Chapter 236
Episode 76: Broken Fortunes and Lone Burdens (Part 1)

“I didn’t expect you to recognize me, Sir Bitura,” Jin said as he approached.

“You were at the One-Bridge party, weren’t you? You kept to the corner, just wetting your throat before leaving. It’s no wonder you went unnoticed,” Bitura replied with a bitter glance, looking down at the fallen paladins of the Golden Shield Order lying in his hand.

“Most of my direct paladins have already fallen into their grasp. Lani, I can’t express how grateful I am that you’re still intact amid all this.”

“…Sir Bitura, I doubted you. Please forgive me,” Lani bowed her head.

Bitura waved his hand dismissively. “I would have done the same. Your father and I have been rivals for a long time. Besides, haven’t I always been the first to say that I must stand with Ziphl?”

King Miklan of the Holy Kingdom and Bitura Belter, Commander of the Paladins, were known as long-standing enemies. Their heated arguments at state meetings were frequent and fierce.

But that was merely a performance to maintain political balance. Miklan played the role of the hero pressing against the entrenched powers, while Bitura took on the villain’s part, defending the status quo.

Their ongoing conflict since Miklan’s ascension was, in truth, a form of cooperation—known only to the two of them.

There was a long story behind that.

But Bitura thought now was not the time to explain it to Lani in detail. First, they needed to discuss the current crisis.

“Lani, soon after you and Jin Gongja came to see me, Ziphl will be informed. There are very few people left in the residence whom I can fully control, and even they are under surveillance.”

“So Ziphl believes they’ve already recruited you,” Jin said.

Bitura nodded. “They think they’ve won me over first. They began planting spies in the Holy Kingdom twenty years ago.”

That was before Jin was even born.

In his previous life, Jin had been unaware of this, having been ousted from his family without any authority. But even then, the Holy Kingdom had already fallen under Ziphl’s control.

“The kingdom is divided into two factions.”

“Ziphl and those opposing Ziphl?”

“No. It’s those who support Ziphl and those who back Kinzel. The king’s impersonator is a creation of Kinzel’s side. It’s hard to believe, but Kinzel actually possesses shapeshifters.”

Lani’s eyes widened. Not only had the Holy Kingdom been swallowed by Ziphl, but now Kinzel was reaching out its hand as well. It was a shock she couldn’t help but feel.

Kinzel, as far as she knew, was nothing more than a third-rate terrorist group, incomparable to Ziphl. If Kinzel controlled half the kingdom, anyone would react similarly.

Jin remained calm, while Murakan shrugged his shoulders.

“Gongja doesn’t seem surprised by the name Kinzel. Nor does your knight,” Murakan remarked.

I’m no mere knight, Jin thought, but stopped himself from saying it aloud.

“On the day we left Storm Castle, we were ambushed by shapeshifters—fierce Ziphl loyalists. Since then, I’ve been tracking them and discovered that Kinzel and Ziphl are actually allied.”

“So that happened. But they’re no longer allies. They were until recently, but for reasons unknown, they’ve completely turned against each other.”

Bitura had been pretending to serve Ziphl all this time, watching everything unfold.

Montiano, the High Priest, Konyu, and other power players had already fully submitted to Ziphl, leaving Bitura with little room to maneuver.

When the two former allies became enemies, Bitura saw it as the only chance to reclaim the kingdom. He expected the unity holding the kingdom together to weaken.

But the kingdom itself split along the same lines.

The moderate faction following Ziphl, and the hardliners backing Kinzel.

“The traitors believe that Keliak Ziphl and Kinzel’s leader are greater than Ayula. I haven’t seen Kinzel’s leader myself, but Keliak has enough power to make even the doubtful feel that way.”

Even after their alliance broke, they agreed to split the kingdom in half for the time being, each pursuing their own goals.

Though some loyalists like Bitura remained, their numbers were insignificant compared to the traitors.

At least one of the moderate or hardline factions needed to have the will to reclaim the kingdom for a fight to be worthwhile.

As Bitura briefly explained all this, the metallic scent of blood from the fallen Golden Shield paladins rose faintly.

“When did the experiments on living golems begin? When we brought Lani from the Eastern Temple, there was a battle with Holy Kingdom soldiers turned into living golems.”

Jin pulled out a fragment of a living golem’s heart from his pocket.

“…Oh, Lady Ayula. Your sons have met such a tragic fate.”

Bitura trembled slightly, clutching the heart fragment.

“They’ve been conducting experiments in the kingdom for about half a year. Every month, over a hundred citizens and soldiers are captured and turned into test subjects.”

Lani’s face twisted in anguish.

She couldn’t believe she had been completely unaware of this, despite having her eyes wide open.

“Lani, this is not your fault. It’s ours—your father’s and mine. We failed to tell you when we should have.”

“Their base… you mean the Lutero Magic Federation?”

Jin naturally assumed the living golem experiments were Ziphl’s doing.

“No, it’s Kinzel’s doing.”

Unlike in Colon, the living golem experiments on the kingdom’s citizens were Kinzel’s atrocity.

“Kinzel is behind the living golem experiments…?”

Kinzel was closely tied to beastmen. The White Wolf and Red Tiger tribes, among the main warrior clans, followed Kinzel’s leader.

And the aura swirling within the heart fragment—the same eerie sensation Jin had felt before.

‘Those bastards at Kinzel… could they be trying to resurrect the Myungwang tribe?’

The living golem hearts Jin had seen in the kingdom strangely resembled the Myungwang tribe’s radiant hearts.

Murakan seemed to share the thought, pressing his face close to the heart fragment.

‘But how? The brothers vanished from the mortal realm half a millennium ago. There’s no record of the radiant hearts, and the Myungwang Sword that controls brain energy is completely lost…’

Jin stopped himself, recalling an article he had read.

“Bamel”—the one who described himself as a brain energy wielder. And the Kinzel members who survived that time, witnesses to the Myungwang Sword.

Could they have seen it?

An indescribably unpleasant and ominous feeling pressed down on Jin’s chest.

“Kinzel is taking the kingdom’s citizens to the old Oterium.”

The stronghold of the Dark Magic Council and the resting place of Rio Ziphl’s legacy.

That was where the living golem experiments were being carried out.

“Is Ziphl also experimenting on the citizens like them?”

“Not yet, at least. Ziphl has shown signs of wanting to use our relics and the demon relics we keep, but they haven’t used the citizens as test subjects.”

“That’s probably because Ziphl is mindful of public opinion for when they eventually fight Kinzel for sole control of the kingdom. That’s how those hypocrites operate.”

Bitura nodded, his heart heavy.

At the same time, he was impressed. Jin had grasped the situation perfectly after hearing only a few words.

“Ha! Hey, Commander of the Paladins, with things this bad, why haven’t you asked for help from Runcandel or other factions?”

Murakan asked, frustrated. Bitura sighed.

“If Runcandel joined this mess, do you think anything would be left of this land?”

Jin thought it was the right choice a hundred times over.

Ziphl and Kinzel would at least try to control things from behind the scenes, but if Runcandel got involved, they’d likely start a full-scale war, turning the kingdom into a wasteland and stripping away only the healing saints and the Eternal Vault’s treasures.

Strictly speaking, what Runcandel wanted wasn’t the neutral nation of Bankella, but the saints’ healing powers and some precious items.

“Hmm, that’s true. Kid, what are you thinking so hard about?”

Jin folded his arms and fell silent for a moment.

“A way to drive out both Ziphl and Kinzel from here without great sacrifice.”

Since hearing that the living golem experiments were Kinzel’s doing, not Ziphl’s, he had been pondering how to properly screw them over.

“What?”

“I’m starting to see the outline. Kinzel’s still a relatively insignificant group publicly. That’s fortunate, Sir Bitura.”

“Speak, Jin Gongja.”

“All the kingdom’s leaders have either betrayed us or, like you, remain loyal but powerless. Is that right?”

“…Yes.”

“But the citizens know nothing. They don’t even know that over a hundred, maybe more, are being used as test subjects every month.”

Bitura’s eyes widened.

“You intend to tell the citizens?”

“Yes. But no one will believe the truth without proof. My friend and I will go to Oterium and rescue the captured citizens.”

“I’ve thought about that too. But there are many 8th and 9th rank mages from Kinzel waiting there.”

“I know. Kinzel’s Dark Magic Council mages—I’ve investigated them thoroughly as well.”

“You’re saying the two of you can bring back the citizens all by yourselves?”

I wanted to ask more, but decided to hear Bitu out first.

“The rescued citizens will serve as undeniable proof above all else. Unfortunately, those we manage to free from the old Oterium won’t be in good shape. Most will have been turned into living golems or will be in the midst of that transformation.”

“So, the plan is to show the people still under the empire’s rule the harsh reality through their condition…”

If we could bring back those citizens who had been captured as test subjects, it would be the best possible evidence.

The problem was, with the current strength of the loyalists, even reaching Oterium was impossible.

“Yes, that’s the plan. And all the blame will fall on Ziphl, not Kinzello. I’ll claim that we found the captured citizens in Ziphl’s Four Towers.”

“The Four Towers of Ziphl? But that’s a lie.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a lie. Once it becomes public knowledge that citizens were captured—and worse, sacrificed in living golem experiments—Ziphl will have to explain himself. Losing the people’s trust would make governing a nightmare.”

The citizens had no idea that the empire had fallen under Ziphl’s control.

But if it came out that Ziphl had been conducting ‘experiments’ on them, he’d have to scramble to stabilize the land he’d just taken.

At least on the surface, those who claimed to stand for justice couldn’t just sweep this under the rug.

“It seems like something that could be easily disproven if the lord of the Four Towers spoke up… but I get the feeling you have a plan, Gong.”

“Currently, Karl Ziphl, lord of the Four Towers, doesn’t exist in the Luterro Magic Federation. He’s being held prisoner by Kinzello. And Kinzello is known publicly as a third-rate terrorist group.”

The moment the captured citizens were brought onto imperial soil, Ziphl would be forced to make a choice.

Either admit that Karl Ziphl, heir of Keliak, had been captured by a nameless third-rate terrorist group—

Or take the blame for the living golem experiments in place of Kinzello.

If he chose the former, his status would plummet; if the latter, his image would be destroyed.

“Kinzello will be caught by force, and Ziphl by justification.”