Chapter 414
Episode 120: Why Hyiran? (8)
Before Ron’s intangible sword energy could even block the cannon fire, an even sharper, more piercing sword energy cut through the air, intercepting the attack.
Everyone on the battlefield was left utterly stunned.
It was as if two massive beams of light had collided head-on—the sword energy of Linpa clashing directly with the cannon fire from the warship Grnil.
Kshhh—!
The cannonball shattered, scattering blue shards like hailstones. But this time, the other warriors didn’t have to deal with the fragments.
Ron’s intangible sword energy swept through the air, clearing away the debris as if a fierce wind was blowing dust aside, leaving no trace behind.
Seeing this, Jo couldn’t help but shout out in disbelief.
“Good heavens! What in the world is happening?!”
The Grnil warship suddenly tilted to one side. Linpa’s sword energy had sliced through the cannon, pierced the transparent shield, and struck the hull directly.
That such damage could be inflicted with a single strike was thanks to Ron’s earlier attacks on the transparent shield.
A terrifying power, on an entirely different level.
With just one blow, Linpa inspired awe among the ground warriors. Truly, the fourth War King of the extinct, most powerful warrior race was living up to her name.
Most people didn’t know much about the Meiwang race, so they assumed she was just one of Jin’s comrades. They only found it remarkable that such a formidable being was fighting alongside him.
“Ahhh! Uncle Jo, didn’t you say we’d be safe once we got back on the ship!?”
Margiela shouted.
She was being treated inside the ship after being rescued along with Vishkel and Bubar while Jin fought the intruder.
“That should have been the case, but then an unexpected variable appeared…”
“Margiela, your wound has reopened. Don’t move.”
“Ugh, my—my waist! Vishkel, my waist!”
“Shut up, Bubar!”
Jo propped himself on his staff and stood, scanning the battlefield again.
At first, he had been too shocked to see clearly, but it was unmistakable—the damage to the hull was caused by the Meiwang race.
They were the foundation of the bio-golem “Myeongin” that he had been researching.
“T-The Meiwang…!”
Jo’s eyes gleamed as he smiled.
“It’s the Meiwang, Margiela! If we can secure a specimen, we’ll be able to create a perfect Myeongin… Ack!”
Bang!
Another shockwave rocked the ship’s interior.
This time, it was the result of Ron’s intangible sword striking the bow. Though the shield hadn’t completely shattered, it wasn’t enough to fully absorb the sword’s power, and chaos erupted inside the ship.
“Ahh!”
“Margiela!”
“My—my waist! My waist!”
“We have to secure a specimen…!”
As everyone blurted out their thoughts reflexively, something dark hurtled through the opening at the bow.
At first glance, it looked like a rock flung up from the ground amid the sword energy storm, but the Kinzellos inside the ship caught a flash of light in its eyes.
It was Linpa.
With a single leap from the outer wall, she had reached the bow of the Grnil warship. The outer wall she had jumped from crumbled under the force.
The Kinzellos swallowed hard, and the next moment, they faced Linpa’s greatsword.
It was like a mythical beast swinging its claws. The arc of her greatsword in the air was large enough to slice across the entire Grnil.
Kshhh—scratch! Slash!
The blue sword energy gouged the hull.
Instantly, the Grnil’s altitude dropped, and the complex machinery adorning the hull shattered, falling like dust.
Thud!
The ground where Linpa landed was crushed, forming a deep semicircular crater.
Before the tremors even subsided, she leapt again, aiming for the lower part of the hull.
‘Even Bartonzo, the Black Knight, used sword energy as propulsion, but the Linpa siblings… they just leap and fly.’
It was well known since their training days in Laprarosa that Linpa was among the stronger War Kings, but this was the first time Jin had seen her unleash her full power.
A memory flashed through his mind—mocking Linpa’s initial training in the Golden Words technique.
Now, thinking back, it sent a chill down his spine.
Whoooosh!
Linpa’s greatsword struck the lower hull, creating a black hole. A simple thrust, nothing special, yet a crack the size of a house spread across the hull.
Just as Linpa was about to land again—
Suddenly, a storm of lightning wrapped around the Grnil. It was fiercer than the hellish cannon fire that had been raining down from the Sword Emperor Star.
Linpa was caught in the storm, unable to land.
The warriors watching shared the same thought: could Jin’s comrade really come out of that lightning storm unscathed?
By all logic, it seemed impossible. Judging by her power, she might survive, but she wouldn’t come out unharmed.
It was as if tens of thousands of thunderbolts had coiled around the Grnil. The Sword Emperor Star area was bathed in a flashing blue light, casting long shadows over those standing on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ron and Berakt’s swords continued to clash. Ron had regained some composure but looked somewhat exhausted from defending the entire Sword Emperor Star.
Of course, exhaustion didn’t diminish the Sword Emperor’s dignity. Despite the bloodshed and fatigue, Ron’s intangible sword grew sharper with each strike.
Jin still stood on the outer wall, observing the battle and controlling his body. Naturally, he wasn’t worried at all about Linpa trapped in the lightning storm.
‘I didn’t know they had an attack like that besides the cannons. Insane fools. That’ll only provoke the Linpa siblings.’
Rumble…!
The lightning storm began to dissipate. Against everyone’s expectations except Jin’s—
Linpa landed on the ground, completely unharmed.
The first words she spat out upon touching down were:
“Imitating our… power… fake. Disgusting…”
The lightning gathered in her greatsword glowed with an even sharper light.
Instead of leaping back toward the ship, Linpa turned her gaze toward Ron and Berakt.
The ship was already too damaged to function properly, so she judged that killing the enemies on the ground took priority.
The White Wolf tribe.
From the moment she was summoned, Linpa had sensed the distinct scent of the White Wolf tribe, stirring a strange feeling within her.
It was like encountering an old forgotten toy…
Berakt, sensing her gaze, put distance between himself and Ron. He was now breathing heavily and roughly.
“Come on in. I’ll take on both of you at once.”
Berakt’s voice was filled with a mighty aura.
The title of White Wolf tribe’s great warrior was not something earned lightly.
Even the Meiwang, whose absolute terror had been etched into blood for thousands of years, could not be suppressed by mere willpower easily.
Among the beastmen of this generation, only a handful could suppress that fear with sheer will.
From Berakt’s perspective, saying he would face Linpa as well was no bluff.
As a warrior who had reached the polar extremes, he had absolute confidence in his power.
But to Linpa, it was no more than a puppy’s yapping.
“You guys… then and now… when scared, your first instinct is to bark. Though, I suppose you’re the best of the White Wolves.”
Linpa and Ron charged at Berakt simultaneously.
There was no way to dodge. Berakt raised his greatsword, blocking both swords at once, and the ground beneath him sank as the battle raged.
“Whoever you are, thank you. Thanks to you, my knights can catch their breath.”
If this fight had been an honorable one-on-one duel, Ron would never have allowed Linpa to join.
But to Ron, this battle was simply about wiping out the terrorists who had attacked the Sword Emperor Star and exterminating the beasts.
There was no need to consider honor when it came to efficiently killing beasts.
“Express your thanks to my… brother. I won’t remember today’s events anyway.”
This was the first reason Jin was reluctant to call upon his brothers.
The Meiwang who answered the black call were less summoned beings and more like guardians made of spirit and soul.
Their souls would forget everything that happened in the Inse realm once they returned to Laprarosa.
It felt wrong to burden his already forgotten and destroyed brothers.
“Is Jin Runkandel your brother?”
Ron hadn’t witnessed Linpa emerging from the black gate, as he was busy fighting Berakt.
He was essentially defending the entire Sword Emperor Star alone.
“Yes.”
“I’ll thank him personally after the battle.”
“How dare you say that to me… in front of me!”
Berakt roared and swung his greatsword, but it was impossible to handle the combined strength of the two.
His bloodied fur and torn flesh showed the toll of the fight.
If they had air support, they wouldn’t be pushed back like this, but the Grnil warship was no longer able to gather lightning as quickly as before.
Total destruction.
That was Jin’s goal—to smash the Grnil, and if possible, cut off the lifelines of Berakt and the Kinzello group.
But there was one problem he had to keep in mind.
“If the tide of battle turns this badly against us, there’s a high chance that bastard commander will show up… just like during the Dark Magic Council, he might try to escape with his men.”
But it wasn’t only Ron and Linpa on the battlefield.
In the sky, Murakan, Quikantel, and the other dragons still soared. And since no more fragments were falling, the ground troops could rejoin the fight.
Even if he came, escaping so easily like last time wouldn’t be possible.
Jin gritted his teeth and came to that conclusion. Then, at that moment—
Fssssss…!
Suddenly, a mass of ‘iron shards’ began gathering right in front of the lead ship, the Grnil.
Murakan, recognizing the iron gate forming, landed beside Jin and revealed his energy.
[Jin. It’s him.]
“Yeah, I figured he’d show up. No gentleman, that one.”
Murakan frowned, clearly displeased.
Fortunately, before Captain Kinzello’s iron gate was fully formed, Jin had recovered enough to prepare a spell.
“Murakan, we’re going to take him on.”
Jin said, drawing up his magic power.