Chapter 427
Episode 124: The Elders in Crisis (Part 1)
After the Ghost Squad had left, Murakan could barely contain his fury.
He had dreamed of a peaceful moment with Strawberry Pie, but once again, everything had unfolded exactly as that damn brat had predicted.
Over a hundred Guardian Knights had stormed Jin’s private training grounds.
That was no mere warning from Mu and Ann to Jin and the Ghost Squad—it was an outright assault. So the moment Murakan saw them, he unleashed his wrath.
The entire sky darkened with spiritual energy, and with just a few breaths, Murakan shattered half of the training hall and punched through the ceiling.
The Guardian Knights, their commanders, even the five hundred mercenaries sitting on the dirt floor nervously watching the prickly Black Dragon—all of them were caught off guard.
None had expected things to escalate this far. In an instant, Murakan subdued the Guardian Knights.
For the knights, it was better to be overwhelmed quickly. Despite Mu and Ann’s orders, fighting the family’s guardian deity and risking death over the Ghost Squad was madness.
Even Mu and Ann hadn’t imagined Murakan would actually be protecting the Ghost Squad mercenaries.
“Hey! You damn bastards! Didn’t you draw your swords when you saw me? Huh? Get your heads straight! None of you are sleeping tonight, got it? Damn it all…”
After the Ghost Squad had safely departed, the courtyard of the Sword Garden became a bizarre scene.
Murakan was drilling the Guardian Knights who had attacked him.
“One: To the great Black Dragon, two: Do not mess around. You there, yeah, you’re the representative. One.”
“To the great Black Dragon.”
“Two.”
“Do not mess around.”
It was an utterly surreal sight, but no one dared step in to stop Murakan. If it had been Jin, maybe—but Murakan was a somewhat uncomfortable presence for the entire family.
Outside the main house window, some watched this scene with boiling anger.
“Ha! This is a total mess. How can the Sword Garden be allowed to fall into such chaos?”
“Brother, this really isn’t right. Neither the youngest nor that strange Black Dragon!”
Mu and Ann were at Joshua’s room, fuming after witnessing the unexpected outcome and the punishment drill.
Joshua didn’t respond to his siblings’ sharp voices but instead fell into thought.
‘The youngest predicted all this just from Mu and Ann stirring the pot? That’s not just caution—that’s extraordinary insight. Yet he always causes a ruckus and leaves a huge impact…’
His expression was blank, but inside, he was uneasy.
He felt the youngest was closing in, right at his throat. The kid who once seemed easy to crush no longer existed.
“…Next time you mess with the youngest, think twice before you act.”
Joshua’s words made Mu and Ann blink in surprise. They hadn’t expected such a response.
“Brother?”
“What do you mean?”
“You two poke the hornet’s nest without thinking. Trying to pick fights with the Tona brothers only makes you look foolish.”
Seeing Mu and Ann grit their teeth, Joshua smiled gently.
“And your reputations affect me as well.”
Mu and Ann looked up at Joshua, startled.
Among their older brothers—Luna, who always disapproved; Luntia, who found them a nuisance despite their efforts; the condescending Diffus and Merry; Lan and Vui, who showed no interest—Joshua was the only one who cared for and acknowledged them. It had been a long time since he spoke so coldly.
“We’re sorry, brother.”
“We’ll do better from now on.”
“…Good. Our job is to clean up the mess the youngest makes in the family. And no more half-hearted poking. We need to build our strength and be ready for all-out war when the time comes.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
“No matter what the youngest does, we must not lose our own pace.”
“Understood, brother.”
Joshua shifted his gaze out the window. Murakan was still scolding the Guardian Knights, and the sight gave him a headache.
‘The Ghost Squad… Looks like there’ll be another clash between the youngest and the Elders’ Council.’
Joshua knew the Elders had commissioned the Ghost Squad to assassinate Jin.
‘The mission failed, and instead, some kind of bond formed between Jin and the Ghost Squad. So the Ghost Squad will have to silence or clean up the clients. I wonder how Elder Jorden will handle that.’
Jorden Runkandel, head of the Black Sword Association.
Joshua hoped Jin would wear him down through their clashes. If Jorden weakened himself, he’d be the one to reach out to Joshua first.
November 16, 1799 — A villa on the eastern coast of Huepester.
A group of elderly men sat on an open wooden terrace, gazing out at the beach. The large round wooden table before them was covered with high-end gambling cards, and their hands gripping the cards were surprisingly strong and vigorous for their age.
“Damn it, the cards just won’t go my way.”
“At this rate, I’ll lose even my pension, friend. Are you feeling uneasy? You’re pushing too hard.”
“The Ghost Captain coming to see the Twelve Disciples keeps bothering me. Could it be he told them about the commission?”
“If he did? Neither the Twelve Disciples nor the Ghost Squad would dare touch us recklessly. They’d risk turning the entire Runkandel clan against them. And if word got out that the client’s identity was sold, the Ghost Squad’s reputation would plummet. No one would use them again.”
“The Ghost Captain wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that.”
“Hmm, maybe.”
“I was planning to talk with the Elder soon anyway. Let’s wait a bit.”
They were the Elders of Runkandel.
Elders were a rank that didn’t require them to be present at the Sword Garden unless special circumstances arose.
Some devoted themselves to training to improve their skills, others stayed at the Sword Garden, and some, like these men, spent their remaining days indulging in pleasure and leisure.
Many courtesans who dealt only with the highest nobility of Bimant frequented the villa, and bottles of liquor worth hundreds of gold coins lay scattered on the floor.
“Maybe it’s time to stop, Elder.”
“Yeah, let’s go to the beach and clear our heads.”
Just as the women spoke, the Elders’ eyes suddenly changed.
“Shh, quiet.”
They all stood and turned their gaze toward the dark sea. The moonless night revealed only the sound of waves crashing, but the Elders sensed something hidden beneath.
“What’s that? A rowboat?”
The beach where the villa stood was normally inaccessible to outsiders.
“Not a lost fisherman, then. Anyone we might suspect…”
Suddenly—
Thud!
A dagger appeared from nowhere, stabbing the neck of one Elder mid-sentence. The dagger was wielded by the woman who had suggested going to the beach.
The other Elders drew their swords and lunged to stab her, but—
Crack!
The wooden floor of the terrace split open, and a group of assailants emerged, blocking the attack.
“Even my own brother revered him as a monster, yet you all play too carelessly.”
The woman removed the mask that had concealed her entire body. It was Faye Prochi. When she shrugged, another Elder’s head fell.
Though the Elders were all survivors of Runkandel’s brutal power struggles, their habits and complacency had dulled their blades.
The monotony of their usual haunts, and the arrogance that no assassin would dare touch a Runkandel Elder—this was why they were helpless against the Ghost Squad today.
When Lata appeared, veins bulged on the Elders’ necks.
“Ghost Captain…!”
“You crazy bastard!”
“Still, I’m not the least bit creeped out.”
Click. Lata lit a cigarette and looked at the surrounded Elders.
Just like when Faye had attacked Jin recently, the villa was already filled with paralyzing poison. Dozens of snipers had also shot poison-tipped arrows into the Elders’ limbs.
Still, the most formidable Elders radiated fierce auras, but none could stand against Lata while fully healthy.
And with Lata’s elite Ghost Squad backing her, death was inevitable the moment they allowed infiltration.
“Creepy? What nonsense are you spouting, Ghost Captain?”
“You have none of the chill I felt facing the Twelve Disciples.”
“Even if you kill us, the fact that you accepted our commission is already documented. The Elders’ Council, Runkandel itself, will annihilate you. The Ghost Song will vanish without a trace!”
The Elders did not beg for their lives. They shouted with conviction that the Ghost Squad would meet their end as well.
“I chose my people well. You don’t seem scared at all.”
“Are you talking about the Twelve Disciples?”
“Of course. Why else would I have gone all the way to the Garden of Swords to find the Twelve Knights? It was to sail on the same ship as him. Blame your complacency and incompetence for failing to prepare even after seeing that. It seems the backdrop of Runcandel sometimes makes people this foolish.”
“Nenooom!”
Screech—!
As Lata began swinging the ghost blade, the elders’ heads started to fall.
After eliminating all the elders alongside the troops, Lata said, “Collect the heads, and load the bodies onto the ferry.”
The next day, at the Elders’ Council.
“…Nearly ten elders were found as headless corpses. What on earth is going on here?”
“This is an insult and a challenge to Runcandel! Whoever did this, whoever’s behind it—we must uncover the truth and make them pay in blood.”
“What kind of lunatics would commit such an atrocity…?”
Almost all the elders had gathered, discussing the assassination from the previous night. Elder Chief Jorden was nowhere to be seen.
“Chairman Hobok! Please say something. How are we, the elders, supposed to respond to this crisis?”
Just as Lin Milkano was about to answer, click!
The council chamber’s main door swung open, and someone stepped inside.
“Greetings, elders.”
It was none other than Jin, carrying a dark sack slung over his shoulder and holding a single sheet of paper in his hand.
The moment Jin entered, the elders instinctively sensed that something was terribly wrong.
“W-what is that you’re carrying on your shoulder?” one elder asked in a trembling voice.
Jin placed the sack on the long table in the chamber. With a thud, the severed heads of the elders killed the night before rolled onto the table.
“These are the heads of the elders who targeted me. This,” Jin said calmly, “is the contract the dead elders signed with the Ghost Corps, asking them to assassinate me.”
As Jin spoke, most of the elders felt a cold, sharp sensation run down their spines.
It was a feeling they had long forgotten.
Fear.