Chapter 169

Chapter 169 – Chapter 33: Victory

Curtis was a rainy and wet area, with the lizardmen residing in the swamp region . The lizardmen called the swamp area, Kalung Puoga, with many spectacular cities .

As there wasn’t much hard ground to build on, the lizardmen built on the swamps and lakes . It was obvious, but it was impossible to build ordinary buildings on a swamp or lake . Therefore, the buildings in Kalung Puoga had two forms .

One form was a ship . These were buildings in the form of large or small ships . Due to the chains connecting the ships, there was a sense of stability, just like standing on the ground .

The other form was a floating building . It was made by embedding long pillars into the swamp and then building on top of it . It was an ignorant way to use trees, but the area nearby was a forest . There were many giant trees in the forest, so there was no shortage of wood .

Carack walked along a bridge made of little ferry boats . It was a hot and humid area, so his whole body was sweaty . The lizardmen soaking in the swamp greeted Carack . They were the common people of Kalung Puoga, not soldiers of the Demon King’s Palace .

In-gong’s group had arrived in Kalung Puoga this morning, and it was now noon . This was the hottest time of the day, and it truly felt like it . There was no one who wasn’t sweating .

Normally, the trip would take four to five days, but In-gong’s group had made it in just two days . They had heard that In-gong’s group was coming, but the lizardman couldn’t help feeling astonishment and admiration .

“Those from the Demon King’s Palace are truly great . ”

“I think so as well . ”

Carack laughed at the admiration of the lizardmen soldiers who guided them around Kalung Puoga . There was great admiration for the ‘faster than the wind’ method . However, the soldiers who had experienced the ‘faster than the wind’ method for two days felt dislike for it, rather than admiration .

Kalung Puoga consisted of mainly one-storey buildings . Carack crossed a large building and arrived at a room .

“Princess, are you okay?”

Felicia, who was lying down in the middle of the room, replied loudly to Carack’s question,

“Do I look okay?”

“Well, it seems like you have a problem with the heat, rather than exhaustion . ”

Like Carack, Felicia was sweaty . The dark elves’ high-exposure clothes didn’t help in stopping the heat of Kalung Puoga .

“Yes . It seems like you are getting used to this . Have you become stronger?”

“It seems so . ”

She had become strong, but this time it was because In-gong had controlled the pace . There was no urgent reason, so he didn’t feel the need to drain Felicia .

“Carack, please have some of this . ”

The sweating Delia handed out a drink in a large metal cup . It was a cold drink to cool him down .

“Thank you . Everywhere in the swamp is hot . ”

Carack smiled after emptying the cup . Felicia stared at Delia’s red cheeks, wondering when her aide’s tastes had distorted, before asking something else .

“Shutra?”

They had arrived together, but she hadn’t seen him since . Felicia had collapsed as soon as she arrived at the accommodation . Carack replied with a laugh,

“He is talking to the officers . He wanted me to come and check on Princess . It is because Princess is very precious . ”

“Hrmm, hrmm . You say that, but he won’t stop teasing his Noona . ”

Felicia complained while covering her face with a fan . Carack chuckled when he saw her twitching ears .

“Princess’ face is truly bright . Indeed, a smiling face suits Princess better than a grim look . I think that all smiling women are pretty, but Princess seems especially beautiful . ”

The compliments flowed out as naturally as water . The contents weren’t that unusual, but it was important that the speaker was an orc . Felicia smiled with admiration .

“Carack, you really are an orc, right?”

“I am an orc . I don’t know why you keep asking me this . ”

“Carack is special . ”

Delia replied in a soft voice, with a hint of pride mixed in it . Felicia resisted making a comment and changed the topic . A new visitor had come to chat; it was In-gong .

“Huh? You’re here already?”

“The talk ended quicker than expected . ”

In-gong responded, and with the drink Delia handed him, he sat down in a chair situated opposite Felicia .

“How are you?”

“Not bad . What did you talk about?”

In-gong shrugged at Felicia’s question and then said,

“I just listened to the situation of the locals . I also heard some things about Victor hyung . ”

Victor had headed to the northwest two days ago, leading a group of lizardmen . It was his mission to take control of the west while Anastasia recaptured the east . Therefore, there was no chance for In-gong’s party to meet him .

‘Well, there is no reason to encounter him . ’

Victor was truly embarrassed by his work at Curtis, so it would just be uncomfortable meeting him .

‘He is a prince . ’

He was also just as good-looking as Anastasia .

Then while In-gong was still thinking, Felicia asked,

“Is there something special?”

“No . The story is predictable . Victor left because he was embarrassed . ”

“I can imagine . ”

Felicia looked away and shrugged bitterly . It was at this moment that a lizardman, who had been guarding the entrance, entered the room at a quick pace .

“Your Highness . The priest has arrived . She wants to see Prince . ”

His face and voice were quite excited . In-gong cocked his head and asked,

“Priest? From the inner sanctuary?”

“Yes, Your Highness . The priest of the Dragon Temple . ”

Felicia’s eyes shone at the words, ‘Dragon Temple’ . The Dragon Temple was the spiritual home of the lizardmen living in Curtis . The lizardmen, who believed themselves to be the dragon’s descendents, not only admired dragons but also made them objects of their faith . The Dragon Temple was located deep inside the forest and was the headquarters of their faith .

In-gong could understand why the soldier in front of him was excited . According to the lizardmen, the priests, who lived in the Dragon Temple, were closer to being dragons . In other words, they were closer to being nobles, although the meaning was different to what it meant in the Demon King’s Palace .

The lizardmen felt admiration and love toward the priests of the temple . They really believed the priests were superior to them . By default, the priests lived deep in the forest and rarely met ordinary lizardmen . So, the soldier was excited just from having a short conversation with the priest .

Apart from the soldiers, the reason why Felicia was excited was simple . The Dragon Temple was an ancient ruin which had been passed down for thousands of years .

“I’ll meet her right now . ”

Felicia cheered quietly at In-gong’s answer . The soldier also replied with an excited face,

“I understand, Your Highness . I will call the priest here . ”

The soldier exited as quickly as he had entered . It was around half an hour before the soldier returned .

&

In-gong and Felicia sat side-by-side and peered down . The lizardmen had heard rumours the priest was coming, so the they had gathered . 41 people were staring silently with a serious look, so the auditorium felt even hotter .

‘Master, they are coming . ’

Green Wind whispered in his ears suddenly . The priest was wearing a white robe and a hood over her head . She stepped before In-gong and Felicia, then she took off her hood slowly in an elegant motion .

At that moment, the whole room was filled with silent admiration .

The priest was a woman . Unlike the other lizardmen with dark green or blue scales, she had very beautiful silver scales . The shape of her face was very neat, and the blue eyes felt soft and powerful . Despite being a different species, In-gong still thought she was pretty .

The reaction of the lizardmen was more intense . In their own terms, her beauty was truly devastating .

‘Is she roughly in the same class as Anastasia and Felicia?’

He saw Felicia every day, so he had become accustomed to it . However, she was a tremendous beauty .

In-gong recalled Anastasia, who had used the succubus attraction, before shaking his head . Anastasia was certainly incredibly charming at that time, but this was different . She couldn’t be compared to the pure priest in front of him .

In-gong recalled Green Wind’s sacred expression and Caitlin’s bright smile; the priest was similar to that . The lizardman priest bowed to In-gong’s party .

“This humble girl greets Drakon Kechatulla, the great dragon warrior . ”

Her voice was like rolling jade, and the lizardmen in the auditorium were thrilled, like fans seeing an idol singer . In-gong was worried they would faint . Felicia responded with a wide smile,

“I am 6th Princess Felicia . This is 9th Prince Shutra . It is good to meet you . ”

“Thank you for your warm welcome . This girl is Moriyu . ”

The priest revealed her name to In-gong and Felicia . This time, In-gong was the one who asked a question,

“Moriyu, why did you come to see me?”

“Great Dragon Warrior, the high priest wants to see the dragon warrior . Please visit the Dragon Temple . ”

The lizardmen in the auditorium let out sounds of admiration . This time it wasn’t due to Moriyu’s beauty . The Dragon Temple in the forest was a closed off place . They had never imagined someone would be invited there directly . Even Victor hadn’t been invited to the Dragon Temple .

When they thought about it, that wasn’t the only surprising thing . Moriyu showed up exactly on the day that In-gong had arrived at Kalung Puoga . This was despite the fact that In-gong’s group had shortened the usual schedule by three days .

Was there an oracle?

Felicia pulled In-gong’s arms slightly . She looked quite calm, but that was just on the surface . Her two eyes staring at In-gong had a strong desire to run to the Dragon Temple right now .

‘Quickly! Yes? Quickly!’

Felicia’s voice rang only in his ears . In-gong nodded and looked back at Moriyu . In-gong wanted to visit the Dragon Temple too . After all, he had come to Kalung Puoga in order to find out the story of the warrior Drakon Kechatulla .

“Thank you for the invitation . I will make the visit . ”

“Thank you for your response . This girl will guide you . ”

Moriyu answered with a sincere voice before bowing to In-gong . He could feel clearly the sadness of the surrounding lizardmen .

Two hours later, In-gong left Kalung Puoga and headed to the Dragon Temple .

&

Everything inside the forest was still huge .

The towering trees reminded him of buildings, and the bugs were still horrible . The carnivorous plants and wild beasts didn’t change . They hid in the natural environment of the forest and sought a chance to eat .

The weather was hot and humid . It was much more humid than the large forest near the Gullam village, and there were also deep swamps and lakes .

The most terrible thing was that the journey was long . Unlike the exploration with the Gullam hunters which had lasted just two days, they had to travel for three days this time . The Dragon Temple was located deep in the forest, and In-gong was able to see why the priests lived a closed off life . The temple itself was so remote that it was naturally isolated from the outside world .

Despite all these problems, the journey with the lizardmen was quite pleasant .

There were few attacks . In-gong’s party didn’t move on foot . Moriyu brought some dragon-like creatures from the Dragon Temple, and they were huge like the creatures in the forest . There were animals resembling Tyrannosauruses and Triceratops lined up, so the beasts of the forest didn’t appear .

There were also quite a few lizardmen escorting In-gong’s group . Altogether, there were 60 escorts, who all had a strong desire to visit the Dragon Temple . Thanks to the special incense of the lizardmen, there were no flying insects around them . The most exciting thing was the lizardmen’s traditional clothes to help with the heat .

“Strange . ”

In-gong looked at himself with a surprised expression . In-gong was dressed completely different than usual . He was wearing only short pants, with gold ornaments decorating his body . However, he wasn’t cooled just by taking off his clothes . The ornaments created a comfortable environment using magic . Even in this humid weather, Moriyu was able to wear her hood thanks to magic .

“Still, I feel strangely ashamed in this outfit . ”

Felicia looked at herself with a slight frown . She was dressed in a similar manner to In-gong . However, her style was slightly different from In-gong’s . Felicia’s gold ornaments overlapped with each other to look like clothes . Therefore, her waist and thighs were exposed, but her shoulders and arms weren’t .

In-gong didn’t see it as any different from Felicia’s usual clothes, but she thought differently .

“Prince, stop looking . Princess is shy . ”

Carack laughed while shaking the gold ornaments that he too was wearing . Delia and Karma, who were dressed in a similar manner to Felicia, were ashamed . When looking at Delia’s thighs and Carack’s biceps, In-gong thought that this style suited Carack the best .

Then the fourth day passed . Felicia was now accustomed to the new outfit and felt no shame as she gazed at a distant place . She was filled with awe .

Beyond the swamp was a giant lake, and the lake was shining with the bright blue from the sky . However, the real surprise was something else . There was a huge building floating in the air above the surface of the lake . It was a large and beautiful palace with a rounded roof . There was no rain, yet there were several rainbows .

“Beautiful . ”

Felicia cried out . In-gong nodded with agreement .

It was the Dragon Temple, the lizardmen’s spiritual home .

In-gong felt his dragon heart respond . The heart was throbbing .