Chapter 831

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Two of the Ten Great Knights and five hundred elite knights simultaneously unleashed their sword skills. Murakan twisted and turned in the air, avoiding the attacks.

[This is maddening, Frey! You weren't like this before. Among the Ten Great Knights, you were the most humble and rational! Why is the merciful Saintess of Hamalen acting this way?]

The merciful Saintess of Hamalen.

Even before Frey became a member of Runcandel, the people from a thousand years ago called her that. Despite being born with tremendous power, she had never wielded that power recklessly and always lived as a leader who pondered over easing the suffering in the world.

"What you did harms not just the patriarch but the entire world. Now the Zipfel will shape history as they wish, and if we can't stop them without the patriarch's power, the world will be in terrible danger..."

[But I didn't do it! Oh, right. Vyollo, you were there too. Listen to me as well, won't you? Huh?]

"Murakan, were you carrying the witch's cat on your back and saying all this? I see, now I understand... You were influenced by the witch just like Lokia!"

Vyollo pointed his sword at Shuri. Vyollo, who was renowned as the Empire's best swordsman, had been swayed by Temar and became his knight, changing his name to Runcandel.

[Mya!?]

"Why did you do such a thing for the witch? Did she promise to prevent the annihilation of Solderet? If that's the case, it might not only be you who betrayed us but also Solderet. Yes, that makes sense. The guardian dragon of the contractor would never harm him to such an extent!"

[Mya, mya, mya, mewww!]

Shuri shook its head as if feeling unjustly accused. In the language of the Ruby Cats, Shuri was expressing that it had been abandoned by its previous owner.

'Ah... I should have put Shuri in ruby... I forgot that Shuri was Helluram's Ruby Cat.'

Jin touched his forehead and put Shuri back into Ruby.

"You didn't do anything wrong, so wait in here, Shuri. When this unfair situation is resolved, I'll explain everything properly."

[Meow!]

"I just asked you, but you really put the witch's cat away. Murakan, I can't believe how much you underestimate us by playing such a prank."

Aagh! The sword strikes surged like a tidal wave, incessantly assaulting the protective shield. Especially Frey and Vyollo, riding on the knights' sword winds, closed in on Murakan, swinging their halberd and scimitar respectively.

"Who is this human wearing the clan's attire? Is he a witch's puppet, she plans to kill us all and use him in place of the patriarch?"

The shield was torn apart and restored repeatedly, and Murakan cursed in frustration.

[Please, I beg you, you guys. I can't deal with you in moderation. So, please stop!]

Murakan was almost pleading as he shouted. The Ten Great Knights and knights were all just pictures, but they were guardians who resembled their personalities like Sylderay and Sarah from the past tombs..

So, Murakan didn't want to harm them. It wasn't a situation like Sylderay's time, where Jin needed to go through a test as a thousand-year-contractor.

[Calmly look at me! If I were that impostor, would I have just been avoiding and defending without counterattacking? I would have turned this place into chaos by now. Most of the ordinary knights would have died as soon as they saw me!]

For the first time, the pupils of the Ten Great Knights shook. Although the attacks continued, there was a momentary gap. A vulnerability that Frey and Vyollo quickly recognized and quickly took a defensive stance. Of course, Jin and Murakan didn't exploit the weakness.

Frey and Vyollo didn't show such vulnerabilities because their skills were lacking. It was because they trusted Murakan. Until the fake Murakan betrayed them, he had been the one the Ten Great Knights relied on the most.

"I apologize for the confusion, Ten Great Knights. I am not a witch's puppet; I am Vamel. Would you like to see my sword?"

Jin purposely concealed the name Runcandel.

'It's better for me and Murakan to pretend to be followers of Solderet.'

Among the situations they discussed on the way, that seemed to be the most suitable. It was better than saying that this place was a world inside a painting, and the Ten Great Knights were guardians living in Kaytam's painted world, and they had come to examine the corrupted painting and the history from a thousand years ago.

Explaining it like that was too complicated, but calling them "those sent by Solderet" at least made some sense. In a way, it wasn't entirely wrong either.

"That's... Bradamante!?"

"Yes, it's Bradamante, the sister sword of Barisada. You might ask if it's also a part of an act. Please take a look and you will know that no one can replicate Mr. Picon's products."

Jin took Bradamante from his waist and threw it to the Ten Great Knights. Upon examining it, they had no doubt it was genuine.

"Picon Minche took Bradamante by saying that he needed to complete it. So, you didn't harm him and took it, right?"

"Of course not. Please calm down and give me some time to explain calmly. I will also clear up any misunderstanding about Shuri, the Ruby Cat. Murakan, for now, descend and stand down. Using your sword winds to maintain flight must be tiring."

The Ten Great Knights hesitated for a moment, but soon raised their hands, stopping the knights' attacks.

"...Alright, we'll listen. If you had intentions to harm us, you wouldn't have missed the moment we both showed our weaknesses. You seem to have such abilities."

The transcendent beings, the Ten Great Knights, recognized Jin's skills in one fell swoop.

"Thank you."

[Ah! Thank goodness, you punks. You only listen when the kid speaks. I had a really hard time deciding whether to subdue you by beating you painfully.]

They all descended to the ground.

"Where did you get those clothes? They are similar to ours, but slightly different."

"Clothes... "

"Aah! You bastards, as long as I, Dranax, exist, you won't be able to bring down the Storm Castle!"

Roaaar!

Before their voices, Dranax's attack flew towards the rear of Jin and Murakan. Murakan turned back and swiped at Dranax's sword with his tail.

[Ah, this bastard again! Ah, it hurts so bad! Ah, he is just trying a follow-up attack. Even if it's you, Dranax, there's a chance you'll lose your jaw!]

"Stop, Dranax."

"Stop, Dranax!"

The three of them simultaneously restrained Dranax. Dranax stopped his swing and looked puzzled.

"Huh? Frey, what's going on? You were clearly fighting in the air just a moment ago. How did you bring Murakan down to a ground battle?"

"It's not like that. We wanted to talk because this young man named Vamel and Murakan were saying something unusual..."

"Be quiet, Vyollo. I asked Frey, right?"

"Fine. Frey, go ahead."

"I was about to explain. It seems the words of this young man and Murakan were concerning, so I wanted to discuss..."

"Well, okay then. If Frey says so, I guess it's true."

"No, I said the same thing as Frey."

"Quiet down, Vyollo. Do you want a punch? So, what is it that bothers you?"

At that time, there were only four people in the world who could control Dranax. Temar, Frey, and the Head butler Luet, along with the black dragon Misha.

"Sigh..."

"Frey, this guy said to me earlier that he's fake, no. Did he say he was the real one? Anyway, he was muttering strange things. Is that what it's about?"

"Yes, that's correct."

The Ten Great Knights stared at Jin and Murakan for a while.

"...I am the person Solderet left behind to prepare for this day. And everything we said until now is true. The Murakan who attacked Lord Temar is fake, and the one here is the real Murakan."

Jin spoke, showing shadow force and his illuminating heart.

"You have probably heard of the story of Laprarosa from Lord Temar. I spent time there training with the Plutonian tribe. One day, Solderet suddenly came with an unconscious Murakan. He said that the enemies had cloned Murakan."

Jin continued to gauge the atmosphere of the Ten Great Knights and carried on with the story.

"Even Solderet didn't know how Murakan was cloned. But it's certain that the real Murakan here was attacked by the fake, who has been posing as real since then."

"...And then, as soon as the opportunity came, the fake stabbed Temar in the back?"

"That's what I heard from Solderet. I don't know the details beyond that. I am merely someone prepared by Solderet and Murakan had lost consciousness until we came out of Laprarosa together."

[Yeah, because of being beaten by that fake, I lost some memories. I've regained most of my strength, but my head is a little messed up. Well.]

"Huh? So that's why you said it seemed like you saw me for the first time in a long time? How could I have forgotten you? You definitely said that to me."

[That's right, Dranax.]

"But we have never heard any stories about you from Solderet, Vamel. Moreover, if Solderet knew that Murakan was a fake, why didn't he inform the patriarch or us?"

"He probably didn't have the luxury of saving a dying Murakan. I was simply training in Laprarosa when I received orders. I don't know the exact reasons. And Solderet has always kept my existence a secret. It seems he considers me some kind of... um... secret weapon."

"...Secret weapon?"

[Yeah, secret weapon! Solderet sent support right now because it's the perfect time to utilize this kid. You must have noticed, but this guy is incredibly powerful.]

"It's a rather difficult story to comprehend, Vamel."

"Yes, I think so too. However, what's important is not the words but the actions. And what I will show you through my actions is eliminating the fake Murakan who harmed Lord Temar."

Jin looked into the eyes of the Ten Great Knights and added.

"So, please allow me and Murakan to fight together. You won't be disappointed."

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