章節 133: Chapter 292
March 8, 1799.
The knights of Runcandel, gathered to kill Barton Vicenna, arrived in the disputed region of Ventica, which was in the midst of winter. The sky had not a hint of moisture, appearing as parched as the earth, while the biting cold wind scraped across the surface.
It was truly a wasteland with nothing but dirt and rocks. However, for centuries, this place had been a constant source of both large and small battles, all because of its resources.
There were massive holes all over the wasteland. They may have appeared hollow from a distance, but upon closer inspection, most were large enough to swallow entire ships.
These were all traces of resource mining. This place was inexplicably rich with underground resources, and had always been a profitable target for conquerors.
But it was the first time ancient everlasting steel was found here. Each time this mysterious mineral was found, it sparked intense conflicts among major factions.
Right now, the knights of Runcandel and the mages of Zipfel had gathered here for that very reason.
'White night, I'll have to face the power of that annoying battleship once again.'
In the distance, something was emitting a radiant light like the sun.
It was the Kozec, Zipfel's giant battleship, displaying its magnificence.
Five red dragons flew around it as if serving as its escorts. With the enormous battleship and the five dragons in tow, the vast sky felt confined.
And Jin saw the back of the lone knight facing them all.
'Is he Barton Vicenna...?'
A fluttering cloak, a sword occasionally revealed itself behind the cape, and a black helmet.
In the presence of Kozec and the five red dragons, Barton's presence felt even more imposing.
Despite the hundreds of meters separating them, they were already within each other's attacking range.
He felt that if Barton decided, he could easily wipe out the red dragons and destroy Kozec.
The Black Knight of Runcandel.
Only ten knights in the entire clan were given the privilege of wearing a black helmet and holding the title of the Black Knight.
Jin was certain just from the aura Barton exuded that he was more than worthy of wearing the black helmet.
The problem was the fact that he had become a traitor.
If Rosa had been the only one to claim that Barton was a spy, Jin might have had his doubts.
However, Chiron himself confirmed that Barton was a spy, so it was clear that he was an undeniable traitor.
It wasn't easy to accept that they had to kill him. According to the documents, Barton had undoubtedly suffered because of Runcandel, which could justify some of his resentment.
However, there was no room for hesitation. Jin only wished that there could be a moment to talk before they kill him.
"Have you arrived, Fourth Flagbearer?"
Barton was the first to speak when Jin, Diphus, and the guardian knights approached. His voice, coming through the helmet, was eerie yet intimidating.
Despite using formal language, Barton didn't bother to turn around. Even though Diphus was a flagbearer, he couldn't be considered higher in rank than the Black Knight.
Diphus took his place beside Barton.
"Sir Barton."
"I didn't expect the 12th flagbearer to be part of this mission. Is it Madame Rosa's decision?"
Barton, who turned around belatedly, glanced at Jin as he spoke.
Jin could read the underlying emotions concealed within his composed tone.
Disappointment.
He seemed uncomfortable by the fact that he, as a Black Knight, now had to undertake the mission alongside Jin, who had just become a flagbearer.
Diphus nodded. "Yes, Sir Barton."
"It's going to be quite a dangerous battle. Please make sure to protect the 12th flagbearer."
"Well, I don't think he needs our protection."
"If the 4th flagbearer thinks so, then there's nothing more I have to say. However, please keep in mind that I also won't have much leeway against those opponents."
"Understood."
Even in Barton's somewhat commanding tone, Diphus didn't show any sign of discomfort. Instead, he obediently followed, as if it were only natural.
Excluding the fact that Barton was a spy, Diphus was displaying the right attitude. Many flagbearers couldn't enshrined in the "mausoleum" after they died, but unless a Black Knight committed treason or its equal offense, they would definitely be enshrined in the "mausoleum."
In that sense, Barton couldn't go to the "mausoleum."
"4th flagbearer will take charge of the central front with me. The top three guardian knights will handle the infiltration, and the remaining seven will deal with the enemies who have left the battlefield."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Do not designate a path towards the central front even if you find yourself in an unexpected or an emergency situation. You are more likely to be swept away and face a higher risk of death."
"We will keep that in mind."
Barton didn't issue any orders to Jin. He treated Jin as if he didn't exist after mentioning it only once at the beginning.
'Betrayal aside, from Barton's perspective, it might have wounded his pride that he's carrying out the mission with me, who is not only young but also undermines the clan's legitimacy.'
Jin didn't react differently to Barton's attitude. Shouting like, "Are you ignoring me?" would only make himself seem petty, and in reality, he wasn't that bothered by it.
Jin didn't even feel any ill will towards Barton. Instead, he felt somewhat considerate, despite Barton's intentions being different.
Whether you died, escaped, or fought, it seemed like Barton was saying do as you wish.
"That's all, everyone, to your positions."
Upon Barton's command, the guardian knights quickly dispersed.
The three designated for the infiltration remained behind and wore masks to make it difficult for them to be identified.
Kozec and the red dragons were approaching rapidly. They were still quite far away, but the red dragons collectively extended their protective shields, forming a massive sphere in the sky.
Swish...
Barton, Diphus, and the infiltration team of guardian knights drew their swords in response.
The battle had begun. The red dragons extended their shields to give Kozec time to activate its cannons.
"I wish you good luck, 4th flagbearer."
Whoosh!
Barton's eyes gleamed and he dashed forward. The rock fragments flew with each step he took, and his sword, engulfed in an aura, was already forming a giant sail-like blade.
Diphus followed closely behind him, and the guardian knights of the infiltration team advanced while trying to predict the positions where the fragments would fall as a result of the collision between sword energy and cannons.
Only Barton and Diphus could fight freely even as the fragments began to fall. Or that's what Barton thought.
'Maybe I should retreat for now.'
Jin decided to withdraw. First, his physical condition wasn't perfect, and there was no point in wasting his strength from the beginning.
Second, he intended to expose his full power to Barton as late as possible.
'It would be problematic if Barton found out my true abilities too early. He might sense something strange and will try to confirm various things.'
From Barton's perspective, this mission was merely about securing Ventica. He still didn't know that the flagbearers and guardian knights had come here to kill him. If he knew, he wouldn't have ignored Jin like this.
So Jin had to hide his full power as much as possible.
The best outcome would be if Barton, Diphus, and the guardian knights defeat the Zipfel forces without his intervention. After that, Jin could step in, either to kill the tired Barton or to ensure Barton met his end in the enemy's hands.
'But ultimately, it's more likely that I'll have to step in. Whether it's to secure our victory, turn the tide of battle, or rescue the knights, or whatever else.'
The next best option was if Runcandel lost and assassinate Barton during the escape.
In this case, Ventica would fall in the hands of the enemy, but it was more likely that Difus would take responsibility for it, not Jin.
'In the end, I don't lose anything from this mission. I won't gain anything from it either. Whether it succeeds or fails, it's all on elder brother Diphus anyway. Mother really issued this mission just to use me as efficiently as possible.'
So, as always, Jin could simply look out for his own gain.
From that perspective, Jin had already devised a decent plan thanks to Barton treating him as inconsequential as air.
'No matter which side wins, both elder brother Diphus and Barton will be in a vulnerable position. At that time, if the opportunity arises... it wouldn't be a bad idea to take care of elder brother Diphus as well.'
That didn't necessarily mean killing them. Jin wanted to instill fear in Diphus's heart so he would never treat Jin lightly again. There was no need to kill Diphus just yet. Removing someone who could restrain Joshua was a foolish move.
'Elder brother Diphus has a lot to do while he's alive.'
Jin smiled as he observed the fighting.
It was time to enjoy the fight.
Kwaaaah!
Kozec unleashed a concentrated golden colored fire from its mana cannon.
The cannon fire Jin had encountered on Colon had the power to obliterate an entire ground if allowed to land. Fortunately, it wasn't as potent as what he had faced in Colon.
Since Zipfel doesn't value ancient everlasting steel more than mirror, the battleship passengers weren't likely to be superior back then.
Bang!
Barton and Diphus also shot their sword energies into the sky.
When the two forces collided, a thunderous roar and shockwave followed, creating a blinding spectacle as the sky lit up.
Then the debris fell like rain. Piece by piece, fragments, equivalent to the power of a strike from a 6-star martial artist, rained down towards the ground, threatening to cover everything.
Outwardly, it looked almost identical to what had happened on Colon. However, back then, Talaris couldn't fully attack Zipfel, and she had to protect the natives.
On the other hand, Runcandel's knights had no trouble at all. Unlike what had happened on Colon, this battle didn't have to rely solely on the power struggle between sword energies and cannon fire.
After Barton fired his sword energy, he didn't pay much attention to the second cannon fire hitting the ground.
Zipfel was also in a similar position. The mages of the White Night aboard Kozec were also mounted on dragons and took positions in the air.
The mages began to unleash all sorts of high-level destructive magic from the sky, including wind of hell and sword of ice, and Barton and Diphus continued to leap toward them.
'Barton Vicenna, he is truly a monster.'
Leaping meant that their bodies were floating in the air. In this state, their movement was naturally limited compared to being on the ground. However, Barton was freely moving through the air, dispersing his sword energy as if he were flying. He even managed to break through the enemy's protective shields without wasting any of his sword energy.
Diphus was doing the same, but since he had not yet reached the 10-star, he had to use aura more efficiently than Barton.
While the two of them were busy traversing between the sky and the ground, amidst the battlefield, suddenly, BOOM!
Suddenly, an "unexpected explosion" occurred along the paths of the two.
Fortunately, both Barton and Diphus managed to evade the direct impact, but they couldn't avoid the fall.
At that moment, a glint appeared in Jin's eyes.
Diphus and Barton also recognized the magic spell that had just attacked them and looked around among the dragons.
They needed to find the mage who was using 'spatial explosion'. As far as they knew, there was only one person in the world who used spatial explosion magic, Kelliark Zepfil.
Jin immediately grasped who had used the Spatial Explosion.
'It's Midor Elner!'
Jin remembered how much he had struggled with the spatial explosion in Colon.
Jin quickly scanned the area to find Midor.
However, after a few seconds, Jin realized that the mage who had used the Spatial Explosion was not Midor.
He spotted a figure with pure white hair in the distance.
'Veradin...!?'
Perched on a red dragon, he looked down at the Runcandel knights with eyes that glowed as if soaked in red flames.
章節 134: Chapter 293
'I can't believe he came to Ventica...!'
Even though it was hard to see his face because of the distance, it wasn't difficult to recognize his friend.
Jin's heart began to race, even though he hadn't swung his sword.
Jin had a gut feeling that Veradin was not his usual self.
Suddenly, Jin remembered the last conversation he had with Veradin.
-So, what are you going to do?
-About what?
-Leaving Zipfel.
-Oh, that... It's probably not easy. The most realistic way might be for you to capture me as a prisoner after you become a flagbearer. But that would lead to an all-out war. And I don't even know how your siblings will treat me.
-In any case, Runcandel and Zipfel will fight even if it's not for you.
-That's true, but Jin, I have a sense of responsibility. If the clan is heading down the wrong path, I should correct it, shouldn't I? I will restore everything to normal. I will turn Zipfel back into the proud clan I know.
Shouldn't I correct it as well? I should correct it as well….
It felt like time had stopped, and Veraidn's voice kept repeating in his head.
I will restore everything.
Jin didn't believe Veradin's resolve.
The Empire of Evil, which had never fallen in thousands of years, was already too far gone to be corrected. It seemed there was no solution other than to destroy it.
But even destroying it seemed impossible.
More than half the world was under Zipfel's influence, its alliances were strong, and countless people depended on Zipfel's magic for their daily lives.
It was the most powerful clan that seemed impossible to overthrow, even if the entire world turned against it.
That was Zipfel.
So, Jin wished for Veradin to run away. To leave his clan and live as his true self.
-No, if it were me, I would have left Runcandel if I felt that my will was gradually fading away without me realizing it.
Giant sword energies and the cannon fire of Kozec clashed, and the fragments of energy covered the sky.
Under the dark sky, Veradin's red eyes shook dangerously.
He's not in a normal state, Jin repeated the thought in his mind and gritted his teeth.
A life where memories were manipulated, slowly losing oneself. No one would want that.
Veradin looked like a madman as he stepped into battle with authority of fire imbued in his red-eyes.
Boom, boom, kwah!
The spatial explosions spread along with Veradin's gaze.
'You resisted your clan to the very end. There is no way you willingly come to this battlefield.'
Jin hadn't considered the possibility of encountering Veradin on his first mission as a flagbearer.
Of all times, Veradin had to be in this state, and curses rose to his throat.
He wanted to take Veradin away from the battlefield right now and help him regain his senses.
But that was just emotions.
Realistically, it was an impossible task. Getting Veradin back in his usual self right away was probably impossible.
Jin needed to control his anger and look at the situation rationally.
Of course, he couldn't completely erase his worries, but he thought: Veradin wasn't a child.
It wasn't his role to throw himself into danger to save Veradin like a child in peril.
That was something Veradin had to do for himself, and he could lend a hand when he asked for help, as a friend should.
It was Veradin's decision to resist his clan on his own, and Jin had to respect that, at least until it became clear that he was completely broken.
Jin quickly regained control of his emotions, and his gaze became calm.
'First, Veradin's appearance has significantly changed the situation of the battlefield.'
More precisely, it was the magic spell, spatial explosion, Veradin was using, which was similar to an authority.
Diphus and Barton were the only two people on Runcandel's side who could effectively deal with the flying Kozec and enemy dragons. They were using their swords for attack and flight.
However, their movements were blocked by spatial explosions.
Even if it were 10-star knight and 9-star knight with a blessed body of Runcandel, avoiding spatial explosions in the air was nearly impossible.
Veradin was using this fact to persistently disrupt the movements of the two.
As a result, they could only respond by firing sword energies from the ground, and it seemed like Zipfel was overwhelmingly on the offensive.
Veradin's spatial explosion's power was fundamentally different from the spatial explosions used by Midor Elner.
One spell had bound two transcendent martial artists in an instant.
'Elder brother Diphus must be confused right now. It must be hard for him to accept that anyone other than Kelliark is using the spatial explosion, and he might suspect that Barton leaked information about the Ventica mission to Zipfel.'
As expected, Diphus was confused. Of course, he didn't make it seem so obvious to the enemy, but it was clear to Jin.
'Barton probably leaked information to Zipfel before this operation started. Since he was assigned to Ventica, he must have informed Zipfel that they need to take appropriate measures to obtain the Ventica.'
The "appropriate measure" was the spatial explosion.
If too much firepower were devoted to stopping Barton and Diphus, Runcandel would also send troops accordingly, so it would be meaningless.
But what if they simply deter Diphus and Barton's aerial combat abilities with spatial explosions?
In Runcandel, there are only two individuals capable of aerial combat, while Zipfel has deployed not only five dragons but also Kozec. Moreover, it's unclear how many of Zipfel's elite mages, including White night, are on board the Kozec.
No matter how strong Diphus and Barton are, from the moment aerial combat was blocked, the situation became overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
'Zipfels used their head well. If Runcandel and Zipfel had simply fought with more troops, the spatial explosion alone wouldn't have changed the situation.'
The situation would have been different if there were knights to protect Barton and Diphus from spatial explosions. But now there were no knights with such abilities among the ten guardian knights who came here.
The infiltration team was blocked, and the guardian knights deployed to kill deserters were instead being chased by the dragons.
"Damn it, why is Veradin Zipfel using the power of Kelliark... Sir Barton, I'll create an opportunity, so you kill him from a distance."
"4th Flagbearer, how do you plan to create an opportunity? The mages of White night are concentrating on protecting Veradin."
"I can easily tear apart those shields."
"4th Flagbearer, isn't your strength a bit lacking for that? It's too risky. Since aerial combat is blocked, we need to be prepared for considerable casualties to see this through."
"So you're saying we should retreat like this?"
"Please think rationally, 4th Flagbearer. As a Black Knight, I don't want to leave the stain of a mission failure, but the enemy has brought too many variables."
"What do you mean?"
"Does the Ancient everlasting steel hold much greater value than your life, 4th Flagbearer? The fact that Veradin can use Kelliark's power is already a significant gain."
While the conversation continued, fragments and spells continued to rain down.
Diphus and Barton kept avoiding spatial explosions with their superhuman senses.
But other guardian knights couldn't do the same.
What made spatial explosions so notorious was its ability to kill people without warning.
Kaaa!
Suddenly, one guardian knight screamed as his arm "exploded." Originally, the spatial explosion was aimed at his head, but he instinctively avoided it in exchange for his arm.
Even Diphus and Barton had to push their senses to the limit to avoid spatial explosions. And Veradin's spatial explosions were casted with "triple simultaneous casting." It meant that three explosions occurred in the air at once.
It was only a matter of time before the other guardian knights fell victim to spatial explosions.
"4th Flagbearer! What is the role of Runcandel's Flagbearer? It's to lead the knights of the clan and take responsibility. Do you intend to lead them to their deaths just because you don't want to leave the stain of a mission failure? Make a decision."
You filthy traitor, you thought I wouldn't understand your intentions!
Diphus calmed his rising anger and shook his head.
If it had been any other Black Knight than Barton, Diphus would have actively followed the suggestion to withdraw. Because there wasn't a single wrong word in his argument.
But Barton was a spy, and Diphus's mission was to secure Ventica and assassinate him.
"As you say, the value of the Ancient everlasting steel might not be that great. But if we secure Veradin, the situation changes. We can't just turn back. We will capture Ventica and take the life of Zipfel's next patriarch."
"Then I will issue the retreat order."
"Sir Barton!"
"Even though you are the 4th Flagbearer, you have no authority over mine. I'll give you one last chance. Issue the retreat order yourself. If you refuse, I shall uphold my duty as Runcandel Black Knight and escape with other knights. If even one person dies, it will be entirely your responsibility, 4th Flagbearer."
"What are you talking about? When will we have another opportunity to kill Zipfel's next patriarch...?"
"In my eyes, it seems like you are blinded by desire for achievement, 4th flagbearer. You are unable to see the mistakes. Did you say an opportunity to kill Veradin? Do you really think Zipfel would leave the next patriarch so vulnerable?"
Diphus felt frustrated as he had nothing to argue.
He couldn't reveal Barton's betrayal in front of everyone.
Even if he did, killing Barton in this situation was out of the question. In fact, it would be fortunate if he wasn't the one targeted.
'Damn it! I need to retreat for now and plan for the next opportunity! All because of a single magic spell!'
Retreating now would certainly be a disgrace.
But that wasn't the real issue. Rosa would likely transfer the mission to assassinate the Black Knights to another Flagbearer, most likely Joshua or Luntia.
If they managed to properly assassinate Barton, it would surely lower Diphus's position within the clan.
Suddenly, Diphus thought of someone who hadn't yet joined the battlefield.
Jin Runcandel, his youngest brother. If it were Jin...
He might have a way to turn this dog-like situation around.
It was just a hunch, but just considering it brought a sense of shame. However, from Diphus's perspective, the situation was dire.
'Damn it. How did it come to this, Diphus? Right now, it's not about the immediate disgrace. I need to kill Barton. Today, right here. No matter what!'
Jin was still watching them from outside the battlefield.
Due to the noise and distance, he couldn't hear Diphus and Barton's conversation, but it wasn't difficult to read the changing situation.
'Barton must have opted for a retreat. It would be madness to risk the lives of elder brother Diphus and guardian knights for the ancient everlasting steel against the threats introduced by the spatial explosions.'
Jin had no intention of passively observing the situation.
'First, I need to neutralize the spatial explosions.'
Having made up his mind, Jin began moving toward the battlefield.
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
51 推薦票 
段落評論