C552
Octavia thought she wouldn't be defeated even if Rosa herself led the Black Knights.
It was shocking to assume that she would lose, and it was the result of fighting against Jin and Misha.
It wasn't even the result of a careless mistake.
Obviously, she cast the best magical spells she could, and yet, it wasn't enough to withstand Jin and Misha's Hellfire.
It's not over yet.
She wanted to rise again, but her broken body only convulsed.
"The captain has regained consciousness!"
"Captain, give us orders...!"
The Specters guarding her shouted hastily.Due to the clash between Jin and Misha's flames and Octavia's vision magic, the battle on the ground reached its climax immediately.
Both sides desperately squeezed the remaining strength as Octavia fell.
The Specters had to stop the Warriors trying to take advantage of the opportunity...
And Jin and the others had to somehow finish Octavia off.
Everyone was sure that if they couldn't completely cut off Octavia's breath, there would be no next time.
They had to consolidate their victory while the Specters watched Octavia and couldn't attack properly.
Three Specters were killed, and six Specters were injured to the point where they couldn't fight.
On the other hand, the entire Vamel Alliance was injured, but no one died.
It was the result of Runcandel's magic sword breaking Zipple's magic.
Of course, this would have been impossible if Jin had been alone.
But Misha also gave it her all like Octavia.
As the battle resumed, Misha was unable to fight.
She even transformed back into human form to ease her shock from the aftermath of the battle and seemed out of breath.
"Misha-nim, are you okay?"
Jin was also a bit tired, but not enough to hinder the battle.
Misha nodded and smiled faintly.
"I thought she would disappear without a trace, but it seems I underestimated her a bit."
"I lacked."
"Not at all. That thing is nothing but a monster..."
Ugh, Misha spat out a murky Shadow Energy and looked at the backs of the Specters.
She had hoped that Jin's Hellfire, with all its power, would surely kill Octavia.
"Be careful, Jin. Octavia Zipple... she might... probably resurrect."
Jin had that premonition.
Despite losing an eye, suffering severe reflux symptoms, and having a broken body, it didn't seem like Octavia would end like this.
A new mana of light began to gather near the collapsed Octavia.
The bright mana clung to Octavia's body and healed her.
The Specters awaited Octavia's command.
It was because they still had options.
Will they retreat or fight?
On the other hand, the Sword Emperor Castle camp had no choice.
Because there was no place to retreat anyway.
If the Specters had judged that Octavia was completely incapacitated, they would have chosen to withdraw with her.
Octavia slowly got up.
She seemed about to faint at any moment, but the light mana stabilized her.
"No retreat... Continue the battle."
At her command, the Specters' magic became more aggressive.
Misha retreated to the rear ranks and hid among Murakan's curtain, and the rest of the Warriors regrouped around Jin.
Now, there were a total of twenty Specters who could fight.
However, once Octavia recovers, Jin and the others will have no choice but to fight harder than before.
"Same here, Octavia Zipple."
Remnants of flames still lingered on Bradamante.
Jin released the mana he had left to reignite the fire.
It seemed to be a signal for something.
As soon as the sword began to burn, Jin's group and the Specters once again clashed swords and staffs.
Everyone was tired and injured.
No one could fully deploy their original abilities on the terrestrial battlefield.
That's why their battles were approaching more and more the original form of the act of "fighting."
It was a primitive and brutal skirmish, similar to a brawl.
Magicians stabbed by swords and knights hit by magic roared like beasts instead of screaming.
In particular, the strength of Jin and the Sword Saints stood out.
In this pure fight, it was natural for Runcandel's sword and Hairan's Supreme Sword, made from that sword, to shine the most.
Desperately...
Jin advanced towards Octavia.
Bradamante, dyed in black, clashed with magic and shields with every blow, and blood spurted from her throat due to the backlash, but Jin didn't stop.
If he stopped, it was over.
Since he had already entered the enemy ranks, stopping or falling here meant death.
The same applied to his comrades following him towards the enemy line.
It was like crossing a sea from which there was no turning back once you started swimming.
The moment you stopped before reaching that end, all that awaited you was cold death.
There was always the danger of dying and being maimed.
Not a single Warrior was afraid as they charged down that path.
They simply looked at Jin's back, pushing aside enemies flying towards their blind spot, and trusted him as they advanced.
'Why doesn't the Twelfth Flagbearer fall...!'
'Damn it, does it mean he still has strength after reducing the captain to that state!'
From the beginning, the human named Jin Runcandel couldn't be understood by Zipple's magicians.
How is it possible that he always performs miracles like this?
What was that strength he had?
When did he become such a formidable enemy...?
Even if they used great magic with all their might, Jin's advance showed no signs of slowing down.
This time he will stop, this time he will take a step back, this time he will fall...!
All those predictions proved to be wrong.
Even when the Specters' chain magic struck Jin's chest directly, he showed no signs of having been hit.
The chain magic seemed to pass through him like a ghost.
Wait, did it seem like it passed through a ghost?
At that moment, the members of the Specters had to realize a terrible fact.
The fact that they were deceived by the antics of the Black Dragon Misha once again.
From the center of the gap, what the Specters were attacking was not the real Jin.
It was the illusion of Jin that Misha had created before retreating to the rear.
Unlike the Shadow Energy doll, the virtual image had no physical power, but it was enough to deceive enemies losing focus.
"Can you afford to devote so much effort to illusions? I don't think so," said Jin, thrusting his sword into the stomach of a Specter.
He hid among the Specters while his attention was focused on the illusion.
And the Specter he killed was the one guarding the front of Octavia.
By then, Octavia herself was in a considerably improved condition.
However, she was only better than right after being hit by Jin and Misha's Hellfire, and she still couldn't fight.
"Stop him!"
A mana bolt pierced through the bodies of the Specters, who hadn't collapsed yet.
Jin barely turned his head, and the light bolt barely grazed his cheek.
He couldn't afford to dodge the subsequent attack, but the Sword Saint Ruyan moved at an incredible speed to protect him.
Ruyan's wrist was as thin as a dry twig.
It was amazing that it was the wrist of a knight who had trained all his life.
The rest of the Sword Saints following his also had a thin appearance like him.
But as they thinned out, their swords became sharper. Just like a flame in full bloom just before extinguishing.
Jin didn't even have time to say thanks or exchange a glance.
Jin continued to advance, leaving the Sword Saints behind.
"Octavia Zipple!"
Swish!
The Shadow Energy and flames surrounding Bradamante grew denser.
Octavia was avoiding Jin's sword by taking clumsy steps backward.
It was inherently unacceptable for someone of her caliber to take a step back in battle so clumsily.
As much as she was a magician, she had the basic close combat training needed to face knights, and she never took a step back even when facing Sword Saints who were clearly superior to Jin.
The moves she had to resort to were something that could be seen in a street fight, but Octavia had no other choice.
If only she had one more minute to recover...!
However, Jin couldn't land a clean hit on her, despite his reckless attacks.
The Specters were a formidable force.
Although the Sword Saints and their companions risked their lives to push them back, it wasn't enough to completely break through the last line of defense.
If Octavia were in perfect condition, they wouldn't have come this far in the first place.
The sword wind grazed her nose, and Octavia felt her whole body chilling from cold sweat.
Now 55 seconds...
54... Damn it!
Time seemed too long.
It seemed like her subordinates wouldn't be able to protect her completely in that time.
It wasn't because the Specters lacked skills.
Jin was so special that he could never be explained in terms of strength, greatness, or luck...
Amidst the onslaught of sword strikes and magic, Jin, as always, had a single thought.
Before learning the First Shadow Sword Technique from his brothers, he practiced the essence of the magic sword he had already mastered.
He was armed with the will to cut without fail.
That will reached Octavia once again, escaping the Specters' encirclement.
At the moment when the black energy of the sword rose into the sky to cut Octavia, she had to face a massive and dark emotion she had long forgotten.
Fear.
The fear of inevitably dying in this situation.
"Ahhh!"
At the moment the sword fell, Octavia and Jin screamed at the same time.
The Specters' mana bolt hit Jin's back.
Jin's Shadow Energy armor blocked it, but the impact made his eyes blank for a moment, so Bradamante couldn't cut Octavia in half.
What Jin slashed was Octavia's right hand, which reflexively extended her staff.
The black-blue flame adhered to the cut surface and prevented recovery with light magic, and her severed hand instantly turned to ashes and scattered.
It was too risky to continue pressing on.
I need to regroup with my allies and seize another opportunity.
Octavia's recovery will be delayed anyway, so we should be able to win...!
If he kept going, even if he survived, his allies would undoubtedly die.
Jin stepped back, looking at the fallen Octavia.
"For someone who once spoke as if there was nothing to fear in the world, what about now, Octavia Zipple? Is that arrogant spirit still intact?"
Octavia had lived a long life, and there was only one more moment when she faced humiliation than today, the day she faced Chiron.
Whether it was Misha's involvement in the war, or Jin's sword skills and fights exceeding expectations, or Jin's special nature.
For whatever reason, Octavia had lost in the ground battle.
She had been completely defeated despite having absolute superiority.
Octavia herself couldn't deny this fact.
"This battle is your victory, Jin Runcandel."
"I haven't cut you yet, so it's not over. And it would be more accurate to say it's the victory of the Vamel Alliance and the Sword Emperor Castle. If you die, you won't be able to...."
At the moment Jin said that.
Suddenly, Jin felt a terrible aura emanating from the sky, an aura he had only felt once a long time ago.
Jin's companions were feeling the same aura Jin sensed.
Octavia said with a calm voice.
"However, my defeat doesn't necessarily mean Zipple's defeat... now you will see our true power."
What the group felt was the energy of the Demon God Orb that had finally opened.
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