Chapter 334

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I will definitely come back...

Those words became meaningless the moment Jin stepped out of the subspace.

He forgot everything he had shared with the living Luet Damiro Yul.

Her appearance, the clothes she was wearing, her red hair, her voice, and everything else.

He even forgot the fact that two days had already passed within the subspace. This was because it was told by living Luet.

Outside, the beach remained the same, with mysterious and lonely purple stars twinkling. Jin stared at the stars for a moment, lost in thought.

'Entering the third tomb... I feel like I met someone. Or did I just confirm the appearance of the old Storm castle?'

Jin felt a strange sense of emptiness.

'And I didn't even fight any battles, so what's with this nausea? Or did I participate in such a massive battle that my memories and body are affected?'

It seemed unlikely, but a feeling of nausea rose up from within, as if he had pushed his body to its limits. A chilling sensation, as if insects were crawling all over his body, spread, and he broke out in cold sweat.

Phew.

Taking deep breaths, Jin recalled the events he experienced within the subspace.

'The subspace seemed to be a recreation of the old Storm castle, and as always, I checked the recording device.'

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't recall how he checked the recording device.

It felt like someone handed it to him, or perhaps he found it by opening a small box, or maybe it just started working automatically when he entered the tomb.

'Mr. Neru said there was definitely someone inside. So he asked me to convey his thanks for the hardships of the past thousand years.'

Who were they? Were they not inside?

While doubts gnawed at him, the faces of the ancient Runcandels that he "confirmed with the recording device" came to mind.

Temar, Head Butler Luet Damiro Yul, the ten great knights, the butlers and scribes who were recording the history of the forgotten fairy tribe...

Among them, strangely enough.

When he thought of Luet Damiro Yul, a member of the fairy tribe, a strange feeling of tightness arose in one side of his chest. Despite never having seen her even once, a longing and bittersweet emotion arose within Jin.

Jin only remembered Luet from the records.

"Ah!"

While thinking about the ancient Runcandel in the recording device, Jin remembered the problem he had forgotten.

'The small beastmen, I must quickly go to rescue them!'

A faint smell of burning reached Jin's nostrils. It was definitely an odor he couldn't detect when he first entered this beautiful realm of the Felinoids.

It wasn't the smell of fire used for cooking or warming one's body. Swiftly, Jin turned his head and held his breath.

The forest behind the beach was on fire.

Except for Jin, no humans had ever entered this mystical beach, and now it was being engulfed in flames.

Anxiety filled his heart. Come to think of it, even after exiting the subspace, he hadn't seen the Felinoids named Neru.

"Mr. Neru!"

As he shouted and was about to run, Jin caught a glimpse of Neru in the distance.

"Mr. Neru, are you alright?"

[Ugh... Jin, Runcandel.]

Neru was gasping for breath, his body covered in sweat. Neru had no visible injuries.

"Did you get attacked already?"

[...Shortly after you entered Temar's tomb, this place was exposed.]

It hadn't been more than five hours since Jin entered the tomb.

The secret hideout had started getting attacked, and the Felinoids, including Neru, were desperately defending themselves, using all their powers at their disposal.

Under normal circumstances, they should have sensed the danger and escaped when it was exposed. In fact, the Felinoids had been sensing intense danger for three hours before the enemy invasion started.

But the Felinoids couldn't escape.

If they fled, not only would Temar's tomb be exposed, but also their promise with the Solderet for a thousand years would be in jeopardy. Especially when Jin was inside, if Temar's tomb collapsed under attack, Jin would be forever trapped inside.

The Felinoids had used most of the sacred relics bestowed upon them by the ancient Cat God to fend off the attacks.

To buy time, they had erected barriers with relics that had been safeguarded for thousands of years.

Neru didn't inform Jin of that fact. Neru believed that even if Jin knew, it would only create a sense of helplessness.

"Who the hell are they?" Jin asked in a low voice.

[The Zipfel.]

It wasn't completely unexpected. It could be Joshua's Runcandel, Zipfel, or Kinzelo. Jin had anticipated one of the three.

But he couldn't consider it fortunate.

[Listen well, Jin Runcandel. From now on, run without resting towards the other side of the beach. Until you meet a Felinoids named Lulu. Then Lulu will guide you to a safe place.]

"Are you telling me to run away alone?"

[That's the best option.]

"What will happen to you, Mr. Neru, the Felinoids, and the small beastmen? If I escape, will you be able to flee?"

Neru couldn't answer.

"I'd rather buy you time, so that the Felinoids can escape with the small beastmen."

[Just like Black knights, Zipfel has an elite group of mages called the Spectres corp. There were five of them who attacked us. I know you're strong, but against them, you can't afford to buy time.]

Spectres corp.

As soon as he heard the name, Jin's face hardened.

During his time as a reserve flagbearer, Jin had experienced the formidable skills of the Spectres corp.

'They sent that secret elite unit, the Spectres corp, to capture the Felinoids and the small beastmen and attack my business, are you serious?'

According to Neru, the reason Zipfel was targeting the small beastmen was because of Jin's cosmetics business.

It was a passage that he couldn't comprehend, yet at the same time, it made him think that Zipfel had individuals with a good head on their shoulders.

'Someone who saw how my cosmetics business would elevate the influence of the Runcandel among the public. Or…'

They discovered the existence of Temar's third tomb in this place.

Either way, the horrifying fact remained that the Spectres had arrived.

[Furthermore, our barrier has reached its limit. Two days have already passed since you entered the tomb.]

"What, two days?"

Jin's eyes widened.

He never thought that so much time had passed.

He couldn't properly recall what had happened inside the third tomb, and his mind became confused once again at the realization that two days had gone by.

[Yes, one hour from now. We can't endure any longer than that. So please, run away quickly.]

Crack!

Jin clenched his teeth.

"I can't do that."

[If it's because of the guilt that the small beastmen might die because of you, we will try our best to keep them alive. They are still within the barrier, so they are safe for at least one hour.]

"I need you to tell me their location."

[We have several entrances to our secret space besides the cave. They are currently breaking through the barriers at each entrance, but we don't know the exact direction. However, what's certain is that all the entrances in the cave are connected, so eventually, they will gather there.]

Jin could instinctively understand.

Neru and the Felinoids tribesmen had a plan to protect the small beastmen by sacrificing themselves.

That was correct.

In fact, the Felinoids had used their last remaining sacred relic to evacuate the small beastmen, and they had prepared themselves to die in this place.

While Jin was inside the tomb, it would be impossible to accomplish that. Even the slightest opening in the barrier made of sacred relics would increase the likelihood of enemies entering the cave through this place.

The small beastmen in the cave were aware that they were under attack. They trembled in fear within the confines of the activated barrier, fearing suffocation.

"Is it possible to save them all?"

[To be honest, I can't guarantee that we can save everyone.]

From the start, it was a remarkable feat to have held out against the Spectres for two days and to be able to save some of the small beastmen.

However, Jin couldn't retreat unless he had the certainty that everyone would survive even if he ran away.

In this moment, he wasn't becoming stronger by using someone as a shield to escape.

Of course, he couldn't rely solely on a sense of righteousness or naive justice. He had no intention of meeting his death so easily.

"I have experience in buying time against a larger number of the Spectres."

[If something happens to you, then my thousand-year-old promise will be for nothing.]

"I'm not saying that I will fight simply because I don't want the small beastmen to die. If I engage in battle with them, someone from my clan or Kinzelo will definitely come."

[How would the Runcandel and Kinzelo know that you are fighting?]

"There is only one magic swordsman in the world who utilizes shadow force and thunderbolts. And I am the Runcandel's flagbearer, and the Kingdom of Zhan is the domain of the Huphester. Moreover, the land of the beastmen is within the territory of Kinzelo, so they have more than enough justification to participate."

If Jin were to engage in combat with the Spectres near the cave, there was no reason for the Runcandel and Kinzelo to sit idly by.

Jin planned to orchestrate a battle with the Spectres as grandly as possible, in order to provoke the participation of both forces.

'The key is whether I can hold out against the five members of the Spectres corp until reinforcements arrive from my clan and Kinzelo. And I must do so while protecting the small beastmen.'

But as long as he could hold out, he could save everyone. No matter how powerful Zipfel might be, they couldn't afford to cause a commotion within the territories of other major powers.

'If the knights of my clan come, it would undermine the purpose of disguising Bellop. It would be seen as a proper accident during my prohibition, and the disciplinary case that the chief of the guardians of civilians is trying to suppress would resurface.'

But that was still better than having all the small beastmen die. If luck was on his side, it could be a problem that could be overlooked.

[But if the Runcandel and Kinzelo don't come to the battlefield?]

"I will find a way to escape and survive. The thousand years that so many people sacrificed for me will not be in vain."

[What is your reason for being so loyal to the small beastmen?]

"Peng once said something like that. Among the small beastmen, regardless of the reason or race, it is a principle to show hospitality to those who have gained the favor of the Felinoids."

[That's just something the small beastmen created among themselves…]

"But even before I met Mr. Neru, I was always welcomed by the small beastmen. I even owed them my life. That's the reason why I am loyal to them. I cannot bear to see my newly started business fail."

Neru looked up at Jin.

"And as I mentioned earlier, the Kingdom of Zhan is the land of the Runcandel. That means it is my land, and running away from here would imply that I am not qualified to be a flagbearer of the Runcandel."