Chapter 404: Banquet at the Sword Emperor’s Castle (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: Banquet at the Sword Emperor’s Castle (9)
The Red Jade he pulled from his robes began to glow.
[Myaaa!]
As Jin climbed onto Shuri’s back, Ron cleared a path for them.
Swaaaaash!
Ron’s massive wave of sword energy swept through the monsters ahead in a single stroke. Blood and flesh erupted like fountains, and Shuri bolted through the carnage.
Seeing this, Murakan instantly descended and transformed into his human form. He appeared like a black wind rushing toward Jin.
“Kid, where are you going?”
“I have to find Veradin.”
“Why him?”
“The terrorists are Kinzelo. Their goal is to spark hostility between Hairan and Zipple.”
Murakan tilted his head for a moment, then understanding dawned in his eyes.
“Hmm, I get the gist of it.”
“Did you see Veradin from above?”
“No, I didn’t see him up there.”
“Go back up and check. If you see him, let me know immediately. If not, keep managing the airspace.”
“You’re going to look for him alone? Who knows what kind of monster might pop out next.”
“They can’t afford to leave evidence, so there shouldn’t be anyone on Verakt's level. If I run into something I can’t handle, I’ll send a signal.”
“Got it.”
Murakan returned to his true form and soared back into the sky.
Jin watched for a moment, but no signal came. Veradin had already left the battlefield.
‘There were terrorists in the spectator seats as well. Veradin must have been trying to escape them.’
Who had been sitting near Veradin?
The masked members of the Imperial Family had been the closest. As the heir to Zipple, Veradin was naturally entitled to a seat of honor beside the royals, even in the Viment Empire.
The most logical conclusion was that Veradin was fleeing an attack from them.
At the front of the battlefield, where the outer wall had crumbled, stood Jin, Rata, and Ron. Since that was the only exit besides the internal passages, there was no chance Veradin had escaped that way.
‘Kinzelo took advantage of the fact that the Imperial Family always wears masks.’
Jin turned Shuri around.
He was certain he needed to check inside the castle first, rather than along the outer walls.
However, he couldn't use the normal passageways. They were completely clogged with warriors trying to evacuate the guests.
Without hesitation, Jin coated his sword in aura.
Slice!
With a single strike, the thick wall was cut through like a sheet of paper.
The warriors at the rear had been busy fending off swarming monsters and protecting the guests. Furthermore, the psychological pressure of damaging the Sword Emperor’s Castle had prevented them from simply carving out a new path.
Thud!
The square-cut section of the wall fell over with a heavy thud.
“Use this path!”
Leaving those words behind, Jin was the first to exit the Central Training Ground.
The castle's interior was just as chaotic. Servants ran frantically as bio-golems that had infiltrated from the outer walls appeared one by one.
Just as a bio-golem was about to pounce on a group of servants, Shuri leaped forward and swung her forepaw.
As the monster’s head exploded, the servants screamed, their faces turning pale.
“Thank you…!”
“Has anyone seen Veradin?”
“Wh-who do you mean?”
“Veradin Zipple. He has long white hair and is wearing a white coat.”
“I haven't seen him.”
“Wait, Sir Jin! I haven't seen Lord Veradin, but things are chaotic over by the castle’s ceramic warehouse.”
They were the servants in charge of the warehouse.
“Tell me more.”
“We heard that a terrorist attack had started at the Central Training Ground and were trying to spread the word. But suddenly, an explosion went off in the warehouse, so we fled.”
“We don't know for sure, but the explosion seemed to be caused by magic. Guards went in to check, but we haven't heard anything since.”
It seemed he had found a clue the moment he stepped inside.
“Which way is the warehouse?”
“I will take you there myself!”
“I can’t guarantee your safety while I’m dealing with the situation. Just draw me a map.”
The servant hurriedly pulled paper and a pen from his pocket and sketched a rough map.
“Here it is.”
“More warriors will be out soon. Don’t move from this spot, and wait for them.”
Following the map, Jin headed straight for the ceramic warehouse.
The ceramic warehouse was one of the largest in the Sword Emperor’s Castle. It was where over ninety percent of the ceramics collected by Ron and the previous patriarchs over the last hundred years were stored.
The entrance to that warehouse was completely destroyed.
Embers smoldered here and there.
‘This isn't an ordinary fire; it’s a trace of fire magic. At least 9-star at that.’
Veradin’s primary affinity was fire.
As he stepped inside, ceramic shards crunched under Shuri’s paws.
He also saw traces of magic other than fire.
Earth, Ice, Lightning.
And Darkness.
Globules of pitch-black mana, like dark beads, were scattered on the floor. He hadn't seen much dark magic, but he couldn’t imagine what else could take such a form.
‘The Dark Magic Association was completely annihilated. Where did Kinzelo find mages like this?’
It was unlikely that renowned archmages would participate in an attack on Hairan. Besides, mages like Chukon Tolderer, Susan Lilista, and Kidad Hall were already dead.
Either Kinzelo had more unknown mages within their ranks, or they had an accomplice.
For now, finding Veradin was the priority. Since it was clear a fierce battle had already taken place, every second counted.
Only broken ceramics and debris remained; it seemed Veradin and the Kinzelo terrorists had already moved on.
‘There were no signs of a struggle beyond the entrance. There must be another passage leading deeper into the warehouse.’
The map also showed a passage inside the warehouse.
It was a long, dark tunnel. Even after riding Shuri for some time, the path seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Jin reined Shuri to a halt when he discovered corpses. The three bodies belonged to Veradin’s personal guards, whom he had seen at the banquet.
While it wasn't all of his guards, it was enough to guess that Veradin was being pushed into a corner.
The passage opened up to a drainage channel. The ceramic warehouse passage had been one of the escape routes prepared for emergencies.
Behind him, the dark sky was tinged with spirit energy. The distant roar of explosions and shockwaves from the battlefield signaled that the fierce fighting was still ongoing.
Which way should he go?
No footprints were visible. There were too many obstacles to determine the path using earth or wind magic.
While he was deliberating, a streak of crimson light flared in the distance.
It was a familiar light, one that often appeared when a Flame Orb exploded—it was definitely Veradin’s magic.
The moment he saw it, however, Jin was forced to conclude that Veradin was already injured.
The magic felt too unstable and weak to be the work of Veradin, who had already reached the 9-star rank.
“Let’s go, Shuri!”
[Myanyanya!]
He finally spotted Veradin on a plain.
Veradin, along with his two remaining guards, was fighting mages in gray robes and the bio-golems they controlled.
“Veradin!”
At Jin’s voice, Veradin turned his head.
“...Jin!?”
Crackle!
The bio-golems surrounding Veradin exploded as lightning summoned by Jin struck them down.
Jin slipped through the gap and checked Veradin's condition.
Blood trickled from his lips, and his body was covered in wounds. Fortunately, none were fatal, but the bleeding was severe enough that he would have likely died if the battle had continued much longer.
“I knew you’d come,” Veradin said with a faint smile.
Those words felt strangely significant.
“Knew what? You’re the idiot getting beaten by trash like this.”
“They're surprisingly strong. I'm starting to wonder if there were mages like this that I never knew about. At first, I really thought they were my aunt's subordinates.”
At that moment, a question flashed through Jin’s mind.
‘Is Veradin actually in his right mind right now?’
Whether he was or not, Jin still had to save him. But a strange thought suddenly occurred to him.
Why hadn't Veradin sent a single distress signal this whole time?
Even if he didn't have a flare on him for a banquet, he could have easily sent a signal with magic. Even if he was disoriented after being attacked by the disguised royals in the spectator seats, he could have just shouted. There were plenty of other warriors near Veradin who could have helped him.
‘If his mind is being manipulated, then this whole situation was staged. Hairan falling into chaos would benefit Zipple in many ways.’
On second thought, the traces of magic left throughout the ceramic warehouse also felt artificial, as if left there intentionally. In particular, the fact that traces of dark magic were left so conspicuously bothered him.
It was as if they were left as evidence—proof that Veradin had struggled alone against users of dark magic, right here in the Sword Emperor's Castle, a place teeming with warriors.
However, the Veradin who let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Jin was unmistakably the familiar white-haired idiot.
‘I can't be sure. Just like at the banquet hall.’
Jin turned and faced the Gray Robes.
They had briefly stopped their attack upon Jin’s appearance, and though their faces were hidden by hoods, they seemed flustered.
“Veradin Zipple.”
“Yeah, Jin.”
“Why didn't you send a distress signal?”
“There was no time. I was ambushed in my seat and was too busy trying to escape.”
It was the expected answer.
And Jin concluded that Veradin’s mind was, at the very least, not completely sound.
“Jin Runcandel, 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel, has come to rescue you under the special orders of Lord Ron Hairan, the Lord of the Sword Emperor’s Castle. Make sure you remember this fact. Do you understand?”
“...I understand. I owe Lord Ron a debt.”
“Stay back with your guards and recover. I’ll handle these guys.”
As Jin gathered his aura, small stones on the plain began to float into the air. The Gray Robes, in turn, began releasing their mana once more.
‘They’re definitely inferior to the Wraith Squad.’
Still, these were four mages skilled enough to imitate the Wraith Squad.
‘If they really intended to kill Veradin, the Gray Robes inside the Sword Emperor's Castle would have been enough to do the job. Instead, they only sent enough pursuers to ensure Veradin could barely escape after a desperate fight—all by design.’
If four mages were at a level that Veradin could fight and escape from… then they were no match for Jin.
He just had to be careful of the dark magic, which was still unknown territory for him.
“Don't even think about any of you returning alive.”
As Sigmund began to glow, mana swirled and gathered above Jin’s palm.
The legacy of the archmage Kidad Hall.
This was the mana required to manifest Heaven Reversal.