Chapter 369: Why They Seek Temar's Tomb (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 369: Why They Seek Temar's Tomb (1)
Thanks to the armor, erasing my presence with spirit energy has become much easier.
Once again, the warriors failed to react to Jin’s movements.
It was partly due to his terrifying speed, but reading a presence thinned by spirit energy was as difficult as sensing a shadow creeping up from behind.
Shing—!
Fresh blood sprayed through the air, cutting through the bright glow of the Viment warriors' auras. The droplets were a murky hue, mingled with particles of spirit energy.
Too shallow.
Unlike the first time, he hadn't killed with a single blow. Bradamante grazed the warrior’s jugular, leaving a long, dark arc in the air.
However, not a single trace of flow or sound accompanied the blade’s trajectory. There was none of the weight that inevitably spread when swinging a mass of iron, nor was there the sharp whistle of a blade cutting through the air.
Only a chilling energy, like a passing ghost, lingered around the bleeding wound.
For a moment, the warriors truly mistook their attacker for a specter.
Not only had they failed to sense his initial rush, but they hadn't even seen the blade move. Even now, with the area illuminated by their own auras, they couldn't catch a glimpse of Jin. It was only natural for them to feel that way.
Where is he? Where is he hiding?
The same thought echoed in the minds of the Viment warriors. At the same time, they felt their pride as martial artists crumbling.
They had been ambushed, lost a comrade in a single strike, and nearly lost another to the immediate follow-up—yet they still couldn't pinpoint the attacker's location. The realization filled them with self-loathing.
What is this…! This isn't Jin Runcandel. This is a top-tier assassin from Nameless. No, could it be the Nameless King himself?
In their perception, an ambush of this caliber was only possible for someone like the Nameless King.
The problem was that it wasn't the Nameless King, but Jin, who was using spirit energy to mask his presence to the absolute limit within the darkness.
“Pair up!” one of the Viment warriors shouted, bracing his core. He was the section leader of the group gathered here.
Following his command, the warriors quickly formed pairs, guarding each other’s backs. Though they had been struck down in an instant, they were still a force recognized as the best of the best within Viment.
The Imperial Guard.
Hiding in the shadows of the forest, Jin observed their attire. The golden epaulettes, symbols of the Imperial Guard, shone on their shoulders. Their pure white coats, now stained with blood, contrasted sharply with Jin’s Spirit Energy Armor.
The section leader stood in the center, scanning the dark woods for any sign of Jin. Cold sweat trickled down his chin. Between the extreme tension and his senses being pushed to their limit, his breathing grew labored.
He was indeed a man worthy of being a section leader of the Imperial Guard.
“Come out…!”
The section leader pointed his sword exactly toward the darkness where Jin was hiding. His subordinates hadn't realized Jin was there at all.
Jin slowly stepped out from the shadows.
The guards couldn't help but flinch at the sight of him. Between the Rune of Mul-ta, the Spirit Energy Armor, and the surrounding darkness, Jin looked like a shadow given form.
“I am Rick Helter, Section Leader of the 5th Squad of the Great Viment Imperial Guard. State your name.”
“You must be terrified if you’re so quick to announce your affiliation.”
“…We are performing a mission under the orders of His Imperial Majesty. Whoever you are, I advise you not to make the foolish choice of turning the entire Empire into your enemy by interfering with the Guard’s duties.”
“Are you joking?”
“We came to meet Jin Runcandel.”
Jin couldn't help but let out a silent scoff.
“It’s been a long time since the world learned I am the Contractor of Shadows. I suppose the Imperial Guard, which doubles as the Empire’s finest intelligence agency, hasn't heard the news yet.”
Rick and his men’s eyes widened. They had been so overwhelmed by tension that they hadn't recognized the power coating the sword that had just sliced through them, nor the nature of the armor the man before them wore. They had simply assumed the assassin had painted his gear black to blend into the night.
A heavy silence fell.
In that time, the fear in the eyes of Rick Helter and his subordinates transformed into intense murderous intent. Their hearts didn't waver with shame or humiliation, nor did their sword tips tremble with dread.
They, too, were the Imperial Guard.
Though they had shown a clumsy side by misjudging their opponent moments ago, they were men who would never back down once their target was clear. When Jin first ambushed them, they hadn't feared the “unknown opponent” itself. They had only feared dying a dog's death at the hands of a third party, failing to carry out the Emperor's command.
“What did you plan to do when you met me? Kill me? Or offer a negotiation?”
If they encountered Jin Runcandel, the Guard’s primary objective was capture. But Rick realized instantly that capturing Jin Runcandel with these six men was an impossible dream.
No, even if there were sixty guards instead of six, capturing him would be impossible.
Rick gritted his teeth.
“…Strike!”
His subordinates surrounded Jin in an instant. Rick lunged into the center, swinging his scimitar with all his might, while the encirclement tightened as blades flew in from all sides.
The guards naturally expected Jin to dodge. They expected him to evade three attacks, parry two, and then counterattack.
But Jin stood his ground and did not dodge their blades.
Clang! Clang—!
The Spirit Energy Armor had no seams. Nevertheless, Rick and his men instinctively struck the areas where a normal suit of armor’s joints would be, only to be met with the hollow, futile sound of blades bouncing off.
Jin even caught one of the blades coming from his left with his bare hand.
Screeeech! The blade shrieked against the gauntlet as the guard tried to pull it back. Jin simply yanked it toward him, and the guard, unable to let go of his weapon in time, was pulled in defenselessly.
Thuck!
Bradamante pierced through his chest.
Four left.
The spots where the scimitars had struck the Spirit Energy Armor were marked. The area Rick Helter’s blade had hit was gouged deep enough to barely reveal the skin beneath. However, like the super-regeneration of a high-ranking monster, the gouged sections began to knit back together instantly. The spirit energy radiating from Jin was regenerating the armor.
Though their will to fight hadn't broken, even the Imperial Guard couldn't help but feel a sense of dread at this point.
Flash!
“Kh!”
“Ugh!”
The guards squeezed their eyes shut, groaning in pain.
Flash Cannon.
The ancient light magic left behind by Chenmi was especially devastating in the darkness—doubly so when his opponents were already overwhelmed.
Slash—!
Once again, blood arched through the air.
The extremely brief moment often described as "the blink of an eye" is more than enough time to decide victory or defeat between high-level warriors. To survive after closing one's eyes and stumbling backward in front of Jin, one would need either incredible luck or skill so great that even Jin would be impressed.
This time, two men fell at once. They were the ones who had faced the Flash Cannon head-on.
Two left.
Only Rick and one subordinate remained.
They widened the distance from Jin again, desperately trying to think of a way to overcome the situation.
Reaching a conclusion wasn't difficult.
There was no way.
It was just hard to accept—the fact that they had to give up their lives so helplessly without having accomplished anything. It wasn't that the Imperial Guard was weak; they were individuals who could easily be called masters in the world of martial arts.
The misfortune of the Imperial Guard was simply that Jin was a man who had begun to stand on an entirely different dimension from ordinary masters.
Had they unleashed the Guard’s unique, destructive sword formations from the start, regardless of the forest being destroyed, they might have fought with a bit more dignity.
But they no longer had any choices left.
Escape was impossible, and winning was impossible. They had never been trained to beg for their lives like dogs, and they and Jin had met to kill each other from the beginning.
If there was one thing that was fair to everyone in the world of warriors, it was that one could choose the manner in which they accepted defeat and death.
Suddenly, Rick and his subordinate turned around—even though it was a situation where they shouldn't dare show their backs.
“Your Majesty, please forgive the disloyalty of your servant who accepts death before completing his mission.”
They had turned around to offer a final sword salute toward the direction of the Viment Emperor. When the two showed their backs, Jin could have cut them down with less than a thought if he had intended to kill them right then.
“If possible, I wish to have the honor of serving Your Majesty even after death.”
But he decided to show them respect. It wasn't difficult to grant that much mercy to opponents he held no personal grudge against.
Is the Viment Emperor’s leadership that great, or is the Imperial family’s brainwashing that effective? What incredible loyalty.
Rick and his subordinate turned back and steadied their stances.
“Thank you, Jin Runcandel. Thanks to you, I was able to offer my final greetings to His Majesty as a knight of the Guard.”
“Are you finished?”
Rick nodded. He even wore a strange, unpleasant smile, but Jin didn't care and leveled Bradamante.
Clang—!
Jin’s blade clashed with those of the guards.
Rick’s last remaining subordinate met his end without even grazing Jin’s armor during the dozen or so exchanges that followed. Rick, the section leader, certainly possessed swordsmanship several levels higher than his subordinates, but he was still no match for Jin.
“Haa, haa…!”
After a hundred exchanges, Rick was gasping for breath, his body covered in wounds. Many were fatal, and the blood loss was so severe that he would soon die even if left alone.
Thud!
Finally, Rick dropped to one knee. He could no longer continue the fight.
Jin looked down at him with indifferent eyes.
“I assume you have nothing left to say.”
Rick didn't answer, his body trembling violently. Jin couldn't tell if he was shivering from the cold of blood loss or if the fear of death had finally caught up to him at the very end.
Slice…
The reason for the trembling became clear the moment Jin severed his neck.
An ominous change was beginning within Rick’s body.
The blood… it’s drawing a magic circle!?
The blood flowing from Rick’s body was forming a bizarre magic circle on the ground. Looking around, Jin saw it wasn't just Rick; the blood of the already fallen guards was also drawing the same magic circle on the forest floor.
“Jin, this is…” Valeria, sensing something strange, ran to Jin’s side.
“I’m not certain,” Jin said, his eyes fixed on the glowing patterns, “but it’s a type of magic circle used for body transformation.”