Sigmund pierced through the mana bolt and sent splinters flying.
The crowd in the plaza screamed at the sudden assault. The golden shield holy knights leaped onto the podium.
"Protect Lady Lani!"
"Everyone, get down! Don't get caught in the crossfire!" The golden shield holy knights shouted to the civilians after securing Lani. Most of the crowd followed the orders and dropped to the ground.
But not everyone heeded the advice. A good number of them panicked and became exposed to the attacks of the Zipple Magicians.
All the Magicians launching attacks at Jin were at least seven-star or higher. A mere touch of their spells could cause serious injuries or death to civilians.
But the Magicians continued casting spells as if they didn't care whether the civilians lived or died.
In fact, they wouldn't stop until Jin was dead, regardless of how many civilians perished in the process.
The Zipples no longer clung to their symbol of justice.
If they failed to kill Bamel, who was actually Jin Runcandel, they would be despised from this day forward.
No, it was much graver than that. Losing Bamel here today essentially meant the entire Zipple clan was playing with the individual activity of a single Runcandel reserve flagbearer.
They had to prevent it at all costs.
"We must finish off Jin Runcandel before he leaves the plaza!"
"Trap him and push him toward the center!"
The Magicians were desperate. They knew better than anyone that the clan wouldn't spare their lives if they lost Jin now, regardless of their reasons.
Jin calmly assessed the Magicians' locations. Four on the left, six in the center. Ten for now.
They were all that remained in the plaza. But there would be several dozen pursuing Jin outside the plaza.
The six are weaker than the four.
He had to break their formation and leave the plaza. If their reinforcements started arriving, he would be trapped within the plaza, and Jin didn't want innocent civilians getting caught up in the fight and dying.
Of course, he always kept in mind the possibility of civilian casualties when he thought about revealing his identity.
But it was the best he could do.
He had to reveal his identity when there were neutral journalists, third parties, witnesses, and all the help he could gather, in order to stick it to the Zipples.
Lani had also made an urgent request to him.
She told him that civilian casualties would only be the result of her own request for him to reveal himself in the plaza, that if anyone was to blame, it would be her.
Jin wasn't comfortable risking the lives of civilians, but he didn't reject her.
He knew he could trust Luna.
He feared that some of the innocent civilians might get hurt or killed.
Jin glanced toward Luna.
But it seems that won't happen today. Luna is truly impressive.
The Runcandel guardian knights and the Hufester martial artists wielded their weapons under Luna's orders.
They achieved the magnificent feat of blocking each and every attack from the Magicians aimed at the civilians.
Despite being a delegation sent to pay respects to the dead, these guardian knights were here to assist the first, second, and third flagbearers of the clan.
Each one of them was almost as strong as an execution knight, and most of the Hufester martial artists were composed of the top talents from each clan.
"The honor of the Runcandel clan and Hufester will hit rock bottom if a single innocent soul dies today in the Holy Kingdom. Block them and disperse! There will be a battle outside the plaza too!"
Loyalty to the Clan!
The guardian knights and Hufester martial artists desperately protected the people of the Holy Kingdom as if they were their own.
To them, being able to carry out a mission with Luna was a greater honor than anything else. She was the solitary white whale, the greatest legend after Cyron and admired by all Hufester martial artists.
It was unknown whether they would ever wield a sword alongside Luna again in their lifetime. Therefore, they couldn't afford to disappoint Luna in her moment of glory.
Meanwhile, this is what Luna thought: Jin, you seem pleased. It seems I read your thoughts correctly.
The fact that she was executing her first task as Jin's sword made her heart beat faster.
Now, she couldn't imagine anyone else leading the Runcandel clan after Cyron than her younger brother, Jin Runcandel.
Shluk, ching!
Despite the countless number of spells being launched, only those remaining flew toward Jin, as if they had been filtered.
The civilians began orderly leaving the plaza under Luna's protection. Some of the journalists risked their lives and positioned themselves behind the guardian knights to record the incident in their notes.
"First flagbearer, we don't have time for this." Joshua approached Luna.
"What's the matter?"
"Don't you think we should save the reserve flagbearer? Even if he broke the clan's rule, what will become of our reputation if our reserve flagbearer dies at the hands of the Zipples?"
"Second flagbearer, what does the death of a reserve flagbearer have to do with the reputation of the Runcandels? The flagbearer himself must bear the weight of his actions. Our relationship with the Holy Kingdom takes priority over his safety."
"Then don't you think we should be the ones to punish the reserve flagbearer ourselves? That should be a higher priority than protecting civilians. Please choose wisely."
Immediately, Luna's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Your black knights aren't here now. How dare you defy me? Step up your game if you don't want to be humiliated in front of everyone."
Joshua's face instantly paled.
It was as Luna said. His black knights weren't here, but he had secretly brought execution knights with him. They were disguised and hidden at various points in the plaza.
Therefore, he could afford to go against Luna's orders. Those knights would always prioritize his orders, regardless of what Luna had commanded.
In that case, it would be Luna who would be humiliated, not himself.
But Joshua decided not to rebel against Luna.
I shouldn't let my momentary embarrassment undermine the reputation of the Runcandel clan, as it will soon be mine. Besides, if I go against Luna right now, I'll lose the trust of the other martial arts clans.
Rank wars should stay within the clan. Challenging Luna's authority on a public occasion like this would only undermine the dignity of the Runcandel clan.
Luna's selfishness frustrated him greatly, but it wasn't the time to act like a fool.
"Understood," Joshua replied bluntly.
He had acted preemptively out of fear that Jin would die and prevent him from securing the Solderet contract. But when he turned to look, none of that seemed likely.
A blue electric bolt descended from the clear sky.
It was the lightning bolt of the Sword of Legends. The same power that had caused the world to mistake Bamel for the Peitel contractor.
The six Magicians guarding the center of the plaza couldn't react to the bolt and fell to the ground from the attack.
That must be the Energy of Legends. It showed great skill against me on the Blue Bird Islands even without using that power. It will be difficult for them to catch him unless the tower masters arrive to create formations to trap him.
He couldn't understand why the heavens favored Jin when the prophecy had chosen him, Joshua Runcandel.
Flash! Crack!
Each lightning drop caused square ground blocks to jump, sending rocks and Magicians flying.
Now that Jin could see Luna perfectly guarding the civilians, he had no reason to hold back.
Only an instant passed before the six Magicians lost their lives.
This is what I like about the Sword of Legends. Unless one is truly gifted, they won't escape its initial burst.
Of course, the six Magicians in the center were worthy of being called geniuses elsewhere. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made the cut to join the Zipple clan.
But from Jin's perspective, they were nothing more than mediocre talents. Compared to the powerful opponents he had constantly fought against, they were mere minor subordinates.
"Respond with caution! Consider him a lightning-based Mage. Place spells around the area, so he can't get close!"
The four Magicians on the left had considerable talent, even by Jin's standards. They properly blocked the advance of the lightning by casting shield barriers and approached Jin.
They even modified various ice-based spells to dazzle Jin's vision. Ice pillars surrounded Jin, making it difficult for him to aim the lightning.
He could always cut through all the ice pillars with blade waves since the Hufester knights would protect the civilians.
But he didn't need to waste more time in the plaza now that he had eliminated the center forces.
"Shuri!" Jin took the red ruby out of his inner pocket. The red ruby emitted light and released Shuri from within.
"What's that supposed to be?"
"A cat?"
Even the expert Magicians took a step back, surprised. Anyone would react that way if they encountered a cat larger than a horse-drawn carriage for the first time in their lives.
The fact that the giant cat shot mana lightning from its eyes didn't improve the situation for them.
Shuri leaped and screeched while firing lightning bolts at the Magicians. Jin leaped onto the ice pillars created by the Magicians to jump onto Shuri.
Jin climbed onto Shuri's back. Meanwhile, the Magicians desperately tried to protect themselves from Shuri's lightning bolts.
Shuri landed softly on the ground and screeched again.
Then, the civilians still standing and the desperate witnessing journalists all fell to the ground. Their legs couldn't withstand the ferocity of Shuri's screech.
The sound was controlled in a way that only trained martial artists would be able to endure.
Is that really the power of a Runcandel reserve flagbearer?
Everyone thought the same—from the Hufester martial artists, the civilians who were now all on the ground, and even the surviving Zipple Magicians.
It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale, only it was unfolding before their own eyes.
There was plenty of maneuvering space once all the civilians fell to the ground.
Shuri pounced lightly and began running toward the open path. It moved extremely fast, but not a single civilian was harmed by Shuri's steps.
"Myaa!" Shuri asked which way to run.
Jin pointed toward the portal gate. He wanted to head to the port, where there were mountains of Zipple gold. Jin's ultimate goal was to melt all the gold and throw it into the sea before escaping.
It didn't take long to reach the portal gate. The Zipple Magicians outside the plaza couldn't catch up to Shuri.
Loyal officials of the Holy Kingdom awaited Jin and Shuri at the gate and opened access for them when they arrived.
"Thank you, Lord Jin. I wish you luck."
"I also wish you luck."
When Jin arrived at the port, he encountered the last person he expected to see.
"Jin? Look, it's Jin!" The white-haired teenager's eyes widened in surprise upon recognizing Jin. It was Beradin Zipple, the successor to the Zipple clan patriarchate.
It seemed that he had just arrived at the port as well. But behind Beradin, something was burning wildly.
They had set fire to the gold.