Episode 14
Chapter 6: The Ambush
Though the Storm Castle had been battered by relentless rain and wind, on the day Jin left, the kingdom of Mittel nestled below the mountain was blanketed by its first snowfall.
A heavy snowstorm, no less. In just a few hours, the snow piled so deep that it swallowed knees whole.
The coachman struggled to keep up speed through the thick, blinding haze, while the guardian knights Jerome and Holtz dismounted, drawing their swords to carve a path through the snow.
“We’ll have to stop at the nearest village and wait for the snow to ease, my lord. Even if we push on to the capital, the heavy snowfall will block the travel gates,” Jerome said.
“Can’t be helped,” Jin replied, though the sight of snow after so long was far from welcome.
The coach crept forward slowly, snowflakes falling like a storm ready to swallow the world whole. Jin passed the time by flipping through his notebook of arcane scripts.
Then, just before dawn—
Clang! Fwoooosh!
Suddenly, the two fine steeds tied to the coach let out piercing cries.
A three-star spell, “Ice Spear,” had pierced both horses’ flanks simultaneously from the side of the carriage. The coach jolted violently, nearly overturning, and a second later, the coachman was struck by the same spell, lifeless.
“Ambush! My lord, stay inside the coach!” Jerome and Holtz shouted.
Gilly, clutching Jin tightly, quickly peered outside.
Her usual gentle, calm eyes were gone—replaced by a fierce, almost blood-red glare.
“My lord, don’t worry. With two seven-star guardian knights and myself here, you’re safe,” she said, her voice steady and composed.
Jin had seen this side of Gilly before—in his previous life, during frequent attacks on Runcandel. He himself had faced such ambushes a few times.
“The attackers number about twenty. They seem to be a mix of mages and warriors, though archers can’t be ruled out. No one above seven-star level has been spotted yet,” Gilly reported.
All the nannies of Runcandel were warriors with combat skills at least seven stars. Gilly’s claws slipped from her sleeve, gleaming sharply.
Leaving Storm Castle and already this chaos. Who are these bastards?
Gilly tried to calm Jin with words, but he was even more composed than she was.
Fear? There was none. With three seven-star combatants guarding him, and the pendant from Orgal in his possession, any crisis could be overcome at least once.
To attack Runcandel’s coach like this… these aren’t petty thugs. The knights didn’t sense the spellcasting, so there must be six-star mages among them.
Jin pictured the scene outside.
No follow-up strikes on the coach, and the clashing of weapons sounds distant. The ambush started far away, and Jerome and Holtz went out to counterattack… wait.
Jin’s thoughts halted as he sensed something off.
“Gilly.”
“Yes, my lord?”
“Jerome and Holtz—they’re not from our family. Either impostors or traitors.”
“What? My lord, that can’t be… Everyone in Storm Castle knows their faces. They were definitely Jerome and Holtz.”
Jin knew their faces too, having met them several times in his past life.
But why did he suspect them as fakes or traitors?
“Gilly, our family’s guardian knights would never leave Runcandel’s child unattended like this. Not even if the nannies were with him.”
“Ah!”
“Jerome and Holtz—one of them should have stayed by my side. But both went out to fight. It’s either betrayal or they’re impostors. Nothing else.”
Gilly checked outside the window. Sure enough, as Jin said, both Jerome and Holtz had left their posts the moment the battle began.
Gritting her teeth, Gilly’s face twisted with rage. It was anger at herself for not realizing sooner—and fury toward the traitors.
“…My lord, I apologize. I will return to the family and ensure they face severe punishment.”
“From this moment, Gilly MacLoran will serve as Runcandel’s sworn protector of Lord Jin. Even if I must be a little forceful in guarding you, please understand.”
“Escape is important, but we must also identify who we’re fighting. They could be allies.”
“Yes, my lord. Runcandel’s honor will not be compromised.”
Swish!
Suddenly, Gilly swung her clawed hand forward. Though seated, her strike split the steel coach in two, revealing the sky above.
Without hesitation, she scooped Jin into her arms and dashed out of the coach. Since this was the coach the traitors had commandeered, she suspected dangerous traps might be hidden inside.
The dim dawn sky and heavy snow made visibility poor. All they could see was a flash of light about 200 meters away.
If they ran off together the moment the battle started, it means they judged they couldn’t handle it alone.
If the attackers were allies, it meant fighting was acceptable.
But the ones battling Jerome and Holtz could also be enemies. Gilly began running toward them, Jin still in her arms.
“Find Jin Runcandel!”
“Third squad! Block the man on the left!”
The voices belonged to the attackers. Up close, Jerome and Holtz were evenly matched against about twenty opponents.
“My lord, why did you leave the coach?”
“This place is dangerous! Return to the coach at once!”
Jerome and Holtz shouted upon spotting Jin.
“Shut up, you filthy traitors! Who’s backing you? How dare you target my lord…!”
Gilly’s eyes blazed as she infused her claws with aura. The traitors’ faces twisted in anger, while those surrounding them lit up with excitement.
“That woman is Gilly MacLoran! Jin Runcandel is confirmed alive!”
“All units, prioritize protecting Jin Runcandel!”
The attackers were allies.
Jin felt a flicker of relief. If they joined forces with Gilly, he wouldn’t have to break the pendant.
The fighting paused for a few seconds, and Jin took the chance to examine the armor and robes of the newly identified allies.
Leaf and Black Water clan insignias. Yutaga and the Black King’s Legion.
Yutaga was a magical family from the Mittel Kingdom, and the Black King’s Legion was a renowned mercenary group. Since there was only one Black Water insignia, this wasn’t their elite unit.
Still, each member was at least five stars. The Yutaga mages looked skilled as well.
So they’re not traitors, but impostors. The Ice Spear that killed the horses and coachman… a failed sniper shot from a Yutaga mage.
Once Jin gauged the allies’ strength, he was certain.
If Jerome and Holtz were genuine seven-star knights, twenty five-star fighters wouldn’t stand a chance—especially in such poor visibility.
Yet no casualties had occurred on the allies’ side since the fight began. That was proof Jerome and Holtz were not the real seven-star guardians.
“I am Murkayo, third battalion commander of the Black King’s Legion. We came at Runcandel’s request, coordinating with Yutaga to rescue Jin Runcandel.”
“Puhahaha…”
Suddenly, the fake Jerome burst into a grotesque laugh.
The eerie sound lingered unnervingly, so unnatural it felt inhuman. The Yutaga and Black King’s Legion members tensed, gripping their weapons tightly.
Gilly stepped forward.
“Who the hell are you?”
She too had realized they were impostors. She knew the fighting style of seven-star knights well enough to tell.
“Heh, such a predictable question… Gilly MacLoran. There’s nothing for Runcandel’s dog to know.”
The fake Holtz sneered, straightening up. He didn’t seem inclined to say more.
“…My lord, what shall we do?”
Jin didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“Kill one, cut off the other’s arm, and bring him before me.”
“Understood.”
“Gilly MacLoran, you’re strong, but you underestimate us.”
“Murkayo of the Black King’s Legion, I entrust you with my lord’s safety for thirty seconds.”
Gilly brushed off the fake Jerome’s taunt and spoke calmly. Murkayo immediately formed a defensive line with his men in front of Jin.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a seven-star knight in combat.
As Jin thought this, Gilly launched herself at the impostors. As she pushed off the snowy ground, the air tore with the sound of her speed.
A lightning-fast charge. The mercenaries and mages couldn’t believe she gained such velocity on soft snow.
Skreek!
Her three-pronged claw slashed across the fake Jerome’s neck.
He didn’t even react reflexively. Only after his head fell did he realize it was over. The fake Holtz quickly turned to face Gilly.
He caught sight of her movement and tried to swing his sword with his right hand—
Thud.
But all he heard was the sound of his right hand falling into the snow, severed along with the sword.
“Uh.”
Shshk, shaaak! Gili managed to dodge a few of the flurry of strikes that followed.
But that was all. With his arm gone, his body lost balance and moved erratically—any evasion was just a lucky fluke. Gili’s claws cleanly sliced through the fake Holtz’s left arm.
All of this happened in just seven seconds.
Gili then spent the remaining twenty-three seconds staunching the fountain of blood gushing from the severed limb. He had cut off a chunk of the late Jerome’s long hair and tied it tightly around the wound.
The Black Kings and the mages who witnessed this couldn’t help but recoil in horror.
“Th-this is the nanny?”
“This is on a whole different level…!”
Meanwhile, Jin smiled with satisfaction.
“The mission is complete, my lord.”
Gili dragged the fake Holtz over and dropped him at Jin’s feet. The man was struggling to scream, but with snowballs stuffed in his mouth, it was nearly impossible.
Thwack! Gili grabbed the man by the hair and pinned him firmly beneath Jin’s foot.
“Looks like it wasn’t Gili who underestimated the opponent, but your master,” Jin said coolly. “If you wanted to assassinate the youngest of the Runcandel family, you should’ve sent at least three or four eight-star knights.”
The fake Holtz spat out saliva and coughed harshly.
“Ugh, hah… It was only a warning. The era of Runcandel… will… end… ugh.”
“That’s exactly what I want too.”
Jin’s words startled the Black Kings and mages, who exchanged glances in surprise.
“I’m not hoping for the era of Runcandel, but for the era of Jin Runcandel to begin.”
“Praise the great Jipleee!”
“Oh, a Jiple follower, huh? Then there’s no need to drag you back to the family for interrogation.”
Crack!
Jin wrapped his fist in aura and struck the side of the man’s head—a technique he’d learned while training in martial arts.
“I’ll let you live.”
“Kill him!”
“No. If you come back alive looking like that, it’ll set a good example for your comrades. We wasted enough time already. Gili, toss him anywhere.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Gili lifted the man and threw him into the nearby snowdrift.
Watching the fake Holtz hunch over, coughing and gasping, Jin thought to himself:
These fools are so naïve. Do they really think Jiple will go easy on them just because of this?