Chapter 224 – Chapter 47: Sanctuary

Strange things were happening all over the Demon World.

The War Knight had prepared magic circles in various places for the descent of the red dragon, and these magic circles shone with a red light. It was an ominous sign that disaster was approaching. This was the trumpet that signalled the beginning of the red dragon’s destruction.

Beyond the limit line, those who wanted the destruction began to move. They were the foolish ones who didn’t know the destruction of the red dragon wasn’t just limited to the Demon World, and that the whole world would burn.

A large army of northern barbarians started their march. The supreme being known as the winter king had vanished, but there were still hundreds of thousands of troops. The monsters roared from the west. They all moved in the same direction.

Those in the east didn’t stay still either. The barbarians who had lost the barbarian king realized instinctively that it was now the time to burn Evian and obtain Takar.

Baikal, who was at the Aegis Gate, received reports of all these attacks at the same time. However, he couldn’t afford to send away any troops. Despite the collapse of the Demon King’s Palace, the two captains couldn’t leave the Aegis Gate because it was important to guard against the northern barbarians.

Then finally, something happened. Hundreds of thousands of barbarians charged towards the Aegis Gate.

Richard and Yecaderina were on the walls, and Baikal was with them.

The Aegis Gate wasn’t called the absolute line of defense just because of its excellent defense. It was because this was a land which absolutely must be protected. As soon as the Aegis Gate opened, the south would be devastated by the northern barbarians.

Baikal focused aura on his eyes and looked far away. The barbarians were dark spots flocking over the white snow. Hundreds of thousands of people were moving their feet at the same time.

Baikal gulped and took a deep breath. Then he gazed to the south in the direction of the Demon King’s Palace.

“Zephyr.”

Baikal couldn’t help calling out the name of his younger brother. He then drew his sword and turned back around. The barbarians shouted, and the army on the wall hit the drums and blew the horns.

The north began the fight.

&

Lightning struck, and a vibrant red moon emerged in the dark sky.

The appearance of the red dragon was overwhelming. Just the fact that it was a dragon induced fear into everyone. Huge black beasts sprouted from the ground in front of the red dragon, and their numbers reached the hundreds.

Then the red dragon started moving. It didn’t even look at the soldiers surrounding it.

3rd Queen Sylvia gathered her trembling hands together and closed her eyes tightly. She had to stop the red dragon, and it wasn’t just for revenge.

An unbearably ominous feeling was strangling her neck. Sylvia didn’t know about the Sanctuary, nor did she know about the magic of abundance which spread out over the Demon World. However, she could feel it instinctively.

The Demon World would be destroyed if they couldn’t stop the red dragon. They had to stop that march somehow.

4th Queen Elaine felt the same. However, she couldn’t move the troops. She was the queen of the lycanthropes as well as a queen of the Demon King’s Palace. So, she had to keep a calm mindset. If the lycanthropes moved first, the other queens would move with her. It would be like collapsing dominoes.

Would this really be the case? Was it right to start the decisive battle here? Elaine’s instincts, which were terrified of the red dragon, commanded her to shift into beast form right there. However, Elaine suppressed her transformation. Her wild senses warned against her will to fight. It wasn’t the time yet. The right moment hadn’t arrived.

She needed to persevere. It was easy to command a charge, but once it started, there was no reversing it.

2nd Queen Titania waited with narrowed eyes. She wasn’t waiting for the decisions of 3rd Queen Sylvia and 4th Queen Elaine,but for the decision from the one closest to becoming the demon king. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Anastasia. It was the prince who was called the strongest.

Zephyr closed his eyes. Gallehed and Parast, standing next to him, were ready to draw their swords at any time. Quanta growled as she stared at the red dragon. The dragons could be called the children of the elder dragons, so they were all hostile toward the red dragon.

The rest of Zephyr’s troops, including Sektum, were currently beyond the Northern Limit Line. Zephyr was sorry for their absence, but he didn’t obsess over it. The red dragon moved forward, and the black beasts began running.

There was no time. He had to make a decision.

“Don’t fight,” Zephyr said.

He ignored the confused eyes and looked somewhere else. It was toward Warrior Locke, who was holding his sword and watching the red dragon. As Zephyr knew about the Sanctuary, he could see that the red dragon was moving towards it.

Zephyr then took a step back. The important thing was to protect the Sanctuary from the red dragon. It didn’t matter where they stopped him. They wouldn’t fight here; they couldn’t beat the red dragon.

More power was needed. One more person was needed. He wasn’t talking about the sword duke. His strength certainly outweighed the captains, but he wasn’t who Zephyr was thinking about. Their meeting had been short, and the time in which they fought together hadn’t been long. However, Zephyr was convinced.

“Send the coordinates to each army. We will use the transportation formation to get there ahead of the red dragon.”

They would camp in front of the Sanctuary as it would take some time for the red dragon to reach there. Zephyr didn’t know if that person would make it on time. If he didn’t arrive by the time the red dragon reached the Sanctuary, then it couldn’t be helped.

Locke gazed at Zephyr, and Zephyr looked back before turning to the right. The demon king’s army started their march. Every direction was different, but the destination was the same:

The Sanctuary. It was the land which would determine the destiny of the world and the war which had started 10,000 years ago.

“Shutra.”

Zephyr called out briefly as he remembered In-gong’s face.

&

A divine scent filled the inside of the temple, and the brilliant divine light seemed to bless everyone.

In-gong opened his eyes. His long black hair was blown by a wind that seemed to come out of nowhere. Then the incarnation of Dhrtarastra took his first breath.

Naraka and the other gandharva gulped. They were so excited that they couldn’t speak. Even Nakara, who condemned his uncle for his reckless conduct, had no choice but to cry as the gandharva god appeared before him.

In-gong exhaled. He cleared his throat and stood up slowly. His body was light, like he had been born again. It was similar to the metamorphosis when he got the dragon heart.

In-gong waved his hands around slightly. Then the equipment of the elder dragons around In-gong started to move. El Ragra was the first to take its place on In-gong’s finger of his right hand. Then Earth Quaker settled on his right arm, while White Eagle was on his left arm. Lastly, Night Watch wrapped gently around In-gong’s neck.

Instantly, In-gong was armed, and he stepped down from the altar. He looked around at everyone gathered before the altar.

“Shutra!”

The first one to scream was Felicia. She shouted loudly and ran toward In-gong with tears of joy flowing down her cheeks. Despite her smiling expression, he could tell how anxious she had been.

In-gong opened his arms. Felicia didn’t stop and threw herself into In-gong’s arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and burst into tears again.

He was alive. In-gong had returned alive. Her heart was already pained due to the absence of the demon king. So, when her emotions rose, she couldn’t suppress it anymore. Felicia placed her lips against In-gong’s.

In-gong responded to Felicia’s action, hugging her slender body and pulling her closer.

Caitlin’s eyes widened with shock from where she had been running beside Felicia. Delia also covered her mouth to conceal her surprise, while Nayatra stomped her feet with frustration.

When the short and intense kiss finished, Felicia stepped back with a surprised expression. However, she was still being held in In-gong’s arms, so she couldn’t really step away from him.

“What is it?”

In-gong blurted out. Was it amazement that she had kissed him? That wasn’t it. Felicia spoke with an expression that contained a mixture of embarrassment and confusion.

“Y-You are so delicious.”

In-gong was shocked for a moment, then he laughed out loud. This time, In-gong was the one who kissed Felicia first. It was a longer and more intense kiss. Amita responded to the word ‘delicious’ as they gazed between In-gong and Felicia.

Then Felicia withdrew and sighed again. In-gong looked at Caitlin who was approaching him. Her eyes were wide and her face was red. She looked so cute that In-gong kissed Caitlin on the forehead. Caitlin flinched. She made a dissatisfied expression, but it couldn’t be helped.

“This isn’t the time to play around.”

Carack said in a scolding tone, but he was also smiling.

In-gong nodded, agreeing easily. Like always, Carack was right. The situation wasn’t good enough to waste time on the joy of his recovery. In-gong’s resurrection ceremony hadn’t been short. It had been a few hours since it began, and in the meantime, news had been transmitted through Indara. In-gong hadn’t received Indara’s report, but he knew about the situation through Conquest. The red dragon was advancing towards the Sanctuary.

“Sword Duke, do you want to join?”

In-gong looked at the sword duke. In-gong had the eyes of Dhrtarastra, so he could see the flow of aura throughout the sword duke’s body. It wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t significant enough that the sword duke couldn’t move. He had hurried his recovery while In-gong’s ceremony had been in progress.

“Don’t worry. I still have the strength for one more fight.”

Dark emotions were hidden behind the sword duke’s smile. It was because he saw the appearance of the demon king in In-gong’s long black hair. In-gong nodded slowly, then he greeted Naraka and activated the power of Conquest. An illusion of the white woman with the golden crown appeared behind In-gong.

“Go, my master. Everyone is waiting for you.”

Conquest had been conquered by the Conquest Knight. She was truly his and was now able to escape from the fate of destruction. Felicia, Caitlin, and Carack belonged to the King’s Knights, so they intuitively understood that the white woman was Conquest. The power of Conquest wound around them.

However, there was one person alone who expressed dissatisfaction.

“This thieving cat! Master is my master! He isn’t your master!”

Green Wind cried out as she appeared beside the white woman, but the white woman just laughed. Green Wind quickly looked at In-gong for help. In-gong laughed awkwardly, but he didn’t take sides. Right now, it was imperative that he reach the Sanctuary.

“Shall we go? Faster than the wind?”

Carack asked with a laugh. In-gong pulled out the flag of light and replied,

“Yes, faster than the wind.”

As the leader, Carack received the flag of light. The power of Conquest and the blessing of the wind stretched out like they were competing with each other.

Their goal was the Sanctuary. Then the sprint which was faster than the wind began.