Chapter 134 – Chapter 23: Cross #4

Evian’s winter wasn’t far away. Due to the influence of the limit line, the closer to the east it was, the colder the air would be.

The fourth base was a mess. The barbarians hadn’t repaired the fourth base after occupying it because they hadn’t intended on staying for long. The walls were collapsed, and the smashed gate was literally on the ground. The moment the fourth base had been taken, the supplies warehouse had been burnt by the leader, so it was full of ashes. Nothing else could be found.

It would have been great to see snow. There were no clouds in the sky, and the blowing wind was as cold and sharp as an ice blade.

In-gong and Vandal left the base. There were many people who wanted to see the fight between the two, however, it wasn’t meant to be a spectacle in the first place. Moreover, the struggle could destroy the already shattered base. It was no exaggeration to say the strength of an advanced general was a moving disaster.

The soldiers climbed up onto the walls and watched from a distance. Only the 9th Prince’s aide and the party of the princesses were allowed to accompany In-gong and Vandal.

In-gong and Vandal stood facing each other in the wilderness. Evian was a wilderness, so it wasn’t necessary to choose a battlefield.

Felicia, who had been anxious on the walk here, was at a loss. It was because General Vandal was fully armed, like this was a battle.

“Excuse me, General Vandal. Is this really necessary?”

Felicia asked in a strident voice as she looked nervously at Vandal, who seemed bigger than normal. Her eyes were shaken.

Vandal liked Felicia. She was an upright person, so he wasn’t going to lie to give her comfort.

“I have to do my best.”

Vandal said softly as he stared in front of him. 20 meters away, Caitlin was standing beside In-gong with an anxious expression akin Felicia’s.

“Do you really not need my help?”

She didn’t mean for them to fight together. Caitlin was asking him to take advantage of the penta-core.

In-gong shook his head. The penta-core was certainly a great force, but it couldn’t be established without Caitlin’s help. It didn’t fit in a fight against Vandal.

“It’s okay, this is a confrontation between Vandal and me.”

It was a confrontation between only two people. If he was the In-gong who had encountered the orcs in the dwarf cave, he would have avoided the fight, rather than fight alone. When did he become so brave?

‘It is because I have to become the demon king.’

He needed to become a person suitable for that position.

In-gong smiled as he thought about it. Then In-gong heard a voice, which was just as restless as Caitlin’s, in his ears,

‘Master, I can’t understand it. I am Master’s.’

White Eagle and Black Eagle wouldn’t be used. In-gong had Black Eagle removed, and only attached White Eagle lightly to his arm. In-gong refused to have Green Wind’s help. She wasn’t a tool like Earth Quaker or Night Watch, and In-gong wanted to fight by himself.

Green Wind was grouchy from In-gong’s attitude and joined Caitlin. In-gong appreciated the worries of the two people, so he couldn’t help giving a small smile.

Carack didn’t mutter any words. He just stood far away and gazed at In-gong with calm and trusting eyes.

Felicia moved back so that only In-gong and Vandal were left. Vandal grinned awkwardly as he held the handle of a large battle hammer.

“I predicted you would be strong, but I didn’t think it would happen within a few months.”

In-gong recalled their first meeting. At that time, In-gong had found it hard to deal with Villager A, let alone an orc. However, it was different now. Everything had changed.

“Isn’t this good?”

In-gong mock shrugged, while Vandal laughed silently.

In-gong’s growth was abnormal. It was even a surprise for Felicia, even though she knew the facts such as the dragon heart and Moonlight Core.

Vandal didn’t know about such processes, but he didn’t question it. He had already made up his mind.

“On that day, I was ready to die. Then Prince appeared in front of me.”

Vandal had been caught by the pursuing barbarians. He had prepared for the end and dug deep into enemy territory. Vandal was about to say something, then he shook his head. Instead of clumsy words, he said,

“I don’t know if you are possessed by a ghost. Anyway, I am unfamiliar with expressing my feelings with long words. I am grateful for your time.”

Vandal raised his battle hammer. The steel-like muscles, revealed between the partial armour, swelled significantly.

In-gong closed his eyes and refined his breathing. He formed fists and said lightly,

“Shall we start?”

“Let’s get started.”

The next conversation would be with their fists.

Vandal poured his battle cry into the sky. Instead of feeling fear, In-gong stood against the battle cry which seemed to rock the heavens and the earth. He released his breath and activated all the things he had prepared.

The buff spells he had learnt from Green Wind, Felicia and Daphne wound around In-gong’s body, and sacred green flames rose from the Dragon Scale Greaves.

Then his aura hearts…

His aura revolved around the dragon heart and his two other hearts. The triple core swelled and produced a strong aura flow.

However, that wasn’t all.

A dragon heart wasn’t a heart with simple aura. The dragon heart—the symbol of a dragon—could be called a dragon’s essence. Powerful magic power sprang from the dragon heart. Separate from aura, it shone green as Ainkel’s symbol, and the dragon heart revolved aura and magic power.

The effect was like a quad-core. Then one last thing was added, and the power of a dragon was pushed to the utmost limit.

‘Dragon Blood.’

Not just the dragon heart, but all three of In-gong’s artifacts responded. Earth Quaker growled angrily while emitting a red and yellow glow.

It was really a huge power. Faced with In-gong’s fearsome momentum, Vandal just laughed wildly and lifted his battle hammer.

Felicia’s eyes closed tightly like she couldn’t watch anymore, while Caitlin and Green Wind held hands.

Carack just laughed. As In-gong and Vandal rushed at each other, Carack spoke in a quiet voice,

“Win.”

He didn’t say anything more. Carack then formed a fist and gazed at In-gong. He remembered the moment when he had shouted, ‘Faster than the wind!’.

Finally, In-gong and Vandal clashed, and the roar shook the heavens and the earth.

&

In-gong spread out on the ground. His flaccid limbs spread out like a squid, but he didn’t feel like moving. No, it didn’t make sense.

In-gong was lying in a tent which was set up in the middle of the fourth base. Carack was sitting next to him.

“So, why did you act so recklessly.”

Carack clicked his tongue and covered In-gong with a blanket. In-gong moaned and said,

“Victory. I wanted to win.”

He hadn’t expected to level up. Although he defeated Vandal, it wasn’t reflected properly in the experience.

Carack clicked his tongue again. Even now, he could see In-gong’s last reckless attack when he closed his eyes.

Surprisingly, In-gong had allowed Vandal to strike him, and he hadn’t avoided it. In order to counterattack, In-gong had taken the brunt of Vandal’s attack.

Even more surprisingly, he had managed to endure it. The magic shield and aura barrier he created had been shattered with a loud sound, but he had been able to withstand Vandal’s left fist. Then In-gong had dealt the final blow on Vandal and won.

In the dream the Lucid Dream Pillow created, In-gong had experienced 32 deaths, and In-gong learnt many things from those deaths.

So far, In-gong had poured most of his additional points into strength. However, this time he spent a lot of points on durability as well as practicing a one-point aura defense.

For In-gong, the thing he was lacking most in was defense. He couldn’t rely solely on Green Wind to steer White Eagle. He didn’t forget that he had been driven to the brink of death by a single strike from the barbarian king.

He would have invested in agility, but this wasn’t a game. To In-gong, this was all reality.

Vandal was a rather arduous opponent for In-gong. In order to win against such an opponent, he needed to gamble. In-gong strengthened his weakness and endured Vandal’s hit instead of evading.

The result was a great success.

Moreover, it wasn’t just his defense. He had done it without activating the quad-core he shared with Caitlin. It was a true blend of aura and magic. It was still incomplete, but he was sure the direction he was moving in wasn’t wrong. It was in the distant future, but he would someday be able to add divine power and psychic power as well.

“Your eyes are burning with ambition again.”

Carack laughed at In-gong.

“It is that obvious?”

“It is obvious. It is just burning.”

Carack said with a smirk before looking at In-gong’s condition again. Thanks to Felicia using recovery magic while she cried, In-gong’s injuries were already better. The problem was the excessive use of aura and the exhaustion of his spirit.

It was at that moment that Carack got up suddenly. He looked at someone large who was approaching from a distance.

“Prince, it is General Vandal.”

In-gong also saw Vandal in the mini-map. Dressed in leather pants, Vandal entered into In-gong’s tent and sat down next to the entrance.

“Prince.”

“You came.”

In-gong was lying down. Looking at their appearances, Vandal was the winner and In-gong was the loser.

However, In-gong was the victor of the battle. Vandal touched his belly and said.

“That was a nice blow. My stomach hurts even now.”

“My whole body is hurting.”

Vandal laughed at In-gong’s words. Then he looked In-gong up and down and said,

“As Prince knows, I am an advanced general of the Demon King’s Palace. It is a position that I can’t just leave.”

The ten advanced generals of the Demon King’s Palace were pillars which maintained the army. It wasn’t a place that just anyone could rise to or simply quit after having attained it.

“But if Prince ever calls, I will run to Prince.”

Vandal said in a gentle voice, before turning his head and coughing suddenly.

“Really. I’ve never spoken like this to anyone, even females.”

Carack refrained from laughing, while In-gong smiled calmly and waited for Vandal’s next words.

Vandal sighed and looked back at In-gong.

“But I have to say it. I want to fight with Prince. I want to run behind Prince once more.”

It wasn’t just because In-gong had won against Vandal. Vandal had already had the idea before today’s spar.

“On that day… I thought so when I saw Prince’s back. I decided so.”

That day, he had been ready to die. Then at that moment, he saw the back of a king.

“It is tricky. Will this be enough?”

Vandal turned his attention to In-gong, who understood Vandal’s thoughts. In-gong forced his body upwards and said,

“It is more than enough. Then, I will appoint you.”

Carack helped In-gong stand in front of Vandal, who naturally bowed to In-gong. Due to his size, Vandal was still eye-level with In-gong, but that didn’t matter.

In-gong stretched out his hands toward Vandal…

And Vandal was appointed as the fifth knight.

&

Zephyr raised his head and looked toward the south-east. He felt a pain in his heart, but it was just a short pain.

There was a hellish scene before Zephyr. Hundreds of bodies were on the ground, and the bodies were all destroyed.

Zephyr felt the movement of magic power. It was a magic which insulted the living and harassed the dead. Even shattered body parts were joined together again.

All of it was flowing from the heart of one man on the ground. The man, whose legs had been cut off by Zephyr, was still breathing naturally.

Necromancer Sektum…

The name was unknown, but Zephyr wasn’t stupid enough to miss the jewel before him.

Zephyr stood in front of Sektum, who had pale blonde hair and a pale face. Sektum’s blue eyes were filled with horror and terror toward Zephyr.

Zephyr stabbed a knife each in both of Sektum’s shoulders. Then he forcefully inscribed the subordinate magic on the forehead of Sektum, who thrashed and moaned with pain. It was a somewhat rough method, but it couldn’t be helped since he had no time.

After completely subduing Sektum, Zephyr looked toward the north. He could feel gazes looking at him from ridiculously far away.

Death and War…

There were things which could not be expressed.

Zephyr raised his sword and filled it with magic power. He blocked the eyes which were looking at him from a distance and lifted Sektum with telekinesis.

Once again, he looked toward the south-east.