Breakers Chapter 120-121

Chapter 120 – Chapter 20: Blitz #3

Evian was a land of little interest to the Demon King's Palace. Despite the military value of protecting the limit line, the land was worthless. In spite of this, a considerable amount of military forces had to be stationed here.

There were several bases in Evian, and each base had thousands of soldiers for the purpose of defense.

The seventh base, which could be called Takar's last base, served as the emergency dispatch role due to its proximity to Takar, a trade city. Eventually, it was a base that played the role of the supplies distribution point, rather than defense. Therefore, the seventh base was the most non-military base among all of Evian's bases. Apart from the barbarians beyond the limit line, there were also outlaws around Evian.

However, that was now in the past.

The defenders of the seventh base looked east with horrible expressions. A barbarian army was visible beyond the not-so-high walls. At a rough estimate, their numbers went beyond 1,500 enemies.

On the other hand, there were approximately only 400 troops stationed at the seventh base.

Even if they had the defensive advantage of the walls, the attacking side had more than triple the number of defenders. Considering the low walls of the seventh base, it would be a dire circumstance even if the number of troops was doubled.

The lizardman, Caligula, leader of the seventh base, recalled his hometown in the swamps. He remembered the faces of his family members who had told him he would succeed when he left home.

Two days ago, he had been informed that the barbarians had struck the fifth and sixth bases. He hadn't thought the enemy would appear so quickly. The fifth and sixth bases were in front of the seventh base. The two bases hadn't collapsed yet, so he hadn't thought that the seventh base would be attacked.

However, the barbarians had come up with the unexpected tactic of striking the bases simultaneously.

It was the result of the barbarians' maneuverability and the strange tactic of attacking some bases while ignoring others.

Thanks to this, the barbarian army continued on while split up. However, their numbers had probably been huge in the beginning.

Caligula closed his eyes. He wouldn't surrender even when the opponents were the savage barbarians. If he wanted to run away, then he would've done so already. Now, he would fight to the death.

The defenders of the base looked at Caligula with uneasy expressions. Instead of squatting behind the wall, Caligula picked up a big knife he had brought with him from the swamps.

“Let’s fight to the death. We have to earn the wages that we were paid."

Some laughed, some faces became darker, while others glared down at the enemy with fierce expressions. Barak the orc, the second highest ranking soldier after Caligula, responded with the same smile.

“How much do you get paid?"

“It is still more than you."

Caligula responded before taking a deep breath as he looked ahead of him. The barbarians were all using Body Hardening.

Caligula no longer had any regrets. He raised his sword high along with Barak.

The barbarians rushed forward.

The battle began.

&

"It is starting."

In-gong said while sharing Green Wind's gaze from the sky.

400 troops were gathered behind a hill not far from the seventh base and restoring their breathing.

“This is good."

Carack spoke from In-gong's other side. They arrived around 30 minutes before the battle and had mostly recovered, so the timing was just right.

In-gong and the 400 troops hadn't run all night. There was no point arriving at the base if their stamina was empty.

In-gong had maximized the speed by looking at the mini-map to navigate. They had stopped briefly to eat or sleep. Of course, it hadn't been a proper meal and sleep, so everyone was exhausted by the time they arrived at the bottom of the hill. Their fatigue couldn't be eliminated after only 30 minutes of rest.

However, it was possible with magic. The 400 troops were able to survive the high speed rush due to the magic. So, everyone was in good shape.

On the other hand, Daphne and Felicia were on the verge of fainting in the middle of the 400 troops. It was because both of them had poured out various recovery magic.

"Shutra… too… much."

Felicia imitated Caitlin with a dying expression. Of course, she wasn't really resentful. In-gong hadn't forced Felicia to keep using recovery magic. Felicia had done it because of her duty as a princess. The present joke was just to reassure the others.

Apart from Amita, who was waving their tail from Daphne's arms, and some warriors who were left behind to care for Felicia and Daphne, all of the other troops were ready to run again.

The seventh base was still quite a distance away. However, the barbarians would never have thought that troops would have arrived during the night.

"We are going."

In-gong told Felicia, who responded by raising a limp arm.

In-gong stopped sharing his gaze with Green Wind, then he grabbed Maybach's reins and used Conquest Coat of Arms once again. He looked before him and shouted,

“Let’s go! Faster than the wind!"

"Faster than the wind!"

"Faster than the wind!"

400 troops shouted. Once again, they ran behind In-gong under the King's Flag.

&

It was a white line drawn on a map.

Caligula pounded on the chest of a barbarian soldier who was stepping on the shoulders of his fellow soldier in order to climb the wall. It was already impossible to give any proper commands.

The arrows, stones and oil pouring onto the soldiers rushing toward the wall seemed to finish in the blink of an eye. It was best to fight using the height difference of the walls.

Their swords didn't work well against the barbarians who had their bodies hardened. Caligula could barely break the shells, so it was obvious that the swords of general soldiers would just bounce back.

Fortunately, there was only a small number of barbarians who had learned Body Hardening to that level. If there were more of them, the base would have fallen in an instant.

Caligula gasped and lifted his sword again. Beside Caligula, Barak gave a loud cry. There were no proper words, but Caligula understood his meaning.

'Look that way.'

Caligula turned his head and saw a white light. It was moving quickly and towards the barbarians over here. It was like a white line drawn on a map.

Caligula couldn't immediately understand what it was. This was also true for the barbarians. The barbarians, who were trying to climb the walls, looked at the white light with blank faces. Both sides had realized it too late.

The barbarians and guards on the walls screamed.

The people approaching weren't barbarians. The dracos, which were rushing like crazy, were obviously allies of the guards! However, where had they come from? There were dark elves and lycanthropes together, so who was leading them?

Caligula couldn't think. The important thing was that reinforcements had arrived. There was no time to think about it. It wasn't just Caligula;  there were also Barak and the other soldiers on the walls.

From the approaching group, a whirlwind of white light rose into the sky. The light streaking across diagonally in the sky caught everyone's eyes. The soldiers on the walls as well as the barbarians looked up at the sky.

There was a huge flag of light being held in a hand. A dark blue cloth fluttered in the wind… And a white light surrounded the whole body.

However, that wasn't all. There was something else that caught the attention of everyone, including Caligula. It was the right hand soaring high in the sky.

"Show them."

Like everyone else, Carack stared up at the sky and laughed.

Amita sat in Daphne's arms and frowned while staring up at the sky. They wanted to make certain that the product they tuned was working properly.

"Shutra."

Caitlin raised a hand to her chest and sent her aura to In-gong through the Starlight Core.

'Master.'

Green Wind whispered. In-gong, who was flying in the sky using the power of Night Watch, gazed at his right arm. There was a raging cry as he focused all his power on Earth Quaker.

'Earth Quaker's Gigantic.'

It wasn't just White Eagle that had additional parts. At that moment, additional parts appeared in the space around Earth Quaker.

'A giant's fist.' Earth Quaker was temporarily transformed by the instantaneous output.

In-gong stared down at the ground. He poured a generous amount of aura into Earth Quaker and gave an order to Night Watch.

It was a single skill that symbolized the violence of the Great Enkidu, and it poured down like a thunderstorm toward the ground!

In-gong's fist struck the ground. Not only was there a red and yellow light, but there was also a white and green light as True Destruction exploded among the barbarians and tore into the ground.

There was a wild wind. Everything within a radius of 20 meters around In-gong collapsed. The ground collapsed, while the aura destroyed everything it encountered.

The barbarians outside the scope of True Destruction fell down due to the destruction of the terrain. Caligula and those on the walls also had to grab onto something quickly.

It had only been for a moment, but there was an overwhelming sight of destruction.

There was a deafening silence. Dozens of barbarians were swept away by True Destruction and lost their lives.

However, the mental shock struck all of the barbarians. Even the wild and brave barbarians were forced to shake from the destruction before them, and they were filled with wonder was mixed in with fear.

In the center of all this, In-gong dismantled Earth Quaker's Gigantic. He raised his left hand while holding the flag of light in the center of the destruction.

'Below the King's Flag.'

Those who saw the flag…

"Ku-ra-ha!"

A huge battle cry tore through the silence. Now that the entire battlefield was paying attention to In-gong, they forgot that more troops existed.

The angry lycanthropes struck the sides of the barbarians, and the dark elves aboard the dracos fired magic over the heads of the lycanthropes. There were various curses that pierced the spirit of the barbarians as well as physical destruction that ruined their bodies.

Caitlin ran to In-gong's side. She had In-gong's white aura as well as her blue aura around her as she ran straight through the barbarians. Seira, Kaparang and Alita followed her, so there was no one who could stand up against them.

Additionally, Carack was accompanied by Karma. In-gong planted the flag of light and gazed at Caitlin's back. This time, he sent his aura to Caitlin.

The 400 reinforcements fought with the barbarian army, and Caitlin's fist smashed a barbarian's head.

Caligula didn't just look on stupidly. He opened the gates and advanced as the 400 defenders fought the barbarians.

The battle didn't last long. The barbarians couldn't recover their morale. Although there were a few barbaric and arrogant barbarians, they were no match for the army of the Demon King's Palace. The dark elves and lycanthropes were elites who had been personally selected by 3rd Queen Sylvia Doomblade and 4th Queen Elaine Moonlight. So, the 400 reinforcements danced boldly through the barbarians.

Among the barbarians, there were those who had lost the will to fight and were slaughtered trying to flee. The barbarian army that had totaled at least 1,500 troops was now shattered.

Kaparang and Alita calmed down the troops and gave a victory shout. Caligula and the base defenders expressed their joy as well.

Approximately 10 minutes after the battle ended…

Caligula and Barak met up with In-gong. No one said anything, but he instinctively knew who the leader of the reinforcements was.

Caligula swallowed his saliva as he stood in front of In-gong. He was shocked that the leader who had descended from the sky like a deity was still just a boy. Moreover, the female lycanthrope who had killed the leader of the barbarians was just a girl.

Caligula took a deep breath to calm down and raised his fist to his chest, a typical salute for a soldier of the army.

“I am the leader of the seventh base, Caligula."

“I am Barak, his deputy."

Barak quickly imitated Caligula. Then the satyr standing next to the boy, Karma, spoke with a solemn expression,

“This is 9th Prince Shutra Ignus and 8th Princess Caitlin Moonlight.

Caligula stiffened as he heard the words 'prince' and 'princess'. However, he was easily convinced.

“It is a pleasure to meet Your Highnesses."

They had the blood of the demon king—the strongest in the Demon World, so it was natural that they would be strong.

Caligula's gaze was filled with respect. Then In-gong said to Caligula,

"It is nice to meet you. It is abrupt, but from now on, I want you to follow my command."

"I will do so."

There was no reason to disagree. In-gong let out a long breath at Caligula's instant agreement and ordered,

“Let the soldiers rest. Tomorrow morning, we will leave the seventh base."

"Huh?"

Caligula was surprised by In-gong's words. Karma shuddered, while Carack just laughed.

In-gong repeated it for Caligula once more,

“Tomorrow morning, we will occupy the sixth base."

If the barbarians had occupied it, they would take it from them. If the sixth base was still standing, they would save them like they had done with the seventh base.

They would smash any barbarians they encountered. They would break the barbarians and rally the troops of each base. The more they fought, the more the morale of the army would rise. Then they would go help General Vandal.

Caligula gazed at In-gong with a bemused expression, while In-gong turned away from Caligula and looked toward the east instead.

Then the next morning…

The flag of Conquest fluttered at the sixth base which had just been about to fall to the barbarians.

&

"Shutra is awesome."

“Too much. Are you trying to kill me?"

Chapter 121 – Chapter 20: Blitz #4

Despite it being a few hours since the battle ended, Diotima, the lamia and leader of the fifth base, still felt feverish. 

The fifth base had been on the verge of being taken. Half of the gate had been broken, and there had been areas on the wall which had been penetrated. 

Due to struggling greatly against the barbarians, they had been able to hold on for three days. However, that had been their limit. The only thing left in their future had been to either die at the hands of the barbarians or take down more barbarians before dying. 

Then a white glow poured down from the sky. The explosion had been deafening, and Diotima had closed her eyes reflexively. 

When she opened them again, Diotama had found herself looking at the back of a king with a white aura around him. 

He was the 9th Prince. 

However, he wasn't a king; he was still a boy. Diotima had heard rumours about the 9th Prince, who had been called the Prince of Scraps just a few years ago. 

Even so, she had no choice but to think of him as a king. His appearance made her think so. 

Like the rest of the Evian troops, Diotima was a soldier. She had seen many rough things in Evian where outlaws dominated. It wasn't loyalty to the demon king but the monthly salary that made her stay at the fifth base. However, she had stayed with the fifth base until the end, so she wouldn't accept surrendering to the barbarians. 

Despite that, Diotima felt something in her heart the moment she saw the back of the 9th Prince. 

It would be fair to say that her heart had been captured. However, it wasn't strange that she had been conquered.

Diotima had made a decision the moment the 9th Prince destroyed the enemies in the vicinity and turned around to hold out a hand to her. 

She would follow this person; this person was her king. 

It was somewhat embarrassing for a woman her age to be filled with such enthusiasm. However, it couldn't be helped as such feelings had ignited in her heart. 

After 9th Prince's appearance, the 8th Princess, the lycanthropes and the dark elves had broken through the barbarians. She had seen the faces of Caligula of the seventh base and Rothov of the sixth base, who had come here as well. When she had asked why they were here, the two of them laughed and gave the same answer. 

“King… No, we followed the prince." 

Diotima understood their words as they all shared the same feelings. 

Of course, she then asked about the seventh and sixth base and was skeptical about the fact that they ran to this place. 

Certainly, Diotima could never have imagined it. Anyway, thanks to that, Diotima and the fifth base had been saved. 

Although she had fought for three days and nights, sleep didn't come very easily. The fever blooming in her heart overwhelmed the fatigue that had accumulated for three days. Even now, she could see the white flag flickering in the wind when she closed her eyes. 

Diotima forced herself to lie down and sleep. However, she couldn't help letting out a sigh of admiration as she recalled the appearance of 9th Prince's back in battle today. 

9th Prince… 

Evian's saviour, who had rescued three bases in just three days. 

She may have witnessed a legendary moment. 

A shy smile appeared on Diotima's face. 

& 

While Diotima and the other soldiers from each base were building up fantasies about In-gong, his group was scattered around their accommodations with fatigued faces. 

It was natural. They'd had to run around wildly, time and time again. Additionally, they'd had to participate in three big battles. It would be strange if they weren't exhausted. 

As soon as the battle was over, Carack set up several large tents obtained from the warehouse of the fifth base. There were plenty of supplies in the warehouse, so In-gong kept everything in his inventory except for the things that were absolutely necessary. 

It was somewhat awkward to set up a tent in a room, but it didn't seem so strange anymore since this was the third time. 

Among the three tents, the largest one was where everybody was gathered. 

Caitlin, the most lucid one among them, spoke with a bright smile, 

"Shutra is awesome." 

He had actually secured three bases in three days. Moreover, he hadn't simply secured them. Caitlin knew that the soldiers of the three bases felt sincere respect and gratitude towards him. The mixed forces of the lycanthropes and dark elves now took In-gong as their leader. 

They had been running constantly for three days, and whenever Caitlin looked at In-gong's back, she felt a thrill. She felt like she should always follow him. 

Felicia smiled at Caitlin's admiring words. After Caitlin, who was sitting on a chair, spoke, Felicia collapsed onto a leather rug and spoke in a voice like she was dying, 

“Too much. Shutra, are you trying to kill me?" 

Her voice was playful, so there didn't seem to be any resentment. 

In-gong made a very apologetic face from beside her. 

"Sorry." 

The one who was probably the worst off was Felicia. She had squeezed all her magic into recovery and almost fainted everyday from being so drained. However, it had been inevitable since their rush had been wild and reckless. 

Unlike In-gong and Caitlin, she wasn't a warrior. In addition to the physical fatigue, the mental fatigue was severe as well. 

“Hurts… My legs are sore…" 

Felicia whined as she felt the pain through her whole body, and In-gong looked at Felicia with uncomfortable eyes. 

“Sorry, just a little bit more." 

He wanted to tell her to take a rest, but unfortunately, he couldn't as Felicia was indispensable when it came to strategy and magic. 

"Shutra is too much." 

Felicia whined again. Unlike Felicia, Caitlin was her usual self. She was the most energetic person in the group. 

“Anyway… let's talk about the future. …6th Princess should get up. You need to maintain your dignity as a princess." 

Alita helped raise Felicia up. Felicia moved until her body was half lying on a cushion. Then Alita eventually gave up and sat down next to Felicia. 

Kaparang pretended not to notice Felicia and Alita, and said to In-gong, 

“9th Prince, the number of troops have increased considerably with the addition of the fifth base. There were three consecutive wins, so the morale is extremely high. It is also encouraging that we have lost few troops in the meantime." 

The 400 troops at the beginning had now reached approximately 2,300. 

In addition to the troops which were added today from the fifth base, there were 400 people stationed at the seventh base and 600 people at the sixth base. 

There were some casualties among the soldiers of each base, but the first 400 reinforcements didn't have any losses, proving they were elites. 

It was really great considering that the 400 elites had participated in all three battles. 

The winning streak meant it was inevitable that morale was high. Moreover, in all three battles, they had saved allied despairing soldiers, so the sense of accomplishment among the soldiers was very high. 

Despite the fact that the leaders were tired, this was the best condition they could be in. 

Carack asked In-gong,

“Prince, the third and fourth bases are in different locations and have different situations. What do you want to do?" 

There were two reasons for In-gong to advance to the sixth and seventh bases. 

One was that the bases were in an emergency situation and about to be occupied. The other reason was to avoid isolating General Vandal and allowing him to be defeated by the barbarians once his supply lines were cut off. 

The locations of the third and fourth Evian bases were scattered, so they couldn't be saved in the same way. Moreover, the fourth base had already fallen. 

They had accumulated a considerable amount of fatigue by advancing straight to the fifth base. 

In-gong organized things in his head and said,

“We will wait at the fifth base. Tomorrow will be a day for the soldiers to rest and for the captured barbarians to be interrogated… We will gather information about those scattered around Evian." 

Nayatra was already questioning the barbarian prisoners as she had special methods to get information from prisoners. Moreover, she had been in charge of interrogation in Knight Saga as well. 

“Well, it is reasonable." 

Carack nodded, while Felicia was relieved they wouldn't be moving tomorrow. 

Kaparang spoke again,

“Three days have passed since the emergency situation emerged in Evian, and the Demon King's Palace should be planning for additional reinforcements. If it is General Vandal, we won't have to hurry for a while." 

The situation had changed thanks to the three consecutive victories. Once again, it was a truly huge achievement. 

'Reinforcements from the Demon King's Palace.' 

The situation with the barbarians was completely different from the Red Lightning Tribe's rebellion. The Demon King's Palace wouldn't spare their support for something like this. 

In-gong closed his eyes and thought for a moment. 

He compared the reality current right to the barbarian uprising in Knight Saga. 

In Knight Saga, the barbarian king had the Dragon King's Golden Helmet. As a result, he had been able to unite the barbarians beyond the boundary and formed an unprecedentedly huge army of barbarians. 

However, at present, the barbarian king didn't have the Dragon King's Golden Helmet. 

So, how could he have the strength to gather the barbarians? 

'The Death Knight.' 

Naturally, In-gong thought of the Death Knight. Just like how he had held hands with the guardians who had gone crazy in Spider Forest, the Death Knight might be supporting the barbarian king. 

If so, how far did the power of the Death Knight stretch? 

'The timing is different.' 

The timing between In-gong becoming a Conquest Knight and Gerard becoming a Famine Knight was different. In-gong had become the Conquest Knight earlier. However, with this situation, the Death Knight could have been even earlier than him. It wasn't just a few months, but maybe even years earlier. 

If this situation was due to the Death Knight… 

What was he aiming for? If he was someone longing for the world to end like the last flame said, were these actions related to bringing about the end? 

Moreover, the War Knight…

Did he exist now? If so, what was he doing? 

Questions led to more questions. However, In-gong finished organizing his thoughts as he had to focus on Vandal and the barbarians now. 

"It's late. Let's stop for today." 

Everyone agreed with Alita's suggestion. Kaparang and Carack left the tent first, while Delia and Alita lifted Felicia up forcefully. However, Felicia shook her head. 

“Aunt Alita, why don't I sleep in the tent with Caitlin today?" 

Caitlin rose instantly at Felicia's question, and Alita frowned, but it wasn't because Caitlin was sleeping in this tent. 

“This is 9th Prince's tent." 

In-gong and Caitlin had been exhausting their aura everyday. So, in order to speed up their aura recovery, they slept together like they had done in the lycanthrope villa. Just holding hands increased the speed of aura recovery noticeably. 

“It is just sleeping in the same tent. Anyway, there will be Seira and Green Wind as well." 

Felicia said in an annoyed voice, and Caitlin nodded quickly. She seemed very excited by the idea of sleeping with Felicia. 

"It can't be helped. I understand." 

Alita sighed in agreement and Felicia settled back with a contented face, while Caitlin started to prepare her bed next to Felicia. 

Alita looked at the sight with a smile and said, 

“It is nice to have a good time between sisters. I will see you tomorrow." 

"Goodnight, Aunt Alita." 

Alita patted Felicia's head gently and left In-gong's tent. 

“Then we are ready." 

Delia was lying on Felicia's left side while Caitlin was on her right. Seira lay on Caitlin's right, while In-gong was a short distance away from Seira. Even if their bodies weren't touching, they could trigger the quad-core if they were within a certain distance. 

Some time passed. 

In-gong normally slept alone, so it wasn't easy to sleep in a tent filled with women. Although he was already used to Caitlin and he was exhausted, he couldn't manage to sleep due to the added presences of Felicia and Delia.  

In-gong counted sheep in his head before raising his body quietly. Felicia and Caitlin were sleeping serenely. Caitlin was hugging Felicia tightly like a teddy bear, and she looked really happy. 

She had always wanted to get along with the other children of the demon king. However, ironically, she wasn't a child of the demon king, and this had caused her to fight with the actual children. 

'Not anymore.' 

In-gong gazed at Caitlin with a relaxed smile. He laughed as Felicia made a loud sound during her sleep. 

He didn't know how long he watched the two people while they slept. 

A white light suddenly appeared above In-gong's head. Additionally, unlike the usual level-ups, bells started jingling. 

Caitlin's eyes opened because of the sound, while Felicia's and Delia's eyes twitched just before they woke up as well. Seira was awakened by the rustling noises the three of them made. 

"Shutra?" 

"Your Highness?" 

In-gong blinked in confusion as they spoke. Then the voice of a woman was heard in In-gong's ears, 

[Happy birthday.] 

'Huh?' 

[You are now 15 years old.] 

[Your level has risen.] 

[The level of Protagonist Correction has increased.] 

[The level of Battlefield Protection has increased.] 

[At the age of 15, your physical abilities have improved.] 

[You have grown taller.] 

[Muscle mass has increased.] 

Following the voice, letters made of light were listed one after the other. 

He had levelled up during the three battles, and he had now gained another level. Was this a birthday perk? Moreover, once he reached level 30, the level of Protagonist Correction increased as well. 

In-gong recalled the tea party with Baikal. At that time, Baikal had talked about birthday presents. 

‘Were the birthday presents for today?' 

His birthday was today. 

It was nice to level up, but it felt a bit awkward. Additionally, he had to explain to Caitlin and the others about what was going on. 

It was at that moment… 

"Master! Congratulations!" 

Green Wind shouted, appeared behind In-gong suddenly. 

“Congratulations?" 

“Today is the day that Master was born. I know because I am Master's knight." 

Green Wind replied to Felicia's question with a wide smile. It seemed like the news about his birthday was given to all of his knights. 

"Shutra… your birthday?" 

“You should have told me earlier."

“Congratulations on your birthday." 

"Congratulations." 

Caitlin, Felicia, Delia and Seira spoke in turn. 

In-gong nodded again. Anyway, he had levelled up. Unlike usual the usual level-ups, regardless of whether it was a birthday privilege or something else, his aura and mental power were now completely restored. 

'This is good.' 

There was nothing wrong with it, and In-gong was happy to reply to everyone. 

Simultaneously, a noise was suddenly heard from outside the tent. Everyone's heads turned toward the entrance of the tent as Carack entered. 

Did Carack also appear to celebrate his birthday? 

However, that wasn't the case. In-gong knew it the moment he saw Carack's face. 

Everyone's gazes focused on Carack as he said, 

"General Vandal's main force was defeated." 

& 

There were thousands of corpses on the desolate land. The smell of death caused the wild beasts and birds to gather, but the number of corpses was overwhelming, and the smell of death couldn't be removed. 

The barbarian army advanced. There was no hesitation in their footsteps despite having caused this tragedy. 

The one who led them was… 

Barbarian King Karatus. 

He was a man born on the battlefield and who was always on the battlefield. 

Barbarian King Karatus took a step forward, and he looked toward the north. 

Chapter end