章節 14: Chapter 173

According to the Watertail beastman, the Orange Tiger Tribe seemed to be taking over the Land of the Beastmen recently.

The Orange Tiger Tribe usually treated other tribes with contempt and had been stealing gold and valuables from passersby as a 'toll'.

"Those. Evil. Bastard. Get caught. You're done."

"What do you mean by 'toll'? That renowned combat tribe is doing some back-alley gangster shit."

"Anyway. You lucky. You met us."

Jin previously planned to enter the Land of the Beastmen through the forest where a branch of the Kinzelo Group resided. Had he not met the Watertail Tribesman, many problems would have arisen.

"It seems the Orange Tiger Tribe doesn't know the path you take?"

"Don't know. Definitely. Follow. Me."

Other than the Isolated Craftsmen Tribe, the Watertail Tribe was known to be the most evasive from predators.

Jin bantered a little while walking with them. Most of the conversations were him making bad excuses or explanations on why he was going to the Great Mythra Desert.

About two hours passed. He crawled out of a hole that the little tribesmen dug, and Jin could only let out a big sigh after crawling out of the tight passage.

At the end of the tunnel, a waterfall roared.

"New. Water, drink."

He filled his water bottle with fresh water.

Past the waterfall was another tunnel leading to a rocky cave. However, compared to a normal cave, he couldn't even count the number of paths within it.

"You dug this?"

"No. Craftsmen, dug."

"I see."

The Craftsmen Tribe's cave was a maze. It was obvious that they wanted to mislead strangers. Each path led to a completely different set of paths. From thousands of possible ways, there was only one correct exit.

Like a game, they went through dozens of seemingly random paths.

Near the end of the cave, there was a group of beastmen about the size of the Watertails—reaching only Jin's waist—gathered and napping.

Little furballs with rat-like faces—the Gold Snow Tribe.

"Hey, hey, what? Why did you bring that thing here?"

As a tribe that specialized in trade, their words were well enunciated and spoken quickly.

Then, the Watertail Tribesman and Gold Snow Tribesmen conversed in both an understandable language and their tribe's native language. Jin thought it was cute.

The conversation ended with a Watertail Tribesman lending a small gem.

"Ah, your business in the Great Desert isn't really our problem, but I wish you luck, Human."

They passed the little furry creatures, and a big wooden door emerged.

"Behind. This door. Desert. General market."

"General market?"

"Gold Snow's. General market. Outside. Yuka-yuka, a marketplace."

"Ah, the cave is connected there."

The Yuka-yuka Market was where all of the beastmen bartered.

It wasn't any different from a human marketplace. However, they offered 'guidance' for explorers. Since many human explorers visited, every marketplace in the Land of the Beastmen had guides for those who explored.

"Guidance. Gold Snow recommend, their own. Gold Snow guidance, bad. Ignore. Use, Canus Tribe. Honest. Work hard. No scam."

"I am very thankful. Before we part, how about you tell me your name?"

"Me, Darkflame."

"What?"

"Darkflame. My name."

"Fascinating. You won't go telling my name to everyone?"

"No worry."

"Alright. In that case, I will repay the favor as a Runcandel."

Creeeaaaak.

As soon as he opened the door and left, Jin was met with the inside of the marketplace—just as Darkflame said. A Gold Snow Tribesman, who looked like the owner, escorted him.

Jin ignored the owner and immediately went towards the area with the explorers' guides. Many other humans were in the market, so he pulled up his hood.

Locating the booth with the big Canus Tribesman wasn't too hard.

Soon, Jin traveled with them to the Great Mythra Desert, and he didn't encounter any Orange Tiger Tribesmen. Instead, he saw humans who were definitely members of Kinzelo. They had the organization's symbol—a broken sun—on their clothes.

In the mainland, with those clothes, they would immediately be captured or dragged away by patrols. They weren't famous, but most areas considered the Kinzelo Group a terrorist organization.

And since they were active in the Land of the Beastmen without any consequences, Jin felt it strange.

'It's possible that the White Wolf Tribe aren't the only ones affiliated with Kinzelo, but also most of the beastmen are.'

The Canus Tribesman arrived at the entrance to the desert, and then promptly returned to the Yuka-yuka Market. For a while, Jin just stared at the empty, barren desert.

Trekking a desert alone required a lot of courage.

Leaving his first footsteps upon the sand of the Great Mythra Desert, Jin felt more pressure than ever before.

Jin had the confidence for combat against a strong opponent as well as fighting for his life. However, against no enemy, under a cloudless sky, and in the presence of a sea of sand with no answers, Jin felt like he was suffocating just by staring into the vast emptiness.

'If I die here, no one will find my body.'

Even indigenous beastmen wouldn't leave a single bone when they lost their way. Jin remembered the awe of the explorers who trekked the Great Mythra Desert.

'So the Shadow Blade's land of inheritance…'

The sensation he felt when he lacerated Myuron's hell's gate as well as the time he split Goltep's hammer. The sensation of becoming one with his blade and spiritual energy, and chanting the spell.

That sensation was called 'Shadow Blade', a unique technique used only by Runcandel magic swordsmen.

The Illustrious Legend Tribe—thought to be extinct—first created and passed down this technique. Somewhere in the desert was a location where their special tasks to fully inherit the skill could be found.

How did the Illustrious Legend Tribe become the ones to develop such a skill?

There was an inscription regarding their background, unknown to the world.

—The Illustrious Legend Tribe didn't believe in any god. So they challenged them and miserably failed, ultimately leading to their extinction. Five thousand years ago, they yearned for total reign, but got wiped out.

—In a day?

—Kiddo, how did Quikantel react when she saw the Demon God's Orb back when you fought Andrei?

—She trembled in fear.

—Even as the Orb of Origin's cheap duplicate, the Demon God's Orb is powerful. The difference is that the Orb of Origin is made from the power of gods. Their power is like that. When the Illustrious Legend Tribe challenged the gods, the Orb of Origin was already destroyed. But they still didn't stand a chance.

When the gods cooperated to destroy the Illustrious Legend Tribe, there was only one god who treated them with pity.

—Solderet saved a small minority of the Illustrious Legend Tribesmen and turned them into humans. I don't know much about their agreement, but you can't learn the way of the Shadow Blade from anyone other than them. Temar learned it from them as well.

Looking back on the discussion he had with Murakan before leaving on his journey, Jin remembered that Temar Runcandel mastered Shadow Blade from them.

'I might hear stuff about the first patriarch.'

Temar Runcandel.

Despite being the first patriarch, there weren't many records of his history.

All that could be found on him were him bestowing the name 'Runcandel' upon his followers and founding a clan, taking down Murakan, and his precious sword, Barisada.

Furthermore, his name didn't have a spot in the mausoleum in the Garden of Swords despite being the dawn of the clan and the greatest hero.

Because the Zipfel Clan erased all records of Temar.

Sssssss, ssssss. Splish…

Whenever Jin took a step, the water inside the canteen on his side sloshed. He would last a few days, but he would never know if he could get a refill at an oasis once his canteen emptied out.

He didn't even pack a compass in the first place. If his compass worked properly in the land, the indigenous beastmen would have never gotten lost.

He just had to look forward and walk.

And he walked for hours.

As his head began to clear of all thought, he looked back. The scenery behind him looked no different than the front. The trees and forests that he saw from the entrance completely disappeared.

'Not even my footprints are here.'

The sand in the Great Desert shifted even to the slightest of winds. The sand hills far away would suddenly collapse or move away. Footprints disappeared without a trace like a ripple in a lake.

If he were to give up now, would he even be able to return?

Impossible.

Quickly coming to that conclusion, Jin shrugged. He felt a little excited at the fact that death was a natural and common occurrence in the desert.

He took a deep breath and continued forward.

The first night was brutal, and the next day's sun was scorching.

It took a week until it became December 1st of 1796. His canteen no longer made a splashing sound as it dangled on his waist. No oasis in sight either.

A normal human—an average explorer—would have died.

The despair he experienced in the Kollon Ruins before Kullam's descent was worse. Remembering that he succeeded back then, Jin remained determined to walk forward.

—When the third mirage ends, release your spiritual energy. Then, the Illustrious Legend Tribe will appear.

Enduring the Great Mythra Desert was a trial to inherit Shadow Blade. Fighting against nature inherently meant that he was fighting against a god. Jin realized what this 'test' truly meant.

He only had a few drops of water left, and each step felt heavier and heavier.

However, he continued to pace forward.

"Huh."

The first mirage appeared when he completely emptied his canteen. Not a single drop remained.

Could he even say that was a mirage?

"Nice to see you, Brother. You finally found us."

"Man, I wanted to see you so bad. Without you in the main house, our life was so boring…"

Out of nowhere, he heard the Tona Twins. Their voices were so clear that he couldn't treat it as a hallucination.

'It's just some tricks. It's fake.'

Just a few seconds ago, his surroundings were only filled with sand and sky. It was impossible for the Tona Twins to appear before him. The only other plausible explanation was that he was faced with a hallucination.

However, the Tona Twins walked towards him, leaving clear footsteps in the sand.

Moreover, the colossal sword and chainsword that they wielded emitted aura alongside their killing intent towards Jin.

'Oh, so it wasn't just any mirage… It'll be difficult if all three mirages are like this.'

評論 0條評論

投票

章節 15: Chapter 174

Ka-clang! Clang!

Haytona's chainsword shot forward like a whip. Compared to the normal long sword, the chainsword's attack range was inconceivably long. The blows were quite strong and heavy. The impact through the blade and handle was enough to make Jin's hands sting.

In Jin's opinion, the mirages' sword skills were similar to what the Tona Twins actually had.

'Had I not known they were mirages, I would have believed that this was real. Murakan never would have thought that the mirages would be like this.'

He had never heard of a type of magic or god-given ability like this anywhere in the world.

Even if they were mirages crafted by some ability, if he didn't dodge or parry their attacks, he would get cut. Every impact he received, his entire body felt like it was in a real battle.

Haytona spoke with a smirk.

"You're blocking it well."

Then, Daytona charged in. His weapon was a colossal sword slightly smaller than the axe-sword Crantel. Its weight should still be beyond belief, but his swift movements didn't make it look heavy at all.

Sssssssssst-clang!

The blade dragged across the sand, then flew up like lightning. Jin took a step back and parried the attack horizontally. He felt that his strength wasn't like before.

Daytona only stopped for a second to recoil then continued swinging.

'I would usually end his posture in one swing. Unfortunate.'

He had eaten only twenty percent of his normal amount of food and walked the barren wasteland for a week. His body would never be the same.

Still, with his current normal state, he would be able to take down the Tona Twins within five minutes. However, due to the lack of strength, the skill gap significantly shortened.

Haytona shouted, swinging his chain sword once more.

"Gonna cry? Gonna panic? We waited for you to be exhausted!"

As the Tona Twins began to attack together, Jin's movements got busier. Making small gaps to dodge the mid-range attacks from the chainsword and deflecting the colossal sword.

"It's been a long time since we've met, and this is how I get greeted?"

As he spoke, Jin's eyes bolted in every direction to find the most optimal path to dodge.

"Shut up!"

"Die!"

Ting! Clang!

As the three blades clashed, sparks flew everywhere.

Although his stamina was low, Jin's aura was simply stronger. Coming into contact with Bradamante—that burned powerfully and shed Blade Mist—the chainsword and colossal sword weakly got deflected.

'Their cooperation is immaculate. If I try to focus on one of them, the other will immediately get aggressive.'

However, that was it.

At 18, the Tona Twins weren't beyond Jin's comprehension. Jin lauded their movement as one, but there wasn't a single strong blow.

They were provisional flag-bearers, just like Jin. Yet they didn't learn a single Decisive Killing Move that could change the game.

'If I were in my best condition, I could take them down in three minutes. Only if they were as strong as I expect them to be. Maybe I'm overestimating their strength.'

Even if he couldn't go full force at the moment, the skill gap was too great.

Remembering the Tona Twins who bullied him to death in his past life, Jin thought it was unfair.

He vowed to wreak vengeance since his days at the Storm Castle, but he didn't.

Eyes cold with killing intent, he glared at the twins.

"Kill me right, then. I'm getting pissed."

"Blabbering more shit are you?"

"Still out of your mind? Don't be too proud that you beat us once."

Swish! Fwooom!

The chainsword and colossal sword took turns swinging at Jin's head. The aura decreased a bit, so Jin didn't dodge it.

He had finished analyzing it. The aura they could conjure was barely mid-5-star. That kind of skill wasn't threatening to him, even with his current stamina.

Clang!

With all his might, he swung Bradamante upwards. As soon as the two blades contacted Bradamante, an explosion of sparks occurred. The twins instinctively backed off.

Jin then kicked the sand.

Sssst!

The cream-colored sand spread like a net through the air and concealed Jin's body.

The twins fixed their posture and blocked each other's blindspots, waiting for Jin's attack. The sand settled, and where Jin stood before was now only a blue sky.

"Hup!"

While the sand was settling, Jin took position right beside the Tona Twins.

Reacting first, Daytona oriented his colossal sword to block Bradamante's blow. However, trying to block the sword flying at his face, he made the mistake of hindering his view. Jin wouldn't miss this chance.

Slash!

Daytona's stance fell apart, and Jin gashed his thigh. Blood splattered and dyed the sand red.

He started to wonder if this really was a mirage.

Yet he decided to not hesitate. Whether his opponents were the Tona Twins or not, they really wanted to kill him.

"Daytona!"

Haytona turned quickly and grabbed Daytona by the collar. Simultaneously, he whipped his chainsword, but Jin deflected it just like how he parried the deadly hooks from Nameless assassins.

Ching!

One of the grooves of the chainsword met Bradamante's tip. Like a snake pierced by a needle, the chainsword stopped in place and rattled.

Haytona let go of his weapon. With another quick stab, Jin aimed for his throat, but was barely evaded.

Ssshhht.

However, the blade still scratched Haytona's eye.

"Argh!"

Bleeding profusely out of his eye, Haytona stumbled backwards. Watching this sight, Jin gritted his teeth.

He took his brother's sight in one of his eyes. He planned to never hesitate, but he felt completely different from when he gashed Daytona's thigh. A completely different emotion scratched at his heart.

Unlike the leg, the eye couldn't be healed.

"Haytona, your eye…!"

"We will kill him! We. Will. Kill. Him!"

Were they really mirages?

The Tona Twins spat curses with faces of anger and hate. A perfect replica.

Was it okay to swing at them?

'Why am I thinking this? Whether they're real or fake. They're trying to kill me.'

The goddess of victory was on Jin's side. He could end the battle if he wanted to.

However, why did he feel molten metal on his heart and confusion in his head?

'Do I not want to fight the Tona Twins? Did I think that they could be on my side just because I spent time with them at the Storm Castle?'

Did he want to build a different relationship with them than in his past life? Just like with Elder Sisters Luna and Yona?

Looking back, even in this life, Jin didn't have any great memories with the Tona Twins. Before Jin showed them who was boss, they constantly scoured for an opportunity to mess with him. It was the same during their training as beginner and intermediate cadets.

Despite that, there was a hint of sadness…

—J-Jin! Are you okay…?!

—Did Father say that he'll let you live? Why did you even do this?

—You guys act too cute sometimes. I'm fine. Besides, I have a favor to ask.

He remembered the conversation he had with the Tona Twins when he met Cyron after breaking provisional flag-bearer regulations and meeting Luna.

At the time, no one—other than Luna—worried for Jin.

Though he didn't know of it, Mary also didn't want him to die. However, that was it. If he died, then it couldn't be helped. And if he lived, then she would be thirsty for a duel.

Only the Tona Twins came to Jin after holding their breaths at the bottom of the staircase. They awkwardly walked up to him, confessed to him about their worries, and asked what he did.

They were so anxious that they bit off all their fingernails. After seeing those nails, there were times where Jin smiled at the thought of it.

"I'll rip your limbs off! Shit, you dog…!"

"Aaaaargh!"

Those very same Tona Twins were now screaming at Jin. They appeared for no reason and suddenly swung their swords at him.

Their eyes were wet in fear. They only barked loudly like dogs in fear. They didn't dare to attack.

Because they knew. They knew that they were no match for Jin. So instead, they poured their frightened and hateful emotions.

Staring at the twins, Jin's glare turned dark.

'I have to kill them.'

Whether they were mirages or real, he had to kill them.

Otherwise, he wouldn't progress in his journey.

Because he was a Runcandel.

Spiritual energy enveloped Bradamante's blade.

"I'm sorry."

"Shut up!"

"Because I wasn't strong enough, you guys got hurt. Now, there will be no pain."

Jin slowly walked across the sand, and the twins scrambled backwards. Thinking they were pushed to a corner, they looked around.

Yet they were in a desert.

Nowhere to run away, nowhere to hide, nowhere to back off.

"Don't come…!"

"Shit, fuck off!"

Immediately, the Tona Twins fell into despair, voices quivering.

Jin didn't dare to evade their eyes. Each step he took, he felt something falling apart in his heart.

Faced with the opportunity to strike, he hesitated.

The moment he failed to swing Bradamante, Haytona let out a screeching scream and swung his chainsword. Filled with nervousness, his attack was heavily flawed. Jin subconsciously smacked the sword away and charged towards Haytona's neck.

Swoosh!

Before Haytona's head even fell to the ground, Daytona's colossal sword flew at Jin. He turned to dodge the massive blade. He cut Daytona's wrist before stabbing his throat.

Thunk.

With a single scream, the Tona Twins dyed the sand red. Jin emotionlessly stared at their rolling heads.

Time passed, yet the corpses still didn't disappear.

'Why… are you not disappearing…? You're just mirages.'

They remained even after one hour.

So, he dug a grave for each brother and placed them gently in the holes.

He stabbed their respective swords in the ground in place of gravestones. Jin then continued to walk, his hands shaking.

Not much longer after, he found an oasis.

He plunged his face into the water for a long time. As he rose and opened all of his water canteens to fill them up, he saw the bloodshot eyes in his reflection.

"Yeah, killing anyone in your family is a painful experience."

Hiding in the barrier of the Great Desert, a woman watched him drink without him noticing.

With pitch-black hair akin to Murakan's, she was Murakan's sister—Black Dragon Misha.

"You have chosen a great child, Lord Soderet."

She spoke to herself, then whipped her hands in the air. The two swords that were once erect in the sands disintegrated into dust. The wind blew to whisk away all evidence of the mirage.

In the place where the Tona Twins fought Jin, only cream-colored sand remained.

評論 1條評論

投票