Chapter 627: Return (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 627: Return (4)
"Beast Demon King Orgal…"
Jin glared at the hazy landscape beyond the iron gate. He couldn't see Orgal's physical form—only a distorted, blurry shimmer in the space beyond.
[To think you'd vanish for two and a half years only to reappear in the Great Desert. It seems the Pluto Tribe's hideout, the one your god saved, was hidden here all along. And the moment you return, you drive my loyal subordinate to the brink of death…]
"If you don't like it, why don't you step through that gate right now? I've just finished warming up, thanks to him."
[You've grown too strong to kill so easily. Besides, there is no reason to.]
Naturally, Kinzelo had no reason to kill Jin. He was the single best card they had for keeping Runcandel and Zipple in check.
Orgal's answer confirmed it for Jin: the tense balance between the great powers remained intact.
"Keep using me to keep your enemies in check. One day, it'll be the reason you're all annihilated."
[Given your track record, that's a distinct possibility. But don't you worry. We'll make our own preparations.]
"That sounded more like a warning than a reassurance."
[A terrifying thought, isn't it?]
"I don't know if you're just confident or if you had no choice but to save that demon, but you've made a mistake. You just showed me you haven't fully recovered your strength. You'd better pray saving Lanke's life was worth it."
A brief silence followed.
Deciding there was no more value in talking, Jin turned his back first. As he walked away, Orgal's voice called out one last time.
[You have many mountains to cross before you can face me. I, for one, look forward to you surviving until that day.]
As Jin vanished into the winds of Chaos, Orgal immediately opened another steel gate. It led to Kinzelo's old headquarters—the very place where Ainas and Bubar had been idly chatting while Lanke met his defeat.
"It's the Leader!"
"Leader? What's happened?"
[Lanke was defeated by Jin.]
"What? Lanke? Jin Runcandel was there?!"
"Lord Lanke was defeated… by him?"
"He's not dead, is he?"
[I saved him just in time. Now, gather all important documents left in the headquarters. Quickly. How many Artisan's Masterpieces are here?]
"Five. No, wait, was it four?"
[However many there are, bring them through the gate along with yourselves. Nothing else. Order all other members to evacuate to their assigned branches. As of this moment, this headquarters is permanently closed.]
"I don't know how he beat Lord Lanke, but he must be exhausted from the fight. Shouldn't we take this chance to deal with him—"
[Jin is not tired, and the risk is far too great. Now hurry.]
Ainas and Bubar scrambled to pack the documents. Soon, four Artisan's Masterpieces passed through the iron gate.
While they evacuated, Jin left the Mitra Great Desert and began systematically destroying every contaminated area in the Land of the Beastmen. He continued his rampage for a full twelve hours.
In the process, all the contaminated zones outside the Great Desert were reduced to ash. Kinzelo's old headquarters, hidden deep underground, was pulverized into dust.
* * *
In the Tikan Free State of the Barmul Alliance, Casimir and Jin's companions were gathered, listening to a report from the Seven-Colored Bird. The news was of massive destruction in the contaminated zones of the Land of the Beastmen, including Kinzelo's old headquarters.
Large and small battles between various powers had frequently erupted in the region until about a year ago, when all parties agreed to use it as a joint waste disposal site.
However, those who understood the intricacies of the conflict knew that Kinzelo had been the true victor. Though it was officially a joint disposal site, sole management of the Great Desert had been left to Kinzelo's demon, Lanke. Neither Zipple nor Runcandel had been able to station their own people there.
Because the Great Desert was under Lanke's control, Tikan had been making constant efforts to discover what Kinzelo was doing there—all for Jin's sake. They feared that if the first thing Jin encountered upon leaving Laprarosa was Lanke and the forces of Kinzelo, his return could become a disaster.
It was also deeply unsettling how the great powers had fought so fiercely over the Great Desert, even conducting unofficial battles that violated ceasefire agreements. If they had somehow discovered Jin was in Laprarosa and were planning to ambush him upon his return, Tikan had to be ready.
Runcandel's motives should have been different from Zipple's or Kinzelo's. After all, as soon as Jin began his seclusion, the clan had announced that their next patriarch was undergoing his final training. It stood to reason that they would want to secure the Great Desert for his safety.
However, the recent atmosphere Tikan had sensed from Runcandel was unusual. It was so strange that they couldn't rule out the possibility that even the Runcandels were trying to secure the Great Desert to eliminate Jin.
The Seven-Colored Bird's informants only knew that a major incident had occurred in the Land of the Beastmen; they had no details on the battle itself.
"A large amount of lightning energy was detected… Casimir, could it be Young Master Jin?" Valkas asked.
"That would be ideal, but the power was enough to lay waste to the entire region. It's more likely a battle between factions, not a single individual," Casimir replied in frustration. Valkas and Gilly sighed.
Three years. Even if Jin had reached 10-star in that time, it was hard to imagine him destroying the entire region by himself. And Lanke was there—the demon who had shown overwhelming power in countless battles against Runcandel and Zipple in the Great Desert. Tikan had confirmed reports of him defeating both Black Knights and members of the Wraith Squad.
"If the contaminated zones and the old headquarters were all destroyed, it means Kinzelo lost," Casimir muttered. "Authority over the Great Desert will now pass to the victor."
Runcandel or Zipple. Either one would be more problematic than Kinzelo. Unlike Kinzelo, they would offer no room for negotiation.
"Sigh… If they've confirmed Laprarosa's existence, we need to find out how."
"The worst-case scenario is that Young Master Jin was ambushed the moment he left Laprarosa," Gilly said, her voice tight. "We can speculate all day, but we won't know for sure until we go and see for ourselves."
The air in the conference room grew heavy. Tikan was currently suffering from a severe shortage of manpower. While Quaul's abilities had perfectly fortified the city, Murakan was still acting as Solderet's proxy, and Misha was occupied with sealing Elona.
The biggest problem was Ghost Song Castle. All of Tikan's heavy hitters, except for Valkas, were currently on standby near the castle. They couldn't ask the Secret Palace or Nameless for help, either. Talaris's internal injuries from the Sword Emperor Holy War, much like Ron's, showed no signs of healing. Even Yona, who had visited Tikan occasionally after Jin left, had abruptly ceased all contact. They couldn't rule out the possibility that her Chaos was running rampant.
"It's too dangerous for Sir Valkas to go alone. I'll go to my family and Hairan to ask for help," Gilly said.
"Runcandel is out of the question, Gilly. It's too dangerous," Casimir countered. "It's better to only try Hairan."
"Your Majesty!"
Someone shouted urgently and burst into the conference room. It was Jet. The moment they saw his ecstatic expression and the figure standing calmly behind him, the tension in the room shattered. They could finally breathe.
"Young Master Jin!"
"My Lord…!"
"Young Master…!"
"Hah! Our master! Our master has finally returned!"
Gilly was the first to move, rushing forward to embrace Jin. He smiled, patting her back for a long moment.
"I'm back, Gilly."
"Young Master, I'm so relieved you've returned safely…! But these wounds…"
Traces of battle were evident all over Jin's body.
"Ah, a guy named Lanke attacked me as soon as I left Laprarosa. I couldn't finish him because Orgal saved him at the last second."
His companions could only stare in shock, their previous worries suddenly seeming absurd.
"L-Lanke Halovice? Then the destruction in the Land of the Beastmen… you did that all by yourself, Young Master!?"
Then, as Gilly examined Jin's condition, she noticed that the black spots of Chaos covering his body were completely gone. He had also become incomparably stronger.
"It seems we were worrying for nothing, Sir Casimir."
"It certainly seems so… Young Master Jin, what in the world did you do for three years? In any case, I'm so glad you've returned safely!"
"There's much to tell and much to hear. But first, I need to head to Ghost Song Castle."
On his way to the conference room, Jin had gotten the details about Ghost Song Castle from Jet. The seal on Smarion Prochi—father of Rata and Fey, and the legendary Ghost Captain once hailed as the strongest in the Ghost Corps' history—was on the verge of breaking. That was why all of Tikan's available forces were stationed there.
"We can talk on the way. Sir Casimir can't leave his post, so for now, it'll just be me, Gilly, and Sir Valkas."
"What, Jin Runcandel? You just got back?"
Quaul entered the conference room. He had come to report his research progress to Casimir, completely unaware of Jin's return. Judging by the cigarette dangling from his lips, his recent work had been difficult; he was an even heavier smoker than before.
"I trust you haven't been smoking five cigarettes at once around the children, Lord Quaul," Jin said dryly.
"Hmph. I'm not a complete savage. Looks like you brought some souvenirs back from the Pluto Tribe."
"Analyze these for me while I'm at Ghost Song Castle. I brought back some blueprints you're going to lose your mind over. We can talk about your other research when I get back."
"Yeah, alright. Perfect timing. I finished a new airship about a month ago. Take it. Its performance should surprise you. Consider it the answer to your question about my research."