Chapter 511

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Luna gave up the throne, Jin's patriarchy declaration, and the fall of Joshua. Among the significant events of the current generation, this incident undoubtedly had the greatest impact on the clan.

No one expected Joshua to fall like this.

He had always been the next patriarch after Luna gave up the throne, and there was Rosa's strong support and favoritism behind it.

However, it was Rosa herself who brought down Joshua. Moreover, she did it in a cruel manner, trampling on his dignity and tarnished his honor, all in front of everyone.

"Ha, it's refreshing. But it does feel a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't someone who would go down so easily... Well, regardless of his intentions, he obstructed an important mission and lost two Black Knights. It's not unreasonable."

Pong, clink...

Diphus' eyes were blank as he spoke while filling the glass. He had been looking forward to the day when Joshua fell since his childhood, but seeing it come to an end in this way made him feel an unpleasant sense of futility instead of excitement.

Even after pouring down hard liquor that an ordinary person could not even drink in one sip, the bitterness in his throat wasn't soothing.

In truth, Diphus harbored not only resentment but also affection for Joshua. It wasn't a lukewarm sentiment; it was a mix of regret for not being able to deal with his old enemy with his own hands, and the feeling of helplessness over the fact that his mother's words weighed incomparably more than the authority and fighting spirit he still maintained as a high-ranking flagbearer.

These things tormented Diphus.

"By the way, youngest, you went too far. If you knew he was a clone, couldn't you at least have given him a warning? No, wait... I must have been stupid for not knowing until now. Ever since you told me with your wicked tongue and ridiculed him, suggesting to kill Joshua together in the Sota Desert, I felt there might be something."

"You've been talking to yourself and answering on your own from earlier. Looks like there's no need for a drinking buddy, elder brother. If my elder sister Mary were here, you would have heard quite a bit."

"That girl would have understood me. If you see the prey you have been targeting for decades being taken away, it will turn your insides upside down or not."

At those words, Jin quietly smiled coldly.

A total of 48 years, 28 in the past life and 20 in the current one. During nearly half a century, Jin's greatest enemy changed twice.

In the past life, his own clan, the Runcandel, was his greatest enemy, while in the current life, he faced Zipfel as Runcandel through various events.

However, foes and enemies are different concepts. The one Jin personally held the greatest grudge against remained unchanged since discovering the details of his curse.

'Joshua Runcandel....'

So, Jin also lost his prey, and there was no way he wouldn't feel bad. In fact, he was barely suppressing a feeling of emptiness even more than that of Diphus.

The reason was none other.

"I don't think it will end like this."

"It would feel less dirty that way, but this time it was definitely over. There's no way Mother will forgive him, and even if she did, who would follow Joshua after seeing him shutter and shake like that? It's an unthinkable thing in other knight clans, but this is Runcandel."

Jin took the drink offered by Diphus and downed five or six glasses in a row.

"Come to think of it, isn't it a bit strange?"

"What is?"

"If Mother had officially referred Joshua to the clan trial and ordered an investigation to uncover the truth of the mission, he might not have fallen so miserably. To put it bluntly, even if he shared information from the beginning, it might have been impossible to save both Black Knights as long as there was a variable like Hedo."

Hedo, the tower keeper of the White Night.

After reporting the mission, Jin and Diphus still hadn't heard any information about him from Rosa and the elder council.

Whether Rosa and the elder council didn't know him or there was another reason could not be determined. They only speculated that the latter was much more likely.

"If Mother had done that, she could have caused both you and me to fall in reverse. Joshua is the ultimate responsible as a decision maker, but we also have responsibilities as flagbearers. Even if he's a clone, didn't he use the volcano for the sake of the clan in the end?"

"If that assumption holds, Joshua could even strangely twist things to make us traitors by involving Sondra Zipfel's help. Also, your relationship with Veradin Zipfel is a factor."

"It doesn't seem like Mother would not have known what we could think. No, she must have known. And Mother's goal has always been to make Joshua the next patriarch, but now she has made a decision completely opposite to that."

"In the end, Mother must have acknowledged that he is not fit to be the next patriarch. I don't know why she realized it only now. Damn it, he was so scared that he even dragged the knights and looked like such a fool... If it were me, I would have slit his throat right there."

As Diphus continued to nervously empty his glass, Jin pondered why Rosa attacked Joshua instead of them.

The end.

Diphus's words were not wrong. Those who witnessed Joshua's pathetic state yesterday would never acknowledge and follow him again.

Suddenly.

A new assumption popped into Jin's mind.

"The Prophet."

"What?"

"If Joshua's mind was manipulated by the divine power of the Prophet and dark magic..."

"How could that be? The Joshua who stuttered yesterday was the very image of him being trampled by Father and eldest sister in his childhood. It was Joshua's essence."

"I also know. I don't truly think that the Prophet manipulated Joshua's mind. However, if Mother later claims that and pardons Joshua again... what do you think?"

Thak, Diphus set down his glass.

The Prophet, she has provided critical assistance in this mission using unknown powers, and has also been assisting Joshua and his clan's missions until now. 

She had also created Joshua's clone. Although the true identity of the Prophet had not been fully revealed, everyone in Runcandel now knew about her actions and existence.

Some would argue that the Prophet had deviated from the law and should be expelled, some would say she was necessary for confronting enemies, and some would maintain neutrality and stay silent.

But all of them had to admit one thing: Joshua's Prophet possessed truly divine abilities.

-I get it. So what about the third one? Setting aside the method of killing the 2nd flagbearer, what is your actual goal? What benefits does the death of the 2nd flagbearer bring to the clan?

-Second eldest brother, it feels like I am being graded for my test. What benefit does it bring to the clan? This is an opportunity to cut away the rotten chain of favoritism and purify the clan. Even if we kill Joshua, the Prophet is under the control of our mother anyway, so we can decide what to do with her abilities at that time.

A conversation between Jin and Diphus in the Sota Desert.

Not only Rosa but also Diphus believed that the power of the Prophet should be used for the clan. To find the legacy of the first patriarch, to slaughter enemies.

This thought became even more solid through the experiences of this mission.

A fleet of over a hundred battleships, Hedo, and even an unknown demon who turned the Black Knight Mon into a cripple. Even though only a part of the enemies' hidden powers had been revealed, they far exceeded the expectations of the flagbearers.

"Mother will never give up the power of the Prophet. The reason she brought down Joshua this time... might be a warning to the Prophet. It is quite possible if the relationship between the mother and the prophet is not as close as that of Joshua."

"So what you're saying is, Mother plans to bind the Prophet, and later blame everything on her and reinstate Joshua?"

"Not only that, Mother re-established her authority by bringing Joshua down. This will erase the blemishes caused by the exile incident. She showed a strong determination by personally destroying the second flagbearer, whom she had supported so much. Regardless of the details, the clan members can't help but fear Mother even more from now on."

"After elevating her power to its limits, bringing Joshua back to the surface, and transferring all authority again... and both guilt and justification are all borne by the Prophet."

There was a moment of silence.

Neither of them refilled their glasses.

"...That's not entirely impossible. No, it is quite likely. If Joshua at the moment of his reinstatement can show a strengthened appearance, convincing enough for anyone to think that his previous shortcomings were due to the Prophet's mind manipulation."

If Rosa takes over the power to mercilessly purge all those who doubt Joshua at that time, and if his own battle prowess becomes the strongest in name and reality.

Joshua's reinstatement was very possible.

"There's one more thing."

"More?"

"Do you know how the Prophet creates Joshua's clones?"

-Do you also know how that woman creates Joshua's clones?

-I only know that a lot of humans are needed.

-...What?

-It seems like they use the death row inmates of Huphester. If Sir Joshua sends them to the Prophet, new bodies are created... He mainly used those bodies to handle tasks like dealing with people like me. To strengthen the prospective contractors and directly suppress them when they run out of control.

After killing Joshua's clone for the first time in Bluebirds islands, Jin heard from Yulian that the Prophet used humans as materials. 

Later, he happened to hear about the strange execution of death row inmates at 'Rikalton' from Emma and was trying to track down the related details. After the Black King's incident, he sent the Black Knight Dox there.

"Human beings are used as materials. A large number of them. This is information I obtained by capturing his direct hunting dog when I was a reserve flagbearer."

"Ha. If that's true, he has to face an even greater punishment..."

"But Joshua is already in the dungeon. There's no way to dig deeper. At least not officially. Who would dare to claim that Joshua, whom Mother personally brought down, should be further trampled? I have one witness, but there's still no concrete evidence. I can't make such claims lightly."

Diphus felt as if a cool breeze passed over his back.

His senses dulled by the alcohol suddenly sharpened, and a shiver ran down his spine.

'If what the youngest says is true... then Joshua's fall is just a successful ploy of Mother...!'

Of course, all of this was just speculation.

However, two people who knew the human named Rosa Runcandel as her sons….. they had an intuition that this speculation was very close to the truth.

"So, it's not the time to soothe our bitterness with alcohol. The fight is just beginning."