Chapter 177

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 .