Chapter 860
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
December 12, 1803.
Following the five members of Black Sea expedition team, Lunitia returned to the clan, the days were passing with the return of the members of Runcandel.
Moreover, among the returnees were two individuals who could handle the "Great Fracture," similar to the one that occurred in Siatello. The crimson sword technique of Luna and the brotherly stars(兄弟星) of Luntia.
After Siatello, they had each dealt with a "Great Fracture" in Huphester and the Empire. Of course, not just them, but also Jin and other flagbearers, and clan knights were tirelessly on missions in the areas where fractures occurred.
Daily, articles poured in, highlighting Runcandel's achievements.
The hegemony war had come to an end, and now, the current generation of Runcandel were finally joining forces to prepare for the future to come.
"The number of times Luntia can use brotherly stars is probably limited, as our father said for my sword technique. It means she can't be used endlessly until becoming a genesis knight."
"Exactly, Luna unnie. Unlike us, the youngest doesn't seem to have significant restrictions on the number of uses of Eternal flame if he is willing to endure injuries. However, the rate at which fractures are occurring is quite concerning."
In the Garden of Swords' conference room, the flagbearers and executives were gathered, discussing among themselves. The map on the table displayed over a hundred locations marked where fractures had appeared.
[It's impossible for the young patriarch, 1st flagbearer, and 3rd flagbearer to eliminate all these fractures. In the end, we'll have to focus on safeguarding the major strongholds until the transfer of the True Demon World concludes.]
Everyone in the room nodded at Luet's words.
[What's somewhat fortunate is that among the major forces, we're handling the fractures most effectively. It seems Kinzelo and Zipfel are struggling quite a bit.]
Kinzelo was struggling because of Orgal's injuries, while Zipfel was relatively slower in handling the fractures due to the war with the Red Plutonian Tribe.
It was only natural because both the forces had the shortage of individuals with the ability to destroy fractures, compared to Runcandel. Rumors were circulating that Huphester was the safest land.
The threat of the ticking time bomb, the True Demon World, still loomed, unpredictable as ever.
Yet, Jin didn't feel as overwhelmed by the looming threat. He was confident that he could find a way to resolve it with the help of his siblings, comrades, clan, and alliance, as he always had.
The current Runcandel is strong.
Since Chiron was always absent anyway, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was stronger than ever, especially since the time of the Temar.
"The key is after the transfer concludes. According to Ayula's revelation, it won't be too far off. I also think that it might happen around the time Ayula manifests after the prayer of the Holy Kingdom. The Holy King is also anticipating that."
"That's right, youngest. No...ahem! Yes, that's right, young patriarch."
Luna quickly corrected herself and avoided Luet's gaze, who was glancing at her with a stern expression. Both Luna and Luntia were in the same situation of trying to gauge Luet's mood, just like Vallas.
"The Holy King is anticipating Ayula's manifestation on the last day of this year or the dawn of the new year. If fractures continue to form at the current rate, we should be able to easily protect the major strongholds until then."
While conceding certain regions might be inevitable, once the transfer concludes, whatever formidable entities emerge from the True Demon World. Runcandel believed they could fight and defeat them.
"Surely there won't be hundreds or thousands of demons like Paellito Belgasyum who could take down Orgal. I can't imagine the strongest knights of our clan losing to him or any other demons... Ultimately, Zito might be the wildcard. But Zito is still in the process of regaining his strength, so he won't emerge on the frontline from the beginning of the war."
"Elder sister Mary is right. If there were more than a few hundred of those, the ancient Plutonian tribe wouldn't have dominated the world back then."
"But it's worth noting that the Red Plutonian Tribe and the Blue Plutonian Tribe, as well as the ancient Plutonian tribe, were sealed when Ms. Ameris fell asleep. It's a bit unsettling that they have no history of dominating. Their technology is probably on par with or even surpassing the Red Plutonian Tribe's, and their military strength... just judging from the number of fractures, it's bound to be immense."
"While we can assume that we have the upper hand in terms of the skill and numbers of the top-tier superhumans, if their forces and resources are overwhelmingly superior... Even if we win the war, the surface world will suffer irreversible damage."
The purpose of the True Demon World is to turn the surface into hell through suffering.
From Runcandel's perspective, they were dealing with lunatics who were in a completely different category from Zipfel, Kinzelo, and the Red Plutonian Tribe.
Zipfel aimed to conquer the world with minimal damage, while Kinzelo sought to achieve their own ideal world through the resurrection of the Sun God. Similarly, the Red Plutonian Tribe had a different direction but shared the same goal of the Sun God's resurrection.
Because of this, they avoided indiscriminate slaughter. Of course, the Red Plutonian Tribe saw the blood of living beings as a commodity and viewed humans almost like insects, but for now, they were excluding civilian casualties due to Jin's fear.
However, the demons of the True Demon World were not like that.
They would delight in mass slaughter without any reason and torturing innocent people was an everyday occurrence for them.
Therefore, this time too, the Runcandel and Vamel alliance had to fight while "protecting".
But protecting everyone and fighting with only the top-tier superhumans like Jin was an impossible task.
"A powerful weapon system and defense that can wipe out the demons one by one... that even ordinary martial artists can use."
Everyone nodded at Jin's words as he organized his thoughts. That was indeed the most urgent element for the current Runcandel and Vamel alliance. After all, there were quite a few top-tier superhumans like Paellito who would be in charge of demons from the Great Fractures.
The Golden Fleet and the mass-produced Iello.
If these two were completed, the lack of "regular firepower" would significantly increase. The Runcandel's magical knight unit utilizing storage paper was gradually reaching a level where they could be put into real battle without any issues.
'Zipfel is already in the process of mass-producing magic swordsman living-golems, and the size of their fleet is continuing to grow, so they will have fewer concerns than us. Zipfel also has the variable of Demon's God's Orb. Similarly, Kinzelo already has a fleet and doesn't have as many individuals to protect as we do. The population of beastmen and demons isn't very large to begin with, and most of them are combat-capable, and they also possess fleets.'
In Runcandel too, there were variables corresponding to Demon's God's Orb or the "healthy Orgal."
The return of the Chiron and the remaining expedition team.
But this time, Jin was contemplating going to war with the True Demon World, excluding Chiron once again.
'My father transcends his destiny. And entrusting me with the role of protecting the human world means he trusts me. This time as well, I can protect the clan and the world.'
Of course, it was a great comfort just to think that Chiron, who had overcome demonization, would return someday.
"Huh?"
As Jin was lost in thought, Yona's voice suddenly chimed in. (It was Yona's first participation in the formal clan meeting, and even Luet didn't correct her use of the term "young patriarch" as she did with others.)
"Elder sister Yona, what's the matter?"
"Hehe, the youngest, were you thinking about the Golden Fleet and the mass-produced Iello?"
"Yes, that's right."
[Oh, our Yona. How adorable! Your great-grandmother has been waiting for you to speak up! I-I'm sorry, Head butler. She's just so cute. Alright, Yona. What do you want to say?]
"We've never really considered the existence of a netherworld, have we?"
[Who in the world would've thought of something like that? Geez, the world has become so strange.]
"Heehee, but suddenly I remembered the Phoenix, Great-Grandmother."
[Phoenix?]
"Did you say Phoenix, Elder sister?"
"Yes, Phoenix. Phoenixes live in the Flame world. But we don't even know where the Flame world is, and Murakan, who said he's been there himself, doesn't remember the way back. Is it because he is stupid? Anyway, what I want to say is... if the underworld can rise to the surface, could the Flame world do the same?"
[T/L: Change fire dimension to Flame world as I am using translation of '계' as world]
Jin felt as if he'd been hit in the back of the head with a mallet. This was an aspect he hadn't considered at all.
"Oh... that's an interesting idea, elder sister. If we could receive assistance from Tess and the Phoenixes of Flame world... Even if the demons' forces are mighty, we could minimize the damage to the surface."
-The name "Flame world" is just a convenient term we use in our dimension. In that dimension, there's nothing but fire and Phoenixes. Even the highest-level gods don't know the true name of that world.
-Even the gods don't know? So, does that mean the Flame World is outside the gods' jurisdiction?
-Ding-dong, that's the correct answer. Even the Fire God Sheenu can't freely control the flames in the Flame World. Likewise, Tess, the ruler of the Flame World, can't control Sheenu's fire either.
A conversation Murakan had with Jin on the day he first summoned Tess.
Of course, borrowing the power of the Flame world is literally wishful thinking. From the start, there have been some constraints between the Flame world and the human world, which is why Tess hasn't been able to use its full power until now.
However, as the barrier between worlds crumbled and the world began to undergo "changes," Jin couldn't help but think that there might be a way to eliminate those constraints. Perhaps the Flame world's location could also be somewhere underground.
'Murakan once mentioned witnessing Tess annihilate middle-tier gods with just the breath in the Flame world. While it might be impossible to fully harness that power... somehow, it sounds promising. The world is changing now.'
For a moment, Jin imagined the Flame world's Phoenixes incinerating the demons invading the surface, and Tess overwhelming Zito. Even just imagining it was so great.
"Hee, did I do well?"
"Yes, you did great, elder sister. I should look into it immediately. Once Murakan is here later, summoning Tes and having a conversation should be our priority."
[This great-grandmother always thinks Yona is the best!]
[Sir Vallas, we're in the middle of a meeting... Hah, but more importantly, don't discriminate against great-grandchildren. I also hold Lady Yona dear, but the feelings of others might hurt.]
Despite saying that, Luet knew that rather than feeling hurt, everyone was pleased.
[Yona is like that guy, Chiron (At this point, Luet finally broke the pen she was holding.) Hmph! The patriarch sent Yona to Nameless too early. That's why I need to give her more love now, hehe. Isn't that right?]
"I also like Great-Grandfather, not as much as I like the youngest, though."
[Still, you like Great-Grandmother more than the Head butler, right?]
"Hee, I'm not sure... Maybe if Great-Grandfather plays the ear-cutting game with me later, it might be the case."
[Hahaha, this old man has already died once, so losing an ear doesn't matter much. As long as our Yona is having fun. Let's do it, then!]
As Yona and Vallas exchanged laughter, the communication device resonated.
{My lord!}
It was a communication from Tikan.
"Jet, what's going on?"
{Yulian's Guardian Dragon, Caltor, has finally awakened! Miss Valeria said that she wants to meet Peitel or something.}
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]