Chapter 335

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Neru closed his eyes as if in deep contemplation.

And it wasn't that he didn't care about saving the small beastmen; on the contrary, he wanted to save them even more than Jin. That's why Neru and the Felinoids tribe had resolved to face death.

As if making a decision, Neru met Jin's gaze.

[...Alright. But you must keep your promise. If it seems like you're going to die, you must escape.]

Jin nodded and took out the ruby.

[Mya!]

Shuri approached with a cheerful cry and rubbed her face against Jin's cheek. In response, Neru's eyes widened.

[Oh my goodness, it's Witch Helluram's cat!]

"I see you recognize her."

[I read in the newspapers of the human world that you travel on a Ruby Cat, but I never imagined it would be Shuri...!]

[Mya, mya-mya-mya, mya!]

Although the meaning was unclear, Shuri also seemed to recognize Neru. They even rubbed their noses together as if they were quite familiar with each other.

Meow, mya, mya, meow...

For a while, they communicated in their own incomprehensible language, which Jin couldn't understand. But simply their cute appearance made the dire situation seem less grim.

While conversing with Shuri, Neru's expression changed incessantly.

When he heard the story of Shuri being abandoned and cursed with immortality by Witch Helluram, his expression darkened. And when he heard about Shuri being left alone in the Black Sea Forest for a thousand years, tears welled up in his eyes.

And he smiled when he heard that she met Jin and left the forest.

It wasn't just Neru's expression that changed. Shuri also had large watery pupils that sparkled and made purring sounds as if feeling delighted.

Neru, having finished the conversation, turned to Jin with a much lighter expression.

[Shuri also endured a terrible thousand years... Jin Runcandel, perhaps even Shuri meeting you was part of Solderet's plan. For moments like these.]

[Mya!]

The reason for Neru's lighter expression was none other than that.

In his opinion, as long as Shuri was present, Jin could escape from the pursuers at any time.

[You didn't need to worry about helping the small beastmen. I'd love to have a longer conversation with Shuri, but for now, it's better to go see them.]

Jin climbed onto Shuri's back.

"Mr. Neru, will you stay here?"

[I have to maintain the barrier, so I can't leave this spot. As I mentioned earlier, head towards the beach over there, find Lulu, and ask her to guide you to a safe place, preferably a cave.]

"Understood."

Just as Jin was about to set off with Shuri, Neru affectionately grabbed Shuri's leg. Jin and Shuri both turned to look at Neru.

[Thank you, Jin Runcandel.]

Neru intended to express his gratitude.

"You're welcome."

Thanks to riding on Shuri, Jin quickly found Lulu.

Lulu looked exactly like Neru, making it difficult to distinguish between the twins upon closer inspection. Neru, Lulu, and Miru, the triplets formed the core of the Felinoids tribe's barrier.

[What, Shuri!? How long has it been, no, how are you even alive...?]

Lulu was also visibly pleased to see Shuri, just like Neru.

However, Jin thought they couldn't have a long conversation, so he explained the situation and expressed his intention to go to the cave. Lulu briefly greeted Shuri and guided Jin back to the Felinoids tribe's cave.

[Once you get to the cave, we'll only be able to maintain the barrier for about 10 minutes at best. Considering the travel time, be careful because the Spectres will immediately come rushing into the cave once the barrier is broken.]

***

During the two days of continuous attacks from the Spectres, there was not a single safe place left in the cave.

Every time the barriers took a hit, the cave would shake or the interior would tremble.

The rocks coated with gold were all shattered, and the tools of the Watertail tribe were completely destroyed.

The small beastmen huddled together under an improvised net hung from the ceiling, trembling in fear.

Thus, the small beastmen could only look at Jin, who had returned, as their savior.

"Jin Runcandel!"

"Jin is here!"

"Wow, he's here. Jin."

Peng, Song, and Darkflame all shouted at the same time. The gaze of the small beastmen fell on Jin in unison.

Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, no one among the small beastmen was seriously injured. Thanks to the net installed by the Felinoids tribe, even the falling rocks didn't cause any harm.

"Is everyone alright?"

"What on earth happened? The earthquakes started soon after you followed the Felinoids tribe... The cave is blocked!"

The cave was blocked not because of the attack but because of the barrier.

"Zipfel's mages are attacking the Felinoids tribe's barrier. The barrier will be breached in 10 minutes. Everyone needs to escape. Gather only what is absolutely necessary as quickly as possible!"

Jin briefly explained the imminent danger.

Why the mages of Zipfel were attacking this place, and how the Felinoids tribe was defending against them.

Naturally, he also conveyed the fact that the cause of the attack was himself, but the small beastmen didn't hold him accountable at all.

"It's okay, Jin. We...we can handle it. And run away..."

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Don't open your mouth until it is safe! Get ready to run! See? Everyone, there must be someone who realized that our cosmetics business was going to explode? Soon enough, Zipfel, Vermont, and Kinzelo will come after us!"

Peng clenched his fist and spoke.

"That's right."

"We made a contract with you at such a ridiculous rate precisely for times like this. Seeing that you didn't run away alone, it proves that it was a good contract."

Peng deliberately spoke as if it was no big deal.

He didn't want the other small beastmen to become more anxious. Peng had a strong intuition that the situation was grave.

"When the barrier collapses, Zipfel's mages will either enter the cave directly or come close by. I'll buy you some time, so all of you need to escape."

There were a total of about 150 small beastmen inside the cave.

Jin wanted to save them all.

Thinking about how to make that possible was futile. The reasons behind the Spectres' attack, their intentions, and everything else were still unknown.

He needed to know what the enemy wanted in order to respond properly.

'It's more likely that their goal is to ruin my business rather than sniffing around Temar's Tomb. Moreover, I was a wanted criminal of the Lutero Magic Federation until last year. From Zipfel's perspective, it must have been intolerable for someone like me to boldly advertise cosmetics in their territory."

It wasn't just a matter of being intolerable. Since the start of the advertising campaign, most of Zipfel's elders had been consumed by anger and couldn't sleep at night.

That was why Zipfel dispatched the elite secret mage division, the Spectre Corps.

Recently, Zipfel's elders had developed unfavorable feelings towards Runcandel.

Not only did they make Jin, a wanted criminal of the Lutero Magic Federation, their flagbearer, but they also dared to advertise cosmetics in Zipfel's territory.

Therefore, the assault on the cave was a justified action.

'If I play my cards right, I might even be able to take advantage of this situation. If I can rescue only the small beastmen... I might be able to use my clan as a shield for my business in the future.'

Crack! Crack!

Amidst the small beastmen busily gathering their belongings, an unexpected noise of something tearing and exploding occurred.

It was the sound of the invisible barrier of the Felinoids tribe being breached.

After the sound of the rupture, cracks appeared in the air out of nowhere. From those cracks, a powerful flow of mana could be felt.

It was the mana of the Spectre Corps.

"Hey, Jin! Our partner! After you save us, you must definitely escape too!"

Swoosh!

Jin drew his Sigmund.

"Why worry about me? When the barrier collapses, run straight to the entrance. Judging by the flow of mana, it seems like the enemies enter into the cave immediately after breaking the barrier. Now, go. Run to the entrance. Once you're out of the cave, request protection from the Runcandel through the Zhan Kingdom. Mention that it's an order from the 12th flagbearer."

When the barrier breaks, the sealed entrance of the cave will open.

"Got it. You promise to come back alive, alright? And don't even think that we'll blame you if we suffer because of you. It's not entirely untrue, but we already decided to accept this level of danger when we decided to work with you in the first place."

"Jin, don't get hurt, thank you!"

"It's not 'thank you,' it's 'thank you very much!' Alright, enough with the pleasantries, let's go, you Watertails! We're just going to be a hindrance to our partner."

"Excuse me."

"It's not 'excuse me,' it's 'I'm sorry'... Never mind, let's go, let's go!"

The Golden snow tribe nudged the Watertails forward.

Jin couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

Despite having every right to resent him, seeing the small beastmen not blaming Jin made him think that it was a good decision to come to save them.

As the small beastmen ran away, they looked back at Jin several times.

Even though they were completely ignorant of mana, they could still feel it.

They felt the tremendous power flowing into the cave as the barrier broke.

'The mana felt beyond the barrier... I expected it, but there's no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.'

Three members of the Spectre Corps.

They were no less formidable than three Black Knights. It wasn't an easy task even for Luna to confront the three Black Knights all at once.

For Jin at this moment, it was obviously impossible.

However, Jin decided that there might be a chance.

Beyond just buying time, there might be a chance to inflict significant damage on the Spectre corp or even kill them.

'They don't know I'm here.'

No matter how formidable the Spectre Corps was, they couldn't predict that Jin was inside the cave.

Of course, the Spectre Corps could respond perfectly to unexpected variables.

If the enemy was "strong" in the common sense, they could handle anything.

Swoosh...!

Shadow force extended from Jin's body, rapidly spreading throughout the cave and enveloping it like a curtain. The shadow force expanded so quickly that it filled the cave, concealing Jin completely.

It was the shadow force release, spread out to erase his presence. Jin, covered in shadow force, looked like a shadow among the various shadows spread on the cave walls.

Jin remembered the day when he terrorized the Moonlit tavern in Mamit when he was in the Intermediate class.

The attack Jin was about to attempt now was the same as back then. Concealing his presence and energy completely with the shadow force and unleashing it at an unexpected moment.

Back then, he had spent hours gathering shadow force while sitting in an inn room, but now, this amount of time was more than enough.

Especially in such a confined space like this.

Creak, rustle...!

The barrier began to crumble completely.

Whoosh!

And within the shadow force curtain, a small spark ignited.

That spark was the reason Jin erased his own presence.

Even if they were members of the Spectre Corps, they couldn't perceive the mana of that small spark beyond the barrier and the shadow force curtain.

That spark was the ignition point of Runcandel's Magic Sword: Secret move.

'I'll finish them off in a single strike as soon as they arrive. Even the Spectres won't come out unscathed if they are hit by a surprise attack.'