章節 559: CHAPTER 717
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
At the moment when Mon's sword began to pressure Myu and Anne and shake the entire battlefield, Mary paused briefly and turned around.
'It's the aura of at least a Black Knight-level martial artist. Did Sir Mon come to support the Tona brothers?'
There were more cannon shots, and along with that, Mary could feel the fact that the vibrations transmitted through the inner castle intensified.
It was evidence that the allied forces had arrived.
So Mary decided to halt her infiltration and wait for the arrival of her allies before moving together. There was no need to risk herself unnecessarily.
Until now, she had pushed through regardless, trying to assess the internal situation, but now she realized that if something went wrong, she would only become a burden to her allies.
The captives trapped in the inner castle, the prophet, the Tona brothers, and their allied forces were engaged in combat. Jin and Diphus were rumored to have moved somewhere and initiated a battle.
Although there were countless factors causing anxiety, Mary calmly turned her body.
She intended to go toward the entrance of the castle and wait for her allies.
However, Mary immediately swallowed a sigh as she sensed the arrival of someone.
Tap, tap... From behind the corridor, a figure in a black robe approached.
"Well, things never go according to plan, do they? Ilina... no, Prophet. I see you've come to meet me in person."
[Of course, the 7th flagbearer of the clan came to Rikalton. It would be right for me, the lord of the castle, to come out myself, right?]
Swoosh!
Viper stretched forward like a whip and swept through Ilina.
'Is it an illusion...? It doesn't make contact.'
Ilina only shimmered like water, completely unaffected by the attacks. The same thing happened when she was attacked again.
"What kind of law says that you can welcome guests while playing a joke like this? Is it the land of chaos?"
Ilina waved her hand and smiled.
[Oh no, I have truly prepared a lot for you. So please don't be too upset. I'm sure it will be a surprise.]
"Hehe! Listen, Prophet. Our allied forces have already surrounded the outside. Moreover, I know that you are in a situation where the evil god cannot move, and the 4th flagbearer is currently luring Jin into a fight. You may act composed, but I see everything with my own eyes. Are you afraid that things will turn against you?"
[Does it look like I'm afraid?]
"Clearly, your original plan was to prevent the allied forces from ever reaching this stronghold. But they arrived, albeit later than expected, and you set up this illusion for your safety."
[Unfortunately, you pose no threat to me. So this illusion for safety is just your excessive confidence. This is not a simple illusion.]
"Are you going to send out more puppets? Or are you going to activate some trap to try to kill me? Whatever it is, go ahead and do it. Today, you and your lot will definitely lose."
[If I wanted to kill you, there would be no need for traps.]
"Then come out and face me if you want to kill me."
[There's someone else who wants to kill you.]
"What?"
[Jin Runcandel, the 12th flagbearer. You will die by his hand.]
Mary let out a hollow laugh.
"Jin is different from the others. He will never fall, just like the Myu and Anne who were outside, the other armies of chaos, Rosa, the 4th flagbearer... He will never be corrupted. You have no idea how special he is, how strong he is. You can't even imagine."
[Sir Diphus said the exact same thing. Huh, you're not a worthless piece of garbage like Joshua after all. You and the 4th flagbearer, the 12th flagbearer should have been on our side.]
"Even if he's fallen, he hasn't completely lost his senses. The 4th flagbearer knows it too, that he can't defeat Jin. The youngest isn't someone who will fall to you or the 4th flagbearer. If you want to capture him, you'll have to bring out the evil god, and even that will ultimately fail!"
[Then why did Sir Diphus lure the 12th flagbearer separately, knowing he would lose?]
"It must be a scheme to buy time until the evil god can move. Just like you have been doing all along."
[That's half the answer. 7th flagbearer, before the battle begins today... I will tell you what Sir Diphus ordered me.]
I have to set a stage, so that Runcandel doesn't lose even if I lose.
Ilina continued her words and took off her hood.
[It is not necessary for the 12th flagbearer to embrace chaos in order to harm you. Sir Diphus never even considered corrupting him. Instead, it is done like this...]
The moment Ilina said that, Mary hurriedly stepped on side and swung the viper.
Suddenly, a tremendous energy erupted from the air and engulfed her.
'This...!'
It was a thunderbolt.
And it contained Jin's unique, powerful force.
Excluding the Plutonian tribe, Jin was the only one who could handle this kind of lightning bolts.
And this was just the beginning.
In an instant, the lightning bolts spread from all directions.
No matter how many times she checked, it was undoubtedly Jin's energy.
[... Unbeknownst to yourself, it will lead to your death. Sir Diphus and I have prepared measures to ensure that all the energy wasted in fighting him is directed at this very spot. A variation of the power of dimensional teleportation, you could say.]
"Damn!"
Mary, pushed back by the lightning bolts, gritted her teeth.
[As you said, it wouldn't be easy for us to gain the upper hand in a firepower battle while the lord matriarch is absent. That's why I have truly made thorough preparations. Even if the 12th flagbearer doesn't fall, I have ensured that he cannot escape the abyss of despair!]
True to Mary's words, Jin never corrupts.
Diphus had long recognized that fact and acknowledged that he could not defeat Jin as long as he was injured by the eternal flames.
That's why Diphus approached the situation in a completely different way.
And as everyone knows, Jin, apart from the evil god, was practically unbeatable. Even a being like Mary could barely hold out for a few minutes in a proper fight against him.
And now, Jin's attacks were penetrating through Rikalton's inner castle.
In just a few seconds, the corridor where Mary stood was already destroyed beyond recognition.
How is this even possible?
Neither Mary nor any of the allies had anticipated such a situation.
She was going to die.
And it would be by the power of the youngest.
Even if she were to die, Mary held no resentment towards Jin. But the weight of despair that Jin had to bear was indescribable.
'Moreover, it's not just me who will die. If things continue like this, the energy of the youngest will affect our other comrades as well!'
Currently, Jin's energy was spreading only towards the inner castle.
But it was uncertain how long that range would be limited to the resistance. If Jin's energy spreads to the outside, beyond the castle and onto the battlefield...
Not only would thousands of prisoners be annihilated, but there would also be a surge of casualties among their own allies.
Jin would hear all about it after the battle is over.
'No matter how strong the youngest is, if he experiences something like that...!'
He would collapse.
He had no choice but to crumble. No one could go through such an event and come out unscathed.
Those who survived, especially their comrades, would say that it was not Jin's responsibility.
But Jin could never think that way.
"Ugh, cough...!"
Fzzz-!
Some of the lightning bolts, which were made from 9th sword technique of battle god, struck Mary.
She managed to barely fend it off, but her collar bone was broken, and hot blood gushed from her throat.
Ilina licked her lips, seemingly satisfied with the sight.
[How about it? Do you still think you can win? Are you worried that things might not go as planned? I am a prophet. What I have spoken will inevitably come true. Today, Jin Runcandel will kill a lot of people]
Checkmate.
Mary had no choice but to acknowledge that fact. She couldn't see any way out.
All she could do was fend off the lightning bolts.
But somehow, for some reason...
Mary felt a sudden wash of relief, as if the fear and concern she held for Jin were suddenly washed away. It was like the moment when believers encounter the voice of their god in a desperate moment.
Great beings sometimes instill baseless faith in such moments.
Mary realized that she had been regarding the youngest in such a way. Not just to herself, but also to the clan and Tikan's comrades, Jin was such a person.
[You're quite strong too, aren't you? How many times have you already fended off these fierce lightning bolts? Keep up the strength, the more desperate traces you leave, the better.]
"Yeah, you're right. This is really a crisis, cough!"
Mary rolled on the ground again, coughing up blood.
"It's strange... Somehow, I don't think the youngest will keep playing tricks like this."
The Prophet's eyes narrowed.
Mary's pupils, which had been plunged into despair and darkness, were gradually regaining their light.
The prophet thought there was no situation where Mary could harbor hope.
[Oh, so in the end, you too have gone mad in the face of this death? That's a sight that suits ordinary and weak humans.]
"No, it's just... I still can't envision a scenario where Jin falls into your trap. And we don't have mediocre prophets like you, we have a record-keeper. By now, our record-keeper would have sensed something unpleasant, and someone among our comrades would go and inform Jin..."
[Yes, yes. Whether you say it or not, soon your whole body will be torn apart by the power of the 12th flagbearer. At best, you can endure a couple more times.]
Mary fended off the thunderbolt and stood up.
Her legs trembled as if she would collapse any moment, but her viper shone fiercely.
"If you really think that way, how about we make a bet? I'll bet on there not being a single person who dies from Jin's energy. Two times? Ten times, even twenty times, I can stop it."
So if you want to see me die, come and face me yourself. I will never be defeated by Jin's power.
Mary finished her words and glared at Ilina.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
創作者的想法 
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 560: CHAPTER 718
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
* * *
Outside of Rikalton, the battlefield of Jin and Diphus.
The wasteland was being torn apart.
The surging energy emanating from the Thunderblade Sigmund swept through the sky and the earth like a massive storm.
It had been a considerable amount of time since the two of them teleported from Rikalton Castle.
Despite the intense battles that had been raging across the entire terrain of the wasteland, neither of them had suffered any significant injuries.
They were unable to land a decisive blow on each other.
Jin was wasting more energy.
This was because Diphus easily dodged and counterattacked through flight, Jin had to continue spreading his energy throughout the entire battlefield to pressure him.
However, even though Jin was "wasting" his strength, it was not lacking.
As time passed, Diphus marveled at the increasingly concentrated energy Jin was exerting, even without receiving such abilities himself.
[This kind of power without being endowed with power like me...…. I can see why you rebelled against our mother. You wouldn't have felt the need.]
Diphus spoke while dodging a lightning bolt.
[But not everyone can do what you can.]
Jin didn't respond and focused his gaze on the moment before the lightning struck the ground, disappearing somewhere.
'This isn't the first time. It has been happening since earlier... My attacks that the Fourth flagbearer evaded or repelled are vanishing.'
At first, Jin didn't notice. The intensity of their clash made it impossible to detect the faint traces of his missed lightning bolts.
However, the balance of their battle was now shifting. The taut rope was being pulled slightly towards Jin's side.
And there was only one reason for it.
Even if Diphus received a portion of Rosa's power, he couldn't surpass Jin in strength.
Even if he were at full strength, the situation would be the same. Diphus had suffered irreparable damage from the eternal flames and had forcefully used teleportation, widening the gap even faster.
'Where do my vanished attacks go? Do they somehow return to the Fourth Flagbearer through some method, or...'
[It seems like you're concerned about those remaining in Rikalton Castle. You just started pushing me back and if your focus keeps wavering like this...]
Zzzap!
Diphus flicked his Volgar and spoke. Jin raised Sigmund, firing off a lightning blast, but once again, the missed attack vanished before their eyes.
"Focus, will you? It doesn't seem like dealing with missed attacks is an action meant for our fight," Jin said unexpectedly, as he simultaneously retrieved all the dispersed energy on the battlefield.
Diphus descended slowly, shrugging his shoulders.
[You have a keen eye. I didn't expect you to notice so soon.]
"If I were worried about my comrades, I would have found a way to return to Rikalton Castle. I didn't come here to engage in a slow and steady fight with you."
Jin changed his sword.
"To be honest, I don't really know why you follow up on missed attacks. But it doesn't matter now. The exploration phase is over, and you won't have the luxury to do such things anymore..."
A white aura enveloped Bradamante.
The serene and shining aura emitted an entirely different atmosphere from the violent energy that had been trampling the wasteland.
[Do you think it's okay to forsake your lightning energy and shadow force and rely on inferior power?] Diphus asked.
Jin changed his sword to minimize missed attacks.
The nature of the lightning energy was excessively ferocious, inevitably leading to numerous attacks slipping away.
Also, the reason why Jin chose aura instead of shadow force was for the purpose of conserving strength.
'He is confident that he can't defeat me. He's already fighting with the assumption of his own defeat,' Jin realized.
Indeed, ever since the operation began, Diphus' every move had been meticulously calculated to buy time.
Separating Jin from his allies, unleashing illusionary magic towards Zipfel's side, and deploying the majority of his troops towards Kinzelo.
Even now, it was the same. Diphus was fighting in a half-hearted manner, dealing with missed attacks.
Jin concluded that all these actions were meant to assist Rosa's intervention.
Another evidence is Orgal and Syris.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since Jin separated from the group, there was still no news of the teleporters among his allies.
'Currently, there is no one in the Garden of Swords faction that can handle Orgal and Kinzelo except for the evil god. But the reason people with teleportation abilities can't find me is because Orgal is tied up somewhere.'
If Orgal had been with the allies in Rikalton Castle, he would have already sorted out the situation and started looking for Jin.
In particular, with Orgal's ability, he should have visited Jin several times.
And there was only one existence in the Garden of Swords that could bind Orgal like that.
Evil God, Rosa.
Orgal is currently unable to join the battlefield to prevent her participation.
Jin had to conserve his energy because he needed to support Orgal after dealing with Diphus.
"Are you sure it's okay? All the things you've done so far... that's not something elder brother Diphus would say. He was someone who only fought with his sword. He later expressed his intention to participate in the return of the magic sword for the sake of the clan, but he still revered the sword. Because we're swordsmen."
So, show me the essence of being a swordsman.
Immediately after Jin finished speaking, Diphus felt a momentary sensation of pure whiteness obscuring his vision.
What blocked his sight was the blade of Bradamante.
Due to being accustomed to the speed of the lightning bolts, his reaction was delayed.
With a speed surpassing thought, Jin unfolded Runcandel's decisive killing move.
Runcandel 6th Decisive Killing move: Lightning.
The decisive killing move that Dipus used in the first mission to kill Barton with Jin. Jin chose the sword as a start.
Diphus hurriedly stepped to the side and spread his wings.
However, in the place where he flew up, another decisive killing move of Runcandel was already descending.
Runcandel 3rd decisive killing move: Meteor shower.
There was nowhere to escape.
Suddenly, hundreds of sword energies covered the sky, piercing through the clouds and disorienting Diphus' vision.
The rapidly escalating speed of the battle was disorienting, but up to this point, Diphus was capable enough to fend off the attacks.
He could have easily redirected the missed attacks towards Rikalton Castle.
However, Jin had already anticipated that he wouldn't have that luxury.
That meant he had thoroughly learned all of Diphus' patterns and responses during the exploration phase.
Diphus not only had the luxury of dealing with missed attacks, but he also had no room to catch his breath and relentlessly pressed on.
As Diphus blocked the five streams of meteor shower and tried to send the deflected attacks towards Rikalton, Jin had already twisted his body along the altered trajectory of the meteor shower and unfolded a new sword.
Supreme ruler Sword 1st Decisive killing move: Meteor Shatter.
This time, contrary to the meteor shower, the sight of sword energies soaring from the ground continued.
Unlike the true Supreme ruler Sword unfolded by Ron, the sword energies didn't shine with an ashen light, but Jin had acquired the sword technique by changing what he had seen in the Sword Emperor castle war to the Runcandel style. He received help from Battle god Vahn when training in Laprarosa.
With the clash between the meteor shower and the Meteor Shatter centered around Diphus, one of Diphus' wings was torn apart.
'Regeneration takes 2 seconds.'
No matter how fast, it took 2 seconds. It was the speed at which Jin had confirmed Diphus' wings being torn apart several times with the battle god move earlier.
However, Jin prepared the next sword even faster.
Runcandel's 5th secret technique: Light speed thrust.
Due to the constant fluctuation caused by unleashing multiple decisive killing moves at once, his center of gravity kept shifting. However, Jin demonstrated the overwhelming speed of unfolding the light-speed thrust even faster than 2 seconds.
The light speed thrust pierced through Diphus' remaining wing
'Four seconds until the aura backflow calms down.'
The backflow did break out. Jin closed the distance while calmly calming the backflow, and the fallen Diphus regained his stance and fend off the remaining sword energies from the meteor shower.
Diphus couldn't follow up on the missed attacks as he was busy defending against Jin's onslaught.
After 4 seconds, the distance between Jin and Diphues was twenty steps.
And Jin's aura backflow completely stopped progressing, and Diphus's wings were on the verge of regenerating.
'By now, he must have realized. No matter what he does, my sword is faster than his regeneration.'
As expected, instead of struggling to keep the distance, Diphus approached Jin and swung the Volgar.
A huge blade soaked in chaos fell on Jin's head.
However, the move that Jin prepared while switching swords was the end of this fight.
'However, he may think that I don't have enough time to open the eternal flame.'
It was true. In such a desperate battle, even Jin couldn't fully unfold eternal flame.
So he had to accumulate the time to unfold eternal flame little by little, always staying slightly ahead in the battle.
He had to push Diphus back step by step until there was a cliff behind him.
Runcandel's 1st Decisive killing move: Heaven Shatter.
Among the legacy left behind by Jorden, the pinnacle decisive killing move of the clan.
When Bradamante was thrust into the ground, Diphus, who was charging forward, realized too late what that action was for.
"You have good instincts. It must be thanks to the memories of elder brother Diphus."
But it's too late.
The aura that had eroded underground was exploding, creating a massive sword energy that split the earth and sky in half.
Diphus hurriedly stepped to the side, but even from that direction, the Heaven Shatter's sword energy shot up.
Even the fragments of aura left in the sky by the meteor shower and Meteor Shatter were being swept away and pulverized by the Heaven Shatter.
[Kraaah...!]
The shattered fragments of the meteor shower stabbed into Diphus' back, and the Heaven Shatter sword energy was piercing the ground more fiercely, raging towards the sky.
Among them, there was a scene where one of them swallowed Diphus' freshly regenerated left wing and left arm.
If it had been his right arm holding Volgar, the battle would have ended at this point.
However, the battle continued, but the outcome had already been decided long ago.
Jin was certain of that. Diphus, too, had entered the battle with the expectation of defeat from the beginning.
Even though he knew he would lose, Diphus had pulled Jin into the battlefield to provoke a one-on-one duel.
To buy time for Rosa.
And to plunge Jin into despair.
Thinking of his intentions, Jin clenched his teeth once.
"In the end, when I kill you... do you think I will despair? Don't delude yourself, 4th flagbearer. Elder sister Mary and I have already prepared to send elder brother Diphus."
With eyes wide open, Jin finished the Heaven Shatter and swung his sword at Diphus once again.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
創作者的想法
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!
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
51 推薦票 
段落評論