Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Sword Duke #5
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The woman's voice he heard whenever he used the power of Conquest.
The vision of a beautiful woman that appeared in his mind at every moment of crisis.
The stone slab was only a cold gray. But Ingong could naturally envision colors from the pictures carved on it.
A golden crown, pure white hair, and incomparably mysterious eyes—one red, one blue.
Conquest.
That was her name. The title of the woman in white, standing at the head of the four figures.
"War."
He murmured softly, looking at the one standing behind the woman in white. Once again, he could naturally picture the colors.
If the crowned woman was pure white, the woman in armor was crimson.
The woman, wreathed in flames, wore blood-red armor. Her eyes, as she stood askew, were a deep blue. They reminded him of the Sword Duke's eyes.
And behind the two women stood two men.
One was blue, the other black. Unlike the two women in front, nothing about them came to mind immediately.
Four people.
Ainkel had called Ingong the Knight of Conquest. Did the power of Conquest, then, originate from these four people—specifically, from the woman in white?
Ingong's gaze shifted again. He was once more drawn to the Elder Dragons, depicted symmetrically opposite the four figures.
Why the symmetry? Could it be that the four people and the Elder Dragons were adversaries?
The Elder Dragons, said to possess power like that of gods.
They were depicted opposite them. This might mean that these four beings possessed god-like power, rivaling the Elder Dragons.
*The Watcher, Ainkel.*
He had only faced her for a moment. All he'd done was hear her voice through Green Wind's mouth.
But at that time, Ingong hadn't felt any hostility. When he acquired Green Wind, and when he conquered Ainkel's Dragon Heart, he had felt something closer to goodwill than animosity.
Why was that?
Were the four people and the Elder Dragons not enemies?
Did the symmetrical composition in the picture signify something else?
Ingong tried to find new clues on the slab. But besides the drawings, not a single character was carved on it. He pulled out other nearby slabs, but couldn't find any related content.
The Knight of Conquest.
Conquest and War.
The other two, whose identities were unknown.
The relationship between them and the Elder Dragons.
The reason a record of them remained in Thunder Doom Fortress.
Ingong looked at the woman in white again. Her expression was incredibly resolute and cold. It was quite different from the woman in white he had seen in his visions until now.
Ingong caressed the drawing once before returning the slab to its original place. He wanted to take it with him, but it seemed to be under some kind of special protection magic in the archives, as he couldn't put it in his inventory.
Then, as if on cue, he heard Green Wind's whisper.
*‘Master, would you come over here? I think I did something praiseworthy. Hurry up and see.’*
Her voice was brimming with excitement.
It was the voice of a cute child, jumping up and down in place.
Ingong smiled unwittingly and turned in the direction of the voice.
"What is it?"
*‘I found a record about the Elder Dragons. It seems the dwarves of this fortress were really interested in dragons.’*
Green Wind sat perched on White Eagle, waving her arms widely. Although she was translucent like a ghost, her bright smile was vivid.
*‘This way, this way.’*
Urged on, he approached to find not a stone slab but a large book waiting for him. A massive book lay open on a lectern, but since the stand itself was made for dwarves, reading it while standing was somewhat awkward.
Ingong solved the problem by perching on White Eagle, and Green Wind, sitting beside him, urged him on once more.
*‘There’s related content here.’*
Perhaps because she originated from a fragment of Ainkel, she seemed able to read Dwarven script. Ingong slowly read the characters from where Green Wind was pointing.
*‘Kaltein the Fierce.’*
The Elder Dragon with the power of fire.
*‘What do you think? Isn’t this helpful information?’*
He had just read the first line, but Green Wind asked from his side. Instead of looking at her face, Ingong leaned back a bit to look toward Green Wind's rear.
*‘Master?’*
"No, I was just thinking you don't have a tail."
If she did, it would be wagging furiously.
*‘I don't quite understand what Master is saying.’*
Green Wind tilted her head. Ingong gently stroked her head.
"You did a great job. This looks helpful."
*‘Is that so? Then read the rest for now. I shall savor the joy of being praised in a little while. I'll ask for a slightly longer praise instead.’*
Her smiling face looked genuinely happy. It wasn't just because she had done something praiseworthy, but because she seemed happy just to have been helpful to her master, Ingong.
Ingong gave Green Wind's head a few more pleasant strokes before focusing on the book's content. It was about the legend of Kaltein the Fierce and his dwelling.
The Elder Dragons each had an epithet that matched their personality and traits.
Enkidu, with the power of destruction, was the Tyrant.
Ainkel, benevolent to all, was the Gentle Mother, and the wise and thoughtful Queiyan was the Sage.
Kaltein the Fierce was the Warrior.
The epithet ‘Fierce’ might bring to mind a hot-tempered red dragon, but he was a being closer to ice than fire. Kaltein was not easily agitated and viewed all matters with a cold gaze.
A cold flame.
The silent warrior who did not draw his sword easily, but once drawn, would burn the world with its ferocity.
Like the other Elder Dragons, his whereabouts were unknown. The information in the book was about Kaltein's old lair, where he had stayed hundreds of years ago.
*‘This book itself was made hundreds of years ago… so is it almost a thousand years old?’*
Ainkel's death suddenly came to mind. She had lost her life a thousand years ago.
Ainkel's death. The Elder Dragons who vanished from the world.
Ingong stopped his speculation and focused on the book again. Though it was a map from hundreds of years ago, Ingong knew at a glance where it was pointing.
*‘Not far.’*
It was far from here. But it was close to where Ingong's party was headed.
The place where Amita, the greatest blacksmith in the Demon World, was living in seclusion.
According to the Sword Duke, Amita was currently staying near the Spider Forest.
The Spider Forest was near the Lycanthropes' lands, and Kaltein the Fierce's old lair was in the Lake of the Sun, located north of the Spider Forest.
To think the lair of a fire-attributed Elder Dragon would be in a lake. It was understandable why so many Knight Saga enthusiasts had failed to find Kaltein's lair.
*‘This journey is shaping up to be a real gift package, isn't it?’*
After his business with Amita was done, he had planned to meet Chris and Caitlin for the first time in a while, but now a visit to Kaltein's lair was added to the itinerary.
If this journey concluded as planned, he could look forward to a significant upgrade in his equipment, if nothing else.
*‘Have you read it all? What does Master think?’*
Green Wind asked quickly, as if she had been patient long enough. Instead of saying anything, Ingong stroked her horns and head.
&
Ingong's party stayed at Thunder Doom Fortress for four days.
As soon as she finished touring the armory and treasury, Felicia called in the exploration team waiting in the abandoned mine and began excavating Thunder Doom Fortress, not as a treasure hunter, but as an archaeological explorer.
Ingong spent about half of each day in the archives, and the other half grinding alone in an empty room.
He wanted to learn a few more moves from the Sword Duke, but true to his word about being a busy man, the Sword Duke had left the fortress the same day the exploration team arrived.
*‘We should be able to meet again around the time the Prince returns to the Demon King's castle. I will look forward to a much stronger Prince than you are now.’*
It was a farewell loaded with the pressure of high expectations for all he had given.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find information on any Elder Dragons other than Kaltein in the archives. The same went for information about the four figures, including the woman in white.
Still, if there was one consolation, it was Karak's growth.
King's Knights, one of the skills under Conquest.
The significance of the King's Knights wasn't just the summons.
"How is it? Do you feel stronger?"
Ingong, facing Karak, asked with an expectant voice. It was right after he had used Promotion for the first time.
King's Knights - Promotion.
To bestow a fitting reward upon a general who has rendered meritorious service to the king. The king's authority to raise his status and grant him greater power.
Karak had achieved a great deal since becoming Ingong's Knight Captain. He had already accumulated more than enough merit for a promotion.
Karak, promoted from Soldier to Sergeant, didn't answer immediately, instead slowly examining himself. He punched the air a few times with a lightly clenched fist, then thumped his chest and spoke.
"Seems like all that hard work paid off."
He felt stronger. His toughness in particular felt greatly improved. Even though he had struck his chest quite hard, he felt no pain at all.
That wasn't the only effect. Karak didn't know it yet, but his resistance to various elemental attacks, including fire, had increased significantly. His resistance to poison had also strengthened, so he could now withstand minor poisons with a laugh.
*‘The King's Shield, indeed.’*
Ingong, mentally glorifying the times he had summoned Karak to use as a shield or a cushion, nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Keep up the hard work."
At Ingong's encouragement(?), Karak made a bewildered face, but only for a moment. He soon grinned and thumped the new dwarven magic shield he had received.
And Karma, who had been watching them with an envious look, clenched her fists and said.
"I will work hard too."
"Alright."
If Karak was the shield, Karma was the shuttle. For some reason, she was serving as a mode of transport—not for Ingong, but for others—but service was service, regardless.
Meeting Karma's sparkling eyes, Ingong was reminded of Caitlin, the originator in that field.
*‘She'll be so surprised, won't she?’*
Ingong was now incomparably stronger than when they had parted. He could almost picture Caitlin chanting, "Amazing!"
He planned to spar with Caitlin when he visited the Lycanthropes' lands. Even without equipping White Eagle and Earthquaker, he was confident he could have a pretty good match with her now.
*‘She'll probably be blown away when she sees the Sura Divine Fist, right?’*
He was looking forward to Caitlin's reaction, but he was also anticipating Chris's.
And the next morning.
After confirming that Felicia's new mission plan had arrived at the Demon King's castle, Ingong's party left Thunder Doom Fortress.
Just as she had when leaving the Anvil that Birthed Thunder dungeon, Felicia gazed at Thunder Doom Fortress with eyes dripping with regret, but it couldn't be helped.
The Sword Duke had said Amita would probably be fine for about half a year, but they couldn't be complacent given Amita's wanderlust. It was best to hurry.
And three days after Ingong's party left, a new figure arrived at Thunder Doom Fortress to lead the fortress's exploration.
It was the Second Prince, Zephyr Ragnarok.
&
The report suggesting that General Kashubal's death itself was likely a trap to lure out Zephyr had been delivered to the Demon King's castle.
The Draconians holding key positions in the Demon King's castle were furious that their prince had been targeted, but Zephyr himself was unfazed.
He chose the Thunder Doom Fortress exploration mission with a nonchalant expression, and the Demon King Mitra, as always, showed no particular interest.
Many stories circulated about Zephyr's actions. Some cursed him as arrogant for walking right into what was a trap, while others praised him, saying it was the spirit befitting the Second Prince.
Upon arriving at Thunder Doom Fortress, Zephyr acted as he usually did. He prioritized reviewing the progress of the fortress exploration over examining the remains of the Shadow Puppets, and only after finishing various administrative tasks did he look over the traces of the battle.
After carefully inspecting the spot where the spear-wielding man had self-destructed, he moved on to his next task. Following the armory and treasury, he visited the archives.
Dismissing even his aide, Zephyr entered the archives alone and did not look at the list of information Felicia had compiled. Despite it being his first visit, he walked with unhesitating steps.
A strong, indefinable pull guided Zephyr.
Just as Ingong had, Zephyr also stood before the collection of stone slabs. He pulled out the very same slab that Ingong had.
The four people depicted symmetrically opposite the six Elder Dragons.
Zephyr knew three of them.
Only one face was unknown to him.
The crowned woman standing at the head of the four.
Narrowing his eyes, Zephyr turned his gaze to the three he already knew.
War, Famine, Death.
And opposing them, the six Elder Dragons.
It was a forgotten myth, a legend. A picture depicting a distant past, more than a thousand years ago.
Taking in the crowned woman one last time, Zephyr returned the slab to its place. Instead of examining other records in the archives, he recalled the sensation he had felt in the central plaza.
The aura of death lingering where the spear-wielding man had self-destructed.
Zephyr slowly closed his eyes.
A line that had once been broken was connecting again.