Chapter 412
Episode 120: Why Hailran? (6)
Gahk—!
The claw struck the neck. The spirit-energy armor was seamless, perfectly shielding even the throat, but there was no way to block a blow from a Black Knight-level monster without feeling some impact.
Blood overflowed inside the helmet formed by Multa’s runes. A chilling pain surged through Jin’s entire body, so intense it felt as if his windpipe had been torn apart.
Crack! Thud!
The claw hammered Jin’s neck again and again. Amid the agonizing pain that made his hair stand on end, Sigmund was unleashed.
“You talk about being the next head of the family, yet you risk your life so easily. What is that ‘friendship’ worth? Without that armor, you’d be dead.”
If it weren’t for the armor, you wouldn’t have dared to thrust it forward—you know that as well as I do.
Jin wanted to retort, but no sound came out. Only the bubbling of blood in his throat could be heard.
‘That hit… damn, it hurts like hell…!’
The premise was to kidnap Dante without killing him.
In the chaos of the assailant’s sudden attack, Jin had forgotten that. Even if Jin had stood still, the assailant’s claw would have stopped before piercing Dante’s neck.
But Jin wasn’t just taking hits.
Behind the frenzied assault of the assailant, a dark orb of spirit energy suddenly rose—emanating from the Bradamante embedded in the ground.
And the assailant didn’t notice it. Spirit energy, unlike aura or magic, was undetectable by ordinary senses.
Crackle!
Sigmund blazed with dazzling lightning energy, leaving the assailant no time to watch his rear.
Still, every time claw met blade, the lightning energy surged through Jin’s body, and the assailant’s ability to endure without flinching made Jin inwardly grimace.
“Hmph, now you’re talking. You keep saying you risk your life only for me and Dante… but what about you?”
Shouldn’t you be risking it too?
Jin muttered under his breath and unleashed the “Emperor’s Sword: Waterfall” technique.
Countless shards of lightning energy poured from the blade, clouding the assailant’s vision.
The claw struck, leaving afterimages as it was deflected by the lightning energy, and Jin deliberately slowed his tempo, pretending to catch his breath.
Bite.
Like a fisherman casting a line, Jin hoped the assailant would recklessly close in to finish him off.
The assailant still had no idea what was happening behind him.
‘He’s hooked.’
The assailant closed the distance, absorbing some of the waterfall’s lightning energy with his body. The gleam in his eyes beneath the mask was chilling.
With all his might, he swung Sigmund. A strike filled with brute force—too much for the assailant to block with one hand.
Instead, he layered the claw over Sigmund to block the blow, then twisted the blade downward, aiming to stab Jin’s windpipe once more.
No matter how great the armor, repeated strikes to the same spot would eventually break through.
‘Overconfident. Did he think I’d back down from a full-powered strike?’
But just then, the orb of spirit energy behind the assailant began to move.
The assailant flinched—a reaction only explainable by the instincts honed through countless life-or-death battles.
‘What the…?’
A dangerous sensation, as if a blade was touching his neck.
The twelve riders before him should have landed a hit since his strike was blocked, yet somehow… Jin’s face, hidden beneath the helmet, seemed to be smiling.
The claw that had nearly reached his neck was withdrawn.
At that moment, the assailant gained only a fraction of a second—barely enough to blink.
Jin had sacrificed a strike that might have knocked him unconscious just to buy that brief moment.
‘Impressive. He truly deserves the title of Black Knight.’
Jin genuinely admired that decision. To forgo a guaranteed hit and prepare to defend was no easy choice.
‘Well, if he died here, that would have been a problem too.’
If Jin hadn’t created that tiny opening, the assailant would have lost his life. Jin was certain of it.
“Ugh…!”
Something sliced across the assailant’s back.
A black sword energy poured from the spirit orb. It was the spirit energy Jin had stored just before throwing Bradamante.
Like when forming a barrier or harmonizing energies, the spirit energy moved according to Jin’s will. An attack impossible with aura alone—because spirit energy belongs not just to ‘power’ but to ‘authority.’
The black sword energy disrupted the assailant’s stance.
Jin didn’t miss the chance. Sigmund surged forward, brimming with lightning energy.
The assailant decided that even if a streak of black sword energy cut his back, blocking Sigmund was the priority.
But that wasn’t the real attack.
‘I can’t let this hard-earned opportunity end with just one hit.’
Flash—!
Suddenly, a ball of magic with the attribute of light exploded in Jin’s palm.
Flash Cannon—the legacy of the ancient archmage Chenmi. A spell almost useless against top-tier warriors, but in this situation, it was a different story.
No matter how formidable a Black Knight is, if caught off guard by a sudden flash of light in the eyes, there’s nothing to be done—unless they can fight blindfolded.
Blood splattered.
Sigmund sliced into the assailant’s chest. This time, the wound was deep and serious. Jin felt the heavy sensation of blade meeting bone and flesh.
The assailant hastily raised the claw as a shield, but it wasn’t over. Even the most hardened warriors don’t quickly recover from being blinded by a flash cannon.
Until the assailant’s vision returned, the initiative belonged entirely to Jin.
“How’s that? This must be your first time fighting a magic swordsman, right?”
Thud!
This time, Jin pierced through the shield and stabbed the assailant’s thigh. Despite reacting instantly to every attack, it seemed unlikely the assailant would regain the upper hand even when his sight returned.
Five seconds passed—hell for the assailant, a sweet desert spring for Jin. The assailant’s vision was about to come back.
Huff, huff…
Unlike before, the assailant’s breathing was rough as he steadied himself.
Jin smiled and met his gaze.
“I don’t think you understood what I said earlier, so I’ll say it again. Stand down. The mission has failed. Tell your master that I will handle Hailran my way.”
He had heard the rumors about the Twelve Riders’ strength.
Though he hadn’t witnessed the Garden of Swords overturned single-handedly, even those who opposed the Twelve Riders admitted their power was formidable. Jin wanted to test that strength firsthand.
He also wanted to see what kind of man the assailant really was.
At first, he was disappointed.
To throw away a chance to bring down Hailran over some trivial friendship? It made the stories of a great warrior seem like lies.
Then he thought the assailant’s swordsmanship was sloppy. Using petty tricks and twigs wouldn’t lead to the pinnacle of swordsmanship—did he not realize that?
Yet here he was, losing the advantage to those very tricks.
Objectively, Jin had the upper hand.
‘No… not just me. The Twelve Riders haven’t unleashed their full power either. If both risked their lives, the outcome would be uncertain.’
Strange.
Facing Jin, he felt that way. Despite all the talk of friendship, this didn’t feel like Runcandel at all… yet the way Jin looked at him—
He couldn’t tell if it was the dignity of a king. Though his actions were those of a trickster wielding petty tricks, his eyes held a depth that was hard to judge.
It was a unique aura Jin hadn’t sensed from the other riders.
He was troubled.
Was it better to risk everything to secure Dante, or to retreat now? Which was the wiser choice?
And Jin saw right through that thought.
“That’s not the way, Black Knight.”
The assailant’s eyes widened beneath the mask.
“You’re a black helmet for the family, not a rider. What you need isn’t a fight, but efficient mission completion. Throwing your life away on a failed mission is a huge loss for the family. Go back and prepare for the next one.”
Crack, rumble…!
The shockwaves from the battle outside continued to shake the fortress.
Cracks appeared along the walls of the Great Hall, dust and stone chips rained from the ceiling.
The pillars holding it up swayed precariously, as if a single knock could bring them down.
“Looks like the perfect time to leave.”
As Jin spoke, one pillar snapped, and the floor beneath it collapsed.
The Great Hall crumbling meant the entire Sword Emperor Fortress was on the verge of collapse.
In the end, the assailant turned away.
He draped the bodies of the fallen assailants over his shoulders. Without looking back, he said:
“I’ll overlook your bluff this time. But if your choice today becomes a threat to Runcandel, the Black Helmets themselves will come for your neck.”
Before Jin could respond, the assailant slipped through the newly broken wall and disappeared from sight.
Jin dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.
‘Even with the spirit-energy armor protecting me, I’ve taken some serious internal damage…’
If the assailant had continued the fight, the damage would have been considerable.
Though there was the last resort—the Black Flame Summon—so losing his life was unlikely, whether Dante could have been protected was another matter entirely. When cornered, who knew what choices the attacker might have made?
From Runcandel’s perspective, Dante’s death wouldn’t have been an entirely bad outcome either.
The exhaustion from the relentless battle was crashing down all at once.
“I need to get Dante out of here and check the perimeter.”
Crack—!
The entire ceiling began to collapse. Jin quickly gathered Dante and rushed out of the Great Hall, heading toward the outer walls.
The outer walls near the Great Hall were all in ruins. Climbing up the least damaged section, the scene that greeted him was a battlefield where Ron and Berakt were locked in fierce combat.
Nothing remained near the battlefield. The central training ground had vanished without a trace, and the surrounding buildings were all reduced to rubble, leaving only the scars of destruction.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Dante, regaining consciousness, let out a heavy groan.
Are you coming to, Dante?
But Jin couldn’t bring himself to ask.
His attention was stolen by the shocking sight before him: Ron Hyland, blood-soaked and gasping for breath, standing there in a battered state. Opposite him was Berakt, equally wounded.