Chapter 598
Episode 156: Purification of Chaos (2)
As soon as Ban gave the order, the Mingwang clan members began clearing the banquet hall with military precision.
Just as Jin was about to help tidy up, Otu King Boras approached him.
“Heh heh, Jin brother, just relax. Let’s slack off together for a bit.”
“Brother Boras.”
“You’ve probably sensed it already, but Ban brother firmly believes that you, Jin brother, will be the first to overcome the chaos. The faith of the great Mingwang warrior has never been wrong… well, maybe a few times, hmm.”
“Ah, come on, really.”
“Anyway, don’t worry too much. I, Boras, will craft a pretty decent chaos extraction aid for you.”
That was why Ban had said some preparation was needed before starting the chaos purification.
Boras was the greatest blacksmith in Mingwang history and the Otu King. He needed to create a device to assist Ban.
“A chaos extraction aid?”
“It’s a device to help the warrior brother extract chaos from you more smoothly. It also improves stability.”
“Can the warrior brother really extract chaos from others? Even if it’s the original chaos?”
“Yes, that has happened before.”
Sadness flickered in Boras’s eyes as he recalled the brothers who had been tainted by the original chaos before their destruction.
“Of course… there will be side effects, right? Like turning into bugs, as the brothers mentioned earlier?”
“Exactly. Side effects were expected when injecting the warrior bloodline too. But the results were perfect. Jin brother is skilled at trials and tests, so this will end well too.”
Jin decided not to ask for more details.
In truth, he had no choice. If he refused purification out of fear of side effects, his future would be death—or something even worse.
‘The more I dig, the more anxious I get. Since I’m going to attempt purification anyway, I have to trust the brothers and follow their lead. And if the warrior brother has a method, then when we can bring the brothers out of the netherworld… maybe others can be healed too.’
No one knew when they’d be able to extract the Mingwang clan from the netherworld. And with such serious side effects, it might not help other infected souls at all.
‘I hope I can find a way to reduce the side effects through my own chaos purification.’
The banquet hall was cleared.
Everyone except Ban, Boras, and Jin headed toward the training grounds.
Despite drinking all night, it didn’t affect their sparring at all.
“Let’s decide who spar with Jin brother first by rock-paper-scissors.”
“That’s not fair!”
The regular warriors, including Shaku, protested, but First King Baltrok shook his head.
“Brothers, this time only the warrior kings will test Jin brother’s skills.”
“Is that fair, warrior kings?”
“The warrior brother told us to confirm Jin brother’s achievements, not just train through sparring. So this sparring is a check before purification.”
“Ugh, that feels unfair.”
“If you feel that way, then other brothers become warrior kings too. Ha ha. If regular warriors sparred with Jin brother, accidents could happen.”
Twelve King ‘Teto’ stuck his tongue out, teasing the regular warriors.
At that, Second King ‘Rumora’ smacked Teto on the back of the head.
Clang!
The sound was like metal splitting.
“How many times do I have to tell you to watch your words, Twelve King brother? You’ll get the brothers to dislike you.”
“Ugh! I’m just stating facts. And no one hates me. They all know I’m just blunt.”
“Anyway, brothers, Twelve King brother isn’t wrong. Regular warriors will just watch, and the warrior kings will take turns testing Jin brother’s skills.”
Rumora nudged Teto forward.
“Twelve King brother, you start. The rest of you gather here and play rock-paper-scissors.”
“Heh heh heh, as expected! Even if you hit me, Second King brother’s got my back.”
Teto spun his spear smoothly and stepped into the center of the training ground. Among the Mingwang swords, he specialized in spear techniques.
Jin hadn’t encountered Teto much during the first two training sessions.
But one thing was clear.
“Just so you know, I’m the weakest among the warrior kings.”
Jin let out a small laugh. That was why Rumora had chosen Teto to go first.
“I know, Teto brother. I heard you barely made it as a warrior king.”
“Still, Jin brother won’t be able to keep his wits against my dazzling spear techniques.”
Swish!
Before Jin could react, Teto thrust his spear.
It was a clear strike aimed at the neck—if Jin had been careless, it could have meant death or a fatal wound.
Brothers never cripple or threaten each other’s lives. Teto’s attack broke that rule, but no one said a word.
They were all confident Jin wouldn’t fall for Teto’s ambush. Not just any warrior, but a ‘warrior king’ ambush.
“Ha ha ha! You’ve really gotten stronger, Jin brother!”
“You’d better take this seriously, Teto brother.”
Jin’s tone was cold, but inside, his heart fluttered with excitement.
Only a warrior king or a warrior god could spar with a warrior king like this.
‘Last time, the warrior kings treated sparring with me like playing with a child. But now, it’s completely different…’
Fzzzt!
Lightning crackled around Sigmund. After a quick, light exchange, before five moves had passed, the entire training ground was filled with the two’s electric aura.
The audience, the strongest warrior race in history, was unfazed by the shockwaves.
The warrior kings and regular warriors’ electric auras formed a thick protective barrier around the training ground.
Of course, since they weren’t truly breaking the rules of brotherly sparring, neither could use their ultimate techniques or finishing moves.
If one had overwhelming power, that might be allowed, but the difference between Teto and Jin wasn’t that great.
So they had to fight using only enough energy to avoid a decisive finish.
Naturally, it became a contest of skill, not brute strength.
“I can’t use my electric aura properly. One wrong move and I’ll lose.”
“If Jin brother can just close the distance once, it’s over.”
“That one chance looks almost impossible, though.”
Indeed, Jin struggled to close the gap. The longer the exchange went on, the more Teto’s spear pressed in, shrinking Jin’s space.
‘I thought the difference would be smaller if we fought purely with weapon skills at similar power levels.’
But it wasn’t.
Teto’s spear, wielded by someone who called himself the weakest, was as dazzling and disorienting as predicted.
“Heh heh heh, left this time! Actually, right!”
The afterimages multiplied.
“Left, right, left! Left! Weak, medium-weak! Oh, good block. But you didn’t dodge the thigh strike, did you? Too bad, Jin brother. You’ve got a scratch on your thigh and now your right cheek too!”
Teto’s irritating grin and tone made Jin’s blood boil.
It wasn’t a delusion.
Jin actually felt his anger about to explode. And as his fury grew like a snowball, his vision sharpened and his body felt lighter.
Clang!
Their weapons clashed as they simultaneously unleashed the Mingwang Sword’s flat suppression technique.
Teto deliberately used the suppression while keeping their weapons locked to taunt Jin.
With their weapons tied up like this, they could only trade punches with their free hands.
“Jin brother’s a bit weak at hand-to-hand combat, right? That’s why, right after becoming our true brother, he challenged Shaku brother to hand-to-hand and got completely beaten. And of course, I have even stronger fists than Shaku brother!”
Pow! Pow!
Teto pulled back his spear shaft and punched Jin’s jaw. Jin tried to counter, but there was a clear gap in raw strength.
The brothers noticed something odd.
‘Why isn’t Jin brother using Multa’s rune? He’s not the type to give up the advantage so easily.’
‘He’s not showing his usual stubborn grit either. He’s just taking hits without much resistance.’
Anger.
Since the sparring with Teto began, a sudden onset of demonic influence had started to take hold. Jin was struggling to resist it and couldn’t focus on the fight.
To be precise, he had already lost his composure.
All the warrior kings except Teto noticed this.
“I don’t think we can keep testing Jin brother’s skills any longer. We should stop for now.”
Just as Belliz stepped forward, Baltrok grabbed her shoulder.
“No, let’s watch a little longer, Seventh King brother.”
“Jin brother’s electric aura suppression is fading fast, First King brother. Twelve King brother doesn’t realize Jin brother’s condition and is letting his guard down. If Jin brother breaks the suppression, Sigmund will pierce Teto brother’s chest.”
“I still want to trust Jin brother. The warrior brother must have foreseen this situation…”
Before Baltrok could finish, he suddenly lunged forward.
The other warrior kings did the same. Belliz’s fears were coming true.
In the end, Jin’s suppression broke, and Sigmund, charged with electric aura beyond the rules of brotherly sparring, flew straight toward Teto’s chest.
No matter how fast the Twin Kings were, they simply couldn’t keep up. After all, the distance between Jin and Teto was barely a single step.
“Ugh!”
Unlike the other Twin Kings, Teto hadn’t noticed Jin’s condition because he was so focused.
And as brothers, Teto trusted Jin completely. Despite his sharp tongue, Teto loved and believed in his siblings more than anyone else.
He was absolutely certain that no matter what happened during their sparring, Jin would never actually stab him.
“Hah, huff, huff…!”
Thankfully,
The brothers who had rushed in at lightning speed saw that Jin’s sword stopped just before piercing Teto’s chest.
Jin, barely regaining his composure, was gasping for breath, and the rushing Twin Kings let out relieved sighs, their hands moving to their chests.
Clang!
Jin instinctively dropped his sword, sweat pouring down his face like rain.
As his brothers surrounded him, pulling him into comforting embraces and offering words of consolation, Jin’s mind was fixated on one thing:
The moment the demonic transformation began—and when Teto’s spear, which had seemed overwhelming, suddenly came into clear view.