Episode 531
Chapter 144. For a Friend (9)

The moment Dante saw his friend rushing to his side, the blood streaming down his cheek seemed to thin slightly.

For a long moment, Dante’s gaze remained fixed on Jin as if time itself had stopped.

The hatred, madness, and destruction that had consumed his soul began to settle rapidly.

That’s what it’s like to realize, when you’re backed into a corner, that there’s someone you can lean on.

Dante had hoped Jin wouldn’t come wading into this mess, but that was only because, as a friend, he thought it was the right thing to wish for.

In truth, more than anyone, Dante wanted Jin to fight alongside him.

If the roles were reversed, he would have risked everything to come to Jin’s aid.

“…Jin, you’ve come.”

“You say it as if it’s surprising. Yes, it’s me.”

With a heavy thud, Dante dropped to one knee, collapsing onto the ground.

The exhaustion that had been buried beneath his rage now shook his entire body.

His joints rattled even when he stayed still, and black blood seeped from every orifice on his face.

Jin could hardly believe that Dante had not only stood his ground in that state but had even fought.

“Were you really set on dying, Dante?”

“Shamefully, yes.”

“Are you thinking about living now?”

Dante nodded.

“I was worried I might have to knock you out from behind again, but that’s a relief.”

“If I hit you like this, you might actually die.”

“Anyway, you held on well. Rest now, until you can fight again.”

Jin chuckled softly as he helped Dante onto Shuri’s back. Once mounted, Dante alternated his gaze between Jin and the battlefield before nodding.

He understood what his friend meant: there had to be a next time.

“…Thank you.”

At Jin’s signal, Shuri sprang forward, charging toward the Sword Emperor’s Fortress.

The fierce beams of magical energy shooting from his eyes and the sweeping strikes of Shuri’s forelegs left no enemy daring enough to block their path.

Inside the fortress, the empire’s top healing priests, brought along by Jin, were waiting.

“…It’s the first time I’ve seen you grown, Sir Jin Runcandel.”

“First, I thank you for waiting. Captain of the Dragon King’s Knights, Sir Johncina Peral.”

Jin wasn’t referring to the fact that Johncina hadn’t interrupted his conversation with Dante.

He believed Johncina had deliberately refrained from killing Dante and had waited for him.

Judging by Dante’s condition, Johncina could have ended him easily within the fortress.

Though there was a secret technique that risked life itself, using it would have guaranteed Dante’s death.

In that case, Johncina planned to knock Dante unconscious and send him back to the fortress before the technique could be unleashed.

In other words, Johncina never intended to kill Dante, and Jin was curious why.

“It’s bitter. I never thought a man like you would betray his honor and join the emperor’s tyranny. And yet, you tried to save Dante. What’s your reason? Guilt? Hypocrisy? I hope it’s not some lukewarm excuse like that.”

“I am a knight of the empire.”

Those words carried many layers of meaning.

As a knight of the empire, Johncina chose the path that would save the most people. There was no better choice for him.

His attempt to save Dante was because he hoped the flame called Hiran wouldn’t be extinguished completely.

As long as Ziphl was involved, this war could never be won by Hiran, but he hoped that someday that flame would restore the empire.

He believed Dante Hiran was capable of transcending hatred and revenge to ultimately choose a shining greater cause.

Jin easily read between the lines.

“So Ziphl must have threatened to destroy the empire if the White Stone was handed over.”

Johncina said nothing.

Whatever his reasons, he had taken a stand against the Sword Emperor’s Fortress. For the sake of the people, it was the right thing, but hardly an honorable choice.

“Your choice is wrong. Do you intend to correct it now? Dante and I will never give up on Hiran.”

“Whether you know it or not, I doubt the whole of Runcandel will support the fortress.”

“If the White Stone is valuable enough to move all of Ziphl, the Sword Garden won’t stand idly by either.”

“Even so, I don’t want the empire to become a battlefield between Runcandel and Ziphl. The people are not as familiar with death as the warriors. Protecting their lives is the sole duty of an imperial knight.”

“I respect that.”

A person’s life is reflected in all they do.

As far as Jin knew, Johncina Peral was not someone who would make wrong choices for personal desire or survival.

Still, every choice comes with a price.

Fzzzt!

Sigmund glowed with electric blue energy.

Johncina’s greatsword shone brighter than before, ringing out in resonance.

They charged at each other simultaneously.

At the first clash, the ground trembled and shockwaves rippled outward.

Nearby imperial soldiers hastily raised shields, but few could withstand the electric energy mixed in the blast.

Sparks flashed everywhere.

With every passing moment, the flashes that lit the battlefield were afterimages left by the two swords in motion.

Those not at the highest level could only glimpse their fight during moments when their blades locked in a fierce struggle.

‘So this is the Empire’s Twin Sword Technique.’

There was no opening at all.

Johncina thought the same as he crossed blades with Jin.

‘I’ve heard the 12th Cavalry’s prowess is great… but this much? I can’t suppress him. This fight will drag on.’

But Jin had no intention of prolonging the battle.

Johncina was strong, but not the key to this war. If he wasted too much energy here, he wouldn’t be able to handle the reinforcements from Ziphl soon to arrive.

No matter how great Jin’s forces were, they alone couldn’t defeat Ziphl’s main army—unless they sent two or three divisions.

‘If the emperor had only promised two or three divisions, he wouldn’t have started this war with such confidence.’

Jin had to save strength to hold back the oncoming enemies and help Dante and the Hiran knights escape.

Zzzeeng!

Jin was pushed back, regaining his stance.

Johncina closed the distance without hesitation, Sigmund thrust forward.

It was the fifth secret technique of Runcandel, named after the Lord of the Underworld: the Light-Speed Thrust.

The strike seemed to obliterate Johncina’s face, but Jin saw him falter and regain distance.

Johncina’s ability to dodge the Light-Speed Thrust wasn’t talent or reflex—it was experience.

Decades of fighting powerful foes had trained his body to twist instinctively.

Still, he couldn’t avoid it completely.

The thrust’s blade sliced off part of his cheekbone and right ear. Burning pain and a sharp ringing filled his head, nearly forcing him to glance back at the trail of the blade.

‘What was that? A thrust at that speed?’

It wasn’t fatal.

But the shock had momentarily frozen his body far more than the wound itself.

Seizing the moment, Jin gritted his teeth and ignited his radiant heart, preparing for another Light-Speed Thrust.

Like all ultimate techniques, the Light-Speed Thrust was especially dangerous when its existence was unknown.

Once aware that a strike of impossible speed could come from any blind spot, even masters could somewhat counter it.

Johncina stepped sideways and swung his sword.

Or rather, he tried to.

If not for the electric energy that erupted from the Light-Speed Thrust’s impact point, he might have completed the move.

Crack!

He recognized the Light-Speed Thrust but hadn’t anticipated the unique electric energy.

Though the aftershock of the Light-Speed Thrust had been confirmed on the rear battlefield, no one remained alive or able to report it to Johncina. They had all died or fled.

The second Light-Speed Thrust pierced Johncina’s shoulder.

By now, Jin had switched from Sigmund to another sword, Bradamante. He had thrown Sigmund between them after the second thrust.

Lightning poured endlessly, anchoring the sword to the ground. Sigmund’s electric energy sank deep into the earth, and Johncina screamed as he unleashed his power.

The dark battlefield lit up with intense light as their blades clashed, and through it all, a streak of black energy slipped in.

Spirit Sword Technique No. 2: Scissors.

Though Johncina blocked one black blade perfectly despite his faltering stance, he failed to notice the spirit energy rushing in from the other side.

Thanks to the exploding aura and his armor, his body didn’t shatter completely.

But the blade that pierced his ribs had already sunk deep into his chest.

Slaying a warrior he had once admired in his youth was a bitter thing.

Johncina could no longer counterattack.

The outcome was decided.

“Please… protect… Hiran.”

Though he had sided with the emperor for the safety of the empire’s people,

Johncina, facing death, asked not for the people but for Hiran.

Not as an imperial knight bound by reason, but as a man who truly wished from the depths of his heart for Hiran to survive.

Jin didn’t find his final words cowardly. Whether it was out of respect, or because he understood that his heart spoke not of the people, his family, or even the empire, but of Hailan itself, he couldn’t say.

Far behind Jonsina, a group of dragons and flying warships approached Geomhwang Fortress. They were reinforcements from Jiple.

Seeing this, Jin turned to Jonsina and said, “Don’t worry, Sir Jonsina. My Runkandel will become stronger than Jiple.”

The moment Jonsina took his last breath.

On the opposite side of the Jiple reinforcements, at the rear of Geomhwang Fortress, more dragons appeared.

Black dragons and silver dragons.

And the dragon riders of Hailan.

Murakan and Quikantel had returned with the five Sword Stars of Hailan to rescue the dragon riders.