Episode 1035
Chapter 249: The First Sortie of the Pluto Clan (2)
Late May, 1804.
The La Prarosa Opening Festival was drawing to a close, yet the excitement was hotter than ever.
To the people, Tikan and La Prarosa had become known as the safest places in the world. More than just celebrating, many were already packing their belongings, preparing to relocate.
The reconstruction efforts included building cities capable of accommodating these newcomers. Under Luce’s command, countless architects and alliance members were shaping La Prarosa.
Though only six days had passed, the city was already taking form. With superhuman strength, magic, the divine architect’s contract, and abundant resources combined, this was only natural.
“Brother Jin, at this rate, we’ll soon be able to build a transit gate connecting the Sword Emperor’s shipyard to La Prarosa,” Boras said, clinking his gem-encrusted cup against Jin’s.
“Is the technology already complete?”
“The tech was finished before we even arrived, thanks to Dr. Quall and his team. Now it’s just a matter of commercializing it.”
The meeting of the Pluto Clan’s top engineer, Boras, and the Inse’s finest, Quall, had pushed the Balmel Alliance’s technology to new heights.
Soon, anyone in Inse would be able to use the ‘transit gates’ freely, just like in the past. This was a technology that had fully overcome the chaotic particles left behind by Gliek.
Of course, the Balmel Alliance was the only faction to benefit from this. And now, the vast majority of civilians in the world supported the Balmel Alliance.
After Ziphl lost all their territory to the Red-Eyed Clan, their core forces had vanished into the Tower of Stories, and Kinzelro was preparing to flee.
The lands occupied by Jin’s demonic realm and the Red-Eyed Clan had all been liberated by the Balmel Alliance. In fact, over 70% of the world’s population now depended on the Alliance’s protection.
That made the transit gates absolutely essential—to evacuate civilians quickly, no matter where battles broke out.
“But, Brother Jin, I’ve been analyzing atmospheric components for the phase-tracking synchronous spatial leap, and I noticed something. For the past four days, the chaotic particle levels have been steadily rising.”
“Chaotic particles?”
“Yes. It doesn’t affect our technology at all, but just now I checked again, and the levels, which had been rising gradually, suddenly spiked.”
Jin’s eyes narrowed. An increase in chaotic particles meant someone was using massive amounts of chaos energy.
“Is Ganesto up to something? No, that can’t be it—Valeria’s tracking hasn’t picked up anything suspicious.”
Valeria was currently focused on monitoring Ganesto and Ziphl’s movements.
Since Ganesto’s defeat in the Mitra Desert, he had seemingly vanished without a trace. As for Ziphl, no records had been analyzed at all. Even the attempts by Moomyeong and Chilsaekjo to infiltrate the Tower of Stories had failed.
The Alliance suspected that Ziphl had further enhanced their ‘history manipulation’ powers. Otherwise, even Yona would have been able to sneak in.
“Nari, Denauri!”
Zet came looking for Jin and Ban.
“Zet.”
“Someone just sent a letter claiming to be Kinzelro. Here it is.”
“A letter?”
As Jin took the letter, his comrades naturally gathered around him.
(Dear and most esteemed Lord Jin,
It’s been a while, Lord Jin! La Prarosa looks as beautiful as ever today. The sunlight sparkles, everyone wears joyful expressions, and new buildings rise by the hour.
Yes, that’s right. Marziela even sneaked out to enjoy the festival’s excitement a bit. Honestly, it’s so fun that it almost feels like the world has become safe and beautiful…)
Marziela’s letter bore a strong resemblance to Kashimir’s style. The first few pages were filled with unnecessary flowery praise, causing Jin and his comrades to exchange wry looks.
(…That’s how it was. Ah! I suppose I should get to the point now? First, we Kinzelro… unfortunately cannot accept your mercy, Lord Jin. In other words, we cannot surrender.
Ha, but! That doesn’t mean we’re going to draw swords against you or fight to the death just to spite the Balmel Alliance.
We Kinzelro have always been a great help to you, Lord Jin, haven’t we? Honestly, there were times you owed your life to us. And thanks to our involvement, you’ve often achieved your goals. Even you must admit that.)
That was true. It was because of this that Kinzelro had insisted on handling their heinous crimes through a ‘trial.’
(And now, Kinzelro has decided to support you, Lord Jin, even more than before. It’s a kind of unrequited love, I suppose, but what can you do? The one who’s left wanting always makes the first move.)
“Wait, what’s this? Are these Kinzelro bastards trying to join us?”
“Let’s read on, Murakan.”
(You might be curious why. The truth is, we’ve had some confusing developments recently. After our leader met with a witch, many things changed… It’s best if you hear the full story directly from the leader later. It’s quite shocking.)
“A witch, and a shocking story…”
“Orgal met a witch? No way he went begging to an ex-lover or something.”
The Balmel Alliance didn’t know that the witch had summoned Orgal through Marsalun’s dream. Whether their meeting was true or not was something to be confirmed later.
(Anyway, from now on, we will support you, Lord Jin, and the Balmel Alliance, but show no mercy to other factions—like Ganesto, the Solar Cult, and Ziphl. As part of this, I want to share something I recently learned.
It’s a tip about the Solar Cult. They’re currently in contact with Nirgand, one of the Five Kings of the Black Sea, and plotting something that threatens the world.)
The moment Luna read the name Nirgand, a deadly gleam appeared in her eyes. As part of Siron’s expedition, the Five Kings of the Black Sea were her most hated enemies.
“Little one, Nirgand was my father’s next target.”
Luna shuddered, recalling the former kings of the Black Sea. Thanks to Siron’s transcendence, ‘S’ had been relatively easy to defeat, but the Black Sea during the time they chased Kial was truly hell on earth.
“And the Black Sea’s Five Kings’ territory was a place even our expedition risked their lives to enter daily. And now the Solar Cult has already contacted Nirgand? They’re not even negotiable, as far as I know.”
“From my experience, that’s true. But the information Boras just gave about the rising chaotic particles is troubling. Let’s finish reading.”
(They probably used the Solar God’s temple in the subspace to quickly reach the Black Sea. And just as the Solar Cult members have special powers, I too possess a power unknown to you, Lord Jin. Through it, I witnessed their meeting firsthand.
Nirgand was fleeing after being wounded by Siron, and the Solar Cult seemed to have offered him a sweet deal. Soon, Nirgand will start escaping the Black Sea. He will threaten Inse just like Gliek did, and the Solar Cult will benefit from it.)
“So basically, they want us to take down this Nirgand guy and the Solar Cult too. These bastards want to wipe their noses with someone else’s hands.”
Murakan said this, and Ban spoke up for the first time.
“Brother Jin, if this is true, my brothers and I will go and hunt down Nirgand.”
“Brother Ban?”
“The rise in chaotic particles Boras mentioned isn’t normal. Also, if we take down Nirgand, your father can return to the mainland sooner. Most importantly, I have a bad feeling about this. If we leave it be, it’ll only get worse.”
“But Brother Ban, you’re still recovering, aren’t you?”
“So what if my brothers and I get hurt hunting Nirgand? The density of chaos keeps increasing. We have to crush this before it grows.”
Ban’s swift decision surprised his comrades.
(Unfortunately, we’re still in need of repairs and can’t assist with Nirgand’s hunt right now. Instead, while the Balmel Alliance deals with Nirgand, we plan to keep Ziphl busy.
Ziphl currently wields power beyond what Lord Jin imagines.
I hope this letter doesn’t upset you too much, Lord Jin. We Kinzelro are truly sincere.
That’s all for now. By the way, this letter was written through Pirops’ dream ability, so please return your reply to the sender the same way. You can read it through the dream ability.
I chose this method to avoid provoking Lord Jin’s anger and pursuit. Please understand.
With all due respect,
Marziela Ivliano.)
Jin immediately contacted Valeria. They needed to pause tracking Ganesto and Ziphl to verify the contents of this letter first.
[Understood. I’ll review the Solar Cult’s records.]
“Good. Thanks for your hard work, Valeria. And Zet.”
“Yes, Lord!”
“Tell the sender that we’ll review the letter and get back to them. But remind them that tomorrow marks the end of the one-week surrender period our alliance declared. So, regardless of whether they support us or not, publicly announce that Kinzelro has collapsed and disbanded.”
“Nari, I just realized—the very last page on the back of the letter already has that information written down.”
(For your reference, starting from 6 PM today, our Kinzello will officially announce its defeat to the Union and disband. The beastfolk we’ve been protecting will all be relocated to Union territory, so please welcome them warmly.
Of course, none of our members are among them. They’re just beastfolk—cute and fluffy.)
That was how the letter ended.
And before two hours had even passed, the Union received Valeria’s report. Just as the letter said, Nirgan was escaping the Black Sea, drawing on the power of the Sun God’s faith.