Chapter 475: Times of Choice (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 475: Times of Choice (2)
What Dox McLoran saw was a multitude of humans. To be precise, it was a tower—a tower formed from countless human bodies.
It stood at least ten paces high.
The people making up the structure were grotesquely crumpled and folded together, compressed into the shape of large bricks.
Dox had waded through his share of battlefields where blood, bone, and flesh were scattered like garbage, but he had never seen a tower built of men.
Ugh…
Dox reflexively held his breath. The horrific stench of death and the toxic miasma of decay felt as if they would rot his lungs from the inside out. The nausea was almost unbearable.
They’re alive.
The humans distorted into the tower’s bricks—they were all still breathing.
Their spines had been snapped backward to fit the rectangular shape, their necks twisted at unnatural angles, their entire bodies crushed into squares. Yet, somehow, life clung to them.
Wheeze, gasp… Labored breaths issued from all over the tower. With every ragged inhale, the grotesque structure would swell slightly before sinking back down.
And then there were the eyes.
Countless eyeballs were blinking. Some lids simply opened and closed without focus, but others darted with clear intent.
The latter were all struggling to look at Dox.
‘Is this some kind of ancient dark magic? Or a ritual for a descent? Whichever it is…’
This was something that should never be allowed to happen in Huphester—in Runcandel.
Of course, this was an ‘execution ground.’ Most of the humans turned into bricks were likely high-profile criminals, but even so, this was beyond the pale. Dox didn’t care how prisoners died, but this was an act that defiled a land that worshipped martial arts and struggle.
—As soon as you recover, head to Ricalton, a city in southern Huphester. Investigate the truth of what is happening there.
The 12th Flagbearer’s words echoed in his mind.
‘Even as a Black Knight, I knew nothing of Ricalton. The 12th Flagbearer has a lower security clearance than I do, so how did he find out about this place?’
The only logical conclusion was that the 12th Flagbearer possessed an information network that far exceeded expectations. In reality, it was less about Tikan’s intelligence and more of a lucky find from a story Emma had told Jin, but that detail was irrelevant now.
The truly important question in Dox’s mind was: How many people within the clan know about this?
‘And who owns this facility? For what purpose?’
The Patriarch, the Acting Patriarch, the Head of the Black Sword Council, or the top-tier Flagbearers. Only individuals of that rank could operate a facility of this scale in total secrecy. Cyron and Luna were out of the question, and the Head of the Black Sword Council had recently lost his standing.
‘If this belonged to the Head of the Black Sword Council, someone in the Elder Council would have already exposed it to gain an advantage.’
That left the Acting Patriarch and the highest-ranking Flagbearers.
‘It’s most likely the work of Lady Rosa and the 2nd Flagbearer…’
The 3rd and 4th Flagbearers weren't the type for this. Luntia had been living like someone who had given up on the world, and Dipus wouldn’t do it, if only for Mary’s sake.
Rosa and Joshua, however, were different. Above all, Ricalton was Joshua’s territory.
‘After the 1st Flagbearer gave up her claim to the throne, Lady Rosa developed an almost incomprehensible obsession with the 2nd Flagbearer.’
It was a story known to all Black Knights—how she had killed or co-opted everyone who had supported the 1st Flagbearer.
‘A senior even told me once that when the 12th Flagbearer chose Barisada during the Selection Ceremony, there were signs that the Acting Patriarch and the 2nd Flagbearer had contacted mages skilled in curses. He said it was just circumstantial evidence, though.’
His head began to throb.
He remembered that not long after that senior shared the story, he was gravely injured during a mission and forced into retirement.
He had been naive. That was surely no ordinary injury. Dox shook his head.
‘Still, I must return to the 2nd Flagbearer. I need to confirm if this place truly belongs to him and report my findings to the Patriarch…’
The moment Dox reached that conclusion—
Gahahaha, hahahaha!
Sudden laughter erupted from all over the human tower. It was the voices of the people who had become its bricks. Dox instinctively prepared to draw his claws, shifting into a defensive stance.
“Ahahaha!”
Then, a woman’s boisterous laughter rang out. Dox knew at once that this was the manager of the facility.
Click, clack.
A woman walked out from between the human towers.
It was the Prophet.
“Now then, a question for the foolish intruder.”
The Prophet stopped walking. Her face was hidden in deep shadow, but she didn’t seem particularly large and gave off a surprisingly youthful impression.
“What kind of place do you think this is?”
Dox didn’t answer, merely glaring at her. Though she appeared defenseless, he couldn’t bring himself to lash out. His body had frozen solid, like a herbivore before a predator.
A Black Knight of Runcandel, frozen in fear.
“You stupid brat! You look like you haven’t a clue. Then, next question!”
The Prophet held out her palm.
Vroooom…!
Black energy coalesced above it. Solderet’s power—Spirit Energy—radiated from her hand.
“Who do you think this place belongs to?”
The Prophet smirked, and Dox felt as if he’d been struck in the back of the head. Seeing the Spirit Energy, he realized the Prophet was a being closer to Jin than to Joshua.
“I am a kin of Jin Runcandel, the Contractor of Shadows. Therefore, as a Black Knight of Runcandel, you must pay the price for trespassing.”
“…I came here under the orders of the 12th Flagbearer.”
“Ahaha, if that’s true, it seems my master has played another mischievous prank. Regardless, I can't just let you go. Surrender quietly. I’ll have to check with the master. If you resist, I’ll kill you.”
Gahahaha, hahahaha! The human towers burst into laughter as if echoing the Prophet.
Dox was not in peak condition. He had rushed to Ricalton before he was fully recovered, driven by the desire to repay his debt to Jin as quickly as possible.
‘I can’t win a fight in my current state.’
He had to escape.
The moment he made the decision, he spun around to flee. As soon as he moved, the Prophet shook her head in disappointment.
“Tsk, no fun.”
The Prophet reached out, and a violet ray of light shot forth. The instant Dox saw that violet light graze his shoulder, he was thrown back to the Black King Mountain Fortress.
‘This power… it’s almost identical to what that monster, Zephyrin, used!’
A chill shot down his spine. In all his life as a warrior, he had never suffered a defeat as hollow as the one he’d suffered that day.
More violet rays pierced the air, aimed straight for Dox. He managed to dodge or deflect most of them, but a few slipped through his defense.
Unfortunately, the ones he missed were aimed at vital spots. His heart and his neck—certain death.
For some reason, as death loomed, the face that came to mind wasn't one of his comrades in Runcandel but someone entirely unexpected.
Just as he was about to call out that name in his heart—
“Dox, get a grip!”
Clang—!
Someone appeared and deflected the rays flying toward Dox’s heart and neck.
*
“…That is all, Your Majesty.”
The Imperial Palace.
Latz, covered in bandages from head to toe, delivered his report to the Emperor. Despite sending so many men to the Gaifa Archipelago, only five had returned—the ones Jin had intentionally left alive as witnesses.
Even those five had returned with broken bodies. The tendons in Latz’s limbs had been severed, meaning he could no longer serve as a Section Leader of the Special Task Force. He couldn't even move normally anymore.
Unlike Jin, the Prochi siblings felt no qualms about making an enemy’s life as miserable as possible, even if they held no personal grudge.
“It is a pity that the Great Mercenary Amela died… but hmmm, the harvest is quite bountiful.”
Those were the first words the Emperor uttered. The ‘harvest’ he spoke of was twofold.
First, Zipple’s bio-golems and the Demon God Stones.
‘Zipple’s bio-golem technology is indeed more effective than our demonization. To think they can utilize a god’s authority without even being a contractor.’
A shiver of excitement ran through him. The power wielded by the Zipple Clan, the world’s greatest family, never failed to fill him with awe.
“A Demon God Stone… Myuron Zipple must have used that to resurrect!” the Emperor exclaimed, standing from his throne.
Ever since Jin was a reserve flagbearer—no, even before he was born—he had been dying to know the name of that object, the stone the great Zipple Clan had yearned for so desperately.
“Yes, Your Majesty. From what I observed, both Sandra Zipple’s super-regeneration and Myuron’s resurrection were phenomena caused by the Demon God Stone.”
“There must be a price. Furthermore, while it is clearly stronger than demonization, mass production is likely still a distant dream.”
The second harvest was the information on Jin and Murakan.
“Jin Runcandel.”
The Emperor smiled. Though their first meeting had been disappointing, he had never dismissed Jin’s potential. However, he remained convinced that any human who sought ‘friendship’ amid a struggle between the world’s ultimate powers would naturally be weeded out.
Yet, the martial prowess Latz had just described made him wonder if Jin and Murakan might one day become a variable on the level of Cyron. A slim possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.
‘Is this the arrogance of those like Cyron Runcandel or the White Whale? You knew everything regarding Zipple would be reported to me… so why send Latz back alive, Jin Runcandel?’
Was it a provocation? Or did this kind of information simply not matter to him? Either way, the Emperor felt a surge of irritation, feeling as if Jin were looking down on him.
Heh. The Emperor soon let out a light chuckle.
‘Well… my irritation is nothing compared to the pain you will soon feel.’
A cold sneer played on his lips.
Sword Emperor Castle.
He wondered how Jin would react when Hairan, which was slowly being restored, crumbled once again. Since the terror incident at Sword Emperor Castle, the clan had been isolated like a lonely island. Zipple pressured them relentlessly, the Imperial Family offered no protection, and though the Sword Emperor’s dignity was needed more than ever, Ron was reducing his public appearances day by day.
Rumors were already circulating that Hairan might fall. The Emperor had every intention of making those rumors a reality.
“I look forward to seeing how dearly that steel-like man will guard his friendship.”
The Emperor organized his thoughts, not knowing that the very reason Zipple was pressuring Hairan so aggressively was because of Jin.
“Latz.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I am giving you a new mission. As soon as your body has stabilized, go and observe Lord Ron’s movements.”