Chapter 499: Tower Keeper of the White Night (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 499: Tower Keeper of the White Night (5)
*
The day Mary arrived in Tikan at the helm of the Ship Puberty and its fleet, Yona found herself with nowhere to go. She returned directly to Samil, the City of the Nameless.
Upset that her proper walk with her youngest brother had been cut short, she spent the day in a terrible mood, idly browsing the mission lists. She wanted to work, to clear her head. Figuring the more difficult and complex the task, the better the distraction, she focused only on the highest-grade requests and those already slated for rejection.
One of them was a request from Kinzelo.
It was a simple request to steal an item from Zipple’s 2nd Magic Tower, and Oul had every intention of tearing it up.
“Hehe, Lord Oul. Why aren’t you accepting that one?”
“Because it’s the perfect way to get ourselves crushed between two feuding giants.”
“Why?”
Oul patiently began to explain the ominous atmosphere brewing between the great powers, the international situation, the complex web of interests, and the stance Samil ought to maintain amidst it all.
“...And that is why I believe it’s better not to accept this mission. Do you understand?”
“I don’t really get it when you talk about such annoying things. You’re just saying you don’t want to do it, right?”
“So that’s how it sounded. Still, at least you listened. That’s a vast improvement over the days when you’d ignore me completely and just vanish.”
“Hehe. Anyway, it seems like a very important job. I wonder why my family hasn’t come looking for me?”
They’re likely saving you for something even bigger. That, and Lord Cyron gave his orders.
Oul kept the thought to himself, offering only a thin smile.
“Who knows? Whatever the reason, it’s better that they don’t. Especially for a job like this.”
“The Kinzelo Leader made this request personally?”
The Leader of Kinzelo.
Ever since gaining control over Chaos, Yona had developed a mild interest in him. She knew he was intimately familiar with ‘Chaos.’
“What of it?”
“I wanted to meet him at least once.”
“For what reason?”
“I have a few things I’m curious about.”
Oul shrugged.
Though he’d spoken of the risks, Oul wasn’t entirely without his own ambitions regarding the matter.
An item from the 2nd Magic Tower, hm…
Oul was certain the item in question was a ship blueprint. He was already aware that Zipple had been intentionally leaking information about a secret shipyard in the Sota Desert.
If the Nameless could get their hands on those blueprints, it would be an invaluable card to play. It would become the ultimate leverage, allowing them to take the lead in any negotiation between the great powers.
If Yona appears to have acted alone, of her own accord, then it becomes difficult for the great powers to hold Samil accountable.
Runcandel, in particular, would never blame them. In fact, if Yona secured the blueprints, they would likely protect the Nameless and even express their gratitude.
Besides, Yona wouldn’t leave a single trace. Her infiltration and assassination skills had long since surpassed his own.
She’s not the type to listen if I try to stop her… It might not be a bad idea to just let her go this once.
Before Oul could deliberate any further, Yona had already made up her mind.
“I’ll take this request.”
“You will not.”
“I’m going even if you say no, hehe.”
“If you must go… then I have a few conditions.”
After reaching a sort of agreement with Oul, Yona headed for the 2nd Magic Tower. Along the way, she discovered that Joshua, Dipus, and her youngest brother were also involved. From that moment on, Yona’s primary goal shifted from completing the request to ensuring her youngest brother’s survival.
It wasn’t just because her brother looked as vulnerable as a child left alone at the water’s edge, standing in the heart of Zipple territory.
Wow, is it really okay for something like that to be in the 2nd Magic Tower instead of Drakka? Seriously?
While stealing the key from the 2nd Magic Tower, she had seen a monster her brothers could never hope to handle.
*
That was how Yona came to be at the 2nd Magic Tower.
She had been watching Jin and Murakan from the moment they first entered the underground shipyard, searching for the right moment to approach—a moment when she could reach her brother while evading the crystal balls, Hedo’s senses, and Kinzelo’s watchful eyes.
In the end, she failed. Even for Yona, not everything was possible.
Her current appearance was an inevitable, second-best choice. It was by no means the optimal moment to assassinate a monster like Hedo, but she knew that if she didn’t act now, her brother might truly die.
Slash!
Clang!
Yona’s sword, Death, and the longsword Vail crossed, carving sharp trajectories through the air.
Aside from Hedo, the target of her assassination, no one even realized Yona had appeared. It was another testament to the transcendent nature of Hedo’s martial prowess.
Yona-nuna?
Yona?!
The Runcandels’ eyes widened in shock. Her sudden appearance was startling enough, but the result was even more so.
With a single strike, Yona had left a long, deep gash across Hedo’s chest.
Spurt!
Crimson blood erupted from Hedo’s massive frame. It was a far more vicious wound than all the Decisive Techniques and Secret Techniques the group had risked their lives to unleash upon him.
In contrast, Hedo’s counterattack had only managed to snip off the very tips of Yona’s hair. Before anyone knew it, she had already burrowed into his flank and thrust her blade into his side.
“Ugh…!”
Death sank a handspan deep into Hedo’s side before being pulled out.
It was a clean, heavy wound. Normally, one would press the advantage to finish him, but Yona didn’t continue her assault. Instead, she put distance between them.
The extremely brief advantage she had gained by using the ‘Silver Dragon’s Claw’—an item Jin had given to the Nameless in the past—was over.
The assassins of the Nameless had long revered the Silver Dragon’s Claw as a sacred object. When processed in their unique way, it could freeze a target’s perception of time for the span of a single blink.
It was thanks to this sacred object, combined with her peerless assassination arts, that Yona had cut and stabbed Hedo’s body with such ease.
“Youngest, ugh!”
“Nuna!”
As she backed away from Hedo and moved toward Jin, Yona’s legs suddenly buckled. A trail of blood trickled from her lips.
When she had slashed and stabbed with Death, the longsword Vail hadn’t touched her directly, but the force of the energy Hedo had instantaneously unleashed had caused severe internal injuries. The aftereffects of summoning Chaos not long ago had not yet fully faded.
“…It was you!”
The one who stole the blueprints!
Hedo’s eyes flashed as he shot toward Yona like a cannonball.
Murakan blocked his path with Breath and spikes of ice, followed by the other siblings and Jane, who threw themselves in Hedo’s way.
Despite his injuries, Hedo’s monstrous strength was undiminished. Like a wounded beast grown even more ferocious, he charged forward, shrugging off direct hits from spirit energy and Breath, to the group’s absolute horror.
However, Hedo was still human.
He was certainly near the pinnacle of 10-star cultivators, but he had not reached Creation. He was enduring the accumulated damage through sheer force of will.
The Runcandels knew this well.
I have to escape with Yona-nuna!
This would be their first and last chance to shake Hedo. Everyone in the group shared Jin’s thought. Since Yona likely had the blueprints, a safe escape would make this entire incident a victory for Runcandel.
With the pressure of a falling mountain, the longsword Vail descended upon the heads of the gathered siblings.
Rooooar!
The warriors screamed as they clashed their blades against his.
The ankles of the Runcandels who blocked the strike were driven into the floor. Finally, the solid ground that had held firm throughout the fierce battle collapsed entirely.
The ceiling was also obliterated, shattered by the shockwaves from the Runcandels’ parries and Murakan’s rising spikes of energy.
The entire tower was crumbling. Even as they fell, the Runcandels and Hedo exchanged blows in mid-air, leaping off falling debris. Every second, dozens of lines of sword energy intertwined fiercely, consuming the void.
The wounds are deep. A potent poison has seeped in, and they tear wider every time I move.
Hedo gritted his teeth. He had never anticipated the variable that was Yona Runcandel. Had he known of her presence, he would never have fought such a ‘complacent’ battle, as Jin had called it.
In the end, I have no choice but to request support from the main force.
If the Runcandels chose to continue the fight, Hedo was still confident he could defeat them all. But the Runcandels weren’t fools. Flight was the logical next step.
Therefore, Hedo could no longer let the situation slide.
Thump!
Among the falling bodies, Hedo was the first to reach the ground.
Simultaneously, the thick gold ring on his index finger began to glow with strange Rune characters. His ring was an artifact, a signaling device similar to the magic engraved on the staves of the Tower Masters.
The signal was transmitted instantly to Drakka, the heart of the Zipple clan. Before even three seconds had passed, a massive alarm spell was being activated from afar.
I am sorry, My Lady. I can only hope the 12th Flagbearer possesses even greater luck than the rumors suggest. Enough to survive the pursuit of the Drakka main force.
Hedo still didn’t want to kill Jin. But in this situation, if he let the Runcandels go, not only would he fall under suspicion, but Sandra might also suffer for it. It was an unavoidable choice.
Now, Hedo had only one thing left to do.
Eliminate the ‘witnesses’ who had seen him offer to spare Jin. He had already planned to either let them die or handle them himself as a warning to Octavia.
The members of the Wraith Squad were exhausted, either still falling or gasping for breath while wedged in the crevices of the broken tower.
Hedo looked up to locate them and unleash his sword energy, but he paused, tilting his head in confusion as he noticed the sky through the tower’s now-open roof.
The roof definitely hadn’t collapsed. Why is it wide open?
Throughout the fight, Hedo had controlled his power to ensure that even if the tower’s interior was destroyed, the roof would remain intact.
In other words, someone had broken through it from the outside.
And because Hedo had a sinking feeling he knew who the culprit was, he couldn’t help but press a hand to his throbbing forehead.
“HEDOOOOOOOOOO!”
The owner of that incredibly loud, sharp, and hysterical voice was none other than Sandra Zipple.
She had been waiting for Hedo to bring Jin to her, but upon realizing the support signal had been activated, she had smashed through the floor and thrown herself into the battlefield.
“You stupid, useless, muscle-bound pig! Are you crazy?! Have you lost your mind?! Calling the main force?! Are you trying to kill our Jin?!”
After screaming venomously, Sandra locked eyes with Jin, who had just landed on the ground.
“Darling! I’ve been waiting! Where are you going without me? Let’s go together! Together!”
Even in such a desperate situation, hearing Sandra’s words sent a shiver down Jin’s spine.
Yet, at the same time, he felt an instinctive premonition.
A gut feeling that she might just be his greatest asset in escaping this place.