Chapter 114 - Chapter 18: Auction #6
There were other people who were surprised by the explosions and stood up. The staff of the auction house tried to calm people down, but it wasn’t enough.
"Dear customers! Calm down—”
The head of an auction house employee, who was shouting loudly, was destroyed. A barbarian warrior had murdered the employee with a huge hammer-like fist. Someone screamed, and there was an explosion from the auction house. As the auction house shook, flames were spreading everywhere.
In mere seconds, the auction house had become a mess. People were rushing around in the middle of the explosion, and the indiscriminate killing committed by the barbarians added to the confusion. The security personnel around the auction house couldn’t calm down the situation alone.
"Prince!”
Carack exclaimed hurriedly. Instead of responding to his call, In-gong opened the mini-map and searched it.
The explosion had first occurred outside. Maybe it wasn’t just the auction house but all of Takar that was attacked. No, it was reasonable to think so. Otherwise, the current situation couldn’t be explained.
‘A small strike?’
If a large number of barbarians had crossed the Eastern Limit Line, people would have already known about it already. It was obvious that they had to break up into small units in order to infiltrate the city.
In-gong saw that all the barbarian warriors were marked red on the mini-map. In-gong’s allies were blue, while the auction house employees and general customers were grey.
In-gong’s gaze turned toward the brightest red dot. Paratus, the younger brother of the barbarian king Karatus and probably the mastermind of this incident, was heading towards the stage with a ferocious smile on his face.
In-gong sensed it intuitively. The purpose of this incident was evidently the auction items.
However, what type of item would make him do such a bold thing?
The ruler of Takar and the owner of the auction house, Vulcanus, was a tough person. He was sure to retaliate in some way.
In-gong couldn’t think about it for long. The situation was desperate, but it was also due to the new blue dot that appeared on the mini-map.
The blue dot had appeared far away from In-gong’s party and was moving quickly towards the stage. In-gong shifted his gaze hurriedly. Apart from his group, there was only one person in Takar who would be recognized as In-gong’s ally.
‘Nayatra!’
Nayatra was dressed in a black china dress that revealed her thighs. He was drawn back into his memories for a moment but quickly snapped out of it. Nayatra appeared deeply confused by the current situation.
"Prince!”
Carack shouted again. In-gong delayed no longer. He opened his inventory and armed himself.
In-gong equipped White Eagle on his left arm and Earth Quaker on his right arm, while Night Watch was placed around his neck and shoulders.
Earth Quaker had been tuned just before coming to the auction site, so it sparked with a red and yellow glow as it roared. In-gong glanced toward Caitlin.
"Noona, this is a request.”
Instead of asking what he was talking about, Caitlin wound up her long dress. After freeing both legs, a blue aura erupted around her like flames.
Felicia asked in a confused voice,
“Shutra?”
"The barbarians of the Eastern Limit Line!”
In-gong shouted and ran towards the stage. He heard Felicia’s voice again from behind him, but the urgent thing was Nayatra.
As always, time flowed equally as it seemed both fast and slow. Paratus, who had jumped on the stage while In-gong was arming himself, killed the auctioneer in one blow. He threw a scroll that caused a huge explosion and headed behind the stage.
Nayatra moved towards the back of the stage as well. As expected, she was tracking Paratus from a distance.
In-gong jumped onto the stage and threw himself through the flames. At the back of the stage, the screams of the employees could be heard in succession.
“Paratus!”
In-gong didn’t know about the situation inside, so he shouted loudly several times. As soon as he arrived at the place where the auction items were stored, Paratus turned toward In-gong.
As expected, the auction house employees were almost all dead. Paratus had grabbed the neck of an orc security officer and was about to kill him.
Paratus glared at In-gong. Instead of paying attention to Paratus, In-gong looked at the mini-map and the area in front of him simultaneously. Nayatra could no longer be seen on the mini-map as she had gone into stealth. However, the pile of auction items couldn’t escape In-gong’s eyes.
‘The Dragon King’s Golden Helmet!’
He was able to recognize it at a glance because it was special among the A rank items.
As the name suggested, it was a golden helmet carved in the form of a dragon’s head.
The Dragon King’s Golden Helmet was a symbol of King Taratos, the legendary barbarian king.
He could now understand why Paratus was so reckless.
For those who didn’t know the history, it was just a good golden helmet. However, it was different for the barbarians. It was an item that could strengthen the legitimacy of the kingship and elicit absolute support from the tribes.
Paratus squeezed his right hand and killed the orc security officer. Simultaenously, In-gong turned off the mini-map.
“Green Wind!”
White Eagle split into two and flew toward Paratus. While Paratus was surprised by White Eagle and Black Eagle that were emitting a green light, In-gong sprang forwad.
Kwang!
In an instant, In-gong narrowed down his distance toward Paratus and ran past him instead of attacking. Paratus panicked, but White Eagle and Black Eagle acted under Green Wind and blocked Paratus’ view.
In-gong arrived at the place where the auction items were piled up and reached out to the glass box containing the golden helmet. He had felt the anti-theft spell when he entered the auction house, but he ignored it. In-gong instantly conquered the spell and put the item in his inventory.
Paratus ignored White Eagle and Black Eagle and sprang toward In-gong. However, Green Wind blocked Paratus once again. White Eagle and Black Eagle created a green barrier that blocked Paratus’ way.
In-gong didn’t miss the gap created. He reached for the auction items piled up with the golden helmet. It was obvious that all the items would be destroyed when they fought here, and as expected, there were items he knew Nayatra was targeting.
‘Nayatra’s secondary occupation is a thief!’
Although she had been called Zephyr’s knight, Nayatra’s expertise wasn’t fighting but in infiltration and information gathering.
Due to this, In-gong had Nayatra perform more information gathering missions, instead of escort missions in Knight Saga.
Additionally, Nayatra’s ability as a thief shone every time.
He had used her skills in Knight Saga without thinking, but where had Nayatra learnt her thief skills? Was she an assassin and thief before she became a slave?
If had she appeared at the auction to steal one of the items, maybe she had been caught and turned into a slave.
It was just a guess, but everything fit.
Then as if to prove In-gong’s reasoning, he heard a swallowed moan. She was astonished to see the auction items disappearing as soon as In-gong’s hands reached for them.
"You bastard!"
‘Master!’
Paratus and Green Wind exclaimed. Instead of aiming for Paratus, In-gong triggered Night Watch’s Blink and moved to Nayatra. Nayatra turned her head at the blue fog, but In-gong had already grabbed her arm.
‘Master!’
Green Wind shouted again. It seemed like she had reached the limit of stopping Paratus.
“Carack!”
In-gong pulled Nayatra and used Call on Carack. Carack appeared with whirling eyes and In-gong said quickly,
"Take Nayatra and leave here!”
"W-wait a minute!"
Nayatra cried out in a confused voice. Carack grasped the situation immediately and looked up at the ceiling with a surprised expression.
“Heok! Look at that!”
It was a tense and desperate situation, so Nayatra and Paratus reflexively looked up at the ceiling.
Just then, Carack moved. He hit the back of Nayatra’s neck.
“Keok?”
Nayatra leaned forward with a pained moan. It was a situation where he had failed to stun her with a blow, but Carack didn’t care. Nayatra wasn’t knocked out, but she was defenseless. Carack carried her onto his shoulders and started running.
Both In-gong and Paratus were surprised by what happened in front of them, but it was only for a moment.
Today was the first time Paratus had seen Nayatra. Although unfamiliar things were popping up in succession, this was irrelevant to Paratus. The only thing that mattered to Paratus right now was the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet.
In-gong regained his spirit as well. The process was quite violent, but he was able to secure Nayatra. He would chat with her later.
‘Master!’
Green Wind called to In-gong once again. Her call felt somewhat sad. This time, In-gong produced white aura and green magic power simultaneously.
Paratus was in a frenzy because he couldn’t get the golden helmet. Even if In-gong had come to defend Evian, he couldn’t let the golden helmet pass into the hands of the barbarians.
White Eagle and Black Eagle, which had been desperately interfering with Paratus, returned to In-gong’s side. Earth Quaker responded to the dragon style by growling angrily as the scales darkened.
Paratus then triggered an explosive aura of vengefulness. In-gong felt the creepy roar of a lion, but he didn’t turn his gaze. He formed a fist and activated Dragon Blood.
Paratus, the brother of the barbarian king—he was considered a strong warrior even among the barbarians.
In-gong took a deep breath.
Then the battle began.