Chapter 531

As soon as he saw his friend who ran to him at once, the blood flowing from Dante's eyes seemed to have lightened a bit.

Dante couldn't take his eyes off Jin for a while as if time had stopped.

The inner hatred, madness, bloodstained and destruction seemed to subside quickly.

It was like that when you were at a dead end and realized that you had someone to rely on.

Dante didn't want Jin to come to this quagmire, but that was solely based on the judgment that it was the right thing as a friend.

In fact, he wanted Jin to fight alongside him more than anyone else.

If the situation were reversed, he would have gone to help Jin with everything at stake.

 "... Jin, you came."

"You're talking as if it's a surprise. Yeah, it's me."

Thunk!

Dante dropped to his one knee and sat on the floor.

As soon as he saw Jin, the feeling of exhaustion hidden in anger began to shake his whole body.

His bones rattled even when he was still, and black blood flowed from every pore in his face.

For Jin, it was hard to believe that Dante had been standing with his body until just now, and that he had even fought.

"Did you intentionally try to die, Dante?"

"To my shame."

"Do you have any intention to live now?"

Dante nodded his head.

"I was worried about what to do if I had to knock you out again, but fortunately."

"If you hit me in my current state, I could die."

"Anyway, you held up well. Rest for a bit, until you can fight again."

Jin smirked and helped Dante to get on Shuri's back. Dante, riding on Shuri, alternated his gaze between Jin and the battlefield for a while, then nodded.

As his friend puts it, he realized that there must be a next time.

"… Thank you."

When Jin signaled, Shuri spurred forward towards the Sword emperor Castle.

Enemies did not dare to stand in front of Shuri due to the terrifying mana beams shooting from her eyes and swinging front paws.

The top-level healing priests of the Holy Kingdom, brought along by Jin, were waiting inside the sword emperor castle.

"...It's the first time I've seen you grow up, Sir Jin Runcandel."

"First of all, I would like to thank you for waiting. Leader of the Dragon King Knights, Sir Jonsina Perral."

It wasn't about not interrupting his conversation with Dante just now.

Jin believed that Jonsina intentionally didn't kill Dante and waited for him.

Judging by Dante's condition, Jonsina could have put an end to him within five minutes.

Although there was a secret technique after staking his life, the moment it was executed, Dante's death was indeed certain.

In that case, Jonsina planned to somehow knock Dante unconscious before the secret technique was executed and send him back to the Sword Emperor Castle.

In other words, Jonsina had no intention of killing Dante, and Jin was curious about the reason.

"It is bitter. I never thought a man like you would abandon his faith and join the Emperor's tyranny. In the meantime, what's the meaning of trying to save Dante? Guilt? Hypocrisy? I hope it's not such a lukewarm reason."

"I am a knight of the Empire."

It was a statement with many meanings.

Jonsina, as a knight of the Empire, simply chose the path that could save the most people. As a knight of the Empire, there was no better choice than that.

The reason he tried to save Dante was to hope that the fire named Hairan would not be completely extinguished like this.

As long as Zipfel was with them, Hairan would never win this war, so he hoped that the fire would restore the empire again in the future.

If it were Dante Hairan, he could certainly do that. He would be able to transcend hatred and vengeance, eventually choosing the shining justice. Jonsina was convinced of that.

Jin easily deciphered the underlying meaning.

"Looks like Zipfel threatened to destroy the empire if the empire didn't hand over the white stone."

Jonsina didn't answer.

For whatever reason, he stood as the enemy of the sword emperor castle, and it was a right choice considering the welfare of the people, but by no means an honorable one.

"Your choice was wrong, sir. Do you have any intention of correcting that choice even now? Dante and I will never give up on Hairan."

"I don't know about you, but I don't think the entire Runcandel will help the Sword Emperor Castle."

"If the white stone is valuable enough to move the entire Zipfel, then the Garden of Swords won't stand still either."

"Even if that's the case, I don't wish for a future where the Empire becomes the battlefield between Runcandel and Zipfel. The civilians are not as accustomed to death as the martial artist. Protecting their lives is the sole duty of an Imperial knight."

"I will respect that."

A person's life represents everything about them.

As far as Jin knew, the human named Jonsina Perral was never a person who made bad choices for personal desire or survival.

Nevertheless, choices always came with consequences.

Pzzzr!

Sigmund was dyed blue with lightning energy.

Jonsina's greatsword emitted a stronger light than before and resonated.

The two charged at each other at the same time.

As soon as their weapons clashed, the ground shook, and shockwaves rippled out.

The nearby imperial troops hurriedly set up a protective shield, but not many could handle the lighting bolts mixed with the shock wave.

It seemed like flashes of light were emanating from various places.

With each clash, the flashes that illuminated the surroundings were nothing but the afterimages created by the movement of the two swords.

For those who couldn't ascend to their level, the only moments they could confirm their battle were when the swords collided, engaging in a contest of strength.

'Is it really the imperial sword?'

Jin couldn't see any gaps.

Jonsina was also thinking the same thing, clashing swords with Jin.

'I've heard that the 12th flagbearer's martial arts is remarkable but...… but is it to this extent? It is impossible to overpower him. The fight will be prolonged.'

However, Jin had no intention of prolonging the fight.

Jonsina was certainly a strong person, but he wasn't the core of this war. Jin had a hard time fighting him, and if he expended too much strength, he couldn't handle the next one, Zipfel's soon-to-be reinforcements.

In the first place, no matter how great Jin's power was, it was absolutely impossible to defeat Zipfel's main force with just that. Unless they send only 2nd or 3rd division.

'The emperor would not have started the war with such confidence if he had received support from the 2nd and 3rd divisions.'

Jin had to save his strength in order to stop the swarming enemies and allow Dante and the knights of Hairan to escape.

Whoosh-!

Jin was pushed back, adjusting his posture.

Jonsina closed the distance without hesitation, and at the same time Sigmund stretched forward. At speed and angle that Jonsina couldn't comprehend.

It was Runcandel's 5th secret move, Light Speed ​​Thrust, named after Plutonian.

The thrust seemed to obliterate Jonsina's face, but shortly after, Jin saw that he staggered and readjusted his stance.

The reason Jonsina could evade the Light-Speed Thrust was not due to talent or reflexes. It was an experience. Decades of battling numerous strong opponents had subconsciously caused his head to twist.

However, it could not be completely avoided.

The thrust of the blade took away part of his right cheek and his right ear. Along with the burning sensation of his flesh, a sharp ringing filled his ears. Jonsina almost turned back to see the aftermath of the blade passing by.

'What the hell, a thrust at this speed?'

Obviously it wasn't a fatal wound.

However, the temporary stiffness due to the impact was far more crippling than the injuries he had just sustained.

Jin didn't miss this opportunity; he bit into it, executing the Light-speed thrust once again.

As with all decisive killing moves and secret techniques, the light-speed thrust was a particularly dangerous sword when one was completely unaware of its existence.

For those who reached the pinnacle, they could somewhat cope with the Light-Speed Thrust if they were aware that a thrust at unreasonable speed could emerge from blind spot.

Jonsina attempted to slash by stepping to the side.

No, he was trying to avoid it. If it hadn't been for the lightning bolts that suddenly started at the point of impact of the light speed thrust, it would have been possible to finish the movement.

Whoosh!

He recognized the light-speed thrust, but he didn't think of the specificity of the lightning bolts.

The fact that Jin's light-speed thrust caused an aftershock had already been confirmed in the rear battlefield, but there was not a single person left who could report it to Jonsina. Because everyone died or ran away.

The second thrust that followed pierced Jonsina's shoulder.

Before he knew it, Jin was holding a different sword, Bradamante. As Sigmund performed the second thrust, he threw it and stuck it between the two of them.

It was as if the lightning that rained down ceaselessly was fixed to the floor. Sigmund spewed out lightning bolts until all the surrounding terrain was eroded, and Jonsina let out a scream and raised his energy.

A brilliant light clashed, vivid enough to illuminate the dark battlefield, and through that, a stream of black energy mingled.

Shadow sword 2nd move: Scissors.

Jonsina perfectly blocked one of black blades even when his posture collapsed, but he didn't notice the shadow force rushing from the other side.

Thanks to the exploding aura and strong body, his body was spared from being completely bisected.

But the blade that had pierced his ribs had already reached the middle of his chest.

It was very bitter to cut down a martial artist whom he had admired since childhood.

Jonsina couldn't fight back any longer.

The battle outcome was decided.

"Hai... ran. Please….protect."

He stood on the side of the emperor for the safety of the people of the empire.

Jonsina, facing death, was asking not for the survival of Hairan.

It was not the rationality of an imperial knight, but what he wanted from the bottom of his heart was for Hairan to survive.

Jin did not feel cowardly in his last words. Whether it was due to respect or the fact that his heartfelt wish was for the survival of Hairan, rather than the people, his family, or the Empire, remained unknown.

In the distance behind Jonsina, a group of dragons and flying ships could be seen approaching the Sword emperor Castle. It was Zipfel's force.

Jin confirmed the sight and reassured Jonsina.

"Don't worry, close your eyes, Sir Jonsina. My Runcandel will be stronger than Zipfel."

The moment Jonsina took his last breath.

The other dragons also appeared in the rear of Sword emperor castle on the other side of the Zipfel reinforcements.

Black Dragon and Silver Dragon. And the dragon knights of Hairan.

Murakan and Cuicantelle saved the dragon knights along with the five sword saints of Hairan.