Chapter 628
Episode 161: Return (5)
“You’ve already built an airship? That’s better progress than I expected.”
“Besides a few test flights with Valeria, you’re the first to actually fly it. Consider it an honor—others haven’t even dreamed of making something like this! I’m going to run a systems check now. While I’m at it, catch me up on everything we’ve missed.”
“Understood.”
Normally, the fastest way to reach the Gui Valley Star was through the teleportation gates.
Gui Valley Star lay within the Biment Empire, which boasted the largest network of teleportation gates in the world.
Moreover, with Regent Dante currently ruling Biment, there were no procedural obstacles to using them.
But in the three years since Jin left, the world had changed drastically.
“Wouldn’t using the teleportation gates still be faster?” Jin asked.
Valkas shook his head.
“Unfortunately, all teleportation gates worldwide have gone offline.”
“That’s due to the chaos particles spreading everywhere, my lord. Originally, teleportation gates were only extremely risky during heavy rain or snow, but now these chaos particles are everywhere, making them unusable.”
“On top of that, all major powers have shut down their connections under the guise of a ceasefire. Though, with the chaos particles, they wouldn’t be usable anyway.”
Before Grnil’s appearance, airships were considered exclusive to Ziphl. Now, they had become fairly common.
Not only Ziphl and Kinzello—who, as Jin predicted, had been absorbed into Ziphl along with the empire’s eastern territories—but even the royal family had received blueprints from them and operated numerous airships.
“If Quaul hadn’t completed the airship, you would have had to travel to Gui Valley Star by land and sea.”
“He’s built over ten airships so far, my lord. But every time he finished one, he smashed it to pieces, calling it trash. Without the Golden Pang Guild, Tikan would have gone bankrupt long ago.”
“Geniuses really do prove the stereotype of being eccentric.”
There had also been remarkable advancements in Ziphl’s bio-golems, the royal family’s constructs, and Kinzello’s master craftsmen.
The test subjects Jin had seen in the Great Desert were consumed by chaos but followed certain patterns.
As Jin had predicted, each faction was strengthening their test subjects through their own methods of ‘chaos control.’
Kinzello had the highest chaos control ability, followed by Ziphl and the royal family.
However, none of the factions fully understood each other’s technologies.
Valkas and Gilly took turns explaining these developments.
“Just as I feared when I saw Ziphl’s fleet in the Sota Desert, the situation has unfolded exactly as expected. It’s fortunate the enemy hasn’t added many ships on the level of Kojek or Grnil.”
Unlike other factions, Runkandel was known to possess only a few captured airships.
The Chilsakjo confirmed they had kidnapped some shipbuilders, but the core personnel remained out of reach.
Even if they had secured the key engineers and full blueprints, finding the skilled engineers to build them was another matter.
They had made no progress in chaos control either.
While it was commendable that Runkandel still trained pure knights amid the horrors of bio-golems and cyborgs, it was undeniable that they were falling behind the times.
“But the Prophet must have plans in place. Since the family is already under the Prophet’s control, they’re probably just hiding their hand…”
The blueprints and components for the spacetime device recovered from the Sota Desert had remained in Tikan’s possession for three years.
And during Jin’s absence, Runkandel had never once targeted Tikan.
“If the technological gap were truly that severe, Mother would have broken her promise and interrogated my comrades.”
Jin had intended to complete the blueprints and machines through the Pluto siblings, but since Quaul’s research materials continued to flow into Tikan, Rosa could have easily noticed if she wanted to.
“The fact that they haven’t pressured Tikan suggests Mother judged it safe. Or… perhaps it’s not Mother, but the Prophet.”
After the rapid technological advancements of the factions, Runkandel’s external standing had slipped to third place, behind Ziphl and Kinzello.
That was the common perception. Some even said Runkandel was a doomed family, with extinction looming.
“If that were true, Ziphl would have pressed Runkandel harder, ceasefire or not.”
“That’s right, my lord. The great powers still avoid serious conflict with the family.”
“They’re mindful of Father and the Prophet’s presence.”
There was still no news from Siron’s expedition.
At least, that was what Tikan had been able to confirm.
“You said the Sword Garden began controlling information about me six months ago?”
“Yes, my lord. Before that, they regularly published articles about your achievements and your seclusion training. It seemed designed to cement your status as the next family head among both family members and the public. Now, even independent news outlets can’t publish anything about you.”
This was why Jin’s comrades had worried about Runkandel threatening him before he arrived at Tikan.
It wasn’t just media control. For the past six months, Runkandel had completely sealed off the city of Kallon, where the Sword Garden was based, hiding all activities of the family’s leadership.
Rumors were spreading that the disgraced Joshua Runkandel had been reinstated—or that Rosa had seized power during Siron’s absence.
“Since you left, my lord, Tikan has detected seven explosions and earthquakes near Kallon. We couldn’t confirm whether these were civil war incidents or something else.”
“It’s likely due to Mother’s demonic transformation rampaging. If Tikan detected seven, there were probably many more.”
From the reports, it was hard to gauge the Sword Garden’s current state.
If Rosa’s rampage had destabilized command or civil war had broken out, other factions wouldn’t have stayed idle.
If the technological gap were severe, they would have targeted Tikan.
If Joshua had been reinstated, he would have appeared openly by now.
None of these had happened, which only made Jin uneasy.
The worst-case scenario was this:
The Prophet had already taken control of the family, wielding power feared by other factions, and the reason Runkandel had protected and neglected Tikan was solely to observe and gather the ‘new information’ Jin would bring.
“…I’m sorry. We should have gathered more information before your arrival.”
“The world has changed far faster than I imagined. I’m just grateful all my comrades have survived without serious injury. Please don’t apologize, Sir Valkas. Everyone has done better than expected.”
Truly, Jin felt it was a miracle that all his comrades had survived in such a turbulent world.
“In any case, it’s best to withhold judgment about the family until we see for ourselves. Depending on the situation, we’ll either achieve more in the remaining six months promised by Mother or return immediately. First, we need to put out the urgent fire at Smarion Prochi.”
As their conversation drew to a close, Quaul announced he had finished inspecting the ship.
Following him to the shipyard and launch bay on Tikan’s mid-levels, Jin couldn’t help but marvel repeatedly.
“The scale isn’t comparable to the Sota Desert shipyard, but anyone can tell at a glance that the ships Quaul is building far surpass Ziphl’s technology at the time.”
Countless gears, machines operating with breathtaking precision. In the center, like an altar, stood Quaul’s first masterpiece that he hadn’t smashed to bits, revealing a sleek silhouette.
It wasn’t a large ship like Kojek’s, Grnil’s, or other mass-produced vessels known to the world.
“A small ship.”
“Yes. It carries five people and is armed with a single main cannon, an improved version of the royal family’s mass-produced dragon spear.”
Quaul had said the airship’s firepower was weak, but the dragon spear had been the empire’s strongest weapon before the Sword Emperor War.
Shrinking the mass-produced dragon spear without performance loss and mounting it on a small ship was something only Quaul could do.
In fact, only Quaul could build a ‘small ship’ in the first place.
“But the built-in protective artifact is on par with Enya’s Dragon Flame Barrier. Valeria and I made it—it’s the pinnacle of current magic and magical engineering.”
Quaul’s eyes reddened as he explained.
How many magical and engineering barriers had they broken to create this… Even Valeria had choked up at its completion.
“You’ve worked hard, Quaul. Here, a handkerchief…”
“Hah, forget it. I just got some ash in my eye. Anyway, the official name of this airship is the Wavelength-Tracking Synchronous Spatial Leap Ship. To put it simply…”
“…You mean it can teleport?”
“Exactly. It overcomes all the drawbacks of the outdated teleportation gates. The only problem left is the enormous power it requires.”
Regardless of Quaul’s credibility, it was hard to believe without experiencing it firsthand.
It was that shocking.
“Valeria and I named this one the Red Owl.”
It sounded like a name Valeria had come up with on her own.
“Just in case, the manual is inside. Check it if anything unexpected happens. Now, take her for a spin!”
Jin, Gilly, and Valkas climbed aboard the Red Owl’s cabin, still a bit stunned.
“Do we not need to operate anything manually?”
“Arrival and return coordinates are set for Gwikok Fortress and Tikan. Once the launch gate opens, just press the button in the center of the cabin. You’ll be right in front of Gwikok Fortress in the blink of an eye. And the invisibility cloak is still in development, so once you arrive, your first priority is to avoid being exposed.”
“Invisibility cloak?”
“No one knows when it’ll be ready. Just remember—if the Red Owl gets damaged for any reason, Valeria and I will do whatever it takes to kill you.”
Krrrrrkkk…!
As Kwauil opened the launch gate, an endless expanse of sky and sea stretched out before them.
Then, Jin cautiously pressed the button in the center of the cabin. The Red Owl was engulfed in magical energy, trembling briefly before surging forward with explosive acceleration.
It was like the Order No. 7 ship of the Pirate King Cosmos during his apprentice days—if not even faster.
The absurd speed left Jin and his companions momentarily stunned; their minds went blank, and their vision darkened.
A few seconds later, when they opened their eyes again,
Jin and his companions blinked at the bleak landscape of Gwikok Fortress visible through the cabin window.
“…Is this for real? Can this actually be real?”
Even after seeing it with their own eyes and experiencing it firsthand, it was impossible to accept it as reality for a long moment.