasia became confused. She didn’t think that In-gong would agree like this.

It was unreasonable for Anastasia alone to block 500 cavalry. She would be able to use various mental magic to get rid of them, but she was exhausted right now. Moreover, it was highly likely that mental spells wouldn’t work if they were surrounded with the red energy of war like the barbarians.

While Anastasia was panicking, Carack stared at In-gong and said in a loud voice,

“Prince.”

In-gong turned around at the call. He shrugged and handed the flag of light to Carack.

“Carack, please guide the defenders.

“Don’t worry.”

Carack grinned as he raised the flag of light. Due to the effects of the king’s flag, the defenders of the central fortress started to stand up.

In-gong looked at Anastasia and said,

“Did you think I was really going to leave it to Noona?”

Anastasia pouted at the playful question. Her expression was restrained, but he could feel the emotions behind it.

‘Looking at this, Anastasia is also cute.’

In Knight Saga, he had just thought of her as a bad girl.

‘Zephyr and Richard ruined her.’

In-gong moved to the rear of the procession with Anastasia. Anastasia looked down at In-gong from her unicorn and asked bluntly,

“Let me ask again, is it normally like this with Felicia and Caitlin?”

“Um, a little more severe?”

The two people had to experience this repeatedly.

Anastasia’s eyes widened at In-gong’s answer. She looked cute, but now wasn’t the time to flirt. In-gong equipped Earth Quaker on his right arm, and his gaze sharpened.

“They’re coming.”

Under Carack’s guidance, the central fortress defenders started to spring again. Their speed seemed slow enough for the cavalry to catch up with them. Anastasia drank a potion while staring at the cavalry. Anastasia’s nightmares, who followed her, were ready to fight.

“Shutra, let’s talk later.”

Anastasia said, and In-gong nodded. They charged toward the cavalry.

Swords and bows were both weapons which could be used in a fight, but their usage was different. It wasn’t just the sword and bow. There were various types which existed in the huge category of swords, and there were many ways to use them.

Strength was the same. Vandal was strong, and among the senior generals, he was the one with the strongest brute force. It was probably possible for him to take out a monster with one blow. However, he couldn’t attack dozens of people at the same time. So, it was impossible for Vandal to confront an army alone.

Among the senior generals, there was a man called, Vi Carulo. He had the nickname of ‘One-man Army’ due to his actions being enough to rival an army.

Vi Carulo was a powerful necromancer. If the number of bodies was enough, then he could create a majestic undead legion anytime and anywhere. He didn’t distinguish between friend or foe when raising the corpses, and it didn’t matter to him as long as he could overwhelm the other side. Additionally, he preferred massacres since that would lead to more corpses.

This meant Vi Carulo was able to fight an army alone, but it didn’t mean he was definitely stronger than Vandal. In fact, Vandal would be the victor if they competed in a one-on-one fight.

Anastasia’s strength was different from In-gong’s. She was a magician as well as a born enslaver.

Anastasia’s unicorn, Windwalker, charged forward. She wasn’t charging toward the cavalry but passing by them.

The area which the 500 cavalry occupied was more than she had imagined. Even if Anastasia was a brilliant magician, it was impossible to strike such a large area all at the same time. Moreover, her purpose wasn’t to exterminate the cavalry as it was enough just to cause confusion and break the will of the enemy. This was the same as what In-gong had done at the central fortress.

The orcs and kobolds, which made up the cavalry, weren’t surrounded by a red aura. Due to this, Anastasia was able to utilize her specialty. After witnessing Anastasia’s charge, the cavalry changed to spears or swords, instead of a bow, in order to attack Anastasia as she rushed past. There was the sound of yelling, and 500 cavalry charged, causing the earth to shake.

Anastasia chanted a spell while looking straight at the cavalry. Then her purple eyes flashed, and something unexpected occurred.

“Hihihing!”

“Hihing!”

As Anastasia watched on, the horses reared up abruptly. They also shook their bodies roughly to try and drop their owners. At most, it only happened to 20 of them. However, it was important since they were on the outskirts. As the front suddenly stopped moving, the formation of the cavalry became a mess. There were those who fell off when bumping into the riders in front of them or from trying to stop quickly.

Anastasia continued to use her magic to enchant other horses. The nightmares running alongside her poured all sorts of attack spells toward the orcs on the ground.

Anastasia’s unicorn was uniquely intelligent. Windwalker moved lightly and maintained a proper distance from the cavalry. He seemed to walk around the cavalry in circles. However, there was a problem with Anastasia. She couldn’t rest after a big battle and had a hard time running all night. Moreover, it wasn’t just running. Her body and mind were extremely exhausted from using recovery magic several times.

Anastasia felt dizzy while charging forward, and as she frowned from the pain, dozens of cavalry members shot arrows at her. There also were a few who came rushing toward her. Anastasia gritted her teeth. The nightmares acted to block the arrows, while Windwalker ran harder than before.

Then In-gong plunged forward. White Eagle and Black Eagle created a force field which fended off attacks from In-gong. Five fireballs flew from his fingertips toward the cavalry which was running toward him and exploded.

The soldiers and horses collapsed, but there were 500 cavalry members, so there were still many remaining. A group of them rushed over the fallen ones. In order to surround the party, the cavalry members moved in different directions and aimed arrows and firebombs.

Explosions occurred everywhere. Windwalker jumped over the explosions and avoided the cavalry. However, then Windwalker shook his head because his back had become lighter.

Anastasia’s eyes widened. She was in the air, and In-gong’s arm was wrapped around her waist. The moment an explosion occurred in front of Windwalker, In-gong had grabbed Anastasia.

The confused Windwalker continued to run around the cavalry. The nightmares also ran along with Windwalker, slowing down the speed of the cavalry using magic. Anastasia confirmed the distance between the party and the cavalry before turning to In-gong. His face was close to hers because In-gong was holding her with one arm.

“Are you okay?”

In-gong smiled lightly, and Anastasia frowned. She glanced at In-gong’s arm around her waist and said,

“Shutra, you shouldn’t grab the waist of a virtuous woman at any time.”

Even if he hadn’t grabbed her, she would have escaped thanks to Windwalker.

‘Yes, Master. Master was wrong. You should grab my waist.’

Green Wind whispered to In-gong. Instead of asking what she was talking about, he just restored his breathing and didn’t speak. Rather, it was more important to drop Anastasia off somewhere.

“Shutra?”

Anastasia asked him suddenly. Instead of responding, In-gong continued flying toward Windwalker. After putting Anastasia back on Windwalker, he reversed the position. Green Wind whispered again,

‘Master, the orc in red armour seems to be the leader. He is shouting orders.’

In-gong agreed. After a glance at Anastasia, he flew forward using the power of Night Watch.

The cavalry had split in two and were surrounding Anastasia. In-gong moved his gaze away from her. There was no time to deal with all 500 cavalry members, so the best tactic was to strike the leader.

White Eagle and Black Eagle revolved around In-gong and blocked the arrows. In-gong shot toward the orc in red armour.

&

After losing their leader, the cavalry opted to escape instead of fight. The damage to the cavalry was quite large. A few horses had fallen to the ground due to Anastasia, while others were killed or injured through direct combat.

In-gong sighed with relief as the cavalry ran away.

By using Divine Sura Authority while being protected by White Eagle and Black Eagle, In-gong had great power. However, he couldn’t handle hundreds of enemies. The super special moves had a limited number of daily uses, so he was glad they had given up early

After restoring his breathing, In-gong looked at Anastasia. Instead of rejoicing in the victory, she seemed to be enchanting one of the wounded enemies who seemed to be in a decent condition. She was either trying to interrogate the enemy on the spot or enchanting him to ride with them.

“Noona, we need to hurry.”

Anastasia nodded as In-gong rode over on White Eagle. They had to hurry in order to catch up with the central fortress defenders. With In-gong at the forefront on White Eagle, the party ran forward again.

Some time passed by. They found the central fortress defenders where they were running, and In-gong moved to the front of the line on White Eagle. While holding the flag of light, Carack shouted,

“Prince!”

Carack’s stamina and endurance were comparable to In-gong’s. So, his face and voice were filled with welcome instead of fatigue. However, the soldiers around them were different. Everyone’s expressions showed that they were suffering. Below the King’s Flag and Protection of the Wind weren’t enough. In order to move faster than the wind, recovery magic was necessary.

“Anastasia noona! Please!”

In-gong shouted as Anastasia barely reached the front. Anastasia’s expression became momentarily tearful, but she soon restored her expression. She repeatedly cast the recovery magic over the 3,000 central fortress defenders.

&

“Um, I am exhausted. Prince is really too much.”

After the frantic sprint, the central fortress defenders were able to reach the 12th base. However, the price was great. The central fortress defenders seemed like they had their souls sucked out, while Anastasia was lying on the back of her unicorn. She was sweating and gasping for breath.

“I had a feeling this would happen.”

Felicia, who had arrived at the 12th base first, said while staring at Anastasia. Anastasia was an excellent magician in many ways, but this was probably the first time she had collapsed due to magic power exhaustion.

Felicia stared at her with sympathy and then gazed at In-gong with narrowed eyes. In-gong just grinned and pretended not to know.

“I’m here, Felicia noona. Were you worried?”

The bright smile made the most of his gandharva beauty, so Felicia couldn’t help laughing.

“You aren’t hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine.”

In-gong knocked against his chest, and Felicia sighed with relief. She had been very worried about In-gong. So, she was glad that he had returned safely.

Felicia covered her face with a fan and said,

“Let’s settle this situation first. We need to greet the troops of the 12th base.”

The 3,000 soldiers were collapsed on the ground. In-gong nodded at Felicia’s words and gazed a little further away. The lizardman Makkulpin, the leader of the 12th base, was running this way.

&

Berkintox, who arrived at the central fortress, felt more confusion than anger.

The central fortress was empty. He understood up to here. Berkintox had been expecting it to some extent. There was no reason for Anastasia to be sitting in the central fortress when Actius had loosened the encirclement.

However, he hadn’t thought it would be so empty. It wasn’t just the troops of the central fortress… The warehouse was completely empty. There was no evidence of the food, weapons or other goods which would have been stored in the central fortress.

Surely, they hadn’t brought the items with them while running away? It was crazy. Emptying a warehouse wasn’t easy. The central fortress was the supply base for the fortresses near the Western Limit Line, so it stockpiled a tremendous quantity of supplies. Just taking them out of the warehouse and packing them would take a full day.

There was a problem even after the warehouse was cleared. As the amount of supplies being carried increased, the movement speed would slow down. Wasn’t it better to lighten their body as much as possible in order to run away?

Yet surprisingly, Anastasia had done it. Moreover, they had escaped the western part of Curtis in just one day, so Berkintox wondered about what type of magic had been used.

Every one of the fortresses, which had missed Anastasia, said the same thing through the communicator.

Their movement speed had been too fast; the marching speed of the infantry hadn’t been normal. Therefore, they hadn’t been able to block the infantry properly due to their unexpected speed.

Now, Berkintox could only laugh. 4th Princess Anastasia Nekrion…

He had known she was capable, but he hadn’t expected this. She far surpassed his expectations.

Berkintox controlled his emotions. It was just a change in order, but this way, he could bring all the Paran clan members together.

‘I can use this time as well.’

The Paran clan warriors were already gathering from all over the place, and the number of Hwarin members who had pledged allegiance personally was over 100.

Berkintox gave orders to each fortress and base in the western region.

“Hit the 12th base. Smash it so that not one trace remains and show our strength to all of Curtis.”

The troops of the western area all obeyed Berkintox’s command. Except for the barbarians led by Actius, all the forces of the west started moving.