CH 192

C192 - Operation Compass Capture (4).

The transcendently powerful martial art Battle God Combat Technique (투신기), reserved for only one person, could only be mastered by the owner of the Divine Sword of Legends, Sigmund.

And the Sigmund was no longer half and half Sword with the Goddess of Battle, but the Sword of Jin.

-Don't forget, brother Jin. You are the sole heir and bearer of the Techniques of Legends. So don't be afraid of anyone you meet.

He didn't know if it was because he had seen the despair on the faces of the White Wolves before the 'Sentence', or because he could almost see Vahn's face when he launched the Battle God's Combat Technique....

In the midst of the battle, he suddenly remembered the story Vahn had told him in Laprarosa.

A bright flash of light illuminated the dark room.

"A-Away!"

Shouted the White Wolf called Duroka. It wasn't his typical thick, husky voice, but a cry of terror.

He knew it as soon as he saw it.

This was not something they could hit with their humble hammers.

Kuzuzuk-!

The giant sword made of lightning looked like a whale. Incredibly powerful, coming from a single longsword.

Although it shouted at them to avoid it, the White Wolves could not do so. There was no room to escape and besides, the intense fear that they could not overcome even with their honor and pride crushed their shoulders.

If it were only the strength of a common warrior of the Legends, even trembling with fear, they would have waved their hammers. But this was the power of the Battle God's Combat Technique. The majesty of the God (Goddess) of Battle that their ancestors half a millennium ago had dared to look upon.

It was in his eyes, in his sword, in the eyes of a man less than two meters tall.

'Today I did not come as a thief to find the despicable ones of you.'

Clang!

The 'Sentence' pierced Duroka's body.

Not a single drop of blood or a single piece of flesh flew off. Once the Sentence's beak pierced his body, it swallowed, burned and rusted the rest of him. It turned him to ash.

At lightning speed.

'I came as a conqueror.'

The cry to flee was a hollow cry. In the blink of an eye, Duroka was reduced to ashes, and the White Wolf beside him felt no anger at the death of one of his clan.

Only that something was wrong.

This is not real...

The instant that thought crossed his mind, the intense light of doom covered everything, blinding him. There was nothing he could do but close his eyes against the bright light that enveloped him. 

Flash!

The Sentence shone once more, turning him to ashes. The Sentence's spear, as if unsatisfied, flashed toward its next prey.

Who would have thought that two high-ranking captain level White Wolves would die in such a useless way?

While everyone doubted their eyes and the situation itself.... Sigmund pointed towards Chukon.

The White Wolves, who had banded together to defend Chukon, were unconsciously shaking their heads. Unconsciously, they were begging to be spared.

But Jin's gaze did not waver. It was as steady as that of a king in front of an execution platform.

"Aaaah!"

There are three retching Bai Liangs with their eyes closed.

Three White Wolves closed their eyes, trembling in fear. But they didn't die like the two before. This was because Ans' protective barrier had been deployed to protect Chukon.

'Have Chukon's eyes recovered yet? 'No, it seems he simply deployed it out of instinct.'

Fazizik! Fazizik!

The Grand Magician's protective shield called Absolute Shield was truly magic worthy of its name. He must have deployed it in haste as soon as he woke up, because it blocked the Judgment for only an instant.

Although he had completed the Third Move of the Sword of Legends, Sentence, Jin's aura was still in the second half of the 7 stars. If he had reached the 8-star level, Chukon's shield would not have been able to withstand even 3 seconds of the Sentence.

'Of course, that's not all I have, Chukon Toldererer!

Crack!

A crack opened up in the protective shield. When the spear tip pierced the crack, the White Wolves shrank into a ball like small animals hiding in the cave to avoid the predators.

The Battle God's Combat Technique was not a merciful sword technique. The spear soon completely shattered the protective shield, and the White Wolves hidden inside it left only screams of agony.

Kyaaah!

Before the screams reached their ears, all the White Wolves were dead.

Jin finally stopped the Sentence/Punishment and gathered the remnants of the spear bolts on Sigmund's sword.

When the desperately crying wild rays were recovered, the aura of the Unstable Berserk Heart decreased due to the use of the fighting technique.

'At least nine stars before you can use it'.

It's just a meaningless restriction. Its power to quickly sweep away five general level White Wolves, even with the Unstable Berserk Heart, is enough for a fighting technique.

The battlefield darkened once again.

Jin's enemies did not wish for this darkness to dissipate again. It meant that the monster's lightning would begin to fall.

"I wonder if Siris has safely delivered the compass to Enya?

I couldn't wait to go down and find out.

Following Chukon, Karl Zipple had also regained his sight and was observing the situation.

'What the hell... is going on here?'

When Karl's subordinates were busy moving around in a panic, he didn't notice the lightning strikes. However, now everything was black and trembling with the roar of the explosion, and he couldn't even find the shape of the White Wolves who had been screaming.

Karl's subordinates who witnessed that sight trembled in fear with their legs shaking. They wanted to run away in a hurry.

Which made him even more fearful.

The identity of the monster could not be understood in any way. Neither Chukon nor Karl could think of anyone.

If it had used an ice sword, they would have assumed it was Talaris; if it had used a deep sword, they would have assumed it was Luna; if it had simply deployed a vast killing sword, they would have thought of Runcandel's Black Knight.

But what Jin used was a lightning sword. As far as they knew, there was not a single martial artist in the world who used lightning.

'An unknown sword technique, followed by an ancient lost light magic. Moreover, the light magic it unleashed is similar to Tzenmi's Photon Cannon (Chenmi)...... in the family's confidential records.''

A Magic Swordsman?

Karl and Chukon concluded simultaneously.

Neither Zipple nor Kinzelo.

Rumor had it that a mysterious magical swordsman had recently appeared in Delki. Rumors had circulated since Jin's encounter with Berys (Beris) and Kuzan.

Zipple, in particular, had considered the possibility that it was the Magic Swordsman who had impersonated Beradin in the Kingdom of Arkyn (Akin) through a small group of Tessing vestiges.

'Could it be that the perpetrator is...?'

As the giddy speculations raced through Karl and Chukon's minds, Jin took a step towards them. It was only a step, but it was enough to make Karl and Chukon's men reflexively flinch.

"What are you thinking, Chukon Toldererer, Karl Zipple?".

"......Where did you come from?"

Chukon replied.

He and Karl were getting frustrated. They couldn't figure out where the hell the information about the compass had come from.

There was nothing they could figure out. How many of Jin's allies were down, what their skill level was, why the hell they were targeting the compass.

They had thought they would be fine as long as they were careful of Runcandel and Vermont, but then someone of this caliber appeared out of nowhere.

'It's not Runcandel . It's probably a Vermont.'

'Could it be that it's the final form of the thing the Vermont guys are experimenting with?'

Jin shrugged.

'It doesn't matter who I am. You will all die today."

Although he said that coldly, but Jin didn't expect to kill Chukon and Karl. He was just trying to buy time. To calm his emotions and allow his colleagues on the second floor to resolve the situation.

It was also a way to check Chukon and Karl's attitude.

"This unpleasant feeling is something I haven't felt in a long time. The other person knows me, but I don't know the other person...this is not something I experience often as a member of the Zipple Family. Allow me to formally introduce myself, I am Karl Zipple, the Lord of the Fourth Magic Tower of the Zipple Family."

"I know."

The third son of Kellyak Zipple, and Lord of the Fourth Magic Tower of Zipple.

I didn't know much about him. He had never appeared in the newspapers, nor had he ever encountered him in his past life. However, he had heard stories about how the Fourth Magic Tower of Zipple took care of the nasty stuff inside Zipple.

At first glance, taking on the dirty work might seem like a bad deal, but it was anything but. The Fourth Magic Tower is an institution with the second largest workforce after the First Magic Tower, which was famous as the "Tower of Stories."

In other words, it was one of the most powerful hubs within Zipple.

"You're bluffing right now, I admit, you're a formidable force. But I don't think you're strong enough to take on me and Lord Chukon at the same time."

"Is that really so? A moment ago you were talking about killing Kinzelo's insects. Now you're joining forces with Chukon again."

"Let's clear up misunderstandings. Our policy is to turn the strong into our allies if possible. Therefore, I will make you an offer. I will make you one of us, and I, Karl Zipple, promise to give you more than you want."

"Karl Zipple, you bastard!"

Chukon's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry, Lord Chukon. The compass has fallen into your hands, hasn't it? And he seems to know of our relationship, of our many secrets. It's no use fighting."

"Nonsense...!"

"Please stay calm. If that person rejects us, we will team up to kill him. If you feel bad, he can offer Lord Chukon a deal and recruit Kinzelo. Frankly, we can't handle that person alone. Lord Chukon do you agree to work together?"

Five of the general assault level White Wolf warriors were dead, including the countless Seven Star Knights and Seven Star Mages. It wasn't impossible for Chukon and Karl to do the same, but they couldn't do it that fast.

"How about becoming one of us in Zipple? I don't think that's bad news for you, since you were aiming for my compass."

Jin smiled wryly.

And inwardly, he was convinced.

"There doesn't seem to be an airship like Kozek in the vicinity."

Kozek.

The fearsome aerial vessel he had experienced in the ruins of Columbus.

Jin spoke unnecessarily to confirm if Karl had brought the Kozek.

'If he had, he wouldn't be making this offer, he'd just be flexing his muscles. 'Even if the island disappears off the map, if they evacuate on Kozek, that's all that matters.'

It was something he had been thinking about since he first set foot on the island. Jin had confirmed that there was no airship, but the Kozek was an airship, so it could hide in the clouds.

But the Kozek's absence made sense: it was an airship that only moved when the Zipple declared war, and it wasn't the kind of thing that would be kept on standby in a place like this.

The same was true for Kinzelo. If he had hidden such an enormous power near the island, it could have led to a misunderstanding on Zipple's part and sparked a war.

"There is no Kozek."

When Jin said this, Karl's pupils dilated slightly. 

There was no clearer answer than that.

"What...?" 

"Well, if that's the case, there's no need to talk to you any further. Let's finish what we were doing."