Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The King's Power
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“My seemingly permanent temporary master! We must find a way!”
Green Wind leaped to her feet and shouted. She was so agitated that a gale raged around her. Her upturned green hair blazed like a flame.
Startled, Juingong also stood, holding out his hands and saying whatever came to mind.
“Whoa, whoa! Just calm down.”
“Understood.”
Green Wind replied instantly, and just as she said, she quelled the wind and sat down. Feeling strangely deflated, Juingong cleared his throat a few times before asking her a question.
“Green Wind, what exactly is your current state?”
Everything Juingong had conquered until now had either been inanimate or incapable of speech. As a result, he himself couldn't quite grasp what it meant to have ‘conquered Green Wind.’
Green Wind looked up at Juingong with eyes as clear as a doe’s and spoke in a natural tone.
“I am yours. Therefore, I obey you. You may do with me as you please.”
Green Wind said it casually, but for Juingong, hearing it was a different matter. This time, it was he who needed a moment to calm down.
“Just a moment.”
Ignoring Green Wind, who tilted her head in confusion, Juingong turned to face the tree trunk and took slow, deep breaths to regain his composure.
“Okay. Let’s talk again. In any case, are you experiencing any discomfort from being dominated by me? Or any changes?”
“If you are asking about my abilities or condition, there are none. I still exist here as Green Wind, the nature spirit.”
Having said that, Green Wind stood up again, gesturing to herself as she spoke.
“My master, if I disappear, the Anger Plains will lose their verdure. I am a being akin to a symbol of the life magic that Watcher Ainkel cast upon these plains.”
Watcher Ainkel cast two great spells upon the Anger Plains.
One was the magic of life, which transformed the once-desert plains into grasslands, and the other was the magic of protection, meant to defend the Anger Plains, just as Juingong activated today.
Having been reborn as a nature spirit and becoming a separate entity from Ainkel, Green Wind had almost no connection to the magic of protection, but it was a different story with the magic of life.
After protecting the verdure of the Anger Plains for so long, she had developed a deep connection to the magic of life, which could be called the source of that verdure. One could even say she was the largest cog in a precisely running machine.
The very reason that she, a great spirit, had focused on assisting Juingong instead of directly fighting the northern monsters was that she was pouring most of her power into the magic of life.
After hearing all of Green Wind’s explanation, Juingong proposed the simplest solution.
“Hmm, okay. Then couldn’t you just stay here on the Anger Plains, Green Wind? There’s no need for you to leave with me.”
He had left The Anvil that Births Thunder where it was, and nothing particularly bad had happened. Juingong had no intention of taking Green Wind with him if it meant turning the Anger Plains back into a desert.
But Green Wind was greatly flustered by his words, her expression becoming like that of someone who had lost their country as she spoke.
“Master, are you saying you will abandon me and leave?”
He felt like if he nodded here, he’d become a real villain. To think ‘leaving you behind’ would be interpreted as ‘abandoning you.’
“Uh… wait. Do you want to come with me, Green Wind?”
To Juingong’s question, Green Wind answered decisively, as if there was nothing to even think about.
“Whether it becomes permanent or remains temporary is unknown, but you are my master. It is only natural that we be together.”
It wasn't a matter of preference. From the beginning, the option of acting separately from Juingong did not exist for her.
‘Come to think of it… is this like a contract with a spirit?’
Juingong took another look at Green Wind. Though she had the form of a beautiful woman, she was not human but a nature spirit. As her name suggested, she could command the wind, so he figured he could think of her as a wind spirit.
‘Fine, it’s not like it’s a bad thing to have her along. If anything, it’s a good thing.’
She had been a great help in today’s battle. From Juingong’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.
‘Then all that’s left is to solve the problem.’
After a moment of thought, Juingong sat down next to Green Wind and asked.
“You said earlier that you’re like a symbol of the great magic of the Anger Plains, right?”
“I did.”
“Then is it not possible to create a replacement?”
It was simply a matter of inserting a new cog into the gap left by Green Wind’s absence.
At Juingong’s idea, Green Wind’s face went blank, but she soon began to consider it seriously. It seemed she had never even considered the thought of creating something to replace herself.
‘Though, it’d be stranger if she had.’
Moreover, she was the guardian spirit of the Anger Plains. Maintaining the plains’ verdure was her raison d'être, so it was only natural she wouldn’t have thought of it.
How much time passed? After long deliberation, Green Wind’s eyebrows furrowed into a figure eight as she spoke.
“It seems possible. But if I do that, I will not be of much help to you for a while, Master. This is because I would have to leave almost all of my power behind in the Anger Plains. If I remain with you, I will recover my strength someday… but I cannot say how long that will take.”
It was a little disappointing, but it was within the scope of what he had expected, so Juingong nodded.
“Then let’s do that.”
“It saddens me to feel as if I’m being handled so carelessly, but I understand. I will do as you wish, Master.”
Then, as if she were truly sulking, she pressed her lips together firmly.
Juingong couldn't help but smile as he asked.
“Will it take long?”
“I cannot say for certain, as this is the first time I have done such a thing. I expect it will take about three to four days.”
He needed time to deal with the aftermath of this incident anyway. He had to hunt down Cassius’s fleeing group and the Drake Ogres, and he also had to decide how to manage the small temple where the protection magic had been activated.
‘If things go well, someone new might even come from the Demon King’s Castle.’
When he had secured The Anvil that Births Thunder, the dark elves who had come down to explore the ruins were there, but this time, there was no one. It was highly likely that the Demon King’s Castle would dispatch a specialist in ruin management.
Juingong stood with his arms crossed, thinking about who the Demon King’s Castle might send. He didn’t know everyone there, but he could recall the general profiles of most of the competent individuals.
But his thoughts did not continue for long. Green Wind, who had been sitting quietly and watching him, reminded him of their original purpose.
“You said there were things you wished to ask me. I am ready to share in your questions.”
After all, that was the reason he hadn't gone to sleep at this late hour.
Before beginning his questions, Juingong gazed at Green Wind’s face for a moment. Though she had been reborn as a nature spirit, her essence was a fragment of Watcher Ainkel. The mystical eyes set within her beautiful, virtuous face reminded him of the Ainkel he had seen in his vision.
“When and how did Ainkel die?”
To the question that had slipped out unconsciously, Green Wind replied with a lonely smile.
“I am a fragment. Furthermore, as a being reborn as a nature spirit, I do not possess many of Ainkel’s memories. But I do remember one thing: she was murdered about a thousand years ago.”
One of the six Elder Dragons, said to possess power like that of a god, had been murdered.
It was truly a shocking story, yet it was easy to accept. In fact, it would have felt more out of place if those great beings had simply died of old age.
“I do not remember who murdered Watcher Ainkel. But I am certain it was not another Elder Dragon.”
Then who could it be? Who on earth could have murdered an Elder Dragon, said to possess the power of a god?
Juingong dismissed the question. If Green Wind remembered nothing more, there was no point in pondering it. Besides, it was a story from a thousand years ago.
“Is that all you wish to know?”
“No, I have two more questions.”
“Is that so. By the way, Master, please speak comfortably. It might be one thing if this were temporary, but now that the possibility of it being permanent has increased, it is uncomfortable for you, my master, to speak to me with such formality.”
Green Wind was earnest in strange ways. A spark of mischief lit up in Juingong, and he asked with a smile.
“Alright. I’ll do that. Then from now on, are you going to speak formally to me, Green Wind?”
“What is your question, Master?”
Green Wind casually ignored his words with a placid expression. Finding her reaction quite cute, Juingong decided not to press the issue and got back to the main topic.
“As you know, Green Wind, I’ve become Ainkel’s successor. A portion of her power flows through my body.”
“That is correct. The power of an Elder Dragon resides in your body and soul.”
A Draconian. A body capable of accepting a dragon’s magic.
This time, he had used nearly all of Ainkel’s magic to remodel his body and soul, but if he were to find another of her fragments in the future, he should be able to absorb its power completely.
But Juingong didn’t stop there; he thought beyond that.
“In that case… could I contain the powers of other Elder Dragons besides Ainkel within me?”
There were six Elder Dragons, not just one.
Of course, not all of them would have left behind fragments like Ainkel. But it was highly likely that armaments imbued with the Elder Dragons’ power, like Earthquaker, existed.
‘Or I might be able to receive a portion of their power from an Elder Dragon directly, just as Quian did for the Hero Locke.’
Earthquaker had revealed a part of its true form in reaction to Ainkel’s power. What would happen if he gathered the armaments or powers of the six dragons and created a synergy effect?
At Juingong’s question, Green Wind gave a gentle smile.
“Normally, it would be impossible. But for you, Master, I believe it is possible.”
Juingong tilted his head as if to ask what she meant. Green Wind placed her hand over his right hand as she explained.
“The powers of Watcher Ainkel and the great Enkidu are fundamentally incompatible. Thus, they cannot coexist. And yet, you wield both. If you, Master, can handle the conflicting powers of Ainkel and Enkidu in harmony, then you should be able to use the powers of the other Elder Dragons together as well.”
Stimulating Ainkel’s magic with Enkidu’s to activate a spell was possible even in normal cases. In fact, because they were incompatible, the stimulation itself was rather easy.
But what Juingong had done—wielding the power of Enkidu contained within Earthquaker using Ainkel’s magic—was impossible. It was tantamount to strengthening a water spirit with a fire spirit.
Why was such a thing possible for Juingong?
‘Because my class is ‘Protagonist’?’
Protagonist’s Correction and Protagonist’s Body. And on top of that, the power of Conquest.
It felt strange, but it was hard to find a more convincing reason.
‘Good, so it’s possible, then.’
Then he would gather the powers of the six Elder Dragons into one. With their god-like power, he could surely surpass both Zephyr and the Hero Locke.
“Your eyes are burning with ambition, Master.”
Green Wind spoke like Karak. Feeling awkward, Juingong cleared his throat once and straightened his posture. There was still one last question.
“Green Wind, by what method were you conquered by me?”
“Conquered? If you are referring to the process by which I was dominated by you… it was not my doing, but your power, Master. I merely submitted to your power without resistance.”
It was the answer he had expected. So, Juingong asked again.
“Do you know anything about the power I possess?”
Conquest.
The woman with pure white hair wearing a golden crown.
The power of domination, to vanquish and subjugate.
Instead of immediately affirming or denying, Green Wind gently closed her eyes and spoke.
“As I have said, I do not possess all of Ainkel’s memories. Therefore, I have only incomplete knowledge of the power you possess.”
Juingong’s eyes lit up. Incomplete as it might be, the very fact that she possessed knowledge was important. That Watcher Ainkel knew of Conquest meant that Conquest and the Knight of Conquest were not concepts that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Conquest. Yes, Conquest. If one must name the power you possess, Master, there is no other word more fitting.”
Green Wind opened her eyes again. Her green irises were now much closer to Ainkel’s than before.
She said to Juingong.
“The power to conquer and rule over all creation—that is the power of a king. That is your power, O Knight of Conquest, born with the destiny of a king.”
Ainkel’s voice, not Green Wind’s.
Juingong’s eyes widened. But the conversation could not continue. Green Wind, who for a moment had possessed Ainkel’s eyes and voice, slumped into Juingong’s arms and lost consciousness. Fortunately, it didn't seem like anything was seriously wrong.
‘The power of a king.’
Juingong held Green Wind and closed his eyes. He felt as if something important had just clicked into place in his mind.