Chapter 281: Temar’s First Grave (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 281: Temar’s First Grave (2)
“In the center of the Anz Great Plains is a region called Baolai. Inject your spirit energy into this key there. His first grave will then be revealed.”
“Are there any precautions I should take?”
“Solderet’s only instruction was this: no matter what happens, do not panic.”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing. I wish you luck, Jin Runcandel.”
As he spoke, Picon handed over a black rod about the size of a finger. It looked so ordinary that anyone unaware of its purpose would easily mistake it for a spare machine part.
“He said to inject spirit energy into this? Let me see.”
Murakan took the key and immediately channeled his spirit energy into it.
Nothing happened—at least, not on the surface.
“I think I know what this is,” Murakan said. “It’s the type that won’t activate unless you use the perfect amount of energy. Solderet used to make toys like this all the time.”
“Is that so?”
“When are you heading to the Anz Great Plains?”
“I’d like to go right now, but I have to meet Uncle Zed first. I also need to get the schedule for my first official mission: killing the Black Knight spy. Mother said she would assign it to me.”
“She mentioned pairing you with another elite flagbearer. It’ll probably be Joshua, don’t you think? Since it’s an important mission, it seems like she wants you to do all the work, only to hand the credit over to him.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think Mother would resort to such a shallow trick. What do you think, Gilly?”
“I agree, Young Master. In my opinion, that despicable bastard Joshua… oh, excuse me. I believe she will pair you with either Lady Luntia or Young Master Dipus.”
Luntia and Dipus.
Excluding the outlier that was Luna, those two were always the first names mentioned when discussing the strongest of the Runcandel flagbearers.
“Second Sister and Fourth Brother. Well, since we’re dealing with a Black Knight, she’d have to assign someone reliable.”
“Wait, if you’re certain the Black Knight is a spy, why not just grab him and kill him?” Murakan asked. “Why bother planning a whole mission? They could just execute him in the Garden of Swords under the guise of a purge without any trouble.”
“When someone of a Black Knight’s stature dies, there needs to be a proper justification,” Jin explained. “We can’t reveal to all the family’s subordinates that a Black Knight was a spy. A simple purge would make our internal discipline look sloppy, but publicly trying a Black Knight as a spy would make the family’s prestige a laughingstock. It’s a difficult situation precisely because the traitor is a Black Knight.”
“Tsk, you humans. You don’t even live for a hundred years, yet you care more about saving face than dragons do. Anyway, does this mean we can’t go to Temar’s grave until the schedule for the assassination mission is out?”
“Exactly.”
“Damn, time is going to crawl by.”
“The mission date won’t be too far off. Killing a Black Knight spy isn’t a simple assassination, so the family has a lot to prepare. Once the date is set, we can visit Temar’s grave before then.”
*
The next day, Jin went to see Zed.
He was now teaching the Upper-level Cadets instead of the intermediate ones.
“I have sent all the Upper-level Cadets on external missions so that I can pass down a Decisive Technique to you.”
Even though they stood in the middle of an empty training ground, Zed’s voice resonated with a heavy weight. He was still stuck in the late 8-star rank, but that number only reflected his aura level; it was not a measure of his true combat prowess.
Even among those who had reached the 9-star rank, there were few who could defeat Zed.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“There are three Decisive Techniques I can pass down to you on my own authority. However, one is only suitable for a chain sword, and another is best for a greatsword. Therefore, I will first teach you the Decisive Technique intended for longsword users.”
“Understood.”
Since his regression, Jin had personally witnessed or experienced two Decisive Techniques: the 3rd, Meteor Shower, and the 7th, Volcano. Both were techniques of terrifying power.
In particular, the beautiful sight of Luna using Meteor Shower to kill Andrei still occasionally flickered through his mind.
I wanted to learn Meteor Shower first, but I suppose I have to wait until I’ve won over all the Elders.
Screeech—.
Zed slowly drew his sword.
“The 4th Decisive Technique: Falling Petals. I will demonstrate it once in slow motion. Pay close attention to the flow of the sword and the aura.”
Zed’s sword, dyed in aura, began to glow. Up to that point, it was no different from ordinary sword energy. A moment later, however, the aura enveloping the sword began to fracture. Hairline cracks appeared in the dense energy.
Normally, this would signify that the aura surrounding the blade was becoming unstable. Loosely packed aura was bound to shatter like glass at the slightest impact, so a knight had to always focus on the cohesion of their aura during battle.
The cracks in the aura surrounding Zed’s sword continued to widen. It looked as if it would fall apart at a mere touch.
“As you know, when cracks like this form in the aura, you cannot exert proper power. If a clumsy fool tried to swing their sword in this state, the aura would scatter completely.”
Zed then took a light step forward.
He raised the blade toward the sky and swung it down with incredible smoothness and speed, as if performing a simple vertical slash.
The sword still held the shards of aura that were barely clinging to it. Even as the blade cut through the air, Zed’s aura did not collapse. It was like moving a sandcastle without letting it crumble.
“First, you must be able to swing the sword to this point without letting the loosely connected aura collapse.”
Whoosh…!
The precariously held aura was finally released. True to its name, Falling Petals, it scattered like flower petals in the wind.
However, each of those petals forged from aura carried lethal power. They were sharp enough to tear through not just steel, but the flesh and bone of an 8-star warrior. The petals flew in random, completely unpredictable trajectories. If a person were standing at the center, they would be instantly turned into an unrecognizable pile of meat.
“Did you get a feel for it?” Zed asked.
Jin nodded.
“Unlike its appearance, Falling Petals is a difficult sword technique to master. It requires not only delicate aura control but also an understanding of will and incantations. Above all, holding the aura together so it doesn't scatter until the right moment is impossible without the blessed body of a Runcandel.”
Without a blessed body, even a 10-star knight attempting to forcibly hold onto collapsing aura would suffer a backflow.
“I don’t need to explain the circulation of aura to you. At first, just practice fracturing the aura and holding it in place. Once you’ve mastered that, you will learn to condense each fragment into sword energy…”
Jin listened calmly to Zed’s lengthy explanation. In truth, he had felt a sense of déjà vu from the moment Zed’s aura had cracked.
It’s certain. The 4th Decisive Technique, Falling Petals, is a technique rooted in the Pluto Sword Ultimate Technique: Waterfall.
There were many similarities between the Pluto Sword’s Waterfall and the Runcandel’s Falling Petals. Both involved intentionally splitting the aura, forcibly holding it together, and then igniting it at the right moment to form sword energy.
Naturally, the original was the Pluto Sword’s Waterfall.
Furthermore, in Jin’s eyes, there was a clear winner between the two similar techniques.
Waterfall is superior. The only drawback is that a normal human without a Heart of Light can’t use it, no matter how hard they try.
A sudden sense of unease washed over him. What if most of the Decisive Techniques he had looked forward to were merely inferior copies of the Pluto Sword techniques?
At least Meteor Shower and Volcano are Runcandel originals, so that shouldn't be the case for all of them.
Zed’s explanation continued for over twenty minutes.
“…And that is all. If you have any questions, ask.”
“Uncle.”
“What is it?”
“You are aware that I am Solderet’s contractor and that I also use lightning energy.”
“Yes. There were even rumors that you were Paitel’s contractor when you were using the name Barmul.”
Jin unbuttoned his shirt. As the Heart of Light was revealed in the center of his chest, a strange light flickered in Zed’s eyes.
“I had a stroke of luck during my time as a reserve flagbearer. Because of it, I gained this Heart of Light and became able to use lightning energy.”
“A stroke of luck, you say.”
“I would like to tell you the story in detail. If you swear to keep my secret, that is.”
“Just how great was this luck for you to say that?”
“I am certain my story will be of great help to you as well, Uncle.”
“Since you’ve gone this far, my interest is piqued. Very well. I, Zed Runcandel, swear upon my honor. I shall not speak of this to anyone.”
Now it was Jin’s turn to explain. He told Zed about the training he had received from the Pluto Tribe in Laprarosa.
Surprisingly, Zed listened with the rapt attention of a child hearing an old fairy tale. Jin told him everything, except for the fact that the seventy-seven members of the Pluto Tribe were Solderet’s gift to Temar and himself.
“…So you’re saying our Founder had an exchange with those beastmen, who were thought to be extinct. This seems to be a secret history not recorded in any family documents. And you’re saying the technique called Waterfall, which you learned from them, is similar to Falling Petals?”
“I will demonstrate.”
Crackle!
As lightning energy frosted over Jin’s body, Zed did not hide his surprise.
The lightning gathered onto Sigmund and flowed in the exact same manner as Falling Petals—intentionally scattering, then forcibly held together.
“Ho…!”
The moment Sigmund touched the ground, Zed clenched his fists and let out a series of exclamations. The lightning energy flowed like a waterfall along the blade’s trajectory. To any observer, the form was strikingly similar to Falling Petals.
“I only used a very small amount of lightning energy, just as you did, Uncle.”
“Of course you should. If you had unleashed Falling Petals with your full aura, this training ground would have been needlessly destroyed. Regardless, that sword technique you showed, Waterfall… it certainly possesses a greater depth. Hah, at this rate, I’ll have nothing left to teach you.”
But that wasn’t all.
Through Jin’s demonstration, Zed had seen the limitations of the Decisive Technique Falling Petals. And to accurately grasp a technique's limitations was to open the door to refining it further.
In Zed’s case, however, he went one step beyond that.
“I cannot obtain a Heart of Light, so even if I retrain Falling Petals with the inspiration I received today, I won’t reach the level of Waterfall. However… I think I might be able to significantly improve the power of Falling Petals.”
“Pardon? An improvement, Uncle?”
After seeing Jin’s demonstration just once, Zed was confident he could go beyond merely practicing Falling Petals and actually evolve it.
“I like this, Youngest. I’ll consider this a wonderful gift. As soon as the improvement is finished, I shall have it verified by the Elder Council and register it as a restricted Decisive Technique!”
Seeing Zed so excited, Jin was momentarily stunned. Like Cyron and all the other sword fanatics of Runcandel, Zed never lied when it came to the sword.
“Youngest.”
Zed, who had been grinning, suddenly stopped laughing.
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Once the Falling Petals I’ve improved receives the recognition of those old fogies, the Elder Council will no longer have any justification to reject you.”
“If that happens, it will be your achievement, Uncle, not mine. Improving a Decisive Technique is a massive feat, so some Elders might respect your opinion of me more, but that doesn’t mean they’ll lose all justification to reject me, does it?”
At that, Zed’s lips curled into a smirk.
“No. The Elder Council won’t be able to reject you. Because I’m going to name the improved Falling Petals after you.”