Volume 5 Chapter 116 – Reinforcements (6)
[Translator – jhei]
[Proofreader – yukitokata]
Talaris smiled at her daughter.
‘Summoning Mort without my permission? Well, have fun, my precious daughter.’
She at least wanted her daughter to tell her when she was going to return.
Even more so in a scenario where the Kozak, the Zipfels’ ultimate weapon, slowly circled around them.
Talaris jumped on top of Mort and confronted Jin and Syris.
“I understand your teenage romance in these desperate times, my daughter. But please come back as soon as possible. I can’t hold a long time against that thing. Defending extras makes it more tiring.”
“We just need to get their prophet, Laosa, from Tikan. We’ll return quickly.”
“Hmm, I can see you’re not considering the possibility of my death?”
Syris scoffed.
“If the Zipfels didn’t need this much just to possibly defeat you, there would be no Hidden Palace.”
Syris knew well about the power of the Twilight and Kozak. However, she thought that her mother with the Myriad Ice was stronger.
She heard that even Cyron Runcandel—a demigod—had a hard time dealing with her mother with the Myriad Ice.
‘However, even if she is that strong, fighting many people while protecting the natives would be tough. Also, she can’t kill any of the Twilight Magicians.’
Jin’s thoughts concurred with Syris’s.
‘Talaris cannot kill any of the Twilight Magicians. Killing several Seventh Tower magicians is fine since the Zipfels can just cover it up and not deal with the Hidden Palace. However, killing some of the Twilights is different. That would result in an all-out war.’
Talaris came to the Kollon Ruins as per Kashimir’s request.
But it didn’t have anything to do with going head to head with the Zipfel Clan. It was very disadvantageous for her to drag on the fight to this point.
Despite all this, Talaris—Ruler of the West Sea—decided to help out Jin for one reason.
‘I love his eyes. There was a reason why my daughter looked dreamy after coming back from that Runcandel banquet. I doubt this kid will become the next patriarch. Maybe I can marry him to my daughter and make him our own?’
Talaris stroked Mort’s cheek.
“Alright, go quick. I’ll give you an hour. Until then, I’ll keep everyone alive. Of course, the handsome gentleman doesn’t need to transform into his true form.”
Boooooong!
Mort croaked, and a white portal opened.
“Hold on. If you fall into the Other Snow Garden, then you can never come back.”
Swooop!
The massive body slipped into the tiny portal.
In an instant, they were surrounded by an endless snowfield. Mort was sprinting through the fields, but the wind wasn’t cold at all.
‘It’s another Other World like the Fire Dimension… Does the toad use this space to teleport?’
A fascinating summoned beast. Jin had never heard about it, so he assumed that their reinforcements would come through a transfer gate.
“Mort says that you have a nostalgic scent.”
Syris spoke in a low voice, and Jin tilted his head.
“What?”
“Mort… Tess? Are you the summoner of Phoenix Tess?”
An unexpected question, but Jin was used to it.
‘Soon, everyone would find out that I’m a magic swordsman. Even a summoned beast can identify my magic abilities.’
He didn’t want to hide it.
After meeting in Mamit for the first time and coming to save him in more dire situations, Syris was basically his savior.
Though, he did destroy her in a duel at the banquet last year.
“That’s correct. Fascinating. Do Tess and Mort know each other?”
“They say they were close friends for a long time. Well, I won’t pester you further. Besides, hold on tight. We’re arriving in Tikan soon, and there will be a lot of impact when we re-enter a portal.”
He felt a little awkward, but Jin held onto Syris a little tighter.
“This is why we usually put strangers in Mort’s mouth when we relocate. That’s what happened to Sir Kashimir. No matter how rough the ride, they wouldn’t fall out of Mort’s mouth that way, right?”
“Then why am I not…?”
“Well, you’re the youngest son of the Runcandels, so I should treat you with respect. And get a lot of money out of you rich ones. One wrong move, and the Hidden Palace and Zipfel Clan will become your worst enemies!”
Booooong!
Far away, another dimensional portal opened.
Inside the tear through space, the first port of the Free City of Tikan was visible. Mort pounced towards the tiny crevice.
Flash!
And they arrived. Syris hopped off and dismissed Mort before anyone could see them.
“Now, where do we go?”
“Thankfully, we are near Lady Laosa’s home. What a coincidence.”
They navigated through multiple turns. It wasn’t long until they arrived in front of a small, wooden door.
Knock-knock!
“Lady Laosa! Pan!”
“Ah, at thiz time… Whomm the fu—Oh, Lord Jim? How iz Kollon goin’?”
Pan was drunk, not even sleeping.
Instead, he seemed to be praying with a single lit candle. Beside it lay Laosa on the floor with her eyes closed.
“…I was waiting for you, Lord Jin. It seems the child of the snow came with you.”
With those words, Jin knew that Laosa was reading into his fate.
“Prophet Laosa. Did you know that this would happen?”
Laosa made a bitter mile.
“If I did, then there would not have been many casualties. I only remained here and searched for my god.”
It was only a few days ago when he had asked ‘Are you a god?’ at her immense aura.
But now, Jin felt the diminished divine aura. Still, her presence was different from that of a normal human’s.
“It seems that the Zipfel magicians are destroying the Kollon natives’ land once more, seeing as my divinity is deteriorating.”
“When we killed Myuron, the Zipfel magicians called reinforcements before coming to the ruins. Just now, the Twilight Magicians arrived on the Kozak.”
Laosa nodded.
“You need not speak further. I understand the situation. It seems you need me to speed up the ritual process?”
“That’s right, Prophet Laosa. And each second that passes, the Kollon Ruins is bombarded with more spells and demolished even further. We should go. Quickly.”
“Understood, child of the snow. In that case, may we finish our prayers?”
Jin thought that Syris wouldn’t let them, but she actually let it slide.
“It must be an important prayer. Alright. Jin and I will be waiting outside, so please come out quickly.”
Syris stepped outside and sighed.
“Prophet Laosa, you say. I’ve never felt respect for something that’s not physically strong. That was her diminishing divinity…?”
“It seems you felt her aura as well. When we first met, it was much stronger.”
“I’m starting to get curious after meeting her in person. What the hell is the divine relic that they’re guarding?”
Laosa finished her prayer and exited the house. Syris summoned Mort once more, and the portal opened.
* * *
Reaper Scans
* * *
Right under the Kozak, which covered the entire sky with its massive starboard, thirty minutes had passed since Talaris’s battle with the Twilight Magicians.
And yet, not a single one had fallen.
She was controlling her strength.
‘Phew. I promised that I’d keep them safe for an hour, but this… This is very tiring.’
The initial magicians who came and fought her went into the airship to receive care. Midor and the Twilight Magicians started to cast a spell.
The magician that Jin considered to be a powerful magician, Midor Elner, looked pretty normal amongst the Twilight Magicians.
Fifty 8-stars and two 9-tars. About fifty percent of the Twilight Magicians’ forces. That was the entire troop that came to the Kollon Ruins. It really showed how sensitive they were to the pureblood Zipfels’ plights.
“Please stop, Master of the Hidden Palace! We do not want to hurt you. As long as you hand over Myuron Zipfel’s killer together with the natives, we will leave quietly.” .
There wasn’t a single piece of land intact between Talaris and the Twilight Magicians.
It looked as if a massive beast bulldozed through the land. Buildings had gotten demolished, and the debris scattered everywhere.
They were only threatening her from a distance. Talaris was just deflecting incoming spells, so in reality, it was the Twilight Magicians who were really exhausted.
“If you want to compromise, then call for Kelliark Zipfel.”
“Master of the Hidden Palace! Your tower and the Zipfel Clan do not need to have this fight. To you, this battle is merely a request. But to us, it is for the death of a leader.”
“God dammit. I’m holding back on my urge to kill you, you know?”
About an hour had passed.
‘Are those kids still out on a date? I’ve been having an easy time blocking these magicians because they aren’t going all out…’
Talaris looked up.
The Kozak.
If the Twilight Magicians used their full power, then she wouldn’t be able to fight back as easily.
‘They wouldn’t just use that, right? The Zipfels have something they want buried here.’
If the Kozak’s weapon was used, the Kollon Ruins would be devastated in an instant.
Talaris thought that they wouldn’t use such a weapon on such precious land.
That was until the Twilight Magicians began to activate the weapon with runes.
“You have provoked this action. We have just received full permission from the patriarch.”
The bottom of the airship opened up, and a massive cannon peeked out.
“Huh? Wait—”
As the massive mana cluster charged up, Jin and Syris hurriedly arrived in the Kollon Ruins. Laosa jumped down from the giant toad.
“Look out!”
Talaris shouted, desperation sewn into her voice.
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This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ