Episode 431
Chapter 124: The Elders in Crisis (5)
The elders didn’t take Jorden’s words too seriously. They assumed he was just showing off his authority, as he sometimes did when there was nothing pressing to do—his statements carrying little real weight.
“Haha, who dares suggest we’re to be left behind, Elder Jorden?”
“Of course, that won’t happen. Whatever comes, we’re all ready to follow your will.”
“Exactly! If the Elder wishes, I’m even prepared to return to active duty immediately…”
As the elders habitually echoed his sentiments, Jorden’s gaze turned icy. He was sick of these hollow responses, devoid of any genuine feeling.
“Is that so? You all understand me well. But there’s no need for you to return to active duty. As I said earlier… from this moment on, we will be at war with the 2nd and 12th cohorts.”
It was then that the elders realized something was terribly wrong.
“Elder Jorden, when you say war… you mean it literally?”
“Exactly. We will first deal with the 12th cohort.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tikan Free City.”
The moment Jorden uttered that name, the elders’ expressions stiffened.
“That place is the 12th cohort’s most critical stronghold, and the people inside are their most trusted allies.”
“You intend to strike Tikan?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, but Elder Jorden, have you forgotten something? Tikan is a place no Run Kandel can invade recklessly.”
—That’s not a betrayal, just luck. In fact, I had already formed a bond with Sir Kashimir upon arriving in Tikan.
—Good. In any case, you’ve passed the test. From today on, no Run Kandel will set foot in Tikan without your permission, not even Siron Run Kandel.
—Thank you, Father.
This was a conversation between Jin and Siron during their probationary cohort days, when Jin briefly returned to the family, breaking a taboo.
At that time, Jin had passed Siron’s test and secured freedom over the stronghold. Since then, no Run Kandel had directly attacked Tikan, even when Jin caused trouble. When the arrest order was issued near the end of the probation, the guardian knights never came to Tikan.
The family head’s orders were absolute. Since Siron never revoked that command, Tikan remained off-limits to all Run Kandel except Jin.
“That’s true. But it’s not impossible. We can send those who aren’t Run Kandel.”
The elders’ eyes widened again.
“Elder Jorden, that’s not entirely wrong, but isn’t it just wordplay? The family head’s order surely forbids Run Kandel from hiring outsiders to attack Tikan.”
“Exactly, Elder Jorden. And we all witnessed what happened when they recklessly used outside forces against the 12th cohort.”
The elders recalled the moment Jin returned with the severed heads of dead elders packed in sacks. The air seemed to grow colder at the memory.
“Seems like you all are hesitant to fight the 12th cohort. Well, that’s understandable. Those who carry my orders to strike Tikan are merely playing with words, defying the family head’s command. But how many times have the 12th cohort mocked us with that same wordplay?”
Jorden was right.
During his probation, Jin had broken the rules multiple times, each time using his silver tongue to turn punishments into rewards.
“We must do the same. There’s no answer left in a straightforward fight. I’ve said it clearly: there will be no safe battles anymore. Those who are afraid may step down, but if you do, you must relinquish your title as Run Kandel elders.”
In that moment, most elders recalled Jorden’s younger days. Even before leading the Black Sword Society, he had formed an assassin squad to eliminate his enemies.
In the early years as Black Sword leader, he carried out bloody purges for years.
In other words, if they chose to step down now, it meant their heads would eventually fall to the Black Sword’s blade.
“The 12th cohort… I understand they haven’t yet experienced many deaths among their own. As the family elder, I will remind them of that pain.”
Jorden continued.
“Elder Jorden, then… who do you plan to send to Tikan?”
In an unnamed desert in the eastern Kascal Principality.
While Jorden and the elders prepared to strike Tikan, Jin and some comrades were tracking down the fleeing elders of the Ghost Squad.
“I never imagined Seigarga had set up a secret fortress in such a remote place. And that the fleeing elders were still in league with them,” Lata said, sitting beside Jin. Jin, disguised, was sipping tea in a nearby village’s restaurant.
Seigarga.
Once the ruling family of the Ghost Squad, they had been mostly wiped out by Smarion Prochi, leaving them in ruin.
But having ruled the Ghost Squad for centuries, Seigarga had hidden their last reserves of power in this barren, tiny desert.
Combining the information networks of the Seven-Colored Birds and the Ghost Squad proved more efficient than expected. They had found this desert within three days of forming their alliance.
“Have you confirmed that the traitors leaked the secrets of the Ghost Valley to outsiders?”
Lata nodded gravely.
“Yes. But it’s unclear whether they passed information to Biment, Ziphl, Kinzel, or other factions.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. How many Seigarga remain in the fortress?”
“Excluding retainers and servants, not many fighters. But before my father became family head, there were the brothers Rox and Lax Seigarga, known as the ‘Sacred Ones,’ and a few other heavy hitters. The elders aren’t weaklings either.”
Rox and Lax Seigarga. Jin had seen their names a few times in war chronicles. Without Smarion, they would have easily become heads of the Ghost Squad.
Though they had long stayed hidden, if they hadn’t laid down their swords, they would still be formidable.
“Wait here. My men and I will handle it.”
“No, I’m coming along. To assess our strength and coordinate.”
Pey formed a perimeter with the troops, while Jin, Lata, and some squad leaders prepared to assault the fortress.
“Be careful not to destroy any important documents inside. If possible, subdue them quickly and quietly.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And if there are civilians, they must be rescued. No killing just because they’re inconvenient.”
Unlike noble families or royal houses, mercenaries often dealt with civilians harshly—killing those who caused trouble or weren’t profitable.
But the Ghost Squad was no ordinary mercenary group anymore. Under Jin’s command, they followed the code of a noble house.
“Understood.”
Soon after Pey signaled the perimeter was secure, Jin, Lata, and the squad leaders slipped into the darkened desert.
Seigarga’s last stronghold was an underground fortress.
They had amassed wealth by trafficking drugs and various black-market goods here, dreaming of pushing out the Prochi siblings and reclaiming the Ghost Squad with the traitorous elders.
Beneath the soft sand, Jin’s foot struck something unusually hard—the entrance to the underground fortress.
As they brushed away the sand to check the door, a voice called out.
“Who’s there?”
Since it was a secret fortress, no guards were posted outside, but someone was always stationed beneath the door.
Before the man could ask again, a squad leader drove a poison-tipped needle through the door.
Thud!
A faint tremor passed through the door, then silence.
The door guard had died instantly. Another squad leader used a special explosive unique to the Ghost Squad to silently blow the lock.
True to their reputation as one of the world’s top mercenary groups, they excelled at infiltration.
Inside, a vast space opened up, resembling a giant ant colony. The group soon encountered the remaining Seigarga loyalists.
“Attack!”
Not a single one managed to warn others of the danger. All fell to Jin and the Ghost Squad’s blades without even a dying scream.
Jin spared only one man, giving him a moment to speak.
“P-please spare me! I’m just a hired mercenary.”
“Where are the Seigarga brothers?”
“In the innermost room at the center… please…”
He bore no direct grudge, cooperated by revealing their location, wasn’t a significant threat, and truly was just a hired soldier.
Still, Jin showed no mercy.
Though he preferred to avoid unnecessary killing, he wasn’t soft enough to spare even enemy soldiers.
Thud!
Jin ended the man’s life. The squad leaders who followed silently nodded in approval.
‘I was worried he might be too soft if he insisted on sparing civilians.’
‘No way our captain would swear loyalty to such a fool. No worries going forward.’
Wiping the blood from his blade, Jin signaled the squad leaders.
“From here, we split up. Lata and I will handle the Seigarga brothers. Squad leaders, search the rest of the fortress.”
“Understood.”
The leaders dispersed, and Jin and Lata moved swiftly and quietly toward the Seigarga brothers’ quarters.
Given their exceptional skills, most who crossed paths with the two met their end without even realizing who they were facing.
Finally, when they reached the last chamber, they came face to face with the Seigal brothers, fully armed and ready.
“Rata Prochi, you…!”
“How did you find this place?”
Rata said nothing, casually spinning his twin swords.
“Good. So it comes to this in the end. But do you really think you can take us on alone?”
“Come then!”
They completely underestimated Jin, the man standing beside Rata, dismissing the possibility that he was an even more formidable warrior.
Because of that, Rox Seigal focused all his attention on Rata’s movements—and was swiftly humiliated when his leg was severed.