Chapter 581
Episode 151: Sorting Out the Situation (Part 1)
(The Shocking and Ugly Truth Behind the Bimont Imperial Family — The White Stone and the Living Golems)
Since the awakening of the so-called King of the Black Sea, the empire has been plunged into the darkest and most dreadful spring in its history.
By now, no one can deny that the White Stone, long guarded by Hailan, was in fact the King of the Black Sea itself.
It’s also well known that Hailan had been watching over the White Stone’s awakening alone for ages, wary of anyone who might covet the uncontrollable power of that monster and unleash disaster upon the world as we see now.
This was confirmed when Dante Hailan, head of the Hailan family and recently declared regent, released exclusive family documents and records. Lady Thalaris Endorma, the vice-head of the Bimont family, also came forward with records about the White Stone, lending weight to Hailan’s innocence.
Here, as a member of humanity, I want to express deep gratitude to Lady Thalaris for her courage in revealing the Bimont family’s secrets and dedicating herself to eradicating Gliek.
The former emperor Amir Bimont and the imperial family were struck down by the very people they ruled.
Who would have thought that the imperial family, warned by Hailan, would actually commit such reckless acts? They even went so far as to effectively sell the empire to Ziphl in their desperate bid to harness the White Stone’s power.
Why were they so obsessed with the power of the White Stone?
Though the empire leaned toward Ziphl, it had maintained stable diplomatic relations with other major powers like Runkandel.
There was no reason to gamble everything—especially the safety of the empire’s people—on the White Stone.
Even if the imperial family had succeeded in stealing and harnessing the White Stone’s power, there was no guarantee they could surpass the great houses, and the world would have been dragged into the brink of a catastrophic war.
In such a scenario, the empire’s people would have suffered the most.
Yet Amir Bimont’s obsession with the White Stone seems to have stemmed from one thing: the “living golems.”
Amir Bimont planned to use the White Stone’s power to complete secret research on living golems within the imperial family and mass-produce them.
Today, evidence of this was revealed.
The proof was presented by Sir Jin Runkandel, one of the Twelve Knights of Runkandel.
As everyone knows, Sir Jin previously exposed the truth about living golems during the Holy Kingdom incident, warning the world of their dangers.
Once again, Sir Jin has proven his suspicions right: the imperial family’s greed to mass-produce living golems is poisoning the world with chaos.
Living golems are created using living beings, including humans, as raw materials. This horrific method is as cruel as the lost dark magic.
The imperial family’s so-called “Mine” living golems are no exception.
Moreover, the “Mine” that Sir Jin personally witnessed were said to possess combat abilities surpassing even nine-star knights, along with extraordinary regenerative powers.
The imperial family intended to produce thousands, even tens of thousands, of these “Mine” to seize global dominance.
But there’s one strange thing.
If they truly wanted to dominate, why would they sell the empire to Ziphl for the White Stone?
During the first battle of the Sword Emperor War, Ziphl tried various negotiations with Sir Jin. They promised to restore Sir Dante, who was sealed at the time, if the White Stone was handed over—and even offered to destroy the empire.
Regarding this, Sir Jin explained in an interview:
“Most likely, the emperor intended to borrow Ziphl’s power to obtain the White Stone, mass-produce the Mines, and then betray Ziphl. He probably believed that if he could produce enough Mines, he could win a war against Ziphl.”
Above all, the emperor knew exactly what the White Stone was. Unlike us in Runkandel or Ziphl, he recognized from the start that it was Gliek, the King of Chaos…
According to Sir Jin’s interview, the emperor coveted the White Stone fully aware of its true nature and planned to betray Ziphl.
I believe Sir Jin’s assessment is accurate, and it’s time for the entire empire, including the imperial family, to reconsider the values and principles that Hailan has long upheld…
Using the evidence of the Mine corpses, new articles were quickly written and circulated.
Members of the imperial family and pro-imperial nobles who read these articles all expressed outrage and indignation.
“Sir Barcam, the imperial steward, are these articles true? Please say something!”
“Is it true that the former emperor knew the White Stone’s true identity from the beginning?”
“If so, did the imperial family knowingly allow this disaster caused by Gliek to befall the world by turning a blind eye to the emperor’s recklessness?”
Steward Barcam shook his weary head repeatedly.
“No, Your Majesty… no, the former emperor…”
“Your Majesty? What did you just say, you madman?!”
“The former emperor never shared any information about the imperial family’s involvement. Even I, as steward, was completely unaware of the Mine research.”
“There are reports that the living golem corpses presented as evidence belonged to the imperial guard. Among the grotesque flesh were the golden epaulets and blood-stained pure white coats of the guard, confirmed to be authentic. What do you say about that?”
“Mine corpses belonging to the imperial guard?”
The gathered reporters and citizens murmured in disbelief.
Using knights who had been loyal to the imperial family as mere test subjects was unthinkable.
“We’re still investigating why the guard’s items were found among those corpses, but this is a fabrication…”
“Fabrication? Sir Jin Runkandel risked his life to expose the dangers of living golems during the Holy Kingdom incident. He helped Hailan in this war without expecting anything in return, purely out of loyalty! Why would such a man fabricate evidence?”
“If Sir Jin and Sir Dante wanted to destroy the imperial family, they could do so by force. Sir Dante has already demonstrated his power in the square. But what has the imperial family done? They deny any connection to the emperor, claim ignorance about the guard’s items, and offer nothing but words. Provide a proper explanation!”
“Hmm, hmm! That’s enough for today. However, within three hours, the imperial family will issue a statement and distribute articles to clarify this matter. Please withdraw for now…”
As Barcam said, new reports flooded in three hours later, accompanied by an official statement from the imperial family.
There was nothing groundbreaking in it. All they could do was repeat, in more polished language, that they had no involvement and knew nothing.
The imperial family’s approach was clear.
Public outrage eventually dies down. More importantly, the Mine corpses alone could not serve as definitive proof linking the imperial family and the emperor.
No documents or witnesses had emerged to confirm who participated in or contributed to the Mine research.
They claimed the guard’s epaulets and white coats were either coincidental or planted using items from guards killed in the war.
Except for Jin and Valeria, no one had witnessed the imperial guard being turned into Mines in the Wantaramo Forest last September.
The imperial family was completely unaware of a certain individual named Valeria Hister. As long as she remained, such denials were meaningless.
Valeria had been using recorded magic on the Mine corpses to trace the location of the imperial family’s “Mine Research Facility.”
Boldly, the imperial family had established and operated the lab not on the frontier, but right in the empire’s capital.
As soon as the imperial family’s statement was released, Jin’s faction immediately disclosed the lab’s location.
Of course, the lab had been abandoned and shut down after the war ended and the emperor died, with all involved fleeing.
But there was no time for proper cleanup.
Since it was located in the heart of the empire, destroying it was difficult. More importantly, the imperial family had no intention of erasing the lab entirely.
The Mine research was their last lifeline.
No one had discovered the lab’s location until now, so the imperial family planned to restart operations once the world calmed down.
Thanks to Jin receiving the location from Valeria and revealing it, those plans were now in ruins.
“I never imagined they’d find the lab’s location through the Mine corpses. The darkest place is always under the lamp, huh? What fools. Setting up a lab right in the middle of the empire’s capital.”
Jin took a sip from the teacup before him.
Valeria sat across from him, unmasked, having come to Hailan’s second fortress. This showed she trusted Jin and his comrades to some extent.
Jin and his allies had fought not for personal gain, but to protect the world during this war. That resolve stirred something deep within Valeria’s cold, dry heart.
“I didn’t expect the people to trust you so much, Jin Runkandel. Originally, Mine transformation and living golems are fundamentally different, but now that you mention it, no one’s calling for an investigation.”
“The people have no choice, and the imperial family will deny it, but there’s no way out. Reporters, citizens, and officials from various factions are storming the lab. The evidence we left behind will welcome the angry crowd.”
Despite the urgency, the imperial family and their researchers managed to smuggle out most critical documents, but left behind relatively minor papers—like lists of participants and donors—when abandoning the lab.
Jin deliberately left these for people to find, and the documents bore the names of numerous imperial officials.
“And besides, the kind of zombification the royal family’s been working on is different from the old dark magic version.”
Jin spoke with a bitter tone, and Valeria nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. After going through the records on those undead corpses, it became clear. What the imperial family is researching is definitely a form of zombification, but it’s basically no different from experimenting with living golems. So your claim that their zombification research is really more like living golem research isn’t exactly false.”
Normally, zombification and living golems are distinguished by whether or not they involve a living body or life force.
Zombification is pure magic, while living golems lean more toward magical engineering.
But the zombification research the royal family was conducting carried both of those qualities at once.
“…Because they were using the actual body of your clan’s first head, Temar Runcandel, in the process.”