Chapter 709
Episode 179: The Inescapable Trap (8)
While the mages gathered, Veradin summoned the researchers inside Kozek.
“Dante, you won’t have much to do while I’m breaking the spell. Take the researchers outside.”
“But what if we get ambushed while you’re undoing the magic?”
“That’s possible. But would the enemy risk attacking when I’ve already set up an illusion to buy us time? More importantly, we need to find any clues about large-scale teleportation. Since we’re stuck here anyway, it’s better to split up and at least accomplish something. We need to locate not only teleportation leads but also other detention camps.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll signal you once the illusion is lifted. Then we’ll regroup. And if, as you say, we get torn apart during the process, let’s meet at the destination.”
At the same time, on the western border of Ricalton.
Kinzello was stopped by actual troops.
“Anti-air… there are too many enemies.”
“Where did they all come from? There was nothing just moments ago.”
Bianca and Lanke spoke, staring at the dark, empty sky ahead, now suddenly swarming with the chaotic army like a hive of bees.
There were so many warships and chaos dragons that it was impossible to count. Not just ahead, but flanking and behind as well.
“This must be a large-scale teleportation or an ambush using illusion magic. Probably the latter, since no dimensional gates have been observed opening.”
Just as Zephyrin predicted.
The chaos army had been forming a siege line around Kinzello the moment he entered Ricalton.
But the siege was so vast, and the illusion magic distorted their vision, so they hadn’t noticed.
All eyes turned to Zephyrin. Orgal hadn’t returned to the fleet yet, so the decision fell to him.
“We won’t just break through to the target area; we’ll respond with the goal of total annihilation. This is the land of the Wretched God anyway—if we leave any survivors, we’ll face them again. Prepare the entire fleet for battle. The assembly will be delayed, but no ally should be surprised by such a variable.”
“Understood, Duke Zephyrin.”
“Lord Owl.”
Zephyrin met Owl’s gaze.
“It would be best for the Nameless and the Hidden Bow to advance on the ground. One will search for the detention camps and gather intel on large-scale teleportation; the other will rescue Lord Jo. Especially now, when Lord Jo’s enemies surround us, he’s likely to be extracted when they start to falter.”
“I understand.”
“Lord Jo is someone we absolutely must rescue from Kinzello’s perspective. Of course, if the worst happens, we may have to give up, but I hope you’ll do everything to prevent that. And Lord Beract.”
“Speak, Duke Zephyrin.”
“You should join these forces in rescuing Lord Jo.”
Beract wanted to shout, “You want me to save that bastard?” but he swallowed the words.
“…Understood.”
“I know you despise Lord Jo, Beract, but he remains the most crucial figure for our grand cause. Don’t let your emotions ruin the mission.”
“Our Hidden Bow will split off and infiltrate the target first. Lord Owl, I think you’ll need to send some personnel from the Nameless as well.”
Siris, who had been listening, spoke up.
“I agree with the Hidden Bow’s acting commander. When Jin is in danger, there’s no better contingency than the Eye Toad.”
Zephyrin nodded.
“Very well, proceed as planned.”
In the southern waters of Ricalton.
Cosmos’s fleet had safely passed through the Steel Gate and formed a formation at sea.
“Well, well. With the global portals closed, even more advanced teleportation techniques have emerged. If the spatial teleportation used by the Red Owl becomes widespread, the Black Prince said he’d share the benefits with us too. Hope it gets developed soon!”
Cosmos said, watching the Steel Gate fade behind them.
[Shut up, you pirate. And it won’t be you sharing the tech—it’ll be Mary Runcandel.]
“Heh heh, our Templar is angry again. Let’s keep things friendly. We need to work well together to save people.”
The Pirate King Cosmos treated Veil, a young boy, with surprising skill and care.
Veil grumbled but didn’t truly dislike Cosmos.
“Cosmos, I think Veil’s on edge because he sensed something the moment we arrived.”
Valkas spoke quietly, glancing at Veil.
He felt the dark aura unique to the Padler Runcandel coming from the distant land. Veil sensed it even more clearly.
[To think that bastard was waiting for us as soon as we arrived… Orgal, did he betray us? It sure looks like he knew we’d enter here.]
“That’s unlikely. The sea routes are limited, so they probably just pre-positioned forces.”
Normally, Veil would have been eager to finish off Padler.
But now, there were too many people to protect. And they couldn’t rule out other enemies besides Padler.
[Hmph. When we first met, he was powerless at sea. Now this is his domain. That snake… but we’ll show him the difference in rank. Valkas, protect these people here and flank around. I’ll go alone for now. Signal immediately if there’s trouble.]
“Understood.”
“Stay strong, Templar. And don’t worry too much—last time, we escaped the Wretched God’s army. This is the immortal Cosmos fleet!”
Veil’s golden wings cut through the dark sky as the fleet turned their bows, watching his retreating figure.
Meanwhile, Jin and his group, having exited the right Steel Gate, faced an unexpected darkness.
“This is strange darkness. I can only see the people right next to me; nothing else. This is the center of Ricalton?”
Sandra grabbed Jin’s shoulder, but Heddo took her hand off.
“It seems to be a pocket dimension, miss. We can’t afford to restrict our movements—anything could jump out at us.”
As Heddo said, the group immediately spread out, keeping watch in all directions.
“I didn’t hear Orgal mention this. Seems something changed while he was opening the dimensional gate.”
Jin said, wrapping spiritual energy around Bradamante.
As usual, the moment he cut through the darkness of the pocket dimension, Jin realized it wasn’t a single layer—and that the space itself ‘reacted’ to attacks.
Slash!
The moment he sliced through one layer, chaos spikes rained down from all sides. Their power was high enough that it wasn’t threatening, but if it kept up, it would become dangerous.
Testing a few more cuts, spikes appeared each time.
‘It feels like a boundary magic layered onto the pocket dimension. They’re playing tricks to buy time.’
The spikes only reacted to Jin’s spiritual sword.
Other attacks could cut through layers, but the difference in efficiency was huge.
Even if Heddo displayed his full swordsmanship, the cuts wouldn’t be as clean.
It wasn’t about strength, but the unique nature of spiritual energy.
“If it’s not the spiritual sword, breaking through will take forever.”
“Everyone, keep your distance. Especially protect non-combatants like Lord Quawl.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Jin’s command, the group spread out. Swinging his sword, Jin saw the spikes only fell near him.
‘If they’re trying to buy time for recovery, the situation must be bad for Brother Dipus. And Rosa can’t move…’
Normally, Jin would have taken more time to adjust variables and advance carefully.
But now, they needed to break through quickly. Every moment lost meant fewer prisoners saved and more time for Dipus to recover.
Even if Dipus had fully recovered and this pocket dimension was just a trick to confuse them, breaking through was the only option.
“We’ll break through swiftly. Keep enough distance to avoid the spikes but don’t lose sight of me.”
“Understood.”
“If they’re stalling for recovery, they’ll try to tear us apart at some point. They formed this pocket dimension because facing us alone is too risky. If we get separated, those pre-agreed groups must never lose contact.”
Since they had entered Ricalton’s center, the group planned to split at some point anyway.
Valeria and Quawl needed to find teleportation clues; the rest had to rescue prisoners.
Only Jin and Heddo were scheduled to fight Dipus directly.
But Jin decided to send Heddo to Quawl’s side.
“If Heddo must split from me, he should protect Lord Quawl. Until support like Veil or Orgal arrives, Heddo’s presence is the safest for Quawl.”
“Understood.”
Jin sliced through the pocket dimension and moved forward.
Countless spikes rained down, but not one even brushed his cloak.
After cutting through about three hundred layers, Jin felt he was nearing the end.
The resistance beyond the pocket dimension was rapidly weakening.
Finally, he cut through the last layer.
Suddenly, the eerie darkness lifted, revealing the towering silhouette of Ricalton Castle, rising like a black volcano…
And nearby, just as massive, stood the pitch-black trees—those very same trees the Ziphl and the Empire had spotted along the northern border.
As soon as the group emerged from the pocket dimension, the trees began shaking violently, furiously shedding the fruits that held their captured comrades in every direction.
No matter how composed Jin usually was, he couldn’t help but be momentarily shaken by the horrifying sight.
“My comrades! I have to check on them…!”
Thanks to his resolve, Jin swallowed hard and immediately turned back toward the companions who had been following him. The veil of spiritual energy forming the pocket dimension separated Jin from his allies.
Of course, if the pocket dimension trapped his comrades, he could simply slash through it again with his spirit blade.
But Jin couldn’t swing his blade in that direction—not with a massive greatsword crashing down on his head like a thunderbolt.
“Come on, little one.”
It was Diffus’s greatsword—Volgar.