Chapter 161 – Chapter 31: Overwhelming #2

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.