Chapter 428
Episode 124: The Elders in Crisis (Part 2)
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Surely, no one in their right mind would…!”
The elders struggled to conceal their shock. Their pale, strained necks cluttered the long table before them.
Finding the sight bothersome, Jin swept several severed heads aside with a flick of his hand and placed a contract on the table.
“I brought copies just in case. It wouldn’t hurt for all of you to read through them. Consider it a reference—if any of you plan to kill me, you’ll have to pay at least this much to assassins of the Ghost Corps’ caliber.”
Why was it so hard to shout at this madman of the 12th generation? It felt as if a stone was lodged in their throats, and the heavy, suffocating atmosphere in the chamber pressed down on them relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Jin smiled softly and continued.
“Of course, this is just the minimum cost. If you pay only this much and luck isn’t on your side, this is exactly what happens.”
The room fell so silent that even breathing seemed amplified.
Jin calmly scanned the faces of the elders, who struggled to find a place to fix their gaze.
They were, after all, the elders of Runcandel.
Classified as prodigies from childhood, they had become Runcandel cadets, survived countless battles as knights, earned numerous merits, and now, in their old age, held esteemed seats in the Garden of Swords.
Their stiffened expressions weren’t due to the monstrous martial prowess Jin had displayed recently.
They had long since grown weary of warriors with overwhelming power.
No, there was something else about Jin.
Something that couldn’t be explained by his exceptional skill or his unimaginable audacity.
It was like staring at a wall.
A wall that could never be climbed over or broken down, no matter what you did.
In a way, the elders saw in Jin a reflection of Siron in his youth.
But just because they glimpsed Siron didn’t mean Jin truly was Siron.
And shrinking back in fear was something the elders of Runcandel could never allow themselves to do.
“Have you ever seen such a madman? 12th generation, do you even know what you’ve done? How dare you spout such nonsense here!”
“There’s not a shred of respect for the family elders in you. You say the dead elders tried to kill you? And you bring that pathetic scrap of paper as evidence? After murdering no less than ten elders…!”
“This is an insult to the Council of Elders! What you’ve done is outright treason against the family!”
Like a dam breaking, the elders sprang to their feet, shouting curses. Their faces twisted with rage, as if they could devour Jin on the spot.
The murderous intent radiating from them sent jolts through Jin’s body, but to him, it was nothing more than a trivial energy.
“Respect, insult, treason.”
A scoff escaped his lips.
It wasn’t a forced laugh to provoke the elders further.
Jin genuinely found their words laughable.
He was so disgusted that he nearly vomited at the thought of sharing the name ‘Runcandel’ with these old, rotten men.
“You’re laughing? You’ve lost your mind…!”
“You relics of a decayed era, do you not know shame?”
Once again, the elders blinked in stunned silence, as if struck by a heavy blunt object.
“You want me to respect you? To not insult Runcandel?”
This time, Jin’s expression twisted with fury.
His eyes blazed with fierce killing intent, yet his lips curled into a smile, giving him the look of a demon possessed.
“It’s you who are insulting Runcandel—the shining name of struggle! I’m sick to death of sharing a name with you, who sit in your old age, swallowing rotten power.”
“12th generation!”
“Shut up, before I put your head on this table too. From now on, you’d better listen carefully to what I have to say.”
The elders were ready to draw their swords, but Lin Milcano, the head of the Defense Council, raised her hand to restrain them.
Though she maintained her composure, Lin’s hand trembled slightly—a tremor born of anger and dread.
She was one of the few who had witnessed Jin’s imposing presence firsthand during his declaration as family head.
“Don’t forget the essence. I humiliate the elders by killing them because they lost to me in battle. If you’re upset by that, then defeat me and trample me underfoot—by any means necessary!”
A war for rank.
Jin regarded his fight with the elders as such.
Not as a battle between generations, but as a clash between Runcandel and Runcandel.
Silence fell again, broken only by Jin’s ragged breathing.
As the bloodshot fury in his eyes faded, his breathing steadied, and his expression returned to its usual indifferent calm.
“From now on… I hope you will show yourselves worthy of standing against me, elders.”
With that, Jin left the chamber without waiting for a response.
The elders stared silently at the spot where he had vanished, all sharing the same feelings: defeat, humiliation, and rage.
“Sigh… After the last rampage, the elder head said the 12th generation had many duties for the family, but this has gone far beyond reason. We need urgent measures. We can’t let him run wild like this any longer.”
“The 12th generation has truly lost his mind! First, we must prepare funerals for the fallen elders, then inform the elder head and the acting family head. This matter demands severe punishment…”
Clack, clack!
Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the corridor.
It was Rosa Runcandel, the Black Panther.
“The elders need not inform me separately. I have already seen and heard everything myself.”
As Rosa entered the chamber, the elders rose and bowed their heads.
Though expressionless, they couldn’t miss the dangerous aura she exuded.
‘She must have crossed paths with the 12th generation just now. Has the acting family head taken no action?’
‘There’s no way the acting family head and the 12th generation are working together… This doesn’t feel right.’
As the elders suspected, Jin had indeed encountered Rosa on his way out, but they exchanged neither words nor glances.
Like predators avoiding a fight at an unfavorable time.
Rosa looked down at the severed heads on the table.
A brilliant, white aura flared in her palm like the sun, and without hesitation, she incinerated the skulls with that aura.
No blood, no flesh, no bone, no brain matter splattered.
The skulls simply evaporated cleanly under the heat radiating from her hand.
The elders were once again horrified.
‘The acting family head must still be recovering from internal injuries, so what is this level of power?’
‘She’s reached a new enlightenment. Otherwise… it’s like watching the family head’s sword.’
A realm that completely annihilates matter.
What Rosa had just displayed resembled the realm Siron had reached, but it was by no means the same.
Rosa herself felt that keenly.
‘Since the youngest took that all-out strike from me that day… it’s been a long time since I gained a new insight. But the land you’ve reached is still infinitely far away, family head.’
After suffering a severe injury from Jin’s sword, Rosa had managed to break through one layer of her own limits.
Regardless of power, the sword Jin wielded that day shocked her more than any other she had faced.
Today, she showed the elders the result of that breakthrough for the first time.
“Congratulations, acting family head! You have reached a new realm.”
“Amidst the family’s turmoil, such good news… You must still be far from full recovery, yet your power is tremendous.”
As the elders began to offer their congratulations, Rosa’s gaze suddenly turned icy cold.
The elders felt their very insides freeze under that chilling stare.
“What did you hope to achieve by informing me of the 12th generation’s actions, elders?”
The smiles on their faces stiffened instantly.
“Did you expect me to punish the 12th generation on behalf of the Council of Elders?”
“Acting family head, that is—”
“Or did you hope I would shield you so the 12th generation could no longer harm the Council?”
They couldn’t bring themselves to deny it.
Their wrinkled faces flushed with shame.
“Head of the Defense Council, you may answer.”
Rosa pointed at Lin, who took a deep breath.
“There is not a single word wrong in the acting family head’s statement. I am but an old woman, and I am deeply ashamed.”
“From today onward,” Rosa said, turning to the elders, “the Council of Elders must prove its purpose and value anew. Should you disappoint me even once more, I will temporarily disband the Council until the family head returns.”
“N-no, acting family head! What do you mean by that?”
“Temporarily disband the Council? That’s excessive—”
Before the elder could finish, a sword energy shot out from Rosa’s palm, slicing him clean in two.
Fssss…
Instead of blood, pure white particles infused with aura spilled from the severed wound, coloring the air.
When the flow of particles ceased, the elder’s corpse took on a strange form, as if half-burned.
“I trust there are no more among you who believe that time gained for free grants you the power to defy my words.”
As Lyn Milcano dropped to one knee, the other elders followed suit in unison, lowering themselves.
Rosa looked down at them and said, “Whether you choose to fight relentlessly or live like vermin, remember this: depending on your choice, I can be infinitely merciful—or ruthlessly cruel—to you elders and your kin.”
At Rosa’s final words, the elders’ faces drained of all color.