Chapter 630
Episode 162: Smarion Prochi (2)
As Jin drew closer, the energy emanating from the Ghost Valley Fortress grew overwhelmingly intense.
Not only Jin, but his companions, the Ghost Corps, and even the lower-ranking members of the Black King faction could all feel it.
‘I expected Smarion Prochi’s power to be formidable… but this much?’
‘Is Gongja really going to be okay? Even from this distance, it feels suffocating.’
Jin’s comrades exchanged worried glances as they watched his back.
They had heard that the moment Jin arrived, he had reduced Lanke Halovice to a near corpse. Yet the aura Smarion now radiated was on an entirely different level.
And this wasn’t even the full extent of Smarion’s power.
‘If this weren’t a defensive operation at Tikan, there’s no way the forces here could have handled Smarion Prochi…’
The companions shuddered as they grasped the true nature of Smarion’s strength.
Had Jin not returned immediately after finishing his training, the casualties within the Bamel Alliance would have been unimaginable.
Jin himself breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he hadn’t been late.
‘Good thing I came straight away.’
If he had delayed his training, or if the Red Owl hadn’t been completed, or if Smarion had broken the seal any sooner—any one of those would have meant certain death for many.
The deeper Jin ventured into the forest, the darker the scenery became.
The Ghost Valley Forest, corrupted by chaos, was as desolate as a black sea, and the towering Ghost Valley Fortress trembled as if on the verge of explosion.
Without hesitation, Jin flung open the fortress gates.
The chaos clinging to the gates stuck to his hands like ash, but it was quickly washed away by his spiritual energy.
Before long, Jin reached the lowest level where Smarion Prochi awaited.
The massive iron door that once sealed the place had melted into nothing but traces, dissolved by chaos.
The seal, painstakingly crafted by the elders of the Ghost Corps who had sacrificed their lives, was already broken, just as had been predicted from outside.
“Why don’t you come out now, Smarion Prochi?”
[Yes, you must be a blood relative of Siron…]
Though Smarion had never seen Jin before, he spoke with absolute certainty.
‘Is there still some reason left in him?’
Jin thought it possible. If only instinct and demonic nature remained, Smarion wouldn’t have bothered to buy time as if facing a long-awaited rival.
But the consciousness Smarion retained was less reasoned thought and more blind hatred.
Hatred toward Siron, and toward those who wield shadows. All chaos shares a common loathing of spiritual energy.
[You possess an unpleasant power.]
Crack…!
From inside the seal, a pitch-black hand burst through the cracks.
As it tore the seal apart, a sharp, human-like scream pierced the air.
It was the anguished wails of the Ghost Corps elders’ trapped souls.
Their pale forms were visible, struggling to escape, but Smarion’s grasp held them tight, turning them into his ‘prey.’ Like a wild beast tearing into fresh meat, Smarion ravenously devoured the spirits.
“Before I draw my sword, I have one question. Fighting you won’t leave me any room for distractions.”
Jin locked eyes with Smarion. His blood-red irises showed not a trace of humanity.
“Outside, your children—Sir Rata Prochi and Lady Fey Prochi—and my comrades await. Do you have no intention of choosing or cooperating for their sake?”
[Why bother with those tasteless things?]
With a chilling scrape, Sralang and Bradamante’s sheaths slid open. Jin’s eyes darkened briefly with bitterness before hardening.
“A pity. If you weren’t consumed by chaos, I would have hoped you’d at least consider them.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Jin’s vision went black.
The chaos Smarion harbored exploded.
The blast, originating from the fortress’s lowest level, instantly reduced the entire Ghost Valley Fortress to rubble.
Outside, the ground trembled, and the waiting forces braced themselves, strengthening their protective barriers.
Though they were over five li away from the fortress, the shockwave pounding their shields was fierce and relentless.
Jin took the brunt of the blast at the closest point.
Yet astonishingly, despite the explosion and the collapsing fortress debris, Jin appeared unharmed.
He had unleashed his spirit sword to neutralize all the chaos hurled at him.
Amid the explosion, Jin’s cold, piercing eyes tracked Smarion’s movements.
Smarion, too, formed twin swords of chaos energy as he sought Jin.
The ground crumbled beneath them.
Having long been eroded by chaos, the Ghost Valley Fortress couldn’t withstand the impact and disintegrated into dust.
The Prochi siblings and the Ghost Corps members, witnessing the fortress’s collapse, did not utter a single lament.
They saw such despair as an insult to Jin, who was fighting for them.
The chaotic explosion naturally created a battleground for the two.
The earth was gouged into a massive semicircle, leaving both fighters suspended midair.
Before their feet could touch down, they swung their swords at each other.
Spirit energy, chaos, and three blades clashed in a chaotic tangle.
Each time chaos exploded, Jin’s spiritual barrier countered it.
Every sword clash sent shockwaves rippling, widening cracks in the earth without pause.
The destruction wrought by just these two in mere seconds was beyond belief.
“Battle commenced. We’re moving in. Prepare to deploy interference devices!”
At Quikantel’s command, the Bamel Alliance forces advanced in perfect formation.
They couldn’t enter quickly, however, as spirit energy, chaos, aura, magic power, and spiritual energy surged like a storm.
[I have been waiting for someone like you. A kindred spirit to Siron Runkandel…! I will devour you and find him.]
Kiaaaa…!
Endless chaos battered the ground, warping space itself.
If left unchecked, Smarion would erase this entire area from the map without tiring.
His raw power clearly surpassed Jin’s.
‘So, even if some consciousness remains, it’s nothing but demonic bloodlust.’
What makes a warrior strong isn’t the total amount of power, but the rank earned through struggle and the enlightenment of martial arts.
And Smarion had forgotten most of the wisdom he gained when he was human.
Clang!
Jin raised his sword like a lightning strike, blocking Smarion’s twin chaos blades.
The blades shattered, scratching Smarion’s neck.
The shards scattered like Kaios’ Sansi, swarming toward Jin.
One piece grazed Jin’s cheek, but in that moment, Jin slashed Smarion’s chest.
Black blood splattered as Smarion created distance, scattering dark chaos.
Hundreds of chaos orbs fell, tearing through Jin’s spiritual barrier and aura shield.
The chaos that broke through ravaged the entire forest.
It was around then that Jin’s comrades finally arrived on the battlefield and witnessed the fight between Jin and Smarion.
‘Is that… our lord?’
‘This immense power isn’t even landing a proper hit on him…!’
On the way here, it had been Smarion’s power that made their advance difficult, not Jin’s.
So they had feared Jin might be losing.
But that was far from the truth.
If there were a ship that could remain steady amid storms and tidal waves, it would look just like this.
Jin stood firm, repelling Smarion’s energy and holding his ground.
The difference in rank was clear.
At that moment, Jin’s comrades realized he had surpassed the 10-star level and entered the realm of transcendence.
Even from a distance, Jin’s figure looked like a giant standing right before them.
His opponent was the highest-grade chaos-infected being and the undisputed strongest Ghost Commander in history.
Despite facing such a legendary figure, and despite Smarion’s overwhelming power dominating the space, Jin’s comrades could not imagine him losing.
In truth, Jin’s mission wasn’t to fight for victory alone.
The key was minimizing collateral damage.
The outcome had been decided the moment swords were drawn.
Only achieving the greatest result with the least damage mattered.
That’s why Jin had asked before the fight began.
He told Smarion that he could never win and suggested he give up.
“Deploy the interference devices!”
At Quikantel’s shout, over five hundred blue rods shot into the air.
They floated in a circle, connected by magic power.
In the next moment, the aura surrounding the two fighters began to fade.
‘Kwaul’s devices are truly reliable. If they affect me this much, they must be poison to lesser warriors.’
Of course, this was only possible because all five hundred devices focused on just the two of them.
The energy radiated by Jin and Smarion diminished significantly, and the rate of destruction to the forest and earth slowed.
Smarion tried to strengthen his chaos further, but Jin parried his attacks, sharpening his control over his aura.
‘Still, five hundred devices won’t be nearly enough to disrupt the aura control of those who enter the domain.’
An aura far more immense than before the barrier opened was now coalescing within Jin’s radiant heart. This was something Smarion, steeped in demonic power, could never achieve.
‘At any rate, thanks to this, I can protect my comrades much more easily now.’
The Sword of the Underworld King, the Battle King’s Absolute Technique—Brother Guardian.
As the radiant heart of truth shone brightly, lightning cascaded down over the heads of Jin’s allies.
But instead of striking harm, the lightning transformed into a protective shield around them.
Every soldier of the Bamel Alliance nearby was now under the Brother Guardian’s protection.
Smarion’s chaos, having slipped past the spiritual barrier and the dragon-fire blockade, was finally stopped by the dense blue shield enveloping those closest to him.
Jin gripped Bradamante once more, fixing his gaze steadily on Smarion.
“You will kill no one else now, Smarion Prochi.”