Chapter 337
Episode 104: Debt, Debt, and More Debt (4)
A surge of magical energy gathered in the grasp of the Phantom Legion mages.
It happened so fast that it seemed as if the power had materialized instantly within their hands.
Yet the magic they formed so swiftly radiated an immense force, warping the very space around them.
Jin swallowed hard and reflexively raised his protective barrier.
Whoooosh!
Had he delayed even a second, he wouldn’t have lived to see the sunrise tomorrow. The magical blasts fired from the Phantom Legion’s hands slammed into Jin’s barrier, which was woven from spiritual energy and magic.
Even with the shield up, it felt like his entire body was being pummeled by the bare fists of a master warrior. He could deflect the beams piercing through the barrier, but another thick lump of blood rose in his throat.
Gagging, Jin spat out the blood and steadied himself.
“Damn it… so this is what the Phantom Legion is really like.”
The reason Jin had been able to kill Rokai, one of the Phantom Legion, so quickly was purely because of a perfect surprise attack.
As evidenced by mistaking Rokai’s power for that of three mages, the Phantom Legion was the strongest group of mages in the original world—far beyond any other magical unit.
“…You’re saying the Twelve Riders of Runcandel actually stopped this?”
“The ones who went to Lord Veradin’s secret villa were telling the truth. They might have been caught off guard, but killing Rokai wasn’t just luck.”
“Hearing it secondhand is one thing, but experiencing it firsthand is definitely shocking.”
Jin caught his breath and studied the two mages before him.
“Both of them are about the same level as Rokai, whom I just killed.”
They were late 9th rank—not quite 10th.
The vast magical energy they wielded couldn’t be explained otherwise.
“No, it might even be magic beyond the 10th rank.”
Though there was a huge gap between 9th and 10th rank, magic power didn’t suddenly triple overnight.
Jin had faced many 9th rank mages and, while he hadn’t met a 10th rank directly, he could roughly estimate their level by comparing them to warriors.
From that perspective, the Phantom Legion’s magic was definitely unusual.
“What are you thinking, Jin Runcandel?”
Piiing!
Another beam of magic shot from the mages’ hands.
Gaaahk! This time, Tess unleashed a flame of pressure that twisted the beam’s trajectory, and Jin quickly raised his spiritual barrier again.
“Not running away, huh? Planning to fight us? Admirable.”
“The Phantom Legion we met last time weren’t this talkative. You lot sure like to chatter.”
Five spiritual barriers sprang up in an instant.
Jin kept slipping between them, dodging the mages’ attacks.
From the outside, it looked like Jin was effectively holding his own against the Phantom Legion, but there was no opening for a counterattack.
“The backlash is restricting my movement. I don’t know how long I can hold out like this.”
When facing the other two Phantom Legion mages, the obvious choice for Jin would have been to summon Shuri and flee immediately.
But the reason he didn’t run while facing this new Phantom Legion was simple.
If he ran now, the small beastfolk who had just begun leaving the cave would be slaughtered.
“I can’t hold out much longer. Tess is about to be unsummoned, too.”
Tess could only remain in the mortal realm with Jin’s magic. With the magic backlash starting, Tess’s condition was becoming unstable.
Just like when Jin had faced the cold spirit of the Cha clan in the past, Tess couldn’t directly descend by borrowing Jin’s power.
Unlike then, Jin was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the magic backlash, so misusing Tess’s power could be fatal.
In the end, Tess had no choice but to return to the flame realm after a few seconds.
There was only one option left.
The special “Black Call” of the Dark King’s Sword, summoning the Dark King’s brothers.
Even if ordinary warriors came instead of the Two Kings, they could easily buy time against two Phantom Legion mages.
But Jin wanted to save the “Black Call” for the worst-case scenario. ZPL still didn’t know Jin could summon the Dark King’s kin.
If they found out, they’d be even more cautious when facing him in the future.
A trump card should always be saved.
There would be plenty of more decisive moments ahead to use the Dark King’s brothers to mess with ZPL.
Besides, Jin thought—
“The situation isn’t that bad yet.”
“Either way, hurry up and come!”
Runcandel or Kinzello.
One of the two factions had to find this cave. The battle here—and soon the entire area—was about to be utterly destroyed.
Kinzello was more likely to arrive first. After all, this was beastfolk territory.
Kraaaang! Boom! Crackle…!
The cave was collapsing under the Phantom Legion mages’ relentless magical beams.
Unbeknownst to Jin, the massive labyrinth inside the cave had already been over 50% destroyed once the barrier fell.
Continuous impacts caused endless rockfalls, and holes had opened in the ceiling, revealing the sky.
By then, the Phantom Legion mages couldn’t help but feel deeply annoyed.
If they were in perfect condition, maybe it would be different, but here was Runcandel’s Twelve Riders—who were suffering from magic backlash and had just lost their phoenix summon—holding out against them for so long.
“Long” was only a few minutes, but still.
“I wanted to take you in one piece if possible, but looks like I’ll have to settle for keeping you barely alive.”
Flare, flare! Whoooosh…!
New magic began to form in the Phantom Legion mages’ hands.
Each had formed two 9th rank destructive spells—ZPL’s secret arcane magic Jin had never seen before.
They were both simultaneous incantators.
“Looks like you might survive even after this.”
“Really? You’re overestimating me.”
Jin smiled and shot back.
“No, we’ve actually underestimated you all this time. And we don’t really care if we die.”
Clenching his teeth, Jin made up his mind.
It seemed he had no choice but to summon the Dark King’s brothers.
“Let me make one last offer. If my brothers come, you might not leave here alive today. So how about we both just walk away now? Otherwise, this could turn into a full-scale war.”
It was just a desperate attempt to buy a few more seconds.
“When Runcandel’s Riders arrive, you’ll already be in the Lutero Magic Federation. Didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”
They weren’t those brothers, but there was no need to correct him.
“You should learn to take a joke. What good is magic if you’re not human about it?”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, and just so you know—”
The Phantom Legion mage shrugged and continued.
“Looks like you’re holding out here to save the beastfolk. But it’s pointless. By now, the others have probably gone after those rat-like cosmetic sellers.”
“The beastfolk’s barrier is quite interesting. You and they are both more trouble than I expected.”
Originally, there had been five Phantom Legion mages attacking the beastfolk’s barrier.
But Jin had counted only three to face because just before leaving, Lulu told him the other two were trapped.
“The other two are stuck in our labyrinth barrier. They’ll be trapped for at least three days.”
Lulu had said that.
But the Phantom Legion mages were stronger than the beastfolk expected.
They used their signature chain magic to erase the barrier entirely and enter here.
In the process, the barrier was damaged, and the other two had already entered the beastfolk lands outside the cave.
“Damn it. If the barrier’s down, are the beastfolk safe? I shouldn’t have saved the Black Call.”
Jin exhaled a low sigh.
Just as he was about to perform the Black Call—
Thud…!
Suddenly, a massive steel door formed between Jin and the Phantom Legion mages.
The sound of the steel door slamming onto the ground was so beautiful that Jin knew he’d never hear anything like it again.
“Hello, everyone!”
The first voice was cheerful and lively.
The strangest woman Jin knew.
Margiela Ibliano. As always, she was in her wheelchair, wearing a ridiculous cat-faced mask.
‘Does she really think that hides her identity? No one outside knows the Ibliano daughter has a disability?’
Surprisingly, the Phantom Legion didn’t recognize Margiela.
What the hell?
They looked at her with confused expressions, wary of attacking but clearly puzzled by the “steel door” she had come through.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Moruriela. If I had to say, I’m the owner of this land.”
And next to her was another familiar face.
“Hey, the Phantom Legion? I probably know a few of you from back in the day. Rokai, that bastard, doing well?”
Cha Jo.
He chuckled coldly at the Phantom Legion.
From Jin’s experience, Jo was on a level far beyond the Phantom Legion mages, but Jo’s confidence came from something else entirely.
“Jo, shut up. I’ve warned you more times than I can count—don’t go around acting tough on my back. You worthless bastard, try to be even half as competent as the vice-captain. You make me want to kill you several times a day.”
Berakt Sidriker.
The great warrior of the White Wolf tribe, and one of Kinzel’s key figures. The reason Jo could grin spitefully even when facing the Phantom Corps.
“Kid.”
“Yeah?”
“That one’s pretty strong. Even your big sister wouldn’t be so sure about beating him.”
This was the conversation Murakan and I had when Berakt came to pay respects to King Miklan during the royal incident.
As they said, Berakt truly lived up to his title as a great warrior—the strongest beastman around.
“No need for long introductions, human mages. I’m in a terrible mood right now. If you don’t clear out within three seconds, I’ll chew you all up and shit you out twenty minutes later. One, two, three.”
Kraaaah!
Barely finishing the count, Berakt drew the massive greatsword from his back and struck with a single blow. The cave split clean in two, and the Phantom Corps mages faltered, retreating in shock.
Maybe Murakan’s words—saying even Luna couldn’t guarantee victory—were actually an understatement.
As Berakt launched his attack, Margiela rolled her wheelchair up to Jin.
“Hurry and fall back. And don’t you forget this debt you owe me, got it?”
Margiela winked at Jin, a sly smile playing on her lips.