Chapter 176. Solaid Kingdom (4)

Jack, Jaina, and Anton safely joined the emissaries in Hohen Village.

Not only that, but they were also able to reunite with all the sailors who had been shipwrecked and stranded with them.

However, the joy of relief was short-lived.

Now, in the midst of war, they too were stranded, agonizing over their next move.

“This will not do. We must gather Duke Evan and his retinue and return to our home country.”

Duke Belban, the head of the emissaries and an elder noble, stated his position firmly.

But Anton quietly shook his head and retorted.

“We cannot do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

Belban raised his eyebrows, showing his displeasure.

“We are in the middle of a war. There is a high probability that the sea routes are already blockaded. A reckless attempt to escape could lead to even greater danger. And……”

Anton's eyes hardened with determination.

“I have a reason I cannot leave this place.”

“What on earth is it? Is it a reason more important than your life?”

“It is.”

Amid the tense atmosphere, Jaina cautiously stepped forward.

“Duke Belban, are you going to just stand by and watch the Empire's atrocities?”

“Lady Jaina, I too find the situation here very unfortunate. But let’s think realistically. Do we not lack an army? What can we do here?”

Belban's words were not wrong.

Perhaps that was why no one could easily refute them.

However, Anton had already made up his mind.

The reason he could not leave this place, the reason he absolutely had to remain here.

“In that case, Your Grace, please lead the rest of the emissaries and return to the Manoa Kingdom. The sea route there should not be blockaded yet.”

“Then what will you all do?”

“We have something we must do here.”

“Anton! This is not just a matter of your personal deviation. Look at the insignia of the kingdom on your chest!”

A shield-shaped brooch symbolizing the Kaien Kingdom.

Anton knew its meaning better than anyone.

That was why he had acted cautiously and restrained himself until now.

But,

“Anton!”

Despite Belban's attempt to stop him, Anton unhesitatingly removed the brooch.

“I am no longer a person of the kingdom. I am merely an individual.”

“Why are you going this far?”

A mix of bewilderment and sorrow was evident in Belban's voice.

“Someone told me. That if not now, an irreversible danger will befall us.”

That someone was Evan.

And Anton thoroughly believed his words.

Jack and Jaina, standing beside him, supported Anton with the same resolve.

“Haa……”

Belban let out a deep sigh.

“I have no power to drag you away by force……. But I cannot join your cause either. We each have our own circumstances.”

“That is a matter of course.”

“As you said, it is dangerous here, so I will lead the emissaries to the Manoa Kingdom.”

In the end, Belban decided to leave with only the emissaries.

“If you happen to change your mind, join us at any time. We will wait at the port as long as we can.”

“Understood.”

Thus, the emissaries immediately left the village and began their journey to the Manoa Kingdom.

Watching their figures grow distant, Anton and his group, despite their anxiety, held firm to their faith in Evan.

Later, while they were debating whether they should rejoin Evan, he finally arrived in Hohen Village.

Seeing Evan appear, Jack and Jaina greeted him with relief and joy.

“Are the emissaries gone?”

“They left! We decided to stay behind.”

“We were just debating whether to wait for you here or come find you again.”

While Evan listened to their answers, his gaze naturally turned towards the inside of the village.

Hohen Village was in a state of utter turmoil.

At the news of the imperial army's approach, most of the residents had already set off on the path of refuge, and the village was becoming empty.

“But Young Master, why did you come alone?”

Jack asked curiously.

“There’s something I need to take.”

“What is it?”

“A secret weapon to protect this kingdom. Turns out it's in this village.”

As Evan said this, his eyes darted around, searching for any trace of Karnak.

But no matter where he looked, he could not see anything that looked like a giant temple or structure.

‘Damn… I thought I’d be able to find it right away just by looking around, should I have asked for the exact location?’

Knowing the scale of Karnak, Evan had thought he would be able to spot it at a glance, but contrary to his expectation, there was not even a trace of it.

“I have a favor to ask. Somewhere in this village, a temple or a similar structure must be hidden. Everyone, please split up and find it.”

At Evan's request, the group prepared to move.

It was at that very moment.

The sound of footsteps from an old man approaching with a staff could be heard.

It was the elder of Hohen Village.

“Strangers, why do you seek the temple?”

With most of the villagers already gone, the sight of strangers looking for the temple was nothing but suspicious in the elder's eyes.

Evan then slowly raised his hand and took out the pass and letter he had received from Karap.

“Commander Karap sent me.”

“The Defense Commander……?”

The elder, who had received the letter, looked at it intently for a long time, and only after confirming that the handwriting and seal were clearly Karap's did he finally compose his expression into a solemn one.

“I see. If the request is to cooperate in finding Karnak, then I must do so.”

It was a hard-to-believe situation, but the handwriting in the letter was definitely Commander Karap's.

Moreover, the direction Evan came from was the Ramacht Plains, making it even more believable.

“Where is the temple?”

Evan asked.

The elder slowly tapped his staff on the ground and said.

“There is no need to search. This entire village is the roof and cover for the Karnak temple. The entrance is……”

It was that very instant.

Before the elder could even finish his sentence, Evan, holding his sword in a reverse grip, struck the ground with all his might.

—Kwajijijik!

The ground cracked, with the sword at the center, and fissures spread out like a spider's web.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

The elder, startled, clutched his staff and shouted urgently.

However, Evan's gaze was unwavering and calm.

Jack, noticing his intention, concentrated strength in his legs and jumped up with all his might.

“Be careful!”

Anton quickly supported the elder and moved back, and Jaina also took a step back and got into a stance.

As soon as they moved to a safe place, Jack delivered a powerful blow to the ground with both his feet.

—Kwajik!

—Urrrrr!

The solid stone floor shattered into pieces, and a huge hole opened up.

“Woah!”

Jack shouted as he lost his balance and fell.

Evan instantly grabbed his arm, and using the falling debris as footholds, he lightly jumped down as if descending stairs.

—Kukukung!

The collapsing chunks of stone made a deafening noise as they piled up deep underground.

Finally setting foot on the hard floor, Evan caught his breath for a moment and slowly looked around.

‘Found it… Karnak.’

A magnificent sight unfolded before Evan's eyes.

A giant, golden ancient temple, as if sculpted from sand, revealed its majestic form, completely undisturbed despite the long passage of time.

“Woooow… I can't believe something like this was down here.”

While Jack was exclaiming in amazement, Anton and Jaina soon landed carefully as well.

—Tak!

—Tadat!

The two of them, also facing the grand temple, were filled with awe and each threw out a comment.

“How on earth do you know these things?”

“The old man was complaining quite a bit. Saying why did we have to do this when there was an entrance.”

Evan explained the situation to them briefly and clearly.

“There's no time. We have to move this temple before the Empire's reinforcements swallow the Ramacht Plains.”

However, those who heard his words did not readily understand.

“Move it?”

As Jaina asked back with a puzzled look, Evan calmly walked towards the inside of the temple and said.

“There must be a clue somewhere in the temple. If you find anything, let me know immediately. I'll take care of the rest. Knight, if you also find anything unusual, please be sure to tell me.”

Thus, the four of them headed into the depths of the revealed Karnak temple to find the clue to move it.

‘Karnak… truly, from an enemy's perspective, it was a weapon so desperate that their vision would go dark.’

Evan looked around the temple's interior, recalling memories of old.

The dome-shaped interior of the temple was grand, and along both walls, statues in human form stood in line holding their respective weapons, as if conducting a ritual.

And at the end of the path where the statues were lined up, there was an altar that seemed to be for offering prayers, but at a glance, it was impossible to tell what special function it served.

Only the plaque engraved on the altar left a short and mysterious phrase.

[Satisfy the Temple of Martial Arts. Then the temple shall become yours.]

That hard-to-understand phrase was the only clue for now.

‘Kailam definitely told me. That the other Seven Extreme Stars might not, but I would surely be able to move Karnak.’

But he did not tell him the exact method.

He only said that when Evan himself entered the temple, he would naturally realize the method.

So Evan had vaguely thought that the answer would become clear just by entering the temple, but it was difficult to find any clues inside the temple other than the plaque.

Then, suddenly, he recalled Kailam's words once more.

‘He said I could move it. Kailam, who knew better than anyone how similar he and I were…’

If he said that only Evan, and not the other Seven Extreme Stars, could move it, it must be related to a technique.

‘Perhaps if I use Sertuan?’

Evan slowly got into a stance, just as he had shown in front of Karap.

Then, he manifested Sertuan, creating a clash of qi that only Kailam could wield.

—Tuhoong!

However, the powerful energy merely scattered into the air, and no change occurred.

‘That’s not it.’

Feeling awkward, he was looking around the temple again when Jaina, who had been intently looking at the temple wall, spoke.

“Were you perhaps… imitating this?”

“Hmm?”

“No, I mean the mural drawn on the wall here. I thought you were looking at it and copying it.”

“What did you say?”

Only after hearing her words did Evan belatedly examine the mural engraved on the temple wall.

On the mural behind the only statue standing with bare hands, was, surprisingly, the exact stance of the Sertuan that Evan had just performed.

‘No, he didn't even teach his descendants the proper method, so why did he leave something like this as a mural? Of course, knowing Kailam's personality, it’s possible…’

Evan approached to examine the mural more closely.

As he was carefully looking at the drawing depicting Sertuan, he suddenly felt something was strange and took a few steps back.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, Sertuan isn't the only thing engraved on the temple walls. There are many other martial arts that were praised as the best of their time also engraved here. And in front of those murals, there are statues erected holding the weapons that fit the respective martial arts…….’

Those who had investigated the temple in the past would have seen this mural.

However, with most of the martial arts, including Sertuan, not being properly passed down to the present, Evan was likely the first to realize its true meaning.

That was how much of a genius Evan was when it came to weapons, and his curiosity and interpretation of martial arts were just as outstanding.

Before his eyes, he could see at a glance the legendary martial arts that had each dominated an era.

‘That’s the spearmanship of Nefran… and this is the swordsmanship of a fallen royal family. All are martial arts containing extreme techniques that were evaluated as having no rival in their era, and are now lost legacies.’

The densely engraved history of martial arts.

He had thought it was simply left as a decoration by someone, but then the words written on the altar's plaque came to mind.

‘The plaque definitely said this. Satisfy the Temple of Martial Arts.’

Facing the statues, Evan decided to test a hypothesis he had formed.

“Jaina.”

“Hmm?”

“Can you show me the Ritual of Bloodstorm right now?”

“That’s not difficult, but……”

“Please.”

At Evan's words, Jaina looked confused, but she drew her sword anyway.

She composed her breathing and performed the Ritual of Bloodstorm towards the empty air.

—Hwaak!

Sharp sword qi swirled inside the temple.

‘She has definitely grown. It’s much more refined than before.’

But the temple showed no reaction.

It was just silent, as if it was not satisfied.

“That's enough.”

“Why? What were you trying to confirm?”

“This arrogant temple seems to be testing us.”

“A test?”

“Yes, a test. Come to think of it, a test reminds me of my academy days.”

His days at Lansed Academy.

As that memory surfaced, Evan let out a hollow laugh.

“If this is indeed a test, I should at least get a perfect score, right?”

The message on the plaque, ‘Satisfy the Temple of Martial Arts,’ and Kailam's words that he would surely be able to activate the temple.

‘It seems to be asking me to show it the best martial arts… but how does this temple intend to judge what is the best?’

Lost in thought for a moment, Evan soon walked up to a statue and took the spear it was holding.

“Jaina, step back for a moment.”

—Kung!

At that moment, a loud crash was suddenly heard from outside the temple.

It was from the direction where Jack and Anton were.