REAPER SCANS
Swordmaster’s Youngest Son
[Translator – Junseo]
[Proofreader – Valirius]
Volume 10 Chapter 403 - The Banquet at Sword King Castle (8)
Very few people knew what the gray robes meant. Unlike the Black Knights of Runcandel, the Wraiths Corps weren’t a force that was revealed to the world.
They stood in the middle of the monsters and watched Sword King Castle crumble.
It was as if they were waiting for the walls of the central dueling ground to collapse.
Slowly, they began to approach.
‘Were they waiting near the Sword King Castle to show up and escort Beradin?’
That could be the case.
But Jin felt a strange ominous feeling from the gray robes. As if they were the ones controlling the monsters and living golems.
And he could immediately see that it wasn’t just an ominous feeling.
The living golems were forming a path in the direction they walked.
Ron looked at them with an indifferent look in his eyes. It wasn’t because he found the situation leisurely, but because of the sense of composure characteristic of warriors who had reached the peak.
Whir–!
The staves of the gray robes were filled with red magic.
It was the magic that Jin had experienced for himself at Beradin’s villa near the end of his time as provisional flag-bearer.
—[Watching you losers unleash the Crimson Abyss just to catch a single child, I wouldn’t be surprised if the old Wraith Corps are rolling in their graves right now.]
Misha had said that the name of the magic was the Crimson Abyss.
Huge red spots began to spread across the sky that was soaked in the curtain of shadow energy. The great chain magic that could be referred to as the Wraith Corp’s Decisive Killing Move, the Crimson Abyss. Even back then, it competed against the black dragon’s shadow energy
That day was one of the most dangerous moments of Jin’s life.
That’s why he remembered everything so vividly. The blood-red swords and chains pouring down from the fiery sky, and the feeling of his palms being torn apart when he struck them away.
And there was one thing, a feeling that Jin clearly remembered.
—’Some bits of the process which they’re using to supplement each other’s magic feels shaky.’
This was the feeling he got when he read the flow of the Crimson Abyss cast by fifteen of the Wraith Corps.
And from that, Jin could intuitively tell that the Crimson Abyss was a spell that required more people.
‘But their mana right now is too clean.’
There were six gray robes who had come to Sword King Castle.
Even when there had been fifteen of them, the spell had been shaky, but now just the six of them were casting it perfectly.
And with the knowledge of magic that Jin had, that was impossible.
Since he’d only ever seen it once, and since it was a magic that couldn’t be found in books, at first he thought that the spell they had cast was the Wraith Corps’ Crimson Abyss.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that although it was similar, it was a different magic.
‘They’re not the Wraith Corps. They’re six incredibly skilled mages capable of mimicking the secret magic of the Wraith Corps.’
Jin was the only one who was able to see that fact.
To begin with, there were only a few people among the warriors there who knew of the existence of the Wraith Corps, and they had never directly experienced the Crimson Abyss.
It was possible that it was Zipfel who attacked the Hairan Clan, but they wouldn’t have done so with the Wraith Corps and monsters.
Because it would be an insane thing to do given that their reputation had already taken a hit from the Holy Kingdom Incident.
‘It’s not Zipfel. And out of Kinzelo and Vermont, the former seemed to have a lot more reason to attack Hairan. It’s too strange to see the situation as the emperor keeping Sir Ron in check.’
Kinzelo.
He suddenly got annoyed thinking about what they were planning to do this time.
There had to be a reason for them to go to the lengths to pretend to be a secret force of Zipfel to create this atmosphere.
Rumble…!
The air was vibrating from the magic of the gray robes. From the red spots in the sky, red swords and chains made of mana rained down.
Though it wasn’t anything compared to the Wraith Corps’s real Crimson Abyss. Since this was a chain magic spell cast by mages of similar level to the Wraith Corps, it had tremendous destructive power.
Murakan and the dragons couldn’t stop them all. If that had been the only thing they needed to block, it would’ve been possible, but they were still busy dealing with the giant monsters on the ground constantly firing mana cannons.
“It feels a bit odd to use my powers in Vermont, but it looks like I have no choice.”
Eventually, Quikantel decided to transform into her true form and use the power of time.
[Enya, you cast the Dragon Fire Barrier. And don’t go too far from me.]
“Yes…!”
Quikantel didn’t fly, but instead fired her power into the sky. The silver waves that were cast from her forehead continued to slow down the chain magic.
With the power of time and the Dragon Fire Barrier being cast, those on the ground could take a breather.
But it was inevitable that the number of deaths would continue to increase. Even among the warriors, there were those who suffered fatal injuries or died instantly.
“Argh—!”
A woman was thrown to the floor, screaming in pain.
“Margiela!”
Vishukel screamed in a blood-curdling shout.
She was caught in the shrapnel of the chain magic and was rolling on the floor with her wheelchair completely broken.
From a while ago, Vishukel had been slashing at anything that approached her without any hesitation in order to protect his younger sister. The flesh and bones of monsters, magic cannons, and chain magic were obvious, but even other people.
Though Vishukel didn’t go around cutting people, anyone who got close enough to be a threat to her, he cut down indiscriminately.
Bouvard was already seriously injured and was barely able to hold himself up behind Vishukel.
While he was mindlessly slashing the monsters, Jin happened to see him.
The fact that Margiela was in a precarious situation actually confirmed his suspicion.
And as if she didn’t care if she was caught, as if she had expected Jin to realize it around this time.
The moment her eyes met Jin’s, Margiela mouthed these words.
‘You will benefit greatly from this, Jin.’
He could read her lips clearly.
The fact that Margiela was so confident meant that Kinzelo had already achieved their goal.
‘…I see, Kinzelo never cared if it was found out that the mages imitating the Wraith Corps weren’t actually Zipfel.’
Jin thought to himself, looking around.
It felt so unpleasant that he had goosebumps, but he wasn’t in a situation where he could head over and confront them.
The number of giant monsters rising from underground showed no signs of decreasing.
Crumple—!
Eventually, the ground collapsed in all directions, making an ominous sound. Every time a black hole formed in the ground, a bunch of people would fall into it and disappear, leaving behind long screams.
However, the desperate efforts of the knights and warriors of Sword King Castle weren't completely in vain.
More than half of those who were in the central dueling ground had managed to escape.
But since the monsters outside continued to attack the outer wall, safety couldn’t be guaranteed unless they were all finished off.
Who would’ve thought this was an attack by Kinzelo?
Not only was there such little evidence, even if Vishukel’s party were taken and tortured, they wouldn’t confess.
Of course, Hairan, the clan the great man, Ron Hairan, was holding up, would clearly confront the true enemy.
The other small and medium-sized clan that suffered from this attack were in a different situation.
There would be rumors among the victims that Hairan was using Kinzelo as a scapegoat to hide the fact that they were ‘attacked by Zipfel’.
Because they feared Ron, thought they might keep quiet, Hairan’s reputation wouldn’t be what it used to be.
Of course, Zipfel would lend a helping hand to the Hairan Clan that was in a predicament.
Or they could tear Hairan apart by claiming that Hairan was trying to use them after being attacked by a different force, the moment Sword King Castle even asked for an explanation.
Either way, it was a huge loss for Hairan.
‘Sir Ron will refuse help from Zipfel and this incident will end with the Hairan Clan looking like idiots.’
That was what Jin concluded.
So what was Kinzelo trying to achieve from this?
‘A hostile relationship between Hairan and Zipfel. They want the other major forces to take a more active role in taking down Zipfel.’
Perhaps it was a stretch.
But Jin was certain that as long as he managed to find the ‘final piece’, he would be able to solve this problem perfectly.
‘I have to tell Sir Ron what the final piece is!’
The gray robes were withdrawing the chain magic. But that was only to cast a new attack, not to retreat.
A ray of light shot towards the gray robes.
The flash pierced through four giant monsters, killed hundreds of living golems, tore through layers of barriers, and finally pierced the chest of one of the gray robes.
The five gray robes scattered and recast their barrier.
“Did you think I would be fooled if you wore a gray robe? That I would think you were Octavia Zipfel’s subordinates?”
Even though he had already killed over a hundred giant monsters and thousands of living golems, Ron’s aura was growing larger and larger.
The number of monsters or living golems didn’t mean anything to Ron. Just like how no matter how many embers there are, they’re meaningless in the face of a storm.
There was just one reason why he couldn’t bring an end to this situation.
Those who had come to Sword King Castle and those who were guarding it were being held hostage.
This was actually the first time in a while Ron felt so furious. Anger greater than he felt when he admitted defeat in competing against Cyron.
“Ron Hairan, you’re mistaken. Fooling you was never part of our plan in the first place.”
“I’ll tear your mouths apart and find out what that plan is. So, are you done showing everything you have to show?”
The gray robes didn’t answer.
They were planning to destroy the final piece which Jin had thought of.
“Sir Ron!”
Ron turned and looked at Jin.
“There are more pressing things to do than killing them. We must find Beradin!”
“What…?”
“The moment Beradin returns to his clan injured, it’ll be hard to deal with Kinzelo’s schemes from that point onward. Hairan and Zipfel will become definite enemies!”
Ron’s eyes widened at those words.
The countless scenarios that Jin had envisioned happening, suddenly, all at once, flashed through Ron’s mind.
Jin was right.
If Beradin didn’t return safely, no matter how things went from there, Hairan and Zipfel would inevitably become enemies.
Even if Kinzelo feigned ignorance, even if the victims of this situation doubted the Hairan Clan, and even if Zipfel used that to pressure them…
As long as Beradin was returned unharmed, all of those situations could be dealt with.
Although hidden by hoods, Jin felt he could see the puzzled faces of the gray robes. And how the faces of Vishukel’s party, who were pretending to be injured from behind, distorted.
“There’ll definitely be more mages of their level, and they must be after Beradin!”
Ron’s eyes widened.
“Can I leave it to you, Jin Runcandel?”
He had a duty to save his clan and guests who were dying right before his eyes.
“Of course, Sir Ron. It would be an honor.”
Reaper Scans
Translator – Junseo
Proofreader – Valirius
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Read the webtoon on https://reaperscans.com/comics/4050-swordmasters-youngest-son/
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