Chapter 532
Episode 145: Omen (Part 1)
From the moment Jin decided to aid the Sword Emperor’s Fortress, the first thing he did was seek out the Fourth Division and Dipus to request protection for Tikan.
Using the information from the Seven-Colored Bird, he sent Murakan and Quikantel—both Dragon Knights—to the imperial palace, where the Dragon Knights were stationed. Meanwhile, Dante had already dispatched the five Sword Emperors of Hailan.
Murakan and Quikantel rescued the Dragon Knights, while the five Sword Emperors freed the Dragon Ancients. Their reunion was inevitable.
“The Hailan Dragon Knights have come to defend the Sword Emperor’s Fortress!”
When Kalmain Aita, the Dragon Knight commander, shouted, thirty Dragon Ancients roared in unison.
Murakan and Quikantel, who flanked the Dragon Knight formation, let out thunderous roars of their own.
The sheer energy they released sent shockwaves rippling through the air, distorting the sky above the Dragon Knight ranks.
Standing at the forefront alongside Kalmain’s lead Dragon Ancient were the five Sword Emperors.
Their pure white coats, symbolizing the Hailan Sword Emperors, truly shone like stars.
Compared to the enemy reinforcements that had just appeared, their numbers were clearly smaller.
Jiple had over ten visible flying warships and nearly twenty dragons. All were high-tier dragons—no low-tier ones like enemy drakes in sight.
And what of the mages aboard those ships and dragons?
The banners of the elite White Night troops were visible, and there might even be the top-secret elite mages of the Phantom Corps, who had yet to be revealed to the public.
It was even likely that wasn’t the full extent of their forces.
Still, for the knights of Hailan, just seeing the five Sword Emperors and the Dragon Knights was enough to fill their hearts with overwhelming emotion, almost to the point of tears.
Even though Ron remained unconscious in his sickbed.
The fact that Hailan’s finest knights stood alongside Jin Runkandel forged an unbreakable steel courage within them.
Murakan and Quikantel stepped forward, glaring at the enemy.
Everyone on the battlefield could clearly see Jiple’s dragons falter at that moment.
They were unmistakably afraid of Murakan.
Among Jiple’s reinforcements were dragons who had firsthand experience of Murakan’s half-strength on Gaipa Island.
Even those who hadn’t endured the nightmare of Gaipa Island knew of Murakan’s legendary reputation.
No dragon existed who was unaware of the old Murakan’s renown. Even the young dragons born after his slumber had grown up hearing tales of his legend.
“I am Murakan, the scourge of Solderet’s enemies.”
His voice was chilling yet majestic, pressing down on the battlefield.
Jiple’s dragons halted their advance, fixating their gaze on Murakan.
The mages riding them recognized the terror shaking the dragons and felt a wave of panic.
“If you do not wish to become enemies of Solderet, dragons, leave this battlefield immediately.”
Murakan spoke as if Jin and Solderet were equals—declaring that Jin’s enemies were Solderet’s enemies.
This was an utterly shocking declaration to the dragons and mages.
In their understanding, no contractor or guardian dragon could ever equate gods and humans on the same level.
Yet no one dared to challenge Murakan’s words. A tense silence stretched for several seconds.
The dragons trembled with fear but did not flee because Jiple’s forces were behind them—an unbeatable world-class power.
“You have made your choice.”
Whoooosh!
Murakan’s wings expanded, glowing with spiritual energy. The night sky darkened with an unnatural shadow, swirling like poison, blotting out the moon and stars.
“The price… is death.”
No sooner had Murakan finished speaking than screams erupted from Jiple’s aerial formation.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Kaaargh…!”
The dragons roared in agony.
Explosions rocked the flying warships as they shattered and burned.
“Damn it! Suddenly from behind…!”
“Raise the shields!”
“Block it! Block it!”
The domain of spiritual energy Murakan controlled wasn’t limited to the area where he hovered. His energy had already seized control of the skies above Jiple and the Emperor’s forces.
Spiritual energy was a silent power.
Unlike auras or magic, it could dominate the surroundings without revealing any sign.
Jiple desperately tried to block Murakan’s spear-like assault from behind, but that was only part of it.
Kraaaah!
A black breath sliced through the sky, heading straight for Jiple’s front lines.
“Scatter!”
Jiple’s fleet split left and right, attempting to evade Murakan’s breath. But in their panic, they forgot about the silver dragon beside him.
Kiiing!
With a sharp resonance, a silver wave spread from Quikantel’s forehead.
That vast, circular power was the authority of time.
Murakan and Quikantel.
Dragons who had once been lovers, and those who knew their history understood exactly what happened when shadow and time powers combined.
Intimidation and destruction.
Facing the darkness of shadow while unable to move a finger made one long for death.
“The hulls have stopped… Ugh, cough!”
“My arm, m-my arm…!”
“Murakan! Why go this far… Gyaaaah!”
Murakan did not kill the enemies bound by time’s power outright.
He tormented them, forcing them to feel pain. Those who dared to become enemies of Solderet despite his warning did not deserve a peaceful death.
The sky was awash with blood and screams.
The ground forces looked up in daze, and even their own troops shivered at Murakan’s overwhelming presence.
The fleet was made up of mass-produced ships from the Sota Desert.
Jin had personally seen over a hundred of those mass-produced ships, which had yet to be revealed to the world.
Because of this, both the Emperor’s forces and Hailan’s knights trembled at the sight of the fleet.
But now, no matter how many flying warships there were, it seemed impossible to overcome the power of Murakan and Quikantel.
“Can this even be called a battle?”
“This… this is more like punishment…!”
As everyone thought, Jiple’s fleet crumbled, their initial grandeur fading away.
They couldn’t even mount a counterattack, struggling only to repel the time authority and raise their shields.
Still, Jiple was Jiple.
The White Night troops were considered elite, except for the Phantom Corps. Some of them were slowly breaking free from the time authority’s grip, attempting to fight back.
“Form a chain magic circle!”
“This is all the power they have. Hold on! Victory will be ours in the end!”
If Murakan had been at full strength, not just half, they wouldn’t dare speak so boldly.
Though Murakan was formidable now, Jiple’s forces had not lost hope even after witnessing his power firsthand.
They believed that even if they suffered losses, they would ultimately win.
Even if individuals faced death, they trusted that the great power of Jiple would finish the fight.
“Hold out until the main force arrives!”
“No direct attacks on the Black and Silver Dragons! Better to take down one more Hailan knight before we die!”
“Fleet, target the ground forces!”
They couldn’t attack the distance where Murakan and Quikantel hovered while enduring spiritual and time powers.
So Jiple’s commanders decided to strike the ground troops instead.
Based on what was known of Jin Runkandel’s nature, they were certain he would never abandon his allies.
It was a cowardly but wise move. Jin would likely order his forces to focus on protecting their comrades first.
But Jiple’s commanders overlooked one thing.
To execute any plan, something of equal measure was always required.
Power, or ability.
“Good judgment, but you don’t have the luxury for that.”
No sooner had Jin spoken than a vast, blue shield unfurled like an umbrella over the entire Sword Emperor’s Fortress ground formation.
Enya, the time mage.
She had deployed the Dragon Flame Barrier, the legacy of the great mage Chukon Tolder, a pinnacle of defensive magic, from the fortress walls.
Enya’s shield enveloped the entire front of the Sword Emperor’s Fortress, living up to the name Dragon Flame Barrier.
Jiple’s dragons’ breaths vanished upon contact, and the mages’ magic beams failed to pierce the shield.
Chukon Tolder, the grand archmage of Anz, had never wielded a Dragon Flame Barrier stronger or more perfect than this in his lifetime.
Even a genius like Enya couldn’t have surpassed Chukon’s power in just a few years.
Yet Enya’s Dragon Flame Barrier now radiated with magic far beyond his prime, thanks to a divine artifact held by Tikan.
A mirror.
Because it held the power to destroy the world, Jin had always kept it at a distance, unlike the previous Jiple.
But to save his friends and their people, he felt he had to accept some help from that power.
“Ugh, ughhh! Too much magic! I-I can’t control it!”
“Hey, you idiot! Snap out of it! You don’t have time to babble nonsense! Focus! If you mess up, you, me, and those knights over there will all die. Got it? Did I teach you to be this useless? Open your eyes! Stop spacing out and bind the magic at point four! You’re gonna die for real!”
Beris scolded and guided Enya, who had lost much of her magic but remained a genius in lethal magic theory and a brilliant tactician.
“Yes, master!”
“Point two is under attack! Bind point three and block it!”
“Yes, sir!”
An infinite magical barrier upheld the Sword Sovereign.
Jin watched coldly as the spells of the Ziphl shattered against it, a chilling smile curling on his lips.
“Ah, since the overall calculations were off, I can’t say your judgment was wise. Ziphl, today you still won’t get what you want…”
The dragon riders, carrying the Dragon Knight Commander and the Sword Sovereigns of Hailan, surged forward toward the Ziphl forces.
“Sorry for the delay, our Hailan has arrived.”
“From now on, we’ll prove it together—that Hailan’s sword never breaks.”
The Dragon Knight Commander Kalmain and the leader of the Sword Sovereigns, Luyan, spoke in unison as the Sword Sovereigns drew their blades.
The Imperial Sword Secret Technique—
Heavenly Slash of a Thousand Cuts—Sword Sovereign
Imperial Sword Secret Technique—
Imperial Onslaught—Dragon
Five streaks of Heavenly Slash and the Dragon Knight Commander’s unique secret technique lit up the night sky, slicing through the enemy ranks.