C436 - Raiders, Brothers (4)
The coldness spread like a spider's web and quickly enveloped the assassin.
He tried to escape but found himself powerless in his desperate attempts to avoid Talaris's sword with his feet bound.
"Kuk...!"
In just a few seconds, the assassin was trapped in Full Ice crystal, unable to move.
He could barely move his eyeballs within the ice after a while.
The reason he effortlessly dominated a 9-star Knight was that he was Talaris Endorma.
"Ung, you've frozen quite well. Wait there quietly until everything is sorted out. Don't even think about committing suicide or self-destructing. It's not like you can lift a finger."
Talaris left the assassin behind and entered the interior of Tikan.
Once again, she reflected on where she had seen him before.
'Oh, yes, it was about thirty years ago. It was the day I went to see Cyron.'
About thirty years ago, there was a time when Talaris had visited Cyron's secret residence.
The only reason Talaris sought out Cyron at that time was for a duel.
She couldn't even remember how many times she had challenged Cyron, but she had been defeated by him over a hundred times.
That day, her frustration was more intense than usual, even after losing.
As a result, she continued causing a ruckus even after the duel ended and was determined to settle things once and for all.
She barged into Cyron's secret hideout, insulted him, and insisted on fighting him to the death.
Well...
It was a quite dark chapter when I think about it now.
Back then, I felt like I might go crazy if I didn't do something like that.
In the last thousand years, the hidden palace had surpassed the power of Runcandel, but it wasn't uncommon for the master of the hidden palace to possess powers superior to those of the patriarch of Runcandel.
Talaris also aspired to that goal and challenged Cyron every day. However, she never succeeded.
In any case, Cyron had tolerated the unruly Talaris.
-Talaris. Instead of aspiring to defeat me, it would be better to dream of surpassing Runcandel.
For Cyron, Talaris was almost his only friend and someone who could provide him with the greatest help if he was ever consumed by "Chaos."
There was no reason to kill her.
However, for some of the Execution Knights who had witnessed everything, Talaris was a thorn in their side at that time.
Her disrespectful attitude towards Cyron was just the tip of the iceberg, and rumors about them spreading like a plague were also a problem.
There were rumors that Cyron spared Talaris's life because he felt sympathy for her and was unable to harm her.
I remember now...
Luton Ferman, that was definitely his name.
Luton Ferman.
He was the assassin who had just been trapped in the ice crystal by Talaris and had been the leader of the First Division of the Execution Knights about thirty years ago.
Luton, along with the Execution Knights of that time, believed they had to confront Talaris.
They considered it a way to increase Cyron and the Family's prestige.
Of course, Cyron had never ordered them to attack Talaris, but he hadn't forbidden it either.
This led Luton's division members to launch an assault against Talaris.
'They broke into the Hidden Palace uninvited, and I beat them to death.'
Although Luton and his comrades were mostly 9-star knights, they couldn't match Talaris, especially within the Hidden Palace.
Talaris defeated and subdued the knights.
She found their excessive loyalty adorable.
It was fortunate that someone as cold and ruthless as Cyron had such devoted subordinates.
So, although she didn't appreciate Luton's roughness and his team, she didn't dislike them either.
Talaris never reported the knights' insubordination to Cyron, and they continued to challenge her repeatedly (although they all conspired against her) and kept losing.
It was somewhat similar to how Talaris had acted with Cyron.
She saw Luton and his comrades as passionate, pure, and beastly guys.
In fact, she had developed a brief romantic relationship with some of them, and Luton had been one of them.
Talaris couldn't help but laugh as vivid memories began to resurface.
However, her expression immediately hardened afterward as she couldn't help but think.
Seeing how he speaks now, he seems like someone who has lived as a wanderer, but why did such a loyal guy end up like this?
Maybe the others who attacked Tikan with him are also exiles.
I don't think Cyron did this to them.
If Cyron really wanted to eliminate them, he would have done it cleanly, but disfiguring their faces to that extent wasn't Cyron's style.
'Whatever happened is Runcandel's business, and I shouldn't interfere. However, if possible, I would like my son-in-law to absorb those disgraced beasts.'
If Jin becomes the patriarch of Runcandel, in Talaris's eyes, they would become a significant force if Jin could absorb those exiles.
Even if they weren't absorbed as a force, these exiles could be an important pretext when dealing with the Elder Council in the future.
At first glance, the interior of Tikan seemed like a battlefield.
The sky was darkened by the Full Ice curtain and Murakan's shadow force, and below, a mixture of mana and aura caused explosions on every level (the Tikan Free City has a tower-shaped structure).
But contrary to appearances, the interior remained unharmed.
This was thanks to the reinforcement from the Hidden Palace and the fact that the territory was small, making it easy for dragons to quickly inspect it from the air.
Murakan and Quikantel flew between levels, rescuing civilians who hadn't managed to evade the chaos.
Jin, Siris, the Seven Swords of the Hidden Palace, the Tona brothers, and Tikan's comrades contained the assassins.
Talaris rode Full Ice and quickly inspected all levels.
She lent her power to those who seemed to need it.
"Son-in-law, I've discovered who these intruders are..."
Talaris approached Jin and began to speak but stopped mid-sentence because she had never seen Jin in that state before.
The Jin who was killing the assassins had an almost demonic face.
The depth of his anger and bloodlust was so astonishing that even Talaris felt taken aback.
He looks a lot like his father in this state.
She had seen something similar in her youth when Cyron filled with hatred after losing his comrades.
Perhaps what she saw in Jin was even more intense.
After all, there was still no confirmation of any casualties among his comrades.
Although the assassins were not all former Execution Knights, they were all highly skilled individuals.
However, Jin effortlessly mowed them down as if they were dead leaves.
"You wretches dare to attack here...!"
Jin quickly turned his head to look at Talaris. He had belatedly sensed her presence and managed to regain composure. He pushed back the emotions that had overwhelmed his senses.
"I apologize, Lady Talaris. I didn't hear you well. Please repeat what you said."
"I mentioned that I had discovered the identity of these intruders. They are exiles from Runcandel."
"I suspected as much. There are only a limited number of organizations capable of mobilizing mercenaries of this caliber..."
"Hmm. Some of them, including the one I just faced outside, may have a past as former Execution Knights. Before considering annihilating them all, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a conversation with them if Tikan's losses are not too great. Some of them weren't so bad from what I recall."
Jin nodded.
"I will do that, Talaris-nim."
"It seemed like you had turned into a furious demon a moment ago, but you recovered composure very quickly."
Jin awkwardly smiled at Talaris's words.
"It was a mistake. I had been prepared for the possibility of something like this happening, but it wasn't easy to control my anger when facing it directly."
What if Talaris had been absent?
What if Mort couldn't use dimensional jump in the current situation?
What if he was in a place where he couldn't receive updates from Kashimir and Petro?
These assumptions had fueled Jin's anger.
"Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be significant damage, from what I observed while coming here. There hasn't been a single visible casualty so far."
"Even among civilians?"
"Yes. Although there is considerable damage to buildings and facilities. Once you have subdued them, you can assess the exact extent of the damage yourself. Also, keep in mind that the assassins may become your allies, given their status as exiles. Show them a little mercy."
"Thank you, Talaris-nim."
"If you're grateful, marry my daughter as soon as possible."
Jin didn't respond to that statement and just nodded.
On the night they discussed in the Hidden Palace, Jin and Siris had agreed to ignore Talaris's frequent mentions of their marriage.
[Jin.]
While flying, Quikantel spotted Jin and descended to the ground.
"Quikantel-nim! Is everyone safe?"
[The mansion has suffered no damage. It's thanks to your swift arrival with Murakan and the Hidden Palace group.]
Jin sighed in relief upon hearing that, and Quikantel and Talaris exchanged greetings with a nod of the head.
[You have my gratitude, Fifty-First Master of the Hidden Palace.]
"Don't mention it. I've heard you often had connections with my predecessors. I look forward to your kind cooperation."
The terrorist attack was completely suppressed within 30 minutes after Jin, Murakan, and the Hidden Palace group arrived at Tikan.
The assassins who attacked Tikan numbered seventy in total.
In addition to the twenty encountered by the Tona brothers, fifty assassins had entered from the opposite direction.
Once Talaris confirmed the magnitude of the attack, she judged that Tikan would have been safe even if they hadn't arrived.
"It seems that the elders of your Family thought Quikantel-nim wasn't here and sent only this number."
If Quikantel hadn't been there, and if Jin's reinforcements hadn't arrived promptly, these attackers would have been more than capable of completely destroying Tikan.
Jin looked at the assassins who had been captured and brought to the mansion.
There was Lutan Ferman, who was bound with ice crystal, another former execution knight in exile, and three normal assassins.
All the others had been killed by Jin and his comrades.
Jin addressed the three ordinary assassins.
"Are you exiles from Runcandel too?"
"No."
"You could have done the same if the roles were reversed. Don't assume that I'm unjustly judging you."
Slash!
Jin ended the lives of those three without hesitation.
He didn't wield the sword with rage, as before.
After all, they had to pay for attacking his territory without sufficient reason.
Now there were two exiled former Execution Knights left.
Jin's cold gaze settled on them.
"How dare you touch this place despite being exiles? I can't understand what promises the Elder Council made to you. Or perhaps, did the elders take your families as hostages?"
"All members of our family were killed a long time ago. It happened on the same day we were exiled. Did you ask why we attacked under the orders of the Elder Council despite being exiles, Twelfth Flagbearer?"
Lutan spoke in a low and cold voice.
"For revenge."
-
KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Adv4nc3 Ch4pt3r ( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs) Publication of up to 6 w33kly ch4pters, thanks.
-