Chapter 452
Episode 130: New Year, Rumors, and the Great Reconstruction (Part 1)
Breaking News: The Black King’s Mountain Stronghold Has Been Destroyed!
The Ruins of the Black King’s Mountain Stronghold—What Fate Awaits the Vise Kingdom?
Black King Commander Valkas Kran is Reportedly in Critical Condition. His Silence on the Matter Suggests the Truth.
Why Was the Black King’s Stronghold Attacked?
The Leading Suspects So Far: The Twelfth Rune Knight and His Guardian Dragon, Murakan… Was There a Grudge Between Them?
Was the Power of the Black King’s Order Just a Bubble? The Mercenary World’s Legend Crumbled by One Dragon and One Man.
Black Dragon Murakan Tramples the Black King’s Stronghold!
Rumors Say Jin Rune-Kandel, the Twelfth Rune Knight, Had Already Subdued the Ghost Legion Before This Incident… Is He Rallying Neutral Forces?
What Will Become of the Black King’s Order?
As always, a flood of frantic news articles poured in.
And, as always, none of them were entirely accurate.
The Vise Kingdom and neighboring regions lacked the resources to conduct in-depth investigations into such a major event, while external news outlets had to rely on those incomplete reports from Vise.
As a result, misunderstandings, gaps in information, and sensationalized speculation quickly painted Jin Rune-Kandel as the destroyer of the Black King’s Order.
Much of this stemmed from the Black King’s Order’s failure to control the narrative.
If it had been limited to the Vise Kingdom and its neighbors, they could have shaped the news to their liking. But the Black King’s Order was no great power like Rune-Kandel, Ziphl, Biment, or Kinzelro.
Even the four major powers couldn’t fully control an event of this magnitude. You can’t hold back a tidal wave with your bare hands.
Moreover, the prevailing belief was that the Black King’s Order was finished. Major news outlets no longer felt the need to tread carefully around them.
With Valkas gravely injured and the stronghold shattered, there was little else to say.
“Heh heh heh, hahaha… Truly the biggest story of the year-end.”
Keliak Ziphl.
As usual, he sat atop the Ziphl’s First Tower—the highest floor of the Tower of Tales—scanning the news reports. His boyish face, reminiscent of Veradin, was lit up with a broad smile.
[Ha, you’re laughing? You actually find this funny?]
“Kadun! Don’t you think this is hilarious? I swear, it’s even funnier than that comedy you and Octavia put on last time.”
[Kaaah! How do you always manage to be like this? Last time too, when that damn brat was going on about the magic sword’s return, you just laughed and said it was funny.]
Kadun was on the verge of losing his mind whenever Keliak acted like this.
[Funny? Are you out of your mind?]
“Why? The kid just laid waste to Rune-Kandel all by himself. Something even our Ziphl faction couldn’t pull off. I’m honestly thrilled.”
[Because of that damn brat, how much damage have we suffered? Your brother died, the demon stone was shattered, and our alliance with Kinzelro fell apart. The Holy Kingdom incident… I don’t even want to mention it. And recently, we lost a Black Knight spy, Keliak!]
“Don’t forget the loss of part of the Phantom Legion.”
[Exactly. And that’s not all. That brat’s a magic swordsman… and he’s breaking his oaths!]
This was a conversation from just over a month ago, when they had met at the Sword Emperor’s banquet.
Back then, Kadun insisted they needed to pressure Rune-Kandel immediately, but Keliak wouldn’t hear of it.
And now, nothing had changed. Kadun felt this was no time for Keliak to be so relaxed.
‘He’s never faced the Rune-Kandel of a thousand years ago. Keliak doesn’t understand how dangerous they really are!’
Whether Keliak sensed Kadun’s unease or not, he just kept smiling.
[Keliak!]
“Ah, my ears are ringing. Kadun, why are you so angry?”
[Is that even a question?!]
“Is it really such a big deal that the Twelfth Knight brought down the Black King’s Order? No, no. To be precise, it wasn’t even the Twelfth Knight himself, but his guardian dragon, Murakan.”
[That’s exactly why it’s worse. Murakan is regaining his strength.]
Murakan.
That was why Kadun was so sensitive about this incident.
The story had come directly from the Fire Dragon Theo and the Azure Dragon Laramakua. It seemed Murakan was recovering his power.
[Whether Jin Rune-Kandel subdued, absorbed, or simply defeated the Black King’s Order doesn’t matter much. But Murakan returning to his prime? That can’t be allowed.]
Keliak found Kadun’s reaction more amusing than alarming, as always.
“Aren’t you overthinking that black dragon?”
[Unlike when we last crossed paths near Santel in the Shol Marquisate, he’s definitely recovered part of his heart—without the demon stone.]
Back then, Kadun had easily cornered Murakan.
Murakan had been too busy rescuing the innocent citizens of Santel, who were caught in the crossfire, to pose any real threat to Kadun.
At that time, Murakan was still weak, and Kadun was far stronger.
But since that battle, Murakan had survived and openly displayed his power—in the Sword Emperor’s Castle terror attack and just days ago at the Black King’s Mountain Stronghold.
When Kadun first heard about the Sword Emperor’s Castle incident, he was skeptical.
Had the weak Murakan from Santel truly recovered, or had he just been fighting inefficiently back then?
[Now it’s clear. Keliak, we have to act before he regains all his old strength.]
“You’re scary, you know that?”
[Yeah.]
Kadun surprisingly admitted the truth.
“Weren’t you the closest to Murakan’s power a thousand years ago?”
[Close isn’t the same as equal. It’s frustrating, but he was definitely the strongest. So listen carefully—I won’t let that brat or Murakan run wild any longer!]
For the first time, the smile vanished from Keliak’s face.
“You make a good point. But Kadun, to me, messing with the Twelfth Knight and his dragon is an even bigger gamble.”
[Because of Siron Rune-Kandel?]
“Exactly. Once he’s gone, the world will be in our hands. And he doesn’t have much time left. The question is, can the Twelfth Knight surpass the heights Siron reached?”
Impossible.
Keliak’s eyes met Kadun’s as he trailed off.
“I witnessed nineteen-year-old Siron myself. I don’t think the Twelfth Knight is better than him. He’ll never reach that level.”
[I faced the Rune-Kandel and Murakan of that time too.]
“I know. But look at the situation now. To me, once Siron is gone, the fight’s over. The world will be ours. We just need to manage the variables and wait for Siron’s time to end. Why poke the hornet’s nest when the opportunity hasn’t even come?”
Poke the hornet’s nest.
That was Keliak’s way of saying that recklessly attacking the Twelfth Knight might bring Siron back from the Black Sea.
Kadun said nothing.
He didn’t think Keliak was wrong, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling gnawing at his heart.
“If you’re that worried, I’ll order more agents to track Misha. That should ease your anxiety, right?”
In the end, Kadun had no choice but to nod.
[…Fine, I understand. It’d be better to at least capture Murakan’s niece.]
“It’s a shame we just missed her by a hair recently. Anyway, I’m more concerned about my son than the Twelfth Knight or the black dragons.”
[Veradin?]
“Yeah. Maybe because the manipulation magic isn’t stable yet, or something else is affecting him… it’s been getting harder to probe his mind and memories lately.”
Something was influencing Veradin’s mental world.
Keliak couldn’t identify what it was—too long had passed since he’d forgotten that feeling himself.
[In my opinion, the Twelfth Knight and Dante Hyland are affecting Veradin.]
“Whatever effect they have, it’ll only breed hatred and betrayal. And if that’s true, we have to be even more careful about touching the Twelfth Knight. Until the perfect moment arrives.”
[Tch!]
Kadun shrugged, and Keliak silently toyed with a crystal orb for a while.
In the land of the beastmen, Kinzelro’s headquarters.
Bishkel’s group, Berakt, and Jo gathered in the conference room, their faces grim. The table was piled high with news reports about Jin.
But unlike Ziphl, they did not mistakenly blame Murakan for this disaster.
“Hmm, Zephyrin… she really did cause this mess.”
Jo spoke cautiously, watching Berakt’s reaction.
Zephyrin.
Though Kinzelro hadn’t sent anyone to the ruined Black King’s Mountain Stronghold, they knew with certainty that she was behind this.
Because Valkas’s condition had deteriorated rapidly right after the stronghold fell.
That meant, just like what happened at Geomhwang Fortress, either the commander himself had overexerted his power… or someone else had drawn upon the commander’s strength to use it.
Right now, the only being in the world who could borrow the commander’s power without his permission was Zephyrin—there was no doubt about it.
“No, um… is the commander’s condition really that bad? slurp munch munch Oh, the demon dragon must have messed up!” Bubarr said, greedily devouring a sweet potato croquette.
Vishkel and Berakt were both trembling with the urge to kill that gluttonous flesh-eater on the spot, but all they could do was clench their fists tightly.
“Vice Commander.”
“Yes, Lord Berakt.”
“What do you think?”
“In my opinion, Zephyrin’s recent recklessness has gone too far. Ever since Geomhwang Fortress, the commander has needed to maintain extreme caution.”
“Besides, he didn’t even show his face when Kinzel was just starting to settle in. I believe he should be severely punished.”
“Lord Berakt, Zephyrin is beyond our authority to punish.”
“I know that. I just wanted to ask if you might have some clever idea. If the commander’s recovery drags on, our grand plan will be delayed.”
At those words, Vishkel closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
“…In that case, I will meet with him personally and make a request. I’ll ask him to stay undercover among the Ziphl faction for a while, acting as a spy. That seems to be the most we can reasonably demand from Zephyrin.”
“It seems unlikely he’ll agree.”
“I’ll do my best to persuade him.”
Berakt nodded with satisfaction.
He trusted Vishkel because he always kept his word.
“Very well. We’ll trust you, Vice Commander, and wait.”