C627
"Demon Beast King, Orgal..."
Jin gazed at the blurry landscape beyond the steel door.
Instead of Orgal’s figure, a distorted and blurry form of space appeared.
[You disappeared two years and six months ago and suddenly reappeared in the Great Desert. It seems your god has hidden the remaining Legends somewhere here. As soon as you returned, you pushed my loyal subordinate to the brink of death...]
“If you don’t like it, leave through the door immediately. Thanks to him, my body has warmed up a bit.”
[You’ve become too strong to kill now. There’s no reason for it either.]
Of course, Kinzelo had no reason to kill Jin.
There was no better hand than Jin to keep Runcandel and Zipple in check.
From Orgal’s response, Jin could infer that the balance and tension between the major factions were still being maintained.“Surely, the day will come when you all will be annihilated while trying to keep the other factions in check through me.”
[Considering the actions you’ve shown so far, it’s a possibility. But don’t worry, we’ll prepare on our end as well.]
“Doesn’t that sound more like a warning than a concern?”
[If that’s how you want to interpret it, it must be quite a threat.]
“I don’t know if it’s out of confidence or because you had no choice but to save that demon. But this time, you’ve made another mistake. You’ve revealed that you haven’t fully recovered your strength yet. Let’s hope Ranke’s life was worth enough to pay for it.”
There was a moment of silence.
Soon, as if it didn’t make sense to keep talking, Jin turned around first.
Orgal watched Jin’s back and added these words.
[You’ll have to climb many mountains before you meet me. I also hope you don’t die during the journey.]
When Jin disappeared beyond the winds of chaos, the leader immediately opened a new steel door to Kinzelo's former headquarters. The same place where Ainas and Bouvard were chatting while attacking Ranke.
“It’s the leader!”
“Oh, leader!? Why are you here suddenly?”
[Ranke was struck by Jin.]
“What? Ranke? Jin Runcandel was there?”
“Lord Ranke was injured? By him!?”
“Ranke isn’t dead, right?”
[Fortunately, he survived. Quickly gather the rest of the important documents from the headquarters. And how many of those Legends-type golems are there?]
“Five. No, was it four?”
[Whatever it is, only you and they pass through the steel door. Issue evacuation orders to the rest of the members to their designated branches. From now on, the entire former headquarters is closed.]
“I don’t know how he defeated Ranke. He’d be exhausted if he fought against Ranke, so I’d rather deal with him now.”
[Jin wasn’t even tired, and that’s too heavy a blow. Prepare quickly.]
Ainas and Bouvard hurried to gather the documents. Four Legends-type golems also crossed the steel door.
And as they left, Jin exited the Great Desert of Mitra and began to destroy all the contaminated areas in the beastmen's land randomly for twelve hours.
In the process, all the contaminated areas outside the Great Desert of Mitra were reduced to ashes, and Kinzelo’s former headquarters, hidden underground, was completely pulverized.
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Vamel Alliance, Tikan Free City.
Kashimir and Jin’s allies were receiving reports from the seven-colored peacock.
The reports about the massive destruction that had taken place in the contaminated area in the beastmen’s land and Kinzelo’s former headquarters.
In the beastmen’s land, where Kinzelo’s former headquarters was located, there had frequently been large and small battles between each of the factions.
Until about a year ago, all the factions agreed to use it as a waste dump.
However, those who knew the details of those battles actually evaluated Kinzelo as the final winner of the struggle.
The Great Desert was used as a common waste dump, but it was managed solely by Kinzelo's Demon, Ranke.
Zipple and Runcandel failed to place personnel in the Great Desert.
Therefore, since the Great Desert was put under Ranke’s management, Tikan had made constant efforts to determine what Kinzelo was doing there.
Of course, it was for Jin.
They judged that there could be a major problem when Jin returned and faced Ranke or some other strong person from Kinzelo right after leaving Lafrarosa.
Moreover, the reason why each force had so many unofficial battles in the Great Desert, even violating the ceasefire agreement, was also a problem.
If the main factions somehow discovered that Jin was in Laprarosa, they would plan to wait for his return and eliminate him.
Tikan also had to be determined and prepared.
Of course, the reason why Runcandel was obsessed with the Great Desert might be different from that of Zipple and Kinzelo.
First of all, as soon as Jin went into closed-door training, the Runcandel side spread the relevant articles first.
The next patriarch of Runcandel has gone into closed-door training.
Therefore, unlike the other two forces, Runcandel's reason for securing the Great Desert must be the safety of Jin.
Recently, the atmosphere in Runcandel, according to Tikan's perception, had been unsettling.
To the point that Tikan judged that even Runcandel might be trying to secure the Great Desert to eliminate Jin.
The informants of the Seven-Colored Peacocks only found out that there was a problem in the land of the Beastmen, but they didn't know exactly what kind of struggle was taking place.
"Since a large amount of Lightning Bolt energy was observed... Maybe it’s Jin-nim? Kashimir-nim." said Valkas.
"If that is the case, even better. The attacks were strong enough to devastate the entire land of the Beastmen. It’s more likely a battle between groups than between individuals," Kashimir responded, sounding frustrated, which made Valkas and Gilly sigh.
Even if Jin reached the ten-star level within three years, it was hard to imagine he could destroy the entire Beastmen area by himself.
Moreover, Ranke was there.
The demon who fought numerous battles against Runcandel and Zipple in the Great Desert and always showed overwhelming strength.
Tikan had confirmed that Ranke also won against the Black Knights and the Spectre Corps.
"Furthermore, the land of the Beastmen and Kinzelo’s old headquarters were destroyed... This battle will be Kinzelo's defeat. Authority over the Great Desert will pass to the victor."
Runcandel, Zipple.
No matter which of the two had the Great Desert, it was a bigger problem than Kinzelo.
Unlike Kinzelo, there would be no room for negotiation with other factions.
"Wow, if they confirmed the existence of Lafrarosa... We need to find out what they are doing."
"The worst of all, if Jin-nim is attacked as soon as Lafrarosa exists. Since we can't be sure just by discussing it here, we have no choice but to go check it ourselves."
A heavy silence descended over the meeting room. Currently, Tikan was suffering from a severe manpower shortage.
Thanks to Qwaul's skill, they had built a perfect fortification, but Murakan was still acting as Solderet's proxy, and Misha was also sealing Elona.
Above all, the Phantom Fortress had a problem.
Currently, all of Tikan's strongest members, except Valkas, were waiting near the Phantom Fortress, the base of the Phantom Mercenaries.
They couldn’t even ask for help from the Hidden Palace and Nameless.
The internal injuries of Talaris, which she suffered during the Sword Emperor Castle war, had not healed at all, similar to Ron's state, and even Yona, who often visited Tikan after Jin's departure, had suddenly stopped contacting them.
And Tikan could not rule out the possibility that Yona succumbed to the Chaos.
"Valkas-nim, it’s too dangerous for you alone. I will go to my clan and to Hairan to ask for help."
"No, Gilly. Runcandel is too dangerous. It would be better to go to Hairan."
"Your Majesty!"
Someone shouted urgently and entered the meeting room.
It was Jet.
And everyone’s hearts leapt when they saw Jet’s excited expression and Jin standing behind him.
"Jin-nim!"
"My lord…!"
"Young Master…!"
"Ha ha, our lord has finally returned!"
Gilly was the first to run and hug Jin.
Jin comforted her for a while and smiled.
"I’m back, Gilly."
"Young Master, I’m relieved to see you back safe...! But these wounds…"
The traces of battle were evident all over Jin's body.
"Ah, as soon as I left Lafrarosa, a guy named Ranke attacked me. I couldn't kill him because Orgal saved him."
At that moment, everyone present in the room couldn't help but be astonished to the point where their concerns from moments ago seemed trivial.
"R-Ranke Halovice? Then, the Beastmen area... Did you really destroy it alone, Young Master!?"
While Gilly was examining Jin's body, she realized that all the black marks of Chaos had disappeared.
Moreover, he had become noticeably stronger than before.
"I guess we worried for nothing, Kashimir."
"I guess so... What kind of training did you undergo for three years, Jin-nim? Anyway, I’m glad you’re back safe!"
"There’s much to discuss and much to hear. But first, it seems I must go to the Phantom Fortress."
On the way to the meeting room, Jin heard about the Phantom Fortress from Jet.
Smarion Proch.
The father of Lata and Fey, and the former leader of the Phantom Mercenaries, considered the strongest in the history of the Phantom Mercenary Corps.
The reason why Tikan's strongest members were currently waiting near the Phantom Fortress was because his seal was about to break.
"Let’s discuss on the way. Kashimir can’t leave his post, so for now, only Gilly, Valkas-nim, and I will go."
"What is this, Jin Runcandel? Did you just return?"
Qwaul also entered the meeting room.
He came to report to Kashimir about the investigation situation without knowing that Jin had returned.
He looked even more disheveled than before, as if his previous investigation had been especially exhausting.
"I think you haven’t been smoking five cigarettes at once even in the presence of children, Dr. Qwaul."
"Hmph, no matter how hard it is, I don’t do things like that. It looks like you have things from the Tribe of Legends."
"Please analyze them while I go to the Phantom Fortress. Dr. Qwaul, I also brought some plans that would drive you crazy. I’ll listen to the details of your investigation when I return."
"Oh, I see. That’s great, there’s a dirigible I finished a month ago, so go ride it. The performance is quite amazing. It will serve as an answer to your research questions."
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KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Adv4nc3 Ch4pt3r ( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs) Publication of up to 6 w33kly ch4pters, thanks.
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