Episode 825
Chapter 208. The Balmel Alliance’s Duty (2)
Storm God Feitel.
Jin recalled the day he fought Feitel back when he was a trainee knight on the Cheongsae Archipelago.
‘Murakan beat up Yulian, and then Feitel descended, reacting to the power of Gram sealed within Sigmund. If the lingering spirit of Gram hadn’t awakened and lent its strength, I would have died there that day.’
-[Kuhuhu, how amusing. So arrogant, yet now you’re nothing but a puppet, sealed and at the mercy of a worm’s hand. How does it feel, worm? Do you like your big brother’s power?]
-If it weren’t for that worm, you wouldn’t even be able to descend. Yet you have the nerve to talk big. Shouldn’t a god have a bit more dignity?
-[Kuhuhu, for a worm to think he’s some ancient royal bloodline… I don’t know how you got that sword, but… what? That’s… from the royal bloodline?]
-This sword was given to me directly by the one who killed your brother. Do you know the name of the half-god Ban, my brother?
The conversation with Feitel on the Cheongsae Archipelago came back to Jin’s mind.
At that time, Feitel had checked Jin’s radiant heart and, upon hearing Ban’s name, was overcome with terror, even having a seizure. During the battle, when Jin summoned Tess, Feitel panicked again, showing a pitiful side.
There wasn’t a single good memory. No grandeur, no noble aura—just the image of a reckless, wild god.
“That cowardly, frivolous god… I don’t know if he’ll be any help. Or maybe he will.”
“I heard that when you were a trainee, Feitel begged Murakan for his life. He must harbor some resentment. So if he refuses to cooperate, Murakan will beat him again. What do you think will happen then?”
Jin was momentarily speechless at Valeria’s surprisingly simple way of thinking. It wasn’t something she would normally say.
“…Hearing you say that, I can really feel that even the faintest chance is needed.”
“Exactly. And as you know, gods who grant weapons to their contractors are very rare. Among them, Feitel is special because he grants three different weapons depending on his satisfaction.”
“Like how Feitel weaponized the power of the storm, maybe he can convert the radiant heart into a power source?”
“That’s right. If that’s possible, you could build at least one Golden Ship before your brothers return. After all, you brought the radiant heart from Laprarosa along with the blueprints.”
“I get it. Once Kaltor wakes up, I’ll prepare to meet with Feitel.”
Jin thought of Yulian, who stayed by Kaltor’s side every day. Since becoming comrades, Yulian had played his part at crucial moments, but the atmosphere was always heavy because of Kaltor.
Like Kuzan and Beris, Yulian had opened his heart to his comrades, but if Kaltor didn’t awaken, he seemed to feel his life had no meaning.
“When Kaltor wakes up, I’ll finally see that gloomy guy smile.”
“You hardly smiled until recently either, Valeria.”
“That’s why I said this is better. Anyway, that’s the progress so far. Everything else is fine, but there’s no special breakthrough regarding Laprarosa.”
“Don’t get impatient even if things aren’t going smoothly. Everyone knows how hard you and Dr. Qaul are working. And even if it’s not the Golden Fleet yet, once the shipyard is completed, fleet production will begin.”
“Bailram is doing great. Speaking of which, Bailram’s coming today. Want to meet him? He should be arriving soon. We still have some time before Luce finishes his request to Murakan.”
“Sounds good.”
The two rode Shuri out to the sea beyond the Sword Emperor’s Domain. As soon as they left, they had to layer protective shields due to the dense mana, but the beach had been purified and was a deep blue.
The knights waiting on the shore to receive the steel saluted, and Bailram, who had just arrived, bounced lightly in the shallow water to greet them.
[Pipi! Hello!]
“Hello, Bailram.”
“Long time no see. How’s the Blacksmith’s Island?”
[Everyone’s doing well. Working happily every day.]
“Oh, you brought something besides sea steel today?”
Valeria said, eyeing the steel Bailram was carrying. Jin flinched at the sheer amount of that special steel.
It was ancient eternal steel.
[It’s better than sea steel.]
“Not just better—this is ancient eternal steel. We didn’t order this. Did the blacksmiths send it on their own?”
[They said it’s good for making golems.]
The ancient eternal steel Bailram brought had been sent by the blacksmiths as soon as they heard about Ielo’s production.
From what Jin knew, the blacksmiths of the Minche Association never used ancient eternal steel for anything other than weapons.
And with this much, it must be most of the ancient eternal steel the Blacksmith’s Island had. It showed how much they cared about the alliance’s development. Like Tikan’s comrades, they couldn’t meet often, but everyone was doing their part.
[Tell Honka, Uncle, to play next time. That uncle needs to learn to swim.]
“Alright, I’ll tell Honka.”
“Send my regards to Baldy… no, Lord Pikon as well.”
[Baldy, yes!]
Bailram smiled at Pipi and went off to carry more steel. Jin and Valeria laughed watching him and helped the knights transport the steel back to the Sword Emperor’s Domain.
When they returned, Murakan was waiting, having finished his work.
“What’s this, kid? You separated me from Strawberry Pie so cruelly, then made me work while you went on a date? Uuuuugh.”
Jin felt a twinge but put on a confident expression.
“Can’t you see I carried steel? I worked too. And who said I separated you? It wasn’t cruel at all. Didn’t you hear Gilly? She said working is way better than reading those erotic books.”
“Tch, you never lose an argument. Where are you off to now?”
“I’m going to stop by the Sword Garden for a bit. Need to check if the magic knight squad is training well.”
“Is that all? I don’t want to throw up again. Strawberry Pie didn’t even pat my back like last time.”
“I was thinking of visiting the Empire too, but seeing you get sick, I’ll just go to the Sword Garden. The other dragons handled teleportation just fine.”
“Hmph, that’s because they don’t have senses as sharp as me, Murakan. So, just the Sword Garden, huh?”
“Teleportation’s the last stop. From evening, you have to attend the Tikan immigrants’ welcome ceremony instead of me, then a meeting at night, and at dawn, spar with Tikan’s top-tier fighters.”
“Ahhh! When do I get to play with Strawberry Pie!?”
“Well… let’s go.”
Valeria chuckled watching the two bicker.
Just as they were about to mount the Red Owl, Luce came running. Jin naturally assumed he was about to ask for a signature again, like Enya.
He reached for his pen, but above Luce’s head, Barbobo had manifested.
[Hey, hey! Jin!]
“Lord Barbobo.”
“Long time no see, what’s the rush?”
[Ah, Murakan. Glad to see you back. Heard the news right away, but only now you greet me.]
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to beat you up or kill you like old times.”
[That’s a relief. Hmm, I’m sorry we couldn’t cooperate a thousand years ago.]
A thousand years ago, when the Barkl Autonomous District was a kingdom, Runkandel sent knights to get Barbobo’s contractor. Barbobo had gone into hiding to avoid getting caught in the feud between the two great houses.
“I understand now. No need to apologize. I’m grateful to be helping the kid now.”
Barbobo was quite surprised by Murakan’s mild attitude. Those who remembered that era always reacted this way when meeting Murakan.
[Thanks for understanding. Anyway, I came looking for Jin because of… Keitam.]
“The God of Pain?”
When Luce contracted with Jin and agreed to help the alliance, Barbobo had requested protection for gods close to him. There were rumors that Ziphl was accelerating the ‘God Hunt’ to make demon stones.
The God of Pain Keitam, the God of Frames Ox, and the God of Pencils Telpen. Jin accepted the request and immediately moved the three gods to safe zones.
-[Among them, the God of Pain is connected to you… It’s better you hear it directly from Keitam.]
That’s what Barbobo said about Keitam back then.
But contrary to expectations, Keitam hadn’t said anything special to Jin yet.
-[Yes. Keitam seems willing to talk to you now. He wants you to find him as soon as possible.]
The last time Jin saw Keitam, he looked burdened by something heavy. Jin didn’t press him when he seemed hesitant, but it seemed his feelings had changed.
‘Keitam probably wants to talk about Solderet, and it looked really hard for him to say. Now that Murakan’s back, he’s calling for me…’
Jin had a feeling it was related to Murakan’s return.
“Why doesn’t he come himself? Why make our kid run around?”
[Because of the demon stones, mid- and low-ranking gods like us can’t move freely without protection, Murakan. One wrong move and we get absorbed.]
“Hmm, then it can’t be helped. Yeah, whether it’s a god or whatever, since they’re part of the alliance, it’s only right that Lord Murakan protects them.”
[You’ve really changed a lot… It’s so good to see. If Solderet saw you like this, he’d definitely be happy.]
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Understood, Lord Barbobo. We’ll stop by the Garden of Blades briefly, then head straight to see Lord Keitam.”
Soon, Jin and Murakan mounted the crimson owl and flew toward the Garden of Blades. The knights there had already been alerted to their arrival and stood lined up, waiting.
Murakan had come to the Garden of Blades as soon as he returned, but many of the knights hadn’t yet seen him after he regained his strength.
Because of that, the knights were brimming with anticipation. They were eager to witness just how imposing the legendary Black Dragon of the family, now nearing his prime, would be.
“Ughhh… ack.”
But the first thing the knights saw when they saluted was Murakan, his face pale as a sheet, doubled over in pain.
‘Ah, I told him to just handle it inside and come out…’
Jin shook his head and pressed his palm to his forehead in exasperation.