CHAPTER 247

Ordinarily, Jin would have never been able to win the public over.

Even if they knew all of Zipfel's weaknesses, the Zipfel Clan's control of the media was too powerful.

Until now, Zipfel had used the media to label themselves as 'righteous', and that had been truly uncontestable.

But now Jin also had that power.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all the media from around the world had recently gathered in the holy kingdom.

While there were many reporters, there were also a few referred to as great reporters, like Dino.

While some were neutral, most aligned with either Runcandel, Zipfel, or Vermont.

'It looks just like a barrel full of oil.'

Jin thought this as he glanced at the reporters gathered in the square.

Soon, this oil drum would come in contact with Dino's sparks and be set ablaze.

So much so that even Zipfel wouldn't be able to handle it.

'Zipfel, Kinzelo. Looking back, I had a bad relationship with them right from when I left Storm Castle.'

He remembered that as soon as he had left Storm Castle, he was attacked by Zipfel's extremist followers who had received help from Kinzelo.

Perhaps the fight against them was inevitable from that moment on.

They were also targets that had to be dealt with after he reached the peak of the Runcandel Clan.

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

"What is that?"

Prompted by someone's questioning, the crowd looked skyward.

'Kozak', Zipfel's giant battleship, was leisurely flying over the capital.

It had been a while, and Jin unconsciously clenched his fists when he saw Kozak again.

Inside that battleship were Zipfel's elite magic unit, the 'Midnight Sun Magicians', and Kal Zipfel.

"The Kozak? Gosh, why is that here?"

As soon as he saw the Kozak, Murakan focused his sharp eyes.

"Since Runcandel's flag-bearers are in the holy kingdom, the Zipfel Clan probably also felt the need to show off. They're also sending a message to the Runcandels, saying to not even think about assassinating Kal Zipfel. For a bunch coming to apologize, they sure are coming on strong."

"Anyway, they're a funny bunch. When I think back to what we went through in Kollon, it's starting to piss me off. I wanna destroy it right now."

"Young Master, I'll start getting ready then."

"Got it. Give it your best."

After Dino left, Kozak's shadow darkened the square.

The subjects were glaring at the huge ship blocking the sun with eyes full of anxiety and anger.

Whirrr...

Soon, a wide beam of light cascaded down from the lower section of Kozak and formed a staircase connected to the ground.

As those aboard began to descend, Kal Zipfel was among them, although his entire body was restrained.

Kal was wearing a gray cloth that a commoner or convict would wear, and had a very stern look on his face.

As he descended the stairs and gradually approached the ground, the subjects raised their angry voices toward him.

"Booo!"

"What did you do to our brothers and sisters?!"

"Using humans as test subjects, do you have no fear of God…?!"

"You crazy wizard! Sinner against heaven!"

The master of the magic tower of Zipfel, a pureblood, was hearing all kinds of curses from the people of the small nation.

Not once in the past decades had this happened.

Whether it was an incident at the clan level or an individual level.

Zipfel had always responded by sending a non-pure blood representative.

Angry voices are contagious.

The subjects, who had been momentarily intimidated by Kozak, were now ready to cut him up with their swords until he perished.

Kal, his head lowered, did not say anything. The Midnight Sun Magicians behind him were expressionless.

Just as Jin had already told her, Rani did not interrupt this heated atmosphere.

Fling—!

Smash!

One of the citizens, who had been wary of Rani's gaze, threw a fist-sized rock at Kal.

Kal's forehead split open, splattered with blood after being hit by the rock. For an instant, the raucous crowd calmed.

Kal still had his head lowered.

Drip, drip.

Even though blood was flowing from his forehead, the Midnight Sun Magicians standing behind him did not react.

Of course, that was unspoken permission.

No matter what happened to Kal Zipfel, the Zipfel Clan would not intervene.

As Jin had predicted, the Zipfel Clan planned to display their full might once Kal had been seriously injured or even killed.

"Say something!"

Smash, smash!

Fling!

As soon as Kal finished descending the stairs of light formed by the Kozak, rocks started flying from all over.

He had been struck down by the stones and stood up on five separate occasions.

At the same time, reporters were diligently writing articles about this strange scene of punishment.

"Everyone, please stop for a moment!"

Rani slowly rose and shouted.

The throwing of stones stopped immediately, and Kal unsteadily stood up.

"Kal Zipfel. Before your confession, I would like to ask you one thing."

"…What is it?"

"Was the Living Golem experiment truly carried out under your command?"

To Kal, that question obviously meant, 'was this incident solely due to your own actions and not those of the ZIpfel Clan?'

Therefore, he had no choice but to respond as per the orders of his father, Keliark Zipfel.

"That's right."

"Can you swear it?"

"It seems like you want to blame my sins on the entire clan, but you're wrong. Of course, from your perspective, it may seem like the Zipfel Clan is making a scapegoat out of me. However, I'm the Fourth Magic Tower Master and a pureblood. There are many others more suitable to be a scapegoat."

"Then why did you come yourself? When you say you could have sent someone else as a scapegoat."

"Because my death is the only way to restore even a fraction of my family's honor that was lost due to my actions. Even if you show me mercy, my family will never take me back, so just kill me."

"You hope for a death that would be far too merciful. You're responsible for the loss of as many as three thousand citizens, unjustly captured as test subjects. Kal Zipfel, until you give a detailed confession regarding this, death is not an option."

Rani cast healing magic on Kal's wounds, and the wounds healed swiftly.

"By the way, Kal. Isn't there something strange about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"The number of citizens captured as test subjects was only 823."

Kal was indeed the master of the Fourth Magic Tower.

Even after being deceived by Rani, his expression did not change.

"I wasn't aware that Vitura Velter sent that many subjects."

"Sir Kal Zipfel!"

Someone stepped forward, calling out to Kal.

It was Dino Zeglun.

"You were not the main culprit behind that heinous experiment! Why are you lying? Why did you come forward to let yourself be framed?"

In an instant, the attention of everyone in the square gathered on Dino.

"Who's that?!"

"Are you Zipfel's underling? Stop talking bullshit and get lost!"

"Citizens, please forgive my rudeness. I'm a reporter! My name is Dino Zeglun. Some of you may already know, but I am not on Zipfel's side. I was the first reporter to report on Myuron Zipfel's Living Golem experiments conducted in Kollon."

Murmur murmur.

"I, Dino Zeglun, can swear on the honor of myself and the people of Kollon. I don't know about the other heads of the Zipfel Clan, but Sir Kal Zipfel has nothing to do with this Living Golem experiment!"

Dino took out a bunch of newsletters from his bag and scattered them into the wind.

The alert reporters were the first to rush forward and grab the newsletter to read it.

Before they'd even read a few lines, the eyes of the reporters were already wide open, darting from Dino to Kal and back again.

'The spark has been lit.'

Jin was smiling inside.

At this point, Kal Zipfel had been the only person to tumble to the ground in an unsightly manner. Now, the entire Zipfel Clan would have to join him.

"The Dark Magic Association was under Kinzelo?"

"The place where the survivors were rescued was not at the Fourth Magic Tower, but at the Dark Magic Association's stronghold in Oterium?"

The Dark Magic Association was said to have been destroyed by the Kinzelo Group, a third-rate terrorist organization, and Liol Zipfel, and so only had low-level remnants remaining.

The newsletter distributed by Dino contained the names of organizations that were insignificant compared to Zipfel.

In addition, it was reported that a mysterious person known as 'Vamel' had disrupted the meeting between Zipfel and Kinzelo six months ago, and it was also described that Kal was kidnapped by Kinzelo in the process.

"Hey, Dino Zeglun! What is this all of a sudden?"

A reporter shouted at Dino.

Even for those who skimmed through the newsletter, it was not easy to properly understand the situation.

There weren't many who gave kind looks to this young reporter who suddenly barged in.

"Lord Rani said she could not reveal the name of the hero who rescued the survivors, so let me do so on her behalf. That hero was Sir Vamel, yes, the same prodigy you're all familiar with, Sir Vamel."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Kollon Massacre was what made me become one of the great reporters. At that time, I wrote in the article that the hero who saved the natives was a 'passerby.' That passerby was none other than Sir Vamel. From then on, I became acquainted with Sir Vamel, and have written an article on his heroic deeds."

At this point, Jin couldn't bear to look up out of embarrassment, and Murakan could barely hold back his laughter.

Dino continued his explanation, making eye contact with the people gathered in the square with a brazen yet determined expression.

"He has been tracking Zipfel's evil deeds all this time. Zipfel also conducted Living Golem experiments on the Kollon natives. During the pursuit, Sir Vamel witnessed Zipfel and Kinzelo make some kind of deal on an abandoned island in the Bellard Empire."

"What does that have to do with the current situation?"

"Please look at the top of page two of the newsletter I gave you. Kinzelo is not a third-rate terrorist group as you might think, but a large force that was Zipfel's biggest ally. Sir Vamel deliberately lied to Lord Rani, saying that he had rescued the survivors from the Fourth Magic Tower. And the reason for that is…"

Sir Vamel was convinced that it was not just Zipfel who had eaten away at the Holy Kingdom of Vankella and conducted experiments on its subjects.

So he tried to use Kinzelo's kidnapping of Kal Zipfel to publicize it all at once.

Dino could not finish the long announcement he had prepared.

"I can't listen to this any longer."

Fwoosh—!

That was because one of the Midnight Sun Magicians standing behind Kal fired a magic bolt at Dino.

The bolt was aimed squarely at Dino's head, and traveled so quickly that most people didn't even notice.

Fling!

However, someone in the crowd rushed forward and cut down the magic bolt.

"Ugh!"

A startled Dino took several steps back as his vision suddenly darkened.

"I thought it was common for the Huphester Alliance to kill and to bury the truth, not you guys. But I find this story quite interesting. How about we listen to it a bit more? Magicians of the Zipfel Clan."

The person who saved Dino was none other than Joshua Runcandel.

At the sight of this new bigshot suddenly appearing, the people began to stir.

"The Runcandels were not attacked directly. Are you sure you can draw your weapon so carelessly? Sheath your sword, second flag-bearer."

Luna shook her head and shielded Dino.

Rather, she had already been shielding Dino before Joshua even cut down the Midnight Sun Magician's magic bolt.

She perfectly blocked the magic bolts that had come from other directions with just her bare hands.