章節 545: CHAPTER 703
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
"How much damage has occurred?"
"It's serious. The capital of the Milkun Kingdom has vanished without a trace, and it's estimated that the civilian death toll is at least two hundred thousand."
When Jin heard the number two hundred thousand, he thought his ears had deceived him.
"...Two hundred thousand, you said?"
If that was true, then Diphus had committed an irreparable massacre of civilians.
Tona Brothers, who were also listening, clenched their fists, and Mary's face turned pale.
She struggled to contain her emotions as her trembling fists betrayed her.
Even if Diphus were to escape from the clutches of chaos in the future, such a huge tragedy could not be forgotten.
It drove the siblings mad.
"...And the number of hostages is at least ten thousand."
As Kashmir continued his explanation with a grim expression, Jin felt as if his entire body was submerged in water.
'Rosa...that crazy monster...!'
A massive catastrophe had occurred, caused by the brother who had become a weapon of war under Rosa's command.
Jin's eyes were shaking as he looked at Kashmir.
"If there are only ten thousand hostages, did the Chaos Dragon and the Black ships move?"
"Yes, they attacked the Lutero Magic Federation simultaneously under Sir Diphus' command. It is believed that they used teleportation or summoning abilities of evil god in the form of massive dimensional portals and tunnels."
The Lutero Magic Federation was unable to put up a proper fight.
Hundreds of black ships and thousands of Chaos Dragons suddenly emerged from tunnels and dimensional portals, and unless it was Drakka's stronghold, there was no way to respond quickly.
Furthermore, Diphus executed a dual operation. At first, he appeared with a fleet as if launching a full-scale attack, then quickly disappeared like smoke while Zipfel rallied their forces, stirring up all over the Federation.
Within one hour.
Diphus' army of chaos inflicted significant damage on Zipfel and successfully escaped. Drakka's forces couldn't keep up with the mobility of the chaos army.
In addition, Diphus' battle prowess was also a problem. Octavia and the Spectre squad couldn't penetrate his overwhelming chaos during the pursuit even once.
The World's Strongest clan had been defeated without even being able to properly use its abilities.
The affected areas of the federation, including the Milkun Kingdom, were currently in a state of utter chaos.
The chaos left behind by Diphus had grown uncontrollably like a raging wildfire, still engulfing the remaining civilians in agony.
If the death toll exceeded 200,000, it meant that there were far more injured.
Even the Holy Kingdom, which had blocked all communication with Zipfel, immediately dispatched healers upon hearing the news.
Fear was spreading rapidly as if in madness.
There were many who claimed that even if any monster in the world appeared, Zipfel's territory, which had been considered the safest haven, had fallen so helplessly that the end caused by the chaos was only a matter of time.
As Kashmir explained these details, Jin held his breath.
What he needed to do was not succumb to despair but to stop Diphus as soon as possible, starting from now.
He had to assess the situation accurately.
"I must go to Drakka immediately. There may be attacks by the evil god while I'm absent, so please activate all defense equipment."
Now that it was revealed that Rosa had abilities like large-scale teleportation, battles could erupt suddenly at any time.
'A large-scale summoning or teleportation ability like that would surely have some restrictions. It might involve using humans or despair. I wonder if the reason for kidnapping the hostages was to compensate for that.'
The fear experienced by those who were already under the direct rule of the evil god, and the sudden fear felt by those who had thought they were "safe" in their land. The magnitude of the resulting despair would undoubtedly be different.
It was impossible to know immediately whether Rosa had enough power to mobilize her forces.
"Understood, young master."
"And where is Lady Syris?"
"She just returned from the Holy Kingdom."
"Young master, it would be better for me to go to Kinzelo myself with the help of Lady Syris. Also, I will inspect the Empire. There is a possibility that they were also attacked."
"Okay."
Jin and Kashmir turned around and moved forward, while Mary, despite her crumbling heart, turned back towards the infirmary. She had to overcome the feeling of imminent collapse.
"There will be a major battle soon. To fight properly, we must focus on recovery. Prepare the knights of our clan," she instructed.
"Yes, elder sister!"
Even as Jin headed towards the Red Owl's launch site, reports kept pouring in from the seven-colored peacock without a moment's rest. The real-time updates on the extent of the damage were presented as unimaginable numbers of deaths, making it difficult to grasp the reality.
Jin suddenly halted his steps.
He was in front of Euria's room, and he could hear suppressed crying beyond the closed door. As a contractor of Az Mil, she had been sensing the ominous premonition of this situation for some time now. Perhaps Euria already knew the outcome of this crisis.
Jin gently comforted her with a few strokes before resuming his journey towards the launch site.
Regardless of what Euria had witnessed, he was determined to create a future that was better than what she had seen.
* * *
The Red Owl couldn't pinpoint the coordinates of Zipfel's main headquarters. Jin had been thrown into a forest on the outskirts of Drakka, but upon arrival, he immediately encountered Ronil Zipfel.
It seemed that Ronil knew and had been waiting for the Red Owl to arrive.
"Are you here, Sir Jin?"
Jin didn't ask how he knew in advance and had waited. It wasn't a situation where he could find out, and the most important issue now was Diphus.
"Sir Ronil."
"Thank you for coming promptly. Allow me to serve you."
The district where Jin had landed had been attacked by Diphus. As it wasn't near the main base, the city as a whole was engulfed in fear.
Because the disasters that happened in Milkun and other parts of the federation couldn't be concealed through media control.
"While we were requesting support from Tikan, there was another assault."
Ronil spoke as they boarded the fourth flagship, Andion.
"During that time, was there another large-scale troop movement?"
"No, there wasn't. Diphus Runcandel, accompanied by two Black Knights, attacked the Barkle District. As we were prepared, civilian casualties weren't significant, but... the captain of the spectre squad suffered serious injuries. Lord Kadun engaged in combat before fully recovering, leading to further injuries."
Elder Brother Diphus.
As Jin was about to begin speaking, he looked out through the window of the battleship. The land was now filled with people he had killed or injured.
"... What happened to the 4th flagbearer?"
"He managed to escape without any casualties, just like in the first attack. It seems like he received significant power from the evil god...…."
According to Ronil, not only did Diphus possess the ability to teleport through dimensions and the Prophet's Tunnel through the power of the evil god, but he also had flight capabilities akin to Bale.
With his overwhelming mobility, he repeatedly attacked and evaded, like a ghost of despair.
The manifestation of the Evil God.
That's how Zipfel categorized him. Diphus possessed a power that couldn't be explained without acknowledging the influence of the evil god.
Andion arrived at Zipfel's main house. The castle, known as the headquarters of magic, was completely open and bustling with civilians, unlike its usual state. It was accommodating the terrified civilians.
Some of them pointed fingers and whispered as Jin disembarked from the Andion, or bowed their heads as if a savior had arrived.
The former group was wary of Jin, knowing that he was a Runcandel like the evil god and Diphus, and the latter was due to his deeds.
Just as Ronil was about to instruct the crowd to disperse, Jin stopped him.
"It's better to leave them be."
Jin walked past them and entered the mansion.
Inside and outside, Zipfel's associates were constantly on the move.
The only ones who weren't running were the highest-ranking elders. They were not as polite as Ronil even when they saw Jin rushing over.
Rather, there were many who frowned or showed outright hostility as if they were displeased.
Of course, since Jin did not even notice the grumbling of the old killifish because of the situation, but the elders appeared to be following Jin and Ronil naturally. They seemed to be aware that they needed to hear the upcoming conversation between the highest decision-maker and Jin.
After passing through the two corridors, they arrived at the office of the patriarch of Zipfel. Originally, there was Veradin where Kelliark should have been.
"We meet again like this, Jin."
"Veradin."
Despite the countless civilian casualties and the injuries suffered by Octavia and Kadun, as well as significant losses in their forces under Zipfel's protection, Veradin didn't show the slightest hint of remorse. Rather, he furrowed his brows, seemingly annoyed by the elders who followed Jin.
"Why have the elders come here?"
"What do you mean, young patriarch? We naturally want to attend the meeting..."
"If you're incompetent, at least be aware of the situation and be busy with something else. Well, now that you've come all this way, listen if you're curious. It won't take long."
The elders frowned, but they didn't dare to challenge Veradin's words.
"It seemed chaotic out there."
"I can't help but feel that your nonchalant attitude contradicts that. I just heard that the 4th flagbearer attacked Barkle district. Is there a reason why you are so carefree?"
"About a hundred civilians died. Although the spectre captain and lord Kadun were injured, the 4th flagbearer did not take any damage even after dealing with them. If that's the case, there must be a reason why he stopped, even though they could have turned Barkle District into ruins and advanced to Drakka."
"Then why did you urgently request support from the Vamel Alliance? Is it for post-recovery?"
Veradin smirked at that question.
"That's a strange question. It's a temporary alliance, so isn't it natural to ask for support? Above all, we need to prevent the growing despair that the evil god acquires... We need to rescue the hostages. With the 2nd and 4th flagbearers starting their activities, the despair that binds to the evil god is increasing rapidly."
When Veradin mentioned "despair," Jin's pupils dilated.
Zipfel already knew the extent of the despair harvested by Rosa.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
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babayaga01
babayaga01 You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
章節 546: CHAPTER 704
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
Unexpectedly, as Veradin waved his hand, a green window appeared in the air.
The green window bore a striking resemblance to the Record Magic.
Jin sensed the lingering energy, similar to what he had seen in the land where Zipfel referred to as the "Holy Land," where the residue of the sun god's power resided. Jin recognized that it was the price they had paid for saving Valeria with the help of the Holy Land.
"... Record magic?"
"You must have encountered the original magic frequently, so it would be embarrassing for me if you were so surprised by a mere imitation."
However, it seemed that the elders who had followed them into the study room were even more astonished than Jin.
"Young patriarch, so this is... the magic! You have finally obtained it!".
"Why didn't you tell us, such a happy occasion!"
The elders' greedy eyes gleamed as if they didn't care about the tragedies the federation was facing.
Veradin continued to smile, but Jin sensed the darkness behind that smile and instinctively realized what would happen next.
It was a purge.
"Why didn't I tell you, esteemed elders? Because useless old men like you don't need to know."
"What is this...?"
"Young patriarch, kkeok, young, oop, ooh...…!"
As the elders tried to respond, their throats suddenly tightened, and their bodies twisted.
Their breath was suddenly cut off. On Veradin's green window, there were some engraved characters that looked like letters.
"Considering your past efforts, I wanted to show you on the way. How about it, like I said, it didn't take that long, did it?"
Ronil stood calmly, as if he had expected such a thing to happen, while Veradin looked down at the fallen elders with disdain.
One of the elders managed to struggle against Veradin's magic, gasping for breath, reaching out his hand towards Veradin.
From his hand, a deformed fireball shot out, but Veradin easily swiped it away with his sword.
As the fireball dissipated, tears of blood streamed from the elder's eyes.
"Ah, You should keep me alive....…."
Those were the last words uttered by the elder who had momentarily resisted the magic.
As he fell forward, there were no surviving elders left in the office.
Jin felt a chilling sensation all over his body. It wasn't because of the magic that was almost close to the abilities Veradin had shown or the difficulty in finding flaws in his swordsmanship.
It was because he realized once again that his friend had changed. His friend, his siblings, had all become monsters.
"I originally planned to deal with them after you left, but this isn't bad either. Anyway, where were we? Ah, we were discussing the magnitude of despair. Take a look at this."
Veradin's green window spread wide enough to fill the office. Within it, a map of the world was depicted, filled with various regions covered in dark spots.
Huphester, in particular, was so dark that it was difficult to find any transparent areas, while the rest of the continents were filled with spots that were either lighter or similar in darkness.
"These black spots marked on the map represent the despair that is being harvested by the evil god. The evil god is approximately 50% complete at the moment."
"What is the basis for estimating it at 50%?"
"The speed at which the ship Ram is forming. Whenever new black spots appear, changes occur in Ram. That old man, Orgal, who arrived before you, seems to have put the completion of Ram and the evil god on equal footing."
Veradin pointed his finger at the dark spots on Drakka, the Autonomous Districts, and the Milkun Kingdom.
"These spots formed when the people of the Milkun Kingdom were massacred by Diphus Runcandel's attack and taken as hostages. They continue to spread and grow darker. The faith of the civilians, especially those in Drakka, who thought they would be safe as the Federation, has been shattered."
As he said, the dark spots in that area were slowly but incessantly expanding.
Compared to the whole of Huphester, they were clearly small, but compared to other regions, they were quite significant.
While Jin examined the spots in silence, his gaze fell upon the direction of the Tikan Kingdom.
There were black spots in Tikan as well. They were literally just dots in terms of size, but they stood out due to their unusually dark color.
'Is it the despair of elder sister Mary... Or Euria?'
Two people immediately came to Jin's mind.
"I have heard about the relationship between the 7th flagbearer and the 4th flagbearer. Besides, Az Mil's contractor could suffer from a terrible future."
Veradin spoke, conscious of Jin's gaze. Jin didn't respond and continued to examine the other spots.
Among the spots in Huphester, one land was undergoing the most active transformation.
Rikalton.
The land where the Prophet gathered human sacrifices in the past.
Jin had asked Dox, the Black Knight, to investigate that place in the past. Since then, Dox had been out of contact.
"Seeing how closely you are examining Rikalton, it seems you have noticed as well. We are confident that the 4th flagbearer is transferring all the hostages to that place. Rikalton is the most actively cultivating despair after the Federation was attacked."
The course of action became clear.
Attack Rikalton and rescue the hostages.
Operating on a small scale like before was not suitable. It was unlikely that all ten thousand hostages would be alive, but given the unfavorable situation, it was necessary to have a fleet, even if it meant rescuing only a thousand of them.
"Doesn't it feel absurd that humans are fighting against god? If there were no element of despair, there would be no reason for the world's most powerful forces to intervene and save the civilians in such a situation."
"What?"
"It means that if the opponent were humans, it would be terribly inefficient. What if you, as a Chaos Immune, get hurt while trying to save only civilians? What if there are irrevocable losses among other top forces? It's something that shouldn't happen."
Jin felt as if he was listening to Rosa in his human days, not Veradin.
Now, ordinary people in Veradin's world seemed to be nothing more than meaningless entities.
"Let's put aside unnecessary words. It's not a pleasant story to hear. Anyway, if you've met Orgal too, he should be aware of the situation. What we need to decide is the date of the attack on Rikalton and the number of troops to mobilize."
"Yes, it seems best to act as quickly as possible. Although there must be limitations to the mobility of the 4th flagbearer and the Chaos forces, I can't estimate that part at all. Is it the same for Hister?"
In the first place, with Valeria's current record magic, she couldn't even create the map that Veradin had just made.
Jin nodded, and Veradin shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a shame.... I can't believe the original can't handle it to that extent yet. If you're going to use it like that, you'd better hand it over to us."
"You're talking nonsense again. I agree that we need to start the operation quickly. Before the 4th flagbearer attacks somewhere else..."
As soon as Jin said that,
Suddenly, a new spot formed on the map.
Veradin also looked at the map in surprise. The newly formed spot of despair was in the Empire.
Among them, it was the land directly guarded by Dante, the capital.
Considering the time, not only Dante but also companions including Syris and Kashmir could be together in the Imperial Capital now.
"... it's moving as soon as you speak, although it may not be the 4th flagbearer."
"I need to go there immediately. We'll discuss the rest when I return."
As Jin turned around and tried to leave, Veradin followed behind him.
"I'll go with you."
Jin looked at Veradin for a moment and then nodded.
* * *
Imperial capital.
"Disband the pursuit unit immediately and ensure the safety of the civilians. It's the patriarch's order!"
"Yes!"
At the command of a commander, the knights halted their formation and stood still. They were surrounded by chaos and corpses. While there were knights among them, most were civilians.
The knights scattered and began to rescue the fallen civilians scattered throughout the area. Civilians were lying beneath the collapsed buildings.
About 30 minutes ago, a dimensional portal suddenly opened in the middle of the capital. Chaos dragons and black ships poured out from it, instantly turning the area into hell. Dante almost immediately began to respond.
Fortunately, Kashmir and Syris had just arrived, which was a stroke of luck. If they couldn't board the Mort, no matter how quickly they responded, the damage would have been greater than it is now.
It took Dante barely 15 minutes to arrive at the scene and eliminate more than 80% of the chaos dragons and black ships. Yet, the thousands of casualties that occurred during that time were truly unavoidable.
Now, Dante was chasing after the enemy commander who was fleeing while ordering the pursuit unit and the defense force to rescue the civilians and ordering the knights of the noble families, including the Dragon Knights, to clear out the remnants of the enemy.
'I will surely find you and tear you to pieces...!'
Dante's eyes, filled with anger, scanned the area without rest. The enemy had already escaped to the outskirts of the capital, continuously forming dimensional portals for escape but being hindered by Dante.
Since Mort was exhausted and he could no longer use teleportation, if he missed sight of the enemy even for a moment, it would be over.
However, Dante was not the type to lose sight of the enemy due to impatience. Moreover, this place was the center of the land he protected.
Slash!
As Rashid unleashed radiance, a part of the outer forest was cut like puzzle pieces.
Dante shot new sword energy in all directions of the severed forest to block the enemy commander who was inside.
The enemy struggled to break through Dante's sword energy, but Dante did not miss a moment.
"You bastard!"
Dante swung his scabbard towards the helmet, revealing the face of none other than Joshua Runecondel.
"Joshua Runcandel, it was you...!"
Joshua appeared even more disheveled than when he was last beaten by Bale. His eyes shook unstably, and cold sweat dripped continuously down his pale face.
-Go and attack the Empire. Originally, it was the task given to the 4th flagbearer, but I did not inform him for your sake. If you successfully complete the terror attack without the matriarch's help and return, she will surely give you another chance.
That's what Joshua heard from Ilina before going to attack the Empire.
However, now he was captured and couldn't return without help, and the terror attack failed to meet the Prophet's expectations.
Joshua failed again this time.
Once again, Joshua had failed.
What made Joshua even more desperate was the fact that, behind Dante, another dimensional portal unrelated to him was forming, and from within it, the army of Diphus was coming out.
Thus, Joshua's despair was growing once again for the sake of Rosa.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
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babayaga01
babayaga01
You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
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