Chapter 294
C294 - Power and Reverence for Power (5)
"I clearly gave you the opportunity to give the order to retreat, fourth flagbearer. I am disappointed," Barton spoke with a cold look on his face.
There were more casualties. The guardian knight who lost his right arm was surrounded by Magicians and was at risk of dying. The infiltration group attempted to save him, but their approach was deterred by a spatial explosion.
"Do not expect me to speak in your favor, fourth flagbearer."
"All guardian knights, retreat!"
Barton was about to shout those words when he felt Jin approaching.
"Twelfth flagbearer?"
"Sir Barton, I apologize for the delayed support. I stayed on standby because I did not receive any orders."
"You should have stayed on standby. This mission has failed. We must retreat, so return to your position."
"What is the reason for the retreat?"
Jin's provocative question made Barton's eyes dangerously gleam. So, you dare to show me your attitude because you too are a flagbearer, is that it? That was the message his eyes conveyed.
On the other hand, Dyfus felt a strange sensation. It was a mix of anticipation for the possibility of Jin offering a brilliant solution and the humiliation of his own powerlessness.
"It is due to the spatial explosion. We have lost all aerial capabilities because of that spell. We cannot continue the battle," Dyfus responded.
The three took a step back as Beradin triggered a spatial explosion between them.
"It clearly seems dangerous."
Jin looked up at the sky.
Beradin did not react upon seeing Jin. He simply continued forward, flying across the battlefield on a red dragon and spraying spatial explosions all around.
Jin, on the other hand, maintained his composure.
"Do you have any solution?"
"Fourth flagbearer, stop playing dumb. What could the twelfth flagbearer do in this situation?"
"I can suppress the spatial explosion." Jin cut Barton off abruptly.
Dyfus could not believe what he was hearing.
Barton shuddered and turned his head. "What do you mean by that, twelfth flagbearer? Can you be held accountable for your words?"
"If the spatial explosion is suppressed, can you continue the mission?" Jin looked directly at Barton and asked.
Barton concealed his dilemma. He remained silent for a moment but soon nodded. "If that is possible, execute it immediately. The guardian knights cannot hold on any longer."
As far as Barton knew, the spatial explosion was impossible to neutralize.
If this young brat could neutralize it, then all those martial artists who challenged Keliac and ended up having their bodies explode all these years would have lost their bodies in vain.
But Barton couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that Jin might succeed, as Jin had proven himself through various adversities and miracles since his cadet days.
Barton was the only spy of the Runcandel clan who reported directly to Keliac.
And yet, he didn't even get to hear how the Zipple restrained him in Bentica.
So when he saw the spatial explosion, he thought it was a brilliant tactic because no other spell could be more fitting to provide a reason for retreat. It also shocked him horribly that Keliac had shared his divine fire powers with Beradin.
If the twelfth flagbearer manages to neutralize the spatial explosion, the plan will be compromised. If the tide of battle changes significantly, he probably should guide the Zipple to retreat instead.
Barton formulated his plans.
Meanwhile, Jin began casting spells.
Fwoosh. Blue flames extended from Jin's hands. All the Magicians in the air focused their gaze on Jin. They could feel the unique strength of the blue flames.
"Gaaaah!"
It was Tess, the master of the fire realm. Tess burst through the dimensional gate and screeched.
Now he was much larger than before Jin crossed Lafrarosa. He looked like a dragon as he flapped his gigantic wings, but the force he carried was incomparable to the measly red dragons surrounding him.
Tess's strength had grown due to Jin's increased mana.
The Magicians had no time to react. The pressure of the blue flames already covered the sky. A thousand veins of blue flames writhed above their heads, creating a circle so large that it immediately encompassed the entire battlefield.
The air became heavy. It was not just a matter of expression. The battlefield was literally pressed down by the pressure of the flames.
The dragons struggled more to flap their wings, and the Magicians had to control their breathing and release their mana.
On the other hand, the guardian knights did not have to fight against the weight of the pressure. Tess could perfectly control every tiny ember of his blue flames, which now spread across the entire battlefield in a way that ensured Jin's friendly forces suffered no harm.
But from their enemy units, Kozec seemed unaffected despite being exposed to the pressure more than any other unit.
"It's done, Sir Barton. Let's proceed with the mission."
Barton didn't have to ask Jin what he meant. Tess's introduction immediately stopped the spatial explosions.
Barton wasn't a Magician, but he could tell that it wasn't the sudden introduction of the phoenix that made Beradin stop casting spells.
It was the region of the absolute blue flames.
No flame from Shinu could penetrate them unless it was launched by Keliac Zipple himself.
Indeed, the region of the blue flames posed no restriction to other ordinary flame spells that did not derive from the powers of Shinu.
Similarly, Tess's flames couldn't target Beradin either. Anyone, even those unaware of the fire and Shinu realms, could tell that the blue flames did not extend towards Beradin.
The debris falling from the clash of sword waves and cannon fire turned blue under the pressure flames.
"Fourth flagbearer, please retrieve the wounded guardian knights. And as for Sir Barton."
Jin looked up and located Beradin.
The red dragon carrying him flew toward Kozec. Tess's appearance deactivated his spatial explosions, which in turn made it impossible to ensure Beradin's safety outside of Kozec.
Beradin did not turn his gaze towards Jin. There was an empty hatred in his eyes, still shining in red.
"Make sure not to lose Beradin Zipple. This is the last chance we'll have to cut his throat."
Barton had only one option left. To attack Beradin Zipple with all his might. Any hesitation would be an acknowledgment of his own betrayal. For now, he had to leap forward with everything he had.
None of the Zipples present on the battlefield were aware that Barton was their own spy.
Sir Barton would never kill Beradin, although he would pretend to give it his all.
This was the reason why Jin had Barton take the lead against Beradin, and not Dyfus.
Securing the lives of the guardian knights was assigned to Dyfus, who genuinely fought for the Runcandels.
And securing Beradin's life was assigned to Barton Vichena, who fought for the Zipples.
"Protect the young master!"
"Stop the Black Knight!"
It was almost impossible to stop a ten-star knight leaping in the air without the ability of spatial explosion.
All sorts of attack magic fell like a cascade, but Barton deflected their efforts and secured his path of attack with nothing but blade waves.
The faces of the Magicians turned horrified as they saw Barton soar in the air with blade waves.
But even Barton couldn't reach Beradin in a straight line, through the shortest possible distance. It was no easy task to follow the flight course of his red dragon, and the Magicians fought more desperately as he approached.
"All phoenix contractors, summon your phoenixes! Groups one and two, take down Jin Runcandel. The rest, block the Black Knight! He must not reach the young master!"
A commanding Magician aboard Kozec shouted, causing several dimensional gates to open in the sky.
To the sky of Bentica, currently plagued with blue flames, blade waves, countless spells, and falling debris from the mixture of all these energies, about thirty phoenixes joined in.
Energies of various colors swirled together, making the sight blurry.
Magicians without enhanced vision could not see anything beyond the barriers of their shields, and the guardian knights did not dare to brandish their swords.
Gaaah, gaaaawk!
Tess cried out towards the newly summoned phoenixes.
If Murakan were here, he would have mocked them, saying that humans were foolish enough to summon phoenixes to attack the master of the fire realm.
Jin chuckled. This made no sense.
The Magicians only saw Tess as the most powerful phoenix. Not many were aware that Tess was the sole absolute sovereign of the fire realm.
This was something only the gods who had been in the fire realm or those close to beings of such status knew.
Unfortunately, none of the White Night Magicians aboard Kozec were such figures.
There were also several renowned phoenixes among the summoned ones, but they could only roam the sky, unable to follow the will of the Magicians.
It was clear that they were afraid.
That's why all the phoenixes from groups one and two, which were supposed to attack Jin, ended up heading towards Barton. Given the urgency of the situation, the Magicians had no time to investigate the phenomenon.
This was what Jin wanted. The thirty phoenixes would serve the purpose of making Barton's false threat seem real.
If all went well, Barton could receive a good amount of damage and fall to the ground.
Barton was covered by the flames of the phoenixes and was completely blocked from view. Similarly, the flames also covered Beradin, making him disappear from sight, and only the wing or tail of the red dragon briefly appeared and disappeared from time to time.
Amidst all this chaos, Kozec prepared to fire its cannon. It was aiming at Tess.
"Fourth flagbearer!" Jin shouted loudly, causing Dyfus to immediately turn his head. He had just returned to his position after taking the wounded guardian knights away from the battlefield.
Jin pointed at the cannon with his finger. He gestured for him to take it out. It was not something a twelfth flagbearer should ask of a fourth flagbearer, but Dyfus rushed to defend against the threat without complaining.
He knew that neither Barton nor he were the targets of this operation. Jin was.
He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. Dyfus was not someone who made foolish decisions out of ego.
"Anyway, how did you neutralize the spatial explosion? Was it Tess's power? Why didn't you get involved immediately if you had such powers?" It sounded like he was complaining, but in reality, Dyfus had never appreciated his younger brother as much as he did today.
Jin responded coldly. "Shouldn't you say thank you first?"
"It's just that I wasn't accustomed to these scenarios. Thank you. And I mean it."
"Keep blocking the cannon fire until Sir Barton returns or falls to the ground. The spatial explosions will start again the moment Tess is summoned after taking a hit from that cannon."
Dyfus nodded.
Jin assumed a stance and prepared to cast another spell. Now was the time to turn the tide of the battle.
And to think that the first time he would cast this spell would be against the Zipples.
The Decimating Flame Orb Of The Dark Sky: The Final Version (멸살암천화염옥 최종형).
Jin was preparing to cast Riol Zipple's legacy.
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