Chapter 70 - Chapter 11: Sword Duke (2/2)
The sword duke laughed heartily and Felicia was too busy gasping to refute it. Carack and Karma blinked as they didn’t know what was going on right now.
Was the old man in front of them the same monster as before?
After he touched Felicia’s head one last time, the sword duke turned toward In-gong. As the surprised In-gong jumped into an alert position, the sword duke smiled happily and asked with folded arms,
“9th Prince, do you like my present?”
The sword duke touched In-gong’s Dragon Scale Greaves. In-gong controlled his breathing and replied calmly,
”I was able to create a great piece thanks to you. Thank you.”
There was no blood relation between the sword duke and the demon king’s children, but he was the demon king’s master. He was an elder of the sura, so the demon king’s children referred to him as a grandfather.
He spoke casually to Felicia, but his words seemed a little more polite towards In-gong.
“I’m glad that it was useful.”
Unlike Felicia, it seemed like he hadn’t met Shutra yet.
Instead of the pleasure in his eyes when he saw Felicia, the sword duke looked at In-gong with curiosity.
He turned towards the shattered bodies of the highest ranked guardian and the black dragon Partizan.
“So, what happened?”
In-gong told the sword duke all of his speculations. It wasn’t a secret and In-gong thought that the sword duke was at a level to deal with the issue.
As the sword duke listened without saying anything, Felicia made a confused face in the middle.
”Those people were after Zephyr orabeoni?”
“Perhaps. It isn’t clear, but the man with the spear said that we had come instead of 2nd Prince.”
Despite being siblings, In-gong called him 2nd Prince instead of Zephyr hyung.
Carack asked In-gong,
”Um, I couldn’t hear that. What about Princess? Princess has the best ears among all of us.”
He had already witnessed Felicia’s hearing a few times on Enger Plains. She shook her head.
“I didn’t hear it.”
The man with the spear was a considerable distance away and even his appearance itself was shocking.
Carack asked In-gong again with a cautious look,
”Prince, were you perhaps hearing things?”
”No, it is hard to explain, but I heard it clearly.”
In-gong didn’t know why he could hear the man’s voice either, but it absolutely wasn’t a hallucination.
Felicia nodded.
”It is strange, but it makes sense. Rather, it feels like a question has been resolved. It wasn’t just me, but almost everyone in the Demon King’s Palace thought that Zephyr orabeoni would receive this mission. If this situation was created for the purpose of luring Zephyr orabeoni, then it would explain the death of General Kashubal and why they attempted to capture this fortress so late.”
Just like In-gong, Felicia also had doubts.
”The question is, what purpose do they have for pursuing Zephyr orabeoni.”
The simplest answer was to get rid of Zephyr, but Felicia didn’t think so. Felicia couldn’t properly measure the strength of the man with the spear, but she didn’t think that Zephyr, the strongest royal child, would be hit by this preparation.
Of course, variables existed. It was possible that they made some other arrangements for Zephyr:
The drake ogre, Mustafa, and skeleton king, Balkarova, that had appeared on Enger Plains...
And the zombie dragon and man with a spear at Thunderdoom Fortress.
As tension filled everyone’s faces, the sword duke spoke.
”I can understand the general situation. It is a pretty interesting story.”
His expression was the same as when he first appeared. In-gong asked,
”Sword Duke, do you have any guesses?”
”No. This is the Demon World. These type of people have always been around. Prince and Princess just need to grow well in the future. There is always a countermeasure.”
The sword duke laughed playfully and formed fists. It was a simple move, but it had the power to overwhelm the surroundings.
“Become stronger. If you develop the power to break through any danger, then all problems will be solved.
It was a simple but clear answer. Indeed, he had broken down the threat to In-gong’s party with clear power.
Carack stared at the sword duke with his full respect while Karma’s eyes shone.
Only Felicia sighed at his words and said,
”Then Sword Duke, why are you here? Although I am grateful for the help.”
The unexpected appearance of the man with the spear hadn’t led to the sword duke’s appearance, but Felicia already knew the answer as did In-gong.
The sword duke looked at In-gong and said,
”I came to see 9th Prince.”
It was the answer they had expected, but In-gong and Felicia still waited for the sword duke’s next words. The sword duke met their expectations.
“The demon king seems very interested in 9th Prince. I was at the sanctuary when I received news that the court gathering was overturned.”
'Sanctuary?’
In-gong made a confused sound. In Knight Saga, hadn’t the sword duke been wandering around in seclusion?
The sword duke continued,
”As 6th Princess knows, I spend most of the year at the sanctuary. However, I couldn’t just sit back and wait.”
Sanctuary.
It was the sura’s sanctuary as even Zephyr didn’t know its location.
It would be nice to go there. Maybe the sword duke was the guardian of the sanctuary.
In-gong once again focused on the sword duke’s words. The sword duke gazed at In-gong and said,
”The demon king never acts without a reason. I don’t know why the demon king acted like he did at the court gathering, but there must be a reason.”
It hadn’t merely been a whim or a change of heart.
There was something special about the 9th Prince.
”So, I became interested, even more so now that I’ve seen you directly.”
The sword duke stared at In-gong. It was the same expression as before, but his eyes were different. If felt like the sword duke’s eyes were penetrating inside him.
Then the sword duke smiled and In-gong lowered his eyes.
The demon king had never done something similar to his other children, including Zephyr.
”9th Prince, would you like to learn from me?”
The teachings of the sword.
On behalf of the Demon King’s Palace, Felicia’s mouth dropped open.