Chapter 826
Episode 208: The Balmur Alliance Does What It Must (3)
The knights were taken aback but kept their composure, maintaining their salute. After a brief bout of vomiting chaos, Murakan wiped his face and put on a stern expression.
“…Welcome.”
Ruet and the heads of the previous generation stepped forward and bowed deeply. Jin still found it strange to be greeted so formally in public like this. While bowing, Ruet discreetly used earth magic to clean up Murakan’s vomit.
“Steward Ruet, today’s visit by the clan head and myself is merely to encourage the knights, so there’s no need to be so tense.”
“We are simply grateful that the great Black Dragon has taken the time—so precious and golden—to oversee the clan.”
“Heh. Also, I came to check on the items I previously ordered. Are they ready?”
“Unfortunately, we were unable to procure them. And I must earnestly ask for your understanding that we will not be able to obtain those items in the future either.”
Murakan’s neck veins bulged as he leaned close to Ruet’s ear.
“Hey, Ruet! It wasn’t even a big request.”
“Then why would we waste the clan’s and alliance’s manpower trying to get a limited-edition erotic art book in times like these? Get a grip. Besides, you showed up and immediately started puking—I’m embarrassed enough for both of us.”
“Hmph! You’re just as picky now as you were a thousand years ago.”
“Say one more word and I’ll have you thrown in the underground prison by my steward’s authority.”
“Oh dear, I’m so scared.”
The assembled knights didn’t catch their whispered exchange, but the elders did. Balas and Tasha struggled to hold back laughter, their faces puffed up, while Alpen closed his eyes in dismay.
But Murakan and Ruet weren’t actually at odds. On the contrary, they were quite close, with Ruet often the one to tease first.
For a while, Jin and Murakan surveyed the knights, offering words of encouragement. Most of the knights were still clad in dirty armor, having just returned from their duties.
“I am always proud that you are my knights. Now, you may dismiss and return to your posts. Those with some free time, come to the central training ground shortly. Murakan will personally spar with you and assess your progress.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Those who must return to duty immediately, don’t feel too disappointed. There will be many such opportunities in the future.”
Sparring with Murakan.
Naturally, none of the knights had ever dreamed of such a thing. A being so noble and powerful had no reason to spar with them.
“Understood!”
As the knights dispersed, brimming with anticipation, Murakan shot a sharp glance at Jin.
“Kid, sparring? That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“This is part of the encouragement. Why, don’t you want to?”
“It doesn’t look good.”
“From where I stand, a guardian dragon helping knights train informally looks cooler.”
“Up to seven stars, I’d die if I so much as breathed wrong.”
“Then you’ll have to be very careful when you spar. You’re not going to say it’s too hard, are you?”
“There’s nothing difficult for me, Murakan.”
“Good. As I just told the knights, this will be a regular event. Of course, it won’t be one-on-one. They’ll spar in groups, and the knights will fight with everything they’ve got. You know as well as I do, one of the fastest ways to grow a warrior is through full-on combat experience.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Master of the house, that’s a good idea. I was just getting frustrated watching Murakan loaf around.”
“Ha, Ruet’s words are getting sweeter by the day. I think I even shed a tear the first day I came back.”
“If you conduct today’s sparring well, I’ll personally give you the finest erotic art book I can find.”
“Ha ha! Ruet, you’re one of a kind! Fine, tell everyone with free time to come. I’ll help each of them level up! Shall we start right now?”
Murakan strode off to the central training ground, fired up. Ruet chuckled quietly as he watched his back.
“That fool still being a fool sometimes puts my mind at ease.”
“Same here, steward.”
“Let’s go in. I’ve tidied things up as much as possible, but there are still quite a few reports you’ll want to review yourself.”
On the desk in the office lay a stack of reports. Jin calmly examined them for a while.
“As expected, there are no issues with internal affairs. Stopping the fake steel trade has improved our finances, and the production of magic storage paper is proceeding smoothly. But what I need to pay special attention to is this, right?”
Jin pointed to one report: the status of Ziphl’s bio-golems. It detailed sightings of entities presumed to be “magic swordsman bio-golems” appearing in the Red Horse War.
“Yes, Master of the House. The golems you confirmed at Ziphl’s sanctuary in the past are now being deployed in actual combat.”
“Of the 22 bio-golems confirmed so far, 19 are estimated to have combat power equivalent to eight or nine stars… That’s about the same level as the masterwork golems Kinzelro is producing.”
The reports were compiled by Ziphl’s top assassins who had infiltrated the battlefield. Their assessments were unlikely to be far off.
“That’s right. But the three commander-class bio-golems are on a whole different level.”
“…Each is estimated to be at least superhuman, with distinct consciousness and command abilities. Their names are Betty, Almatia, and Koon. Unlike the other bio-golems, which are identified by numbers, these three are treated almost like people.”
Jin read the report aloud, deep in thought.
“Is this the result of analyzing the residual magic traces left by Valeria in the sanctuary?”
It must be connected to Elona as well.
“The sanctuary is the remnant energy of the Sun God. And according to Ameris’s theory, Elona is a being imbued with the strongest solar will, incomparable even to Veil.”
“I suspect Elona Ziphl’s power is what allows these bio-golems to overcome spatial limitations.”
“I agree. There must be a connection.”
“The important thing now is to monitor the number of bio-golems and their production rate.”
“We should be able to counter the standard magic swordsman golems with our soon-to-be-completed magic knight units and mass-produced Ielos.”
“What do you think about Betty, Almatia, and Koon?”
“I don’t believe such golems can be mass-produced. They must have been made using a god or something equivalent as material. Also, they’re probably not just combat golems. They might be used in rituals involving demon stones or the Tower of Stories. But that’s just speculation—we’ll keep investigating.”
“Golems used in rituals… Somehow, steward, I think your guess is right.”
Along with Elona, Ziphl has gained tremendous new power. But since this was anticipated long ago, it wasn’t particularly troubling. Jin had been researching bio-golems since before becoming the heir, and had already confirmed their existence firsthand in the sanctuary.
“For now, the Red Horse tribe will continue to gather intelligence on the bio-golems for us. And Ziphl will work hard to identify their base of operations using the Red Horse prisoners we captured last time. We must keep our spoon in the pot.”
“Understood, Master of the House.”
Afterward, Jin held a two-hour meeting with Ruet and the heads of the previous generation. They mostly discussed progress on the alliance’s core projects, as well as updates on Kinzelro and Elona Ziphl.
“…Phew, I think that covers it. Now I should go watch Murakan spar with the knights.”
“Master of the House, since you’re here, why not spar with us old folks? Ever since rescuing Hedo, I haven’t had a proper fight, and I’m feeling stiff.”
“How could I spar with my ancestors? Besides, I have other places to visit, great-grandfather.”
“That’s a shame. But Murakan should be fine, right? I’d like to spar with him too. Isn’t that right, 20th generation?”
“The 57th generation is still far too spirited.”
“Exactly! Our 20th generation died young but lacked spirit, which is why I beat him in our last wager, ha ha ha!”
“Ugh.”
Alpen frowned in frustration but had no comeback. Because of Jin, Balas’s name had to be ranked higher than his in the “Destroy the Red Fleet” wager.
“Though the 57th generation may be stronger from longer training, historically, my father’s achievements are overwhelmingly superior. Yet he foolishly lost a wager and now shows this cute side.”
Tasha grinned and bumped fists with Balas behind Alpen’s back. They were thoroughly enjoying teasing him.
“Please spare Murakan’s sparring today, great-grandfather. I’ll talk to him about it another day.”
“Our great-grandson… no, Master of the House, if you say so, then so be it!”
“57th generation, how about settling the score with Murakan next time you spar? The one Murakan respects more will have the higher name.”
“Heh heh, fine. Don’t regret it. No backing out this time.”
At the training ground, Murakan’s sparring with the knights was in full swing.
“You’re all doing well. But you need to be bolder. As I’ve said many times, this is sparring for me, but you must treat it exactly like real combat. No matter what you do, I won’t be hurt or killed.”
Murakan was fending off the knights who kept charging at him without once shifting into his true form.
Some of the magic knights were even attacking while using storage scrolls. Though they hadn’t yet mastered the full combat style of a magic swordsman, with just a bit more practice in handling those scrolls, they looked like they could become a real threat.
The sparring session wrapped up around evening.
“I declare the sparring over. Well done, knights of Runcandel,” Murakan announced, lowering his voice as he dismissed the group.
“Now, let’s go see Keitam.”
“Yeah, the knights’ spirit was better than I expected. The youngest squad has really grown. Those kids who couldn’t even take down a pack of orcs before.”
[“Murakan, as promised, here’s your reward. Please accept it—this is a one-of-a-kind collection of erotic art.”]
Lruet grinned as she handed over the book she’d brought.
“Heh heh… this is quite satisfying. I knew you’d manage to get your hands on something like this, Lruet. I’ve never seen a cover this red before. It must be something extraordinary.”
[“Well then, I’ll see you both next time.”]
The crimson owl carrying the two of them began its spatial leap, and Murakan eagerly opened the book.
“…Aaaagh! What is this? Lruet, you little—!”
Inside the book were crudely drawn pictures of naked men everywhere… and on the very last page, the author’s name was written: Lruet Hister.