Chapter 425
Episode 123: So Suddenly? (3)
“Kyaaaah!”
“Ugh!”
The nobles and merchants, untrained in martial arts, instinctively screamed. They mistakenly thought Rata had attacked Jin, and even seeing Rata’s severed index finger didn’t immediately clarify the situation.
“What is the meaning of this, Rata Prochi!”
“This is the Garden of Swords!”
The guardian knights leveled their blades at Rata’s throat, their eyes flashing fiercely. Ten swords pressed tightly against his neck, yet the knights sensed something else.
If Rata willed it, he could easily deflect every blade aimed at him and move as he pleased.
‘The Ghost Captain is even more dangerous than the rumors suggested. Even with his finger severed, he still overwhelms us.’
‘Thank goodness he cut off his own finger. If he had unleashed the Twelve Techniques…’
The guardian knights shook their heads internally at the thought.
‘Probably nothing would have happened. The Twelve Techniques are no ordinary feat.’
Thick, sticky blood dripped from Rata’s severed finger, and Jin stared at it without flinching.
What is this madness?
Jin didn’t ask the question aloud. He simply waited, expressionless, for Rata to explain his actions first.
Yet, ironically, it was Rata who had suddenly drawn his weapon and acted unpredictably. Jin, on the other hand, radiated a strange, commanding presence.
There was a difference in weight, from the start. Beyond skill or rank, Jin carried an unexplainable dignity…
Rata felt it deeply. He wondered why it had taken him so long to realize that Jin was unlike any other sacred warrior he had ever met.
“As you know, allow me to formally introduce myself again. I am Rata Prochi, master of the Ghost Valley Star and leader of the Ghost Mercenary Corps.”
His polite tone caused another wave of surprise among those present.
Everyone had heard the rumors about the Ghost Captain more than once. The common image was of a ruthless, merciless killer—the king of murderers with no blood or tears.
“I am Jin Runkandel, one of the Twelve Techniques of Runkandel.”
“I have come today to apologize for my rudeness during the last encounter at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress.”
Jin glanced down at the severed finger.
“So you cut off your finger for that reason?”
“Yes.”
Losing one finger didn’t significantly impair Rata’s martial ability. For ordinary warriors, perhaps, but for those who had reached mastery, such a handicap was negligible.
Still, Rata’s act of severing his own finger was a blood price—a serious gesture of atonement.
“Put away your sword.”
At Jin’s command, the guardian knights withdrew their blades from Rata’s throat.
“Sir Rata.”
“Speak.”
“There is no grudge between us. You need not apologize to me, and your finger holds no value to me.”
Rata’s eyes trembled.
But it wasn’t from shame or humiliation. The emotion in his gaze was closer to unease.
“…Even if you cut off more?”
No, why does he keep wanting to cut off his fingers?
Instead of asking, Rata chose another reply.
“Cutting off your arm would be the same.”
“Damn, I should have prepared something else. Tell me—how can I make amends? I’ll try to meet your demands as best I can.”
At those words, the people in the hall exchanged glances. Could this really be the Ghost Captain? The guardian knights were equally shocked, though they kept their composure.
Even Jin was inwardly taken aback.
‘Rata Prochi isn’t usually like this. Why is he so compliant?’
Jin’s somewhat cold attitude toward Rata stemmed from this.
People like Rata—beasts, really—needed to be treated with a certain fear and difficulty. Hierarchy was crucial among such creatures, and Jin wanted to make it clear that he was clearly superior.
He expected this would lead to another duel with Rata.
Their fight at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress had effectively ended with Jin as the victor, but the outcome was muddled by the ensuing terror attack.
‘If Rata flew into a rage at my attitude and charged, I could use that as an excuse to duel him.’
Defeating the Ghost Captain in front of his entire clan would be a powerful statement.
Then, they could acknowledge each other, create a warm atmosphere, and naturally show that Jin had earned the Ghost Corps’ favor.
That was Jin’s hope for this meeting.
‘If he acts like this, there’s no need to fight.’
No need to make him kneel again—anyone could see Rata was clearly submissive.
‘Come to think of it, during my stay at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress after the terror attack, Rata kept lurking around me. I thought he was trying to negotiate payment under different terms, but was he actually looking for a chance to apologize?’
Thick drops of blood continued to stain the floor beneath Rata’s severed finger.
“Sir Rata, honestly, I expected you to challenge me to a fight again.”
“I’m not that foolish. I realized then that I’m not yet capable of fighting one of the Twelve Techniques.”
That statement caused a murmur among the crowd.
‘What does that mean?’
‘They fought during the terror attack at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress. Rumor has it the Twelve Techniques had the upper hand.’
‘Still, could the difference be so great that the Ghost Captain admits it?’
Many martial artists had predicted Rata’s superiority over Jin during their duel, so the Ghost Captain was originally considered the more formidable figure.
“Then, Sir Rata, you don’t owe me an apology—you owe me a debt. Do you remember?”
—Is he proposing a wager through a duel?
—Isn’t there someone I need to find from you?
—Before I kill you, I’ll get a blood oath.
—Blood oath or whatever. If you win, I’ll grant any request. You can take my life or do whatever humiliating act you want, as long as I’m alive. But if I win, the Ghost Corps must carry out one of my missions.
Jin recalled their conversation during the duel.
“Of course, I remember.”
“To carry out my mission, you must become stronger than you are now. This isn’t the time to be cutting off fingers. But I doubt you’re truly capable of taking on my mission. Guardian knights, bring the chief medical officer to my room immediately.”
“Yes!”
With a crisp sound, Jin cast a freezing seal spell and collected Rata’s severed finger.
“Follow me.”
As they left the reception room and headed to Jin’s quarters, a powerful tremor suddenly shook the Garden of Swords. It wasn’t an earthquake, but the kind of vibration that occurs when someone unleashes tremendous power.
The sky darkened to pitch black.
Rata had experienced this once before—when Murakan revealed his strength at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress.
“That’s your guardian dragon…”
“Ah, it seems it has begun. You needn’t worry.”
Curious about what was starting, Rata refrained from asking further, sensing Jin didn’t want to discuss it.
On the way, Jin pondered Rata’s mindset.
‘I hope he’s not acting like this without thinking.’
The chief medical officer summoned by the guardian knights arrived first and quickly reattached Rata’s finger before disappearing.
“…Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Let’s talk. Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Rata I remember held considerable hostility toward me and was reckless. You challenged me to a duel and nearly brought disgrace upon yourself.”
“Hmph, well…”
“Explain why your attitude has changed so drastically. If I don’t find your explanation convincing, I won’t accept the price of victory from you.”
Rata’s eyes widened. Then, as if resolved, he nodded and spoke.
“I have fallen for a man named Jin Runkandel.”
Jin nearly spat out the tea Gilli had just poured.
“Fallen for you? That’s not a good enough reason. You’d do all this for something so trivial?”
Frowning, Jin’s tone grew sharp for the first time.
“My clan elders probably ordered the Ghost Corps to assassinate me. If you wanted to make up for your failure and take on the mission again, why would you cling to me?”
“That makes no sense. If I were from a noble martial family like you, maybe. But Jin, I’m just a mercenary who lives by the sword. I don’t care if I act like a lowly beast. Especially in times like these.”
“Times like these? Explain.”
“I fought you in a duel, endured the terror at the Sword Emperor’s Fortress, and stayed there for about two weeks, watching how things unfolded. From that, I reached one conclusion.”
“What conclusion?”
“That the Ghost Corps can no longer survive by remaining neutral.”
—An alliance? The Ghost Corps never allies with any faction. We only have contracts and clients. Jin Runkandel, I challenge you to a duel.
That was not only what Rata said at the banquet but a direct rejection of the values the Ghost Corps had upheld as a mercenary group.
“That day was a turning point. It was the moment I realized my own arrogance through the duel with Gyeong, and when I became certain that the future of the war and the balance of power would unfold in a way completely unlike anything I’d known before—because of the terror Kinzello unleashed.”
The tunnels and monsters, the living golems, the massive warships, the wizards whose bodies twisted and transformed, and the demon race who revived them all, demonstrating overwhelming power.
Just as Lata said, the terror Kinzello committed that day shattered the common sense most people had held until then.
“And yet, the royal court didn’t protect Hailan afterward. Even though that mad faction destroyed the Sword Emperor’s Castle. It’s as if the royal family saw even the Sword Emperor’s Castle, with Lord Ron inside, as useless.”
“Perhaps the emperor saw it as a convenient opportunity to keep Hailan in check.”
“That would be too simple an explanation, considering the immense power Lord Ron wields. The royal court must have had preparations in place and decided to abandon Hailan. If the court was that ready, I wonder what that means for Ziphl and Runcandel. Kinzello showed his true strength firsthand.”
Since that day, Lata had felt a growing sense that a ‘new era’ had dawned.
An era too harsh to survive as a mere pure warrior or a mercenary group. If even Ron Hailan was being discarded, then the Ghost Corps would be even less relevant.
That’s why he concluded it was crucial to carefully choose who would dominate this new era—and to forge a strong alliance with them.
“In that sense, I am convinced that Lord Jin will become the future ruler of Runcandel. That’s why I came seeking to join forces with him. Does that explanation satisfy you?”