CHAPTER 275

"I only greeted you after the clan members offended you. I should have been more present." Rosa spoke as she set down her teacup.

She was in Jin's room after receiving the report from the guardian knights.

"Yes, you should have been more present. Don't you think you and your husband should have greeted me when I woke up and came to the Garden of Swords? But the Patriarch left without acknowledging me, and the servants were rude. It made me feel upset in more ways than one."

"I will take measures to ensure that everyone in the Garden of Swords treats you on par with the great elders from now on, Lord Murakan."

Murakan's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of being on par with the great elders.

He was annoyed that he was only treated as a great elder. But Murakan decided not to dwell on the good old times. Not only had he not fully recovered his powers from his prime, but also a thousand years had passed since Temar's death.

When Temar founded the Runcandel clan, Murakan was closer to the heart of the clan than anyone else.

But now, he was almost a stranger. In fact, he was clearly on hostile terms with Rosa, who wielded most of the clan's power.

"Everything is different from a thousand years ago, not just the landscape but also the people. Temar, I miss you, old friend."

Murakan suddenly laughed. "The Runcandels sure have changed."

"It is natural for one to progress with the flow of time."

"Progress, you say. If the Runcandels achieved such progress, the Zipples would no longer exist on Earth. After losing magic, the clan has only lost its power over the course of a thousand years."

"I am but a mortal and can only catch a glimpse of the power of the ancient Runcandels through records. I cannot dare to boast for myself how powerful the Runcandels of old were, so I can only adhere to the traditions and laws of the clan."

"And are you not aware that those same traditions and laws stemmed from the humiliating pact we have made with the Zipples?"

"Yes, I am aware of that."

"Then why does the majority of the clan try to exclude the one being who can shatter the pact, namely your youngest son?"

Rosa stared into Murakan's eyes for a long while.

"The elders seem hesitant to pass down the final techniques to Jin, and I have been told that you have assigned him an impossible mission from the start. I hope you have an explanation that I can accept," she said.

"Lord Murakan. First of all, to say that Jin is the only person who can break the pact is not true. If someone had enough power to subdue the Zipples, they could always nullify the pact."

"There is a curse in the blood of the Runcandels. The curse seals all mana, and no spell or divine power can neutralize it except for Solderet's power." 𝑅read latest ch𝒂pters at n/𝒐v(e)lbi𝒏(.)co/m

"If Solderet is so all-powerful, why has he abandoned us for the past thousand years? In fact, he had been the guardian of the Zipples."

Murakan had nothing to say to that.

What made a god a god? One only answered to the definition of a god if they protected the humans who served them or did things that were beyond the powers of humans.

In that sense, Solderet had never been a god to the Runcandels after Temar's death.

"Isn't that why he made a contract with his youngest son?"

"A contract may help Jin grow his personal strength, but I wouldn't say it means much for the greater perspective of the entire clan, unless he intends to descend upon us to rid us of the curse. In fact, it's only more likely that we will be pressured by the Zipples for breaking the pact or that we will cause chaos within the clan by undermining our legitimacy."

"It's curious that you mention legitimacy before me."

Rosa touched her teacup.

"That is why the elders hesitated to instruct Jin in the final techniques. Additionally, I believe there is a misunderstanding. I have never given Jin an impossible task to accomplish."

"Continue," Murakan said.

"Assassinating the Black Knight spy will not solely fall on Jin's shoulders. As it is of utmost priority, another competent flagbearer will join him. The Patriarch has revealed his intentions, so I do not wish for the harm to fall solely on Jin. I am also aware of Jin's exceptional abilities."

"For some reason, it seems like you want to utilize those exceptional abilities before discarding him."

"In any case, Jin is in a position where he has to constantly create surprises and shocks. If he cannot, he will never be accepted in the Runcandel clan, even if he is already a flagbearer. Does this explain enough?"

Murakan stared into Rosa's eyes for a while. "Alright. Then let me ask you one last question."

"Please, go ahead."

"Where is Temar's tomb?"

"I don't know. Can I leave now?" Rosa got up before Murakan could respond.

"I will impose severe punishments on the knights who have slighted you, Lord Murakan."

Murakan clicked his tongue after Rosa left the room. "She's not up to Cyron's level, but she certainly has quite some strength."

Then Gilly finally sighed and shook her head.

"Murakan, I had no idea you would directly summon the lady. I don't think you should do it again. The lady is acting on behalf of the Runcandel Patriarch at this moment."

"I know, Strawberry Shortcake. I just wanted to have a conversation with her myself to get an idea of what the boy's greatest enemy is like."

"You have no idea how terrified she was. I was worried the lady might reveal how offended she was."

"I knew she would have some class."

"Anyway, you need to stop embarrassing the lady in front of others. If something goes wrong, she could send you to the clan's courts, even if it's you, Murakan. Oh, God!"

Gilly suddenly shivered and stopped mid-sentence as she looked out the window. She saw Rosa exiting the building and slashing the guardian knights.

The blood of the guardian knights splattered in the intense sunlight shining in the Garden of Swords.

They were the guardian knights who had offended Murakan in their pursuit of Mary.

Rosa's face was expressionless as she took them down. Her sword was swift and precise as it cut off the arms and legs of the guardian knights.

As for the leader of the pack, she severed his head. It fell to the ground, but Rosa didn't even look at it.

Gilly covered her mouth in shock, and Murakan saw her only after it happened.

Obviously, it was a warning to Murakan.

She was warning him that he wouldn't be treated as the guardian dragon of the clan if he summoned her again.

Rosa continued on as if nothing happened, and the servants hurried to retrieve the corpses of the dead and transport the wounded.

----------------------

Gilly told Jin about the bloody scene that had occurred during the day when he returned from his treatment.

"I have never seen the lady punish the guardian knights like that. I'm worried that everyone in the clan might feel intimidated for a while," she said.

"Anyway, they are Joshua's knights. In any case, they would have died or been injured by my hands at some point. But Mother was tough on them. They still served the clan faithfully. She treated them harshly for no reason."

"Do you think she did it out of anger for how Murakan treated her?"

"No, it's not that. Mother's intention is clear. She is trying to warn others in the clan not to meddle with me. She's implying that they could very well be severely punished for the most insignificant things if it involves me."

Murakan chimed in. "I've been thinking about this for a while, but she's no mother. Brat. Things were tough back in Temar's time too, but we still felt affection for our families and our people. We had a strong bond among us."

"We still have those bonds. It's just that the bond is not shared by the whole clan and is only sporadic. Besides, why are you surprised? It's nothing new. Gilly, send condolences and compensation to the family of the guardian knight who died today. Do it discreetly, and don't mention my name."

The dead knight served Joshua, so he was clearly an enemy of Jin's.

But in the broader sense of things, he still belonged to the Runcandel clan. An enemy, but part of the clan. His death was the death of an enemy, but at the same time, the death of someone from the clan.

Therefore, Jin thought it deserved a certain level of respect.

While he didn't need to pay attention to such matters when he killed Joshua's knights in Sameel because he was a provisional flagbearer, now he was a flagbearer.

He had to take responsibility for the deaths of clan members, even if no one acknowledged him for doing so, nor did he desire it to be known. Of course, only in the case where the deceased didn't betray the clan or harm anyone in Jin's vicinity.

"Yes, Young Master. I will take care of it discreetly. And congratulations, I see you have recovered your sword."

"I had to go through mana bomb fields just to retrieve it from Mary. I even seriously considered killing Mary at one point."

"I believe young Lady Mary will become a strong ally by your side, Young Master. And also, Elder Jed sent a message earlier. He wants you to come after the congratulatory delegations leave, Young Master."

"Alright."

After that day, Jin focused on private training without getting involved in any particular activities. Upon returning to the clan, he caused a series of controversial events, so he felt the need to lay low for a while.

Meanwhile, the rumor that Jin had defeated Mary spread throughout the Garden of Swords, and the news of him becoming a flagbearer also circulated in the world.

It was natural for the Garden of Swords and the world to be stirred up once again.

Deano followed Jin's instructions to the letter when writing his articles, while Kuzan and Yulian made sure that Jack Glow, the rabid dog, and Firok, the apostate knight, guided them to the snow-covered ridges in the southeast of the Mytell Kingdom.

Like the eye of the storm, Jin was the only one whose life remained calm.

It was February 15, 1799.

Delegations to congratulate Jin began to arrive at the Garden of Swords. The flagbearers sent to encourage the clans under his control had not yet returned.

Many groups sent delegations, from the martial clans of Hughester to all kinds of neutral factions and even the Vimenth, but Jin refused to receive most of his visitors. In fact, he committed the rudeness of sending them back after accepting their gifts.

"Young Master, are you sure we can continue sending them back?"

Jin nodded in response to Petrow's question.

"I have no urgent need to win favors from those who judge me based on such trivial actions, and those who show generosity despite my rudeness will understand my worth regardless. Above all, I have nothing to give them at this moment. Unnecessarily approaching someone will only accumulate unnecessary debts at this time."

Owing a favor when he himself had nothing to offer meant ending up with great interests to repay.

"I will personally only respond to the delegations from the Delki Kingdom, the McLoran clan, the Bill clan from the Jian Kingdom, and the Holy Queen. Send the rest back after receiving their gifts."

"Understood, sir. I will also make a list of others who show special favor."

"Oh! And let me know if the Volta clan ever sends a delegation. I will also meet with them."

"The Volta clan, sir?"

The Volta clan was one of the poorest noble clans in Hughester. And to say that a clan was poor in Hughester meant that there were no notable martial artists in the clan at all.

Petrow found it difficult to understand why Jin would receive a delegation from such a destitute clan after sending back delegations from powerful and influential clans.

Oh no. I mentioned the Volta clan too randomly. Jin discreetly looked around while Petrow tilted his head in confusion.

Luckily, Gilly and Murakan were busy talking among themselves and didn't hear what he said.

I'll have to come up with a good excuse to tell them if those two ever ask why I was looking after the Volta clan.

Jin cared about the Volta clan because of memories from his past life.

But unlike Murakan and Gilly, Petrow wasn't a companion. He was Jin's subordinate in the clan, and Jin was a flagbearer, which meant he didn't have to persuade him in detail or explain the reasons behind an order.

'I needed Jet to use the memories from my past life in Arkhin, and Sir Kashmir's help benefited me afterward. But now I don't have to do that anymore.'

Jin smiled as he realized it.

"Understood, Young Master. I will inform you immediately when the Volta clan's delegation arrives."