C423 - So suddenly?(1)
"Hey, hey. Baldy. Do you have any idea what this is?"
Murakan grabbed Picon, who had manifested through Vin Branche's body, and shook him as he spoke.
Jin had left the imperial palace and visited Voltaga's territory with Murakan and Gilly.
After learning that the Leader of Kinzelo had the ability to manipulate "metal" like a God Smith, Picon had asked them to retrieve a piece of it.
After the Leader of Kinzelo had withdrawn with his group, fortunately, the metal formed by his authority still remained on the battlefield.
Most of the metal had been collected by Hairan and handed over to the magicians for research...
And Jin had brought some back.
[Don't be impatient, do you think analysis is something that can be done instantly just by looking at it? Analysis takes time.]
"How long will it take?"
[At least a week.]
"Can't it be faster?"
[A week is already incredibly fast. If we're unlucky, it might take several months, and we might not gain anything at all. Do you think it's easy to identify user information with just this piece of metal?]
"Aigoo! Who the hell is that bastard?"
The Leader of Kinzelo.
Two things had become clear about him after the battle.
First, that he was a demon, and second, that he possessed immense power.
[He's a demon with power that can overwhelm even a 10-star knight, right? If he's that kind of demon, there definitely remains unique demonic energy in the metal, so be patient.]
"Alright, I got it."
[But what are you going to do with the remaining metal?]
Picon pointed to the pieces of metal still in Jin's hand.
"I'm going to give them to Aria Histor."
[The disc mage, right? That's a good idea; maybe that mage can give us more information than I can.]
Valeria was having the busiest days among Jin's companions.
She was tracking Histor's magic, restoring the recording devices she received from Jin, and even searching for Temar's tomb on her own.
I hope we can meet soon, but she's going to be very busy and rushed.
I need to send a letter with the item.
Also, I have to prepare a gift to send to the Emperor.
The gold crown granted by the Emperor as a reward had already passed through the transfer gate and arrived at the Garden of Swords.
It needs to return the favor.
'The corpse of the Demon Man.'
Rick Helter, the leader of the Fifth Division of the Imperial Guard, whom they had found in the Wantaramo Forest, along with his subordinates.
They had thought that their bodies would rust away without a trace after choosing to become Demon Men.
However, Valeria's ice barrier seal had preserved part of their bodies as evidence.
Jin planned to publicly reveal this evidence soon.
After talking with him, it became clear that the Emperor is willing to abandon Hairan. He seemed eager to get rid of Hairan as soon as he recovered the stone.'
Kinzelo refused to take responsibility for the attack, and Zipple subtly pressured Hairan, but the Imperial Family did not intervene to help Hairan.
It was inevitable that he would have to send the Dragon Knights at the last moment, especially for the sake of the authority of the Imperial Family.
He also needs to find the whereabouts of the stone. Personally, he would have hoped for Hairan to be destroyed at that moment.'
The Emperor wanted a more obedient Hairan instead of Ron's 'arrogant and uncontrollable' Hairan.
It was definitely painful to lose Vermont's strongest knight, Ron Hairan, and his grandson, Dante, designated as the next strongest.
'However, it's not an irreplaceable force from the moment the variable 'Demon Men' was created. The Emperor considered Ron and Dante's potential threat to the Imperial Family a bigger problem.'
-Body transformation? Something like a living golem?
-It's similar but a bit different. Dark mages call it 'Demonification.' It's not a perfect magic circle.
-It seems that way to me too. It's slow to activate, and it looks unnecessarily complex and crude at first glance.
The conversation Jin had with Valeria about the Demon Men of the Wantaramo Forest revealed that the current Demon Men were not in a complete state.
Nevertheless, the Emperor believed that Demon Men could sufficiently fill the power vacuum left by Ron and Dane.
'In any case, we will be able to strike a blow to the Imperial Family's image just like when the issue of Zipple's living golem was revealed.'
The Imperial Family seemed to be helping Kinzelo more than Hairan after the terrorist attack.
But people were not foolish, so rumors spread even as the media were being manipulated and controlled.
Rumors that the Imperial Family was trying to abandon Hairan.
Hairan and Jin's feathers constantly published such articles, and the people of Vermont were very angry about it.
Living golems and giant demonic creatures that seemed to obey human orders.
Most ordinary people trembled at the idea of a living golem, especially after the incident in the Holy Kingdom.
This was thanks to Jin, who had exposed how brutal and cruel the process of creating living golems could be.
"Hey, kid. What are you thinking?"
"I think the public can't distinguish between Demon Men and living golems."
"Eh? What are you suddenly talking about?"
"We'll publish an article claiming that the corpses of the Demon Men obtained from the Wantaramo Forest are not Demon Men but living golems of the Imperial Family."
"Young Master, is that really okay?"
"We're just manipulating information, but the Imperial Family might cut ties with Hairan faster than expected. I need to prevent that. The controversy about the living golems is critical, so they won't be able to handle Hairan properly while explaining and covering that up."
The moment articles and evidence about the "living golems of the Imperial Family" started circulating, the Imperial Family would have to pay the price for even subtly supporting Kinzelo.
They would also have to clearly draw the line with Kinzelo.
If they continued to show an ambiguous attitude, they could be falsely accused of being the owners of the living golems that attacked Hairan in the first place.
In that case, the Imperial Family would appear to have failed in purging Vermont's most famous clan by collaborating with terrorist forces without any justification.
"Now that I think about it, the Emperor didn't know that you had the Demon Men's corpses, did he?"
"No, he didn't know. That's why he was so confident. If he had known, he would have proposed an exchange more humbly. Although I wouldn't have accepted. But Dino will be very busy for a while."
Jin smiled at the thought of the Emperor's expression when articles about the Demon Men's corpses began shaking all of Vermont.
"Ron Hairan was born in the wrong era. If he had been born when your father wasn't around, he would have been worthy of being given the title of the strongest. This kind of treatment is not even comparable to Cyron Runcandel."
Murakan shrugged.
"Anyway, Picon-nim, we're leaving now. Please contact us if you find any clues after completing the analysis."
[Understood.]
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Jin, Murakan, and Gilly were greeted with unexpected cheers and applause as soon as they arrived in the city of Calon through the transfer gate.
"Wiw!"
"The hero of the Hairan incident!"
"The Flagbearer recognized by the Sword Emperor!"
"The great black dragon!"
Thousands of people welcomed the group.
They had been waiting near the transfer gate for several days and eagerly awaited Jin's arrival.
Jin had been staying at the Sword Emperor's Castle until recently and had returned immediately after visiting the imperial palace, so he hadn't realized the extent of the situation.
However, in the outside world, he was already praised as the hero of the terrorist attack on the Sword Emperor's Castle, along with Murakan.
The news of their remarkable feat had spread throughout the continent, including Hufester.
Of course, there were many martial artists who had also shown notable courage that day, but it was natural that Jin and Murakan had stood out.
Murakan had completely imbued the skies with his shadow power to protect the Sword Emperor's Castle, while Jin had fought side by side with the Emperor himself on the front lines.
There were even rumors that the Sword Emperor's Castle would have been completely destroyed that day if not for Jin and Murakan.
"Oh mighty Black Dragon, please look this way!"
Normally, causing such a commotion in the center of Calon would have been unthinkable.
The transfer gate area used to be well-maintained, as it was mainly used for official missions.
Moreover, it was impossible for people to gather like this to welcome the Twelfth Flagbearer, who was rumored to be out of sight.
However, the fact that the residents had gathered to enthusiastically welcome the Twelfth Flagbearer was the result of the "10%" of followers that Jin had gained after declaring the Patriarchy.
"What are they?" Murakan said in his sharp tone, but he didn't entirely dislike the voices of the humans praising him.
"It seems like people who support you, Young Master."
"Strawberry Pie, is it really necessary for people to make such a fuss just for helping the Sword Emperor's Castle?"
"I think it's because we still played an active role despite having Ron Hairan... People probably expect this incident to lead to an alliance between Runcandel and Hairan."
The alliance between Runcandel and Hairan was a topic that was frequently mentioned among the people of the world.
Right now, Zipple is ahead of Runcandel, but everyone has expectations about how much the difference will shrink if Hairan joins Hufester.
Of course, it was mostly wishful thinking...
But people held onto hope since the imperial family kept Hairan and Jin's activities in check.
"It seems like there are more people here to see you than me, Murakan."
"I have the same feeling."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Well, you've been Runcandel's guardian for the last thousand years, and you also showed quite some dignity in Hairan. So don't just stand there with that stern expression; smile a little."
"Why should I do that?"
Murakan shook his head and smiled despite his response, and among the residents, even more enthusiastic cheers erupted.
Then, a man wearing a monocle approached the group along with the guardian knights.
It was Petro, the first-class butler.
"He's here, Young Master."
"It seems like it's been a while since someone greeted me so calmly."
Indeed, as he had mentioned, Petro used to hurry to find Jin every time he returned.
Most of the time, Jin arrived at the Garden of Swords after causing an incident or stirring up the clan, and there were always people trying to kill him.
This time, Jin had also returned after causing an incident.
Given the circumstances, he had provided significant help to Hairan.
He also stopped an attacker believed to be a Black Knight.
"I hope there's no swordsman sharpening their blades waiting for me this time."
"Not exactly, but there are fewer people openly declaring their enmity against you compared to before, Young Master."
"It's really good to hear that."
"However, an uninvited guest arrived a while ago, Young Master."
"Who is it?"
"The Leader of the Phantom Legion, Lata Proch. He came to see you and appeared in the Garden of Swords without notice. He also brought a considerable number of mercenaries..."
Petro sighed as he spoke.
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