Chapter 643
Episode 164: Land of the Ominous God (5)
The thunderous aura of the Reign of the Underworld Sword was gradually subsiding.
Jin’s breath came out ragged. The fatigue from the relentless battles and the mental shock made him gag.
“Brother, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. For now.”
He could still fight. Though not in the best condition, he felt he could still unleash his full power one more time.
Jin and Kaio looked up at the sky simultaneously.
As the black clouds formed by the thunderous energy dissipated, the lower part of Ram came back into view.
The chaotic dragons and black ships poured out like a swarm of bees fleeing a hive. The sight of them being shattered by bombardments and reduced to debris blurred their vision.
At first glance, it seemed Runcandel was finally on the defensive… but the battle was far from over.
Mocking the outside world’s assessment that their technology was the most backward, Ram kept spewing out chaotic dragons and black ships without pause.
And now, Ram was reloading its main cannon.
The black artillery that had wiped out Ziphl’s second fleet in a single strike was now aimed at Kinzello.
“But… we need to prepare for an escape.”
Jin planned to inflict maximum damage before the family fully understood his power, then rescue the resistors.
That was why he had come alone to the Garden of Swords today, and he expected he had at least partially succeeded.
‘The knights I killed today will soon be resurrected, and summoned knights like Lionel or Fadler will reappear… but there must be limits. There will definitely be a heavy price to pay.’
Ricalton.
The land believed to be the source of materials for replicating Joshua’s body, a place for human procurement.
Creating his clone alone required hundreds, even thousands of humans.
For people like Fadler or Lionel, it was obvious.
‘The resistors’ escape depends on the elder’s skill and luck.’
Jin wanted to chase after and protect them right now, but that would only put them in greater danger.
No new energy was appearing from the spirit shrine.
Instinctively, Jin felt Rosa was coming to find him.
He could see the chaos that had enveloped the Garden of Swords converging again in one place—the center of the black ships, likely where Rosa would stand.
There was no chance of winning a fight against her now.
As expected, Kinzello and Ziphl’s full forces had arrived, and Jin had already dealt with the Black Knight Captain, the summoned former head of the family, and the Ten Knights.
Yet Runcandel stood unshaken.
“Well thought out. Even I agree it’s better to plan for the future. To defeat the lord of this land, we’ll need the help of our brothers.”
“It’s the same for the escape. Cover me, brother Kaio.”
Kaio scoffed at Jin’s heavy voice.
“Hmph, you feel sorry for using me as a shield? Forget that. Death in this summoned state isn’t real anyway.”
Kaio was already certain: Jin’s escape would require his sacrifice.
Jin’s gaze landed on the spirit shrine.
He wanted to strike it one last time before escaping, but some of the chaos gathering at Ram’s center had formed a barrier near the shrine.
“They’re openly guarding the shrine…”
“I was about to suggest hitting it before we leave, but it’s better to just go, brother.”
Without a doubt, the chaotic barrier could only be broken by a sword technique at least as powerful as the Flame of Upheaval or the Reign of the Underworld Sword—or by unleashing the ultimate sword technique.
Doing so would make escape impossible.
“At least I’m certain now that the shrine is both a vital asset and a weakness. Not bad.”
Jin turned away.
Talaris was in a forest about 300 li from the Garden of Swords. After breaking through there, they had to ride Mott to the area where the Red Owl was hidden.
“Shuri.”
[Meow!]
The two mounted Shuri, who had just escaped the Red Jade.
In the distance, the chaotic knights were gathering again like cockroaches.
But no matter how many there were, they posed little threat—only wasting a bit of stamina.
“Let’s go, to Lady Talaris.”
Following Shuri’s full-speed path, the chaotic knights began to burst apart in clusters.
Soon after the escape began, Jin and Kaio realized something.
“I’ve been wondering—aren’t those also your enemies, brother?”
Kaio nodded toward the rear.
Kinzello’s fleet had been providing ground support fire since they fought Fadler.
Even now, their support continued so steadily that Kaio didn’t need to cover Jin.
None of the chaotic dragons descending to capture Jin reached Shuri; they all perished midair, and all black ship bombardments were intercepted.
“They’re enemies, yes. But right now, they probably recognize I’ll be needed later. Ziphl and Kinzello must have concluded they can’t take the Garden of Swords alone.”
If the Reign of the Underworld brothers couldn’t be summoned back to Inse, the same applied to Jin.
In fact, he even thought that temporary alliances with enemies might be necessary.
Runcandel now was not just a massive faction…
It was a catastrophe engulfing the entire world, like Gliek.
“Well, they’re not complete fools.”
They killed the blocking chaotic knights and broke through the main gate. Beyond it, the endless chaotic black landscape stretched on.
Even near the heart of Karon, the scene hadn’t changed. Only then did Jin realize that not just the Garden of Swords, but all of Karon had been corrupted by chaos.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Such massive chaos must have required materials.
But seeing it with his own eyes left his mind reeling.
For me, the survival and prosperity of Runcandel is the highest value. Nothing can surpass that.
Even if millions of humans die in the process, even if the world is destroyed in the ensuing desolation and only a few members of Runcandel remain, it means nothing to me.
Suddenly, Rosa’s words from the past flashed through his mind.
‘Are you really going to destroy the entire world, leaving only Runcandel behind…?’
Like a beast opening its jaws, Ram’s center split in two.
The main cannon fired directly, striking Kinzello’s fleet. The massive body of Zephyrin was pierced through the middle, and the overlapping shields behind it shattered.
For the first time, Jin was relieved the enemy hadn’t died. Zephyrin, though pierced, seemed unharmed otherwise, exhaling breath with undiminished power.
Kinzello’s counterattack, led by Zephyrin, was visibly damaging Ram’s hull.
The left side of the hull was collapsing.
Clearly, Ram was weaker than before. That meant only one thing.
The power Rosa lent to Ram was being withdrawn. The total amount of chaos hadn’t decreased.
Amid the fierce battle that made time lose meaning,
Shuri was already running 100 li outside the Garden of Swords. Jin faintly felt a chill.
Talaris was approaching him.
In the past, whenever Talaris came to save him, he felt an indescribable relief.
But now, it was the opposite.
“No!”
The chill reaching this far meant Talaris had already entered battle—and she wasn’t at full strength.
And the land soaked in chaos was all Rosa’s domain. Jin’s ominous intuition stabbed at his mind: Rosa must have sensed Talaris’s movements.
‘Rosa Runcandel will try to take down Lady Talaris before me…!’
He couldn’t be sure how much stronger Rosa had become by embracing chaos.
But even before the Garden of Swords fell into this state, Rosa was one of the world’s strongest.
Talaris couldn’t handle her now.
[Meowaaak!]
Sensing Jin’s anxiety, Shuri tried to speed up but had already reached its limit.
“Damn it, Lady Talaris…!”
If she fell, Jin would have no face to show Siris or the others. He’d lose any chance to repay the kindness he’d received from the Bow.
That thought was driving him mad.
“Calm down, brother Jin.”
Kaio looked up at the sky.
He had been watching the bombardments from the various faction fleets that had supported only Jin and himself, now converging on a distant point.
Kinzello and Ziphl had spotted Talaris and begun providing covering fire.
“The master of the chill—he must be someone precious to you. Should I cover him?”
“Is that even possible, at this distance?”
Kaio raised his great bow.
“You’ve forgotten my specialty. I’m the only Duel King who can fight while leading brothers. When it comes to long-range support, I might even be better than the Duel God brothers. Focus, and take care of those pests.”
“Understood…!”
Swish!
Kaio’s divine arrows shot into the sky. The glowing lightning flew fifty li, forming a massive pillar of light.
With each shot, cold sweat poured down Kaio’s body like rain. Blood dripped from his clenched teeth, and his mad heart throbbed as if about to burst.
Jin didn’t ask Kaio how things were going.
One thing was certain: the chill had not faded.
But it was fragile—flickering faintly, as if it could vanish at any moment.
Finally, when Jin reached the pillar of light formed by the divine energy,
he found Talaris, bloodied and gasping for breath.
The sight of her made his heart drop, but—
that blood wasn’t hers.
It was the blood of Mot, the toad-eyed creature. Mot had been guarding Talaris all along, repeatedly making short dimensional jumps within Rosa’s chaotic realm.
Without Kaio and the fleet’s supporting fire, even that would have been impossible. Mot’s pure white body was soaked through with blood.
“Jin!”
“Lady Talaris!”
He wanted to rush forward immediately, but from in front of Talaris, a black blade suddenly tore through the pillar of divine light.
It was Rosa Runcandel’s sword—madness and chaos dripping from its edge.
[So, you’ve come?]
Rosa greeted Jin with a sly smile. Jin was already drawing his sword, Bradamante.