章節 108: CHAPTER 267

The gallery of flagbearers was located in a huge corridor situated at the corner of the Garden of Swords. It was the longest building owned by the Runcandels.

Its two walls were filled with the names of all the Runcandel flagbearers in history. Any flagbearer who had achieved particularly notable accomplishments was honored with a portrait.

Jin walked through the gallery, slowly reading the names on the wall. Somehow, it made him smile. Surprisingly, he could remember most of the flagbearers from the past thousand years.

'I lost count of all the books about flagbearers I read in my past life.'

Now, his own name would be engraved at the end of the long list of names that stretched like the Milky Way.

Trud, trud.

He could feel a tremendous force as he approached the other end of the gallery.

It was the force emanating from Cyron, Rosa, the eleven flagbearers, and a hundred knights.

Jin felt excited like a little child, at least for that moment.

He had been the only pure-blooded Runcandel in the clan's thousand-year history to fail in his attempt to become a clan flagbearer.

On top of that, the clan denied him everything and exiled him, erasing all his records.

But now, he walked proudly through this hallway. Visitt nov𝒆lbin(.)c𝒐/m for the l𝒂test updates

It took him a total of forty-seven years.

Twenty-eight years of his past life and nineteen years of his current life.

Tears almost welled up in his eyes. The fact that he had finally reached the place where he belonged, only after a lifelong journey, made him tremble with ecstasy.

Jin composed himself, maintaining a serene expression and breathing as he reached the end of the gallery.

Cyron and Rosa stood in the center of the gallery's end, while eleven of his siblings stood before them in their ceremonial uniforms.

A hundred knights stood in a circle. Jin could also see the clan's scribes and painters scrutinizing the scene with serious faces.

Rosa spoke first. "Twelfth flagbearer, Jin Runcandel. Step forward."

She wore a slight smile of pride, but Jin knew very well that her smile wasn't genuine.

Mother is the greatest enemy of all.

Right in front of her was his elder brother, Joshua Runcandel.

Rosa was the foundation of all his power.

Suddenly, Jin felt curious.

How much does mother know?

The fact that Joshua had attempted to curse him, that he kept trying to steal his contract, that he had a person called the Seer who wielded mysterious and dark powers capable of even creating copies of Joshua...

Could Rosa Runcandel really be unaware of such things?

Mother is not so naive at all. Perhaps the two days of sadness after I was exiled from the clan could have been her fault for the curse.

Rosa wouldn't only be aware of Joshua's actions. She might well have been the mastermind behind some of them.

It was despicable and repugnant.

But if Rosa was indeed behind the curse, then it would only mean that she considered it the best path for the Runcandel clan.

That's how this terrible clan operated.

Each member only did what benefited the clan, in their own way. There was no room for petty feelings like affection for relatives in their course of action.

Even if such actions involved commissioning a curse to harm a baby, or things much more horrible than that. If it was done for the benefit of the clan and it achieved its effect, no issues were raised.

I fought even more desperately because of mother and Joshua's decisions. So, I would say you did well, mother.

Things would have been different if Jin hadn't witnessed the delusion of the blade when he arrived at his cradle.

Jin wouldn't be as strong as he was now. Revenge and contempt sometimes served as one of the greatest motivators in life.

Although this was something Jin was still unaware of, Rosa still saw Jin as the next patriarch to succeed Joshua. This decision was also part of Rosa's plans for the Runcandel clan.

'Of course, you and Joshua will have to pay for what you did since I've returned, mother. Just as I've decided to respect your repugnant decision, mother, it's time for you to respect mine.'

It didn't matter if Rosa was directly involved in the curse or not.

It mattered little to Jin. In any case, he would never give up on placing Joshua on the patriarch's throne.

Jin returned the smile to Rosa. He took a step forward and stood before her and Cyron. The flagbearers immediately drew their swords and raised them in the air.

The flagbearers lined up on both sides of him and created a path.

Luna, Joshua, Luntia, Dyfus, Ran, Vuigo, Mary, Miu, Anne, and the Tona twins; the eleven siblings hid their feelings toward Jin as they gazed at him.

'You will become the king of this terrible clan. I will make sure of it.'

'In the end, everything will follow the course of the prophecy, Jin.'

Luna and Joshua.

'A Magical Swordsman, huh? I had no idea he would grow to be someone capable of shaking the Runcandels to their core.

I hoped he would challenge me someday. But now, it might be me who challenges him!'

Dyfus and Mary.

'There was a reason Joshua was always sensitive to him.'

'Miu and Anne are going to be in a tight spot now.'

Ran and Vuigo.

'Damn it. We'll need Joshua's help to crush him now.'

'I knew it. We should have killed him back then!'

Miu and Anne.

'But Jin is the twelfth flagbearer, does that mean his official rank is below ours?'

'He won't intimidate us like Miu and Anne, right? I guess we should follow Emma's words and try to get on his good side for now.'

The Tona twins.

Jin felt like he could read all their thoughts except for one person. Luntia.

He really couldn't tell what Luntia was thinking day by day.

She was the only sister Luna had a hard time dealing with. But in reality, Luntia's thoughts consisted of only three words.

This is troublesome.

Luntia found it difficult to imagine the bloodshed that would occur in the clan now that Jin had returned. At best, she hoped Jin would lead a peaceful life like hers, if that was even possible.

"I wonder how Yonah is doing. I guess she would have made a big fuss after my disappearance."

She was the only sister not present at that moment.

As she gazed at the lion's den, she felt reassured knowing that Yonah was on her side.

Cyron looked Jin in the eyes. "Step forward."

Jin slowly entered the path created by the flagbearers' swords.

A pair of swords fell every time Jin passed, as if a door closed behind him. At the end of the path, Luna lowered her sword alone.

All the flagbearers lowered their swords and maintained their posture. This time, the knights standing in a circle raised their swords simultaneously.

"Jin Runcandel has finally earned the right to raise the clan's flag wherever he goes. As the twelfth flagbearer of the clan, Jin Runcandel will now bear the mission and privileges of his title. However, remember that everything can be taken away from you when you bring dishonor to the clan."

"I, Jin Runcandel, the twelfth flagbearer, will keep that in mind."

"Go and place the swords of the flagbearers and the knights in their correct positions."

This was the most important part of the flagbearer appointment ceremony: raising the lowered swords of the flagbearers and lowering the raised swords of the guardian knights.

Jin had to strike the flagbearers' swords upward and bring down the guardian knights' swords with his own sword.

Becoming a flagbearer even if he failed would tarnish the beginning of his life as a flagbearer with failure.

And for the sake of the ceremony, it was customary for the siblings to receive the incoming flagbearer's strike without much resistance.

Jin turned around and slowly unsheathed the Sigmund.

The first sword he had to raise was Luna's Krantel. For some reason, the massive axe sword seemed to have a lot of strength.

Luna wore a playful smile as she played a small prank on him.

She decided to play a prank because she knew that Jin would obviously be able to lift the Krantel despite her pressing it with force.

Clang!

A loud explosive sound resonated as Jin struck his sword against the Sigmund.

Luna calmed her startled heart as she raised the sword.

"Come on. You didn't have to hit it so hard! My wrists hurt, you know?"

The Krantel was raised, and Jin returned the smile to Luna as he passed by her.

This dissuaded any other siblings from attempting to break the tradition. Miu and Anne had clearly planned to sabotage him, and even Mary had been so eager to feel Jin's strength that she was willing to break the tradition.

The remaining ten swords didn't need to be struck with force. They were gently raised to their correct positions.

Now, it was time to bring down the hundred swords of the guardian knights.

They filled the entire circle with high-level guardian knights.

The custom of letting the new flagbearer gently move their swords did not apply to the guardian knights.

Instead, the level of the guardian knights typically reflected the level of the flagbearer. In the Tona twins' case, more than half of the guardian knights were low-level knights, which was only slightly below the average of most Runcandel flagbearers.

The guardian knights gripped their swords with all their strength and maintained a motionless posture. Jin had to lower a hundred of those swords.

But Jin had already passed the Garmund test on his first visit to Lafrarosa. This wouldn't be a major issue for him.

Ching, clang! Bam!

Each strike of Jin's sword embedded the guardian knights' swords into the ground. The guardian knights received the strikes without much surprise on their faces.

I guess they're not surprised anymore.

But contrary to what Jin thought, the guardian knights were truly surprised by him. Some struggled to withstand the sword strike, finding it hard to believe that Jin was just a teenager.

A little over ten minutes passed until the flagbearers' swords were once again in the air, and the guardian knights' swords were fully lowered.

When Jin returned after completing the ceremony, Rosa smiled satisfied. "We conclude the appointment ceremony of the flagbearers. Jin Runcandel, you may now traverse the gallery of flagbearers and proceed to the council of elders to face the clan elders."

The ceremony had ended.

Jin was officially the twelfth flagbearer of the Runcandel clan and had earned the right to meet with the elders as a flagbearer.

Meeting with the elders as a flagbearer was entirely different from meeting with a cadet or a provisional flagbearer.

This was because the elders were responsible for instructing Runcandel flagbearers on the clan's secret techniques and final moves.

"I'm sure things will get ugly in there because mother and Joshua will instruct the elders. I would be grateful and never forget to reward them if only one of them would volunteer to instruct me."

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章節 109: CHAPTER 268

The council of elders was quite similar to the supreme court of the Vermont Empire.

There were three huge and imposing wooden podiums in the center of the grand council hall.

On each podium were the chief elder, the vice-chief elder, and the council secretary. All the other elders sat behind them in an arched formation.

The three individuals on the podium were respectively the leaders of the organizations affiliated with the council of elders: the Black Sword Guild, the Lawkeepers, and the People's Guard.

They were the pillars of the council of elders.

The Lawkeepers and the People's Guard were literally responsible for ensuring compliance with the Runcandel clan's rules and the protection of the people of Hufester. Meanwhile, the Black Sword Guild oversaw the general identification of friends and enemies.

They were the ones in charge of deciding whom to execute or assist, and they made decisions regarding the method of execution.

The council of elders held a great deal of power within the clan.

And the Black Sword Guild held the greatest power among them all.

Once they decided to kill someone within Hufester, an innocent person could become an enemy of the state overnight, and even clan collaborators could turn into traitors.

These old souls could eliminate anyone in Hufester, whether they were commoners or nobles.

Of course, despite their unquestionable authority, there were systems in place to keep them in check.

The patriarch and his partner, along with the twelve flagbearers, could exercise control over their actions. Specifically, the patriarch's order was absolute. This meant that even if the guild ordered someone's execution, the patriarch could veto the decision and have the name immediately removed from the list of condemned.

That's how Jin's name was taken off the Runcandel clan's hit list.

"Jin Runcandel?"

"Yes, Chief Elder?"

"Nineteen years old this year. Your name was listed on the Runcandel death order on January 1, 1798. And on February 9, 1799, today around noon, your name was removed from the list."

The chief elder - and master of the Black Sword Guild - Jorden Runcandel, raised his eyebrows as if greatly displeased by this.

His voice was frail and shaky, far from what one would imagine from a Runcandel. It was accompanied by a thin white beard under his chin, making it impossible to take him seriously.

"He doesn't seem like much, but this cousin of my father is a remarkable self-made man. He survived competing for the patriarchate against my father and still managed to gain some power."

The race for power within the Runcandel clan mainly occurred among the patriarch's sons, who were the flagbearers.

But in some special cases where the successor eliminated all the other flagbearers too early or there were particularly notable figures in the patriarch's cousin's families, things worked somewhat differently.

In Jorden's case, both scenarios applied to him. He showed his potential in his youth and competed in the ranking war against Cyron as a second-tier flagbearer.

Of course, the difference between Jorden and Cyron was like comparing a sparrow to a phoenix. But if he had faced any ordinary pure-blood who wasn't Cyron, most would have believed that Jorden was the phoenix.

He could have become the patriarch if not for Cyron. Geett the l𝒂test 𝒏𝒐vels on no/v/elbin(.)c/om

"How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, Chief Elder."

"Sure. I'm sure this must be a pleasant occasion for you. But for me, this was quite an unpleasant experience. A wanted criminal voluntarily returns, only to become a flagbearer."

Jorden unabashedly revealed his disagreement with Cyron's decision.

"The whole clan knows Uncle Jorden's feeling of fear and inferiority in front of my father and his peculiar character born out of that issue. But I never knew he could be so audacious."

It was obvious why he was so disgusted.

Not only was he the highest authority in the council of elders, but also no elder would dare report him to Cyron for such a trivial matter.

Moreover, Jorden was a powerful ally of Rosa. The elders were all old and didn't have much in their favor, so there was no reason for common elders to go against him.

"Please calm down, Chief Elder. I, too, am quite displeased that a Magic Swordsman has become a Runcandel flagbearer, but he surely deserves a welcome, if only for today." The vice-chief of the Lawkeepers, Lin Milcano, spoke softly.

The former matriarch of the Milcano clan was also an ally of Rosa. This meant that the Black Sword Guild and the Lawkeepers, two pillars of the council of elders, were already fully supportive of Joshua.

The council secretary - master of the People's Guard - Telrod Runcandel simply looked at Jin without speaking.

"Yes, you're right, Vice-Chief Elder. We were supposed to celebrate the birth of the twelfth flagbearer of the clan. Yes, congratulations. Jin Runcandel."

After saying those words, Jorden waved his hands insincerely.

He was shooing Jin away.

"I expected this, but it surpasses my expectations. And to think they don't even mention the final moves."

Normally, the elders would congratulate the new flagbearers and give them instructions on the final and secret moves during their first visit to the council.

But with Jorden blatantly showing his disagreement, none of the elders could offer to do so.

Anyway, who cared? In the first place, Jin never expected much from them.

But Jin noticed a single elder who was watching everything with a deeply furrowed brow.

Jed Runcandel.

He was Jin's uncle who had instructed him in his cadet days. It seemed that he would tear Jorden apart right now if he could, but obviously, he had to deal with his frustrations because he couldn't say a word.

It was no wonder he felt that way. Seeing the boy he had mentored being ignored was no different from his own efforts being ignored.

He should give Uncle Jed a small gift.

Jin met Jorden with a simple look. "Thank you for your congratulations, Chief Elder."

"Sure. You can leave now. I didn't know you were still there."

"I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for you, Chief Elder." Jin's words had an immediate impact.

Jorden's eyes turned bloodshot. Bam! Jorden pounded the podium with his fist and stared at Jin.

"What did you just say?" His anger stemmed from the same reason that caused frustration in Jed.

That little boy who had just been appointed as a flagbearer had mocked him.

"I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for you, Chief Elder." Jin's words had an immediate impact.

Jorden's eyes turned bloodshot. Bam! Jorden pounded the podium with his fist and stared at Jin.

"What did you just say?" His anger stemmed from the same reason that caused frustration in Jed.

That little boy who had just been appointed as a flagbearer had mocked him.

"I understand that you were also quite harsh with him, Chief Elder. In any case, it seems no one wants to teach him the final moves, so I volunteer to teach the twelfth flagbearer the clan's final moves before I become too old and weak to do so."

"Very well, as you wish. But, Elder Jed, I hope you haven't forgotten. There are quite a few final and secret moves that you cannot transmit without the majority vote of the council of elders."

Veins bulged on Jed's forehead. He was a common elder who was rather obstinate and temperamental.

On the other hand, Jorden and Lin were the chief and vice-chief elders who led the rest of the common elders.

It was obvious whose opinion the elders would follow. But Jed did not show his embarrassment and replied, "I'm not foolish. Of course, I remember the law. If everyone does not agree with my opinion, I will only teach him what I am allowed to."

"Then let's put it to a vote here and now. Elders in favor of instructing the twelfth flagbearer in the final moves, raise your hand!"

Jorden shouted, to which the entire council fell into complete silence.

Come on, old bags of bones. I know you're all afraid of Jorden, but seriously? Not a single person! What has Jin done? In fact, Jin should be congratulated for standing up against the Chief Elder like a Runcandel!

Not a single person raised their hand.

Even the one person Jed trusted, the master of the People's Guard, Telrod Runcandel, was busy avoiding Jed's gaze.

"Oh, well. The result is as you can see. It's a shame, Elder Jed. I suppose we can release the twelfth flagbearer now? You can do whatever you want with the remaining final moves that do not require the approval of the council of elders."

The Runcandels had ten final moves, seven secret moves, and three profound mysteries.

But the profound mysteries were not something the council of elders could teach. Aside from those, eight of the final moves and five of the secret moves required the majority vote of the council of elders to be transmitted.

Therefore, only the final moves and the secret moves that the elders deemed low-level could be transmitted to Jin.

Jed nodded, trying to suppress his frustration.

'I'm sorry, Jin.'

That's what Jed thought to himself, but Jin felt he had gained more than he had expected from the meeting with the elders.

Anyway, some of the final moves derived from the Battle God's Combat Technique and the Sword of Legends. Besides, I don't have an urgent need to improve my skills at the moment.

On the other hand, the discovery of a friendly force in the form of Jed Runcandel was quite a gain.

He thought it would be quite troublesome to persuade the council of elders if even his Uncle Jed had been on Joshua's side.

I can always deal with Uncle Jorden in due time. Actually, the master of the Lawkeepers, Lin Milcano, seems to be the toughest one. I wonder what this old lady's weakness is.

The Milcano Clan.

It so happened that Jin knew someone from that clan.

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