Episode 1014
Chapter 247. The Lafrarosa Liberation War (2)
In the heart of the crimson desert stained by the enemy’s psychic waves, only the area engulfed by the chaotic storm was shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
“Sis, please take care of the device.”
“Got it!”
As Yona disappeared somewhere, Murakan transformed back into his true form and spread his wings.
[Hmph, compared to the Battle of the Fierce Gods, this is nothing. Let’s try breaking through.]
[You’re the one who was puking from motion sickness just moments ago, acting all cool now.]
[Enough with the insults—just follow me, Immortal Mu.]
“Friends, that’s the First Chaos. So be a little careful, okay?”
Murakan and Veil soared into the sky and charged forward.
They unleashed their breath and fired massive golden beams at the black storm, leaving Beliz utterly stunned.
“Well, I guess I was worrying for nothing. In some ways, Murakan and Veil are better suited than us to face the First Chaos.”
Each time their breath and beams struck the storm’s outer edge, a few seconds of turbulent waves rippled outward.
Even when the black storm briefly parted, what was happening inside remained a mystery—only a dark, impenetrable void was visible.
Still, the group didn’t slow their approach. They were confident they could handle whatever was inside, but more than anything, their determination to protect their brothers burned fiercely.
The Twin Kings were radiating psychic energy.
Centered on Jin, the psychic waves swirled like a vortex around the group. At the core of the spiral, a golden thunderbolt anchored itself like a nucleus, amplifying the psychic power of the other brothers.
[Kid, you really going to charge straight in?]
Jin nodded.
This sortie wasn’t just about throwing the liberation device.
They needed to warn and punish—to show what happens when anyone tries to harm Lafrarosa again.
‘Until now, even you guys hesitated to engage us in full-scale war because it was too risky. That’s why most battles were fought only in the Great Desert, despite your overwhelming mobility and forces. But now that you’ve dragged in the First Chaos, there’s no turning back.’
Murakan and Veil’s attacks shattered the side of the black storm once more.
At that moment, Jin and the Twin Kings’ blue vortexes collided headlong into the gap in the storm.
KRAAAASH!
The impact didn’t produce a normal explosion but a roar that sounded like a human or beast howling in agony.
The storm’s surface crumpled sharply where they struck, but the psychic energy surged outward even more fiercely in response.
‘We expected to break through, but this easily?’
‘It must be thanks to the power Jin gained when he reached Changseong. Even the First Chaos can’t gain the upper hand against Jin’s psychic waves.’
The black storm’s screams continued.
The psychic vortex was now completely golden, resembling a miniature sun. Moments later, that sun rapidly condensed into Sigmund, and simultaneously, Jin’s body transformed into pure white flames.
A sword flashed.
A beam of light cut through the force field formed inside the storm’s crack, tearing the dark landscape apart.
The scar left by the blade lingered long after the flash faded, preventing the storm’s rift from closing.
It felt less like a sword strike and more like a massive structure pressing down on enemy territory. Even the golden energies scattered by the collision absorbed the chaos particles pouring in.
Murakan and Veil, watching from above, and the Twin Kings standing beside Jin, were all stunned by the blade’s power.
[Hah, kid. Looks like you’ve really lost it this time.]
“Jin, I get that you’ve gotten stronger, but this makes it hard to keep up.”
“Teto’s dreams are big, and I really admire how he never gives up on them.”
“Tch! Who says I won’t reach Changseong someday?”
“Not saying you won’t, but…”
“What do you mean by that!”
Jin’s golden sword scar shocked others in the Great Desert as well—the Akmyeong tribe, the three demons, and even the troops of Ziphl who had just arrived opposite Jin.
“Bamel Alliance forces identified!”
“This is Black Dragon Murakan! Murakan has left Tikan…!”
The Akmyeong tribe aboard the Pibil ship shouted.
Simat narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on the golden sword scar that had opened beyond the chaotic storm.
“…Bringing Murakan here—that’s a risky gamble.”
If the Akmyeong tribe immediately moved all their forces to Tikan and the Garden of Blades, the Bamel Alliance would suffer irreparable losses.
‘Murakan’s arrival means one of two things: either they’re confident they can liberate Lafrarosa immediately, or they believe this chaos is extremely dangerous to Lafrarosa.’
The latter was more likely.
“Comrade Rimagas.”
{Speak, fellow warrior.}
“First, confirm if spatial leap is possible.”
{Just checked. It’s impossible. The witch’s chaos is strongly disrupting dimensional gate formation. It might be possible if we fly beyond the desert’s edge.}
“Then Lokia Ganesto’s intention is clear. They don’t want us to strike their base—they want a fight right here. That’s the price we pay for borrowing the witch’s power.”
The Akmyeong tribe was less immune to chaos than the Mingwang tribe.
Even the Mingwang weren’t completely immune to the First Chaos, and the Akmyeong below second-rank Twin Kings couldn’t endure it.
The protection of the airborne fortress and ships had limits. The Bamel Alliance wasn’t standing still.
{…Yes. The lives lost to chaos will likely belong to the witch.}
“A fair price to destroy Lafrarosa. Let’s finish this. This will be the last long battle in the Great Desert.”
As those words were spoken, another golden sword flash erupted from the storm where Jin and his group stood.
The black winds that had been swirling around them scattered before the blade’s power. Jin’s body still burned white-hot, and the Twin Kings’ blue eyes fixed on the battlefield.
Between the Bamel Alliance and the Akmyeong tribe, a massive rift in Lafrarosa had opened wider than ever.
Chaos surged into the rift like a rising tide. Occasionally, deep blue lightning pierced the crack, pushing back the chaos.
That was Ban’s psychic energy. Until now, she had only dealt with bombardments and magic, but now she had to withstand the First Chaos itself.
It was blood-curdling.
Jin and his brothers immediately noticed Ban’s psychic energy was different from usual. Though her power had never lost its destructive essence even across dimensions, now it was fierce and unstable.
It was because Lingling was being affected by the First Chaos.
“Veil, scout for any Ganesto forces nearby. Look for an opportunity to throw the device with Sister Yona.”
Unlike usual, Veil nodded silently. The refined killing intent radiating from Jin froze even the flow of nearby chaos.
The space where Jin’s group stood felt as if time itself had stopped. Jin read all the energies mixed in the chaos.
First, he heard the labored breaths of Ban and Lingling, and the groans of his brothers.
Then, the cold eyes of Simat watching from the bridge, and the group of Ziphl mages trying to break through the chaos from the far side.
This time, there was no sign of Elona or Ziphl’s energy.
‘Ziphl didn’t send Lady Elona because the First Chaos might have unknown effects on her mind control. In that case… you shouldn’t have sent troops at all, Keliak Ziphl.’
Jin’s body gradually regained its original color.
All the anger and hatred over this crisis seemed to distill into a drop of blood reflected in his eyes.
It was time to fight with a clear mind. At least until they understood exactly how the First Chaos was affecting Ban, Lingling, and the brothers.
That was because of Lingling’s uniqueness. If the First Chaos was directly influencing Lingling across dimensions, then conversely, Lingling’s power could manifest in the Great Desert.
That meant, unlike before, the fusion of the Twin Kings might become possible.
“A lot depends on Lingling.”
“Really? Jin, that’s good news. Ban adores her so much. She’ll live up to your expectations.”
“But we can’t just wait for that little one. Not because I don’t trust her, but because it would be a burden.”
Jin raised his sword high. The chaos that had been frozen seemed to burn away, and space opened.
At the same time, red orbs of light appeared on the barrels of the Akmyeong fleet’s guns. The four airborne fortresses’ main cannons all aimed at Jin’s group.
Before swinging his sword, Jin first scattered golden thunderbolts across the battlefield. Without warning or any gesture, hundreds of golden bolts rained down from the black sky.
The moment the thunderbolts struck the Akmyeong shields, the fortresses and fleet began firing. Huge crimson beams poured down over Jin’s group.
[You think that’s enough just because I’m here?]
Murakan descended in front of the group, spreading a spiritual energy barrier. It wasn’t a simple shield—some of the main cannons’ shots vanished or reflected off the shimmering energy.
The Twin Kings roared as they struck down enemy psychic waves that slipped past the barrier. The falling golden thunderbolts kept hammering the fortresses’ main guns.
As the massive forces clashed between Jin’s group and the Red-Eyed tribe, Jin finally brought his sword down from above.
The Runcandel Third Battle Engine, Meteor Shower. The meteors formed by the Golden Thunder began to plunge from the sky like ambushing dragons.
The Red-Eyed tribe naturally expected the meteor shower to strike their fleet, so they increased the power applied to their shields. As a result, Murakan and the Twin Kings gained the upper hand in their power struggle.
“First, we need to wipe out these minnows who don’t belong on this battlefield, brothers.”
“Agreed.”
“I was wondering why they even showed up.”
Minnows.
The mages of Ziphl who had dared to come to the Great Desert without a single captain-level figure.
The meteor shower Jin unleashed was falling straight toward them. Meanwhile, the sword Jin drove into the ground was embedding itself, forming yet another family’s battle engine.
“This time, we might only get a few scratches at best, but you’ll witness a lot of death…”
The Runcandel First Battle Engine, Blade of the Rushing Stream, soared through the desert, slicing through the air.