Chapter 703: An Unavoidable Trap (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 703: An Unavoidable Trap (2)
“How bad is the damage?”
“Severe. The capital of the Milkun Kingdom has vanished without a trace. Civilian casualties alone are estimated to be over two hundred thousand.”
The moment he heard the number, Jin wondered if he had misheard.
“…Did you say two hundred thousand?”
If that was true, Dipus had already committed an irreversible massacre.
The Tona brothers, who were listening nearby, clenched their teeth. Mary’s face turned deathly pale, and her fists, clenched so hard to suppress her emotions, trembled violently.
Even if Dipus were to one day break free from the encroachment of chaos, a tragedy of this magnitude could never be undone. That single fact was driving the Runcandel siblings mad.
“…And the number of people taken hostage is at least ten thousand.”
As Casimir continued his somber report, Jin felt as if his entire body were sinking into deep water.
Rosa… that insane monster…!
A massive catastrophe had occurred, carried out by his own brother, who had been twisted into Rosa’s weapon of war.
Jin’s eyes wavered as he looked at Casimir.
“If there are ten thousand hostages, does that mean the Evil God’s chaos dragons and the Black Ships were mobilized?”
“Yes. They reportedly attacked the Lutero Magic Federation simultaneously, all under Lord Dipus’s command. During the assault, they used the Evil God’s power—presumed to be a form of mass teleportation or summoning—to open massive dimensional gates and tunnels.”
The Lutero Magic Federation had failed to mount a proper defense.
Hundreds of Black Ships and thousands of chaos dragons suddenly pouring out of tunnels and dimensional gates were impossible to counter unless one was at the main headquarters in Drakka.
To make matters worse, Dipus had executed a brilliant feint. He first appeared near Drakka, leading a fleet as if to begin a full-scale invasion. Then, while the Zipples were frantically scrambling to mass their forces, he vanished like smoke and began ravaging various regions across the Federation.
One hour.
In just one hour, the army of chaos led by Dipus had inflicted catastrophic damage on the Zipples and successfully escaped. The forces at Drakka simply couldn’t keep up with the chaos army’s mobility.
Dipus’s own martial prowess was another major problem. During the pursuit, Octavia and the Wraith Squad were completely unable to pierce the shroud of chaos energy he emitted.
The world’s greatest clan had been brought to its knees without landing a single proper blow.
The affected areas of the Federation, including the Milkun Kingdom, were now in a state of absolute pandemonium. The chaos energy Dipus left behind lingered like an uncontrolled forest fire, continuing to plunge the survivors into agony.
The fact that the death toll exceeded two hundred thousand meant the number of injured was far greater. Even the Holy Kingdom, which had previously cut off all communication with the Zipples, began dispatching healers the moment they heard the news.
Terror was spreading at an insane speed.
The Zipple territory—once considered the safest sanctuary in the world, no matter what monsters appeared—had been so helplessly violated. Many were now saying that the end of the world at the hands of the Evil God was only a matter of time.
Jin focused on regulating his breathing throughout Casimir’s explanation. He couldn’t afford to be lost in grief. What he needed to do, starting now, was stop Dipus as soon as possible. He had to grasp the situation with a clear head.
“I must go to Drakka immediately. Since the Evil God could attack while I’m away, please activate all defensive systems.”
Now that it was clear Rosa possessed abilities like large-scale teleportation, a battle could break out at any moment.
There must be constraints on such a massive summoning or teleportation ability. She probably uses humans—or perhaps despair—as a resource. Is that why she took hostages? To replenish her power?
The terror experienced by those already living under the Evil God’s direct rule was one thing, but the sudden terror felt by those who believed they were ‘safe’ was another. The despair harvested from the latter would surely be of a different magnitude.
For now, it was impossible to know whether Rosa’s power to move her troops was limited or not.
“Understood, Young Master.”
“And where is Lady Siris?”
“She just returned from the Holy Kingdom.”
“It would be best if you went to Kinzelo yourself with Lady Siris’s help. Also, please check on the Empire. There’s a chance they’ve been attacked as well.”
“I will see to it.”
Jin and Casimir turned and walked away. Mary watched their retreating backs for a moment before turning back toward the treatment room, steeling her crumbling heart.
“A great battle is coming. If you want to fight properly, you must focus on your recovery. You two, get the family’s knights ready.”
“Yes, Sister!”
Even as Jin headed for the Red Owl’s launch site, reports from the Seven-Colored Bird poured in incessantly, updating the damage in real-time. The deaths of so many people, represented only by staggering numbers, felt utterly surreal.
Suddenly, Jin stopped in his tracks.
He was standing in front of Yuria’s room. From behind the closed door, he could hear the sound of stifled sobbing. As the contractor of Az Mil, she must have felt an ominous premonition about this for some time.
Perhaps Yuria already knew how this crisis would end.
Jin gently stroked the door a few times as if to comfort her before turning back toward the launch site.
Whatever future she had seen, he was desperate to create a better one.
*
The Red Owl could not set coordinates for the Zipple main estate. Jin dropped into a forest on the outskirts of Drakka, where Ronil Zipple was already waiting for him.
It seemed he had known the Red Owl would arrive here.
“You’ve come, Sir Jin.”
Jin didn’t bother asking how he knew to wait. This wasn’t the time to investigate such things; the only thing that mattered right now was Dipus.
“Sir Ronil.”
“Thank you for coming at once. I will escort you.”
The autonomous district where Jin had landed was one of the areas Dipus had attacked. Being close to the main base, the damage wasn’t as extreme, but the entire city was soaked in fear. The catastrophe in Milkun and other parts of the Federation was too massive to be covered up by controlling the media.
“While we were requesting support from Tikan, there was another raid,” Ronil said as they boarded the Zipple’s 4th Flagship, the Andion.
“In that short time? Was there another large-scale troop movement?”
“No. Dipus Runcandel struck the Bakle Autonomous District accompanied by only two Black Knights. We were prepared this time, so civilian casualties weren’t high, but… the Ghost Captain was heavily injured. Lord Kadun also engaged him despite not being fully recovered and suffered internal injuries.”
Brother Dipus.
Jin, about to speak, looked out the ship’s window. This land was now filled with people his brother had killed or injured.
“…What happened to the 4th Flagbearer?”
“Just like the first raid, he escaped without taking any damage. It seems he has received a great deal of power from the Evil God…”
According to Ronil, Dipus now possessed not only dimensional travel through the Evil God’s authority and the Prophet’s tunnels but also flight capabilities similar to Vail’s. He was using that overwhelming mobility to execute repeated hit-and-run attacks.
An avatar of the Evil God.
That was how the Zipples were defining him. Dipus wielded a level of power that was impossible to comprehend unless he had been granted a portion of the Evil God’s own authority.
The Andion arrived at the Zipple main estate. The Zipple citadel, known as the birthplace of magic, had its gates wide open and was bustling with civilians, a rare sight. They were taking in the terror-stricken commoners.
When Jin stepped off the Andion, some people pointed fingers at him, while others bowed their heads as if a savior had arrived. The former did so because Jin was, after all, a Runcandel, just like the monsters who had attacked them. The latter did so because of his past deeds.
Just as Ronil was about to order his men to clear the finger-pointing crowds, Jin stopped him.
“It’s better to leave them be.”
Jin walked past them and entered the inner chambers. Inside and out, he saw Zipple subordinates running breathlessly.
The only ones not running were a group who appeared to be the highest-ranking elders. Upon seeing Jin, they didn’t show him the same courtesy as Ronil. Instead, many furrowed their brows in displeasure or displayed blatant hostility.
Of course, given the situation, Jin didn’t even notice the grumbling of these old men. The elders, however, naturally fell in line behind Jin and Ronil, as if they felt entitled to hear the conversation between Jin and the clan’s ultimate decision-maker.
After passing through two corridors, they arrived at the Zipple Patriarch’s office. In the seat where Kelliark should have been sat Veradin.
“We meet again like this, Jin.”
“Veradin.”
Countless civilians under Zipple protection were dead, Octavia and Kadun were injured again, and the clan had suffered serious military losses. And yet, not a trace of grief could be found on Veradin’s face. He seemed more annoyed by the elders trailing behind them than by the catastrophe his clan had suffered, and he scowled.
“What are the elders doing here?”
“What do you mean, Young Master? We are here to attend the meeting, of course…”
“If you’re incompetent, you should at least be perceptive enough to read the room. Well, since you’ve bothered to come, listen if you’re curious. This won’t take long.”
The elders’ expressions soured, but they didn’t dare argue with Veradin.
“Forgive the disorganized state of things,” Veradin said, turning back to Jin.
“Your relaxed attitude suggests otherwise. I just heard the 4th Flagbearer struck the Bakle Autonomous District. Is there a reason you can be so calm?”
“I heard about a hundred civilians died. The Ghost Captain and Lord Kadun were injured, but the 4th Flagbearer took no damage, even while facing both of them. If that’s the case, he could have turned Bakle into a wasteland and even marched on Drakka. The fact that he stopped means there must be a reason.”
“Then why did you urgently request support from the Barmul Alliance? Was it for post-war recovery?”
At those words, Veradin smirked.
“That’s a strange question. We’re in a temporary alliance, aren’t we? It’s only natural. Above all, we must prevent the Evil God from acquiring more despair… and we have to save the hostages. With the 2nd Flagbearer and now the 4th Flagbearer active, the despair being funneled to the Evil God is growing rapidly.”
Jin’s eyes widened when Veradin mentioned ‘despair.’
The Zipples were already monitoring the amount of despair Rosa was harvesting.