Chapter 369
Episode 112: Why They’re Searching for Temar’s Tomb (Part 1)

‘Thanks to the armor, it’s become much easier to erase my presence with spiritual energy.’

Once again, the warriors failed to react quickly enough to Jin’s movements.

Part of it was due to Jin’s incredible speed, but reading a presence thinned by spiritual energy was as difficult as sensing a shadow behind one’s back.

Shhhk…!

The blades of the Biment warriors, soaked in aura, gleamed brightly in the dim surroundings. Another spray of blood splattered—its droplets mingling with spiritual particles, giving them a murky hue.

‘That was shallow.’

Unlike the first time, Jin hadn’t killed with a single strike. Bradamante’s blade grazed a warrior’s jugular vein, leaving a long, dark trail in the air.

But that trail held no sign of ‘flow’ or ‘sound.’

In other words, it lacked the weight one would expect from swinging a heavy metal object, and there was no tearing sound from the blade slicing through the air.

Only a chilling, ghostly energy lingered around the bleeding wound.

For a moment, the warriors actually mistook the attacker for a ghost.

Not only was there no sign of the blade moving, but even now, with their aura illuminating the area, they couldn’t spot Jin’s figure.

Where is he? Where did he hide?

The same question echoed in the minds of the Biment warriors.

At the same time, their pride as warriors was crumbling.

Despite being ambushed, losing one man in a single strike, nearly losing another in the follow-up attack—

They couldn’t immediately pinpoint the attacker’s location. That failure gnawed at their self-esteem.

‘What the hell…! This isn’t Jin Runkandel. This is the work of the greatest assassin in the nameless ranks. Or perhaps even the Nameless King himself?’

In their understanding, an ambush of this caliber was only possible for the Nameless King.

The problem was, it wasn’t the Nameless King—it was Jin, who had erased his presence as much as possible in the darkness using spiritual energy.

“Pair up, two by two!”

One of the Biment warriors gritted his teeth and shouted. He was the leader of the assembled warriors.

Following his command, the warriors quickly paired off, guarding both directions.

Though they had been taken down in a single stroke, they were still considered among the absolute elite within Biment’s military forces.

‘They’re the Imperial Royal Guard.’

Hidden in the forest’s shadows, Jin observed their attire.

Golden epaulets—the symbol of the Royal Guard—shone on their shoulders. Their pristine white coats, stained with blood, contrasted sharply with Jin’s spiritual energy armor.

The leader stood in the center, scanning the darkness of the forest, trying to locate Jin.

Cold sweat already dripped down his jaw. His breathing was ragged, senses sharpened to the limit by extreme tension.

He was truly worthy of being the leader of the Imperial Royal Guard.

“Come out…!”

The leader pointed his sword directly into the darkness where Jin was hiding. His subordinates had no idea Jin was there.

Slowly, Jin stepped forward from the shadows.

The Royal Guards couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of him. With the Multa rune, spiritual armor, and the darkness surrounding him, Jin looked like a shadow come to life.

“I am Rick Helter, leader of the 5th squad of the Imperial Royal Guard of the Biment Empire. State your name.”

“Revealing your affiliation so readily… you must be scared.”

“…We carry out the Emperor’s orders. Whoever you are, I advise you not to interfere with the Royal Guard’s mission and turn the entire empire against yourself.”

“Are you joking?”

“We came to meet Jin Runkandel.”

Jin couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

“It’s been a long time since it became public knowledge that I am the Shadow’s Contractor, yet the Royal Guard—one of the empire’s top intelligence agencies—still doesn’t know?”

Rick and his men’s eyes widened.

They were so tense that they hadn’t even noticed the power swirling around the man before them, nor the armor covering him.

They had simply assumed the assassin had painted his weapons black to blend into the night.

A heavy silence fell.

Meanwhile, the fear in Rick Helter and his men’s eyes shifted into a deep, murderous intent. There was no trembling sword tip from shame or fear.

They were Royal Guards.

Though they had been caught off guard and made mistakes, once their target was clear, they would never back down.

When Jin first attacked, they hadn’t feared the unknown opponent itself.

They had feared being slaughtered like dogs and failing to carry out the Emperor’s orders.

“What were you planning to do upon meeting me? Kill me? Or propose a negotiation?”

The Royal Guard’s top priority when encountering Jin Runkandel was to capture him alive.

And Rick immediately realized that capturing Jin alive with just these six men was impossible.

‘No, even if there were sixty Royal Guards, capturing him alive would be impossible.’

Rick clenched his teeth.

“…Attack!”

The men quickly surrounded Jin.

Rick pushed into the center, swinging his curved sword with all his might, while the formation tightened, blades flying from all directions.

The Royal Guards expected Jin to dodge some attacks, parry others, and counterattack.

But Jin stood firm, not dodging a single blade.

Clang! Clang!

Jin’s spiritual armor had no seams. Still, Rick and his men instinctively aimed for the joints where ordinary armor would be vulnerable, only to hear the hollow sound of their blades bouncing off.

One blade came from the left, and Jin caught it with his hand.

Crack, scrape!

The blade scraped against his gauntlet as Jin pulled it toward him. The guard, unable to release his weapon in time, was dragged helplessly forward.

Thud!

Bradamante pierced his chest.

‘Four.’

Where Rick’s curved sword struck Jin’s armor, a mark remained. The blade cut so deeply it almost grazed the skin beneath.

But like the rapid regeneration of top-tier monsters, the wounded area healed instantly. Jin’s spiritual energy was repairing the armor.

Their morale wasn’t broken, but even the Royal Guards couldn’t help but feel intimidated at this point.

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

The Royal Guards winced, eyes squeezed shut, groaning.

A flash bomb.

Chenmi’s ancient light magic was even more dramatic in the darkness, especially when one side was dominating.

Swish!

Another arc of blood sprayed through the air.

In the blink of an eye—a moment so brief it’s often called ‘in the blink of an eye’—masters of martial arts could decide victory or defeat.

To survive facing Jin, closing their eyes and retreating, required either incredible luck or skill that even Jin would respect.

This time, two men were taken out at once—those who faced the flash bomb head-on.

‘Two.’

Rick and a single subordinate remained.

They desperately tried to think of a way out, keeping their distance from Jin.

The conclusion was obvious.

There was no way.

But admitting it was difficult. To be so powerless, unable to do anything, and forced to give up their lives as men.

The Royal Guard was not weak. They were strong enough to be called elite in the world of warriors.

But Jin had begun to stand on a completely different level from ordinary strongmen—that was the Royal Guard’s misfortune.

If they had unleashed their destructive sword techniques from the start, even at the cost of damaging the forest, the fight might have been less hopeless.

But they had no choice now.

They couldn’t run, and they couldn’t win.

They had never been trained to beg for their lives like dogs. Jin and they had met to kill each other.

If there was one thing most fair in the world of warriors, it was that the attitude toward defeat and death was a choice one made for oneself.

Suddenly, Rick and his subordinate turned their backs. Even though it was unthinkable to show their backs in this situation.

“Your Majesty, forgive my disloyalty in accepting death before completing my mission.”

They turned to salute the direction of the Biment Emperor one last time.

Jin could have ended them as easily as blowing his nose the moment they showed their backs.

“Still, if possible, I wish to serve Your Majesty even after death.”

But he chose to show them respect. It wasn’t hard to show mercy to an opponent with no personal grudge.

‘Is the Biment Emperor’s leadership that remarkable, or is the royal family’s brainwashing that effective? Such loyalty.’

Rick and his subordinate turned back and composed themselves.

“Thank you, Jin Runkandel. Thanks to you, I can offer my final salute as a Royal Guard knight to His Majesty.”

“Is it over?”

Rick nodded. He even gave a strange, unpleasant smile, but Jin paid it no mind and aimed Bradamante at him.

Clang!

Jin’s blade clashed with the Royal Guards’ swords.

Rick’s last remaining subordinate met his end without even grazing Jin’s armor after a dozen or so fierce exchanges.

As the leader, Rick’s swordsmanship was undoubtedly several levels above his men’s, but it was no match for Jin.

“Huff… huff…”

After over a hundred clashes, Rick was panting heavily, his body riddled with wounds. Many were fatal injuries, and the severe bleeding meant he wouldn’t last much longer even if he stayed still.

Thud!

Finally, Rick dropped to one knee. He simply couldn’t continue the fight.

Jin looked down at him with indifferent eyes.

“You have nothing more to say, do you?”

Rick didn’t answer. Instead, his body trembled uncontrollably. Jin couldn’t tell if it was the cold seeping in from the blood loss or a sudden fear of death in his final moments.

Screech…

But the reason for Rick’s shaking became clear the moment Jin severed his neck.

Something ominous was stirring within Rick’s body.

‘His blood… it’s forming a magic circle…!?’

The blood spilling from Rick’s body was tracing a strange magic circle on the ground.

Looking around, Jin saw it wasn’t just Rick— the blood of the fallen guards who had already died was also drawing the same magic circle on the floor.

“Jin, this is…”

Valeria, sensing something was wrong, rushed over to Jin’s side.

“I’m not entirely sure, but it looks like a magic circle that transforms the body.”