C261 - Trackers (3)
The specters raised their mana once again. The air around them started to vibrate. And it wasn't just mere vibrations. It was as if the air had turned into water. Breathing became difficult, and they felt the weight on their shoulders.
The phenomenon was caused by the immense expansion of mana. Anyone unable to cast a five-star shield barrier could barely stand under its weight.
As the elite forces of the world's strongest clan, the specters wielded a power beyond the ordinary.
"Do you want to kill the boy? I thought I already told you. You're too late. You're not very good with words, are you?"
Octavia smiled slightly at Murakan's words. "The records told me that you were the greatest dragon in history. But now that I see you with my own eyes, you are unworthy of that title. Your words convey nothing but your anxiety."
Screeeeech!
A terrible, piercing sound came from the sky. It was the sound of the specters' red abyss pushing back Murakan's Shadow Energy.
The red mana began to spread like stains across the sky, which had been darkened by the Shadow Energy. Murakan raised his Shadow Energy, but the forty percent of power he regained was not enough to push back the specters' mana.
The pace of change in the sky accelerated even further as Octavia began to add her mana to the red abyss.
I thought Andrei Zipple was a beast. But these guys are much stronger than him.
There were fifteen specters here.
Jin analyzed the flow of their mana and became convinced that there must be more than fifteen.
There are some gaps in how their mana complements each other.
It was a common problem when the number of Magicians casting a chain spell was insufficient. The red abyss could only unleash its full strength when launched by the entire group of specters.
It was a headache to think that there were more than fifteen Magicians who were as strong as the black knights.
In fact, those forces were not revealed to external forces at all.
Unlike the black knights of Runcandel, not even Jin knew about the Zipple specters. They were, quite literally, a secret force.
There was a good reason why Runcandel refrained from total war against the Zipple, even with the Genesis Knight Cyron Runcandel in command.
"Are you alright?" Misha transformed into her human form and landed next to Jin.
"Yes, thanks to you."
Jin spat blood. He took Misha's hand and stood up.
He felt nauseous. His Light Heart was overheating due to the aura backlash, and his vision had blurred. He was not in a condition to fight.
Although Murakan and Misha came to his aid, he still couldn't relax.
"I had no idea that Magicians of such levels would come in droves."
"Consider yourself lucky. The specters I faced in the past were stronger than them. But Murakan's ego is about to take a blow."
Since the specters organized themselves after Temar Runcandel's death, Murakan had never fought against the specters.
On the other hand, Misha had fought against the specters on several occasions over the past thousand years. And she had concluded that the specters were stronger than any other combat organization in the world.
"Jin?"
"Yes?"
"Listen carefully to everything I say, and do not refute or ask questions."
Shriek! The sky turned almost completely red again. Now, only traces of Murakan's Shadow Energy remained.
Gaining or losing territories was a critical element in a battle against groups of Magicians, especially if chain spells were cast in the sky.
If they couldn't prevent the sky territory from being covered with the mana of opposing Magicians, they would be constantly bombarded with attacks.
"The Zipple reinforcements will start arriving soon. In other words, we have no chance if we prolong the fight."
Not even the dark dragons could withstand it if more specters were deployed as reinforcements from the clan's headquarters, Kadun, or even the White Night and Kozec.
There was a possibility that even Keliac Zipple himself might appear.
No matter how strong the dark dragons were, if they could single-handedly take down the Zipple clan's top forces, the Zipple would never have become the world's strongest clan in the first place.
Jin silently nodded.
He had expected this. He knew they couldn't kill Octavia and the specters, even with Misha and Murakan's arrival.
"So, you will escape with Murakan. I will buy time. And don't forget. That is the strength of the enemies you will have to crush in the future."
"You say it as if this is the last time we'll talk."
"I told you not to ask, so now you play with words. Why? Do you think I'm sacrificing myself to save you?"
"Yes."
"If necessary, I will. One never knows what might happen."
Whoosh!
Shadow Energy gathered in Misha's hand. It soon formed into a spear. Then the Shadow Energy extended from the spear, covering her entire body in armor.
Once fully armed, her body flickered like a dark ghost.
"But I don't think I'll die at their hands today. So rest and escape from here. Not even the specters of the past could harm me. I will also escape once I feel you've fled far enough. I have already told Murakan about this plan."
He had already formulated this plan when they began breaking through the exclusion barrier set up by the specters. Victory was impossible, so Jin had to escape with Murakan.
That was why Murakan had boasted so confidently that they wouldn't be able to kill Jin.
But I can't leave you behind, Misha.
Jin desperately wanted to say those words, but he didn't speak them aloud.
It was something he could only say when he was powerful enough to turn the situation around, or when he had the absolute determination to die fighting alongside her.
But Misha had no intention of dying in battle for the sake of her ego as a dark dragon of Solderet, and Jin had no desire to give up on the future against his duties.
Even if he insisted on fighting alongside her, the only conclusion would be a senseless death.
Therefore, Jin decided to propose something that could be of practical help. "Misha, this is territory of the Secret Palace."
Beradin had intentionally built his vacation home on an uninhabited island in the western sea to avoid the scrutiny of his clan.
As the western sea fell under the influence of the Secret Palace, Beradin thought that the Zipple couldn't openly send people to this place.
His judgment proved completely wrong with the appearance of Octavia and the specters, but the fact that Beradin established his home here was nevertheless fortunate for Jin.
"If the fight gets out of hand, create as much commotion as possible, so that the entire western sea becomes aware. Once that happens, the ruler of the Secret Palace will provide assistance."
"Oh, now that you mention it, your Tikan comrades mentioned something about the only daughter of the current ruler of the Secret Palace being your lover. Some good news would be welcome in the current situation."
"That's not true, but the ruler of the Secret Palace shows me great favor. The Secret Palace would have justification to retaliate if the Zipple cause damage in the western sea, so she will have every reason to help you, Misha."
"Haha, you have a cheeky side, don't you?"
"I'd rather be cheeky if it means you won't get hurt, Misha."
The blades and chains of red mana that had been restrained by Misha's Shadow Energy began to give way. The Shadow Energy holding them seemed like it would soon shatter.
Murakan and Octavia had been fighting for a while now. Octavia continued to unleash her lightning bolts against Murakan while he only defended with his breath.
Murakan was also using most of his Shadow Energy to suppress the red abyss, so he didn't have many attack options.
Whoosh. Misha skillfully spun her spear and took a step forward.
"I've only seen you twice, and each time, I end up in your debt, Misha."
Misha shook her head. "No, it's that foolish one and I who are in your debt. You are the last hope of the shadows."
Jin tried to respond, but at that moment, the Shadow Energy accumulated at the tip of Misha's spear. Jin was surprised by the magnitude of the Shadow Energy gathering at the tip of her spear.
It was incomparably deeper and denser than the Shadow Energy Murakan deployed when facing Peitel's manifestation in Yulian and decimating the Dark Guild Magicians.
It only took a second to gather such a compressed amount of Shadow Energy at the tip. Misha employed a variation of the Shadow Blade, using the spear.
Temar had called it the shadowless spear, but ironically, the technique required much more Shadow Energy than the Shadow Blade.
"I will clear the path."
Shadowless was just a metaphor.
It referred to how fast it was, so fast that even Temar struggled to keep up with its speed. It also referred to how it was capable of destroying everything without leaving a trace if it so desired.
The technique swept away everything to the point where not even a shadow of its target remained.
"So, stay put here. Don't follow me."
Jin tilted his head. The tip of Misha's spear cut through the air.
It was then that Octavia flinched and turned her head, refraining from casting spells on Murakan.
Octavia had missed Jin and Misha due to the battle against Murakan and the dust cloud that rose after the island's destruction.
That's why her reaction was slow.
Her delayed reaction also meant that the entire squad of specters didn't react, as no specter was more skilled than Octavia.
The wave of dark blades that emanated from Misha's spear struck the specters' barrier.
Crack!
"What?"
A single strike from her spear shattered the center of the thick barrier as if it were an egg.
Even Octavia had to gasp at the spectacle. The specters inside the barrier felt their hair stand on end.
Even Jin swallowed. He thought Misha was incredibly strong when she struck Murakan after healing him.
But this went far beyond his imagination.
He almost felt embarrassed for thinking they could kill her while he was saving her. Even with reinforcements arriving, it was unlikely that Misha wouldn't be able to escape from this place.
I guess I was exaggerating.
For some reason, he felt a smile on Misha's back and asked her a question: Did you think that bunch would defeat me?
"The time has come for your proud tongue to be humiliated, Magician," Murakan spoke as he looked down at Octavia from the sky.
Then he pretended to sigh. When Octavia took a defensive stance, he immediately descended hastily towards Jin.
Octavia realized then that the dark dragons had no intention of fighting them. The reason it seemed like they intended to fight them head-on had only been a smokescreen to rescue Jin.
"Block Murakan! Don't let him reach Jin Runcandel!"
"Bwahaha, and can you?" Murakan sneered at Octavia. Then he withdrew the Shadow Energy that had been suppressing the red abyss.
The blades and chains of red mana immediately flew towards Murakan, but Misha was faster.
"Thought you'd go for other targets when I'm right in front of you. Seems like your predecessors didn't make a note of me."
The waves of blades shooting out from her spear slashed through the frenzy of swords and chains from the red abyss. She wielded the spear faster than the eyes could follow, making it appear like a dark orb.
"Time to go, kid!"
Jin kicked the ground forcefully and jumped onto Murakan's back.
Once Jin safely landed on his back, Murakan shot up into the sky at full speed and flew towards the hole in the exclusion zone that he had made earlier.