C672
As soon as Dante gave the order, his subordinates' faces turned pale. They had never seen Dante break a promise before.
"Your Majesty, are you serious about destroying the palace?"
"Right now?"
They spoke cautiously, their mouths barely moving under the weight of the situation.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"The palace has been a symbol of the empire for thousands of years! It cannot be destroyed so easily."
"Your Majesty, although many of the main pillars of the Vermont Imperial Family betrayed the Empire, this Imperial Castle belongs to the Empire, not the Imperial Family."
"To the Empire..."
Dante's eyes narrowed."Although this isn't happening now, I've been thinking about reducing the palace. How many people and resources are wasted maintaining this large golden palace?"
"Your Majesty, we trust Sir Jin's advice. But isn't this decision too hasty?"
"If we wait for our suspicions to be confirmed, it will be too late. What if a chaos legion emerges from an unknown tunnel and assassins start coming out? How will we manage then?"
"But...!"
"Enough! I have no intention of reversing my decision. You subordinates should accept it. If I have to break this insignificant palace to ensure the safety of the empire, I will do it, no matter how many times."
Dante's sharp voice silenced his subordinates.
If they said one more word, there would undoubtedly be consequences.
Jin thought Dante's imperial demeanor was still impressive and believed this decision was one hundred percent correct.
However, he also thought that if he stepped forward, the situation would be even better.
Maybe Dante doesn't know, but they are all deeply loyal to the Empire. However, there are complaints of overwork and pressure.'
Jin cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Can the Vamel Alliance formally present an opinion on the palace demolition, according to Sir Mageil's suggestion?"
"Please speak, Sir Jin."
"As Sir Mageil said earlier, the prophet's tunnel is just a suspicion. Also, as the regent said, once confirmed, it's an irreversible problem, and it's unlikely the regent will change his mind."
"Shouldn't you advise His Majesty to reconsider...?"
"How can I stop something even the imperial courtiers can't stop? Instead, the Vamel Alliance, which was the first to mention the tunnel, will take some responsibility for the palace's demolition. As an alliance."
The subordinates murmured among themselves, exchanging glances.
Jin smiled at them with pure kindness, but the subordinates worried about what the twelfth flagbearer would take.
"Currently, the Tikan Free Nation possesses the world's highest level capabilities. Equipped with several cutting-edge technologies, including improved mana cannon spears looted from the former imperial family." �
"Are you saying you'll share those technologies?"
"Yes. We will share more than before. I will send Lady Amela, who has made the most significant contribution to Tikan's defensive capabilities, and other personnel to assist in its development. The Vamel Alliance will also provide some essential materials needed. From the moment we build the new city that will become the Empire's center, regardless of the existence of underground tunnels."
Now that Jin had shown his cards, the servants thought the next thing he would say would be about what he would get from the empire.
"We will also support the defense of the entire Empire and share technology related to battleships. This should be sufficient compensation for destroying the old era's symbol."
But when he mentioned additional support, the subordinates wondered why Jin was doing this.
"The Vamel Alliance and the Empire are allies, and the Regent and I are the closest of friends. The world is facing a crisis of destruction and chaos. I hope everyone knows we do not intend to support the Empire to take something later."
Anyway, even if he didn't destroy the imperial palace, Jin intended to do so from the beginning.
Now that Rosa had become a malevolent god, and even after defeating her, the crisis faced by the Empire and Dante was no different from the crisis faced by the Vamel Alliance and Jin. After all, Zipple and Kinzelo still remained even if they defeated Rosa.
"Thank you for expressing your discontent. I have received an unexpected gift from Sir Jin. The benefits Sir Jin has promised are incomparable to this palace."
Dante already knew about this matter but still felt a bit uneasy.
His subordinates were confused about whether they should like or dislike this situation, but within a few days, they were convinced they should like it.
Amela arrived in the empire and showed various equipment. The artifacts developed by Qwaul far exceeded the common sense of the subordinates.
"...It seems the demolition isn't progressing as quickly as I thought. I'm worried it's taking too long."
Destroying the largest building on Earth wasn't a problem that could be solved in one or two days.
Jin and Dante were searching for tunnels at the demolition site.
The high-level members and delegates who knew all the castle's secrets combined their information to estimate the tunnels' location, and Jin personally confirmed each new location.
This was because Jin was the only one who could correctly sense the chaos energy.
"It's okay. We've resolved most urgent matters, so your safety is now the most important. And this is very fast. We can't break everything as much as we want."
"Thank you for saying that. By the way, it's suspected that Joshua Runcandel sent assassins to the palace... If that's true, he's really like a cockroach. He was stripped of his flagbearer qualification, became a beggar, and still returned."
"Even if he's not at Elder Sister Luntia's level, he probably got stronger too. That doesn't seem like a big problem, but I'm worried about what sword he gave the imperial family."
It was hard to guess who the assassin Runcandel gave to Airan Vermont was.
'Among the people I've encountered in the Garden of Swords so far, there aren't many who can defeat Dante now.'
Except for Rosa herself, Padler Runcandel, Lionel, and Luntia.
However, Luntia is currently unable to appear in the human world, and Padler and Lionel's destructive sword skills were not suitable for assassination.
'Of course, there may be other people who can defeat Dante, and if their purpose is not assassination but a surprise attack through the tunnels, they alone will cause catastrophic damage to the empire....'
-<..... Runcandel gave a monster to Airan Vermont, the Vermont imperial family, to kill Dante Hairan, the sword emperor.>
A monster.
That part bothered Jin.
"....Runcandel" was crossed out for lack of magical record achievements or some other reason, but the vague term "monster" appeared precisely.
It wasn't clear if the term "monster" referred to an extraordinary entity without equal or a strange being born from chaos, among other possibilities.
Before encountering it, there was no way to know for sure.
Above all, Jin was more concerned about the possibility of assassination than invasion because the term "monster" was singular.
"Isn't there a high chance it could be the former patriarch of Runcandel or the ten great knights you met?".
"That could be true".
As they started demolishing the palace, a strange feeling seemed to settle heavily in Jin's mind, as if something had been placed on him.
'Why do I feel so uneasy? Nothing has been confirmed yet...'
Maybe it was because it reminded him of the chaos that had tainted the Garden of Swords, but Jin struggled to suppress that sticky and ominous feeling.
Clang!
The noise of buildings collapsing was heard everywhere.
If it weren't for the absolute support of the people towards Dante and Jin, who had been demolishing intact buildings for days without any results, the atmosphere in the capital would have been much more negative.
Jin, Dante, and the Empire's pillars hoped no underground tunnels would be discovered.
However, exactly ten days after the demolition began, Jin's prediction proved correct.
"It's the chaos energy, Dante."
"Did you find something?"
"It's on the first floor, third chamber. Prepare the troops and let's go."
When the third chamber began to be demolished, the chaos energy that had been hidden was revealed.
No one else seemed to feel it.
Even after a closer inspection, the third chamber being demolished didn't appear to have any notable features.
Swing!
When Jin unsheathed Bradamante, Dante and the troops waiting with him took defensive stances.
When the blade, imbued with the shadow force, pierced the ground of the third chamber in a straight line, those who witnessed it couldn't help but hold their breath.
What the hell is that?
"There's really a tunnel under the palace...!
What was revealed as the ground under the blade split was not a layer of dirt and rocks, but a chaos in the form of a black well, unlike anything else.
About a hundred people could enter at once through the entrance of the massive underground tunnel.
"How is it possible that we knew nothing about this while it was forming under the palace?".
"Zipple didn't even realize it when the Prophet formed a tunnel in the Sota desert. I wish it didn't exist, but it's already been discovered."
Jin looked at Dante and his troops.
"There are many chances there is another entrance. Now that the tunnel's existence is confirmed, we must speed up the demolition and evacuate people near the palace as planned. You and I should go in to check it out."
Dante nodded. The two immediately entered the tunnel, and the others performed the tasks assigned to them.
The tunnel was impressively deep, and the bedrock remained intact.
Unlike the complicated tunnel structures Jin had experienced in the past, this one was relatively simple.
Upon reaching the end of the passage, Jin felt invaded by an unpleasant and ominous sensation.
It wasn't that he feared an unknown enemy, but for some reason, he started sweating cold and his heart raced.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, I guess it's finally showing. I've felt weird since we started investigating. I don't know why. It's nothing to worry about..."
As soon as Jin said that, he felt a chill down his spine.
Although he didn't feel any particular energy, he had a strong feeling that if he moved wrong, something would deeply cut his body. No, he was sure.
Dante also felt the same sense of crisis, a bit later than Jin.
And the only person who could make both of them so tense without warning was one person: the one known as the "god of death" among assassins.
No way...!
With an evil sound, a single sword passed by both of them.
Dante's back was grazed, and Jin barely dodged it.
The moment their eyes met the surprise attacker's, Jin could finally recognize the identity of the ominous feeling that had tormented him.
[Die...]
"Elder Sister... Yona."
Jin couldn't help but grit his teeth as he observed the approaching figure once again.
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