Chapter 20 - Chapter 3: Rescue #3
There was fighting. It was clear a fight was taking place but it was too far away to find out more.
There was a wide plain in front of the Red Lightning tribe’s base with the Jishuka Mountains acting as a barrier in the rear. A battle was taking place in one corner of the plain.
"I can’t see it! What about both of you?”
He looked on either side of him and asked. He knew the answer without both of them saying anything. Even though it was so far away, the combat scene was visible to them.
"Prince, I can’t see it either.”
Carack’s answer was meaningless.
Caitlin spoke while still observing the battlefield.
"Shutra, focus your aura on your eyes.”
Aura was life force used to strengthen the body but focusing Aura on the eyes?
‘Heok, it is real. I can see it!’
Once Aura was gathered to his eyes, he could see further and more accurately. Things that had looked like dots started to gradually take shape to In-gong.
"Orcs...what? They aren’t orcs or ogres?”
Not only the skin colour but also the clothing was completely different from orcs and ogres. Orcs and ogres generally favoured less clothing due to their large size. However, the people fighting now wore black or purple clothes and were slim.
‘Ugh, is this my limit?’
He tried to focus his aura a little bit more but nothing really changed. From the start, the distance had simply been too far.
Chris’ and Caitlin’s expressions showed they also couldn’t get clear answers. Chris, who seemed to be using a lot of power on his eyes, frowned and muttered.
"They aren’t General Vandal’s forces. In the first place, there was no battle planned today. The size of the troops fighting is also too small.”
Of course, not all battles went as scheduled. However, this wasn’t General Vandal’s base but the front of the Red Lightning tribe. There was no reason for there to be a fight outside of the schedule.
They weren’t General Vandal’s troops but a third army.
As Chris had said, the scale was too small. There seemed to be only approximately 100 people. The conflict had turned into a one-sided fight as the difference in troops was too large.
"It is too reckless. They are going to be wiped out!”
Caitlin shouted. In-gong also saw it. They had to flee now while the siege net wasn’t complete.
However, the movements of the troop was strange. Rather than try to escape, they were rushing desperately through the orcs.
'What the? Was something important taken from them?’
"Retreating.”
Chris said. The movements of the troop changed when the fiercest fighting at the forefront collapsed. It seemed like the commander who led the reckless battle had fallen.
The retreat of the unidentified army was swift. From the outset, they seemed to have excellent maneuverability. They quickly opened a wide distance between them and the orcs on the plains.
"The big fight is over? Who the hell was fighting?”
Carack asked with a frustrated frown on his face. Chris ignored him while Caitlin turned to Carack with a face that said she didn’t know.
In-gong breathed out. He couldn’t see everything but he used a few context clues to come to a rough answer.
Black or purple clothes. Rapid maneuverability. They weren’t General Vandal’s forces. The most crucial point was that the unidentified army was riding on a horned lizard.
‘Dark elf.’
Corrupted elves in the Demon World.
It was obvious.
&
Just like dwarves and orcs, the dark elves in Knight Saga were similar to the universal dark elves in fantasy.
Their ears were long, they had thin limbs and their movements were light and agile.
Their skin colour was brown or copper, reminiscent of a South American beauty. Both male and female dark elves enjoyed wearing exposed clothes and the dark elves resided in the Great Forest that could be called the Demon World’s Amazon.
They were corrupted but still elves. Magic was the reason for their corruption in the first place, so they were excellent at using magic.
They rode on lizards called dracos that also lived in the Great Forest. In terms of endurance, they were inferior to horses. However, their instant speed was tremendous and they had tactical value in swamps.
'Why did the dark elves come here?’
There was a colossal distance between the Great Forest and Jishuka Mountains. Of course, the dark elves didn’t always stay in the Great Forest but it didn’t make sense for them to jump into the Jishuka Mountains so fiercely.
"Prince? Have you figured something out?”
Carack recognized when In-gong was thinking and asked urgently. Chris and Caitlin then looked at In-gong with anticipation.
"What is it? Have you found something?”
A light shone in Chris and Caitlin’s eyes. It was like they were preparing to shout out, ‘Great!’.
In-gong scratched his head and muttered,
“I’m not sure but... they seem like dark elves. Does Hyung and Noona see what they are riding on? There are horns on their heads and don’t they move really fast?”
Carack was still confused but Chris and Caitlin were different. The two of them shouted almost simultaneously,
"Draco!"
No further explanation was needed. Of course, Carack required it but no one was kind enough to explain it to him.
“I almost missed the obvious.”
“Those creatures are dracos. It is my first time seeing them.”
Chris and Caitlin said separately. Carack’s eyes widened as he finally grasped the situation.
"Dracos? Then they are dark elves?”
"It is just a possibility. The battle was too far away, so I only guessed.”
In fact, In-gong had never actually seen the dracos.
‘They were too far away, so I just guessed based on the horns on the head.’
In fact, there were many animals with horns on their heads in the Demon World. If it hadn’t been for their explosive speed when retreating, In-gong would never have thought of a draco.
‘It is hard but rewarding to ride them.’
Of course, that had been a story in the game.
"Yes, let’s return immediately. We need to get in touch with General Vandal to figure out the situation.”
He had originally intended to inform Vandal of the existence of the dwarf portal and to discuss plans but now, something more urgent had occurred.
Chris spoke to In-gong and Caitlin, then blew a little horn hanging by his throat. It made a special sound that only lycanthropes could hear.
"Let's go."
Chris moved ahead of them with the lycanthropes.
After returning to Portal Two, they headed towards Chris’ base instead of Caitlin’s.
It was his first time visiting Chris’ base but the basic form wasn’t much different from Caitlin’s base. The big difference was that Chris had twice the number of troops compared to Caitlin.
“Contact General Vandal. It is urgent.”
Chris ordered as soon as they arrived at the tents. He had contacted them in advance, so magic tools were already installed in the tent.
The lycanthrope magicians injected magic power and light started gathering on a circular silver tray that was erected vertically.
‘Ohh, video communication?’
In-gong was filled with expectation. After one or two minutes, the shape of a person appeared in the midst of the light.
“Prince Chris.”
The owner of the voice was a fierce looking ogre. There were a few long scars on the red skin of his angular face.
‘It is nice to see him.’
It felt great to see a subordinate he used to have in the game.
However, that was only In-gong. Vandal only looked at Chris and Chris talked straight away instead of introducing In-gong and Caitlin.
“General Vandal, there was a small battle in front of the Red Lightning tribe approximately an hour ago. It doesn’t seem to be the General’s army, so do you have any ideas?”
“I do. How did Prince know about it?”
Vandal responded curtly. If Carack was a genius (?) among orcs, Vandal was a genius among ogres. His words were short but his brain wasn’t comparable to an ordinary ogre.
"I saw it with my own eyes. I will tell you the story.”
Chris concisely explained about the dwarf cave and portal. In the meantime, Caitlin’s oppa also stated that In-gong was the one who discovered it.
“Indeed.”
Vandal nodded with a serious expression. Caitlin stepped forward and spoke.
"General Vandal, it is now your turn. Tell us what you know.”
"The ones that Prince and Princess witnessed, they are dark elves.”
Vandal’s story was short and to the point.
‘Indeed.’
As expected, they were dark elves. Chris asked another question.
“Why did the dark elves suddenly appear? Are they reinforcements sent from the Demon King’s Palace?”
“It is similar but different. An independent unit intervened. They said they wanted to scout before joining.”
Something unexpected happened and they faced a large number of enemies.
"As Prince and Princess witnessed, they were smashed. However, there is something bigger. The leader of the dark elf army was caught by the Red Lightning tribe.”
Chris’ expression changed at Vandal’s words. Caitlin seemed like she had already guessed as much.
“That is why they were fighting so recklessly.”
Carack, who seemed independent from the current situation, whispered to In-gong. In-gong nodded and asked Chris and Caitlin,
"Who is the leader of the independent troop?”
“Felicia Doomblade.”
The answer came from General Vandal. No further explanation was needed for In-gong.
The 6th Princess, Felicia Doomblade.
Chris and Caitlin's half sister.