Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – Chapter 6: Encounter #3

The black castle, deep inside the forest to the north, was called the True Demon King’s Palace . It was the place where the Demon King lived .

Located in the centre of the palace was the magnificent room where the court gathering would take place . There were high ceilings reminiscent of the night sky and a space without pillars that was wide enough to accommodate hundreds of people at a time .

Among the five queens, only four were staying in their hometowns, with the exception of Shutra’s mother, 5th Queen Semita Ignus, who had died early . Therefore, the only female present at the court gathering was 4th Princess Anastasia Nekrion .

Standing behind her were ten of the Demon King’s concubines and their children . At first glance, they seemed to be gathered together without any distinction but there was an invisible wall between them .

Some time passed .

Finally, the door opened and the four protagonists of today’s court gathering entered . Silent gazes enveloped the four people instantly .

‘Their eyes are all gazing here . ’

Looking at the front where faces were visible, In-gong was able to recognize most of them . It was because the main characters of Knight Saga were gathered here .

'Let's concentrate . ’

He dispersed his consciousness around his surroundings . It wasn’t the time to glance around now .

There were enemies and there were allies but that was a normal story in Knight Saga . Nothing was confirmed about Shutra since he was starting from zero . The difference was that he had built an alliance with Chris and Caitlin who were considered middle ranked bosses . Additionally, if he had been Zephyr, it would have been impossible to get close to Felicia .

In-gong settled his heart and stood up straight . He took a dignified step forward under all the gazes .

Chris stopped moving in the middle of the long red path leading up to the Demon King . Caitlin, Felicia and In-gong, who had been walking next to him, stopped stopped as well, while the supporters stood in place three steps behind them .

“I greet the ruler of the Demon World . ”

Chris played a leading role in the Red Lightning tribe suppression . Therefore, he represented all of them as he went down on one knee . Everybody standing beside him took the same action .

It was silent despite the fact that there were over 100 people gathered in a large room .

In-gong swallowed his saliva while bowing . He couldn’t even think about Carack behind him .

The quality of the gazes changed . It felt like all the eyes had converged into one on his body .

"I will report the merits of the princes and princess . ”

A familiar voice broke the heavy silence . It was Isabella from the Merits Department .

“The 7th Prince, Chris Moonlight . ”

Once Isabella called him, Chris alone stood up . Isabella, who stood on the lowest level of the three-tiered dais, announced Chris’ merits in a cheerful voice .

The only response was silence . Some smiled at Chris’ activities while others glowered .

The mood slowly changed as Caitlin and Felicia’s achievements were announced successively .

Finally, it was In-gong’s turn .

“The 9th Prince, Shutra Agnus . ”

In-gong stood up slowly and saw the Demon King in front of him . He was sitting on a huge throne at the very top level of the dias .

He was a giant but even so, it wasn’t due to his body . He just gave off an enormous presence . His marble white skin was covered with long black hair . Due to his coarse face, it was hard to guess his age . Furthermore, he seemed both young and old .

In-gong couldn’t look away . He hadn’t even looked at the five captains that were on the level below the Demon King . The Demon King’s red eyes had caught In-gong .

The distance to the Demon King was approximately 20 metres but his breath felt blocked . It felt like when he encountered the wrym, Enkidu, in the illusion .

He was about to collapse, unable to withstand it . He was breaking in front of that gaze .

Demon King Mitra .

Zephyr’s father, the father of all the Demon King’s children .

In-gong had forgotten for awhile . He had forgotten that the most fearsome presence in the Demon King’s Palace wasn’t Zephyr .

If the Demon King decided it, then In-gong would die . If he wanted to, not only In-gong, but everyone present would turn into corpses .

However, In-gong didn’t bow . Rather than succumbing to the Demon King’s gaze that forced obedience, he resisted .

‘Conquest . ’

Those eyes attempted to overcome the situation and make him submit .

The other person was the Demon King .

This was the power of Conquest!

An invisible force crashed into the air . In-gong endured and the Demon King’s eyes flashed . The Demon King wasn’t the only one to be surprised .

In-gong’s merit announcement was in progress . At first, there were no reactions . However, as the achievements increased, everyone’s expressions changed and some of them blinked with confusion .

At the mention of Felicia’s rescue, their reactions peaked .

They didn’t know what was happening . Was it just a coincidence? Or a manipulation? 6th Princess Felicia’s absurd mistake? Or did the 9th Prince hide his talents until now?

These silent thoughts filled the room . Once again, the silence was broken by a voice .

“Shutra . ”

The demon king opened his mouth . The act of him calling out In-gong’s name had a bigger impact than the announcement of In-gong’s merits . Even Chris, who had been enjoying seeing everyone’s gazes change, made a shocked expression .

The Demon King had called out a name at the court gathering . This was the first time Chris had seen it . Even Zephyr hadn't had his name called at the court gathering .

The five captains stared at them while Isabella was so shocked she dropped the merits sheet on the ground . It was so silent that even the sound of the piece of paper falling seemed loud . However, no one turned to look at her .

The Demon King, who shocked everyone with one word, didn’t respond to any of the staring eyes . He only looked down at In-gong and spoke in a cold voice .

“I look forward to your future . ”

Just plain words . However, he had never said them to anyone else . That was why the words had value .

Thus, In-gong’s first court gathering was completed .

&

"Hoaaaah . . . ”

As soon as they returned to the waiting room, someone sat on the ground and made a sound like wind was being blown . It was Carack . Particularly, Carack was so pale that his green skin looked white .

In contrast, there was someone who was really excited .

“Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!”

Caitlin’s eyes were moving faster than usual as she stared at In-gong .

Felicia scoffed and uttered an insult,

"A lowly guy like this?! No way! Did you know that this was the first time I heard Abamama speak in three and a half years?” (TL Note: Felicia uses a term Abamama that is specifically used by a royal child towards their father . If they were referring to their mother then it would be Omamama . It is a term commonly heard in Korean historical dramas . )

Unless it was an official event like a court gathering, it was rare to see the Demon King .

"Did you call him Abamama?”

Caitlin blinked with surprise and Felicia shouted,

“That isn’t the point!”

The demon king had called In-gong’s name . Moreover, he had even encouraged In-gong by saying he would look forward to the future .

“What is this? Clearly, it was just a merits presentation but . . . ”

In-gong had many merits this time . Even so, the merits weren’t that huge compared to the past . The rebellion of the Red Lightning tribe couldn’t be called incredible even from the viewpoint of the Demon World . It had only been an army of thousands .

2nd Prince Zephyr and 4th Princess Anastasia both had merits that were worth several times more than In-gong’s .

However, the demon king had never called their names at a court gathering .

So, why would he call In-gong’s name?

Was it because a child no one had expected anything from suddenly showed achievements? Or was he a child who was special to the demon king?

“Haha, hahahaha!”

Hearty laughter suddenly filled the room . Caitlin looked at the owner of the laugh with an anxious expression .

“Oppa?”

"Poor Chris, he has gone crazy . Yes, you must be crazy . I’ll admit it . ”

Even if Felicia’s relationship with Chris had improved over the last few days, she still spoke harshly about his reaction .

However, Chris wasn’t crazy . He just continued laughing as he approached In-gong .

"I said it was your show . . . but you really showed me . ”

In fact, he had been hoping for something like this .

Everybody would look at In-gong . They would also realize that In-gong was on the same boat as Chris .

However, the situation was more than he had expected . That outcome couldn’t be calculated .

Chris’ eyes shone as he faced In-gong who was sitting in the chair . Although it couldn’t be compared to Enkidu or the demon king, he could feel power coming from Chris’ eyes .

"Shutra, from now on there will be people paying attention to you . There will be some who will try to approach you and there are those you should be on guard against . "

No one could read the true meaning of the demon king . There were those who considered the words of the demon king to be ‘favouritism’ .

'Maybe it really is favouritism . ’

Chris couldn’t read the mind of the demon king so that might be the case .

In-gong listened quietly to Chris’ encouragement and warning .

Even without seeing Caitlin and Felicia’s reaction, he could tell what a huge impact the words would have on the Demon King’s Palace .

'Resistance to the gaze . . . No, it is because I endured that merciless gaze . ’

That’s why the Demon King showed some interest . Other than that, he couldn’t think of a reason .

He suddenly woke up . It was like cold water had been poured on his excitement to meet the characters in Knight Saga .

Yet now wasn’t the time to think about it . He had to build up his strength and reinforce his position in the Demon King’s Palace .

‘I didn’t look at Anastasia . ’

4th Princess Anastasia had clearly been at today’s court gathering . The five commanders, the most powerful being below the demon king, had also been at their seats . However, In-gong hadn’t seen any of them . It was because he had needed to overcome the demon king’s eyes .

The demon king was such a being and Zephyr was a monster who would be able to surpass the demon king after a few years .

‘Conquest . ’

That word had popped into his head when he met the eyes of the demon king . It had given him the power to withstand such a merciless gaze .

It was a strange feeling . Despite the enormous presence, he was once again reminded of the threat of Zephyr . Rather than tremble in fear, he felt something deep inside his heart .

“Shutra, go back and rest for today . ”

Caitlin said, touching In-gong’s shoulder . Felicia also spoke with a cheery smile .

"Yes, don’t you know that Abamama had a good impression of you? Today is a good day . ”

The attention of the demon king . . . Felicia sounded a little bit envious .

“Thank you . ”

Once again, both Caitlin and Felicia had good personalities . He couldn’t feel even the slightest sense of dishonesty from them .

In-gong returned to his home with Carack and rested like both of them had said to do . He was physically and mentally exhausted, so he could sleep with worrying .

The next morning:

In-gong received a letter from the Merits Department .

It was about a new mission .

&

"This is a mission from the demon king . ”