Chapter 54 - Chapter 8: Excavation #3 (1/2)

Chapter 54 - Chapter 8: Excavation #3

”This-! Why did you have to say that?”

“You are the one who asked!”

In-gong screamed at Carack after seeing the mini-map. There weren’t just one or two red dots. There were more than 30 dots coming from different directions.

Almost all of them were casios. There were some drake ogres mixed in but not many.

'Remnants of the enemy forces?’

In-gong raised his head and looked around quickly. His companions, who had been setting up a camp, hurriedly pulled out their weapons as the casios and drake ogres came running.

It was an unreasonable guess since the monsters didn’t have any identification marks, but In-gong felt like they weren’t the ones who had fought at the same temple. It was because they were running like crazy with a purple aura surrounding them.

“Don’t panic! Get ready for battle!”

Ferocious Eyes cried out fiercely. The centaurs held spears instead of bows and Delia blew a whistle to gather the dracos.

For the past three days, In-gong’s party had never been attacked by an enemy. They had just found the corpses of the casios and drake ogres occasionally.

In-gong finished organizing his thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to think leisurely. Like Ferocious Eyes said, it was time to prepare for battle.

Carack threw down the pile of firewood and picked up his dwarf axe. In-gong quickly opened his inventory and equipped Earth Quaker.

‘Dragon Blood!’

A reaction came as soon as he opened the power of a dragon humanoid. Earth Quaker cried angrily as it emitted a red and yellow light and In-gong’s white aura grew like oil had been added to fire.

However, that wasn’t all. In-gong raised Earth Quaker and gave a loud shout,

“Green Wind! Magic!”

He called upon the support magic that Green Wind had used in the battle against Mustafa!

However, unlike his expectations, nothing happened. In-gong looked urgently toward his waist. Green Wind had a temporary home in a small piece of wood, so her voice was heard from it.

'Master, it is impossible. I don’t have the strength right now!’

In-gong understood immediately. Green Wind had spent most of her power making a substitute of herself. He hadn’t thought she would be so weak that she couldn’t use her secondary magic, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things.

'I will do it myself!’

[Battlefield Protection Lv1]

[Grassland Reclamation Lv1]

It was the secondary magic that Green Wind had used in the battle over the small temple. It was level one, so it wasn’t as powerful as before, but it was better than nothing.

A green wind wound around In-gong’s limbs and his body felt lighter. At that moment, Green Wind exploded,

‘H-how? Master, how can you use my magic?’

Instead of replying, In-gong gave Protection of the Wind and Grassland Reclamation to Carack. Green Wind’s devastated voice was still buzzing at In-gong’s ears.

'T-this is my presence...!’

The image of Green Wind in his head flopped down weakly, but he couldn’t afford to worry about it right now. The centaurs at the edge were on the verge of collapsing under the casios.

In-gong raised a dwarf dagger with his left hand in order to use Below the King’s Flag. However, before he could do so, screams rang from before him.

”Kyaaack!”

There were four women in the group and In-gong’s gaze headed toward Delia who was riding a draco.

In-gong rushed out hastily after hearing the screams while Daphne screamed as huge monsters dived down from the sky.

Many things flashed through his head instantly.

The monsters, geist - a flying humanoid monster with the wings of a bat instead of two arms, were a vampire species that sucked the blood of their prey.

It went without saying that their goal was Daphne. A geist grabbed at Daphne with sharp legs.

In-gong immediately activated Aura. Explosive running speed unique to Beast Authority was triggered and In-gong moved in between Daphne and the geist, swinging his fist without any particular aim.

‘Explosive Power!’

In-gong fist struck the upper body of a geist. He had used the skill urgently but the strength was enough.

The body of the geist, that had been floating in the air, flew out a few meters and slammed into the ground. In-gong also lost his balance and fell to the ground, but it was only for a moment. In-gong’s body recovered quickly and he rushed toward the geist. The geist was a man with a huge body, over two meters tall, but his body was light because he was a flying person.

In-gong had to finish it in one blow. A geist’s most powerful close combat weapon was his large wings and sharp claws at the tips of his wings. The two wings were made of a special leather that was excellent in defense. Additionally, the battle could drag on for a long time if the geist flew up.

In-gong struck the geist’s chest once again. In-gong’s explosive power rushed out and cracked the geist’s ribs; Earth Quaker was breaking his body. Blood spilled out as his chest literally caved in and he died.

In-gong breathed roughly. His aura was exhausted due to the explosive, but he could still afford to use it due to Dragon Blood.

“Kiaack!”

It was Daphne, not the geist. Daphne was shaking on the ground while Carack was standing in front of her. Thanks to In-gong’s spell, Carack was surrounded by wind as he swung his axe at the geist rushing toward Daphne.

”Prince!”

“Fire Arrow!”

In-gong heard Carack’s call and instantly cast a spell. A fire arrow extended from In-gong’s left hand and flew straight at the head of a geist. The person blocked the fire arrow hastily with his wings.

The fire arrow exploded against the wings, but it was only a level one magic. So, there was only smoke and soot.

However, In-gong’s intention from the beginning had been to seal the man’s movements. Carack’s weapon was a large battle axe and not a fist, like In-gong’s. It wasn’t long before it hit the wings.

Carack swung the axe like a cleanup hitter and smashed the geist. The geist screamed and fell onto the ground. Carack stepped forward and took the geist’s head off with his axe, just like he was splitting firewood.

”Kuraha!”

Carack raised his head and gave a battle cry. It wasn’t a boast but to warn against any other flying geists.

After confirming that there weren’t any more geists, Carack turned and approached Daphne who was panting on the ground.

”Young lady, are you okay? Can you stand?”

Carack asked impolitely without honorifics but in a kind manner. He stretched out a hand toward Daphne.

Daphne stared blankly before nodding slowly.

“I-I’m okay. I can stand.”

Daphne swallowed her saliva and grabbed Carack’s hands. Carack then pulled Daphne up at once. Instead of intervening in the battles occurring elsewhere, it seemed like he was devoted to defending Daphne.

Daphne gazed at Carack’s trustworthy back and started to chant a spell. She used a druid magic unique to dryads.

When In-gong saw this, he went into a strange mood.

'What is this? There is a strange sense of deprivation.’

In-gong had tried to save Daphne and it was In-gong who had prevented the first attack.

Yet, what was that gaze? Shouldn’t she be gazing like that toward In-gong?

‘Perhaps, she doesn’t like younger people?’

Or was it the shaky leg effect?

However, the important thing right now was Daphne’s inexperience in battle. The Daphne that In-gong had known in Knight Saga wouldn’t have frozen up like this before an enemy.

The gap in time between Year 512 and Year 513, which was the start of Knight Saga, seemed to be bigger than expected.

‘Master, it isn’t the time to be thinking! The battle hasn’t ended yet!’

Green Wind’s voice woke In-gong up and he looked around. Ferocious Eyes had a blue aura around him as he dealt with the drake ogres and casios while the centaurs were fighting fiercely.

Just like the battle against the Red Lightning tribe, Felicia didn’t attack directly but restricted the enemy’s movements with various spells. The casios slipped on the grass while the drake ogres sank deep into the ground.

In-gong decided to support Ferocious Eyes. Delia was next to Felicia, so Felicia would be fine.

“Carack! Watch Daphne!”

“Understood! I will protect her!”

While Daphne stared excitedly at Carack’s back, In-gong rushed into the crowd of casios. Green Wind whispered into In-gong’s ears.