CHAPTER 552

Octavia thought that she would not be defeated even if Rosa led the Black Knights herself.

It was shocking to assume that she would lose, but this was the result of fighting Jin and Misha. It wasn't even the result of carelessness.

She obviously brought out the best magic spells she could, and even so, it was just not enough to withstand Jin and Misha's flame of hell.

It's not over yet.

She wanted to stand up again, but her broken body only convulsed.

"The captain has regained consciousness!"

"Captain, give us orders... !"

The Spectres guarding her was screaming in haste.

Due to the clash between Jin and Misha's flames and Octavia's vision magic, the battle on the ground reached its climax at once.

Both sides were desperately squeezing out their remaining strength as soon as Octavia fell. The Spectres had to stop the martial artists who were trying to seize the opportunity, and Jin and the others had to somehow finish off Octavia.

Everyone was certain that if they couldn't completely cut off Octavia's breath, there would be no next time. They had to solidify their victory while the Spectres were guarding Octavia and unable to attack properly.

3 spectres were killed and 6 spectres were injured to such an extent that they could not fight. On the other hand, all of the Vamel Alliance were injured, but no one died.

It was the result of Runcandel's magic sword breaking the magic of Zipfel. Of course, this would have been impossible if Jin had been alone.

But Misha also poured her everything out like Octavia.

While the battle continued again, Misha was unable to fight. She even transformed back into a human form to lessen her shock from the aftermath of battle and seemed out of breath.

"Miss Misha, are you okay?"

Jin was also a little tired, but it wasn't to the extent that it would cause hindrance in the battle. Misha nodded her head and smiled lightly.

"I thought she would disappear without a trace, but it seems I underestimated her a bit."

"I was lacking."

"Not at all. That thing is just a monster..."

Ugh, Misha spat out muddy shadow force and glared at the back of the spectres.

She had expected that Jin's flame of hell, with all her powers, would surely kill Octavia.

"Be careful, Jin. Octavia Zipfel... she might... probably rise again."

Jin had such a premonition.

Despite losing one eye, suffering from severe backflow symptoms, and having her body shattered, it didn't seem like Octavia would end like this.

New mana of light began to gather near Octavia, who had already collapsed. The shining mana was clinging to Octavia's body and healing her.

The Spectres waited for Octavia's command.

It was because they still had options. Will they retreat or will they fight?

On the other hand, the sword emperor castle camp had no choice. Because there was nowhere to retreat anyway.

If the Spectres had judged that Octavia was completely incapacitated, they would have chosen to retreat with her.

Octavia slowly rose to her feet. She seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment, but the mana of light steadied her.

"There is... no retreat. Continue the battle."

At her command, the Spectres' magic became more aggressive.

Misha withdrew to the rear ranks and concealed herself within Murakan's curtain, and the rest of the martial artists regrouped around Jin.

Now, there were a total of 20 Spectres who could fight. However, the moment Octavia recovers, Jin and the others have no choice but to fight harder than before.

"The same goes for us, Octavia Zipfel."

There were still remnants of the flames in Bradamante. Jin released his remaining mana to rekindle the fire.

It seemed to be a sign of something. As soon as the sword started burning, Jin's party and the Spectres threw their swords and staff at each other again.

Everyone was tired and hurt. No one can fully display their original skills on the ground battlefield.

That was why their battle was getting closer to the original form of the act of 'fighting'. It was a primitive and brutal skirmish, akin to a brawl.

The mages stabbed by the sword and the knights struck by magic roared like beasts rather than screaming.

In particular, the strength of Jin and the sword saints stood out.

In such a pure fight, it was only natural that the sword of Runcandel and the Hairan's sword of overlord, which was made after that sword, would shine the most.

Desperately.

Jin was moving towards Octavia. Bradamante, dyed in black, collided with magic and shields with each swing, and blood surged from his throat due to the backlash, but Jin did not stop.

If he stops, it's over. Since he had already entered the ranks of the enemy, falling or stopping here meant death.

The same was true for his companions who followed him into the enemy line.

It was like crossing a sea from which there was no turning back once you started swimming. The moment you stop before reaching that end, the only thing that comes to you was cold death.

Every moment there was a danger of being killed and crippled.

There was not a single martial artist afraid while throwing themselves down that road. Everyone was just looking at Jin's back, pushing away the enemies flying into his blind spot, and they were trusting him and moving forward.

'Why isn't the 12th flagbearer falling...!'

'Damn it, you mean you still have strength left after reducing the captain to that state!'

Always, the human named Jin Runcandel could not be understood by the mages of Zipfel.

How on earth can he perform miracles like this every time. Despite objectively holding the upper hand in power every time, why were they being pushed back? What was this strength?

When did he become such a huge enemy....

Even if they used great magic with all their might, Jin's breakthrough speed showed no sign of slowing down.

This time, he'll stop, this time he'll take a step back, this time he'll fall...!

All those predictions were proven wrong. Even when, the Spectres' chain magic hit Jin's chest directly, he showed no sign of taking a hit.

The chain magic seemed to pass through him like a ghost.

Wait, it felt like it passed through a ghost?

Shit!

At that moment, the members of the Spectre Corps had to realize a terrible fact.

The fact that they were fooled by the black dragon Misha's mischief once again.

From the middle of the breakthrough, what the Spectres were attacking wasn't the real Jin. It was Jin's illusion that Misha had created before withdrawing to the rear.

Unlike the shadow force doll, the virtual image has no physical power, but it was enough to deceive the enemies who lost their focus.

"Can you afford to put so much effort into illusions? I don't think so."

Jin said, thrusting his sword into the belly of a spectre.

He was hiding among the Spectres while their attention was focused on the illusion. And the Spectre he killed was the person who guarded the front of Octavia.

By then, Octavia was holding her own in a considerably improved condition. However, she was only better than right after being hit by the flame of hell, and she was not yet able to fight.

 "Stop him!"

Mana beam flew through the bodies of the Spectres, which hadn't even collapsed yet. Jin barely turned his head, and the beam of light just brushed his cheek.

He couldn't afford to dodge the ensuing attack, but Sword saint Ruyan stepped forward at incredible speed to protect him.

Ruyan's wrist was as thin as a dry twig. It was unbelievable that it was the wrist of a knight who had trained all his life.

The rest of the Sword saints who followed him also have thin appearance like him.

But as they grew thinner, their swords became sharper. Just like a flame blooming in full bloom right before it goes out.

Jin didn't even have time to say thank you or exchange a glance. Jin continued to advance, leaving the Sword Saints behind.

"Octavia Zipfel!"

Swoosh-!

The shadow force and flame surrounding Bradamante grew thicker. Octavia was avoiding Jin's sword by awkwardly stepping backwards.

It was inherently unacceptable for someone of her caliber to take step back into battle so clumsily.

No matter how much she was mage, she had basic hand-to-hand training that she needed to deal with knights, and she never stepped backwards even when dealing with Sword Saints who were clearly superior to Jin.

The movements she had to resort to wear something you might see in a street brawl, but Octavia had no other choice.

'If only I had one more minute to recover…!'

However, Jin couldn't land a clean blow on her, despite her reckless attacks.

The Spectre Corps was a formidable force. Although the sword saints and his companions risked their lives to push them back, it was not enough to completely break down the last line of defense.

If Octavia were in perfect condition, they wouldn't have made it this far in the first place.

The wind of the blade brushed her nose, and Octavia felt her whole body turn cold with cold sweat.

'Now 55 seconds, 54... damn it!'

The time felt so long.

It seemed that her subordinates would not be able to fully protect her within that time. It wasn't because the Spectres lacked abilities.

Jin was just special to the extent that it can never be explained in terms of being strong, great, or lucky...…

Amidst the onslaught of sword strikes and magic, Jin, as always, had one thought.

Cut.

Before learning the shadow sword 1st technique from his brethren, he was practicing the essence of the magic sword that he had already realized.

He was armed with the will to slash without fail.

That will reach Octavia once again, escaping the encirclement of the Spectres.

The moment the black sword energy was raised to the sky to cut Ocativa, she had to face a giant and dark emotion she had long forgotten.

Fear.

The fear of inevitably dying in this situation.

"Aah!"

"Ahhh!"

The moment the sword fell, Octavia and Jin screamed at the same time.

The Spectres' mana beam hit Jin's back. His shadow force armor blocked it, but the shock made his eyes go blank for an instant, so Bradamante could not cut Octavia in half.

Squeak-!

What Jin slashed was Octavia's right hand, which reflexively extended with her staff. 

Black-blue flame stuck to the severed surface and prevented the recovery with the light magic, and her severed hand instantly turned to ashes and scattered.

It was too risky to press on further.

'I need to regroup with allies and seize another opportunity. Octavia's recovery will be delayed anyway, so we should be able to win...!'

If he pressed on, even if he survived, his allies would undoubtedly die. Jin retreated, looking down at the fallen Octavia.

"For someone who once spoke as if there was nothing to fear in the world, what about now, Octavia Zipfel? Is that arrogant spirit still intact?"

Octavia had lived a long life, and there was only one more moment when she faced humiliation than today, the day she faced Chiron.

 Whether it's because of Misha's participation in the war, or Jin's sword skills and his struggles surpassing the expectations, or Jin's special nature.

For whatever reason, Octavia had lost in the ground battle. She was completely defeated even though she had absolute superiority. Octavia herself could not deny this fact.

"This battle is your victory, Jin Runcandel."

"I haven't cut you yet, so it's not over. And it would be more accurate to say it's the victory of the Vamel Alliance and the sword emperor castle. If you die, you won't be able to...."

The moment he said that.

Suddenly, Jin felt a terrible aura starting from the sky, which he had felt only once a long time ago. Jin's companions were feeling the same aura as Jin perceived.

Octavia said in a calm voice.

"However, my defeat does not necessarily mean the defeat of Zipfel...… It might be regrettable for you guys."

What the group felt was the energy of the Demon God's orb that had finally been opened.