Chapter 627
Episode 161: Return (4)
“The Beast King Orgal…”
Jin stared intently at the hazy landscape beyond the iron gate.
Instead of Orgal’s figure, all he saw was a distorted, blurry space.
[To think you’d disappear two years and six months ago, only to suddenly appear in the Great Desert. It seems the sanctuary for the Mingwang tribe your god saved was hidden somewhere around here. And no sooner had you returned than you pushed my loyal subordinate to the brink of death again…]
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you come out through that door right now? Thanks to that guy, my body’s finally warmed up.”
[You’ve grown too strong to kill now. And there’s no reason to.]
Of course, Kinzello had no reason to kill Jin.
No one was better suited than Jin to keep Runkandel and Ziphl in check.
From Orgal’s response, Jin could sense that the balance and tension among the great powers were still intact.
“The day you try to use me to check other forces, you’ll be wiped out.”
[Judging by your past actions, that day might well come. But don’t worry, we’re preparing on our side too.]
“Doesn’t that sound more like a warning than reassurance?”
[Then that’s a frightening thing indeed.]
“Whether it’s confidence or a reluctant choice to save that demon, you’ve made a mistake again. You’ve revealed to me that you haven’t fully recovered your strength yet. I hope that bastard Lanke’s life was worth it.”
A brief silence followed.
As if deeming further conversation pointless, Jin turned his back first.
Orgal watched Jin’s retreating figure and added one last remark.
[There will be many mountains you must climb before meeting me. I too hope you don’t die along the way.]
As Jin vanished beyond the chaotic winds, the commander immediately opened a new steel gate to Kinzello’s old headquarters.
Right where Ainas and Bubar had been smirking while Lanke was being dealt with.
“The commander’s here!”
“Huh? Commander!? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
[Lanke was defeated by Jin.]
“What? Lanke? Jin Runkandel was there!?”
“Lanke was taken down? By him!?”
“Lanke’s not dead, right?”
[Fortunately, he’s alive. Gather all the important documents left at headquarters as quickly as possible. And how many master-level completions are there?]
“Five. Or was it four?”
[Whatever the number, only those and you cross through the steel gate. Order the rest of the members to evacuate to their assigned branches. As of now, the entire headquarters is to be shut down.]
“I don’t know how he managed to defeat Lanke, but if Lanke fought him, that guy must be exhausted too. Maybe it’s better to deal with him now.”
[Jin isn’t tired, and that would be too big a blow. Prepare quickly.]
Ainas and Bubar hurriedly gathered the documents. Four master-level completions crossed the steel gate.
As they left, Jin exited the Mitra Great Desert and began destroying every contaminated area in the beastmen’s territory without mercy—for a full twelve hours.
By the end, all the contaminated beastmen zones outside the Mitra Desert were reduced to ashes, and Kinzello’s old headquarters, hidden deep underground, was completely pulverized.
Bamel Alliance, Tikan Free State.
Kashimir and Jin’s comrades were receiving reports from the Seven-Colored Bird. It was about the massive destruction in the contaminated beastmen zones and Kinzello’s old headquarters.
The beastmen zone where Kinzello’s old headquarters stood had been the site of frequent skirmishes between factions—until about a year ago, when all sides agreed to designate it as a waste disposal site.
But those who knew the details considered Kinzello the ultimate victor of those battles.
Though it was a joint disposal site, the management of the Great Desert was left solely to Kinzello’s demon, Lanke. Neither Ziphl nor Runkandel had stationed anyone there.
Since Lanke took control of the Great Desert, Tikan had been making relentless efforts to monitor what Kinzello was doing there.
All for Jin’s sake.
If Jin were to face Lanke and Kinzello’s strongmen immediately upon escaping Laprarosa, his return could be fraught with danger.
Moreover, the many unofficial battles fought in the Great Desert, even at the cost of breaking ceasefire agreements, raised many concerns.
If the great powers somehow discovered Jin’s presence in Laprarosa and planned to ambush him upon his return, Tikan had to be prepared.
Of course, Runkandel’s obsession with the Great Desert might have different reasons than Ziphl or Kinzello.
After all, Runkandel’s side was the first to leak news that their next clan head had left for final training as soon as Jin departed for seclusion.
So unlike the other two factions, Runkandel’s securing of the Great Desert was likely for Jin’s safety.
But recently, Tikan had sensed something unusual about Runkandel’s attitude.
They even suspected that Runkandel might be trying to seize the Great Desert to eliminate Jin.
The Seven-Colored Bird’s informants only knew that trouble had erupted in the beastmen zone, but not the exact nature of the battles.
“A massive amount of brain energy was detected… Could it be Prince Jin himself, Kashimir?”
Valkas spoke.
“If that were the case, it would be ideal. But the destruction was on a scale that leveled the entire beastmen zone. It’s more likely a battle between groups rather than an individual.”
Kashimir replied, sounding frustrated, and Valkas and Gilly sighed.
Even if Jin reached 10th star within three years, it was hard to imagine him single-handedly destroying the entire beastmen zone.
And there was Lanke—the demon who had repeatedly overwhelmed Runkandel and Ziphl in the Great Desert.
Tikan had confirmed that he had even defeated the Black Knight and the Phantom Corps.
“Besides, if both the beastmen zone and the old headquarters were destroyed, this battle must have been Kinzello’s defeat. Control over the Great Desert will pass to the victor.”
Runkandel or Ziphl.
Either taking the Great Desert would be more problematic than Kinzello, as they would leave no room for negotiation.
“Phew. If they’ve confirmed Laprarosa’s existence… we need to find out how.”
“The worst case is that Prince Jin was ambushed right after escaping Laprarosa. No matter how much we speculate here, we won’t know for sure. We have to go see for ourselves.”
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy.
Tikan was currently suffering from a severe manpower shortage.
Thanks to Kwal’s abilities, their fortress was nearly impregnable, but Murakan was still acting as Solderet’s proxy, and Misha was still sealing Elona.
Most problematic was the Guigok Fortress. Except for Valkas, all of Tikan’s strongmen were stationed nearby, waiting.
They couldn’t ask for help from Bigung or Mumyung.
The internal injuries Talas suffered in the Sword Emperor War hadn’t healed, just like during Ron’s time, and Yona, who had often visited Tikan after Jin left, had suddenly gone silent.
Tikan couldn’t rule out the possibility that Yona had gone berserk in chaos.
“Sir Valkas alone is too risky. I’ll go to the family and Hailan to ask for help.”
“Runkandel is out of the question, Gilly. It’s too dangerous. Better to just go to Hailan.”
“Your Majesty!”
Someone burst into the meeting room urgently.
It was Jet. The others sighed in relief when they saw his excited expression—and Jin standing behind him.
“Prince Jin!”
“My lord…!”
“Master…!”
“Haha, our lord, our lord has finally returned!”
Gilly was the first to rush forward and embrace Jin.
Jin gently patted her back and smiled.
“I’m back, Gilly.”
“Master, I’m so relieved you returned safely…! But what about these wounds?”
Jin’s body bore clear signs of battle.
“Ah, as soon as I left Laprarosa, that bastard Lanke attacked me. Orgal saved him, so I couldn’t kill him.”
At that, the comrades were stunned, their earlier worries suddenly seeming trivial.
“L-Lanke Halobiche? So, the beastmen zone… you destroyed it all by yourself!?”
As Gilly examined Jin’s body, she noticed all the black spots of chaos had vanished. He was also far stronger than before.
“We were worrying for nothing, Kashimir.”
“Seems so… Prince Jin, what kind of training did you undergo for three years? Anyway, I’m just glad you’re safe!”
“There’s much to say and hear, but first, we need to head to Guigok Fortress.”
On the way to the meeting room, Jet had told Jin about Guigok Fortress.
Smarion Prochi—the father of Rata and Pey, and considered the strongest former Ghost Commander in history.
The reason Tikan’s strongmen were waiting near Guigok Fortress was because his seal was about to break.
“We’ll talk on the way. Since Sir Kashimir can’t leave his post, only Gilly, Sir Valkas, and I will go.”
“What? Jin Runkandel? You just got back?”
Kwal entered the meeting room as well. Unaware of Jin’s return, he had come to update Kashimir on research progress.
He must have been under a lot of strain from his previous research, because he’d become an even heavier chain smoker than before.
“I hope you didn’t really go around smoking five cigarettes at once even when the kids were around, Lord Kwaul,” someone said.
“Hmph. No matter how tough I am, I wouldn’t do something that reckless. Looks like you managed to get some items from the Pluto clan.”
“While I was off at the Gui Valley, you can analyze them. I also brought along some blueprints that will drive you crazy. I’ll fill you in on the details of the previous research once I get back.”
“Alright, sounds good. Perfect timing, too—I have a flying ship that was completed a month ago. Take that for your trip. Its performance is pretty impressive. It should answer some of your questions about the research as well.”