Chapter 633
Episode 163: Return to the Family (Part 2)
At the Tower of Stories, in the room of Ziphl.
Kadun, Hedo, and Octavia’s eyes were fixed on the newsletter spread out on the table.
(The hero of the Sword Emperor War, Jin Runcandel, the 12th Knight of the Garden of Blades, returns after completing his secluded training!)
“So, Jin Runcandel has come back…” Octavia muttered under her breath.
The 12th Knight, who had vanished shortly after the Sword Emperor War ended, was a thorny issue.
Hedo, who bore no personal grudge against Jin yet, wore a neutral expression. But to Octavia and Kadun, his gaze was sharp and full of hostility.
‘Honestly, the way the top brass of the world’s greatest family treats a single child is always like this. Without a family head, there’s no discipline.’
Ziphl Keliak.
Currently, he was relying on chaos control devices and life-support systems.
It was only natural—he had been exposed to the most chaos alongside Rosa during the Sword Emperor War.
Until about a year ago, Keliak had made occasional public appearances to hide his condition, but now he had to truly ‘conserve’ his energy.
At least until Ziphl mastered perfect chaos control, or until Kinzello agreed to their deal.
‘Well, I admit I underestimated him a bit back in the Sota Desert…’
Looking back, that was the problem.
If they had finished Jin off before Sandra caused a ruckus in the Sota Desert, or if they had cut him down before he found a way out, or if Sandra had stayed loyal and killed him when she fell for him in the Gaipa Archipelago…
None of this would have become such a huge worry.
Neither for Ziphl nor for Hedo personally.
The only silver lining was that, for now, Jin’s return as a stronger man wasn’t necessarily bad news for Ziphl.
Hedo unfolded another newsletter lying beside the table.
(Sir Dante Hylan defeats the fiend of the Gui-gok Bird Fortress! Sir Dante, successor to the late Sir Hylan as the Empire’s top Guardian Sword, is said to have reached the 10th Star rank after the Sword Emperor War…)
“The Smarion Proch of the Gui-gok Bird Fortress was probably defeated not by Dante, but by the 12 Knights,” Hedo said.
“Why do you think that, Hedo?”
“Dante Hylan has been appearing publicly without any sign of injury. None of his knights have died either. No matter how strong the Guardian Sword has become, it’s unlikely he could have taken down that much chaos without a scratch. If he had gone alone, it would have been a suicide mission.”
“That’s true. But isn’t that the same for Jin Runcandel?”
“That’s uncertain. It depends on how much the 12 Knights have grown.”
“Even after two and a half years?”
“He’s definitely something different. Everyone here has seen him pull off results beyond common sense.”
“Still, if the Smarion was defeated without injury, it must mean Murakan has regained his power and reappeared.”
Hedo nodded.
“Either the 12 Knights have gained power close to the Choseong level, or Murakan has restored his old strength. Neither scenario is particularly bad for us right now.”
Runcandel—the long-time rival of Ziphl, whom everyone believed was in decline—was being judged very differently by Ziphl and Kinzello.
“The Garden of Blades. Right now, there’s no better card to keep them in check than the 12 Knights.”
Hedo unfolded yet another newsletter on the table.
(The Garden of Blades announces discovery of relics belonging to the first family head, Temar Runcandel… No detailed statement yet, but a strong will to reclaim the family’s forgotten history has been expressed.)
“The 12 Knights probably don’t know the exact situation of Runcandel. So, as soon as they returned, they sensed something strange and announced their return to the world before even reporting to the family. This is Runcandel’s reaction afterward.”
Since losing most of their history to Ziphl a thousand years ago, Runcandel had rarely revealed issues about their ancestors publicly.
Mentioning Temar directly was the ultimate taboo.
But now, the power of Ziphl’s story that had weighed down Runcandel had weakened, and they no longer cared about Ziphl’s gaze.
They didn’t even hide the ‘mana affinity’ phenomenon that pureblood Runcandel experienced after the Sword Emperor War.
There was only one reason for this.
Confidence.
Confidence that they no longer needed to fear Ziphl’s oaths or threats…
“So they found Temar’s tomb before the survivors of Hister did? Through the prophet’s power?”
“Probably. But whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the moment the 12 Knights saw this news, they had no choice but to return to the family.”
“To check on Hister’s survivors and the relics they should have obtained?”
“Not just that. Jin Runcandel’s return to the family is an inevitable choice. Even to become the family head. He won’t give up on Runcandel, no matter how much it’s changed. He’s not the compromising type.”
“Just as the Phantom General and Lord Kadun said. Of course, the 12 Knights won’t come to the family unprepared. They’ll probably have the toad’s eye held by the secondary family head as an escape plan, and I doubt they’ll bring the Bamel Alliance with them.”
“In that case, he will surely die there, Sir Hedo. He doesn’t know how dangerous Runcandel is now!”
Octavia was outraged at the thought of losing her chance for revenge.
“No, Octavia. If Murakan has fully regained his old power, and as Hedo said, if his ‘Mu-Wi-Do’ has reached at least Superhuman Rank 1… just the two of them could wage a war against Runcandel.”
“And unless the 12 Knights choose to submit to Runcandel along with the Bamel Alliance, a battle within the Garden of Blades is inevitable.”
“He would never make that choice.”
How much damage Runcandel would suffer in the process was something none of the three could predict.
But all three agreed that Jin’s chances of survival were very slim.
Even if Murakan fully supported him.
“Then this is our chance to confirm the true strength of Runcandel through their battle.”
Ziphl knew that the Prophet and Rosa had taken full control of the Garden of Blades, and that their power was beyond imagination.
But he didn’t know exactly how strong they were.
That was why he was avoiding all-out war under the pretense of a truce.
“Watching quietly and monitoring their movements is a good choice, of course. But I think it wouldn’t be bad to go a step further.”
“Go further…?”
Kadun and Octavia’s eyes turned to Hedo.
“If Runcandel’s power is weaker than we expect, they will suffer a devastating blow in that fight.”
Then would be the perfect moment to finish Runcandel once and for all.
Hedo spoke with conviction.
“We must not give them time to recover. Everyone knows how quickly the Prophet revived the many knights who died in the Sword Emperor War, and how he strengthened them.”
That was intelligence reported when Jin was in Lafra Rosa.
The informant who revealed the Prophet’s resurrection and enhancement died right after the report, melting away before Keliak’s eyes.
In other words, the Prophet had deliberately flaunted his power—even knowing the informant’s identity.
Recalling that, Kadun and Octavia shook their heads, shivering.
“So, Hedo, you’re saying we should prepare for an all-out war?”
“I mean we need to be ready to respond depending on how the battle unfolds. Not an unconditional full-scale war.”
“If the battle turns into a pincer movement, we’ll finish them both… but if it looks bad, we’ll pull back.”
A brief silence fell before Kadun made his decision.
“If that goes as planned, it’s definitely the best outcome. But it’s not our decision alone. We should wake Keliak briefly and get his judgment.”
They then went to the top floor of the Tower of Stories to inform Keliak of the situation.
Keliak nodded inside his life-support device, agreeing with Hedo’s opinion.
At the Kinzello Headquarters.
At the same time, they were holding a meeting on the same topic as Ziphl’s side.
They were reaching a similar conclusion.
The one who suggested actively aiming for a pincer strategy was Vishkel Ibliano.
“Hmm, Vice Commander’s idea sounds good… but do you really think that guy will go to the Garden of Blades alone? He beat Ranke, but going alone to a place even we dare not touch is crazy. Especially for someone so sly.”
“Hey! That Jin Runcandel must think he’s invincible after turning Ranke into a bloody mess!”
Bubar and Ainas voiced their doubts.
Ranke sat in a corner, muttering to himself in a daze.
Whenever Jin was described as having ‘defeated’ him, he shot murderous looks at Ainas and Bubar.
“If he’s not out of his mind just because he crushed Ranke so easily, I don’t think he’ll go to the Garden of Blades. Runcandel as a whole is on a different level from Ranke. Not that Ranke is weak—he just lost.”
“Yeah, he just lost. So cheer up, Ranke.”
Vishkel was always sick of Bubar spouting nonsense like it was garbage in his stupid head.
“Ainas, Bubar, stop emphasizing Ranke’s defeat. It’s off-topic and disrespectful.”
The two of them ignored Vishkel’s words and pulled out sweet potato croquettes from their arms to eat, while Vishkel snapped the pen he was holding in half.
“Hmm, Captain, what do you think?”
Margiela patted Vishkel on the shoulder and asked.
[The deputy captain’s opinion is correct. Ziphl probably has a similar plan. If both Jin and Runcandel take heavy damage, and we join forces with Ziphl to strike Runcandel together… no matter how strong the Garden of Swords is right now, it would be difficult to handle.]
“So, Captain, you’re suggesting we prepare for an all-out attack?”
[For now, that seems best, Berakt. We’ll have to watch how things unfold, but Jin and Runcandel won’t swear loyalty to the Prophet… a fight is inevitable. And Ainas, Bubar, Ranke’s defeat isn’t a stain. Jin and Runcandel have grown far stronger than before—there’s no comparison.]
The captain’s blunt assessment widened the eyes of the officers.
Especially Zephyrin, who had spent many years alongside Orgal, could count on one hand the times he’d seen Orgal evaluate someone so highly.
“The outcome will depend on how strong the power Runcandel has been hiding really is. If it’s weaker than expected, this could be our chance to wipe them out. Master, it’s been a while since you made a decision I truly like. I was getting tired of always having to watch my step around that thing.”
[Zephyrin, do not speak lightly of the Prophet.]
“Hmph. Anyway, I’m a poor dragon who’s never known the master’s favoritism.”
Margiela patted Zephyrin’s shoulder again.
“Well then, since the captain has given the go-ahead, shall we start preparing? The Garden of Swords and Jin Runcandel—this will inevitably be a battle where both sides get hurt. Should be fun.”
Margiela smiled slyly.
Perhaps, she thought, this might be the very last chance to turn Jin into one of their own.