Breakers Chapter 14:
Chapter 14 - Chapter 2: Alliance #5
After leaving Caitlin’s tent, In-gong walked with Carack and talked with him .
Carack nodded at the rough explanation like it was expected .
"Well, then it is another reconnaissance mission . ”
"It is a little bit rushed but it will begin today . It should be kept secret from others . ”
It was decided that the cave would be kept a secret from Caitlin and Chris’ troops . It was unlikely that the orcs, especially the Red Lightning tribe, would actively engage in espionage activities but there was still a chance .
The faster the passage in the cave was explored, the better it would be . Depending on where the passage in the cave connected to, the whole operation might change in the future .
Carack didn’t ask why and only nodded .
“Ah, I did some work while Prince was inside . I have recruited some troops today . ”
"Recruited troops?”
Carack laughed at In-gong’s question .
"We received a lot of damage . ”
The fight against Kaichin was a melee . It had been a one-sided fight until Carack killed Kaichin, so there were those who were seriously injured and died .
In-gong swallowed his saliva . It wasn’t because the damage was greater than he thought . Even if he was concerned with Aura, it was surprising that he hadn’t considered the deaths of the orcs until now .
‘Yes, a person is dead . People . It isn’t a game . ’
In a game, the lives of the soldiers were just numbers . If he had enough resources, he could increase or decrease the numbers .
However, this wasn’t a game and each of them had their own lives .
After a moment, In-gong took a deep breath . It was unreasonable to pamper each soldier but he shouldn’t think of them casually like he had done previously . If he only thought of people as numbers, then he would be disqualified as a human .
In-gong controlled his heart and looked toward Carack again . Carack’s eyes were asking, ‘what are you thinking about this time?’
In-gong just shrugged .
“So, are the recruits coming?”
"Rather than that . . . Didn’t we used to have 30 troops? This has been increased to 50 people . It will take time for them to reach our base, so the numbers will be supplemented from Prince Chris’ camp . ”
“Ohh?”
The troops had almost been doubled?
"It is due to Prince’s merits . ”
Carack said pleasantly . In fact, In-gong was quite familiar with this situation .
Achievements would be rewarded . That was the basic formula of Knight Saga .
In-gong had distinguished himself by killing Kaichin and Kaidum as well as finding the cave . It was natural for rewards to be received .
‘In the first place, Shutra only received 30 orcs because he had no merits in the past . ’
Despite all of them being children of the Demon King, Chris and Caitlin received two times more orcs than Shutra and even had their lycanthropes .
The reason was simple .
Chris and Caitlin had distinguished themselves as children of the Demon King .
'Well, I will build up my merits from now on . ’
It was the power of infinite positivity and he would make it so .
In-gong formed a tight fist to express his resolve and asked Carack .
"Then did Carack receive anything separate?”
Although it was In-gong’s merit, Carack was technically the one who killed Kaichin . Carack laughed and tapped on his chest at In-gong’s question .
"I got a reward . And I received it from Prince . ”
Carack proudly lifted the dwarf axe that In-gong gave him .
“I’m glad you like it . ”
'I still have the items I packed for later . Should I bring out an armour?’
He had decided to carry on with Carack, so he should invest in him . It would be better for In-gong if Carack became stronger .
After having a chat with Carack and returning to the base, In-gong headed toward the cave with his newly joined forces .
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The road to the cave was smooth . In the first place, it was close to Shutra’s base . It was also under Chris and Caitlin’s sphere of influence, thanks to Kaichin’s defeat .
‘A prince normally rides separately on a horse . ’
Just like last time, In-gong walked next to Carack . Usually in games and movies, soldiers walked while nobility were on horseback .
‘That reminds me of something . Chris and Caitlin also seem to be walking around . Is it because they are lycanthropes?’
He used to rise on horses when playing Zephyr . It wasn’t an ordinary horse but a phantom steed that could fly in the sky .
‘I will use it later . ’
In-gong, who had been thinking about the past (?), suddenly stopped walking . There were two people in black robes standing in the middle of the road .
“Caitlin noona?”
"Shush . ”
Caitlin raised a finger to her lips and gestured for In-gong to come closer . In-gong approached Caitlin while Carack stayed behind . He saw that the other person standing there was Caitlin’s aide, Seira, who he had already met at the meeting .
In-gong nodded in response to Seira’s greeting bow and asked Caitlin .
“What is happening all of a sudden? Why are you wearing robes?”
Normally, she wore a blue cloak but at present, she was completely covered by a robe . Caitlin spoke in a low voice .
"I will secretly follow you on this reconnaissance mission . It is in case something serious happens . ”
He could understand what was going on but he didn’t know why she was joining in secret . In-gong scratched his head and asked,
“Uh . . . so, you joined unofficially?”
Although she joined In-gong’s reconnaissance mission, it was a secret to the outside world . In other words, she wasn’t here .
Caitlin nodded .
"Yes . I will only move if it becomes really dangerous . This is because they should be Shutra’s merits . ”
In-gong now approximately understood the situation .
They still didn’t know how much the Red Lightning tribe knew about the cave . So, Caitlin was accompanying him in case there was danger .
However, if Caitlin was involved, the merits of the reconnaissance mission might become hers . So, she joined unofficially .
‘It is true that it is a burden - I am a victim of results-focused education . ’
It was reasonable to say that treatment was different depending on merits but it was a huge burden for young children .
‘Then that means she wants to give me a push?’
It could be interpreted in several different ways .
One, she wanted to make Shutra more useful by increasing his merits . Two, she wanted to make sure that she became friendlier with Shutra .
‘Chris may not know that Caitlin is doing this . ’
It was clear that she came to help with a pure heart .
‘What type of star was I born under? No, not all children in this world are plotting . ’
In-gong nodded as he was convinced and smiled brightly at Caitlin .
“I understand . Thank you, Noona . ”
“Yes . ”
Caitlin responded by pulling down her hood and moved to the front of the unit with Seira . Unlike Caitlin, Seira seemed a little bit dissatisfied with the present situation .
‘She should be . ’
It was a situation where her master had come to serve another prince for free . It wasn’t something she would do for Chris .
Once In-gong returned to his position, Carack asked him .
“Is it okay for Princess to join?”
"Uh, just don’t think about it and proceed with the operation normally . "
Caitlin followed so quietly that Carack no longer looked back .
How much time passed?
In-gong found that other pathway inside the cave that he had described to Chris and Caitlin .
The only difference with the passage was that it led in a different direction . In-gong searched various empty rooms in the passage and frowned as he looked at the mini-map .
"All the rooms are empty . ”
He was expected an arsenal covered in dust but there were no treasures in the room .
However, Carack didn’t seem surprised as he explained .
“Wouldn’t people take their valuables when moving? The dwarves would have taken all of it when they migrated . ”
"Then what about the weapons yesterday?”
“I guess they weren’t that valuable . ”
This was perfect logic . In-gong was speechless as he stared at Carack .
‘This guy, is he a genius among orcs?’
He felt strange but it was good for In-gong if his subordinate was competent . In-gong was convinced of this and looked behind him . Caitlin was almost invisible in the cave due to the dark robe she was wearing .
‘Next time, should I ask her to beat me with magic?’
It was a sudden thought but when thinking about Caitlin and Aura, he was suddenly reminded of magic and divine power .
‘Will she call me a pervert again if I ask her to help me with magic the same way she did Aura?’
In-gong laughed bitterly as he was reminded of Caitlin’s reaction, then he tilted his head .
‘What will happen if I’m hit by magic? Would it awaken? Will I be able to learn magic at all?’
He wanted to experiment . After returning from the reconnaissance mission, he would ask Caitlin to hit him with whatever magic she had .
‘Kuhuhu! Magic, magic . ’
In-gong had a lively smile at the thought of being hit by Caitlin . Then In-gong looked up with a frown and Carack had the same reaction .
“Prince . ”
Carack raised his axe and said in a low voice . In-gong nodded . The mini-map was showing red dots that meant enemies .