Chapter 116 – Chapter 18: Auction #8
There were still barbarians in the passage leading from the back of the stage to the auction house. They were amazed by the tremendous noise that triggered the collapse, but they seemed to be waiting for Paratus to join them.
‘Well, that doesn’t really matter!’
With White Eagle and Black Eagle surrounding him, In-gong narrowed the distance to the nearest enemy.
He had used True Destruction, but due to regulating his power and Earth Quaker being readjusted, his stamina, aura and mental state weren’t drained like they had been when he fought against the guardian. Currently, half of his aura was left, and his stamina was recovering thanks to a recovery potion.
Most of the barbarian warriors Paratus had brought were elites and had fairly high levels of Body Hardening. So, instead of fighting them, In-gong used Explosive Power and Great Mountain to push them far away.
Arang was good when hitting the body directly, but Arang was clearly a technique of Divine Beast Authority and consumed a lot of aura. In-gong wouldn’t be able to stand up if he continued using Arang.
“Kuooh!”
In-gong used Great Mountain to split the enemies on either side of him and grasped the remaining number of enemies by using the mini-map. After this event, he would think about developing an internal blow technique similar to Arang or try to develop a weaker version of Arang with Caitlin.
‘Master!’
Green Wind called from in front of In-gong. White Eagle and Black Eagle revolved like a dancing couple in the middle of the passage, striking the chest of a barbarian. It was the last enemy on the mini-map.
“Well done! Green Wind!”
In-gong didn’t forget to praise Green Wind who laughed brightly. While In-gong had been striking from the front, Carack hadn’t forgotten to push the enemies away with the shield.
“There will be enemies inside the auction house. Don’t relax!”
“Understood!”
Carack cried out in response, and Nayatra nodded gently. In-gong couldn’t help smiling. It was reassuring that he had Nayatra, one of his three most trusted subordinates in Knight Saga, with him.
‘Vandal.’
In-gong was reminded of Vandal, with whom he had shaken hands. Now that In-gong had secured Nayatra, the next one was Vandal. It wouldn’t be long before they could shake hands again.
In-gong recalled White Eagle and Black Eagle, and instead of jumping right into the auction house, he paused for a moment and looked at the mini-map. Fortunately, the situation inside the auction house was better than In-gong had expected.
“Caitlin.”
Caitlin played a big role this time. Unlike previously, she didn’t have any blood covering her body because she was fighting barbarians with hard skins. However, she had defeated a significant number of them.
She was bare-handed because it was forbidden to carry weapons inside the auction house, but Carack and Delia were the only ones who required a weapon in the first place. Caitlin and Seira used their fists, while Felicia was a magician, and Karma use her legs and the spirit magic that she was learning. Additionally, there was also the druid, Daphne.
In movies, terrorists would try to hold hostages, but these barbarians didn’t even try.
The situation was favourable to In-gong’s side.
It was due to the outstanding performance of their big party, but there were other factors that made the situation better. In addition to the fact that the troops who searched for Paratus hadn’t returned, most of the people who attended the auction house were prominent figures. Moreover, although the casualties were large at the beginning, most of the damage had been concentrated on the auction house personnel, so the power of the escorts were preserved.
After grasping the situation, In-gong ran towards Caitlin and the party. Instead of opening the road, White Eagle and Black Eagle escorted Carack and Nayatra.
“Shutra!”
Caitlin, who had been busy fighting, was the first to notice In-gong’s approach due to the Starlight Core. It was strange to see her smiling so prettily while holding the head of a barbarian warrior.
In-gong laughed and joined Caitlin.
“Shutra! What on earth happened? I heard a huge sound! Are you okay? You aren’t hurt anywhere?”
Felicia hurried forward and poured out a barrage of questions. Even while asking questions, Felicia looked In-gong up and down to check if he was wounded.
“I’m fine. There was a fight with Paratus, the younger brother of the barbarian king. That sound was the sound of the floor crumbling. He fell down, but I’m safe.”
In-gong answered the questions one by one, but there were still some questions remaining. Felicia made a startled expression.
“The barbarian king’s brother? How do you know… no, that doesn’t matter. It isn’t the important thing right now.”
Felicia took a deep breath and muttered ‘Because it is Shutra.’ before speaking in a louder voice.
“As you can see, the situation is almost calm. However, there is still a disturbance outside.”
There were few people fighting inside the auction house right now. Most of the barbarian warriors fled or were collapsed, while those who were still fighting were being attacked one-sidedly.
“The barbarians are attacking Takar itself?”
Felicia nodded at In-gong’s question.
“That’s right. There must have been some enemies hiding inside the castle. They set fire everywhere to cause a fuss. If the barbarian king’s brother is inside like you said… Was it perhaps for the auction goods?”
It was impossible that the brother of the barbarian king would be under someone’s command. The strongest power had attacked the auction house, so it was right to presume that the auction house was the goal.
‘The place where the floor collapsed— is it the temporary storage place for the auction items? Did you take the auction items?’
Felicia asked the question through a magic spell. Her eyes showed that she had already guessed the answer.
“Perhaps. Let’s talk about that later.”
Felicia nodded with a satisfied expression at In-gong’s answer.
“Yes, let’s wait here for a while. Vulcanus knows the importance of the auction house and will send people soon. It would be safer to stay here than to go elsewhere.”
Takar was literally his domain. The situation had already calmed, so there was no need to venture to a place where there was still fighting.
In-gong nodded in agreement. It was a situation where the auction items had already been stolen, and they could act like the ‘royal family’ had repelled the enemies. The main priority was to ensure the safety of the party.
‘Even if Paratus comes back, it is better in here.’
As Felicia said, Vulcanus’ troops would come sooner or later. Moreover, Caitlin was here as well. In-gong might struggle alone against Paratus, but the story was different with the addition of Caitlin. Rather, Paratus should be the one worrying about his life.
After Felicia and In-gong wrapped up their conversation, Delia asked a question,
“9th Prince, who is that person with you?”
She was pointing to Nayatra, who stood between In-gong and Carack. In-gong brought Nayatra forward and said,
“Nayatra. She’ll be coming along with us for a while.”
“A succubus?”
Felicia asked with confusion. Nayatra smiled gently and said,
“It’s a honour to meet you. I am Nayatra.”
While listening to the conversation, she determined that Felicia was a princess. Felicia looked over at Nayatra and introduced herself,
“6th Princess Felicia Doomblade. This is my younger sister, 8th Princess Caitlin Moonlight.”
Nayatra glanced over at Caitlin and bowed politely.
Felicia glanced at In-gong.
“Is this also something to talk about later?”
“Yes, later.”
He had to finish discussing things with Nayatra first. Right now, the situation was difficult, so it was hard to speak.
In-gong replied with an awkward grin, while Felicia laughed and introduced the rest of the companions to Nayatra. They started greeting each other, then Caitlin tugged at In-gong’s sleeve.
“Excuse me, Shutra.”
“Huh?”
“That… do you have something like a big cloth or cloak?”
“Cloth or cloak? Why?”
Caitlin turned red at In-gong’s question. In-gong understood Caitlin’s words when he looked at her.
Caitlin’s hands were holding down the short, torn hem. She hadn’t noticed while fighting, but now she was shy about her clothing after the fight had ended. Instead of embarrassing Caitlin, In-gong handed over a high quality piece of cloth from his inventory. It was something he had found in Thunderdoom Fortress.
“Thank you.”
Caitlin hurriedly formed a temporary skirt by tying it around her waist and sighed with relief. Then she thanked In-gong with a bright smile.
‘Relax.’
In-gong stroked Caitlin’s head unknowingly due to forming the habit with Green Wind. Caitlin laughed and looked at the entrance of the auction house.
Vulcanus’ troops were entering the auction house.
&
The ones who entered the auction house were Vulcanus’ elites called the Red Wolves. As the name suggested, all of them wore red suits and explained the situation to the customers of the auction house.
This was a rough summary:
“Some barbarians attacked Takar, but they were almost exterminated. We are extremely sorry that you, our customers have become involved in this. and you will be compensated. There are still barbarians left, so please stay in the auction house for now.”
Most of the deaths were the auction house employees, so there were few fatalities among the customers.
Thanks to the repeated emphasis on compensation and the energy coming from the red wolves, the customers stopped their angry remarks.
It was at that moment that a few of the Red Wolves, who had gone to look behind the stage of the auction house, reported back to the commander with pale faces. They were speaking in whispers, so In-gong couldn’t hear it. However, he had a rough idea of the contents of the conversation.
The place where the auction items had been stored was empty. That was the only possible conversation they could be having.
Felicia poked In-gong’s side gently, and he restored his expression.
Then after approximately dozens of minutes, someone approached the Red Wolves guarding the entrance. It was the guide soldier who assisted In-gong’s party.
Felicia explained quickly to the Red Wolves, and the guide soldier was brought to the party.
The soldier seemed like he had sprinted here as he was gasping roughly for air.
“Your Highness, it is urgent.”
“What is urgent?”
In-gong and Caitlin sensed the atmosphere and approached the guide soldier. The guide soldier hurriedly said,
“The barbarian army has crossed the boundary. The barbarian king is attacking directly!”
Barbarian King Karatus… was crossing the Eastern Limit Line!
Felicia swallowed her saliva. In-gong grabbed the guide soldier’s shoulder and asked urgently,
“General Vandal? What happened to the general?”
“H-he led troops to intercept them. Evian is calling for support.”
In-gong was reminded of the battle with the barbarians in Knight Saga. He could now understand why Paratus had done such a reckless robbery.
It was a simultaneous attack. Evian and Takar’s auction house were both attacked in order to secure the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet.
“Shutra.”
Felicia looked at In-gong with a desperate face, and In-gong was reminded of the barbarian king as he looked at Felicia.
The barbarian king was even stronger than Zephyr in Year 515. That meant he was stronger than Vandal.
Now wasn’t the time to stay in Takar. In-gong looked towards the south-east where Vandal was.