C609
"Thanks to Miss Valeria and the Cat Tribe, it seems like the world of the small beastmen is being cleansed smoothly," said Kashimir, setting down his teacup.
"The barrier ability of the Cat Tribe is astounding. They're successfully achieving the 'complete purification' that even Runcandels and Zipples struggle with," Quikantel nodded.
On the table where they sat, there lay a letter from Jin to Valeria.
The content was about aiding members of the Cat Tribe in finding the "forgotten temple" of the ancient Feline Gods.
As per the letter, Valeria was currently searching for a forgotten temple with the Cats and was making rapid progress.
"Last time, Valeria mentioned that she might be able to further enhance the purification efficiency by combining the divine power of time with the barrier ability of the Cat Tribe. Do you know about this, Kashimir?"
"Yes, I've heard about it too. As time goes by, Miss Valeria is becoming more open to us, sharing quite a bit of information. She even plays with the children. Still, it's a bit difficult to interact with her comfortably."
"It's like handling a knife. Should I say it's like seeing a cold-hearted Jin? Anyway, the key to adding the divine power of time to the barrier abilities of the Cat Tribe lies with Enya. This will only be possible if Enya can better handle the divine power of time."
"Miss Enya is training with fervent dedication every day, so it should happen soon. Dr. Qwaul's development is progressing smoothly... By the time Jin-nim returns, many things are likely to change. However..."Kashimir's eyes narrowed.
"I'm concerned that everything is going too smoothly. I'm especially worried about the entanglement between the Imperial Family and Zipple. For now, we can't delve deeper into it."
Temar's left arm.
Currently, not even Valeria's record magic could pinpoint the location of the part of his body in the possession of the imperial family.
It's unknown whether it remains solely owned by the imperial family or if it's being shared with Zipple and a new technology of the Demon Men is being researched.
However, based on the situation, it was possible to guess. Kashimir concluded that it had already been shared with Zipple.
"Although Zipple has been so busy lately, pouring efforts not only into purifying the Lutero Magical Federation but also into cleansing the lands of the Empire, it's not just to atone for sins," Kashimir commented.
The purification of the Empire carried out by Zipple was primarily advancing in the eastern region near the Lutero Magical Federation.
"Once the purification of the eastern part of the Empire is completed, and when Zipple regains strength, it's likely that the Imperial Family will decide to join the Lutero Magical Federation along with the eastern regions. Expanding the territory of the Lutero Magical Federation may not have significant meaning, but what's crucial is the technological experience in Demonization."
"If we can't find and kill the leaders of the imperial family, that will happen. What we need to focus on is strengthening the barriers of the Cat Tribe before Jin returns and applying their barriers to the human world once the world of the small beastmen is purified."
"Yes, I'm very much aware of it. Anyway, we can only hope that Dante-nim provides us with information about the Demon Men; let's wait and see."
The Garden of Swords, the Tona brothers were sitting in the central courtyard and smoking.
"Ah, this mission was a bit difficult. Infection of an 8-Star Warrior level... The people of the Ken Clan must be devastated. Losing someone groomed as the next best swordsman of their Clan."
"We had no choice but to dispose of the infection, but let's visit the Ken Clan soon and express our condolences."
They had just returned from a mission to cleanse a contaminated area.
Over the past year and three months, the Runcandels had cleansed over 70% of the contaminated areas that had initially occurred after the Sword Emperor Castle War.
At this rate, suppressing the chaos that had invaded Runcandel's territory was only a matter of time.
However, for some reason, reports of "individuals infected by Chaos" being discovered were increasing as the purification zones expanded.
In particular, high-ranking martial artists or people infected by magic were still being found.
So far, the Runcandels had swiftly subdued them before they could cause significant harm.
However, the members of the Hufester Alliance always felt like they were carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment.
This time, the next best sword of the Ken clan, and the other time, an elder of the Tuko Clan was infected and subdued.
Even the Guardian Knights of Runcandel had been infected several times, so although they had reached a ceasefire agreement with Zipple, the atmosphere in the Hufester alliance was much worse than before.
The only consolation was that the Lutero Magical Federation was facing a similar situation.
"Phew, I'm tired. Do we have to rest only for an hour and then move on to the next mission?"
"This time it's Delki Kingdom, right? At least the infected area is far from residential areas, so we might see less human blood."
"Anyway, it's good that we can take a break here for now."
Originally, they mainly used the courtyard of the Guardian Knight residence.
This was especially true when Miu and Anne were waiting in the chambers, but lately, they weren't intimidating the Tona brothers.
Not only that, but as Flagbearers, they were making outstanding contributions to the purification mission every time, and naturally, their position in the Family was also rising.
Most Family members understood that they were trying to avoid being purged by Jin, who would return later.
Not many guessed that Miu and Anne had become messengers of the Prophet.
"It's been over a year since the youngest went for closed-door training..."
"I wonder if he's doing well."
"He probably is. We don't know how much stronger he'll come back."
"Didn't our mother say she'd make him patriarch when he returns?"
"She didn't exactly say that, but it felt almost like it."
Closed-door training.
Although it was a ceasefire, Jin went alone to train when the Hufester Alliance was more dizzy than ever.
However, no one in the clan criticized or looked down on Jin.
Rather, they considered it the final test of his abilities before ascending to the throne.
This was because of the achievements Jin had made.
First of all, without him, not only would the Hufester alliance, but the whole world would have found itself in a more terrible situation than the current one.
Furthermore, since Rosa personally sent him off, most Runcandel members had similar thoughts to the Tona brothers.
When Jin returns, he will become the patriarch.
"I vividly remember the time we teased the youngest for choosing Barisada at the selection ceremony."
"It's a relief we didn't die back then."
"It's because it was the Storm Castle. But we would've been doomed if it had been at another time."
"But still, we've both gradually warmed up to the youngest since then. Miu and Anne, those crazies... (At this point, Daytona looked around just in case), might not have tormented us because they were aware of the youngest."
"If the youngest purges those crazies (Haytona also glanced around), let's be the first ones to finish them off! Kihikihi, they're finished. Seriously."
Phew, boom!
At that moment, an explosion suddenly sounded from the main house within the central courtyard.
As for the Tona brothers, their hearts sank. They thought Miu and Anne had heard their gossip and exploded in anger.
"Ugh, uhhh. I'm sorry, elder sisters!"
However, the object of the explosion wasn't Miu and Anne.
"Wait, it's not those crazy bitches. It's from the main house! Miu and Anne aren't that strong...!"
Kurur...!
As if an earthquake had occurred, the entire Garden of Swords was vibrating.
Like prey facing a beast, the Tona brothers froze even after knowing it wasn't Miu and Anne.
Currently, as far as they knew, there were only two people in the Family who could spread such an aura.
The Black Knight Leader, Stam.
And their mother, Rosa Runcandel.
Thud!
"What the hell. What head!?"
In front of the Tona brothers, the head of someone and the debris of a broken building fell.
It was the head of an elder.
As soon as the Tona brothers saw it, they frantically ran toward the main house, and on the way, they could see flagbearers and knights rushing in the same direction.
"Elder sister Mary! What happened!?"
"Daytona, Haytona! You two, don't go to the main house and control the media!"
"Elder brother Dyfus?"
"Tenth Flagbearer, Eleventh Flagbearer, get yourselves under control! It's an emergency! Under no circumstances should this be known outside. Understood! Take all low-ranking Guardian Knights, and prepare to control the press! From now on, this is our top priority until the situation is resolved."
"Ah, understood!"
The Tona brothers disappeared to lead the Guardian Knights, and Miu and Anne continued running toward the main house.
The main house was already in ruins, with nearby scenes filled with corpses of those who had been in the house and scattered wounded.
"...Personnel below the level of Black Knight and high-ranking flagbearers are prohibited from entry. Let everyone wait outside," Stam shouted, who had arrived first and was guarding the entrance.
Stam, the Black Knights, and the top flagbearers calmed their bewildered hearts and entered the broken main house.
In the middle of the house, a woman enveloped in Chaos was roaring with a sword in hand.
Rosa Runcandel, was rampaging.
Dyfus and Mary couldn't help but grit their teeth at the sight.
Why has Mother gone mad at this time...?
There was no time to ponder why Rosa had gone mad.
The commotion was truly an unexpected accident.
Furthermore, just 30 minutes ago, Dyfus and Mary had a normal meeting with her.
If Rosa didn't stop rampaging, Runcandel would fall into the abyss from today onwards.
It was possible to subdue her with flagbearers and Black Knights waiting inside, but it was impossible to deal with the situation afterward.
Rosa was the most important strength in Runcandel and the acting matriarch in Cyron's absence.
Once news of her being in trouble spread, Zipple would undoubtedly come running with vengeance.
The ceasefire agreement could only be maintained as long as Runcandel and Zipple refrained from ending each other.
Fortunately...
Rosa stopped her roar upon seeing the flagbearers and Black Knights.
"Acting matriarch, are you aware?"
"Sir Stam..."
"Fortunately. If you're in a situation where you can use your rational judgment, give the order."
At those words, Rosa stabbed herself in the chest with her Frenzy Sword. She could control her sanity, but her body didn't move as she wanted.
A high-speed regeneration phenomenon occurred as the sword pierced chest.
Rosa fiercely resisted as her body attempted to unsheathe the sword against her will.
Until all the energy from her body was drained due to excessive high-speed regeneration.
And just before losing consciousness and collapsing, she gave an order to Stam.
"Make sure... to keep silent about today's incident, everyone.."
Stam silently nodded his head.
"I will."
Then, as Rosa collapsed, Stam grabbed the Frenzy Sword.
He could see how the Chaos spreading around Rosa seeped into the affected area and regenerated it.
At that moment, Miu and Anne, who were outside, said this calmly.
"Now our mother will know. If she keeps going against 'her' will, she'll have no choice but to face a catastrophe."
-
KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Adv4nc3 Ch4pt3r ( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs) Publication of up to 6 w33kly ch4pters, thanks.
-