Chapter 177 – Chapter 35: Battle #4

In-gong gulped. If it was as he thought… that meant the illness of the demon king had worsened, and he had collapsed.

‘So fast.’

In Knight Saga, the worsening of the demon king’s illness and the cancellation of the court gathering had occurred in Year 516. It was currently Year 513, so it should’ve occurred three years in the future. However, he couldn’t deny it. Things had already changed quite a bit from Knight Saga. Just looking at Zephyr, he was much stronger now compared to how he had been in Knight Saga.

‘The court gatherings haven’t been abolished yet.’

It had been cancelled just once. There was currently no need to assign a substitution like the demon king had done in Year 517.

“Shutra? Have you guessed something?”

Felicia asked suddenly. It was because In-gong was thinking with a very serious expression on his face.

All gazes shifted toward In-gong, who shook his head hurriedly.

“No, no. I don’t know.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. The cancellation of the court gathering might not be because of the demon king’s illness. Maybe it was something else which In-gong didn’t know.

‘I’d rather be wrong.’

The demon king had to stay alive. The longer his reign was, the more time In-gong had to prepare.

“Did something happen to Abamama?”

Felicia said in an uneasy voice. Just like how 3rd Queen Sylvia truly loved the demon king, Felicia loved her father as well. They really were a loving family.

“It can’t be.”

Chris denied the possibility immediately. It wasn’t simply because he didn’t want to hear such ominous words. It was because he couldn’t imagine a situation where anything was wrong with the demon king. For the children of the demon king, the demon king was an absolute being.

In-gong looked at other possibilities. Maybe it was a problem with the queens, not the demon king, which caused the court gathering to be cancelled. However, the possibility of that was low. From the beginning, the queens weren’t essential for the court gatherings.

‘Is it truly the demon king’s sickness?’

The moment that he thought so…

A heavy wind blew past. Everyone, including In-gong, turned reflexively. There was a strong presence they couldn’t resist. The sword duke was on the terrace, but it wasn’t like when he had showed up two days ago. The sword duke’s face was blank.

Silvan opened his mouth, but he couldn’t speak. Chris was the same. The strong aura of the sword duke dominated the surrounding area completely.

“Prince, you have to go somewhere with me right now. This isn’t an offer but a command of the demon king.”

The sword duke ordered. The children of the demon king gulped at the sword duke’s brief speech. Where was he going? And why did the sword duke look so serious? Was it related to why the court gathering had been cancelled?

“I understand.”

In-gong replied calmly. At that moment, Felicia tried to take a step toward In-gong, in order to go with him as always. However, the sword duke didn’t allow it. He instantly stopped everyone’s movements, including Felicia. Felicia couldn’t breathe. It felt like she was frozen by something. They were caught in the absolute power of the sword duke.

“It is only 9th Prince.”

The declaration was like an absolute rule. Felicia gasped for breath, while Caitlin and Chris couldn’t say anything. Silvan clenched his teeth and staggered toward Felicia. The sword duke was no longer looking at the children of the demon king. He only looked at In-gong as he spoke,

“Prince, excuse me for a moment.”

The sword duke moved in front of In-gong instantly and raised a hand to his shoulder. In-gong accepted the sword duke’s hand instead of resisting. He looked back at the restrained Carack before taking a deep breath.

Once again, a heavy wind blew past. No, it was better to say that wind was broken.

The sword duke’s technique transcended imagination. As he held onto In-gong’s shoulder, he crossed a vast distance in one step. The sword duke only stopped when they arrived at a transportation formation.

In-gong reflexively used the mini-map to check his location. They seemed to be near the Black Castle. The sword duke didn’t explain as he triggered the transportation formation. Instead of asking, In-gong followed the sword duke onto the transportation formation.

The place where they arrived was inside a cave. It was an artificially enlarged natural cave, with a sura boy and girl standing in front of the transportation formation.

The sura boy and girl, dressed in the same clothes as the sword duke, were surprised to see In-gong next to the sword duke. However, that only lasted for a moment. They started speaking to the sword duke with desperate expressions. At first, In-gong couldn’t understand, but he soon realized. It was the sura’s native language.

‘Is the Holy Land in danger?’

Was this the sura’s sanctuary? The sword duke interrupted the boy’s story. He looked at In-gong and said,

“Prince, you will now be entering the Holy Land. It can also be called the Sanctuary.”

“Is this the sanctuary of the sura?”

The sword duke had mentioned earlier that his residence was the Sanctuary. In that case, did the sura have a problem? Perhaps the cancellation of the court gathering had something to do with the sura.

“There is no time. I will explain while moving.”

The sword duke turned around and started to run. It was fast because they were moving a long distance, but it wasn’t like when he moved at the Demon King’s Palace. In-gong hurriedly caught up with the sword duke using Protection of the Wind. The sword duke watched In-gong closely before smiling and explaining,

‘It is true that the place where I stay is the sanctuary of the sura. But it isn’t just a sanctuary for the sura. It can be called the sanctuary of the whole Demon World.’

The sword duke’s voice was directly conveyed into In-gong’s head. It was a technique using aura, not message magic.

[Trill Lv1 has been learnt.]

He was happy to learn an unexpected skill, but now wasn’t the time to look at it.

‘My mission is to protect the Sanctuary. It is a lifelong task inherited from my master.’

The Sanctuary had been protected for generations. The sword duke continued to speak,

‘Very few people know the location of the Sanctuary. Only a few of the queens and captains know the location. Even they don’t know the true role of the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary isn’t simply the home of the sura.’

The reason for the Sanctuary’s location being known to some was to prepare for possible attacks. However, according to the sword duke’s words, it wasn’t just for that. From the beginning, the Sanctuary had been a shield to cover something else.

The sword duke briefly stopped talking there. He then changed the topic instead of explaining the true role of the Sanctuary.

‘The Sanctuary is now under attack. Prince will fight with me.’

There was always a reason for the demon king’s actions. He didn’t order the 9th Prince to go somewhere for no reason. The sword duke ran along a snowy field with In-gong. Snowy mountains rose like a wall in the distance. In-gong opened the mini-map, but he couldn’t figure out his exact location. Even if the scale was increased as much as possible, only the snowy field could be seen.

“Prince, do you remember what I said before? The Demon King’s Palace has always faced challenges.”

The sword duke said abruptly. At that moment, In-gong felt the wind disappear. The snowy field he had been running on suddenly changed to grassland. In-gong realized that he had just passed through a ward. In-gong’s gaze moved to a place far away. At the far end, a huge silver tower in the shape of a dome could be seen. Additionally, a fight was about to start on both sides.

“This is one of those challenges. A pretty big challenge.”

The sword duke growled. In-gong gulped as he concentrated aura on both eyes and looked at the battlefield. He saw a familiar sight.

‘Creature Abseltur!’

He was a formidable adversary which In-gong had always encountered when playing the role of Locke in Knight Saga. Abseultur took on the appearance of a dark elf, instead of a huge creature, and was sitting on a carriage pulled by two chimeras. On his left and right, there were hundreds of blood warriors who seemed to come from hell.

‘It isn’t just Abseltur.’

In the opposite direction was Arch Lich Shutenberg. He was the creator of Zephyr’s subordinate, Sektum, and as an undead commander, he was more difficult than Abseltur in many ways. In-gong took a deep breath. He felt a fighting spirit instead of fear. The sword duke was here, and In-gong was much stronger than he had been in Evian.

‘Master! The enemy!’

Green Wind exclaimed suddenly. In-gong looked up to see birds the size of a human body staring at him from the air. It seemed like they were Abseltur’s scouts which he had spread all over the battlefield.This was just before the battle, but there was still a considerable distance to the battlefield. In-gong sent White Eagle after them. He couldn’t allow their position to be exposed.

White Eagle shot forward and took care of the low-grade creatures in an instant. It was at this moment that…

[Your level has risen.]

“Eh?”

In-gong cried out unintentionally. He had gained a lot of experience from defeating Berkintox and Artman, so he had expected to level up sooner or later. However, he didn’t think it would happen just before a fight like this.

However, In-gong felt glad. Levelling up was always useful. Moreover, this level up had a different meaning.

‘Level 40!’

He could upgrade an existing occupation or obtain a new secondary occupation! Confronted with such strong enemies, it really was appropriate timing.

[You are at the junction of growth. Please select one of the following two paths.]

[Species Change: Dragon]

[Ancestral Regression: Divine Humanoid Gandharva]

The female voice rang out as letters of light appeared in front of him. It was an option for species selection, not occupation.

‘Divine Humanoid Gandharva? ‘

According to legend, the Eight Legions were divine beings living in the heavens. It was highly likely he would awaken that divine power due to ancestral regression. In-gong didn’t think about it for long. He didn’t have time to worry, but it also wasn’t a matter to worry about in the first place.

He was arguably already a half-dragon. So, In-gong didn’t feel the need to change his species to a dragon.

[You have chosen Ancestral Regression: Divine Humanoid Gandharva.]

[Ancestral regression has started.]

The clear voice was cut off. Simultaneously, a white light whirled around In-gong’s body. This white light couldn’t be compared to the light of blessing which appeared every time he levelled up.

“Prince?!”

The sword duke, who had been staring at Abseltur and Lich Shutenberg, let out a confused sound. It wasn’t because Shutra was suddenly surrounded by a white light. The sword duke recalled the moment when Divine Sura Authority had been born. It felt like that time… It was a nice and creepy feeling which sent a shiver down his spine.

In the midst of the light, In-gong shrieked soundlessly. His whole body was hot, and a terrible pain seemed to be tearing his body apart as his head turned white. Green Wind shouted. Then he could hear the voice of the white woman.

In-gong forgot about the flow of time. He raised his head and roared loudly. The white light covering In-gong’s entire body shot up into the sky.

[Four Heavenly Kings: Dhrtarastra Spirit has been acquired.]

[Heavenly Wine Lv1 has been learnt.]

[Divine Scent Lv1 has been learnt.]

[Pheromones Lv1 has been learnt.]

[Divinity Lv1 has been learnt.]

[The level of divine power has risen.]

[The level of divine power has risen.]

[The level of divine power has risen.]

[Protagonist Correction is activated.]

[Protagonist Body is activated.]

[The divine power of the last flame and the divine power of the Four Heavenly Kings have become one.]

[The level of Divinity has risen.]

One of the Four Heavenly Kings, the deity of the gandharva who protected the east… His blood flowed through In-gong’s body. In-gong opened his eyes slowly. He didn’t need to check his status window.

All his gandharva attributes had been strengthened. In-gong had been reborn as a divine humanoid with his own divinity.

Conquest and Protagonist Body had joined forces. The divine power of the last flame and one of the Four Heavenly Kings had been combined to create a sacred white flame.

‘Master! Are you okay? Master has changed! You have become divine! A-and… more handsome?’

In-gong smiled at Green Wind’s admiration. He mounted White Eagle on his left arm and looked in front of him.

The sword duke stared at In-gong before laughing. Instead of asking what happened, he just noticed that In-gong had become stronger.

“Prince, I will entrust the east to you.”

The sword duke raced toward the west where Lich Shutenberg was. A number of senior undead were guarding Shutenberg, but they were nothing against the sword duke. So, there was no need to worry.

In-gong stared in the direction of Creature Abseltur. Some of the blood warriors around Abseltur noticed the abnormality and turned to this side. As In-gong closed his eyes before opening them again, the half-solid Green Wind appeared beside him.

‘Master.’

Green Wind said, and In-gong nodded. Rather than taking out the flag of light, he raised his hand to Green Wind. She was imbued with the power of Conquest.

‘Apostle Appointment, Green Wind.’

The white light surrounded Green Wind, and her power was increased by several times.

The small reindeer horns on Green Wind’s head grew much bigger. Her green hair was lengthened, and instead of clothes made of leaves and stems, she was wearing a white dress of light. The Conquest Coat of Arms on her forehead was clear.

The divine power around her was more than what he had felt when he first encountered her on Enger Plains. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call Green Wind a goddess of the wind.

‘Master.’

Green Wind kissed In-gong’s lips. After giving him a high class blessing and smiling shyly, she became the wind. In addition to White Eagle, she too stayed beside In-gong.

In-gong took a deep breath, then he rushed toward Abseltur’s army.