Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Sword Duke #4
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“It's obvious, but they’re a blacksmith. Ninth Prince, how much do you know about Amita?”
The Sword Duke asked, stroking his beard. Fortunately, it didn't seem to stem from suspicion or interrogation, but from pure curiosity.
Ingong understood why. He had spoken both Amita's first and last names. In his excitement, he had made a small slip-up.
Instead of showing any agitation, Ingong continued speaking, his face still flushed with excitement.
“I heard stories about them when I was young. The legend of the blacksmith who wields the Final Flame. I never imagined they were a real person.”
Amita was sometimes a man, other times a woman. Because of this, some said they were a shapeshifter who could freely transform into anyone, regardless of age or gender. Others claimed Amita wasn't an individual, but a clan or group sharing a single name.
Ingong didn't know Amita's true identity either. Among *Knight Saga* enthusiasts, the prevailing theory was that they were a polymorphed dragon, but that was pure speculation.
*'They could even be a nature spirit, like Green Wind.'*
In any case, what was certain was that Amita was the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm, one who wielded the Final Flame.
The Final Flame was the first flame to ignite at the dawn of the world. Despite being the first, it was called the Final Flame because of a prophecy tied to it.
On the day the Final Flame is extinguished, the world will end.
The first and the final flame.
An eternal inferno that accompanies the world from its beginning to its end.
The Final Flame was a myth in itself. Therefore, any weapon forged using it possessed its own divinity, even without being engraved with divine symbols or showered with blessings.
In *Knight Saga*, meeting Amita was purely a matter of luck. Their appearance location and time were completely random.
Ingong had cleared *Knight Saga* a total of ten times, combining the Human Realm and Demon Realm arcs, but he had only met Amita a mere three times.
That's how difficult they were to encounter.
The greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm, whose very encounter could be called a fortuitous event.
Ingong didn't explain all of this. He only mentioned the Final Flame briefly and concluded his story by saying he'd heard the legend of the blacksmith who wielded it.
*'This is about as much as the *Knight Saga* manual says, anyway.'*
After finishing his story, Ingong looked up at the Sword Duke, who slowly nodded.
“The prince is correct. Amita is a blacksmith who wields the Final Flame. Not a legend or a myth, but a real, living person.”
Having said that, the Sword Duke glanced at Felicia's expression before explaining the Final Flame in more detail. It was exactly as Ingong knew it.
After hearing the full explanation, Felicia, ever the capable ruin explorer, showed great interest. However, her interest wasn't limited to just the Final Flame and Amita.
“Shutora, where did you hear a story like this? You can't use the Grand Library yet, can you?”
Even Felicia had never heard of the Final Flame. So where on earth could Ingong have heard the legend?
It was the same with the Anvil that Birthed Thunder; Ingong's knowledge of archaeology was strangely extensive.
Startled for a moment, Ingong gave an awkward laugh and said,
“Uh… it's just a story I heard when I was little.”
It was a hastily fabricated excuse, making not only his laugh but also his voice sound awkward. However, Felicia seemed to interpret that awkwardness differently.
“Ah, the Fifth Queen… I'm sorry, Shutora.”
Felicia's eyebrows drooped as she wore a genuinely apologetic expression.
The Fifth Queen, Semita Ignus.
The only one of the Demon King's five queens who had passed away, and Shutora's mother.
Ingong quickly shook his head.
“No, it's fine. It's all in the past.”
Thanks to Felicia's misunderstanding, he'd managed to get past the question, but he didn't feel entirely at ease.
Noticing Ingong's expression, Karak changed the subject.
“Ahem, so this Amita person is the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm, and they're acquainted with you, Lord Sword Duke.”
“That's truly incredible.”
Karma, who had kept her mouth shut until now, spoke in a deliberately cheerful voice. It seemed she had mustered her courage to change the mood.
A smile naturally formed on Ingong's face thanks to his two loyal subordinates, and he voiced his agreement with Karma.
To think the legendary swordsman once called the Sword Demon was acquainted with the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm. It seemed legends really did flock together.
The Sword Duke patted Karma's head once, then lightly lifted the sword at his waist.
“This sword was made by them. The Demon King's sword was their work as well.”
The Sword Duke's sword, at first glance, looked not just plain but shabby. The scabbard was unadorned, devoid of any patterns or decorations, and the hilt was simply wrapped in red cord.
But no one present could possibly dismiss the Sword Duke's sword. How could a blade forged by the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm be ordinary?
Moreover, the Sword Duke had said that Amita forged the Demon King's sword.
The Demon King's Sword. The most powerful blade in the Demon Realm, boasting the highest attack power among all weapons obtainable in the Demon Realm arc of *Knight Saga*.
And Ingong knew of one more of Amita's creations.
The ultimate weapon in *Knight Saga*, surpassing even the Demon King's Sword.
The Hero's Sword.
While it was the Guardian Queian, one of the Elder Dragons, who had prepared the materials and imbued it with all sorts of powerful magic, the one who actually forged the blade was none other than Amita.
Ingong's heart pounded anew. He was incredibly excited to meet Amita.
Felicia, Karak, and Karma also showed their excitement, letting out gasps or swallowing dryly. The fact that Amita had forged the Demon King's sword was more than enough to convince them of the blacksmith's skill.
“They like to keep to themself. Not fond of meeting people, either. But if you mention my name, they'll grant you one meeting. Whether you can get them to take on a job will depend entirely on the prince's and princess's abilities.”
The Sword Duke took a step back with a mischievous smile. It was a clear sign that he truly wouldn't interfere in the matter of commissioning work.
Meeting the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm only to exchange greetings and part ways would be an unparalleled disappointment.
But Felicia just grinned, looking unconcerned.
“Well, Shutora will figure something out. I'll just tag along for the ride.”
“That's right. The prince will find a way to get the job done.”
*'I think so too, Master.'*
“I also believe in you, Your Highness.”
That was Karak, Green Wind, and Karma, in order.
It was a faith without any solid basis, but all four of their faces were filled with calm assurance. In truth, Ingong felt much the same.
*'It'll work out somehow.'*
Because I'm the protagonist.
Of course, he was only half-joking. Looking back at everything that had happened so far, unexpected situations had been far more common. If he met Amita without a plan, nine times out of ten, it would end with just a simple greeting.
But there was no need to get scared before he even started.
*'If commissioning them was impossible in the first place, the Sword Duke wouldn't have brought it up.'*
Besides, Ingong had commissioned work from Amita before, albeit only three times in *Knight Saga*. He had a rough idea of what conditions they might demand in return.
The Sword Duke let out a hearty laugh, as if amused by the boundless trust Felicia, Karak, and Karma placed in Ingong, and then spoke again.
“I'll tell you where they're currently secluded. They could move at any time, so it would be best to visit them as soon as possible.”
He was right. In *Knight Saga*, too, Amita never stayed in one place for long and wandered the world.
“But don't worry too much. They should stay where they are now for at least another half a year.”
Ingong let out a sigh of relief at the Sword Duke's added explanation. Meanwhile, Felicia seemed to ponder for a moment before stepping closer to the Sword Duke and speaking.
“Sword Duke, you'll be stopping by the Demon King's castle on your way back, won't you?”
“Sounds like you want me to report on your behalf?”
“Ehehe.”
Felicia laughed awkwardly, trying to act cute. For someone whose daily life was so far removed from such behavior, the sight was incredibly clumsy.
*'Still, it is kind of cute.'*
Ingong rated her performance internally and glanced at the Sword Duke. The Sword Duke burst into a laugh so hearty it was almost embarrassing for Felicia, then spoke.
“That's enough. It's so obvious this is something you never do, I can't possibly refuse.”
Felicia's face turned beet red as she fanned herself. The Sword Duke patted her head once before turning his gaze to Ingong.
“When you return this time, you'll likely draw even more attention than before. So, it would be better to meet Amita before heading back.”
That was precisely why Felicia had acted uncharacteristically cute.
“I'll come up with a suitable ruin investigation mission. This time, you can join as my support. There might be some talk, but the Sword Duke will help with that, right?”
The series of events at Thunder Doom Fortress was no light matter. According to the Demon King's castle's reporting structure, Ingong and Felicia didn't necessarily need to return for a face-to-face debriefing, but simply leaving for another mission would inevitably lead to gossip.
But if the Sword Duke stepped in, it was a different story. Ingong and Felicia's new mission would likely seem like a plausible secret assignment.
Of course, the organization presumably targeting Zephyr was still a concern. After all, if the Sword Duke hadn't appeared, their party might have been annihilated by the man with the spear.
But that didn't mean they could just hide in the Demon King's castle.
Besides, this was the Demon Realm. The Demon King's castle wasn't one to cower from every single threat. In the first place, they were already pushing the Demon King's children into real combat under the guise of missions.
Ingong straightened his posture and bowed to the Sword Duke once more. He had not only saved his life from the man with the spear but had also taught him a new S-rank martial art. That alone was an overflowing debt of gratitude, and now he was even giving him Amita's location. To Ingong, the Sword Duke was as good as Santa Claus.
“Thank you, Sword Duke.”
“The prince has piqued my interest. It's not a common occurrence, so I'm just doing something uncommon in return.”
The Sword Duke was acting as friendly as a neighborhood grandfather, but he wasn't like this with everyone.
The kindness of the man once called the Sword Demon was not granted equally to all.
“In any case, it seems we've covered the immediate business. You all look exhausted, so why don't you get some rest? Take a bath and have a meal.”
At the Sword Duke's suggestion, Felicia's and Karma's eyes lit up. It seemed the two had reacted more to the bath than the meal.
Now that they had control of the command room, finding a place to rest wasn't difficult.
Moreover, Delia had remained in the command room. As a paragon of an excellent aide, she had likely already secured a place for them to rest.
“I'll finish dismantling the black dragon's corpse here and find my own way. Don't mind me.”
The Sword Duke said, gesturing toward the black dragon's corpse with his eyes. Ingong and Felicia obediently nodded.
“Understood. We'll do as you say.”
He was curious about the process of dismantling a dragon, but he was truly exhausted.
Parting ways with the Sword Duke, the group hurried to the command room.
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Ingong awoke a full fourteen hours later.
Refreshed by a bath and a good night's sleep, Felicia was dressed in her usual revealing dark elf attire.
“The fortress conquest is practically over, after all.”
With the command room secured, they no longer had to worry about traps. The dungeon guardians were also under Ingong's control, making them allies instead of enemies.
The Sword Duke appeared with a relaxed expression and led the party to the neatly dismantled corpse of the black dragon. The hide, bones, teeth, and claws were precisely divided into three shares.
After placing his and Felicia's shares into his inventory, Ingong moved on to the next task: the always enjoyable collection of spoils.
With the Sword Duke's tacit approval, there was no longer a need to hide his inventory. Ingong asked Daphne to wait in the command room and began to literally strip Thunder Doom Fortress bare.
It got to the point where Felicia, watching from the side, had to stop him.
“I don't know what the limit of your inventory magic is, but… let's leave a reasonable amount behind. At this rate, we'll arouse suspicion.”
Following Felicia's sound advice, Ingong decided to exercise some restraint.
He didn't touch the equipment worn by the dead dwarves, and he left behind any items in the armory that were below a certain quality.
The theme of this collection was quality over quantity.
From the treasury, they took exactly one chest of treasure per person, no more, no less.
Ingong ordered Green Wind to materialize, and she tilted her head in confusion as she picked up a chest labeled as Green Wind's share, which should be read as Ingong's.
Most of the treasure in the treasury consisted of gold coins, embossed with a hammer and lightning bolt—the symbols of the ancient dwarven kingdom.
Several hours passed like this.
After securing a share for Daphne, who was waiting in the command room, the party headed to their final destination: the archives.
As it was a place where various records of the ancient dwarven kingdom were stored, Karak, who had been leading the way with sparkling eyes until now, lost all his vitality, like a husband dragged to a department store by his wife.
Felicia and Delia, however, were different. Just as they had been when facing the Anvil that Birthed Thunder, they grew incredibly excited and began to examine the various records with greedy eyes.
Karma, who had some druidic aptitude, also looked quite pleased as she opened the records, but her expression soon mirrored Karak's. All the records were written in dwarven script.
Ingong walked past his companions. The archive, packed with bookshelves and shelves, was vast, and the sheer volume of records was so immense that it would take days just to catalog them.
But among them, something caught Ingong's eye.
There was no particular reason. It was as if his heart was simply drawn to it.
At one end of the archive, in a section where records so ancient they were kept on stone slates instead of books were lined up.
Ingong pulled out one of the stacked slates. Despite being large, roughly fifty centimeters in both width and height, it was incredibly light, likely due to preservation and weight-reduction magic.
A picture was carved into the slate.
It depicted two different groups arranged symmetrically on the left and right.
On the right were six dragons.
On the left were four people.
Despite being an engraving on a stone slate, it was remarkably intricate. Ingong immediately recognized two of the six dragons.
The Watcher, Ainkel, and the Great Enkidu.
The six Elder Dragons.
Ingong swallowed dryly without realizing it. He looked at the four figures positioned opposite the Elder Dragons and, once again, found a familiar face.
A woman with pure white hair wearing a golden crown.
She stood at the forefront of the four.
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