CH 256

Jin immediately left the port after killing all the Magicians. He intentionally took a few corners to throw off his pursuers and jumped into the ocean from a cliff he had observed earlier.

Shuri let out a cry of joy as they plunged into the water. It meant that there was no one chasing them anymore. Jin let out a deep sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"You can come out now, Dante."

Jin pulled Dante out of Shuri's mouth and was startled to see the blood-soaked cloak that had been wrapped around Dante.

Why so much blood? Shuri's fangs must have pierced through him earlier.

It wasn't just the inner lining of the cloak. Dante was drenched in blood, and Jin was worried that Dante might have died.

"Are you alright?" Jin asked.

"I'm fine, haha."

"You have a hole in your shoulder. I'm sorry."

"Whoa, it's deeper than I thought. Well, it was an animal that did it. I'm sure it didn't mean to harm me."

Jin shrugged and handed Dante a healing ointment. Dante washed off the blood with seawater and applied the ointment to the wound. Jin noticed that his entire body was covered in scars from his rigorous training.

"I remember Beradin saying something similar when Murakan scratched him at the Mytell portal. These two seem so different, but they're actually quite similar."

"Jin?"

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do now?" Dante asked, concerned. He knew Jin had killed the Magicians, even though they had wrapped him up and covered him with a cloak.

He also knew that Jin had used magic. Dante didn't know about the pact between the Zipple and the Runcandel, but he knew that the Runcandel strictly prohibited the use of magic.

"What else can I do? I'll have to keep running. We're still too close to relax. And what about you? What did you plan to do? Don't tell me you thought you could escape on that small sailboat after setting the gold on fire."

"Hmm. That's actually what we planned to do."

The sailboat Dante and Beradin arrived on wasn't an optimal escape vessel.

"You both would've been in serious trouble if you hadn't run into me today. Beradin would've been killed by his father, and the Hairan would've incurred a huge debt because of you."

Jin patted Shuri's back and urged the large feline to swim faster.

"I guess you're right. I wasn't in a position to ask you that question. I agreed with Beradin because he was so determined and resolute, but now that I think about it, it was foolish. Although nothing was as crazy as what you did."

They both burst into laughter at the same time.

"I'm worried about our dear companion, Beradin." Dante gave a bitter smile.

"He won't die because of that. I held back when I hit him," Jin said.

"I didn't mean that."

"Are you worried that he might cause a scene in his clan? No way. I'm sure he understands why I hit him."

"I didn't mean that either."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm worried about our companion, Beradin. I can't say for sure, but he didn't seem to have any idea about what the Zipple have been doing all this time."

A brief silence followed.

"Of course, every clan must have its own dirty secrets if you dig deep enough, but the Zipple took it too far. I actually wasn't so sure about him until now. I thought he might have been involved in some of the clan Zipple's atrocities."

"Do you still think the same?"

"No."

"What do you think will happen from now on?"

Jin looked Dante in the eyes. "In my opinion, there can only be two types of future for Beradin. Either he will go against his clan and be excommunicated, or he will submit and surrender to the clan. Otherwise, he might end up dead like Karl Zipple, instead of being excommunicated."

Jin thought of the Beradin from his past life.

He was a Mage who reached nine stars at the age of thirty and was known as the successor of the Zipple hierarchy even then. He was admired by all the young Mages of the time. He was also reputed to have a good character, which made him a favorite among the people.

But all of that was information he had read in newspapers in his past life.

'I wonder what Beradin was really like back then.'

The Jin of this life had a completely different adolescence. In his previous life, he hadn't even reached one star in swordsmanship. The entire clan regarded him as a waste.

But now, he was a wandering provisional flagbearer.

He had caused many world-changing incidents (including today's incident), discovered the secret histories of many gods, revealed the various faces of different factions, and uncovered the truth about the people around him.

He even met people he could call friends. And Jin had unconsciously tried to keep his distance from one of them, Beradin.

It was because of their legacies as Runcandel and Zipple. Dante was a different story. But when it came to Beradin, Jin thought a clash between them was inevitable.

He felt it even more intensely after discovering the use Andrei Zipple had made of the demon god stone and the biological experiments.

It didn't matter if Beradin wanted it for himself or not. Jin believed that Beradin would have to get involved at some point.

But that wasn't true.

In fact, Beradin set the gold on fire out of shame for his clan.

He risked his life and attempted to kill the Magicians from his own clan. The catalyst for his impulsive decision was simply the fact that his friend, who exposed all these truths, was attacked.

"But we can't let that happen," Jin finished his sentence. Dante blinked in surprise.

He expected Jin's response to be colder and more calculated. Perhaps because of what Jin had said the previous night in the arena, when the three of them were drinking together.

"But you know what? Maybe it's not so bad to remain allies once we're done fighting. We'll settle who the winner is and try to remain friends," Beradin had said.

"I never imagined that the successor of the Zipple patriarchate would make such a weak statement."

"Maybe there's a reason why Jin can't talk about it yet, Beradin. We should probably stop discussing the topic."

"You always distance yourself from us!"

"Did you ever consider that maybe you're the strange one for not distancing yourself at all?"

But now, Jin was saying that he couldn't let those things happen to Beradin.

"Why are you so surprised?" Jin asked Dante.

"I mean... It's nothing. I'm just a little surprised that you volunteered to save Beradin."

"First, I need to hear what Beradin thinks about this, so let's go there."

"There?"

"Our secret hideout. Shuri, speed up. By the way, what did you need the money for? I was horrified when I saw the gold ingot coming out of your pocket earlier. You're the successor of the Hairan clan. Why would you need that measly gold ingot?"

"Ah, about that." Dante hesitated for a moment but continued. "Not long ago, I made a mistake and broke a vase that my grandfather cherished. He's lenient with most things, but he treasures his ceramics as if they're a part of him. I had to restore it before he found out. It cost me a fortune to hire a famous restorer."

"What?"

Ron's love for ceramics was well-known among martial artists. It was so infamous that it was said the first step to improving any diplomatic relationship with the Hairan clan was to become friends with the kingdom of Mila's master potters.

"It's quite embarrassing for me to say it. So, since we're on the topic, I was wondering."

It was understandable. As the patriarch's successor, it wouldn't bode well for him to spend mysterious sums of money, and if he spent a large sum of money, Ron would undoubtedly receive a report about it.

"If I can lend you money?"

Dante nodded.

"Sure."

"You're the best, Jin!"

They crossed the sea for six continuous hours.

Fortunately, no one found any trace of them. The sea was dark, without a single lighthouse after sunset. The glimmer of Dante's eyes was the only thing emitting light in the distance.

***

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***

On January 1, 1798, a new year dawned.

For most people, the first day of the year was spent giving blessings to their loved ones, facing the first sunrise of the new year with their lovers, or if not, sleeping in since it was a holiday.

But this man, the Guardian Knight Kahn, was dousing himself in the blood, organs, and bone fragments of demonic creatures, just like he did on the first day of 1796.

He was slashing through demonic creatures at an alarming pace.

He didn't even take the briefest of breaks. He charged through the Dark Sea for three days and three nights straight, with an anxious look on his face.

"Patriarch!"

Cyron had sensed Kahn approaching for some time, but he only slowly opened his eyes after Kahn let out his urgent call.

"You seem to be in a hurry. What brings you here?"

"Young Master Jin has really done it this time!"

Surprisingly, Cyron merely nodded without changing his expression much. It seemed like he had expected something like this to happen.

Kahn pulled out papers from his inner pockets and politely offered them to the patriarch. But they weren't letters from Kashimir. They were rolled-up bulletins.

Reserve Flagbearer of the Runcandelas Demolishes the Golden Castle of the Zipples!

This Hybrid Runcandel Uses Both Magic and Lightning. Who is this Jin Runcandel?

Youngest Son of Domination Reveals the Ugly Side of Justice: Atrocities Committed in the Name of the Zipple Clan.

The Biological Experiments of the Zipple Golem and Kinzelo. They are preparing for war.

The first Runcandel of the 1700s breaking the strict rule of Reserve Flagbearers. Will the Demigod let him live?

Lani Salomé refers to Jin Runcandel as a friend THREE times in the sacred coronation ceremony. But she seems steadfast in her determination to close the nation's borders for all activities other than civilian rescue. However, the holy kingdom announced their renewed periodic missions of the Saints to the Runcandel clan. This is the victory of the reserve flagbearer!

The bulletins were filled with such articles. Cyron maintained a mysterious gaze as he read through all the articles. "He really did it this time."

"Lady Rosa has called for an emergency meeting of the Flagbearers, sir. She said she would wait for your decision, patriarch. But she seemed ready to deploy all the Flagbearers to capture Young Master Jin immediately."

Kahn then handed him the bulletins from the Lutero Magical Federation. They had a very different tone.

Keliac Zipple declares holding the Runcandel clan responsible.

The Zipple clan sanctions the embargo of practical magic items to the allied realms of Hufester. Embargo to persist until Jin Runcandel is delivered.

The worldwide arrest warrant for Jin Runcandel goes into effect today. The Zipple clan has promised one hundred million gold coins and lifelong protection to anyone who captures...

Kinzelo is the mastermind behind the biological experiments, not the Zipple clan. Alliance links proven false. Fake news born from Runcandel!

Zipple Tower Masters reveal official resolution for total war. The Reserve Flagbearer of Domination threatens world peace.

A faint smile blossomed on Cyron's face after reading the bulletins from the Lutero Magical Federation. "This is a great achievement."

Kahn bowed his head and awaited the patriarch's words.

"I sent him to make a name for himself, but not only did he do that, he also raised the reputation of the Runcandel clan and trampled on the honor of the Zipple clan. This is worthy of being called a great achievement."

Kahn let out a sigh of relief to himself.

He hadn't expected Cyron to turn a blind eye to such a big incident, regardless of how much he treasured Jin.

But what Cyron said next made Kahn nervous again.

"But aside from the achievements, Jin always knew how to take responsibility for his actions. Kahn?"

"Yes, patriarch."

"Issue a priority arrest order for Jin. From this moment on, capturing Jin should be a constant mission for every Flagbearer, Guardian Knight, and Cadet. Promise three hundred million gold coins and absolute protection from the Runcandel clan to anyone who captures him, dead or alive."

(Note: These families, really...)