Episode 491
Chapter 137. Everyone Had Good Plans (Part 2)
They decided to follow Joshua’s group slowly toward the Second Tower.
Zipple and Kinzello, who were in the nearby zones, were cutting down everything in their path, so there was no need to worry about getting caught up in a fight or having to hide.
The scene was one of carnage—bodies, blood, destruction everywhere. The tremors and noise of battle echoed from behind them, and at this rate, it felt like the entire shipyard might collapse any moment.
Looks like it’s our turn to be dragged along by Joshua.
As they moved, Diffus repeated Jin’s last words in his mind.
“Yeah, even the youngest can’t grasp everything perfectly.”
That fact didn’t disappoint him at all.
“Joshua—that snake—is not only cunning but also has the power of prophecy… It’s impressive that he’s been able to keep track of everything so far. Honestly, I couldn’t even keep up.”
Diffus felt a pang of frustration at how little he’d been able to contribute so far.
—“Second brother, to be honest, I wasn’t planning to ask you to join this. I thought I could kill Joshua on my own. But Mary insisted. She begged me to come with you and to come back unharmed.”
He recalled what Jin had said just before the operation began.
If things continued like this, even if they managed to kill Joshua as the youngest suggested, it would only be because Jin was carrying him through. As comrades and as an older brother, Diffus couldn’t accept that outcome.
“I have to be useful. Like at Barton. If it’s not the youngest, I can’t just stand by and watch.”
Just as Jin said he didn’t yet understand the source of Joshua’s confidence, Diffus also didn’t have an immediate solution.
But what mattered was that he’d managed to steady his mind and will, which had been floating in excitement at the thought of killing Joshua.
Diffus rarely failed to follow through once he made up his mind.
Soon, the group passed through Zone 19 and reached Zone 20.
According to the shipyard’s layout, this area had the emergency exit closest to the Second Tower.
Looking around, they saw signs that Joshua and the Black Knight had forcibly opened a destroyed passage.
“Little brother, it seems there was no fighting in the passage. Did Kinzello use the other exit?”
“Or maybe he used the high commander’s iron gate.”
“That ability they showed during the Sword Emperor’s terror attack, damn it. Except for Runcandel, everyone’s bypassing the limits of the teleport gates.”
“Biment hasn’t shown any new tech or powers like that yet.”
“The empire can’t compare to us. So the Biment guys probably aren’t here yet. Still, this is frustrating. Let’s move out.”
Outside the passage lay the Sota Desert.
A fierce, thick sandstorm swept across the entire desert. Massive sandstorms loomed in the distance, casting an ominous shadow.
Unsurprisingly, there were no traces of Joshua or the Black Knight’s movements here. Footprints vanished instantly beneath the shifting sands, and without an aura shield, breathing was nearly impossible.
The environment.
For ordinary people, such natural disasters and harsh conditions would be catastrophic. But for trained warriors, these conditions rarely proved fatal.
Even falling rocks or the astronomical chance of lightning strikes wouldn’t kill warriors above the eighth rank.
And for superhuman warriors like Jin or Diffus, it was a given.
But the Sota Desert’s environment threatened the group on a whole different level.
“This is no joke…”
No ordinary person could survive even a second here. The sand-laden wind cut like knives, scraping their shields.
It felt as if the entire desert was boiling with a terrible destructive magic.
And in fact, it was.
“A large-scale, constantly maintained barrier and linked defensive spells. Designed to protect the Second Tower from intruders.”
The Second Tower was one of Zipple’s most critical areas. It was near the heart of the Lutero Magic Federation, right next to their stronghold, Drakka.
Such powerful barriers and defensive magic were to be expected.
Diffus pointed beyond the sandstorm. Through the haze, the White Night Towers came into view.
The problem was, there wasn’t just one tower.
“An illusion barrier.”
“This phenomenon never appeared during my previous reconnaissance before you arrived.”
“It probably only activates when you stray from the set path or enter a certain area. All these defensive spells, including the illusion barrier.”
There were five towers in total.
All but one were illusions created by the barrier. And as usual with such defenses, reaching a fake tower would trigger another trap.
This time, Murakan gestured toward the sky.
“Damn, no wonder it’s so dark… Hey, Diffus, look at those.”
The sky was filled with flying ships.
At a glance, there were easily over a hundred. If fear of Zipple gripped Jin, Murakan, and Diffus, their legs would have gone weak at the sight.
Unlike the towers, these flying ships, swarming the sky like a pod of whales, couldn’t be illusions.
Considering the size of the shipyard they’d just seen, if there were several more like it, such a number was entirely plausible.
In other words, those ships could be mass-produced vessels sent as reinforcements from the shipyard.
“Should I head up and clear those out first? And check which of those towers is real?”
“The moment you reveal your true form in the air, we’re all dead, Murakan. And there’s clearly over a hundred ships.”
Even if the ships were illusions like the towers, flying openly in the heart of the Lutero Magic Federation was madness. If it were that easy, they wouldn’t have needed a secret infiltration route.
“Ah, that kind of thing is that horrible bastard’s specialty.”
“Misha?”
“Yeah. I’m no good at stealthily disabling barriers. I can break them with force, but not that.”
“I’m starting to get why Joshua’s so confident. He must have a way to avoid the barriers. Unlike me, he probably planned from the start to hit the Second Tower, not the shipyard interior, and prepared the necessary means in advance. Using that prophet’s power.”
Diffus spoke. Jin was thinking the same.
“And he probably didn’t think we couldn’t break through. Moving so openly was a way to bait us.”
Diffus continued.
Joshua intended to “actively use” Jin’s group.
Since Jin’s group and Kinzello couldn’t break the barriers as fast as he could with the key, after robbing the vault, he planned to use them as bait.
Even if he managed to open the vault without leaving a trace, the fact of the intrusion and theft would soon be discovered.
Naturally, Zipple would have to track down the culprit.
To do that, all the barriers near the Second Tower would have to be lifted to make searching easier for their allies. At that point, Jin’s group and Kinzello, still trapped inside the barriers, would become prime suspects and be relentlessly pursued.
This was part of Joshua’s plan.
Grinding his teeth, Diffus vaguely guessed the process.
He couldn’t just let it happen.
“Murakan.”
“Yeah?”
“How about I take the lead and absorb the traps as best I can? You and the youngest follow Joshua’s trail as fast as possible.”
“Really? You as tough as Runcandel’s first or second daughter?”
“Almost as tough.”
“You know how powerful these traps might be?”
“Like the youngest said last night, this is a moment for adventure. Such dangerous chances might never come again. We’ll enter the Second Tower, get real information, and kill Joshua.”
“Spirited, huh? I like that. Let’s have you throw your body into the fire and get us through.”
Murakan gave a half-approval glance at Jin, as always leaving the final decision to him.
Jin refused immediately, without hesitation.
“No. That’s a last resort. If Diffus falls to a trap, the loss would be too great. And if the barrier triggers and reveals our position, we’re done for.”
“Figured you’d say that, little brother. Got any other ideas?”
Swish!
Bradamante’s sword spirit slid out of its sheath.
“…I’ve faced a brutal desert like this before. Back then, I gained a sword along with my enlightenment. I think it might work here.”
The Spirit Sword, Soul Slash.
Jin had passed through the final gate of the Mitra Great Desert with that very sword. No matter how strong Zipple’s barriers and magic were, they probably weren’t superior to the trials of Solderet.
After allying with the Ghost Corps, when the remnants of the Ghost Corps Seigalga tried to self-destruct in an unnamed desert in the eastern Kascal Duchy, Soul Slash had proven effective.
Whoosh—
Bradamante darkened.
“If the Spirit Sword doesn’t work, I’ll use all my knowledge to try and dismantle the barrier and magic spells directly. If that still fails, then we’ll consider putting you in front, brother.”
Jin closed his eyes and began to focus.
The will to cut, the belief that he could, the determination to slice through—his resolve and enlightenment from the Mitra Great Desert pierced vividly through his body and mind.
Just before swinging his sword, a smile spread across Jin’s lips.
It was as if he had already glimpsed the future and its outcome—a subtle, indescribable sensation rippling along the blade’s edge.
With a smooth, precise strike, the barrier and magic were severed.
Each time Jin swung his sword, the sandstorm calmed, and the illusions that had shrouded the tower began to fade away.
He kept wielding Bradamante until every trace was erased, his movements almost like a graceful sword dance.
When he opened his eyes again, he felt refreshed, as if he’d just taken a cleansing bath.
The terrible sandstorm and raging tempest had vanished as if they were never there. In the quiet dawn breeze, the Tower of White Night stood alone, clearly visible.
The tower was much closer than the illusions had suggested.
“The moment our second brother must risk his life for the family won’t be over some mere barrier like this,” Jin said.
He waited, expecting a response from Dipus, feeling that he had properly repaid his debt.
But for some reason, no answer came, not even after several seconds.
Instead, Murakan clicked his tongue.
“Damn… hmm. Ha, man. All of that was real…?”
Dipus was momentarily stunned, unable to respond, overwhelmed by the fact that all those flying warships filling the sky were actually real.