Episode 420
Chapter 121: Betrayal (3)
“A reward?”
“A reward?”
Dante and Veradin asked in unison.
“Yes, Lord Soga.”
“Since Hailan is also His Majesty’s territory, is this to commend the efforts in its protection?”
“That seems to be the case.”
Dante’s expression darkened. The emperor’s insidious behavior—praising Jin openly while pressuring Hailan behind the scenes—was infuriating.
By nature, Dante was upright and respectful, and as a subject, he refrained from showing too much displeasure. But inside, he was deeply troubled.
The messenger who brought the news also seemed to be suppressing a heavy heart.
“That bastard… Dante’s such a good man, and they don’t even recognize it. What a son of a—”
Veradin blurted out, and both Dante and the messenger’s eyes widened in shock.
They had never heard anyone speak so bluntly about the emperor before. Even Ronzo, notorious for his lack of formalities toward the emperor, had never resorted to such crude language.
“I’ve thought it’s about time to see that ‘Heavenly Face’ plaque the palace guards dare to call it. Well, this works out.”
Jin added casually, prompting Dante and the messenger to glance around instinctively. They knew no one was listening, but it was a reflex.
Even setting this incident aside, Jin harbored no fondness for the emperor. He’d clashed with the Special Task Force several times and had even fought the imperial guards recently in the Wantaramo Forest.
Moreover, Jin looked down on the Tikan Free City and was aware of the secret production of ‘Mine’—all reasons for distrust.
“Hmm, hmm. Friends, still, he is the supreme ruler of the empire…”
“Nah, neither Jin nor I are from Biment, so it’s fine. It’s fine.”
Eventually, Dante forced a smile, secretly relieved by their frankness.
“I’m glad you two are here.”
“Ha! Same here, Dante!”
Dante and Veradin both looked at Jin simultaneously, silently pleading, “Say you feel the same.”
Jin lightly brushed off their small hope.
“I wonder what kind of gift they’ll give. Should we head there now?”
“Yes, Lord Jin.”
Stretching, Jin rose from his seat.
“Looks like other factions are leaving the Sword Emperor’s Castle today, too. I’ll stop by the palace before heading back home.”
“So suddenly?”
Veradin’s eyes widened.
“Not really. You just arrived, but I’ve been here for about two weeks. Our talks are mostly settled, so it’s time I return. The Rune Kandel rider has a busy schedule.”
Dante, equally reluctant, couldn’t stop him.
Jin could have left anytime he wanted. If another rider had been at the terror scene instead of Jin, Hailan wouldn’t have even asked Rune Kandel to stay until the investigation was complete.
Jin had devoted his time purely to help Dante as a friend. Now it was time to return and focus on his own duties.
“But I just got here.”
“Yeah, now go back and make sure Zipl puts pressure on Hailan properly. You’re busy, too.”
“That’s cold…”
Just before leaving the basement, Jin glanced back at his friends.
Veradin looked crestfallen, and Dante was patting Veradin’s back consolingly.
“No matter what happens, as long as the three of us don’t betray each other.”
Seeing his friends nod, Jin couldn’t help but smile.
If he’d been born first instead of the youngest in an ordinary family, maybe he’d have siblings like these. The thought struck him suddenly.
“Take care, Jin. We’ll meet again soon. And next time, drinks are on me!”
“Good luck to you, too.”
Stepping out of the basement with the messenger, Jin was blinded by the bright sunlight.
Under a cloudless, expansive sky, the half-ruined, blackened Sword Emperor’s Castle looked out of place.
“Where is Lord Ron? I should pay my respects.”
“I will take you.”
Ron sat alone in the nearly collapsed main hall.
Though the hall was mostly in ruins, the throne of the Sword Emperor inside remained intact, oddly untouched.
To Jin, it symbolized Hailan’s situation perfectly. Despite attacks from inside and out, the great warrior Ron Hailan would surely protect that throne.
Perhaps because Jin knew Ron’s condition wasn’t good, he wanted to believe that even more.
“I heard the emperor summoned you?”
Ron spoke as he sensed their presence, and the messenger stepped aside.
“Yes.”
“Those royal bastards sure know how to call busy people back and forth. You’ll probably get insulted listening to the usual nonsense.”
Ron’s attitude toward Jin had changed. He no longer saw Jin merely as the ‘demon who bewitched his grandson.’
Since the terror incident, Jin had shown not only skill but also loyalty and affection toward Dante.
“How’s your condition?”
“Not good.”
Though Ron had suffered serious internal injuries fighting Kinzel, they weren’t fatal enough to prevent recovery.
Yet Ron’s condition showed no sign of improvement. In fact, it was slowly worsening—unthinkable for a tenth-rank warrior.
“This is serious.”
Dante was unaware of Ron’s true condition. Only Ron’s closest five aides and Jin knew the full extent.
“It’s serious when Ron Hailan has to rely on your hands to protect his grandson.”
Ron spoke casually, not boasting but confident that even with such injuries, it wasn’t a fatal problem.
But if the severity of Ron’s wounds became public, it would inevitably trigger chaos Hailan couldn’t handle.
“I don’t know if it was that red sword energy or something else, but if the day comes when I suffer an injury I can’t control, I thought it would be the day I crossed swords with your father… Yet, to think the leader of a group once known as a third-rate terror faction until recently…”
“He’s an incredible demon, no doubt.”
“Indeed. Even when he couldn’t show his full power, he was formidable. When he’s fully realized, he’ll be on par with your father.”
Jin didn’t take Ron’s words as an insult to his father. He felt the same way.
Ron sighed deeply.
It wasn’t from his injuries, but from the thought of his grandson having to face such a foe.
“The second generation of the great powers are fiercely competing, and I hoped Dante would stand at the top… but this isn’t the time for such rosy dreams.”
To face such demons, the second generations shouldn’t be competing—they should be uniting.
Not just against demons, but against Zipl as well.
“What do you think of Veradin Zipl?”
—Grandfather, if magic can manipulate human minds and memories at will, would you believe it?
Jin’s words at the banquet.
Ron had been increasingly concerned about mental manipulation ever since.
“On the surface, he seems fine. There’s no immediate way to tell if his mind has been tampered with.”
“Hidden demons, mental manipulation… just thinking about it makes this era filthy and complicated. When I was young, a single sword could conquer the world.”
“Simple and romantic, huh?”
“That romance wasn’t me, but your father who realized it.”
Ron shrugged and looked up at the gaping ceiling, the deep wrinkles around his eyes hinting at bitterness.
“Once the dust settles and this side is secured, I’ll help you claim the throne of Rune Kandel more easily.”
Ron didn’t say he’d make the impossible possible—just that he’d make what’s possible easier.
He already had no doubt Jin would become king of the Rune Kandel sword ghosts. He couldn’t imagine the other riders handling this steel serpent.
“Thank you for your words, Lord Ron.”
“I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Jin turned back, and Ron grinned—a wicked gleam in his eyes.
“Tell the emperor this: It’s best to choose wisely.”
“Understood.”
In Biment’s capital, no matter where you were, you could turn your head and see the palace.
Its towering spires gleamed yellow, reaching as if to touch the clouds, with sprawling palaces beneath, encircled by four rivers and wide, pristine white roads stretching between them.
The empire’s people proudly called it the Celestial Palace, not just the imperial palace.
No other palace on earth could compare; beside Biment’s imperial palace, all others would seem like mere piles of stones.
“The palace… it feels completely different from what I saw before returning. I’d heard it was luxurious and grand, but I didn’t expect this scale.”
Moreover, the spotless white roads, easily hundreds of paces wide, showed no trace of dirt or debris—how many servants must maintain this place?
Clack, clack…
The royal carriage carrying Jin came to a smooth stop, and the guards lining the avenue saluted. Jin naturally returned the salute, while the emperor and eunuchs watched from the upper floors of the spire.
“What do you think, Jin? Will Rune Kandel accept my proposal?”
The eunuchs only bowed their heads in response to the emperor’s question, offering no answers.
“Well, if I could have known that in advance, there’d be no need for this meeting at all. I suppose I asked you a pointless question.”
Again, the eunuchs simply bowed their heads.
In truth, all the eunuchs the emperor had brought to the tower had long since lost their voices—they simply couldn’t speak.
“Instead, I can use you to observe the basic nature of that man, Jin Runkandel, with my own eyes.”
Click!
Suddenly, the emperor flung open the window and grabbed the nape of the eunuch bowing closest to him.
Without a hint of hesitation, he effortlessly lifted the eunuch and tossed him out the window.
Though the eunuch couldn’t scream, Jin caught sight of him plummeting toward the ground below.