Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Legend #7
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The first to discover the Moonlight Herb was the founder of the Lycanthrope royal family.
Also known as the Progenitor Wolf King, he gathered the scattered Lycanthropes and established a nation.
As was the law of the jungle in the Demon Realm, the Progenitor Wolf King had to face numerous challenges.
There were countless invasions from foreign enemies. Even from within the Lycanthrope ranks, many powerful warriors coveted the throne and challenged the Wolf King.
The Wolf King answered every challenge. He crushed the heads of the mighty who sought his throne and obliterated the external foes who coveted all that the Lycanthropes had built.
Then one day, he faced the greatest challenge of his life. The formidable Red Dragon, Kastian, invaded the Lycanthropes’ territory.
After a desperate battle that raged for seven days and seven nights, the Progenitor Wolf King defeated the ferocious Red Dragon and claimed victory.
But the Wolf King did not escape unscathed. With his heart destroyed and death imminent, he walked toward a single streak of light cutting through the dark night sky. At a certain point, he stopped and found himself before a pure white flower.
The Wolf King did not consider it a discovery. It was not that the Wolf King had found the Moonlight Herb, but that the Moonlight Herb had chosen and guided the Wolf King.
The Wolf King took the Moonlight Herb. Imbued with moonlight, it melted into his body and soul, eventually becoming his new heart.
Having gained a heart made of the moon's essence, the Wolf King continued a new life. He took the surname Moonlight, for his life was sustained by the moonlight.
The Lycanthrope royalty, who inherited the Wolf King's blood, consumed the Moonlight Herb for generations. Yet, none could face the moonlight of the herb as the Wolf King had, nor did any gain a new heart.
This was the legend of the Moonlight Herb.
The true efficacy of the Moonlight Herb, enjoyed only by the Progenitor Wolf King, who was considered the strongest Lycanthrope in history.
The Lycanthrope royal family regarded the legend of the Moonlight Herb as just that—a legend. To them, the herb was merely a mystical plant with immense healing properties. They believed the records exaggerated the story of the Progenitor Wolf King consuming the herb to heal his wounds and save his life.
But they were wrong.
The legend of the Moonlight Herb was no exaggeration at all.
[The Protagonist's Bonus enhances the serendipitous encounter.]
[The Protagonist's Physique reacts to the power of the Moonlight Herb.]
The essence of moonlight melted into Ingong’s body and soul. The Protagonist's Physique fully accepted its power.
The tangled and broken circulation of his aura came to a halt. It stopped in place, and into the tranquility created, the power of the Moonlight Herb settled.
Conquer.
If the power of Famine was to deplete, the power of Conquest was to dominate.
Every circulation of aura had a starting point. It was like the heart that pumped blood throughout the body.
Ingong already possessed an aura heart. And next to that heart, the Moonlight Herb took its place. The essence of moonlight coalesced to form a new aura heart.
Two hearts. Two starting points.
The true efficacy of the Moonlight Herb, which no one since the Progenitor Wolf King had been able to attain.
The circulation of aura began anew. Aura surged from the two starting points.
The Sura Divine Fist accepted this. Forged from the union of two aura manipulation methods, the Beast God Fist and the Sura Heart Method, the Sura Divine Fist was exceptionally compatible with the aura circulation originating from two points.
The light radiating from Ingong's entire body gradually subsided. Chris, who had been focused on the flow of aura itself, couldn't hide his astonishment. Just imagining the effects of an aura flow originating from two points made his fists clench.
Moreover, the change wasn't happening to Ingong alone.
Caitlin, too, was accepting the power of the Moonlight Herb. The change in Ingong had clearly influenced her as well.
It was weaker compared to Ingong's. If what settled in Ingong's body and soul could be called a Moonlight Core, gathering the power of the moon, then what settled in Caitlin's chest was rightly a Starlight Core, gathering the power of the stars.
Caitlin's aura responded to Ingong's. Just as the stars in the night sky shine alongside the moonlight, Caitlin's aura began to follow Ingong's.
Instead of a moon-like glow, a pure white aura enveloped Ingong's entire body. The dark blue aura rising from Caitlin harmonized with the white, and soon, two auras of different colors wrapped around the two figures lying side by side.
Green Wind withdrew her hands and stepped back. Daphne did the same. There was nothing more Green Wind and Daphne could do. They could only watch the miracle of the Moonlight Herb unfold.
Ingong and Caitlin, who had been floating in the air, slowly began to descend. The aura that had enveloped them also transformed into a gentle light and faded away as if spreading out.
A new aura heart settled in each of their bodies and souls.
Chris was speechless. He simply smiled, and Felicia let out a sigh of relief. She gently caressed the peaceful faces of Ingong and Caitlin.
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Ingong opened his eyes in darkness. Before him stood a pure white woman wearing a golden crown.
She was close, yet distant. Ingong faced her, but he understood he couldn't converse with her. The voice he heard in moments of crisis was merely a manifestation of power, not a proper conversation.
The Knight of Famine.
Gerard Moonlight. The power of Famine he had obtained.
He wasn't strong because he had obtained the power of Famine. He was an inherently strong individual who became even stronger by obtaining it.
Having faced the power of Famine head-on, Ingong knew. Gerard was still an incomplete knight. And the same was true for Ingong himself.
Conquest and Famine.
The source of the power wielded by the spear-wielding man was Death. The man with the spear was not the Knight of Death. But the one who gave him power was undoubtedly the Knight of Death.
That left only War.
In *Knight Saga*, Gerard was not the Knight of Famine.
Conquest, War, Death, Famine—none of these powers existed in *Knight Saga*.
What were these four?
Why did these four create knights to inherit their respective powers? And what were the goals of these knights? Why had the Knight of Death targeted Zephyr?
It was almost certain that the Knight of Death was manipulating external forces. He was hostile to the Demon King's castle.
Gerard, the Knight of Famine, was hostile to the Lycanthropes. Moreover, he didn't stop there. Famine itself expressed immense hostility toward Conquest.
Were Death and Famine on the same side?
Why did Famine show hostility toward Conquest? It wasn't simply because Ingong had opposed Gerard. Famine's enmity was rooted in something much deeper.
Sorrow filled the red and blue eyes of the white woman—Conquest. She slowly reached out her hand. Though close, she could never reach him. She caressed the empty air as if stroking Ingong's cheek, then slowly parted her lips.
“Knight of Conquest, my one and only hope.”
As if she had used all her strength for those few short words, the white woman's voice cut off. She gave a sorrowful smile, caressed the air once more, and then melted into the darkness.
Ingong closed his eyes. Just as the white woman had, he melted into the darkness.
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Gerard crawled on the ground. His left arm, severed and no longer there, throbbed. He knew it was phantom pain, yet he couldn't suppress the agony.
He propped himself up with his remaining arm. He pushed off the ground with his heavy legs, inching forward.
“Find him! He’s around here!”
“I smell blood!”
The Lycanthropes' voices were not far off. Gerard gritted his teeth and focused what little strength he had left into his right hand. His aura circulation was in shambles, and the mere act of gathering power made him vomit blood.
Gerard slammed his head on the ground and exhaled. The coldness of the damp, moist earth alleviated the pain, if only slightly.
Gerard counted. He closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing, and at a certain moment, he put strength into his right arm.
*BOOM!*
The explosive power of the Beast God Fist erupted from his right arm. Launching his entire body with one arm, Gerard lunged at a Lycanthrope soldier who had drawn near. The soldier reflexively swung his arm at Gerard's attack, which came from a bizarre trajectory, but only swiped at empty air. Instantly closing the distance, Gerard took the soldier down with a body slam-like tackle and grabbed his neck with one hand.
The neck of a transformed Lycanthrope was too large and thick to be choked with one hand. But Gerard unleashed monstrous strength, crushing the soldier's neck with his palm. The neck bones of the wolf Lycanthrope soldier shattered with a gruesome sound.
“Gack!”
The Lycanthrope soldier, not yet dead, flailed and reached out. Gerard applied more force, crushing the soldier's neck.
“Ugh… hah…”
Collapsing onto the Lycanthrope soldier's chest, Gerard activated the power of Famine. Some vitality returned, but it wasn't enough. Like a bucket with a hole in it, the power he painstakingly gathered kept leaking away.
“There he is!”
“Throw your javelins!”
There was no time to dodge. Javelins flying at tremendous speed pierced through both Gerard and the dead Lycanthrope soldier simultaneously.
It was hot. Even on the verge of death, the pain was vivid.
“Keep throwing!”
More javelins flew in. They struck his back, shoulder, waist, thigh—all over his body. It was a level of injury that even a Lycanthrope, with their immense life force, would find difficult to survive.
The Lycanthropes did not approach Gerard rashly. Their caution was wise, but it bought Gerard a small amount of time.
Gerard smiled. Due to the pain and his injuries, it was little more than a slight twitch of his lips, but it was unmistakably a smile.
He had spent twenty years in the deepest part of the Gray Tower. A miserable time spent in a darkness where not even moonlight could reach.
To face death without having vented even a fraction of the resentment and grudge he had accumulated there.
Elaine Moonlight.
His sister. The one who had stolen everything he should have enjoyed. A hateful enemy.
Chris and Caitlin. Her children.
And the Knight of Conquest.
The source of all this. A calamity that had appeared out of nowhere to block his path!
Gerard could no longer see. His sightless eyes should have perceived only darkness.
But Gerard saw one who stood aloof beyond the darkness.
Clad in a robe deeper and darker than jet black, he looked down coldly at Gerard.
*Now, will you accept it?*
Famine.
He was different from War or Death. Comparing him to Conquest was laughable.
He was the one who was always hungry. The one who always desired, and so was never satisfied. Unlike the other three, simply choosing a knight was not enough to appease him.
What he desired was an incarnation of Famine. A being that could be called Famine itself.
Gerard smiled back at him. For the sake of his petty pride, he finally let go of the last thread he had been holding onto. He allowed Famine to stain his soul.
The pure sense of Gerard was no more.
All that remained was a pitiful wraith, mixed with Famine, forever tormented by a black desire that could never be filled.
The power of Famine devoured Gerard's heart. It conquered his soul.
The Knight of Famine, once called Gerard, smiled. It could be said to be Famine itself, sneering at the expression ‘conquest’.
“Deplete.”
The low whisper was both a beginning and an end. The Lycanthrope soldiers, who had been warily aiming their javelins at Gerard, fell into the domain of Famine before they could even realize it.
If one had to name it, it would be the Garden of Depletion. Famine's land, which depleted all that entered its range.
The legs of the Lycanthrope soldiers surrounding Gerard froze. Atop the parched, cracked earth, not even a scream could escape.
Slowly and surely depleting everything within its domain, the Knight of Famine slowly pushed himself up. As if in payment for overusing his power, parts of his broken body crumbled away, but he paid it no mind. He gazed into the distance, recalling a time long past.
A thousand years ago, all the distortions that occurred after the day War killed the Watcher, Ainkel.
It was time to begin again. This time, there had to be a different ending.
The Knight of Famine turned his back to the moonlight. He melted into the darkness.
End of Chapter 12 - Legend, Continued in Chapter 13 - To the Capital.