C238 - Individual Study, Group Study (3)
"Emergency! Save me..."
A Mage standing on the outer wall had his body cut in half as he attempted to create a shield barrier.
Blades formed by Shadow Energy in the air sliced him in two.
It wasn't just one or two blades in the air. There were hundreds of black blades floating in space, all moving at Murakan's will.
Each dance of the blades elicited a series of screams. Some died, while others had their bodies torn apart, leaving them incapacitated. Even the brave White Wolf Warriors couldn't avert their gaze from the horror and carnage unfolding before them.
"I've said that no one will escape from me." Murakan spoke softly as he watched a group of Mages fleeing from the outer wall.
Upon hearing the Dragon's words, black swords immediately impaled their backs. The Mages didn't even have a chance to scream before they died.
Murakan's black blades tore through the shield barriers of the seven-star Mages as if they were made of paper. Murakan was the very god of death, wrapped in a whirlwind of blades.
The Dragon roared.
The sound alone sent chills down one's spine and made one feel as if their flesh would melt off their skeleton.
Humans fell to the ground and covered their ears from Murakan's roar.
The Crimson Tiger Warriors and White Wolf Warriors raised their weapons in response.
But it wasn't to fight against him.
They only raised them out of instinct to cover their bodies and defend themselves. Unlike the Crimson Tigers, the White Wolf Warriors looked towards Murakan, but they couldn't help but stagger on their paws like frightened little cubs.
The King of the Sky.
That's what dragons called Murakan. And Murakan's majesty certainly lived up to the name.
If the goal were simply to rain punishments upon them, the battle would have already ended. Murakan had only stopped destroying them to save the captives. He had more than enough strength to bring down the entire castle.
'That crazy dragon...'
Jin looked at Murakan with a surprised expression on his face.
Was this really the same Dark and foolish Dragon who couldn't stop reading his ecchi books and asking for strawberry cakes?
'No wonder he always talked about his fullness. If this is forty percent of his strength, with his full power, he could match my father or my sister.'
Jin had worried on the way to Oterium. Although Murakan had regained his power, he wasn't quite sure if they could defeat all their enemies on their own.
But now, there was nothing to worry about. Even if the four nine-star Mages were here, he and Murakan wouldn't be in any danger.
Now, the only question was the status of the Vankela captives. If Vitura was correct, there should be at least six hundred captives who were brought here, or maybe more. There probably weren't many captives left unharmed.
He had to secure at least a few sane ones. If every last one of them had been turned into biological golems, they could only bring them back dead. The captives wouldn't be able to testify to the kingdom.
Jin started to move. He was dressed in a black robe and had activated the Myulta Rune. He clearly looked like an intruder, but the busy Mages running back and forth didn't pay him any attention.
The entire castle was crumbling under the assault of the Dark Dragon. Everyone was fighting for survival. In fact, it was Jin who grabbed a passing Mage. Jin tripped him and asked with a knife to his throat, "Where are the captives of the Holy Kingdom kept?"
"I... I don't know."
Thup.
Jin stabbed him without a moment's hesitation. He felt no pity or sympathy for the Kinzelo Mages.
He grabbed three more, asked them the same question, and disposed of them in the same way. But he didn't get any answers.
"The low-ranking Mages don't know their location."
Tsk. Jin gritted his teeth and descended from the ruined outer wall to observe the people and half-orcs coming out from the entrance of the inner castle.
He was able to distinguish two faces. Chukon Tolderer and Suzanne Lilista. They were shouting at the top of their lungs, barking orders with veins bulging in their necks.
"All Class One and higher Mages, prepare to cast binding spells!"
"Deserters will be killed by my own hands! Anyway, it's impossible to escape from the Dark Dragon. Do your best to draw his attention while I cast the shield barrier!"
"We must hold on until Sir Joe is ready!"
Suzanne and Chukon fought desperately.
Undoubtedly, they understood better than the two hundred Mages who died on the outer walls the terror that Murakan was.
Cold Joe. He must also be in the castle. No matter what Joe was preparing, it didn't seem like anything could threaten Murakan.
Jin moved away from their sight. He stuck to the darkness of the shadow as he made his way through. When he reached the hallway, he encountered a group of Crimson Tiger Warriors running out.
'One, two, five.'
Jin counted their numbers and released the Legendary Energy he had concealed until now. The Crimson Tiger Warriors were about to wield their weapons but recoiled at the force. Sigmund was already covered in Lightning Energy.
Pzzt!
The tigers trembled violently from the impact of the lightning. They were already gripped by fear due to Murakan, who was outside the castle. With the added Legendary Energy, they couldn't do anything.
Jin fried four of them to death and disabled one by cutting off his arm. He kept the last one captive. Then he asked the same question he had asked the Mages.
"Underground prisoner camp. But Joe is currently collecting the experiments."
"What do you mean by that?"
"He's gathering subjects who have energy similar to, to you-"
The Legendary Energy.
His ominous premonition proved correct.
The Kinzelo were recreating the Legends. A strong sense of repulsion surged within him. Jin glared and grabbed the Crimson Tiger by the neck.
"No, forgive me! Please, forgive me! I've told you everything."
"Lead the way to the prisoner camps."
"Yes. Yes, sir!"
The Crimson Tiger foamed at the mouth and crawled on all fours. Jin moved alongside him, constantly looking around as he did.
He hoped to encounter enemies, but no one stood in his way. Most of the castle forces had fled as soon as Murakan's attacks began.
"He's here, sir! I, I was the one leading them. But, there, there won't be many of them left."
The hallway leading to the underground prisoner camp was filled with footprints. They were human footprints. The footprints showed that hundreds of people had left at once.
It was Cold Joe's trail leading them out of their camp.
The entrance to the prisoner camp was open. Jin slit the Crimson Tiger's throat. He jumped down to check the interior of the camp, planning to follow the footprints afterward.
Despite its name, the inside of the prisoner camp resembled more of a sorcery laboratory. All sorts of jars filled with fluids and dirty books littered the floor, and iron cages were scattered everywhere.
It was even larger than the central hall. Jin was about to think that Joe had taken all the souls from here when he heard a woman's voice.
"You. Are you sent by the Holy King? And is the Dark Dragon outside as well?"
The woman's eyes trembled with fear, but they showed the willpower of a person willing to face death itself.
"I ask. Tell me what happened to the people of the Holy Kingdom. Did Cold Joe take every last one of them?"
Judging by her white lab coat, she seemed to have been conducting experiments on the people of the Holy Kingdom until a few moments ago.
Jin was about to intimidate her with his sword when she raised both hands.
"I am a Saint of the Dawn Cart Society. My name is Mirtual Sila, a first-class Saint under direct orders from the Holy King. I infiltrated the Dark Magic Guild three years ago under His Majesty's orders, and I have been acting as a researcher here. I haven't been able to contact the Kingdom due to the high-security protocols after becoming a researcher here."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
Then the lady opened her pendant to reveal a shield.
The dormant volcano. The symbol of the Holy Kingdom. Jin glanced between the dormant volcano shield and the woman.
"I also have a lot to ask you, but we don't have time. A detonation spell has been activated in the laboratory wing. Look at the floor."
A white magic circle was forming on the floor. It was a kind of security magic that had been placed by the Dark Magic Guild Mages precisely for this kind of situation.
"In five minutes, the entire laboratory wing will disappear without a trace. We must save the survivors."
"Where are they?"
"There's an underground passage known only to the researchers. Of the eight hundred and twenty-three people from the Holy Kingdom who were brought here as test subjects, eight hundred and thirteen of them have been turned into biological battle golems and were taken by Joe."
"What?"
"Once the laboratory wing is sealed, the mana insertion device won't last either. Then we won't be able to save the last ten survivors."
Crunch.
Mirtual opened a trapdoor in the ground, revealing a hidden space. Ten people were inside the space that led to the underground passage known only to the researchers. The survivors looked dazed and drooling.
But they were citizens of the Holy Kingdom.
"We must save them. They must have something to bring to the Holy Kingdom, don't they? This will be the last chance we have. If we can't bring these survivors to the Holy Kingdom..."
According to Mirtual, these ten people were the only ones who could provide any testimony.
Should he trust this woman?
Perhaps she was playing a joke on him just to survive.
He contemplated it for about three seconds. Then he heard a familiar sound coming from outside.
It sounded very distant, but Jin immediately recognized what it was.
It had to be the sound of activated Lightning Energy. It was clearly distinct from the sound of natural thunder and lightning. Joe's biological golems, the recreation of the Legends.
They were the source of the noise.
"Joe has activated the biological golems outside. No matter how strong the Dark Dragon outside is, it won't last long. You may not understand, but Joe has the people..."
"Transformed into biological golems resembling the Legends?"
"How... does the Kingdom already have that information?"
"Damn, damn it. Fine. Mirtual Sila, I'll trust you. We must rescue these ten witnesses, no matter what. Is there any way?"
"We just have to move the mana insertion device into the secret passage."
"Is it here?"
Jin pointed to a steel container connected to a transparent tube.
Mirtual nodded.
Indeed, she was a spy working for the Holy King. The sudden assault had destroyed the laboratory wing, and the only people capable of providing testimony were about to die. She was defenseless and desperate.
She had no way of moving such a heavy equipment to the passage by herself, when even most five-star martial artists would struggle to move it.
But Jin easily lifted the apparatus and inserted it into the passage.
"Why don't you also enter and wait for a while? Now, all we can do is pray to Ayula for the Dark Dragon's survival. I will start channeling all my mana into the people. Once I'm done, take the people and leave immediately."
"No. I will go out for a moment. You make sure these people survive."
"Don't you think you should quietly escape while Joe is still unaware of your presence? The Dark Dragon can fly, so I'm sure he can escape afterward."
"How do you expect me to escape with ten people without a Dragon?"
"I can provide you with the demon beasts trained by the Dark Magic Guild."
Mirtual knew how shameless she was to ask Jin to escape at the expense of Murakan's safety. But she had no choice, as she thought it was the last chance to send witnesses to the Holy Kingdom.
"The Holy Kingdom is important, yes, but to me, he is a higher priority. I can't help the Holy Kingdom if I have to ignore the harm that may befall Murakan."
"I understand. I will try to return as soon as possible."
"May Ayula protect you and the Dark Dragon."
Jin closed the entrance to the hidden passage and turned around.
He understood better than anyone the power of the Legends. If the new biological golems could generate power similar to that of the Illustrious Legends, even Murakan would be in danger.
Something caught his attention as soon as he stepped outside.
Thousands of lightning bolts were branching across the sky.