Episode 574
Chapter 148: Sword Sovereign (6)
“What… what is that!?”
“Spiritual energy? No, that’s…”
The mages stationed in the crow’s nest of the unfinished third fleet flagship, Lucia, stared wide-eyed.
They were currently crossing imperial waters to reinforce the Sword Sovereign Warzone—at least, that’s what they knew it as.
Though Keliak hadn’t personally ordered support, the war was dragging on longer than expected, and the Ziphl command suspected something was wrong at Sword Sovereign.
“Alert the captain immediately!”
Before any news could reach the crow’s nest, another mage burst into the captain’s quarters.
“We just received a report from the scout ship! Near Sword Sovereign, the sky has turned pitch black, and an unknown energy is pouring down—”
“Unknown? You idiot! That’s the energy of Chaos! The energy of one of the Five Kings of the Black Sea!”
Kadun cut off the reporting mage, shouting.
He felt a sick twist in his gut—not because the mages failed to recognize the energy of Chaos, but because he knew exactly what kind of power was behind it.
‘The White Stone… so it wasn’t the Chaos of Helluram recorded in the annals, but a sealed Black Sea King…!’
A sharp headache struck him. Without the power of Creation, there was no way to handle a Black Sea King.
Hedo, standing beside Kadun, wore a grave expression. Though he didn’t know much about the Black Sea Kings, he had experienced Chaos firsthand in the Black Sea before. He had never seen such vast Chaos energy.
“The Lord Governor is in danger.”
“Father?”
Sandra Ziphl tilted her head at Hedo’s words.
“We need to increase our speed. We have to break through. Hedo, you’ll take the lead and help clear the way.”
“Kadun, increasing speed will make it difficult to maintain the state of the Soju.”
Veradin Ziphl spoke up. He had been forcibly driven into a berserk state to prevent Kadun and Hedo from joining the Sword Sovereign Warzone.
Because of that, even though Kadun had decided to send reinforcements, he had brought Veradin aboard, bound by a sealing device. Since the device needed to remain stable, they were flying at a slow speed to avoid overloading it.
If Veradin went berserk, Ziphl would lose too much.
Still, as a guardian dragon, Kadun’s priority was Keliak. Losing Veradin would hurt, but he could be replaced. Keliak was irreplaceable.
Hedo, however, watched the situation with a cooler head.
“Even so—”
“Calm down first. From what I can tell, even Kadun and I would struggle to break through that level of Chaos. Besides…”
Hedo’s eyes narrowed as he gazed toward the sky beyond the sea.
“I sense the power of Creation. Someone on the battlefield has reached Creation. It must be the Sword Sovereign. His energy is suppressing the Chaos.”
Kadun had sensed it too but had missed it in his haste. Through the blackened sky, the protective barrier Ron had erected was faintly visible.
How Ron, who had been nursing internal injuries, suddenly reached Creation was a mystery. But to Hedo, that didn’t matter.
“If the Sword Sovereign has entered Creation, that’s even more troubling. He must already bear a grudge against the Lord Governor.”
“He’s not the kind to seek personal revenge while such a thing is happening on his own land. If he wanted to kill the Lord Governor first, he wouldn’t be holding back the Chaos like this.”
“Quite the noble old man!”
“Miss, that place is surely a living hell. The Twelve Riders of Runcandel are probably there too.”
“Oh, right! He himself! Damn it! Hedo, what are you doing? Kadun’s right—don’t increase speed yet!”
“They might already be dead, you know.”
“Say that unlucky nonsense one more time and I’ll shut your mouth for you.”
“Kadun.”
Hedo met Kadun’s gaze.
“We should hold our position.”
“What? Can’t you hear me, Hedo!?”
“Why do you think that?”
“The spread of Chaos looks serious. Breaking through seems impossible. It might be better to focus on preventing the Chaos escaping through the Sword Sovereign’s shield from destroying our territory. At this speed, it’ll reach not only the Empire but our lands soon.”
Kadun fell silent, thinking.
‘Hedo’s right. Only the Sword Sovereign can handle the Black Sea King, and pushing Veradin into a berserk state is too risky.’
No matter how the battle at Sword Sovereign ended, either Ron or the King of Chaos would surely die. The victor wouldn’t be in any condition to fight further.
In that case, the side with the most remaining strength would have the advantage. They needed to conserve their forces, and defending their territory was essential.
“Alright, we’ll do as you say. Until there’s a meaningful change, we’ll focus on stopping the Chaos from spreading into our lands.”
The reinforcements from Runcandel faced the exact same situation as Ziphl. As the war dragged on, they followed the scenario Rosa had outlined and headed toward Sword Sovereign.
‘So that disastrous power is spreading from the Black Sea King, Gliek.’
Dipus led the second wave of knights from the Black Sword Society and allied families, replacing Jorden. Originally, he had been protecting Tikan at Jin’s request when the Sword Sovereign War began, but the situation forced him to command the reinforcements.
The information that Gliek had awakened came not from scouts but from the Balmur Alliance, who had escaped the battlefield.
‘And the one holding back the Chaos spreading across the Empire is the power of Creation… probably Sir Ron’s.’
Dipus had sensed Ron’s energy suppressing the Chaos.
‘With our current strength, breaking through the battlefield is impossible. Without Creation, we can’t inflict damage. Even if we got in, we’d be more of a burden than a help.’
That’s why Rosa evacuated all knights except the Black Knights and the first wave of the Black Sword Society as soon as Gliek awoke. Dipus had come to the same conclusion.
“What will you do, brother?”
Mary stood beside Dipus. She had recently begun personal training after entrusting all matters of the Seven Riders to him, but had been urgently summoned.
Anxiety tinged her voice. The thought that not only Jin but their entire family might be doomed made it hard to stay calm.
Dipus made a swift decision.
“There’s no guarantee the Chaos won’t spread beyond the Empire into our lands. From now on, until we can confirm the battlefield is accessible, the main family and allies will focus on stopping the Chaos from escaping.”
“Damn it, none of the sisters are here at a time like this.”
Luna was fighting Kial, and Runtia was tracking Temar’s legacy, unaware of the current situation.
Frustrated, Mary ruffled her hair and glanced toward Mew and Ann.
‘Why do those two seem so calm? Whispering like that is just suspicious.’
Mary strode over to them.
“Hey, you two.”
“What?”
“What are you whispering about?”
“Oh.”
Mew smiled.
“We just think everyone’s worrying too much.”
“What?”
“Even if Father were at Sword Sovereign, would the Seven Riders be this worried? Ron Hyland has reached Creation, and he’ll protect his territory. Besides, he’s not unfriendly to the Twelve Riders. This doesn’t seem like something we need to stress over.”
“How many of our knights do you think are dying in there?”
“I don’t know exactly, but it’s certain they’re suffering fewer losses than Ziphl. Ron Hyland is helping the Twelve Riders. If Ziphl takes heavier losses and the situation ends, that’s an advantage for our family, right?”
Mary was momentarily speechless.
Mew’s answer wasn’t wrong. But Mary hesitated for a different reason.
“Uh, yeah. I guess you could think that way. You crazy idiots, saying that now? We’ll talk after this is over. Get lost before I lose my temper.”
Mary’s sharp reply sent Mew and Ann away.
“…Brother Dipus.”
“Yes?”
“I think those two have some kind of ace up their sleeves. Ever since the Second Rider was wiped out, something must have changed. Let’s find out after this is over.”
“Understood. For now, we have to deal with this. Get ready.”
The word “self-destruction” made Jin freeze and glance back for the first time.
“What…!?”
Not only Jin but everyone on the battlefield was shocked to hear Gliek’s voice. But Ron burst out laughing at the words.
“Self-destruction? When you’re cornered, you say the dumbest things.”
His voice wasn’t a disguise. Ron quickly wiped the smile away and focused on slashing and tearing Gliek apart.
Still, Jin couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling gnawing at his chest. An inexplicable premonition was creeping into his mind.
“This isn’t the time to lose focus over worries. Just watch the situation. If Ron really planned to self-destruct, he would have told me.”
As Jin resumed running, he saw the Chaos energy piercing through Ron’s protective barrier.
‘The remaining forces of the great families outside aren’t fools. They’ll choose to stop this rather than break through. They have no choice.’
Just as he was about to run again—
Jin’s eyes widened. For the first time, he felt movement from Dante, who was carried on his back.
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Dante! Are you coming to?”
The reason Dante was able to regain consciousness was none other than this:
As Ron began to deal a severe blow to Gliek, the chaotic power affecting Dante grew unstable.
A faint warmth returned to his cold, rigid body.
Jin was painfully reminded—after such a long time—just how hard it was to watch someone so close teeter on the edge between life and death.
“Jin…”
“Dante, don’t say anything for now. Don’t strain yourself trying to speak. Just hold on a little longer—I’ll take care of you.”
A smile spread across Ron’s lips. Though the voice was faint and had started so far away, and the battlefield was filled with deafening explosions, he could clearly hear his grandson’s voice.
Dante seemed like he wanted to say more, but he struggled to breathe and remained silent for a while. His consciousness flickered in and out, but each time Ron struck Gliek, the intervals where Dante was lucid grew shorter.
“It looks like it’s time to finish this, Gliek.”
Ron tightened his grip on Rashid and spoke.