Chapter 247: Villain (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: Villain (4)
Under normal circumstances, Jin could never have won a war of public opinion against them.
Even if he had struck at the Zipples' weaknesses, the disparity in their control over the media was simply too vast. The Zipples' grip on the press, which they had used to disguise themselves as the side of 'good' until now, was an iron fortress.
However, Jin now possessed a power of his own.
It was no exaggeration to say that every major news outlet in the world was currently gathered here in the Holy Kingdom.
There were several renowned journalists present who could be called "Great Reporters," including Dino. Most were mouthpieces for the Runcandels, the Zipples, or the Viment Empire, but there were also a few who belonged to neutral outlets.
It’s like a vat filled to the brim with oil, Jin thought as he scanned the journalists gathered in the square.
Soon, that vat of oil would catch a spark from Dino and erupt into a frantic blaze—a fire so great that not even the Zipples could contain it.
The Zipples and Kinzelo. Looking back, it’s been one ill-fated encounter after another ever since I left the Storm Castle.
He suddenly recalled being attacked by fanatical Zipple followers, aided by Kinzelo, immediately after leaving his childhood home.
Perhaps his conflict with them had been inevitable from that very moment. They were enemies he would have had to crush eventually, once he reached the pinnacle of the Runcandel clan.
Three o'clock in the afternoon.
"What is that?"
At the sound of someone's voice, the angry crowd looked up at the distant sky.
There, the Zipples' massive flagship, the Kozec, was serenely cruising through the airspace above the capital.
Seeing the Kozec for the first time in a long while, Jin unconsciously clenched his fists.
Aboard that ship were the Zipples' elite mage unit, the 'White Night,' and Karl Zipple.
"The Kozec? Ugh, what the hell is that thing doing here now?"
Murakan narrowed his eyes into slits the moment he saw the ship.
"Since the Runcandel flagbearers are stationed in the Holy Kingdom, the Zipples probably felt the need to show off. It’s also a message to the Runcandels not to even think about assassinating Karl Zipple. They’re putting on quite a display for people who supposedly came to apologize."
"What a bunch of clowns. Ah, just thinking about the hell I went through in Colon makes my blood boil. I want to go up there and smash that thing to pieces right now."
"Young Master, I’ll head off to start my preparations."
"Right. Good luck."
After Dino left, the shadow of the Kozec loomed over the square. The citizens glared at the massive vessel blocking the sun, their eyes filled with anxiety and rage.
Vroooom…
Soon, a broad beam of light shone down from the bottom of the Kozec, forming a staircase that extended to the ground.
As the passengers began to descend, Karl Zipple appeared, his entire body bound in restraints. He was wearing the kind of gray cloth rags a commoner prisoner might wear, and his face looked incredibly gaunt.
As Karl descended the stairs of light and drew closer, the citizens roared in fury.
"Boo!"
"What did you do to our brothers and sisters!"
"Using humans as test subjects… do you not fear the gods?!"
"You mad mage! You monster!"
A Tower Master of the Zipple clan—a pureblood, no less—was being subjected to a torrent of curses from the commoners of a small nation.
In the past several decades, such a thing had never happened. Whether the family caused a problem or an individual did, the Zipples had always handled the aftermath by putting forward spokespeople from outside the main bloodline.
Anger was contagious.
The citizens, who had been momentarily intimidated by the sight of the Kozec, were now screaming as if they were ready to tear Karl limb from limb.
Karl kept his head bowed and remained silent, while the White Night mages standing behind him maintained expressionless faces.
Just as Jin had instructed, Rani did not move to suppress the overheated atmosphere.
Whish—!
Thud!
One of the citizens, sensing Rani’s tacit approval, hurled a fist-sized stone at Karl. The stone struck his forehead, splitting it open and sending droplets of blood flying. For a moment, the crowd fell silent.
Karl still kept his head bowed. Even as blood dripped steadily from his forehead, the White Night mages behind him did not react.
The message was clear: the Zipple main family would not interfere, no matter what happened to Karl Zipple.
Just as Jin had predicted, the Zipples planned to wait until Karl was dead or severely injured before they began their real show of force.
"Say something! Anything!"
Thud, thud! Whish!
The moment Karl stepped off the stairs of light, stones began flying from all directions.
He was struck down and struggled back to his feet five times.
While the journalists were busily writing articles about this rare scene of public punishment…
"Citizens, please stop for a moment!"
Rani shouted as she slowly stood up. The stoning stopped immediately, and Karl staggered to his feet.
"Karl Zipple. Before I take your confession, there is one thing I wish to ask."
"…What is it?"
"Were the bio-golem experiments truly conducted under your sole command?"
To Karl, the question naturally sounded like: Did you do this alone, or was the entire Zipple family involved?
Therefore, he had no choice but to answer according to the orders of his father, Kelliark Zipple.
"They were."
"Can you swear to that?"
"It seems you wish to pin my sins on the entire family, but you are mistaken. Of course, from your perspective, this might feel like the Zipples are just cutting their losses. But I am the 4th Tower Master, a pureblood. There were plenty of others who could have served as a sacrifice besides me."
"Then why did you come yourself? You could have sent another."
"Because my death is the only way to restore even a fraction of the family's honor, which my actions have tarnished. Even if you were to show me mercy, the family would never take me back. So, kill me."
"You seek too easy a death. The number of innocent citizens you took as experimental subjects reaches three thousand. Karl Zipple, you shall not enjoy the peace of death until you have given a detailed testimony."
Rani cast healing magic on Karl’s various wounds. The injuries closed rapidly.
"However, Karl. Isn't something strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"The number of citizens taken as subjects was not three thousand, but eight hundred and twenty-three."
Karl was the 4th Tower Master, after all.
Even after falling for Rani’s trap, his expression did not change.
"I didn't realize Vitura Belter had sent that many citizens."
"Sir Karl Zipple!"
Someone stepped forward, calling out Karl’s name.
It was Dino Zagrun.
"Sir Karl, you aren't the one behind those atrocious experiments! Why are you lying? Why are you stepping forward to take the blame for something you didn't do?!"
In an instant, the eyes of everyone in the square were fixed on Dino.
"Who is that!"
"Are you a Zipple lackey? Shut up and get out of here!"
"Citizens, please forgive my rudeness. I am a journalist! My name is Dino Zagrun. As some of you may know, I am not a mouthpiece for the Zipples. I am the reporter who first broke the story of Myuron Zipple’s bio-golem experiments in Colon."
The crowd began to murmur.
"I, Dino Zagrun, can swear on my honor as a journalist and on the honor of the natives of Colon. While I cannot speak for the other leaders of the Zipple clan, Sir Karl Zipple has absolutely no connection to these bio-golem experiments!"
Dino pulled a stack of newsletters from his bag and scattered them into the air.
The quick-witted journalists were the first to rush forward and snatch them.
Before they had even read a few lines, their eyes widened as they looked back and forth between Dino and Karl.
The spark has spread.
Jin smiled inwardly.
Until a moment ago, only Karl Zipple was crawling pathetically on the ground. Now, the entire Zipple clan would be dragged into the mud with him.
"The Dark Magic Association under Kinzelo?"
"The place where the survivors were rescued wasn't the 4th Magic Tower, but a fortress of the Dark Magic Association in Old Oterium?"
Kinzelo, known as a third-rate terrorist organization, and the Dark Magic Association, which was thought to have only low-level remnants left after being annihilated by Riol Zipple.
The newsletters Dino distributed contained the names of organizations that were insignificantly small compared to the Zipples. Furthermore, it revealed that six months ago, a mysterious powerhouse known as 'Barmul' had disrupted a meeting between the Zipples and Kinzelo, and it described how Karl had been kidnapped by Kinzelo during that incident.
"Excuse me, Dino Zagrun! What is all this about?" a journalist shouted toward Dino.
Even for those who skimmed the newsletter, it wasn't easy to grasp the situation. Not many looked kindly upon this young journalist who had suddenly crashed the proceedings.
"Sir Rani said she could not reveal the name of the hero who rescued the survivors, but I shall reveal it on her behalf! That person is Sir Barmul. Yes, the supernova you all know well, Sir Barmul!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"In the Colon native massacre case that made me a 'Great Reporter,' I described the hero who saved the natives as a 'passing pedestrian' in my article. That pedestrian was Sir Barmul. I have been close with Sir Barmul since then, and I have been documenting his heroic deeds."
At this, Jin couldn't bring himself to lift his head out of sheer embarrassment, while Murakan barely managed to stifle his laughter.
With a face that was both brazen and solemn, Dino continued his explanation, making eye contact with the people in the square.
"And he has been tracking the Zipples' evil deeds all this time, because the Zipples conducted biological experiments on the natives of Colon as well. During his pursuit, Sir Barmul witnessed the Zipples and Kinzelo making some kind of deal on a deserted island in the Bellado Principality!"
"What does that have to do with the current situation?"
"Please look at the top of the second page of the newsletter. Kinzelo is not a third-rate terrorist group as you think, but a massive power that was the Zipples' greatest ally! Sir Barmul intentionally lied to Sir Rani, saying he rescued the survivors from the 4th Magic Tower. The reason is…"
"Because Sir Barmul was certain that the Zipples were not alone in trying to swallow the Holy Kingdom and experiment on its citizens! He intended to use Karl Zipple’s kidnapping by Kinzelo to bring them both into the public eye at once—"
Dino could not finish the long explanation he had prepared.
"I can't listen to this anymore."
Ssssh—!
One of the White Night mages standing behind Karl fired a mana beam at Dino. The beam was aimed precisely at his head and moved so quickly that most people didn't even perceive it.
Slash!
But someone in the crowd dashed out like a bolt of lightning and cut the mana beam in two.
"Ah!"
Dino flinched and stumbled back as his vision was suddenly filled by a figure.
"I thought killing people to bury the truth was a custom unique to Huphester, not your clan. I find this story quite interesting. Why don't we listen a bit more, mages of Zipple?"
The one who saved Dino was none other than Joshua Runcandel.
And before the people could even begin to stir at the sight of this new, truly high-profile intruder…
"The Runcandels haven't even been directly attacked, yet you draw your sword so recklessly? Sheathe your blade, 2nd Flagbearer."
Luna shook her head and stepped in front of Dino.
In fact, she had already moved to block Dino’s path before Joshua had even cut down the mana beam—perfectly shattering another beam, one that had flown from a different direction, with her bare hands.