Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Legend #4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Juingong shot up from his bed. It was dark and cold. His back was damp with a cold sweat.
A dream.
No. It wasn't a dream.
The woman with pure white hair and a golden crown was real. And the dark energy that had risen from beyond the darkness was real, too.
Juingong turned his head. It was the exact same direction the white-haired woman had pointed. The presence had weakened, but it was still unmistakable. He could feel a dark energy from beyond.
Famine.
He couldn't explain why the word 'famine' had come to mind. But there was no other word that could so clearly describe that energy.
Conquest, War, Death, Famine.
The energy he had felt at Thunder Doom Fortress was Death.
What he felt from beyond now was Famine.
Why?
According to the stone tablet, these energies should have been on the same side as Juingong, who possessed the power of Conquest. But he felt no kinship. Only an immense hostility.
Juingong cut off his thoughts. Whatever the reason, the energy of Famine was approaching, and he could feel an ominous hostility. This was a time for action, not thought.
'Karak.'
Karak's face suddenly flashed in his mind. At the same time, an incomparable sense of dread washed over him. The King's Knights sounded an alarm in his head.
"Karak!"
Juingong shouted his name. He activated the recall without a second thought.
"Gah!"
With a gasp, Karak appeared before him. He landed hard on his rear, flailing his arms and legs for a few seconds before he got his bearings. He scrambled to his feet and yelled at Juingong.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack! Two of the soldiers on watch with me were taken down!"
Karak hastily pulled up his half-undone pants. Juingong immediately opened his inventory and equipped Earthquaker, White Eagle, and the Dragon Scale Greaves.
Karak continued.
"There was only one of 'em, but he was incredibly strong. He was wrapped in a pitch-black energy, and his hair was gray. Had a long scar on his left cheek... a martial artist. Didn't use any weapons."
He still looked flustered, but this was Karak, after all. He knew exactly what information was needed.
Gray hair. A long scar on his left cheek. A martial artist who used no weapons.
"Gerard Moonlight."
The evidence was thin, but he knew it instinctively. Each trait alone was unremarkable, but together, they were different. It had to be the Gerard Moonlight he had faced in *Knight Saga*.
"Karak, what was your position?"
"Uh, I was out doing a wide patrol, so the outer edge of the defensive line."
With his meticulous nature, Karak never relaxed without a thought, no matter where he was. It was his habit to survey the surrounding terrain and map out potential infiltration and escape routes.
Juingong opened his mini-map. He was out of recognition range, so he couldn't see any blue or red dots, but he could estimate the general distance.
Five hundred meters at most. A distance a master of the Beast God Fist could cross in an instant.
Juingong hurried out of the tent. The moon was bright, so despite the late hour, he could see his surroundings quite clearly. And once again, he was faced with an unexpected situation.
"Shutora?"
Chris, wearing gauntlets and greaves, and Caitlin in leather armor, stood between the tents. Behind them, about twenty Lycanthrope Royal Guards stood in neat formation.
Had they detected Gerard's attack and were preparing to fight?
'No.'
That wasn't it. If so, the alarm would have sounded. Besides, their expressions were nothing like those of people heading out to face an enemy. They seemed bewildered to be confronting Juingong himself.
Why?
Juingong realized it without thinking.
"It wasn't because of Gerard. You came here for another reason."
Even though the report that Gerard had appeared in the east—the complete opposite direction—had arrived this morning, the two of them hadn't withdrawn their troops.
It wasn't to prepare for a potential contingency.
Gerard's actions were strange, too. If his appearance in the east was a feint to cover his escape, why had he shown up here? Why appear where Chris and Caitlin were, instead of quietly slipping out of Lycanthrope territory?
"Gerard is here. He attacked the soldiers on the perimeter, and he could be here any second."
Juingong spoke quickly, and shock flashed across Chris and Caitlin's faces. Juingong pressed on without losing momentum.
"Tell me, why are you two here? It's the only reason I can think of for Gerard to come here."
Chris clenched his teeth. The corner of his eye twitched slightly as he hesitated to answer. Then, Caitlin spoke up.
"It's because of the Moonlight Herb."
Chris shot a look at Caitlin but didn't say anything. Instead of looking troubled, Caitlin continued in a firm voice. If Gerard had truly appeared, this was no time to argue over secrets.
"It's a medicinal herb that blooms once every hundred years. My brother and I came here to wait for the Moonlight Herb's flower to bloom and harvest it. We heard the news of Gerard's escape after that. We were just on our way back from picking it."
The scattered pieces of the story began to click into place.
Moonlight Herb. It was an item Juingong knew. One of the Lycanthropes' treasures, it could be obtained by defeating either Chris or Caitlin during the Lycanthrope subjugation quest. It was a consumable item with a truly absurd healing effect, capable of reviving someone on the brink of death as long as they were still breathing.
Chris turned back to Juingong.
"Are you saying Gerard is after the Moonlight Herb?"
It was possible. No, it was the only way the story made sense.
Gerard's body had been ruined by his long confinement in the Gray Tower.
A man so obsessed with power that it drove him mad would never let his weakened body and martial skills remain as they were.
Chris didn't wait for an answer. He steadied his ragged, agitated breath and spoke.
"It doesn't matter. The order of events has changed, but searching for Gerard was one of our objectives from the start. If he's appeared, we will simply subdue him."
As if this was a welcome development, he began to radiate a faint blue aura. And it was at that very moment.
"Aargh!"
A scream was followed by an explosion. There was no brilliant flash of light, but the sound alone told him what had happened. Moreover, it wasn't an unfamiliar scream.
"Felicia!"
Juingong shouted like a thunderclap and kicked off the ground. Chris and Caitlin followed right behind him as crimson flames erupted in the distance. It was undoubtedly Felicia's specialty, the Wall of Fire.
"Green Wind!"
Juingong swung his left arm as if throwing White Eagle. Understanding his intent, Green Wind spread White Eagle's metal plates like wings and flew with all its might. It had to get there first to protect Felicia.
Chris shouted orders even as he ran. The Lycanthropes blew their horns, and upon hearing the sound, every Lycanthrope soldier transformed without delay. A hundred beasts howled in unison, and the entire forest seemed to tremble.
Every moment felt agonizingly long. When Juingong finally reached Felicia's tent, he was met by a wall of fire that stained both heaven and earth red. Felicia, standing behind White Eagle, was in a negligee, as if she'd just woken up, but thankfully, she didn't seem to be hurt. Beside her stood Delia, who appeared to be slightly injured and was limping.
'Master!'
Instead of answering, Juingong leaped in front of Felicia. After equipping White Eagle to his left arm, he looked ahead and at his mini-map simultaneously.
Beyond the blazing flames stood a single man.
On the mini-map, only a single red dot shone.
Famine.
The dark energy.
He was different from the Gerard he'd faced in *Knight Saga*. Instead of a murky gray aura, Gerard was wreathed in pitch-black darkness. From that darkness, he could feel the power of Famine.
At Gerard's feet lay what were once Lycanthrope soldiers. Each one resembled a withered mummy.
Just facing him made his throat feel parched.
The spear-wielding man from Thunder Doom Fortress.
He was his equal. He couldn't tell which of the two was stronger, but it was clear he was an overwhelming presence.
The Gerard from *Knight Saga* hadn't been this strong. He had certainly been powerful, but as Chris had explained, his body had been ravaged by his long confinement.
The difference was the dark energy imbued with the power of Famine.
Chris and Caitlin stood by Juingong's side. The transformed Lycanthropes ignited their auras like flames and surrounded Gerard.
On the mini-map, dozens of blue dots surrounded a single red one. Yet even in this situation, Gerard showed no fear. With a calm expression, he gazed beyond the now-dying flames.
"So you're Chris, Elaine's child. And the one next to you must be Caitlin?"
For a moment, warmth touched his expressionless face. Caitlin bit her lip, and Chris stretched out his right arm to block her. He glared at Gerard and spoke.
"Traitor Gerard. I have nothing to say to you. Prince Gerard Moonlight of the Lycanthrope royal family died twenty years ago."
It sounded as though he were speaking more to Caitlin than to Gerard. Caitlin clenched her fists, gritting her teeth, while Gerard wore a faint smile.
"You have Elaine's resolve."
The wall of fire Felicia had created finally died down. And in that instant, Gerard's hands moved. Dozens of hidden weapons shot through the air at once.
White Eagle deployed a force field, protecting Juingong, Felicia, and Delia. With a roar, Chris swung his fists, knocking away the weapons aimed at him and Caitlin. Karak raised his shield and simultaneously reached out to pull Seira in by the waist.
But most of the ordinary Lycanthrope soldiers couldn't react in time. A dozen of them collapsed, clutching their throats or eyes. A noxious smoke rose from their wounds, as if the weapons had been coated in a potent poison.
Gerard's smile widened. His hands moved toward his waist again, and one of the Lycanthrope commanders yelled urgently.
"Charge!"
A dozen transformed Lycanthropes moved at once. Having witnessed Gerard's extraordinary martial prowess, they resorted to a seemingly brutish physical assault.
Gerard didn't even glance at them. Instead of throwing his fists at the Lycanthrope soldiers, he slammed them into the ground.
Boom!
A violent tremor shook the earth as the jet-black energy surrounding Gerard erupted with incredible force. Several of the Lycanthrope soldiers charging him were thrown into the air, their own momentum used against them.
And that wasn't all. Gerard kicked off the ground. He grabbed the neck of one of the soldiers who had been flung into the air. He slammed the soldier to the ground, pinning him, and spoke in a low voice.
"Wither."
Words imbued with power.
In that moment, Juingong knew.
The power of Conquest screamed.
Famine.
The power that drains all things!
The body of the Lycanthrope soldier, who had transformed into a giant bear, shriveled. Unable to even let out a proper scream, he only managed a shrill cry as he became a dried-up mummy, as if he had aged hundreds of years in an instant.
The power of Conquest, which subjugates and brings all creation to heel.
The power of Famine, which drains all creation.
Gerard's dark energy grew faintly stronger. It was as if he had absorbed the Lycanthrope soldier's life force to enhance his own power.
Gerard lifted his head. As the Lycanthrope soldiers trembled, Chris clenched his fists. He let out a roar and kicked off the ground.
"Caitlin!"
Caitlin reacted instantly to the command. Igniting their respective auras, the two of them charged toward Gerard.
Gerard smiled as he watched them approach. He welcomed the pair with his venomous dark energy.