Chapter 263: Returning to the Garden of Swords
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 263: Returning to the Garden of Swords
"Ouch, ow... My shoulder still throbs from fighting those crazy bastards. Daughter, come here and give me a rub."
Talaris let out a groan as she massaged her left shoulder.
As Jin had suspected, she had joined the battle fought by Misha and the Wraith Squad in the West Sea to protect her territory.
Because of that battle, over a hundred deserted islands in the West Sea had vanished, and the local sea routes had been utterly disrupted. Even now, six months later, a vortex of spirit energy, cold energy, and mana continued to stir up terrifying storms in the nearby waters.
Though no one had witnessed the fight directly, the vortex phenomenon prompted nations across the world to send investigation teams. From the aftermath alone, they realized a battle of staggering proportions had taken place.
Based on the residual energies within the vortex, the investigators deduced that the combatants were a Black Dragon, the Palace Master of the Secret Palace, and the mages of Zipple.
The entire world was dying to know the cause and outcome of that clash.
Publicly, the Secret Palace was a neutral power. Furthermore, the general public believed 'Solderet' to be a god who primarily contracted with pure-blooded Zipples.
In fact, before Jin (and after Temar), most of Solderet’s contractors—including the legendary Riol Zipple—had hailed from the Zipple clan. Due to Riol’s overwhelming magic and historic exploits, the notion that Solderet was Zipple’s patron god was firmly established in the public consciousness.
So, when these powers suddenly engaged in a massive battle in the middle of the West Sea, the world couldn't help but be thrown into an uproar.
"I refuse," Siris replied flatly.
"Hmph. I basically ended up like this while helping the boy who’s going to be your husband. Are you really going to be this cold-hearted?"
"You're exaggerating."
"I am not. It really feels like my arm is going to fall off. I can barely even lift a spoon..."
Boooong!
Mort, the Snow Toad, chimed in, seeming to agree with Talaris.
There was a reason Siris was reacting so coldly to her mother.
"...Mother, I still don't understand. Why did you announce that we were defeated?"
Recently, Talaris had gathered reporters and made an official statement regarding the 'Battle of the West Sea.'
— The reason for the discord between Zipple and the Black Dragon is unknown. I only joined the battle to protect my territory, as they were fighting on my land.
— Many are curious about the outcome and the whereabouts of the Black Dragon. I do not know what happened to the dragon, but the battle was Zipple's victory. I hope there are no further misunderstandings regarding the Secret Palace.
The reason for the battle, the winner, the loser, the relationship between Zipple and the Black Dragon—until that point, the public knew nothing. Zipple, for their part, had kept their mouths tightly shut.
However, Talaris's announcement brought everything to light.
Naturally, the statement that 'the winner was Zipple' had the greatest impact.
It made it seem as though Zipple had defeated both Talaris and a Black Dragon without even their Patriarch stepping in. This helped them recover some of the prestige they had lost because of Jin. The Secret Palace, conversely, saw its reputation dip.
And the 'truth' was the exact opposite.
"Mother, you and that Black Dragon, Misha, killed three members of the Wraith Squad. Zipple was the one who retreated first once the Black Dragon escaped."
"For someone as great as me, that might as well be a loss. With a Black Dragon on my side, I should have killed at least ten of them. Then again, if I’d killed that many, Kelliark might have personally attacked the Secret Palace."
"Ever since you announced our defeat, all sorts of riffraff have been looking down on us. Traders from the Lutero Magic Federation are already harassing our West Sea merchants. Not only that..."
"Can't you just cut off their limbs and feed them to the sharks? Tell the warriors to strengthen the protection of the West Sea people."
"There are too many of them for that."
"Then kill them all. Since I’ve humored Zipple’s ego this once, they won't be able to hold us accountable for such trivial matters. This is politics, daughter. Try to understand your mother's position."
"I just wish that, at least in the West Sea, neither Zipple, Runcandel, nor Viment could act so boldly," Siris said.
She swallowed a sigh and moved to Talaris's side, beginning to massage her shoulders. In truth, she understood and respected her mother’s choice, but she found it difficult to suppress her frustration.
"You can make it so. Ah, that feels good. By the way, I wonder when our son-in-law will return. He didn't actually die, did he? It’s been half a year without a word, and only his sword was found. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That Black Dragon is too much, now that I think about it. I helped her, and she didn't tell me a single thing."
Instead of answering, Siris gazed at the Secret Palace Snow Flowers blooming profusely outside the window.
*
Time flowed on, and it was now February of 1799.
Runcandel and Zipple had yet to rescind their wanted posters.
However, Jin's death had moved beyond mere rumor to become an accepted fact. The youngest son of Runcandel, who had once set the world ablaze, was slowly fading from people's memories.
The mercenary groups, knight orders, and mages who had sought the astronomical bounty no longer searched for him. Reporters stopped writing articles about him. Only the occasional barfly or traveling bard would reminisce about his name.
The world seemed to be turning just fine without him.
Yet, ever since Jin had disappeared—or rather, ever since he had torn the hypocritical mask from Zipple and dragged the new giant, Kinzelo, into the light—the world was clearly undergoing a great change.
"Kihihihi, kuhuhuhuhu. What? What was that? Save you? Say it again, you vermin. Kh-kh. I find it most thrilling when your convictions shatter."
"Right, right. We actually want to let you live, too. But what can we do? This is our job."
Daytona and Heitona spoke as they looked down at a group of bound captives.
Having become flagbearers last summer, they were achieving remarkable results on various missions under the epithet 'Darlings of Hell.'
Among their tasks, they excelled in 'elimination missions'—specifically, killing the 'Zipple fanatics' who had sprung up after Zipple's true face was revealed. The Tona brothers performed as if they had found their true calling.
"Now, we're going to let only one of you live. We don't know who the lucky bastard will be, but anyway. The survivor goes back and tells your friends: no matter where you are, we will find you and crush you all like cockroaches."
"B-But you just said you wanted to let us li—"
"Kihi, kihuhuk."
"Cockroaches can't talk. A cockroach shouldn't be speaking human words. If you talk, what does that make me?"
Slash! Shlick!
"Guh-urk!"
"Aaaagh!"
A greatsword and a chain sword mercilessly tore through the bodies of the fanatics.
"Ah, right. I was supposed to leave one alive... but I killed them all."
"It's fine, Heitona! Kh-kh, we can just go catch more."
"Daytona, no matter how I think about it, something's strange. These bastards are definitely getting direct support from Zipple... Where else would they get the mana bombs they strap to themselves for suicide attacks?"
Fanatics had recently been rampant throughout Huphester. They were committing crimes against the people almost daily, including terrorism, kidnapping, and incitement.
"Kihi." Daytona had developed a habit of laughing like a madman whenever he killed, only stopping once he'd seen enough blood. "We need to find evidence that the Zipples are helping them. That's our mission."
"To do that, we should have left one alive to track."
"It's fine! I told you, we can just go catch more."
"I guess. Last time, we went through the trouble of letting one live, but he suddenly took poison and killed himself while running away. Sometimes it feels like someone is controlling them, like puppets. Hmm."
"I get that feeling a lot, too."
"Let's head back for now. Ugh! Myu, Anne. I bet those damn wretches are waiting at the main estate by now."
"Probably. Ha, my head hurts just thinking about what they'll pick a fight over this time."
Just as they expected, Myu and Anne had arrived at the Garden of Swords that morning. Not only them, but every flagbearer of Runcandel was gathered there.
This was because the Patriarch, Cyron Runcandel, had briefly left the Black Sea to stay at the main estate.
"Oh my, look who it is. Isn't it the Tona trash?"
"You actually meet our eyes now that you're flagbearers? Tired of living?"
True to form, Myu and Anne started a fight the moment they saw the Tona brothers. To be precise, it was more one-sided bullying than a mere quarrel.
And the Tona brothers still feared them.
"S-Sisters. It has been a while."
"Why are you so scared? Did you do something behind our backs?"
"No, we didn't..."
"Pfft, 'no' my foot. You Darlings of Idiots."
"What is all this noise?" Joshua said in a low voice as he passed by.
"Brother Joshua."
"I just received a report from Butler Heinz that Father will arrive in two hours. We don't have time for idle chatter. Everyone get into your ceremonial armor and prepare to line up."
"Understood."
Everyone in the Garden of Swords was preparing to welcome Cyron.
Usually, there was a grand display of troops whenever he visited, but it was rare for even the cadets to be mobilized for such an occasion.
Cyron's return this time carried significant weight.
Since Jin's disappearance, the cold war between Runcandel and Zipple had intensified to a breaking point. As the Patriarch, he needed to personally encourage the members of the clan.
Furthermore, he was a man who could instantly quell the anxiety spreading through Runcandel and Huphester just by standing still.
Such was the presence of a Creation Knight and the First Sword of the Human World.
Two hours later, the formation was complete.
Luna, Joshua, Luntia, Dipus, Ran, Vigo, Mary, Myu, Anne, Daytona, and Heitona.
A total of eleven flagbearers, excluding Yona who was in Samil, stood at the front, holding flags emblazoned with the 'Black Sword' crest.
Behind them stood the elders, enforcement knights, and the guardian knights of each subordinate unit. The cadets also wore ceremonial armor and carried uniform weapons.
However, not a single regular soldier was in sight. There were no regular soldiers in the Garden of Swords. Only knights, reserve knights, and cadets could belong to the main fighting force.
Soon, Cyron's procession entered the Garden of Swords.
"The Patriarch has entered the Garden!"
As Luna shouted, slamming her foot down, the knights arrayed in a square formation stomped their feet a beat later.
"Formation, Sword Grave!"
"Formation, Sword Grave!"
The flagbearers and knights repeated Luna's command in unison.
The 'Sword Grave' was a special formation unique to Runcandel.
The thousands of swords planted in the Garden of Swords served as graves for those who had left a special mark on the family's protection and prosperity.
The flagbearers and knights dispersed, each taking a position before one of the swords in the garden. It appeared to break their carefully constructed formation, but this was the essence of Runcandel's ceremony.
"Loyalty! We greet the Patriarch!"
"Loyalty! We greet the Patriarch!"
The flagbearers raised their spiritual energy, and the knights offered a sword salute. Their voices were so perfectly synchronized they sounded like a single person speaking.
Cyron and Rosa looked down at their subordinates from horseback. Behind them, ten active Black Knights knelt on one knee.
"Excellent. Sheathe your swords."
At Cyron's command, every blade held by the living returned to its scabbard. Only the swords planted in the garden glittered in the sunlight.
And for some reason, Cyron remained silent for a long moment.
He felt something approaching the Garden of Swords from the sky.
As a Creation Knight, he was the only one who could perceive it yet. It was at a distance that even Luna and the Black Knights could not detect.
"It seems there is someone else who wishes to welcome this old man."
"Patriarch, what do you mean?" Rosa asked.
"Rosa, you've grown dull. A powerful energy signature is approaching the Garden of Swords. And at incredible speed."
Rosa's eyes widened.
A moment later, Luna and the Black Knights felt the same thing Cyron did. The other flagbearers and high-ranking knights realized the situation shortly after.
"Patriarch, shall I prepare for anti-air defense?" Luna asked cautiously.
Cyron shook his head.
"There is no need for that, 1st Flagbearer. No matter who comes, it would be a laughable sight for the entirety of Runcandel to mobilize."
"My apologies for my lack of foresight."
Cyron was right.
Currently, the Garden of Swords was in a state where no one in the world could hope to challenge it. All of Runcandel's power, including Cyron himself, was firmly guarding the estate.
In such a situation, it would be excessive for all of Runcandel to overreact to a single approaching energy signature.
About ten seconds passed.
What appeared in the sky above the Garden of Swords was a massive Black Dragon.
Murakan.
As his shadow fell over the garden, the knights barely managed to swallow their gasps.
No matter how sudden the situation, acting rashly in front of Cyron was out of the question.
However, what truly terrified those with particularly sharp senses—like Luna, the Black Knights, and some of the flagbearers—was not the appearance of the Black Dragon.
It was the fact that the owner of the 'powerful energy signature' Cyron mentioned was not the dragon. Murakan was majestic, but he was completely concealing his presence with spirit energy.
Flap, flap…!
Murakan began to descend slowly into the Garden of Swords.
As he touched the ground, the figure riding on his back became visible. He was the owner of the energy that had raced toward the garden.
Except for the newly joined cadets, it was a face everyone in the Garden of Swords knew well.
Nineteen-year-old Jin Runcandel.
With a calm gaze, he offered a sword salute toward his father.
"Father. Reserve Flagbearer Jin Runcandel has returned from his training."