章節 291: Chapter 450

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"And bring healers and poison masters who can detoxify immediately."

The Black Knight was no longer trembling. He only exhaled weak breaths and appeared on the brink of death.

The members carefully carried the Black Knight.

"We must keep him alive at all costs. If he dies, it won't be good for the Black King mercenaries or for me. Especially the situation of Black King mercenaries is likely to become even more complicated."

"Don't worry, Sir Jin!"

The 3rd captain Murka responded, and healers and doctors of Black King mercenaries crowded around the injured knight.

"On the contrary, if we manage to save him, it will be a great advantage for both me and the Black King mercenaries."

If the Black Knight were to die in the Black King Mountain Hideout, it would provide Joshua with a pretext to pressure Valkas, regardless of the circumstances.

However, if the situation were the other way around, it would be Valkas who could demand compensation, not Joshua. Jin would not lose the mightiest helmet of his clan, and perhaps he could even directly negotiate with the Black Knight.

"We've saved people in worse situations before."

"We will definitely keep him alive!"

Crack! Clang!

The medical team began emergency treatment and, as soon as they rushed out, an unexpected explosion followed by tremors shook the entire Black King Mountain Hideout.

Shadow force, demonic energy, and aura surged out through the narrowing crack in the subspace like a volcanic eruption. Since Jin had escaped from the subspace, the battlefield had become even more chaotic.

'A monster is a monster. She is revealing more power even though she is severely outnumbered and cornered because of the ruptured subspace.'

Murakan had thought there was no need for Jin to return, but he was still worried. He needed to evacuate the Black King mercenaries as quickly as possible and then join the battle.

".... What kind of battle is happening inside! Are you sure that Zephyrin was really that monster!"

The Second captain expressed his despair in a gloomy voice.

The sight of Zephyrin, who had transformed into her human form, fighting against their leader, Murakan and Jin was utterly unbelievable.

Lately, Zephyrin had been the troublemaker in the Black King mercenaries. She made the life of all the senior members and administrators difficult.

However, on the other hand, she was the youngest member who, despite receiving scoldings every day and getting into trouble, couldn't help but spread her unique lively and cheerful energy, making it hard to dislike her.

Yet, that Zephyrin had now turned into the monster that was putting the Black King Mountain Hideout in an unprecedented crisis.

The sudden appearance of the enormous snake-like form that occasionally revealed itself sent shivers down their spine.

"Sir Valkas was most worried that his subordinates, including the Second Captain, might have been attacked by Zephyrin. Has anyone among the Black King mercenaries been attacked by Zephyrin?"

"Not at all, 12th flagbearer."

"That's a relief."

The biggest concern for Valkas had yet to happen.

'If we manage to evacuate everyone without casualties, then I can hope for a positive outcome when Sir Valkas and I negotiate later.'

Kyaah!

Zephyrin's roar resonated from beyond the cracks. It was a distant sound, but even those who had not experienced it personally could imagine the power of that roar.

The evacuation was speeding up.

Although such a thing had never happened before, like all castles, the Black King Mountain Hideout had numerous special passages, devices, and instructions for evacuation.

Ladders spread throughout the hideout, and magical devices for moving supplies were activated.

It was quite a spectacle despite the urgent and gloomy situation. Like a giant organism, the massive fortresses lined up along the mountain range were moving seamlessly.

Jin left the central fortress, where the leader's reception room was located, and observed the Black King mercenaries evacuating.

Hundreds of special ropes connected the fortresses allowed people and supplies to move between them. The fortresses moved tirelessly, like intricate mechanical devices.

The rugged mountain ranges surrounding the fortresses were equipped with various mechanisms. Whenever a distant rumble was heard, an avalanche occurred near the fortresses and created a slide path.

Non-combat personnel and supplies were descended down the mountain with the help of these paths. Meanwhile, various defensive shields were deployed around the fortresses.

These were not the work of the members but the magical defenses set up by the Black King mercenaries. There were so many shields that it was difficult to count them all.

'This is only what I can see, so I can't even begin to imagine how much went into these defenses.'

It required more than just money to obtain equipment like this. The Black King mercenaries had connections with magic tool craftsmen from both the Empire and the Lutero Magic Federation.

Being a neutral faction and a mercenary group allowed them to achieve this. It is no different from an act of treason for magic tool craftsmen to offer these items to Runcandel. Most of the magic tools that Runcandel used for war were obtained as spoils of battle.

The evacuation was proceeding very smoothly. As expected of the world's best mercenary group, the Black King mercenaries showed excellent coordination even in their first experience of an emergency.

The mountain range with the fortresses had almost entirely collapsed.

Most of the members had already completed their evacuation below, while Jin, the leader, and the officers were hanging from ropes created and observing the central fortress's battlefield.

Precisely, they were watching the central fortress collapse.

"Huuh."

"Leader...!"

The force breaking through the subspace crack was turning the central fortress into dust.

Although the blue flames attached to the crack had decreased significantly from earlier, but blue flames' power continuously tore the crack very effectively.

'It seems like the subspace will be completely torn apart soon.'

What would happen next?

Zephyrin might not be able to transform back into her original form, but the battle would continue. She possessed at least a 10-star level strength even in her human form.

However, this fight wouldn't last long. Zephyrin had taken multiple hits and was exhausted, while Jin's group and Valkas were also weary, so it would be a short battle.

'We can't kill Zephyrin here. The members are safe for now, so the best outcome is to retreat without causing fatal damage to each other.'

Regardless of her exhaustion, it was uncertain what other abilities Zephyrin might have left. Given the shocking display of her power, the tides of battle could change drastically.

Moreover, if the battle were to spread 'beyond the subspace,' external forces would undoubtedly get involved. The Black King mercenaries were a neutral faction that everyone in the world kept an eye on.

If a substantial battle took place at Black King Mountain Hideout, the nearby factions would undoubtedly become aware of it.

'She probably created the subspace from the beginning and did not kill the 2nd captain and the subordinates because she wanted to handle this discreetly.'

Black King Mountain Hideout was situated in the unprotected region of the central continent, Bise Kingdom.

The Bise Kingdom did not belong to any of the four great factions, but it was geographically quite close to the territories of the Zipfel and Vermont.

Recently, Kinzelo's relationship with those factions had not been very friendly.

'If Zephyrin is keeping in mind that they might come, she will definitely choose to escape.'

As Jin contemplated that, the sound of the subspace tearing finally reached their ears.

Jin and the members of the Black King mercenaries raised their heads to look at the collapsing central fortress.

The sight of the battlefield sparsely visible through the cracks was too chaotic to get a clear view of the internal situation.

Kuhaha...!

The first to emerge from the crack was Murakan.

He roared triumphantly and then exhaled his breath towards the emerging Zephyrin.

Jin silently breathed a sigh of relief after seeing this.

'He's unharmed!'

However, when he saw Valkas and Shaku, especially Shaku's condition, Jin felt his heart being torn apart.

Shaku appeared to be seriously injured, to the extent that he was struggling to stand. Jin hadn't witnessed the battle directly, but he quickly realized that Shaku sacrificed himself.

He was a guardian composed of soul and shadow force, so Shaku's death or injuries weren't real. Therefore, Shaku had no reason to hesitate to sacrifice himself for Jin and his comrades.

The result would have been the same even if Shaku's body had been real and not composed of shadow force. It was the brotherly love of the Plutonian Tribe.

"Brother Shaku!"

There was no need for apologies or expressions of gratitude. Shaku responded to Jin's voice and their eyes met, and a slight smile formed on his lips.

"Be sure to tell me later about this, brother Jin."

Shaku's body dispersed into shadow force particles, and Jin clenched his teeth. The moment had come to end the battle.

"Keep protecting the members, captains!"

It was much more efficient to protect them than to fight together.

The shadow force and blue flames gathered once again around Bradamante.

Jin wanted to execute the Shadow Sword technique right away, but there was a risk that the others would get swept up in it.

Jin's sword came down on Zephyrin's forehead with a swift movement.

Zephyrin easily blocked the strike with her fingernails, but she appeared quite pressured by the blue flame in front of her nose.

Then, her energy seemed to weaken noticeably. It still held an immense power while weaker than her true form.

Clang! Creak!

Bradamante clashed with Zephyrin's fingernails, and sparks flew. Murakan shifted between his true form and human form, providing support to Jin, while Valkas focused on regulating his breath.

Although not as severe as Shaku, Valkas was also seriously injured and was poisoned by Zephyrin's poison.

Zephyrin struggled against Jin, and said, "Jin Runcandel, you bastard...!"

"Why don't you act all high and mighty like before. As if you could kill us anytime."

Zephyrin narrowed her eyes at those words.

But shortly after, she regained her smiling composure and said,

"We'll meet again, Jin Runcandel."

"Yeah, you guys always say that before running away..."

As Jin tried to continue speaking, suddenly, Zephyrin's entire body began to inflate with a purple glow, as if it was about to explode at any moment.

It wasn't just Jin who felt it.

Before Murakan could shout, Jin was already distancing himself and heading toward Valkas.

"Goodbye then!"

Kwaahhh...!

Zephyrin's bloated body triggered an explosion.

It caused a powerful earthquake throughout the mountain range. The explosion obliterated all traces of the trees and rocks at its epicenter.

While it appeared as if the massive explosion would level the entire Black King Mountain Hideout, its true destructive power was not on an apocalyptic scale.

Zephyrin had no intention of killing Jin from the very beginning. She had initiated the explosion simply to facilitate her escape.

Fortunately, the Black King Mountain Hideout was well-equipped with various defensive magical devices, and Jin, Murakan, the captains, and their subordinates still had some strength left.

"Block it!"

"The 12th flagbearer protects the leader! 1st, 2nd, 3rd divisions protect each other!"

The demonic energy explosion had shattered the mountain range, and most of the members had already evacuated. If they hadn't, it would have been catastrophic.

Jin, Murakan, and the Black king mercenaries fought desperately to shield themselves from the explosion and its aftermath.

In particular, Murakan used the remaining shadow force to create curtains in various places on the mountain, and saved many lives.

[Madwoman, you never stop being a pain until the end!]

The phenomena of the explosion, landslides, earthquakes, and more didn't cease until nearly an hour had passed.

In the end, the group managed to prevent the explosion with minimal loss of life.

However, the once-majestic Black King Mountain Hideout was now completely destroyed, buried under the rubble, and the cries and sobbing of Black king mercenaries filled the areas beneath the collapsed mountain range.

Murakan, still floating in the dark night sky bathed in shadow force, looked down at the Black King mercenaries with a somewhat pitiful expression.

For those who knew the full story, it was clear that his appearance stemmed from a sense of sorrow.

The personnel and dragons sent by Zipfel and Vermont had just arrived and detected the battle, but couldn't immediately grasp the situation.

"What... What's happening? The Black King Mountain Hideout!"

[Murakan!? Could it be Murakan?]

[Murakan oppa...!? Oppa did this?]

[Mu, Mu, Murakan...!?]

"If it's Murakan, then maybe Runcandel's 12th flagbearer did this to the Black King mercenaries…..!"

The newcomers from Zipfel and Vermont were deeply confused as they witnessed the scene of destruction and Murakan in the black sky.

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章節 292: Chapter 451

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The ones that came from Vermont were the earth dragons, Labus and Untiel, along with the mages associated with them.

The ones that came from Zipfel were the Fire Dragon Theo, Blue Dragon Laramaqua, and their mages under them.

In total, there were four dragons and eight mages, all of them gazing with their eyes wide open at the sky tainted with shadow force and the crumbling Black King Mountain Hideout.

In particular, all four dragons had experienced the prime of Murakan.

The mages felt the accelerated heartbeat of the dragons as it transmitted from the backs of the dragons they were each riding.

'Are the dragons... feeling fear?'

'This is unprecedented. Is it okay!'

An extreme sense of tension.

The dragons were hardened, so it left the mages with no other option but to share the same anxiety.

The battle prowess of the 12th flagbearer of Runcandel and his guardian dragon being formidable were well-known to the public due to incidents such as the Sword Emperor's Terrorist attack. Back then, Murakan had almost single-handedly defended the skies.

Furthermore, considering the radical actions of the 12th flagbearer and his battle prowess, it was only natural for the mages to harbor such misconceptions.

'12th flagbearer of Runcandel attacked the Black King Mountain Hideout with his guardian dragon...'

'And they won!'

The mages gulped simultaneously, pondering the thought.

'I heard that he has regained his strength, but has he already reached the point where he can single-handedly handle the Black King Mountain Hideout?'

'The speed at which he is recovering his old power is remarkable. Just a few years ago, he couldn't even compare to Sis Cuicantelle.'

Labus and Untiel exchanged glances, and coughed awkwardly as they eyed Murakan.

[Hmm, ah-hem! I greet the ruler of Mt. Murakan, and the friend of Solderet, the Black Dragon Murakan. I didn't expect to meet you here.]

[I didn't expect to see you here either. Have you been well, great Black Dragon?]

Labus and Untiel said.

Jin had met these dragons during his time as reserve flagbearer.

'These are the dragons we met on the day I first saw Ms. Cuicantelle. Back then, they were quite proud as well.'

Murakan locked eyes with the two dragons. Specifically, it was Murakan who looked at them, while they didn't dare to meet Murakan's gaze.

These two dragons were among those who had faced Murakan most frequently during his prime.

[Labus, Untiel. What brings you here?]

[We came because we sensed something unusual in the Bise Kingdom.]

[There seemed to be a big battle going on, but if it's alright, could you provide us with more details…. Nevermind!]

Flutter!

Before Untiel could finish her sentence, Murakan flapped his wings loudly. It was a gesture of dragons expressing displeasure, much like delivering a heavy punch to a human.

[You insignificant earth dragons! How dare you tell me to inform you of what happened here?]

[No, oppa. It's not like that.]

[Murakan, it's a misunderstanding! We're not demanding you to tell us what happened. We're simply asking if you could, if possible, share the details with us... Of course, we can understand it if you don't want to.]

The tone of earth dragons quickly shifted. They couldn't help but feel embarrassed. If Murakan had truly regained all his former power, there was no force in the world that could stand in his way. At least, that was how the dragons perceived it.

If they spoke too rudely, Murakan could turn them into ashes, and the Empire would be the one to bear the consequences.

[Is that so? I've been feeling it since the last time, but it seems quite a bit of time has passed since I taught you all a lesson. I see that my own kind is not treating me as carefully as before, and this uncomfortable feeling has been growing day by day.]

Hoo-ung!

The shadow force that covered the sky grew even denser.

[And especially you all seem to be itching for death.]

In an instant, awls made of shadow force burst out from the black sky. Labus and Untiel were stunned and frantically lowered their heads.

[Oppa, that's not what we meant. We're sorry!]

[I think I made a mistake, please calm down and have a peaceful conversation!]

The sharp awls effortlessly pierced through the protective shield the two dragons quickly casted. Even the dragons themselves couldn't react properly. If Murakan had decided to, this single attack could have been fatal.

Initially, the target of these shadow force awls was not the earth dragons, but the fire dragon and the blue dragon behind them.

Theo and Laramaqua quickly descended and dodged Murakan's awls, but they refrained from counterattacking because they were well aware of how severe the situation could become.

The reason for Murakan's sudden rage was clear.

Fire Dragon Theo.

He was a relative of Kadun, the fire dragon and guardian dragon of Kelliark Zipfel.

Murakan and Kadun had never been on good terms, and just before the Holy Kingdom incident, Kadun's attack had almost rendered Murakan powerless.

Now, to Murakan, the Fire Dragons were a race he'd like to tear apart just by looking at them.

[Fire Dragon Theo, didn't your king relay that message to you? Do not confront me at all costs. And unfortunately if we do meet, you should run away as fast as you can with all your might.]

Shadow force awls formed once again, and Theo, Laramaqua, and theZipfel's mages concealed their bewildered expressions.

'Could that immense power we detected an hour ago really be from this crazy black dragon?!'

Of course, that was just Theo's misunderstanding.

The power that brought down the Black King Mountain Hideout was not Murakan's shadow force but Zephyrin's demonic energy. However, since the demonic energy exploded and vanished after Zephyrin left, there was no doubt that it was Murakan's power.

'No matter how much he's regained, fighting Murakan so arrogantly is an act of suicide.'

'I thought this might be like the battle between Valkas and Amela, but it's gone way beyond what I expected. We need to retreat immediately.'

Like nearly all dragons in the world, Theo and Laramaqua had always feared the Murakan in his prime. Especially Theo had a deeper fear because he had seen fire dragons and red dragons suffer many times just because they were relatives of Kadun.

[Answer me, Theo, and Laramaqua. I'll decide whether to kill you or let you live depending on your response. And this answer will affect the fate of the earth dragons too.]

[Oppa? W-why? We haven't done anything wrong. Please, do not do this.]

[Alright, we'll withdraw.]

Murakan glared at Theo and Laramaqua, ignoring the earth dragons' heartfelt pleas. The dragons could only flutter their wings, not knowing what to do.

All the dragons trembled. Their eyes were filled with anxiety, and there was absolutely no hint of arrogance left.

'Wow, Murakan... I am really not used to these situations no matter how many times I see it.'

To Jin, Murakan felt much more familiar when he was scratching his thigh while reading magazines and eating a strawberry pie with no dignity, a somewhat pathetic and unimpressive presence.

But in moments like this when his dignity of a thousand years stood out, he appeared to be a completely different being.

Although he hadn't definitively demonstrated that he had fully regained his old power, he had managed to terrify the Zipfel and the Imperial dragons.

'By the way, it might be a headache if they decide to resist.'

In reality, Murakan was exhausted. Jin, as a contractor who used the shadow force, was the only one who truly grasped this fact.

Murakan had already expended almost all of his power in his battle against Zephyrin.

However, Murakan was confidently confronting the dragons even in this state; it was simply his "personality."

Murakan had lived as the most powerful being from the moment he was born, for over 3,000 years.

Whether he regained his older power or recovered only a quarter of it, or he had nothing left, Murakan could not imagine having a different attitude from his prime.

It was because of this Jin didn't step forward even after knowing Murakan was exhausted. He didn't want to bruise his pride.

If the dragons decided to attack, he could fight alongside Murakan, which was fine, as neither Zipfel nor the Empire had any valid justification for attack in the Bise Kingdom. On the other hand, Runcandel had a legitimate reason after having just assisted the Black King mercenaries.

The Black King mercenaries remained silent in the midst of the misunderstanding and escalating tension. Maybe it was best to consider that they were unable to do anything.

The recent explosion caused by Zephyrin had left most of their high-ranking members incapacitated or still searching for their comrades. Besides, Valkas had lost consciousness.

The Black King mercenaries had to act extremely cautiously. They couldn't risk trying to correct the misunderstanding and potentially face an unpredictable situation.

Furthermore, before losing consciousness, Valkas had transferred command authority to Jin.

Thus, it was necessary to stay still until Jin took over.

After some thought, Jin reached this conclusion:

'If the dragons of Zipfel and Vermont retreat, I can somehow manage the situation to my advantage.'

If only the dragons of Zipfel and Vermont would withdraw.

The reason Jin's conclusion was clouded like this was because he still hadn't deeply 'felt' Murakan's presence despite hearing everywhere about Murakan's grandeur a thousand years ago. It was something only those who had shared those thousand years with him could truly understand.

In other words, the dragons from ZIpfel couldn't even think of fighting with Murakan.

[... Murakan, we apologize for unintentionally offending you. I, along with Fire Dragon Theo, will quickly withdraw. Could you find it in your heart to forgive us?]

Lalamaqua replied. Her tone was calm but her response was almost pitifully humble. Jin was rather surprised once again.

Of course, Murakan had no intention of letting the matter go. He didn't know about other dragons, but the fact that a Fire Dragon had come to visit only further enraged him.

So at the moment when he was about to respond that he would let Theo go after crippling him, Jin spoke up first.

"I accept! The dragons of Zipfel and Vermont will return to their homelands soon. Before the heart of my guardian dragon changes."

Upon hearing this, the dragons from Zipfel and Vermont were taken aback, and Murakan understood Jin's intention instantly. He regained his composure. Not controlling his anger at this point was equivalent to putting his contractor in danger.

The Earth Dragons continued to roll their eyes, while the Fire Dragon and Blue Dragon met Jin's gaze. After a moment, they could only respond like this:

[Great... we thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding, contractor of the Black Dragon. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances.]

Lalamaqua's response carried an undertone of "I am retreating today but I will remember this humiliation," but Jin couldn't help but smile.

"You have nothing to be grateful for. Take care."

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