Chapter 1013
Episode 247: The La Prarosa Liberation War (Part 1)
May 17, 1804.
The second liberation device had just been completed. Garmund and Teto, like the previous Twin Kings, quickly integrated into the alliance and shed tears upon hearing about Jin’s story.
They also shared news from inside La Prarosa.
By the time they escaped, Belize and Linpa had already left La Prarosa. On top of that, the dimensional distortion was accelerating, and the enemy’s attacks had grown fiercer, so the situation was far from good.
“…Now that Garmund and Teto have left too, La Prarosa’s going to have an even harder time,” someone said.
Even Belize and Linpa, who always told others not to worry, looked troubled.
It wasn’t because of resentment. They were simply worried whether the remaining eight Twin Kings could hold out.
“Bah, who’s going to die? Honestly, even if Garmund’s out, Teto’s the weakest among us. It probably won’t make much difference.”
“Belize, that cuts deep.”
“But… well, it’s true.”
“Yeah, Teto’s a fine Twin King. Just the lowest among the best.”
“Linpa and Garmund too? Damn it, I’m still a Twin King, you know. Hey, Jin, say something.”
“From now on, I don’t think the Twin Gods will send out any more Twin Kings, even if the opportunity arises,” Jin said, looking around at his comrades. Teto opened his mouth to argue that this wasn’t what he wanted to hear but quickly shut it, sensing the mood.
“Why do you think that, Jin?”
“Because the Twin Gods trust me and my brothers. If we send out any more Twin Kings, the lives of the others will be at risk. Besides, the Twin Gods have probably already gauged the enemy’s abilities roughly and have shown their might once.”
Jin was confident. The other Twin Kings fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“Right. The Twin Gods don’t favor Jin alone. They’ll only move when everyone can go out together.”
“We planned this operation from the start without the four Twin Kings currently here. Now that more brothers have joined, our chances of success have actually improved. The Twin Gods have done their part; now it’s up to us.”
“Heh heh, so we just have to throw this box beyond the dimensional rift, right?” Teto pointed at the liberation device.
“Exactly. Until it works.”
“Yeah, until it works!”
Before the liberation device was completed, the battle for the Mitra Desert had been a victory for the Red-Eyed Tribe.
They had held the desert all along. The Bamel Alliance had never once wrested control of the desert from them.
But the war was far from over.
If the Bright Kings were freed, or if the rift was destroyed beforehand, the outcome of the La Prarosa Liberation War would be decided.
The Bamel Alliance was preparing to depart for the desert as soon as they received reconnaissance reports from the Unknown.
The team was the same three squads as before, except Garmund and Teto replaced the injured Owl.
Buzz—!
The conference room’s communicator vibrated. It was a message from the Unknown.
{Commander, this is Bizen, the Unknown’s top assassin.}
Urgency tinged Bizen’s voice. Jin and his comrades furrowed their brows and listened closely.
“Bizen, what’s going on?”
{…Chaos.}
“Chaos!?”
{A massive storm of chaos suddenly erupted across the entire area of the rift in La Prarosa, the region occupied by the Red-Eyed Tribe. It’s still expanding. The storm has even reached areas with communication, and it’s visible to the naked eye.}
The chaos, which had started from the orb Loki gave to Simat, was spreading uncontrollably like wildfire.
“Ganesto…! They’re involved.”
Jin immediately thought of the Ganesto family. Currently, only Ganesto was using the power of chaos in earnest within the Inner World.
‘I expected this, but why now… And the scale of the chaos is no joke. What the hell have they done?’
Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t for La Prarosa or the Bamel Alliance’s benefit. Jin suppressed his anger and tried to clear his head.
“Any other unusual developments?”
{We couldn’t get a closer look because we had to avoid the chaotic waves and the Red-Eyed Tribe. If you permit, we’ll re-enter immediately.}
“No. All Unknown assassins in the desert are to return immediately.”
{Understood.}
The communication ended. Jin exchanged looks with his comrades and quickly began revising their plan.
“Jet, prepare the chaos purifiers and send them to Dr. Kwaul. Have them checked and ready for immediate use. And bring Murakan and Veil along when you go.”
“Understood, Nari!”
“Talaris, you should return to Bigung for now.”
“Hmm, changing the infiltration team?”
“Yes. Chaos won’t just spread in the desert. We can’t predict how the Red-Eyed Tribe will respond. They might even attack our territories first while the desert is consumed by chaos.”
“Good point, Sai. Without me, Bigung’s defense would be weak.”
“Dante, you’re returning to the empire. Lady Vanessa, head to the Sword Garden.”
“Understood.”
“Got it, Lord Sogaju.”
“Luna will stay in Tikan.”
“Huh? Little one, am I out of the infiltration team too? Then how will you organize the personnel?”
“We’re excluding anyone at high risk of chaos exposure. Of course, those above 10 stars can probably withstand chaos and fight, but they could become infection sources. That would be especially deadly for us, who are currently on the defensive.”
During the Demon God War and the Sword Emperor War, Jin was the only one immune to chaos in the Inner World.
But not anymore.
The Bright Kings were all born immune to chaos. There were five Bright Kings present now.
“Ah, Jin. You called me here just to give me a hard time again, didn’t you? Saying there are gaps in Tikan’s airspace defense. Do you think maintaining a shield over all of Tikan all day is easy?”
“You’re here, Immortal Assassin. The defense you handled, including Lady Luna, will now be managed by the superhumans excluded this time. You’re coming with me to the desert.”
The fragment of the Sun God’s power, Veil.
He was practically immune to chaos as well.
“Oh… So the time has come for Veil to grant eternal rest to the mortals with red hearts. Heh, a blood festival indeed.”
Despite the heavy atmosphere, Veil’s joke brought a brief smile to the group. Maybe it wasn’t even a joke.
“Kid, why? I was waiting for you to bake me a strawberry pie since you said you’d do it for me after all this trouble. How am I supposed to pay you back now?”
Murakan entered the conference room after Veil. His scales, almost restored to their prime, were impervious even to strong chaos.
“You’re on this infiltration too. We need people with almost no risk of chaos exposure.”
“What? Then what about Tikan? Mubu-mul is here too. Are they going on the infiltration mission?”
“Ha, if you keep calling me Immortal Assassin, at least pick one name.”
“Even if two of us are out, other superhumans will remain.”
“If both the Immortal Assassin and I are out, even with replacements, there’ll be gaps compared to before.”
“Can’t be helped. Given the situation, we have to take a gamble. Even if the Red-Eyed Tribe attacks Tikan, we can hold out until the infiltration team returns.”
“Tch, fine. Strawberry pie, just wait a bit. I’ll go and kill them all myself if I have to. Damn it, I’m so pissed! It’s been a while since I’ve cracked down on those Red-Eyed bastards.”
“The strawberry pie isn’t even here, Murakan!”
“Even if not, the sentiment’s appreciated, Belize. Now that you’re in the Inner World, I recommend you Bright Kings try your hand at love.”
“Lastly, I’m going with the little one too. Hehe.”
Yona emerged from under the table, surprising everyone—no one had known she’d been hiding there.
“Ah, you startled me, Yona. You’re not immune to chaos, are you?”
“Not completely immune, but I can control it somewhat. And I need to be here to move the liberation device around.”
Even with this sudden chaos storm, the alliance’s goal hadn’t changed. If the Red-Eyed Tribe fought on regardless of the chaos, they’d be even more desperate to intercept the liberation device.
Jin, Belize, Linpa, Garmund, Teto, Murakan, Veil, and Yona.
The team for this sortie was set: eight people. It was the first time Jin and Murakan would go out together, and the first time all four Twin Kings were fully operational on a mission.
‘We have fewer people, but maybe that’s for the best. According to Lord Eltiot, neither the Red-Eyed nor the Clear-Eyed Tribes have immunity to chaos like me or my brothers. Chaos might actually work to our advantage.’
Besides, just as Kinzello’s summoning ritual suggested, the chaos Ganesto used might create a positive variable in the La Prarosa rift. So far, the situation had been a chaotic mix of chance and error.
“Let’s go.”
Jin and his comrades mounted the Red Owl. In an instant, it transported them to the outskirts of the desert.
“Ughhhk.”
“You okay, Murakan?”
“Gahh…”
“He does this often, so just leave him be for a bit, Teto.”
Beyond the front windshield, a storm of chaos was swelling. To Murakan, Veil, and Yona, it was just an enormous mass of disorder—nothing particularly unusual.
But the Jin and the Myungwang clans immediately pressed their foreheads as soon as they faced the chaos.
“Ah! Of all things, it has to be that chaos?”
“That’s the Original Chaos. It’s not completely immune, so this is going to be tough.”
“That thing… it’s not common at all… So why do the Jin brothers keep getting tangled up with that chaos?”
“Good thing it’s just us. The others probably wouldn’t last as long fighting through that.”
The Twin Kings spoke, but despite their words, there was no sign of hesitation or fear.
“…Lingling. That chaos was definitely unleashed to provoke Lingling, brothers. It seems those Ganesto bastards have discovered the connection between our half-brother and Lingling. Whatever tricks they used, I don’t know.”
Gritting their teeth, the Jin and Myungwang clans clenched their weapons in unison.