Chapter 423
Episode 123. Just like that? (Part 1)
“Hey, hey, bald guy. Do you have any idea what’s going on? Huh?”
Murakan shook Pikon, who had possessed the empty body of Blanche, trying to get some answers.
Jin had left the imperial palace and, accompanied by Murakan and Gilly, was now visiting Volta’s territory.
After hearing that Commander Kinzel had the ability to manipulate ‘iron’ like a blacksmith god, Pikon had told them to bring back a piece of that iron.
Fortunately, after Kinzel and his group had retreated, the iron forged by his power still remained on the battlefield.
Most of it had been collected by Hiran and handed over to the mages for study, but Jin had kept some pieces for himself.
[You impatient fool, do you think analysis is something you can finish just by looking at it? It takes time.]
“How long will it take?”
[If we’re lucky, about a week.]
“Can’t it be faster?”
[A week is already incredibly fast. If we’re unlucky, it could take months, and we might not get any useful results at all. You think it’s easy to extract user info from just a scrap of iron?]
“Hah! Who the hell is that guy anyway?”
Commander Kinzel.
Two things had become clear about him after the recent battle: first, that he was a demon, and second, that he possessed tremendous power.
[They say he’s a demon with strength that overwhelms even a 10-star knight and you. If that’s true, there should be unique magical energy left in the iron. Just wait patiently.]
“Alright, alright.”
[By the way, what are you planning to do with the remaining iron?]
Pikon pointed to the iron pieces still in Jin’s hand.
“I’m going to give them to Aria Hister.”
[The record mage, right? Good idea. She might be able to provide even more information than I can.]
Valeria was currently the busiest among Jin’s companions.
She was tracking down the magic of the missing Hister, restoring the recording devices Jin had given her, and even searching for Temar’s tomb all by herself.
‘I hope we can meet soon, but she’s probably swamped. I should send her a letter with a gift for the emperor enclosed.’
The golden crown, awarded by the emperor as a reward, had already passed through the teleportation gate and arrived at the Sword Garden.
They needed to send a proper thank-you in return.
‘The remains of the Maen.’
Rick Helter, captain of the fifth royal guard unit, and his subordinates whom they had encountered in the Wantaramo Forest.
After choosing to become Maen, they had expected their bodies to completely vanish without a trace, but Valeria’s freezing seal had left some parts of the corpses as evidence.
Jin planned to make this public soon.
‘From what I’ve heard, the emperor is ready to abandon Hiran. He seemed eager to eliminate Hiran as soon as the stones were recovered.’
That was why Kinzel was denying everything, and Gilly was subtly pressuring Hiran, but the royal family wasn’t stepping in to help.
‘Sending the dragon rider at the last moment was probably a necessary move, both because someone was watching and to uphold the royal authority. They also needed to find the stones. I bet the emperor secretly hoped Hiran would be destroyed then.’
The emperor wanted a more obedient Hiran, not the arrogant and uncontrollable Ron Hiran.
Losing Ron Hiran, the strongest warrior in Biment, and his grandson Dante, who was expected to be the next strongest, was a bitter loss.
‘But once the Maen came into play, they were no longer irreplaceable. The emperor judged that Ron and Dante posed a bigger threat to the royal family.’
“-Body modification? Like a biological golem?”
“-Similar, but a bit different. The old dark mages called it Maenification. It’s not a perfect magic circle.”
“-I agree. It’s slow to activate and looks unnecessarily complicated and crude at a glance.”
Valeria’s conversation about the Maen in Wantaramo Forest revealed that Biment’s Maen were not yet fully developed.
Still, the emperor believed that the loss of Ron and Dante could be compensated by the Maen.
‘Anyway, just like when Gilly’s biological golem issue blew up, this will deal an irreparable blow to the royal family’s image.’
After the terror attack, it seemed the royal family was siding with Kinzel, not Hiran.
But the people weren’t fools. Even with media manipulation and control, rumors spread that the royal family was trying to push Hiran out.
Hiran and Jin’s supporters kept publishing articles fueling those rumors.
What angered the people most was the biological golems and the giant monsters that seemed to obey human commands.
Especially after the Holy Nation incident, most ordinary people shuddered at the mention of ‘biological golems.’
Thanks to Jin exposing to everyone how cruel and brutal the process of creating biological golems was.
“Hey, kid. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking that the public can’t tell the difference between Maen and biological golems.”
“Huh? Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“We’re going to publish an article claiming the Maen corpses from Wantaramo Forest are actually the royal family’s biological golems, not Kinzel’s.”
“Master, is that really okay?”
“It’s manipulated information, but the royal family might cut off Hiran faster than I expected, so we have to stop that. The biological golem controversy is fatal. While they’re busy explaining and covering it up, they won’t be able to touch Hiran properly.”
The moment articles and evidence about ‘royal biological golems’ started circulating, the royal family would pay a price for quietly supporting Kinzel.
They would also have to clearly distance themselves from Kinzel. If they kept acting ambiguous, the biological golem that attacked Hiran could be falsely blamed as ‘royal property.’
That would make the royal family look like they tried to purge Biment’s greatest noble house by colluding with terrorists—and failed.
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. The emperor said he didn’t know you had the Maen corpses, right?”
“Yeah, he doesn’t. That’s why he acted so confidently. If he knew, he’d have had to negotiate with me submissively. Though I wouldn’t have accepted. Dino’s going to be insanely busy for a while.”
Jin smiled, imagining the emperor’s expression when the Maen corpse articles hit all of Biment.
“Ron Hiran was born at the wrong time. If he’d been born without your father around, he’d have deserved the title of strongest. Compared to Siron Runcandel, he’s been treated terribly.”
Murakan shrugged.
“Anyway, Pikon, we’ll be going now. Contact us as soon as the analysis is done and you find any clues.”
[Understood.]
As soon as they arrived in the city of Karon through the teleportation gate, the group couldn’t help but widen their eyes at the unexpected welcome and cheers.
“Wooooah!”
“Heroes of the Hiran incident!”
“Riders recognized by the Sword Emperor!”
“The great Black Dragon!”
Thousands of residents had gathered, having camped near the teleportation gate for days, waiting for Jin’s arrival.
Jin hadn’t felt it because he had been staying at the Sword Emperor’s castle and had just returned from the palace, but the outside world was already praising him as the hero of the Sword Emperor’s castle terror attack.
News of Jin and Murakan’s feats that day had spread across the continent, including Hupester.
Of course, many other warriors had performed remarkably that day, but Jin and Murakan stood out naturally.
Murakan had completely filled the sky with spiritual energy to protect the castle, and Jin had fought side by side with the Sword Emperor on the front lines.
Among the public, there was even talk that without Jin and Murakan, the Sword Emperor’s castle would have fallen that day.
“Black Dragon, please look this way!”
Normally, such a commotion would never be allowed in Karon city.
The teleportation gate was primarily used for official missions and was usually kept orderly.
Moreover, it was unthinkable for people to gather to welcome the 12 riders, who were rumored to be out of favor.
Yet, the fact that residents could gather and cheer loudly for the 12 riders was a result of the ‘10%’ supporters that had emerged since the declaration of the local lord.
“What’s with those guys?”
Murakan’s tone was gruff, but he didn’t seem to mind the voices praising him.
“They must be supporters of the young master.”
“Strawberry Pie, is it really worth all this fuss just because you helped the Sword Emperor’s castle?”
“Well, since the young master performed so well despite Ron being there… many people probably hope this will lead to an alliance between Runcandel and Hiran.”
The alliance between Runcandel and Hiran was a topic often discussed among the public.
For now, Gilly was ahead of Runcandel, but if Hiran joined Hupester, the gap would narrow significantly. Many held such hopes.
Though it was hardly realistic, given the royal family’s recent stance against Hiran and Jin’s achievements, anything was possible.
“Looks like more people came to see you than me, Murakan.”
“I feel the same.”
“Why me?”
“You’ve been Runcandel’s guardian deity for the past thousand years and showed great dignity in Hiran. Stop scowling and smile a little.”
“Why should I?”
Though he said that, Murakan smiled and waved his hand, and the crowd’s cheers grew even louder.
Then a man wearing single-lens glasses approached the group with the royal guards.
It was Petro, the number one steward.
“You’ve arrived, young master!”
“It’s been a long time since you greeted me so calmly.”
Just as he said, Petro usually came rushing to find Jin whenever he showed up. Jin often ended up causing trouble or bringing disgrace to the family before making his way to the Garden of Swords—and every time, there were always people ready to tear him apart.
This time was no different. Though the circumstances were unusual, Jin had once again gone too far in helping Hailan. He had even managed to fend off some attackers, presumed to be Black Knights.
“So, no family members sharpening their blades and waiting for you this time?”
“Not exactly, but the number of people openly showing hostility toward you has decreased quite a bit compared to before.”
“That’s a comforting thought.”
“However, a visitor came by just a moment ago, my lord.”
“Who?”
“Captain of the Ghosts, Lata Prochi. He showed up at the Garden of Swords unannounced, insisting on meeting you. And he brought a heavily armed group of mercenaries with him…”
Petro let out a heavy sigh.