East Road Quest

Chapter 69: Goat King

While Jade was tracking Ruby and the Tyrant, he worried he might encounter the Goat King before Ruby. However, he had Saph, who could read the demon’s name, and magic to obliterate it accordingly.

He thought he could seize the moment if his opponent let his guard down. But it was a grave mistake.

‘Isn’t this me being complacent?’

The Goat King raised his axe. Despite the distance, it seemed close enough to strike with a swing.

Jade flinched at every movement of the demon’s hand. But the Goat King had merely rested the axe on his shoulder.

“Did you say your name was Jade?”

The Goat King looked up at the night sky briefly before continuing.

“Seeing you wield the light of annihilation, you must be some sort of demon hunter.”

The Goat King’s deep voice resonated with the ground before enveloping Jade.

“It’s about time for someone like you to show up.”

As the Goat King stepped forward, the beasts escorting him parted like waves. It was as if a house was moving. Even the Tyrant, who seemed so large, would look like a pony in comparison.

Yet, Jade did not show his fear outwardly. If that was his only strength, then it was a strength indeed.

“In the southern ancient kingdom, they worshipped goats, and priests wearing goat masks would offer people as sacrifices. And Rotin labeled the figure with goat horns as a demon to make that ancient religion heretical. But looking at you, the goat’s visage truly seems to be the demon itself.”

“Thank you.”

“Speak, goat!”

Jade deliberately used ‘goat’ instead of the authoritative names Goat King or Goatan. It seemed to lessen his own fear and that of the three people behind him.

“Where are the children you’ve kidnapped?”

“They are in a place you’ll never know.”

The Goat King stopped at a subtle distance. It was about five steps from where the pig had vanished—a difficult distance for Jade to approach, but the reach of the demon’s axe was sufficient.

‘I shouldn’t have shown that I use the light of annihilation.’

Jade regretted it.

“Go, Goatan!”

Barsch, who was behind, spoke up. His voice trembled, but he delivered his message clearly.

“If you release the children, we will meet your demands.”

The Goat King looked past Jade at Barsch, then turned to Hurr beside him.

Both men trembled just from meeting the Goat King’s gaze.

The Goat King snorted and asked,

“Will you follow me as the king of the plains and stand at the forefront of my nation?”

“If the children are returned safely, we will do so. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Jade listened without intervening.

After a long silence, the Goat King finally spoke.

“That’s right.”

“That’s right?”

Jade frowned and continued,

“Why do you speak in the past tense?”

“There are more children and a larger army in Gran. They’ve gathered in one place, easy to capture.”

At the Goat King’s words, Hurr asked in Kun’s language, confused.

Saph quietly translated beside him.

“What will you do with the children?”

Then the Goat King, seemingly aware of Jade, spoke in Rome’s language.

“I’ve calculated which side is more beneficial. Eating humans makes me smarter. But there’s a limit to that. Eating children, however, continues to make me smarter. No, that sounds a bit funny. It clears my mind and makes me feel good.”

The Goat King’s voice shook the ground and the air, pushing the two Kun hunters into despair.

The Goat King’s shadow, laden with moonlight, darkened the surroundings. The air grew heavy, and the Goat King’s breath heated Jade’s face from afar.

“I will eat one child a day and strike Gran. What I need is an army of ten thousand, not a few hunters from your tribe. What I need to make Gran’s army mine are Gran’s children.”

The Goat King extended his other hand, the one without the axe, and pointed his clawed index finger at Barsch.

“First, I’ll devour you. Then your children will live another day. It will be a beautiful sacrifice.”

Barsch drew his sword, but the Goat King, still shouldering his axe, did not move. Instead, the goats behind the Goat King stood ready, horns erect, and the other surrounding beasts prepared to attack.

“Saph, does this one have a name?”

Jade asked quietly.

Saph answered without hesitation.

“Ramatus.”

Jade spoke loudly.

“Let me ask you, Ramatus!”

The Goat King’s eyes widened as he glared at Jade.

“Since when did you have such an army?”

“How do you know my name?”

“It was a pointless question. I already know the answer. Three years, right? Now, the next question. Who is your master?”

Jade asked, unfazed.

A murderous intent crept into the Goat King’s previously relaxed expression.

“I am my own master.”

“Ramatus, a lowly demon like you must have a master. Speak. Who is your master?” demanded the Angel Chief.

“This wretch! I spared you to ask some questions, but it seems you wish to die first,” growled Gothking, taking two steps forward. Now within striking distance, he could swing the axe perched on his shoulder. Yet, Jade stood firm, not retreating.

Instead, he stepped forward, distancing himself from Poe.

“Where is the hellgate you crawled out of, Ramatus?” Jade challenged.

Gothking raised his axe with both hands.

“You’ll find out when you go to hell,” Ramatus sneered.

Jade looked up at the axe blade, now aimed at his head, and beyond it, the twinkling stars in the clear night sky. At the same time, he saw a dark object arcing through the air towards them.

It was Tyrant, a massive horse with black fur.

Thud!

Tyrant impaled itself on Gothking’s sharp horns.

“Argh!”

Gothking lost his balance and staggered forward.

Blood, dark as the shadows, gushed and flowed down the horns, drenching the goat’s face. Such was Gothking’s size that even with a horse impaled on his horn, he only staggered, not falling over.

“What is this?!” exclaimed Gothking, pulling Tyrant off his horn and slamming it to the ground.

The fallen horse writhed in agony, its entrails spilling from its belly.

“My lord, it’s me… Tyrant,” the horse gasped.

Gothking glanced briefly at Jade and Poe, then looked up at the night sky before gazing back down at Tyrant and asked, “Where did you come from?”

“I… I…” Tyrant stammered, unable to answer.

“I threw him,” came a voice, accompanied by the clanking of chains.

From the twilight emerged Ruby, chains gleaming white and eyes glowing red.

He leaped from afar, landing amidst the beasts surrounding the group, then hopped from one beast’s back to another.

The creatures collapsed with strange cries under his feet. The last sheep he stepped on was driven headfirst into the ground.

Ruby, suspended in mid-air, spun several times before landing between Gothking and Jade.

Brushing off his hands, Ruby turned to Ramatus and asked, “Are you the goat that’s less than the pollen of a flower eaten by bugs?”

Three minutes earlier.

Ruby had led all the children out of the underground ruins.

The children cheered softly as they emerged from the darkness.

“Quiet. We can’t make noise yet,” Ruby cautioned the excited children. Jade’s voice could be heard not far away, beyond a hill.

Ruby went to the edge of the hill to assess the situation. There stood a giant goat on two legs.

“Ah, that must be Gothking, right?” he mused.

“Yes, that’s Gothran, the king of the Kuman steppes,” Tyrant replied wearily.

“I’ve kept my promise. Now let me go, and enter the negotiation,” Tyrant pleaded, gasping for breath.

A boy suddenly accused, “That horse ate my mother.”

A girl chimed in, “That horse ate my uncle. He took me hostage too. My uncle was the best hunter in our village. He lied, saying if my uncle came unarmed, he would spare us both. But when my uncle really showed up without weapons, he ate him.”

The girl, recalling the event, began to sob.

“Don’t keep your promise. He didn’t keep his!” the children cried out in unison, denouncing Tyrant’s crimes.

Tyrant, flustered, shouted, “Lies! These children are lying. Let’s talk, warrior to warrior, man to man.”

Tyrant showed a desperation he hadn’t before.

“Send me to Gothking. Then we’ll fight properly. For a great warrior like you, an honorable battle should be the top priority, right? Surely you wouldn’t stoop to killing me while I’m bound, without a proper duel?”

Ruby listened to Tyrant’s pleas while also hearing the children’s uproar and Jade’s argument with Gothking in the distance.

“A great warrior?” Ruby turned to Tyrant.

“Yes. If you’re a warrior, keep your promise.”

“But earlier, you called me a slave?”

“Well…”

“Fine, fine. I’ll keep my promise.”

As Ruby released the chains, the children looked disappointed.

Tyrant slowly rose, speaking with a solemn voice, “Then I shall go first to present the negotiation to the lord… Huh?”

Ruby approached and grabbed Tyrant’s neck.

“What are you doing?”

“You promised to keep your word. I’ll send you back to your land,” the Angel Chief declared.

“But why are you holding…?”

Before the tyrant could finish his sentence, Ruby signaled the children with a glance and commanded, “Kids, get down.”

The children promptly flattened themselves on the ground.

“What, what are you trying to do?” the tyrant gasped in horror.

With one hand gripping the tyrant’s nape and the other clamping his mouth, Ruby spun him around on the spot. The tyrant’s body lifted into the air in an instant.

Ruby twirled twice more and hurled the tyrant away.

He soared in a parabola, landing precisely on the horns of the Fire Angel, Baltian.

“See? Even enemies must honor their promises,” Ruby said with glee, turning back to the children.

“Stay here. I’ll bring your fathers.”

“Are you leaving us here?” asked Varsh’s daughter.

“I’ll be back quickly.”

“How quickly?”

“Count to a million in your head.”

“I can only count to fifty.”

“Then count to fifty twice,” Ruby instructed before dashing towards the Fire Angel.

The Fire Angel looked down at the tyrant, who was spilling his guts from a torn abdomen, then shifted his gaze to Ruby.

“What did you just say, kid? Something about flowers?”

“Don’t mind it. Just a common curse,” Ruby chuckled, glancing back at Jade.

Jade wore a furious expression.

“Huh? I thought I’d be praised. Why are you angry?”

“Do you realize you’ve made things difficult because of you?” Jade scolded.

“Such a stickler. What usual and sensible rule have I broken now?”

At that moment, the Fire Angel swung his axe down.

The axe aimed precisely for Ruby’s head and fell.

“How dare you turn your head away from me for even a moment…”

The Fire Angel pulled back his axe, imagining the human split in two. But the blade shattered.

Ruby had combined the shackles on his left and right hands to block the axe. Despite the immense weight pressing down, one of Ruby’s feet dug into the ground, but neither the shackles broke nor did his knees buckle.

“Most who face me follow the same pattern. First scorn, then surprise, soon shock, and lastly death.”

The Fire Angel, with his broken axe, staggered back with a stunned expression.

Ruby threw his chains, wrapping them around the goat’s horns. With that, he leaped backward, pulling the Fire Angel towards him.

“You think you can subdue me with mere silk threads?” the Fire Angel roared.

He grabbed the chains with both hands, but they didn’t budge.

Ruby laughed heartily.

“How about that? My silk threads are quite tough, aren’t they?” As Ruby pulled on the chains, the Fire Angel was forced to sprawl flat on the ground, propping himself up on all fours.

“What are you waiting for? Attack. All of you!” The Fire Angel’s voice thundered through the quiet night air. Some of the waiting beasts charged at Ruby, while others rushed towards Jade and Saph.

Ruby shouted louder than the Fire Angel, “Hey, Jade! Save the lectures for later. I’m fighting now! You know the combat protocol, right?”

Saph had already flattened himself on the ground, and Jade followed suit, shouting to Hur and Varsh, “Get down!”