Chapter 76 – Chapter 12: Legend #2
“So, to recap, the sword duke came to Thunderdoom to meet Shutra, right? His purpose was to teach you a few things.”
Chris summed it up with a disbelieving expression. It was unlike his usual expression, so he was really shocked.
In-gong replied in a calm voice in order to pacify Chris,
“Yes, I’m alive thanks to him. It was really a crisis.”
In-gong not only explained what had happened at Thunderdoom Fortress but at Enger Plains as well. Apart from the sword duke, it was also important to talk about the mysteries they had encountered at Thunderdoom Fortress.
Chris thought about In-gong’s explanation as he leaned back in his chair. After a while, he took a deep breath and leaned forward.
“My mind is all muddled. The events that occurred in Thunderdoom Fortress is definitely serious… The mention of the sword duke keeps bothering me.”
Apart from the demon king, he was the strongest in the Demon King’s Palace.
He was an elder of the sura and the strongest swordsman of the previous era. Living in seclusion, the sword duke was rarely seen at the Demon King’s Palace.
However, no one in the Demon King’s Palace could ignore the sword duke as the Demon World respected the strong. The sword duke had the absolute power required to reverse a situation and the number of people who still followed him couldn’t be counted.
Yet he had moved and it had only been to meet In-gong.
What was the sword duke thinking? Why had he intervened?
If the sword duke actively supported In-gong for the throne, In-gong would become equal to the other three factions.
‘I’ve never seen this before.’
Chris swallowed his words because he couldn’t say them.
Unlike Chris, who was making prideful calculations in his head, Caitlin was as pure as ever. She focused on In-gong’s body instead of the political ramifications of the sword duke’s actions.
“You don’t have any injuries? It was a really dangerous opponent.”
Caitlin scanned In-gong and Felicia’s body. In-gong smiled brightly at the sweet concern in her eyes.
“I’m fine. The sword duke showed up before anything happened.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Really exquisite timing. Doesn’t it seem like he was waiting outside and deliberately appeared at that time?”
Felicia chimed in brighter than usual in order to reassure Caitlin.
It was enough to replace the worry in Caitlin’s eyes with curiosity. She asked In-gong and Felicia,
“Was the zombie dragon big?”
“Huge.”
“And Shutra caught the big fish with one strike.”
Felicia laughed as she punched the air. Caitlin’s eyes started sparkling.
“Amazing.”
She started visualizing In-gong killing a zombie dragon in her head. Chris hugged Caitlin’s shoulders and laughed.
“You are now a dragon slayer. Isn’t that amazing?”
“It is thanks to Ascalon. The dungeon guardians were also on our side.”
In-gong replied modestly but his face looked pleased. In-gong was also a person, so he didn’t hate praise like this. Moreover, even In-gong thought it was great.
Then Chris’ expression suddenly changed. He leaned back in his chair again and stared into In-gong’s eyes.
“What is it?”
He asked Chris, who simply shrugged.
“No, doesn’t it feel like you are a man driving a storm? There is a blast everywhere you go.”
At the Jishuka Mountains, the Demon King’s Palace, Enger Plains, the Demon King’s Palace again and the Thunderdoom Fortress…
As Carack had pointed out earlier, In-gong got caught up in a big event wherever he went.
Chris said playfully,
“This is suddenly making me nervous. What if something occurs here as well?”
“Oppa.”
Caitlin rebuked Chris. Chris shook and knocked against Caitlin’s shoulder.
“It’s a joke, a joke.”
‘I really hope it ends as a joke. If Carack was here, he would have said that he feels something ominous.’
Green Wind’s voice buzzed in his ears. In-gong turned his head and saw Green Wind in her translucent state. She had been following Carack’s group, but it seemed like she had just returned.
“What is Carack’s group doing?”
In-gong asked and a subtle expression crossed Green Wind’s face.
‘They are chatting and smiling with each other, but the atmosphere is strangely bloody. So, I decided to come here.’
Indeed, Carack.
Maybe he really was a protagonist. He was insensitive to things like this.
Then Caitlin asked In-gong with an anxious voice,
“Shutra?”
“Oh, Green Wind wanted to talk to me.”
In-gong pointed to the place where Green Wind was standing.
“Are you referring to the guardian of Enger Plains? Can we see her?”
“I want to see her as well.”
“Me too.”
After Caitlin, Chris and Felicia also expressed their desire to see Green Wind…
“Greenie?”
‘I told you not to call me Greenie. I dislike Master who keeps ignoring my words.’
Green Wind’s face was sulky as she spoke to In-gong. In-gong called out Green Wind’s name,
“Green Wind.”
‘Bah!’
Green Wind snorted but obeyed. She appeared in front of him.
“Wah.”
“The guardian of Enger Plains.”
Like In-gong, Chis and Caitlin had carried out the casios subjugation mission previously. Caitlin was excited about the fact that she was looking at the guardian, but Chris had more thoughts.
‘He gained the support of the centaurs.’
Green Wind was the guardian of the centaurs. It was clear that the centaurs, including Ferocious Eyes, would support In-gong due to Green Wind.
He wasn’t the Scrap Prince anymore.
In addition to his skills, the environment was changing.
The demon king’s interest, the sponsorship of the sword duke and the patronage of the guardian… Although it was still weak, he had the support of some interesting forces.
Chris added the power of the lycanthropes as well.
‘And…’
Chris’ gaze headed toward Felicia. Felicia’s red eyes stared at Chris like she had noticed his gaze.
They had a short exchange, then the two of them looked back at Green Wind after hearing Caitlin’s voice.
It was because Green Wind had disappeared.
“She is shy.”
‘It’s not like that.’
Green Wind retorted as always before In-gong looked at Chris. Chris shrugged and replied,
“Anyway… the mysterious forces… It isn’t unusual if they influenced the Red Lightning tribe’s rebellion like Shutra said. It is likely to continue in the future.”
More than anything, he was concerned about the man who self-destructed in front of the sword duke.
That type of strong person who had chosen to self-destruct without any hesitation… Did that mean he was from a thorough organization or that a strong person like that was common?
“Well, it seems inevitable. This is the Demon World.”
His words were similar to the sword duke’s.
There was always someone in the Demon World who tried to challenge the Demon King’s Palace. As the children of the demon king, it was inevitable they would to encounter such forces.
Thus, Chris didn’t drag out the story of the unknown force for long. Rather, he was interested in something else.
“The demon king and the sword duke… Knowing Silvan, he will make a big fuss.”
A pleased expression formed on his face just by imagining it. He didn’t attach a suffix like when he called Felicia ‘noonim’ and after recalling Caitlin’s words, In-gong could guess at the relationship between Silvan and Chris.
Felicia sighed and said,
“Silvan uses a sword. He has always wanted to learn from the sword duke.”
However, that hadn’t happened.
Now, the sword duke had approached In-gong and had been the one who suggested teaching him.
“Hmm, then the sword duke is Shutra’s guardian?”
Chris scratched his chin at Felicia’s question and she replied,
“I guess so.”
“Why, does Noonim want to be it?”
Felicia flinched and covered her face with her fan. Caitlin focused on In-gong instead of the two people.
“Shutra, what did you learn from the sword duke?”
“I’m curious as well.”
Chris quickly turned toward In-gong. Felicia raised her chin and teased,
“Won’t everybody be surprised to know?”
Chris’ gaze went back to Felicia and she once again hid her face with her fan.
In-gong was still staring at Caitlin as he expressed the idea he had at Thunderdoom Fortress.
“Caitlin noona, do you want to spar with me?”
Caitlin’s eyes shone. The sparkle in her eyes was different from the usual admiration. She was obviously excited.
“Okay.”
Caitlin rose instantly from her seat.
&
“I’ll concede five hits.”
In-gong and Caitlin stood facing each other in the open space. In-gong wanted to conceal the spar, so there was no one around except for Chris and Felicia.
Conceding five hits…
He had seen it in many novels and this saying was personally familiar to In-gong. Caitlin always said this in their previous spars.
Caitlin would stand in one place and receive In-gong’s attacks.
‘Only five… Shows that I’ve developed a lot.’
Originally, she had conceded around 20~30 hits. However, In-gong wasn’t going to stop at that much.
In-gong had obviously become stronger. The comparison with Villager A was now meaningless.
How strong had he become? In-gong wondered about his level compared to the other children of the demon king, including Caitlin.
‘I will do my best.’
He didn’t intend to make a fool of himself; Caitlin was going to receive In-gong’s power.
‘First, I will start with Divine Sura Authority.’
His breathing changed. From the very beginning of the spar, his white aura rose like flames.
Caitlin and Chris flinched back as the white aura burst out like a fierce fire. However, that wasn’t the end. In-gong still had methods to enhance his strength.
Protection of the Wind Lv2. It was a spell Green Wind had taught him.
Activation Lv1. That was the basic stage of the spirit magic Daphne had used.
Green Wind wound around In-gong’s legs. The wind spirit added to In-gong’s strength.
There was still one more.
‘Dragon Blood!’
The power of a dragon humanoid obtained from Watcher Ainkel.
In-gong’s aura surged. Despite not being equipped with Earth Quaker and White Eagle, In-gong’s combat power was greatly enhanced. His aura itself seemed to growl.
In-gong breathed out as he looked at Caitlin and took the posture of Beast Authority. Caitlin also hurriedly took the posture of Beast Authority but her expression was a mess. It was like when she was asked to smash a cliff with her fists.
Why?
Then Felicia hit In-gong’s back.
“Shutra you fool! Are you trying to hurt Caitlin? Do you really want to make her concede in five hits?”
“Caitlin, you don’t need to concede anything. Use all your strength.”
Chris spoke in a heavy tone. Both eyes were filled with doubt instead of playfulness.
“But…”
Caitlin stared at In-gong and mumbled. In-gong understood how Caitlin felt. Caitlin always strived to keep her word.
In-gong maintained the battle posture and declared in a serious tone.
“I’m also asking you. I want to know my exact level.”
It was sincere. He was more interested in confirming his current level than being praised for continued growth.
The man with the spear.
He would have died if the sword duke hadn’t come.
In-gong, Felicia, Carack, Karma, Daphna and Delia would have all died. Maybe even Green Wind would’ve come to an end.
He had to become stronger. Enough so that he could beat Zephyr!
Caitlin nodded. Instead of saying any more, she revealed her aura.
A dark blue aura.
In-gong’s breath poured out. Caitlin formed a fist. Then she sprang forward.
Caitlin was fast. She was like lightning as she moved. But he didn’t miss it. Now In-gong could follow Caitlin’s movements. He reached out as she charged forward.
Great Mountain.
A technique taught by the sword duke.
It was a huge barrier that could crush Caitlin. Instead of resisting, she adapted to Great Mountain. She flew back and twisted her body in the air. Then she sprang forward the moment she landed.
But the situation was different from before. In-gong was also racing towards her.
Caitlin and In-gong’s eyes met. Caitlin’s fist headed towards In-gong’s head. In-gong moved his upper body and avoided the attack. Like flowing water, In-gong counter-attacked.
Lightning!
As the name suggested, a white flash appeared above Caitlin’s head. Instead of confronting it, Caitlin threw her body back and dodged. She rolled on the floor and In-gong’s back was exposed to her. Green Wind screamed in his ears.
‘Master!’
A dark blue aura was around Caitlin’s fist. However, In-gong didn’t allow her to strike. This is because the wind had informed him.
The explosive power of Divine Beast Authority and the swiftness of Wind Style.
As Caitlin aimed for him, In-gong twisted his body. In the aftermath, his feet moved as he faced Caitlin again and his fist stretched out.
A fierce battle occurred. In-gong had more strength but Caitlin was faster. The two exchanged over 10 attacks as they used all their power as promised.
It was a situation where they would defend as soon as there was an attack.
In-gong’s technique transformed in this situation. Aura exploded in the air as both In-gong and Caitlin had the same idea. This wasn’t a minor blow but a powerful one that both sides prepared. Despite the fierce competition, they couldn’t help laughing as they struck each other.
Explosive Power!
Blue and white mixed together. There was a huge roar as their eyes were momentarily blinded by light.
The earth churned wildly. In-gong smiled as he withdrew his right arm and Caitlin was the same. Just like a wild prey before assaulting the prey, she smiled brightly.
The second stage began.
The two people once again produced a strong aura. Then a giant aura storm rose between the two of them.
It was Chris Moonlight.
He intervened between In-gong and Caitlin with a huge aura that attracted their eyes.
“Divine Beast Authority. But it isn’t Divine Beast Authority. Rather, it has developed into something else. What the hell happened?”
The battle was brief. There weren’t many exchanges.
However, Chris was the successor of Divine Beast Authority so he could see it. The source of the white aura was something other than Divine Beast Authority.
In-gong turned off his aura and took a normal posture. Despite witnessing Chris’ mighty power, he remained calm.
Chris wasn’t an unreachable cliff. He was a mountain that could definitely be climbed.
“Divine Sura Authority.”
In-gong didn’t conceal it. He had a solid alliance with Chris and Caitlin. In order to develop Divine Sura Authority that came from Divine Beast Authority, their help was required in order to master Divine Beast Authority.
“Divine… Sura Authority?”
In-gong nodded at Chris’ question. A vibrant aura flowed in his body as he replied.
“It is a new aura management technique that combines Sura Heart Law and Divine Beast Authority.”
Caitlin’s eyes widened while Chris’ shoulders slumped. They stared at In-gong with bemused expressions.
&
“Ama-zing!”
“Why is Noonim saying this? Shutra is the great one, not Noonim.”
