Chapter 539
Episode 145: Omen (8)
The Emperor’s army suffered around 20,000 casualties, while the Sword Emperor’s fortress lost about 2,000.
But the 20,000 losses on the Emperor’s side weren’t just ordinary soldiers—they were all knights and mages.
Many key figures, including the Empire’s top swordsman, John Sina Peral, were killed. Over 90% of their war equipment and dragon lances were either captured or destroyed.
Most of the casualties at the Sword Emperor’s fortress were common knights who had gathered for Hailan’s cause.
Though someone like Shuras was wounded, the core leaders of the Barmel Alliance and Hailan remained largely unscathed. It was nearly impossible to find any commander-level figures with fatal injuries.
Overall, the death tolls amounted to roughly 30% for the Emperor’s forces and 10% for the Sword Emperor’s side. The first battle was, without a doubt, an overwhelming victory for the Sword Emperor’s fortress.
Yet, both sides had suffered devastating losses.
The Emperor had lost too many talented individuals to baseless purges. The Empire’s former glory was fading, and so was the Emperor’s authority.
It was now entirely plausible for a new rebellion to ignite, centered around Hensark or the Lilista family.
Or perhaps, people would rally around Hailan.
The Empire’s legitimacy and popular support had shifted entirely toward Hailan. Unlike the Emperor, who had abandoned honor, Hailan stood firm against his tyranny and kept his promises.
He had vowed not to kill those who fled—and Jin, Dante, and their people had all honored that vow.
Even those who had attacked Hailan until yesterday secretly wished they could stand by his side if given the chance.
However, both Hensark and Lilista had taken heavy blows, and the fact that Ziphl was backing the Emperor was now public knowledge. So none of that happened. Hailan had no reason to accept those who had just pointed swords at him.
Most importantly—
The war was far from over. Everyone now knew that Ziphl’s new fleet was heading toward the Sword Emperor’s fortress. Sightings of the fleet flying through the skies were reported everywhere.
Unlike Runcandel, the Barmel Alliance and Hailan were unaware of the changes at the First Tower.
But judging by the confirmed size of the fleet alone, it was easy to guess that at least Octavia Ziphl—and perhaps even Keliak—might be arriving.
As Rosa had said, abandoning the Sword Emperor’s fortress and retreating was the best option. But, just as she predicted, Jin was not going to leave.
He simply couldn’t.
“Dante…”
Dante Hailan.
He was currently trapped within a seal, presumed to be caused by the White Stone, unable to communicate in any way.
It was a black seal, like a spiritual energy.
The dark power forming the seal was the chaotic miasma that Jin had encountered multiple times before—more pure and potent than any he had ever faced.
Jin stared at his friend’s figure inside the half-moon-shaped seal at the heart of the battlefield.
“Amela’s miasma can’t even compare, and it’s darker than the chaos Yona showed me.”
It felt less like miasma and more like spiritual energy.
Jin had always been able to easily cut through this kind of seal using spiritual energy and Qinghua’s power, but this time, no matter what he tried, it was completely useless.
The healing priests of the Holy Kingdom stood beside Jin, their faces apologetic.
“We’re sorry, Lord Jin. After the first round of healing, while we were attending to other wounded, the seal formed…”
“Don’t apologize. If it weren’t for you priests, he might have died. And this seal has nothing to do with you. The Barmel Alliance and the Sword Emperor’s fortress owe you their thanks.”
“…From the moment healing began, his recovery was unusually rapid.”
After rescuing Dante from John Sina Peral, Jin had told him to rest until he could fight again.
But honestly, Jin didn’t expect Dante to return to battle in this war.
His frail body, like a punishment, had already passed its limits several times.
It would take at least three days just to walk properly, and over three months to recover enough to fight.
Yet, within just a few hours of healing, Dante had recovered enough that the healers could leave him alone.
It was the power of the White Stone.
Then, as if possessed, Dante sought the deepest part of his inner self—the place where his grandfather lay unconscious—following the voice of the White Stone.
He took the White Stone from his grandfather and returned to the battlefield, only to be sealed immediately.
“Please continue tending to the wounded. The Barmel Alliance and the Sword Emperor’s fortress will never forget the Holy Kingdom’s grace.”
“If it weren’t for you, Lord Jin, we would have failed our duties as priests after the Holy Kingdom incident. We pray to Ayula that you remain unharmed.”
As the priests withdrew, Murakan and Quikantel entered the battlefield.
“How are the knights?”
“They’re all determined not to leave Dante’s side. Damn it, that White Stone is holding him back until the very end. Neither Quikantel nor I have ever seen a seal like this.”
Though Dante was faintly visible through the miasma seal, the White Stone inside radiated a gloomy light, like a heart beating within him.
“Few humans are shaken even after learning the White Stone truly exists.”
“Even if you say you can’t use the same power again, it doesn’t help. I get it, but doing nothing is just suicide…”
After Jin awakened the wills of Solderet and Klam, the mirror had lost its power.
It was slowly regaining function each time Jin infused spiritual energy, but too slowly to be used again in this war.
Jin understood the knights’ feelings.
He himself couldn’t bear to leave Dante behind like this.
“Booong—!”
A cry from Mot echoed behind them.
Talalis had only transported Jin and his group to Mot and had not officially joined the Sword Emperor’s battle.
She had come not as reinforcements for Jin, but to fulfill her duty as the Mistress of the Secret Bow, revealing herself only to Jin and his companions.
Jin’s heart tightened the moment she appeared.
If Dante tried to use the White Stone and Talalis stepped in to fulfill her duty as Mistress of the Secret Bow, there would be no way out.
Right now, anyone could see that Dante looked as if he had been sealed for trying to use the White Stone.
“Talalis, what about Dante…?”
“I know what you’re worried about, son-in-law.”
Talalis understood the nature of the seal created by the White Stone. It was recorded in the Secret Bow’s archives.
“This is a barrier born from rejecting chaos. Your friend, Ron’s grandson, is fighting chaos within himself. So I have no reason to fulfill my duty just yet.”
Relief washed over Jin, but the word “yet” lingered uneasily.
“A barrier born from rejecting chaos… If Dante loses that fight and uses the power, Talalis won’t help the Sword Emperor’s fortress.”
The Secret Bow suspected the White Stone was an artifact of Helluram.
And Helluram was a disaster incarnate. In every era and realm, the moment a witch’s power manifested, it brought great calamity to humanity—without exception.
“Son-in-law.”
“Yes, Talalis.”
“In my opinion, this war may no longer be just between the Empire and the Sword Emperor’s fortress, or between Ziphl and Runcandel.”
It was a problem for all humanity.
Talalis accepted the White Stone as such.
Whoooooosh!
A blade of frozen ice formed in Talalis’s hand. She gathered immense energy into the icy edge and struck toward the seal.
But even her strike didn’t cause the slightest crack in the White Stone’s seal.
Instead, Talalis was pushed back as if repelled, catching her breath.
“…This seal withstands even the absolute power of the frozen blade. Do you know what that means?”
It means chaos beyond even my control lurks inside.
Talalis continued.
“Hey, Mistress of the Secret Bow, is that all you’ve got?”
“It’s no exaggeration, Black Dragon brother. Right now, I can’t even tell which is the greater threat to the world—the White Stone or another danger we’re suppressing.”
Elona Ziphl.
Most of the power Talalis and the frozen blade wield was always used to maintain Elona Ziphl’s seal.
She was torn between damaging Elona’s seal to stop the White Stone or protecting it.
“I suspected Ziphl’s desperation meant something serious, but I never imagined it was this bad.”
“Will Dante… be able to come back?”
“If I say he can’t, will you leave him behind?”
Talalis had seen similar cases in the Secret Bow’s records. In those, humans exposed to chaos became monsters.
Jin also knew of Smarion Prochi, a monster consumed by chaos.
Dante might have already crossed a point of no return.
“That’s not true.”
“We can only hope Dante endures the acquired chaos like your father or youngest sister. In some ways, it might be fortunate that Ziphl’s main force is coming and Runcandel is waiting nearby. If the White Stone’s chaos awakens, they’ll have to fight it, whether they want to or not. No one else can stop it.”
The great powers were fighting for world domination.
So, as during the Holy Kingdom’s defense, if an event capable of destroying the entire world occurred, it was only natural to deal with it first.
“You and your comrades are no different. The best outcome is that chaos never fully awakens. Then the war between the great powers will end through battle or negotiation.”
At that moment—
The White Stone inside the seal began to glow with an even darker light. The shape of the light resembled a human mouth sneering mockingly.
“…Honestly, I don’t think that’s very likely. Things aren’t looking good, in many ways.”
If chaos remained dormant and only war or negotiations continued, Hyland would inevitably face destruction in one way or another.
But even if chaos were to awaken, the outcome would be no different. No matter how many warriors on the battlefield fought against chaos, Hyland’s downfall was unavoidable.
Because the one who would awaken chaos was none other than Danteil himself.
“Phew. First, I’ll go check on Ron. If that guy wakes up, at least there might be some hope left for the Sword Emperor Star.”
Opening a dimensional portal, Thalaris headed to the inner fortress to find Ron, while Jin gazed beyond the seal at Dante.
Both of them could only fervently hope that their friends would awaken in time.