Chapter 428: Elders in Crisis (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 428: Elders in Crisis (2)
‘What on earth is happening?’
‘He must be truly insane…!’
The Elders barely managed to hide their sheer terror.
Pale, severed heads were strewn across the long table.
As if annoyed by the sight, Jin swept several heads aside with his hand and placed a contract in their place.
“I brought copies, just in case. It wouldn't hurt for you all to read it. Consider it a reference for what you'll need to pay the next time you hire assassins—at least on the level of the Wraith Squad—if you want to kill me.”
Somehow, none of them could bring themselves to snap at the crazed 12th Flagbearer. It felt as if stones were lodged in their throats, and the heavy, stagnant air of the meeting hall was suffocating.
In stark contrast, Jin continued with a gentle smile.
“Ah, of course, that’s just the minimum cost. If you only pay that much and aren't particularly lucky, this is exactly how you'll end up.”
The room fell so silent that the sound of breathing seemed to echo.
Jin calmly scanned the faces of the Elders, who struggled to meet his gaze, their eyes darting about nervously.
These were, without a doubt, the Elders of Runcandel.
They were men who had been hailed as geniuses since childhood, surviving long enough as Runcandel cadets and knights to achieve countless feats before finally earning their proud seats in the Garden of Swords.
The reason they were frozen in place wasn't simply because of the monstrous martial prowess Jin had recently displayed.
When it came to fighting, they had seen more than their fair share of overwhelmingly powerful warriors.
But there was something distinctly different about Jin.
It was something that couldn't be explained away by his excellent martial skill or his unimaginable audacity.
It was like looking at a wall.
A wall that could never be scaled, no matter the attempt, and could never be broken, no matter the effort.
In Jin, the Elders saw a young Cyron.
And yet, even if they saw a glimpse of Cyron in him, Jin was not Cyron. Cowering in fear was something they, as Runcandel Elders, simply could not do.
“You madman! 12th Flagbearer, do you have any idea what you've just done? How dare you spout such nonsense in this sacred place!”
“I see not a shred of respect for the family's Elders! You claim the deceased tried to kill you? And you bring a mere scrap of paper as evidence? After murdering ten of our own…!”
“This is an insult to the Elder Council! What you have done is treason against the family!”
As if a dam had burst, the Elders leaped to their feet, screaming. Their faces, distorted with rage, looked ready to devour Jin whole.
The killing intent radiating from the Elders was enough to make one's skin crawl, but to Jin, such energy was now a trivial matter.
“Respect, insult, treason.”
Pfft…
A scoff escaped his lips.
It wasn't a forced laugh meant to provoke them further. Jin genuinely found their words hilarious.
It made him sick to his stomach that he shared the name ‘Runcandel’ with these old, rotten men.
“You’re laughing? You’ve lost your mind…!”
“You rotten ghosts of a bygone era, do you have no shame?”
Once again, the Elders could only blink, their eyes wide. It felt as if they had been struck in the head with a heavy club.
“You want me to respect you? You tell me not to insult Runcandel?”
This time, Jin’s expression twisted into a furious snarl.
His eyes blazed with a thick, vivid killing intent, yet his mouth was still smiling, making him look like a man possessed.
“The ones insulting Runcandel—this glorious name forged in struggle—are you! It makes me sick to my stomach that I share a name with people like you, who do nothing but sit on your ancient thrones and feast on the dregs of decaying power.”
“12th Flagbearer!”
“Shut up, before I put your head on this table too. From now on, you will listen to what I have to say.”
The Elders looked ready to draw their swords, but Lin Milkano, the Guardian Association President, raised a hand to restrain them.
Though she maintained her composure, her hand was trembling slightly—a tremor born of both rage and a chilling thrill.
She was one of the few who had witnessed Jin’s majesty up close during his ‘Patriarch Declaration.’
“Do not forget the essence of this situation,” Jin's voice cut through the tension. “The reason I killed these Elders and am humiliating them now is because they lost their fight against me. If this fills you with resentment, then you should defeat and crush me too. By any means necessary!”
A Rank War.
That was how Jin viewed his struggle with the Elders.
Not as a fight between one Flagbearer and another, but as a fight between Runcandel and Runcandel.
Amidst the renewed silence, Jin’s heavy breathing stood out.
As the bloodshot veins in his eyes receded, his breathing steadied. Jin returned to his usual stoic expression.
“I hope… that in the future, you will show me something worth fighting, Elders.”
Having said his piece, Jin turned and left the meeting hall without waiting for a response.
The Elders stared at the spot where Jin had vanished, speechless, all sharing the same emotions.
Defeat, disgrace, and fury.
“Sigh… After the last commotion, the Elder Council Head said the 12th Flagbearer would have much to do for the family… but this has gone too far. We need a countermeasure immediately. We cannot let him run wild like this forever.”
“The 12th Flagbearer has gone completely mad! First, we must prepare the funerals for the fallen Elders, then report this to the Elder Council Head and the Acting Patriarch. This is a matter that requires severe punishm—”
Clack, clack!
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the hallway.
It was the Black Panther, Rosa Runcandel.
“There is no need for you to report this to me separately, Elders. I have already heard and seen everything.”
As Rosa entered the meeting hall, the Elders stood and bowed their heads.
Though her face was expressionless, they did not miss the dangerous atmosphere radiating from her.
‘She must have run into the 12th Flagbearer on his way out, yet the Acting Patriarch took no action?’
‘It’s impossible that the Acting Patriarch and the 12th Flagbearer have joined forces… but I have a bad feeling about this.’
Just as the Elders suspected, Jin had crossed paths with Rosa on his way out, but mother and son had passed each other without a single word or even a glance.
Like two apex predators avoiding a fight at an unfavorable time.
Rosa looked down at the heads on the table.
An aura as white and brilliant as the sun formed in her palm. Without a moment's hesitation, she unleashed it, erasing the heads of the dead Elders.
There was no splatter of blood, bone, or flesh. The heads simply evaporated under the clean heat radiating from her hand.
The Elders could only watch in renewed horror.
‘The Acting Patriarch can't have fully recovered from her internal injuries yet… What kind of realm is this?’
‘She's gained a new enlightenment. It has to be…! This is like looking at the Patriarch's sword.’
The realm of complete annihilation.
What Rosa had just displayed was certainly similar to the realm Cyron had reached, though it wasn't exactly the same.
Rosa herself felt that distinction most keenly.
‘After taking that blow the youngest threw with all his soul… I have finally achieved a new enlightenment after so long. And yet, the realm you have reached is still infinitely far away, Patriarch.’
Having been heavily wounded by Jin's sword, Rosa had been able to break through another wall. Regardless of its power, the sword Jin had swung that day had shocked her more than any blade she had ever faced in her life.
Today was the first time she had revealed the results to the Elders.
“Congratulations, Acting Patriarch! You have reached a new domain.”
“In these turbulent times for the family, such a joyous occasion… You must not have fully recovered yet, but what incredible power.”
As soon as the Elders began to offer their congratulations, Rosa’s eyes turned to ice.
They felt a chill seep into their very bones under that gaze.
“What, exactly, did you hope to achieve by reporting the 12th Flagbearer's actions to me, Elders?”
The smiles on the Elders’ faces froze instantly.
“Did you expect me to punish the 12th Flagbearer on behalf of the Elder Council?”
“Acting Patriarch, that is…”
“Or did you hope I would become your shield, to prevent the 12th Flagbearer from harming the Council any further?”
They couldn't answer.
They couldn't bring themselves to say no. Their wrinkled faces flushed red with unbearable shame.
“Guardian Association President, you answer.”
When Rosa singled her out, Lin took a steadying breath.
“There is nothing wrong with the Acting Patriarch’s words. This old woman is simply filled with shame.”
“From this day forward,” Rosa said, her gaze sweeping across the Elders, “the Elder Council must prove its own worth. If you show me such a disappointing display one more time, I will dissolve the Elder Council until the Patriarch returns.”
“N-No, Acting Patriarch! What are you saying?”
“Dissolve the Elder Council? That is far too—”
—unreasonable.
The Elder who started to speak never finished his sentence.
Slash—!
A blade of aura shot from Rosa's palm, splitting him in half.
Fsssh…
Instead of blood, shimmering white particles flowed from the cut, staining the air. When the particles finally dissipated, the dead Elder's body remained, bisected and cauterized into a bizarre shape.
“I trust no one else here believes that age alone grants you the right to defy my words.”
As Lin Milkano dropped to one knee, the rest of the Elders followed suit, lowering themselves in unison.
Rosa looked down on them.
“Fight to survive, or live like vermin. Depending on your choice, I can be infinitely merciful or infinitely cruel to you and your kin. Remember that.”
At Rosa’s final words, the Elders’ faces turned deathly pale.