Episode 632
Chapter 163: Returning to the Family (Part 1)
February 10, 1803. Five days had passed since Jin returned from the Guigok Seong.
During those five days, Jin had the chance to hear in detail from his comrades about everything that had happened over the past two and a half years—the shifting balance of power in the world, technological advancements, and the status of various factions.
Most of it was information he had already heard before heading to Guigok Seong, but now with added details.
For example:
Kinzelro had secured a new headquarters to replace the old Bonhoe in the beastmen’s territory, recruiting many demons like Ranker. Ziphl had shut down all magic towers except the First Tower and was reorganizing the entire Lutero Magic Federation under a new system.
The imperial family had been incorporated into Ziphl along with the eastern empire, and like all factions under the Lutero Magic Federation, they were operating numerous fleets powered by Ziphl’s technology.
Moreover, technologies like chaos control were being applied to fleets, mages, masters, and bio-golems—these “enhanced humans.”
Among all this, the only groups still completely abstaining from chaos were the Barmal Union and their allied factions.
“While you were away, Lord Dante put in a tremendous effort. Without him, the empire wouldn’t just have lost the east—it might have fallen entirely to Ziphl or been divided among various powers,” Kashimir said humbly.
In truth, the reason the “chaos-rejecting factions” had survived so far was largely due to the roles played by the Barmal Union, Bigung, and the Holy Kingdom.
The Barmal Union, Bigung, Hailan, and the Holy Kingdom—these prominent chaos-rejecting forces were holding on by relying on one another.
“In an age where flying ships and chaos control are commonplace, we’re the only ones who’ve truly advanced technology in the strictest sense,” Jin said.
Ziphl and Kinzelro’s technological prowess had mostly been hidden until recently.
Though there had been progress in chaos control, flying ships had been possible for some time.
Meanwhile, the Barmal Union had achieved a technological revolution with “wavelength-tracking mobile spatial jumps” and even developed a method to completely purify chaos—albeit under limited conditions.
Other factions might be able to use chaos, but none had even attempted purification.
Their research was focused on utilization, not purification.
“That’s right, Lord Jin.”
“Meanwhile, Runkandel has sealed off the city of Caron for half a year now, hiding all external activities…”
Runkandel.
Tikan had learned almost nothing about the former two great powers during Jin’s absence.
Their activities had become secretive; there had been seven explosions and earthquakes, and signs that they were controlling information about Jin.
“Since half a year ago, even the knights’ external activities have been almost unknown. Only occasional reports of purging contaminated zones and infected remain, but they haven’t appeared publicly.”
Difus, Merry, and the Tona brothers.
The four knights still in the Garden of Swords who were friendly to Jin had gone silent since that time.
Before then, they had occasionally visited Tikan to ask about Jin’s whereabouts, much like Yona.
“And as I mentioned before, all avenues for us to contact the young master and his allied knights have been cut off. Even when the knights came, they never shared anything special about the family…”
“Even if something happened to the family, they wouldn’t have been able to leak it. I would have done the same.”
The 4th, 7th, 10th, and 11th knights were friendly to Jin but not true allies.
Jin had always kept a certain distance from them.
It was inevitable—they were competitors, no matter how close.
Maybe soon your sister will find a small clue about Temar’s fifth tomb.
Sister Runtia? I heard Difus was leading the effort to block chaos, not Runtia. So she’s been searching for Temar’s tomb. Surprising that it could help you.
There might be information inside Runkandel you don’t know. The 3rd knights are operating based on that.
The last news about Runtia, another friendly rival, was connected to Temar’s fifth tomb.
Valeria was also purifying small beastmen societies while tracking Temar’s tomb, and had found a crucial clue in Runtia’s trail.
Because of that, Runtia hadn’t returned to Tikan even after Jin’s return.
‘Father, Luna, and the expedition team are probably still in the Black Sea. And… there’s a chance they might have already fallen.’
Jin could only hope that wasn’t true.
He swallowed a sigh and looked at his comrades.
“It’s best to assume the family has fallen to the Prophet and act accordingly.”
Otherwise, the situation was incomprehensible.
“So… Lord Jin, do you not intend to return to the Garden of Swords?”
“No, I’ll go back and check things out myself.”
“It’s too dangerous, Lord Jin.”
“My lord, I agree. Wouldn’t it be better to wait and observe a bit longer?”
Jin’s comrades, having witnessed the Smarion battle, had no doubt that his mastery of Mu-Wi had reached its peak.
Still, going alone to Runkandel was risky. If the Prophet truly controlled the family, Runkandel would surely have traps set to capture Jin.
No matter how dangerous Smarion was, it couldn’t compare to all of Runkandel.
“Of course, I will observe the situation. But I can’t wait too long.”
“Because of your promise to Rosa? If you’ve already decided the family is lost to the Prophet, there’s no need to keep the three-year limit Rosa gave you.”
“That’s not why, Quikantel. I have two reasons for wanting to visit the family. First, to confirm their situation. Second, because they still don’t know my true strength.”
If the first reason revealed no major problems—if the family was just lying low to regroup—Jin could prepare to take over as head of Runkandel.
He could naturally inherit power or forcibly remove the current leader.
But if the investigation confirmed the Prophet’s control, Jin would have to classify “Prophet’s Runkandel” as an enemy and wage war.
“…We must inflict as much damage as possible while they remain unaware of my strength. If the Prophet has swallowed the family and they’re just holding their breath to gather new information on me.”
“You mean, if things go wrong, you’ll fight alone on the spot?”
“Yes.”
“That’s no different from the old Murakan. What if you fall into a trap you can’t handle?”
“I’ll escape. With help from the Red Owl and Mote.”
“…Good. At least you’re not quite like Murakan back then. He would have said no one in the world could stop him.”
“I understand your concerns, Quikantel and everyone. But we can’t just wait outside not knowing Runkandel’s true state. If the Prophet’s power keeps growing, it will become truly uncontrollable.”
If the Prophet was merely holding the family hostage to build strength, they needed to strike as soon as possible.
Even if it meant taking some risks.
“That said, even if the family has fallen to the Prophet, I don’t think everything is lost. There must be those still resisting, and we need to rescue them before they’re wiped out and bring them into our fold.”
He was thinking of Difus, Merry, and the Tona brothers.
“Sigh.”
Quikantel and the others sighed—not because they thought Jin was wrong.
Despite Jin’s return and the Barmal Union’s advancements, they were still forced to make risky decisions from a position of weakness.
The best outcome would be the family remaining intact, but that seemed unlikely.
“Don’t overthink it. This is something we have to face anyway. Fortunately, we’ve achieved much of what we wanted over the past two and a half years. And even if the family has fallen to the Prophet, there’s one thing we still have the upper hand on.”
Jin’s new information.
If the Prophet had swallowed the family, the only reason Runkandel hadn’t pressured Tikan was this.
“First, announce to the world that I have returned. Let’s see how the family reacts.”
“And?”
“If possible, contact Veradin. The major powers probably know more about Runkandel than we do. If we’re lucky, we might hear something.”
“We’ll try, but don’t get your hopes up. Since Lord Jin began his training, Prince Veradin hasn’t engaged in any external activities.”
Jin nodded bitterly.
“Then we’ll have to give up on Veradin. Come to think of it, if Veradin and Sandra don’t come to us first when my return is known, it’s safe to assume they’re in trouble too.”
“We’ll also try contacting Bigung today… Oh, it looks like Mote is here.”
Outside the window, the white dimensional gate of the snow toad Mote opened. He looked exhausted. Since the chaos particles appeared, even Mote’s dimensional travel had become somewhat restricted.
“Son-in-law! I have to come find you first again right after you arrive? Even in this era without travel gates.”
She had come to Tikan as soon as she learned Smarion had been defeated.
“Long time no see, Lady Thalaris. I actually have something to discuss…”
“Hmph, I bet it’s a favor. Planning to visit Runkandel?”
Before Talaris even spoke, he already understood Jin’s intention.
“That’s right.”
“I was actually looking for you because of that. You’ve grown strong enough to take down Smarion, and I was worried you might get overconfident and try to go alone without me. Let’s start by catching up on what we’ve missed.”
From that day on, Tikan immediately announced Jin’s return to the world. Reporters, led by Dino Jaglun, flooded the airwaves with breaking news—but none of it mentioned Lanke or Smarion.
Instead, they spread false reports claiming that it was Dante who had subdued Smarion.
It was better to keep Jin’s inactivity under wraps until he reached Runcandel, and promoting Dante’s strength served their interests in multiple ways.
Runcandel, for its part, made no particular statement about Jin’s return.
Instead, they suddenly released a special report claiming they had found the “relic of the first head of the family”…
And even then, Tikan had yet to receive any word from Valeria.