Episode 878
Chapter 219: Kinzello’s Hidden Strength
January 4th, 1804.
Two days had passed since the first great battle. Yet, across the entire human realm, the dimensional rifts continued to form relentlessly. Every faction was engaged daily in purging these rifts, fighting fiercely against the demonic forces of the Jinma realm.
This morning, Orgal arrived at Tikan, bringing Grnil and about three hundred warships in tow.
“I thought you came here to start a war, Orgal,” Jin said, pointing toward the vast fleet filling the sky beyond.
[At a time like this? That’s a dull joke.]
Orgal’s reason for bringing the fleet was clear: the barrier.
He intended to join the barrier the Bamel Alliance had established at sea, centered around the Golden Ship.
—[Even if we don’t form a formal alliance, if the Bamel Alliance needs support against the underground forces, we won’t hold back any kind of aid.]
—Without asking for anything in return?
—[Exactly. Whether it’s intel on the underground or troops, we’ll provide whatever’s needed.]
Jin recalled the conversation he’d had with Orgal a few days earlier.
“I don’t remember asking for help first. You just showed up, saying you wanted to help with the barrier… Kinzello’s looking better than I thought lately. I heard you were struggling quite a bit with the rift cleanup.”
[They must be doing okay if they’re bringing a fleet. Don’t bother testing me.]
“I appreciate it, but I’m just worried, that’s all.”
Ultimately, their greatest enemy was Ziphl, followed by Kinzello.
The war against the underground forces was inevitable and already underway. For the Bamel Alliance, the best outcome was for the underground forces to either annihilate their other enemies or be dealt a crippling blow before disappearing.
‘Did Kinzello send some of their strongest demons back to the homeland? Or is there another factor at play… Seems like Kinzello still has some hidden strength. But right now, we don’t have the capacity to investigate why Kinzello has regained their footing. The Jinma realm is keeping us too busy.’
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. To Jin, Kinzello was a massive, mysterious group—much of it uncovered, yet still shrouded in secrecy.
“How did you know I was planning to build a barrier at sea?”
[Because it’s the only way to minimize civilian casualties. I figured you’d naturally set up a barrier. Besides, Kinzello needs one too.]
“So you do care about the lives of ordinary people sometimes.”
[Not all beastmen and demons are fighters. Any group that loses its territory and people is doomed. We’re no different.]
Jin nodded.
“So you must have been gathering your members diligently since the days when you were known as a third-rate terrorist group. Fine, I accept it. I’ll discuss fleet deployment with the barrier commanders.”
[Good. By the way, you caused quite a ruckus from the start. I didn’t expect you to head straight for the main base.]
“I was curious about that demon called Paelito Belgassium.”
[Without him, neither of you would have returned without serious injuries. Though Murakan will need some time to recover.]
“You seem to know everything.”
[I remember Murakan’s prime perfectly. Sakiel even used pieces of Zito’s flesh, yet came back unscathed. That means he pushed himself to replicate that era. Compared to what I’ve said before, that’s not a major weakness.]
“Oh, so that black mass was a piece of Zito’s flesh. I guessed it was something closely tied to Zito.”
[Since Sakiel used the flesh, Zito permanently lost that much power. It’s a small amount, but it adds up. Ayula has already weakened Zito somewhat.]
Orgal added that weakening Zito as much as possible before he appeared in the human realm was crucial.
[Zito in full strength is invincible. Even if he regains about 80% of his power, it’s the same. But if he’s down to 50%, then the surface forces have a chance. So, protect the Eye of Zito held by the Holy Kingdom, and try to exhaust the flesh pieces he distributed to the top demons.]
“How much power does one piece of flesh represent in Zito’s overall strength?”
[It varies by size. The ones you destroyed this time probably accounted for about one percent.]
Jin reflected on the recent battle with Sakiel.
‘Sakiel had to use that flesh defensively this time, but if he’d used it offensively… only a handful could handle that. Still, it’s clear Zito is permanently weakened, so it was worth it.’
After all, Ayula’s reckless manifestation aimed to inflict an ‘irreparable wound’ on Zito. She shared Orgal’s view on the core strategy for attacking Zito.
“It’s not even ten percent, just one percent, but we managed to bring back some real gains.”
[Yes. But if you plan to storm the sea base like that again, I’d advise against it.]
“Why?”
[The Demon Lords of the Jinma realm have been summoned to the sea base. There are about five to ten of them, each on par with Sakiel Grosh. They all likely possess pieces of Zito’s flesh, so even you and Murakan won’t come back unscathed.]
Charging in to eliminate multiple flesh pieces at once is madness. When several are used simultaneously, even the top superhumans must prepare for death. The Demon Lords’ combat power is no joke. The basic tactic for permanently damaging Zito is to take them down one by one.
“Good intel.”
[Want some more?]
“Of course.”
[Elona Ziphl. That one is currently severely injured.]
“…What?”
Jin’s eyes widened. Since the great battle began, the spies the alliance planted within the federation had struggled to gather reliable information.
Ziphl was constantly busy sealing rifts across the federation, making him hard to approach. Among them, Elona Ziphl was especially difficult to track.
[Ragal Pun. Known in the demon realm as the Poison King, the Poison Ragal, or the one born of poison. He was recently promoted from Grand General to Demon Lord, and he got the better of her.]
“Does this Ragal have combat power on the level of a Changsung-class warrior?”
[No, he’s strong, but not that strong.]
“Then how… Ah, poison. Does he have a special toxin that can threaten even a Changsung?”
[His poison did work. Elona Ziphl was injured while single-handedly blocking the widespread poison Ragal unleashed for mass slaughter. In other words, he used hostages to injure Elona.]
“Elona Ziphl was protecting hostages…?”
[Even though Elona is injured, you can’t strike Ziphl right now. But I thought you should know about Ragal Pun’s existence—and that Elona has weaknesses too.]
To Jin, fighting while protecting hostages wasn’t the style of the ‘broken Veradin.’
—Elona Ziphl’s records are somewhat hopeful. Upon awakening, she showed a conscious effort to avoid killing and struggled with her purpose.
—What’s stranger is that her history had been erased until recently. The ones who manipulated history were likely Ziphl himself, so maybe Elona was a liability to them. They wouldn’t have erased a proud family’s great mage otherwise.
These were Valeria’s words after reviewing Elona’s records following her awakening from the secret bow’s seal.
‘As I suspected, Elona might not be under Ziphl’s complete control. If that’s true… she could still be an ally, not an enemy. She might even be the key to bringing Veradin back.’
Thinking of Veradin, Jin felt a bitter pang inside. Whether in the Jinma realm or the human realm, after all this war, the day would come when he’d have to settle things with him.
Before that day, all Jin wanted was to somehow bring him back to the way he was.
‘Anyway, Orgal is sharing some high-level intel.’
But something felt off.
‘How did Orgal get this information? Even Lord Owl and Sister Yona haven’t been able to approach Elona’s side.’
Jin met Orgal’s gaze.
“How did you find out? This isn’t speculation like the barrier or Murakan’s condition. It seems like something only direct observation could reveal.”
[I came to share information that would help us if you knew it—not to lay all my cards on the table. I should be going now. No updates on Lokia Ganesto yet, so we’ll talk later.]
After Orgal left, Jin fell into thought. It felt like he’d caught a glimpse of Kinzello’s true power after a long time.
“…They’ve been getting beaten by the Jeokmyeong tribe and broken by the Jinma realm lately. Looks like we need to be more cautious with those Kinzello bastards.”
“I think they learned about Elona through means other than a trade, Your Highness.”
“I agree. The Jinma realm’s invasion easing up fits with that… Let’s gradually find out what tricks they have. Zett, contact the Nameless and request that Sister Yona be dispatched to Kinzello’s side. Since we can’t break through Elona’s defenses anyway, it’s better to keep an eye on Kinzello.”
“One thing’s certain: there’s something in Kinzello right now that must not be exposed to the Jinma realm.”
Jin’s companions tilted their heads.
“Something that must not be exposed?”
“Yes. That’s why they’re deliberately trying to get involved with our barrier. Let’s wait for Sister Yona to find out what it is. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to keep exhausting Zito’s flesh pieces as much as possible.”
How to exhaust Zito’s flesh pieces to the fullest.
The obvious approach was a preemptive strike.
“I was getting tired of just sitting around and rushing out every time to seal their breaches. So, I’m going to assign some of our top-tier combat personnel—those currently focused on closing the rifts—to attack the fortress of the summoned True Demon Realm.”