Chapter 78 - Chapter 12: Legend #4
In-gong jumped up. It was dark and cold, but his back was moist with sweat.
A dream.
No, it wasn’t an illusion.
The golden-crowned female with white hair and the black aura that was present beyond the darkness...
In-gong moved his gaze in the same direction that the white woman had pointed in. It was weak but obvious. He could feel the black aura.
Famine.
He couldn’t explain why the word ‘famine’ had popped up, but that was the word that clearly represented the aura.
Conquest, War, Death and Famine.
He had felt the aura of Death at Thunderdoom Fortress.
Now, he could feel Famine.
Why?
According to the picture on the slab, they should be on the same side as In-gong who had Conquest, but it didn’t feel friendly. The aura was like a huge enemy.
In-gong finished organizing his thoughts. The aura of Famine was approaching and sinister hostility could be felt. Now was the time to act, not think.
‘Carack.’
He suddenly thought of Carack. At the same time, an ominous feeling that couldn’t be compared to before covered his entire body. As a member of the The King's Knights, he was connected to In-gong.
“Carack!”
In-gong yelled. He invoked the skill Call.
“Cough!”
Carack appeared in front of In-gong. Carack landed on his ass but quickly grasped the situation. He got up and shouted at In-gong,
"Enemy, the enemy! Two soldiers on watch with me were attacked!”
In-gong hurriedly pulled on his pants and top, then instantly opened the inventory and equipped Earth Quaker, White Eagle and the Dragon Scale Greaves.
Carack continued to speak,
"He’s small but immensely strong. He is wrapped in a black aura and has grey hair. A long scar on the cheek... A warrior. He doesn’t use any weapons.”
As expected, Carack remembered the face despite the unexpected situation. He knew what In-gong needed right now.
Grey hair, a long scar on the left cheek and no weapons...
"Gerard Moonlight."
The reasons were insufficient, but he felt sure due to his intuition. Each of them were distinct features, but together, they told a story. It was obviously Gerard Moonlight.
“Carack, what is his location?”
"Uh, I went out to look around, so it is outside the defenses of the camp.”
Carack had a meticulous personality, so he couldn’t rest easily. It had always been his habit to look around the surrounding terrain to find passages and escape routes.
In-gong looked at the mini-map. He couldn’t see the red and blue dots because it was outside his recognition range, but he could guess the approximate distance.
He was, at most, 500 metres away. If he sprinted using Divine Beast Authority, it would only be a short distance.
In-gong left the tent hurriedly. The moon was shining brightly, so he could see the surroundings clearly even though it was deep into the night. Once again, In-gong faced an unexpected situation.
“Shutra?”
Chris and Caitlin, who were dressed in leather armour and greaves, were standing between the tents. Behind them, there were 20 of the lycanthrope royal guards standing in an orderly manner.
Did they find out about Gerard’s raid and were preparing?
‘No.’
It couldn’t be. If it was, the alarm would have already been called. Moreover, their faces were very different from someone going to greet the enemy. The two of them were embarrassed to face In-gong.
Why?
In-gong quickly realized,
‘This isn’t due to Gerard. They have another purpose here.’
Despite receiving a report this morning that Gerard was in the east, the two hadn’t moved their troops.
It wasn’t to prepare for an unforeseen situation.
Gerard was also strange. If Gerard had gone to the east in order to escape, why had he come here? Instead of leaving the territory of the lycanthropes, he showed up where Chris and Caitlin were.
“Gerard has showed up. He is attacking the soldiers on the outskirts and might be here soon.”
In-gong said quickly and astonishment formed on Chris and Caitlin’s faces. In-gong continued speaking without slowing down,
"Tell me, why are the two of you here? I don’t think it is due to Gerard.”
Chris gritted his teeth. His eyes shook as he hesitated on whether to answer. It was Caitlin who opened her mouth,
"It is because of the Moonlight Extract.”
Chris looked at Caitlin urgently but didn’t stop her. She then continued on in a decisive voice because if Gerard had really appeared, now wasn’t the time to keep secrets.
"It is a herb that blooms once in a 100 years. Oppa and I came here in order to wait for the Moonlight Extract to bloom. We heard about Gerard’s jailbreak afterwards. Right now, we were just about to go and pick the Moonlight Extract.”
The stories that had been scattered randomly started to converge.
Moonlight Extract, In-gong knew that item. One of the treasures of the lycanthropes, it was obtained by defeating either Chris or Caitlin at the large lycanthrope battle. It was a consumable item with a huge recovery effect as it could heal someone even if they were on their last breath.
Chris looked back at In-gong.
"Do you think Gerard is aiming for the Moonlight Extract?”
That was a possibility. No, it was highly likely when thinking of the story.
Gerard’s body was ruined due to staying in the Grey Tower for many years.
He was still obsessed with becoming stronger, so he wouldn’t allow his body and mind to remain weakened.
Chris didn’t wait for an answer. He was breathing roughly with excitement.
"It doesn’t matter. Although it is secondary, catching Gerard is also one of the purposes. If he shows up, we will overpower him.”
A blue aura surrounded him and it was at that moment...
"Kyaaak!"
A scream rang out. There wasn’t any intense light, but he could tell by the sound alone what had happened. Moreover, the scream was familiar.
“Felicia!”
In-gong shot off like lightning. Chris and Caitlin immediately followed as they headed to a place with red flames. It was clearly Felicia’s specialty, the fire barrier.
“Green Wind!”
In-gong raised his left hand like he was going to throw White Eagle. Green Wind understood In-gong’s intentions and spread out the metal plates to fly. White Eagle would fly first to defend Felicia.
Chris also gave commands while running. The lycanthropes blew their horns and all the soldiers who heard them moved. More than 100 lycanthropes cried out and the whole forest seemed to shake.
The moment seemed to last a long time. Finally, he arrived at Felicia’s tent where a barrier of fire rose into the sky. Felicia was standing behind White Eagle and, fortunately, she wasn’t hurt. Delia, who seemed somewhat injured, was limping beside her.
‘Master!’
Instead of answering, In-gong rushed forward toward Felicia. White Eagle was returned to his left arm as he looked simultaneously at both the mini-map and the scene before him.
A man was standing beyond the blazing flames.
There was only one red dot on the mini-map.
Famine.
A black aura.
He was different from the Gerard that In-gong had faced in Knight Saga. This Gerard was surrounded by a black aura instead of a grey one and the power of Famine was felt from the darkness.
Lycanthrope soldiers were lying at Gerard’s feet. One was reminiscent of a mummy.
Even though they had just met, In-gong’s throat seemed dry.
It was like when he had faced the man with the spear at Thunderdoom Fortress.
Gerard was comparable to him. In-gong couldn’t guess who out of the two of them was stronger, but it was obvious that Gerard was overwhelming.
The Gerard in Knight Saga hadn’t been this strong. He was obviously a strong presence, but like Chris explained, his body was ruined due to living in the Grey Tower for so long.
If there was a difference, it was that he was influenced by the black power of Famine.
Chris and Caitlin stood next to In-gong. The lycanthropes raised their aura like ignited flames and surrounded Gerard.
On the mini-map, dozens of blue dots were surrounding one red dot, but despite this, Gerard didn’t feel any fear. His calm face looked beyond the flames.
“You are Chris, Elaine’s child. The one next to you is Caitlin?”
He was expressionless, but there was some warmth in his voice. Caitlin bit her lip while Chris stretched out his right hand and blocked Caitlin. He stared at Gerard and said,
"Rebel Gerard. There will be no conversation between you and I. Gerard Moonlight of the lycanthrope royal family died on that day 20 years ago.”
Chris seemed to be speaking to Caitlin instead of Gerard. Caitlin formed tight fists while Gerard gave a small smile.
“Your decisive side resembles Elaine.”
Felicia’s fire barrier eventually collapsed and at that moment, Gerard’s hand moved. Dozens of dark energies crossed the air at the same time.
White Eagle spread out and protected In-gong, Felicia and Delia, while Chris swung his fists at the dark energies headed towards him and Caitlin. Carack raised his shield as he grabbed Seira’s waist.
However, most of the ordinary lycanthrope warriors couldn’t respond properly. Dozens of lycanthropes were struck in the neck or eyes. There was the smell of poison and even burning.
Gerard's smile grew even bigger. Gerard’s hands went to his waist and one of the lycanthrope commanders shouted urgently,
"Hit him!”
Dozens of lycanthropes moved simultaneously. They had witnessed Gerard’s unusual offensive and couldn’t ignorantly allow him to do whatever he wanted.
Gerard rolled his grey eyes. Instead of striking the lycanthrope warriors, his fists hit the ground.
Kwang!
The earth shook violently and the black aura around Gerard soared into the sky. He rushed forward as the lycanthropes were thrown into the air.
However, that wasn’t the end. He pushed off against the ground and grabbed the throat of one of the lycanthropes. Gerard literally threw the soldier to the ground and declared,
"Drain.”
It was a word containing power.
In-gong sensed it intuitively.
The power of Conquest shouted,
‘Famine!’
It was the power to drain energy!
The body of the lycanthrope soldier, which looked like a gigantic bear, quickly shrivelled up. Without even a scream, he became as dry as a mummy that was several hundred years old.
The power of Conquest which conquered all things and blessed them with strength.
The power of Famine that took away all strength...
Gerard’s black energy became stronger. It seemed like the lycanthrope soldier’s life force had strengthened him.
Gerard raised his head. While the lycanthrope warriors shook with trepidation, Chris formed fists. He kicked at the ground angrily.
“Caitlin!”
Caitlin immediately responded to the command. The two people triggered their auras and rushed toward Gerard.
Gerard grinned at both of them. He welcomed the two people with his black aura.