Chapter 432

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Squeak!

Sigmund sliced through the bone and flesh of Rox with a sharp noise.

Rox was not the kind of person to be defeated so easily, but the result of focusing solely on Lata was a bitter one.

He belatedly tried to retreat, but blood was already gushing from the severed leg.

"Argh...!"

The fight was over the moment he lost his leg.

Jin calmly cut off Rox's other leg, then shifted his gaze to Lox, who was barely holding on to his spirit.

"Make sure this one doesn't die, Sir Lata."

"How dare you, Rox!"

"Dare? Do you know who I am, to speak so recklessly, Lox Seygal?"

Swoosh!

Jin's blade rushed towards Lox's forehead. Lox reacted easily to the attack, but he was shocked by the force pressing down on his wrist when he parried Jin's attack.

'What kind of strength is this!'

He blocked the blow, but it felt like his wrist was about to snap, and the muscles supporting his posture were all on the verge of tearing apart.

Just as Lox pondered the identity of Jin.

Pzzzzz!

The lightning bolts emanated from Sigmund's blade, faintly glowing with a bluish hue.

Until a few years ago, the lightning symbolized the contractor of Peitel, but not anymore.

"Jin Runcandel...!"

"If you recognize me, then accept my sword quietly."

The Plutonian Swordsmanship's lightning bolt descended upon Lox's head. Lox is also a martial artist who has reached a certain level, he has shown a resilient response against attack he is experiencing for the first time.

But that was all he could do.

Even in pure swordsmanship skills, Jin was far ahead of Lox. As the battle began in earnest, Rox was pushed back and appeared as if he was retreating.

"Have you truly become Runcandel's dog as I heard from elders, Lata Proch?"

Lata shrugged his shoulders while roughly bandaging Rox's leg.

"It seems the traitors misinformed you, Lox. I have become a hound of Jin Runcandel's, not Runcandel."

"You know no shame, you bastard."

"Shame? Losing is the greatest shame in the mercenary world. You and the Elders made a wrong choice, and you're paying the price for it."

Lox glared at Lata and charged towards him, but Jin simply blocked his charge.

Clang!

Sigmund and his sword clashed, and sparks flew.

Lox Seygal quickly came to the conclusion that escaping is out of the question, let alone winning this fight.

"Lox Seygal. We've just met as enemies, and I don't have any pent-up feelings against you. So, if you answer a few questions of mine, I'll send you off without pain."

"It's frustrating that our throne was taken away by that monster, Smarion, who appeared out of nowhere. But I never thought I would hear such words from someone like a 12th flagbearer of Runcandel."

"Can I take this as you reject my offer?"

As Jin asked, some of the squad leaders who had gone in the other direction entered the Seygal brothers' room.

"My lord! We've captured them."

The squad leaders had apprehended the treacherous Elders from another room. They had been poisoned to the point where they could barely speak.

Lata's eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he looked down at the Elders.

"These old rats... Did they think they could defy my will? They even dared to collaborate with Seygal and looked for other factions that might finish us."

Naturally, Jin didn't feel any type of emotion from the betrayal of the Elders of the Ghost mercenaries.

However, for Lata, their betrayal was quite a shock. The Elders were not only people from Seygal, but they had also been closely associated with Lata for a long time.

"Thanks to you rats, my Lord had to bear the burden of the Ghost mercenaries' potential threat as soon as we formed the blood alliance. So, from now on, answer my questions truthfully."

Lata seated Rox next to the Elders and continued speaking.

"First, which faction did you choose? Second, did you reveal the alliance between my lord and me, and the secrets of the Ghost Castle? If you don't answer my question sincerely, then I will slaughter you, your kins, relatives, and even the dogs you raised."

It was no empty threat. Lata was more than capable of carrying it out.

"Hahaha..."

There was silence for a moment, and then one of the captured Elders suddenly burst into laughter.

"Lata Proch! Do you think killing our kins and relatives will be a tremendous pain for us?"

"What did you say?"

"What do you think, Jin Runcandel?Would we have left the Ghost Castle if we were afraid of such things?"

Not only the Elders but also Rox Seygal was raising the corners of his lips.

"Lata, you said that me, Rox, and the Elders made the wrong choice and are paying the price. Losing is the greatest shame in the mercenary world. Yes... that statement is not wrong."

Lox spoke calmly, his voice steady and filled with an odd sense of confidence. 

Jin felt as though he had seen such an expression somewhere before.

"However, are we really the ones who made the wrong choice?"

"Lox Seygal, what nonsense are you babbling about?"

"In my opinion, it will be you who pays the price in the end, not us. Runcandel? You choose the wrong side, Lata."

The Seygal brothers and the Elders displayed an enthusiastic demeanor even in the face of death. There was no sign of humility or mockery in their behavior.

What underlay their attitude was not courage or pride.

Jin intuitively made that decision. And suddenly, he thought of one person.

'Barton Vicenna.'

The only Black Knight who betrayed Runcandel and sided with Zipfel.

That man's final words were like this.

-There are two things that will never change even if you kill me today. First, if Sir Chiron disappears, Runcandel will inevitably perish. Second, even if my body is destroyed, I can exist longer than you.

-When that time comes, you will eventually have to admit that Barton Vicenna's choice was not wrong.

The Seygal brothers and the traitor Elders had the same look in their eyes as Barton had that day. The gaze that only those who believed that they had already entered a world where death had lost its meaning could have.

"Zipfel?"

When Jin opened his mouth, all eyes turned toward him.

"You joined Zipfel and leaked information to them. They must have promised you immortality or transcendent power. So, the thought of dying here now probably doesn't frighten you."

Jin gripped his sword and looked at Lox.

"But you know what? Someone told me the same thing before. And I told him how my sister and I broke the Demon God's Orb."

The word "Demon God's Orb" caught the attention of the Seygal brothers and the Elders, and they seemed puzzled.

"So... it might be wise not to put too much faith in the Demon God's Orb. If it truly possesses that much omnipotent power, then your deaths here wouldn't make sense. Sir Lata."

"Yes, my Lord."

"We do not need to extract any information. Execute them all."

The moment Lata nodded, Lox glared at Jin.

"I have a gift for you, Jin Runcandel."

"No need..."

Zeeeing!

Red characters suddenly began to appear all over Lox's body. The restrained Rox, along with the Elders, had gone under the same phenomenon.

And Jin and Lata had just seen something very similar to these red characters a short while ago.

'It's the same seal that imprisoned Smarion...!'

A seal that uses the user's life as its material, passed down from generation to generation only to the elders of the Ghost mercenaries.

Seygal's remnants were attempting to unleash this seal one last time. Rox and Lox had inherited this seal from the Elders who had betrayed Lata long ago.

"You're going to be sealed like your father, Lata!"

"These lunatics...! Are you really planning to kill every last one of your family members?"

Lox burst into a mocking laugh at Lata's question.

"Is there any reason for me to even take care of such things? It will be enough if we get the Ghost mercenaries from you later."

In other words, the remnants of Seygal were attempting self-destruction.

Whether they sincerely believed that the remaining family members had no value left in the fortress, or if they were merely putting on airs and pretending they were unscathed, it was unclear.

What was clear was that these remnants were indeed planning to seal the entire fortress.

The red bodies seemed like they could burst at any moment.

"Think about who really made the wrong choice in hell!"

Hahaha, ah, uh, argh...!

Lox's laughter had continued for a long time, and suddenly subsided.

Red seal was drawn all around, and the bodies of Seygal's remnants twisted and snapped, being sucked into the seal.

They were trying to imprison them just like they did with Smarion. The red energy was contracting as if a giant's grip was closing in.

Lata and the squad leaders instinctively swung their swords at the seal.

The blades made contact, but the imprinted areas soon returned to their original state.

"My Lord! The squad leaders and I will clear a path for you. Please escape."

Even though it had only been a few days since they formed the blood alliance, Lata spoke without a moment's hesitation.

"If we keep cutting the seal before it fully recovers, there might be a chance for you to escape, my Lord."

As Lata spoke, Jin was examining the properties of the seal. When he tried to cut it with his swords like Lata and others did, it immediately reverted, and it was clear that it took longer to recover when Jin used the lightning.

They could probably escape together if he used the waterfall or battle god techniques, but there was no need for that.

I felt it when I cut the gates of hell opened by Myuron Zipfel in the past, the shadow force will definitely work best against it.'

Jin swung Bradamante imbued with shadow force, and the seal was sliced apart like a sheet of paper.

Furthermore, its recovery was extremely slow this time unlike the previous attempts .

"Sir Lata, there's no need for all of you to risk your lives. I will open the way for you. Let's go."

Lata and the squad leaders came to a realization once again upon hearing those words.

In the new era that lay ahead, it was clear that they were the ones who had grasped the best rope.