Chapter 157 - Chapter 29: War Destruction #8 (1/2)

Chapter 157 – Chapter 29: War Destruction #8

“Um, did something wake you up?”

Carack said as he rubbed his eyes. His sleepy voice was full of confusion. He listened for a long time but didn’t hear anything.

In-gong was too focused to answer. He heard a call from deep inside the ruins. It was more like a feeling than a voice.

“Your Highness, I feel something as well… something like a call. But it isn’t a voice. It is hard to explain.”

Galang said with narrowed eyes. He had a serious nature, so he wouldn’t make up something like this.

“Umm.”

Carack looked at the reactions from Galang and the other Gullam hunters before trying to concentrate again. It was something only In-gong and the Gullam hunters could feel.

‘Master, there is a reaction from White Eagle.’

He heard Green Wind’s voice. In-gong turned back and White Eagle, which contained Green Wind, was shaking. He could feel it when he put his hand on the surface of the shield—White Eagle was now resonating with something.

‘An equipment of an elder dragon?’

It was different. Although there was a similar feeling to when he got Night Watch, the call from inside the ruins wasn’t like the resonance between elder dragons.

As a test, In-gong tried to take out Earth Quaker and Night Watch. Both of the elder dragon equipment was resonating like White Eagle, but the degree of resonance was different. Earth Quaker was the most non-responsive, while White Eagle had the biggest response.

“Prince, will you leave immediately?”

Carack asked carefully as he watched In-gong. Instead of answering, In-gong looked toward the tent where Felicia was sleeping. Despite the disturbance, she was fast asleep, and there was no response.

In-gong checked the clock of the mini-map and said,

“We should wait for the sun to rise. Everyone is tired from having to break through the forest. I don’t know what is inside, but there is no need to rush. Let’s rest for a while.”

It was a forest where their stamina weakened just by walking due to the heat and humidity. Additionally, they were tense from watching out for various plants and animals.

“But Prince. Won’t your nerves be irritated by the call?”

Carack stared at In-gong with worry. In-gong just shrugged at Carack’s question.

“It isn’t big enough that I can’t ignore it. It is similar to the cry of a cicada?”

If the noise was repeated regularly, it would become familiar. Carack nodded.

“I understand, but don’t ignore it too much. If you can’t stand it, speak up right away.”

“Yes, let’s take a look at in the morning.”

In-gong said and went back inside his tent.

&

The next morning, the party packed up and left the room. Except for In-gong, the rest of the party were carried by the Gullam hunters.

Felicia called the light spirit to replace the torches. The consumption of magic power was somewhat severe since this was a big space, but the inside of the corridor became bright like daytime.

“It really looks like an old place.”

Despite the fact that the inside of the structure wasn’t affected by storms, the walls were severely damaged. Ornaments and other similar things were so broken that they were hard to recognize.

As Galang said, the inside of the ruins was calm, and there were no signs of inhabitants. Sometimes, the sound of bugs could be heard in the distance.

A staircase descended approximately 200 to 300 meters. It was a very long staircase.

The structure of the second underground floor wasn’t much different from the first floor. There were two large holes which were for the corridor, and several small rooms were attached to the corridor.

“This is like an army barrack.”

“Army barrack?”

In-gong asked Carack to clarify his words. Carack scratched his chin as he searched for the words to explain.

“That, Prince, haven’t you seen it a few times at Evian? The accommodation where the soldiers stay are usually like this. Karma, isn’t that right?”

“Uh… the barrack I stayed in wasn’t that big.”

Karma often moved with the centaurs, who had a nomadic lifestyle. It was no wonder she hadn’t experienced this type of military barrack. While Karma remained embarrassed, Felicia spoke up,

“According to Carack, could this ruin be the barrack of the ancient giants? That is a pretty interesting opinion.”

It had been 100 years since the three giant clans of Curtis joined the Demon King’s Palace, so it was quite recent. It wouldn’t be strange if there had been a giant kingdom in the past.

“Galang, how long have the Gullam clan lived in this forest?”

Felicia asked from Galang’s shoulder. Galang slowed down like he was afraid of hurting Felicia and said,

“I only know that it has been a very long time. Just that… during the Era of Struggle, there was a story about living deep in the forest.”

The Gullam clan had lost their records thanks to the Era of Struggle. In fact, it had been an unusual case for the dark elves to be able to retain incomplete records. The Era of Struggle had been a harsh period when species warfare continued every day.

“Let’s continue.”

In-gong listened to the story and ordered Green Wind to go a little further ahead. The group, led by In-gong on White Eagle, headed toward the third floor from the second floor.

As they descended deeper into the ground, the ruin became narrower, and the concentration of magic power in the air became thicker. Unlike the first and second floor, a few things remained on the third floor.

“This seems to be a weapons storage.”

There were shelves in a large room which contained spears and swords, however, they were all very old and broken. There was a large metal armour on the ground which turned to powder when it was touched. Looking at the design, there seemed to be a string or leather which connected the metal, but it seemed to be lost.

The party continued to head underground. Every time they headed down, the call became louder. By the time they reached the fifth underground floor, even the Gullam hunters could feel the call without paying particular attention.

Then after arriving on the seventh underground floor, the party gulped. Unlike the other floors which had nothing on them, the remains of a giant sitting on a throne was in the middle of the room.

It seemed to be taller than Galang, who was a big Gullam, and was wearing fairly old armour. In front of the giant’s remains, a large sword was stuck in the ground.

‘Master.’

Green Wind whispered, and In-gong nodded. The origin of the call was the giant sword.

Drakon Kechatulla—

It was the dragon warrior from the legend of the giants, and the hero who had defended the world against the evil red serpent god.

In-gong neared the giant sword on White Eagle. Unlike the other objects in the ruin, the giant black sword was almost intact. The handle was in a dragon shape, and there were a long blade. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a big pillar since it needed to be big enough for giants to use.

In-gong took a deep breath and pulled after placing both hands on the sword’s handle. Thanks to his level up, he had been able to overwhelm the berserk Caitlin with his strength. In his attempt to pull the sword out, In-gong’s muscles swelled as he applied force. The giant sword shook greatly, then it was pulled out.

“Ohh.”

Carack let out a cry of admiration, while Felicia couldn’t conceal her expression at the absurdity of In-gong holding the giant sword. The Gullam hunters were also surprised.

‘Master, too heavy.’

Green Wind whined as In-gong held the handle. However, In-gong didn’t hear it as he closed his eyes.

The giant sword was no longer calling out to In-gong now that he was holding it—In-gong just understood it. The giant sword was like a relic of an elder dragon, but it was different from White Eagle, Earth Quaker and Night Watch.