Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Breakthrough #3
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Generally, the numbers one hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand weren't just specific numerical values; they also carried the meaning of 'many.'
Hundred-Poison Immunity wasn't a skill that blocked exactly one hundred types of poisons, as its name might suggest. It was a skill that increased one's overall resistance to poison, allowing them to withstand most common toxins.
After taking down the last creature, Ingong gritted his teeth. There was a reason skills like Thousand-Poison Immunity and Ten-Thousand-Poison Immunity existed above Hundred-Poison Immunity; the latter alone couldn't completely nullify the poison. Though slight, his fingertips trembled, and his breathing grew labored.
"Cure Poison."
Ingong cast the detoxification spell on himself. It just went to show that learning anything could come in handy someday; pestering Felicia with absurd excuses to learn healing magic had paid off.
Unlike Fire Arrow or Heal, he'd rarely had a chance to use it, so his Cure Poison was only level 1. Still, perhaps due to his high Mana Control level, it was quite effective.
His breathing steadied, Ingong made a quick assessment. He was curious about the identity of the creatures that had suddenly appeared and attacked, but securing his party's safety was more important.
"Green Wind."
At Ingong's quiet call, the White Eagle circling overhead landed on his left arm. And it was at that very moment.
"Kiiiaaak!"
The creature that Ingong had struck in the face, sending it tumbling several meters away, suddenly let out a monstrous shriek. It was still sprawled on the ground, but its voice was incredibly ominous.
'Master?'
The ground shook. No, to be precise, it was the ceiling. Ingong instinctively realized a cave-in was starting.
Magic? Explosives? A signal to another group in hiding? Or was it just a coincidence?
This was no time to ponder. Ingong snapped his head up and saw that the collapse was starting near the entrance. Without a second thought, he reached for the limp forms of Felicia and Delia on the floor.
"Green Wind!"
The meaning of his shout was clear. The White Eagle launched from Ingong's left arm, expanding a green force field around its white metal wings to widen its defensive perimeter. It then flew over to Karak, Karma, and Daphne, shielding the three of them from above.
And Ingong ran. Grabbing Felicia and Delia, one in each hand, he sprinted toward the opening that led to Thunder Doom Fortress. Before he even reached it, he hurled them both with all his might.
Felicia and Delia tumbled haphazardly through the opening like marionettes with their strings cut. Hoping the drop on the other side wasn't too high, Ingong immediately spun around. Boulders were already starting to fall from all over.
'Master!'
Green Wind cried out again. A massive rock was shaking loose directly above the White Eagle. It looked ready to fall at any moment and crush the eagle and everyone beneath it.
'Dragon Blood!'
Ingong hastily drew upon the dragon's power. He stomped his foot with enough force to nearly shatter the ground, closing the distance in an instant.
Focus.
It altered the relative flow of time. In that fractured moment, Ingong saw the falling rock and leaped once more. He gathered the hastily summoned aura into his fist and unleashed an Explosive Punch!
BOOM!
He didn't completely shatter the rock, but it was enough. Broken into several pieces, the rock scattered and fell erratically, likely due to the aftershock of the punch. A few fragments fell toward Karak and Karma, but the White Eagle moved adeptly to block them.
The moment he landed, Ingong reached out again. The entrance was already more than halfway blocked by rocks. The vibrations from the ceiling grew stronger and stronger.
Ingong grabbed Karma and Daphne. Leaving only Karak behind, he dashed toward the opening.
'Master!'
Green Wind called out to Ingong desperately. There was no more time for another trip.
Ingong didn't stop. Instead of turning back to save Karak, he threw Karma and Daphne toward the opening, then swung his left arm wide and shouted.
"Green Wind!"
It was the command to return. Green Wind, who had been precariously shielding Karak, was horrified but could not disobey. It shot like an arrow through the falling rocks and returned to Ingong.
'Master!'
To the cry mixed with disappointment and anger, Ingong did not respond. Instead, he threw himself toward the opening. He shouted loudly once more.
"Karak!"
King's Knights—Summon!
Karak leaped through space. Appearing directly beneath Ingong, who had thrown himself into the air, Karak fell flat on his back again, and Ingong landed on top of him. The drop was higher than expected, but with Karak as a cushion, the impact wasn't severe.
Almost rolling off, Ingong moved to the floor and looked up. Then, as if it had been waiting for that exact moment, a series of tremendous roars echoed.
CRUUUUUMBLE!
He could tell from the sound alone. This wasn't a simple cave-in. It was a massive collapse, intense enough to completely seal the passage between the mine and Thunder Doom Fortress.
Ingong panted heavily. The opening he had just passed through was completely blocked. If he had been just a few seconds later, not only Karak but Ingong himself would have lost his life.
'Master, are you all right?'
'I'm sorry. I doubted you.'
Ingong simply nodded a few times before raising his left arm to retrieve the White Eagle. They had escaped the cave-in, but the poison remained. He needed to administer first aid quickly.
First, Ingong gathered the party's scattered light sources to better illuminate the area. He then laid everyone down one by one, arranging them around Karak, who was the heaviest and most difficult to move.
'Felicia first.'
Reviving Felicia, who could use detoxification magic, was the most logical choice. Ingong cast Cure Poison and then removed her mask. It seemed the poisonous gas had been confined to the mine tunnel; the air inside the fortress, while a bit stale, was otherwise fine.
"One more time, Cure Poison."
Because his Cure Poison level was so low, a single cast wasn't enough. Ingong cast it three times in a row, then took various potions out of his inventory. They were all rewards from his Merit Level.
Ingong parted Felicia's lips and poured an entire health recovery potion into her mouth. Without waiting for it to take effect, he opened an awakening potion.
As its name suggested, it was a potion that jolted one awake. Letting her wake up naturally would have been best, but there was no time to wait. Ingong offered a brief apology before pouring the awakening potion onto her lips.
"Keok!"
Felicia's eyes shot open as she bolted upright. Her face contorted in agony, and she immediately started to retch.
Ingong patted her back and asked.
"Noona, are you okay? Are you with me?"
"Shu-tra?"
Felicia looked at Ingong with half-lidded eyes. The awakening potion had brought her around, but she was clearly not in her right mind.
But Ingong couldn't afford to be gentle this time either. He spoke to Felicia as she barely began to catch her breath.
"Everyone's been poisoned. We need to treat them, quickly."
Felicia understood the situation the moment she saw the rest of the party lying beside her. Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a short, bitter laugh.
"You don't pull any punches."
"Sorry."
Felicia shook her head and cast a detoxification spell on Karak, who was closest. Ingong went to Karma at the far end and did the same.
It was a desperate struggle. After casting detoxification spells until he had to drink a mana potion, Ingong saw that everyone's faces had returned to a peaceful state and collapsed to the ground. Felicia was already lying on the floor.
Lying down, Felicia looked at Karak and said.
"Karak's the only one with many injuries. Nothing serious, but... his abdomen seems to be in bad shape."
Ingong looked at Karak, too. His body was covered in scrapes, as if from rocks, and there was a faint mark on his abdomen that looked like a footprint.
Remembering the moment he had landed on Karak, Ingong slowly nodded.
"Yeah."
'Master?'
Green Wind's reproachful question went unanswered once again.
Felicia forced herself to sit up and asked Ingong.
"What happened?"
She had no memory of anything after collapsing from the poisonous gas. Ingong recounted the events as concisely as he could.
The six monsters that appeared after the party fell.
The massive cave-in that started when one of them screamed.
Felicia pressed her temples as if she had a headache.
The explanation that the White Eagle was the reason Ingong alone had been safe from the gas bothered her slightly, but this wasn't the time to dwell on it, so she let it go.
Felicia asked something more important.
"Are they all dead?"
"Unfortunately."
Ingong hadn't killed the creatures partly because he didn't have time, but also because he needed to interrogate them.
But the cave-in had killed them all. It was impossible to know if the screaming creature had caused the collapse or simply sent a signal, but if it had caused it, it was a truly vicious being—sacrificing its own life to kill Ingong's party.
"They must be the ones who killed General Kashubal, right?"
"I'd say it's highly likely."
Even a mid-level general of the Demon King's castle wasn't invincible. A Draconian's tough physique would grant a high resistance to poison, but everything had its limits.
'Besides... their situation might not have been exactly the same as ours.'
To be honest, the unidentified black creatures were too weak. It was possible that different creatures had appeared when General Kashubal was attacked.
This time, Ingong asked.
"Do you have any idea who they are?"
"I have some ideas, but no proof for any of them."
Who were they? For what purpose had they attacked the Demon King's investigation team twice?
For a moment, Ingong recalled Vakarova, whom he had faced on the Enger Plains. Just like the six creatures that had appeared this time, Vakarova was a monster that had not appeared in *Knight Saga*.
What on earth was going on? Could a third faction, one that never appeared in *Knight Saga*, have emerged?
And if such a faction existed, what did they gain by attacking the investigation team? To obstruct the excavation of Thunder Doom Fortress? Or was there some other motive?
Felicia let out a long sigh. Closing her eyes, she spoke to Ingong without opening them.
"Shutora, you're the one in charge of this mission, so I'll follow your decision. We have three paths before us now."
The way back was blocked, and the party was now inside the fortress. Thus, Ingong also thought of three paths.
"First, we wait here."
Not a good option. The people outside didn't know their situation. They might give up on clearing the collapsed path for now, and even if they did try, it would take a very long time.
"Second, we find the entrance to Thunder Doom Fortress and move there."
This was also rejected.
The entrance to Thunder Doom Fortress was currently completely collapsed. Even if they managed to find the path leading to it, all that would be waiting at the end was a massive pile of rocks.
In *Knight Saga*, the excavation of Thunder Doom Fortress began with finding that entrance and clearing a path. But the party had entered the fortress through a side passage, so the entrance was, of course, still completely blocked.
"Third, we press on to the heart of Thunder Doom Fortress and seize control of it."
Dwarven fortresses or dungeons of a certain size almost always had a teleportation circle. The dwarven burrow found in the Jishuka Mountains was one such case, as was the fortress that housed the Anvil of Thunder—which Felicia had discovered through further investigation after the battle with the Red Lightning tribe.
'Right, there's definitely one.'
Moreover, if they could just reach the deepest part, there was another way out.
The method and timing of their entry were different, but Thunder Doom Fortress was still Thunder Doom Fortress. Ingong forced a cheerful smile and said.
"As always, the third option seems best, right?"
"Probably."
Inside the fortress, besides the party, dungeon guardians, and various traps, there was a possibility of third parties with unknown objectives. But they couldn't just sit back and wait for a rescue that might never come.
"Let's get moving."
If anyone was drawn by the commotion, this would be the most likely place they'd come to.
Ingong stood up and offered his hand to Felicia, who took it with another bitter smile.
Things had taken a very different turn than planned, but it was time to conquer Thunder Doom Fortress.
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"My stomach hurts."