Chapter 488: Siblings United (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 488: Siblings United (5)
Jin, Murakan, Dipus, and Joshua pulled the masks hanging around their necks up over their faces.
Kuzuzuzuk—! Kwak!
Barely a minute had passed, yet the clamor and vibrations of battle had already grown significantly louder.
Now that the decision was made, they had to move as quickly as possible. Reinforcements from Drakka and the 2nd Magic Tower could arrive at any second.
"The situation has changed, so we'll skip gathering intel and regrouping. Upon entry, we scatter immediately. The Black Knights and I will handle Sectors 4 and 11, while the 4th and 12th Flagbearers take Sectors 17 and 19."
Sectors 4 and 11 were relatively farther from the 2nd Magic Tower than Sectors 17 and 19. Joshua was as cautious as ever. Even amidst this chaos, he was throwing a feint, trying to keep Jin and Dipus preoccupied with the 2nd Magic Tower.
"Once you either secure the ship blueprints or destroy their most vital resources, your priority is to survive and return to the main estate. Furthermore, if you judge the likelihood of being captured or killed to be high, prioritize your escape above all else. All other decisions are left to your individual discretion."
"Understood."
Joshua extended his fist toward Jin and Dipus. The two stared at it for a moment before lightly bumping their fists against his.
"I wish you luck, my brothers."
"I never thought I'd see the day you'd wish us luck, brother," Dipus said. "Well, if everyone makes it back safely, let's all share that celebratory drink we promised the youngest."
"Good luck to you as well, Second Flagbearer," Jin replied.
Joshua and the Black Knights were the first to step through the tunnel and into the shipyard. Jin, Murakan, and Dipus watched their retreating backs for a moment.
"Ha! Kid, if you hadn't jabbed me in the ribs, I would've rearranged his jaw right then and there. He talks down to me just because I told him to make a decision? A mere Second Flagbearer? I swear, Murakan has gone soft. I think that every time something like this happens. And he didn't even wish me luck, did he?"
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for holding back."
"Lord Murakan, that guy's head will be rolling on the floor before dawn anyway," Dipus added.
"Exactly. He's as good as dead."
"Youngest, I take back everything I said yesterday about being disappointed. It turned out exactly as you predicted. Though Kinzelo acting out of turn was unexpected."
Testing Joshua was no longer necessary, but they still needed to properly assess the situation upon entering.
I need to carefully time our actions with Kinzelo's raid on the 2nd Magic Tower. Moving too much faster or slower than them will cause problems. Crucially, I have to make my move after Joshua.
The key was to strike at the most opportune moment, while Kinzelo and Joshua were fighting over the 2nd Magic Tower.
The time for improvisation had begun.
"Reinforcements will arrive within thirty minutes at the latest," Jin said. "Or perhaps they’ve already arrived."
Given the distance, it would take at least thirty minutes for dragons flying at full speed to reach the Sota Desert.
"If that cube you mentioned is here, that could be the case," Dipus said.
The Spacetime Device. The mysterious cube Midore Elner had used in the Gaifa Archipelago.
Jin had already shared what he knew about it with Dipus. Since every survivor from the Gaifa Archipelago had witnessed the Spacetime Device firsthand, there was no point in keeping the information to himself.
"I think it's highly likely there's one in the shipyard as well. It's not impossible that Joshua heard about it from Brother Vigo or Mother while he was here, so it's best to assume he's operating with that in mind."
Zipple was well aware that the other three great powers knew about the Spacetime Device, so they no longer had a reason to hide it.
There was a specific reason Sandra Zipple had been so furious when Midore Elner, blinded by revenge, used the Spacetime Device in the Gaifa Archipelago.
It was a technology intended to be revealed for the first time at a much more critical moment—for instance, during a direct strike on Runcandel’s main estate or while forcing one of the other great powers to its knees. Midore had simply assumed no evidence would be left behind, as he planned to kill Jin and all his other enemies.
"In any case, we'll have to team up with Kinzelo for a moment," Jin declared.
Instead of heading to the sectors Joshua had assigned them, Jin decided they would slaughter Zipples alongside Kinzelo first.
"We need to take out as many as possible, especially those from the 2nd Magic Tower, the moment we see them."
"Because that will reduce the number of troops that can return once we enter the 2nd Magic Tower? Assuming a cube exists there as well," Dipus reasoned.
As Dipus noted, they needed to thin out Zipple's forces as much as possible precisely because of the Spacetime Device.
Kinzelo was carrying out this large-scale terror attack because they knew this as well. It wasn't just a distraction to make entering the 2nd Magic Tower easier.
"Exactly."
"Ah, my head hurts! So, kid, your point is basically this, right? We go in and kill every Zipple in sight," Murakan grumbled.
"That’s the gist of it, but don't transform into your true form. Save your strength. If it gets out that you or I are here, the caliber of the reinforcements might change. Anyway, let's go."
The tunnel led to Sector 6 of the shipyard.
Upon entering, the first things they saw were collapsed facilities, roaring fires spreading everywhere, and members of the Red Tiger Tribe massacring administrators while laughing crudely like third-rate villains.
"Die, die! You tasteless humans!"
"As of today, Kinzelo takes over this place!"
"P-please, spare me!"
Jin’s group hid among the machinery, pillars, and pipes to observe them for a moment. Joshua’s party seemed to have already moved on.
Impressive, Zipple.
Even though it was broken and burning, the sheer scale of the underground shipyard was startling to see in person. Sector 6 alone was filled with countless parts and mechanical devices.
At a glance, there seemed to be dozens of identical components, which meant they were mass-producing at least that many ships.
"I was shocked when I first saw this myself. Even if these ships only have half the power of the Kozec, if they're mass-produced by the dozens like this, the world will belong entirely to Zipple before long," Dipus whispered, as if reading Jin’s mind.
"No need to be so intimidated, Dipus Runcandel. I finished off a completed version of one of those with a single breath," Murakan snorted.
Unlike the scoffing Murakan, a heavy weight settled in Jin's mind.
Once I return, I must analyze the Spacetime Device as quickly as possible. Even if we can't match the Kozec, our clan must acquire mobile summoning technology—or at least the means to counter it—as soon as possible.
The reason Murakan had been able to destroy the Kozec with a single breath in the Gaifa Archipelago was partly because his power had recovered to fifty percent.
But it was also because the mages aboard that Kozec hadn't been particularly high-level. A flying ship's power was directly influenced by the mana and magical proficiency of its crew.
If the mages on those mass-produced ships were from the Wraith Squad or Zipple’s top elite, the outcome would have been entirely different.
His chest felt tight, as if pressed by a heavy boulder.
...There's no need to be impatient. I just have to catch up. I will.
If only he could recover all of Temar’s legacies and break the curse etched into the clan’s blood. If only he could restore the majesty of the Old Runcandel.
"By the way," Dipus said, "it's strange. How did Joshua and his Black Knights have no idea the information had leaked?"
"You mean the operation time? I agree it's no coincidence that Kinzelo attacked right now. But there's no way there's a spy among the Black Knights Joshua brought. He must be going crazy trying to figure out the source of the leak."
"Is there any chance there was a spy among the Enforcement Knights?"
"No. Even if there were, none of the Enforcement Knights knew the exact time of the operation. The control was perfect."
"Since Joshua wouldn't have leaked it himself, it means someone stole the information from the campsite while evading the watch of Joshua, you, and two Black Knights."
"The operation orders never left Joshua's person, so that's nearly impossible. Besides, he was never alone; at least one Black Knight was with him even when he slept. When you put it like that, it's as if a ghost paid him a visit..."
Dipus cut himself off as something suddenly occurred to him.
At that moment, the same thought—and the same name—flashed through Jin’s mind.
"Could it be?"
"Yona...?"
Yona Runcandel.
There were only a handful of people in the world capable of such a feat, and among them, Yona was undoubtedly the best.
Thinking of their youngest sister at the same time, the two men felt an inexplicable chill.
"No, wait. That can't be right," Dipus said, shaking his head. "Yona would only get involved if Mother personally commissioned Nameless. But why would Mother hide that from Joshua?"
Given the timeline, it wasn't impossible for Yona to be here. However, Jin thought that if his youngest sister had known about the shipyard, she would have given him a hint when she visited Tikan.
"She wouldn't," Jin agreed.
"...Then is it Lord Oul, the Nameless King?"
"I agree. If Nameless is involved, it's more likely to be the Nameless King than Sister Yona. Kinzelo probably commissioned Nameless, not Mother."
"Right. And regardless of the commission, Nameless wouldn't use Yona to steal information from Runcandel. If Lord Oul and the top assassins from Nameless were involved, it would be possible."
Of course, they couldn't conclude anything hastily. Even if they left no traces, there weren't many reasons for the strictly neutral Nameless to get involved in such a sensitive matter.
"Hmm. Even if Nameless was here, they likely won't interfere any further," Dipus mused. "In the end, the situation doesn't seem too bad for us, so we don't need to worry about it too much."
"You're right. They probably just handed the intel to Kinzelo and withdrew. Let's move toward Sector 17 and the 2nd Magic Tower. We should check the situation in the other sectors as we go."
The group began to move, leaving behind the sight of the Red Tiger Tribe massacring the shipyard administrators in Sector 6.
But I still have a strange feeling. Did she really come...? No, surely not. It's just my imagination. Even if she did, she would have just handed the intel to Kinzelo and returned to Samil, just as Dipus suggested.
Feeling uneasy, Jin opened his Mind's Eye to its limit and sharpened his senses to scan the surroundings, but naturally, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
He could not have imagined that a woman was watching him from the shadows, a wide smirk playing on her lips.