C461

"However, this was not Bouvard"s voice."

Bouvard"s voice is congested, as if clogged with oil clumps, and it didn"t match his nervous tone.

And it was a woman"s voice, with a touch of innocence but tinged with anger.

It wasn"t Margiela"s voice either.

"So, who could it be?"

Someone else from Kinzelo?

Or maybe Amela?

Jin had his doubts, but at that moment, a huge, dense sphere formed, from which Bouvard"s figure emerged with an open mouth.

Members of the powerful factions, who were not even affected by mental attacks, didn"t get scared but deployed their protective shields as Bouvard"s figure suddenly manifested.

They were the elite, impervious to various forms of mental attacks, so they remained calm even when facing something new.

Bang!

Bouvard"s breath expanded rapidly, creating a powerful and deafening sound, as if it could explode at any moment.

It was evident that a ma.s.sive force was about to be unleashed.

Just before the breath burst, the protective shields of the elites shone intensely.

The first place where the breath hit was where the Runcandels were stationed.

"Haaahh!"

The man at the front of the Runcandel formation shouted and released a powerful aura.

The man screamed as if he had split the breath in half with his shout.

It was because the breath was cut in half even before the sound resonated, but in reality, the man"s sword struck the breath.

Interestingly, he was armed with a sword and a shield, unlike the usual Runcandels, and exuded tremendous energy with each shout.

"Runcandel sent the older brother Vigo."

Vigo Runcandel, Cyron"s fourth son and the Sixth Flagbearer of the Family.

Behind him were the Runcandel Guardian Knights and two Execution Knights who deployed their protective shields.

Jin thought Joshua would have come in person.

"Is he busy with something else?"

Amela was one of the few remaining significant neutral forces, so Jin had antic.i.p.ated that the major factions would send their standout members.

In other words, they would send someone from the major Flagbearers.

Vigo wasn"t lacking, but this situation required sending an opponent worthy of Runcandel"s top Flagbearer.

However, when Jin looked towards the Zipple faction, he realized they hadn"t sent their Flagbearers either.

"Midor Elner...?"

Jin identified him first.

The breath attacking Runcandel suddenly shifted towards Zipple, obscuring others, but there seemed to be no one of higher rank.

Midor was Kelliark Zipple"s illegitimate son and had come to rescue Myuron Zipple during the Colon genocide.

"He has to pay some debts."

At that time, Jin had almost lost his life because of the power of Kelliark, "s.p.a.ce Explosion," unleashed by Midor.

The memory of that day flashed in Jin"s mind, and he instinctively clenched his teeth.

He had gone through quite a bit of trouble back then, but in the end, Midor had unintentionally been the one to help Jin.

Thanks to Midor, Jin had learned that Kelliark could "split" s.p.a.ce.

Jin also surveyed Kinzelo and the imperial family personnel.

Apart from the gigantic figure of Bouvard, there were no familiar faces from Kinzelo that Jin recognized.

The imperial family troops concealed their faces, but they seemed to be formed only by a special group and the Imperial Guard.

Hairan had been unable to partic.i.p.ate recently due to terrorism and political pressure; at the very least, leaders of the major families of the empire or individuals of equivalent status should have attended.

However, only regular members had come.

Of course, the individuals from each faction currently on the Gaifa Islands were undoubtedly figures who could influence any part of the world.

However, there was a clear sense that representatives were missing in this meeting of the four major factions where they were supposed to properly confront each other.

[Hey, Kid. Didn"t you tell me you"d use me as a halo?]

Murakan spoke.

Now, Bouvard"s breath was heading towards the imperial family troops after striking Kinzelo, and Murakan even laughed as he saw it.

[What kind of thing is that? I"ve never seen anyone release their breath like that. And it weakens with each collision, which is even funnier. Anyway, I don"t think you need to use me as a halo in front of these guys. It"s a shame, but honestly, you"re better than those people, aren"t you?]

"It"s an insult to compare them to our lord."

[At first, you looked like a snake. But you"re also quite skilled at flattery].

"Thank you, Murakan-nim. But, in my opinion... I have a feeling that the people who should have come here originally are gathered elsewhere."

Jin nodded at Lata"s words.

He thought the same.

"There is a much more important figure somewhere else than Amela here...!"

Otherwise, it was impossible that only people like Vigo were gathered here.

Jin couldn"t think of any other figure he should conquer besides Amela.

Jin felt like he had been hit hard on the back of his head.

[Eh? So the guys who should be here are gathered somewhere else?]

"There is something more important than Amela. Right now, I can"t even guess what or who it is."

[So you"re saying we"ve wasted our chance by coming here to the Gaifa Islands, right? Without even starting anything?]

Meanwhile, the giant Bouvard was regaining his breath once again.

"You can"t be sure of that."

[Why?]

"So we need to clear out here as quickly as possible because only lower-level members are gathering here, and then go to where they are."

[By then, they might have secured something more important than Amela.]

"That"s a matter of luck. But, haven"t we had enough luck lately?"

The giant Bouvard moved very slowly even when he shot the first breath and while preparing the new one.

However, despite that, the various factions struggled to respond quickly to Bouvard"s actions.

They couldn"t counter properly.

Warriors shot their sword energy from where they stood, and mages cast long-range attack spells...

But most of them had little power compared to the level of Bouvard"s figure.

Most of them were unable to unleash their full potential due to some kind of obstacle.

Extraordinary individuals like Vigo and the Execution Knights protected those who couldn"t fight.

Moreover, they hadn"t even acknowledged the presence of Murakan and his group, floating in the sky.

The dense energy, breath, and protective shields clashed, and dust clouds billowed wildly, and skilled individuals had no time to rest because they were constantly safeguarding their people.

"My lord, except for a few, everyone seems to be moving as if they"ve been poisoned or driven to madness."

"Undoubtedly due to the proliferating black energy. Like the ones we saw before on the island, it completely drives anyone below 7 stars insane."

Lata and Fey explained.

"Lata-nim, isn"t it some kind of poison or hallucinogen?"

"That"s right, my lord. Initially, I a.s.sumed it wasn"t drugs due to the lack of a persistent smell, but the color and scale of the phenomenon indicate that if it were poison, there would definitely be a distinct smell. There are few toxins that produce this color."

Murakan had lowered his flying alt.i.tude to avoid exposing himself to other factions.

So he thought it was better to minimize his presence and remain hidden from other factions.

However, as they approached the expanding muddy mist centered around the giant Bouvard, something changed in the Proch brothers.

"Kugh!"

"My lord...!"

Lata and Fey suddenly grabbed their heads.

They also released the scales from Murakan"s back, groaning in pain as if something was torturing them.

They had released protective shields as a precaution when approaching the muddy mist, but it seemed to be of no use.

"Lata-nim! Fey?"

Jin grabbed the two who were about to fall.

Only a few seconds had pa.s.sed since they approached the muddy mist, but the Proch brothers had turned pale and were sweating as if it were raining.

"Wake up!"

[Eh, eh, what"s going on with you two all of a sudden?]

"Murakan! We need to get away from the energy... Huhh!"

Swish!

Slash!

Something sharp grazed the collar of Jin"s coat.

He reacted quickly and dodged the blow, which only scratched the front of his neck, but sharp claws were aimed at his throat.

It was Fey"s claw.

Jin"s dilated pupils reflected the gradual change in Fey"s skin color. Her skin had changed, and now it had an astonishing resemblance to the tone of the giant Bouvard.

And then, Fey tilted her head with all her might.

It wasn"t her intention; it was her last act to convey a message.

After that, Fey completely lost her sanity.

"Waaaah!"

Fey attacked again, and Jin threw a punch with all his strength to knock her unconscious.

Jin felt his fist land on her jaw, but Fey kept attacking as if she hadn"t been harmed at all.

Next to them, Lata was bent over and trembling.

He was unable to grab onto Murakan"s back scales.

He kept struggling against the muddy mist.

Unlike Fey, Lata"s resistance was greater due to his greater achievements as a warrior, but he seemed extremely precarious, as it was unclear when he would give in.

"Ugh... M-My Lord!"

"Lata-nim!"

"There"s something... in my head!"

At that moment, Murakan ascended and escaped from the muddy mist.

[Well, what the h.e.l.l? Kid, do you think they"ve finally regained common sense?]

The expressions and skin color of Lata and Fey returned to normal at the same time, but the brothers still panted and seemed deeply shaken.

What is this murky mist?

What is its nature?

Why does it only affect Lata and Fey?

And it completely ignores protective shields.

It"s not poison as the Proch brothers said.

Because Jin"s Thousand-Poison Antidote showed no reaction.

However, the murky mist exhibited similar effects to those of a potent drug or hallucinogen, so it looked more like an incredibly powerful poison or narcotic.

Even the most outstanding members of each faction were not entirely free from the influence of the muddy mist.

In other words, only Jin and Murakan were unaffected by the muddy mist on Gaifa.

It has affected everyone, but it can"t harm us, neither me nor Murakan.

A word pa.s.sed through Jin"s mind.

"d.a.m.n!"

Of course...

The murky aura enveloping the entire island was the energy of a curse.

That"s why only Jin and Murakan, the Contractor and the Black Dragon of Solderet, remained untouched.

"Lata and Fey are cursed. Once I send them away and move alone, I"ll have the advantage among all the factions in this situation."

Therefore, he was about to tell Murakan that they should fly to another island.

[Oh, what is this! Suddenly!]

Suddenly, the muddy mist spread like tentacles from Bouvard.

Murakan easily avoided the mist, but...

But the Proch brothers jumped into the muddy mist as if possessed by a spirit.

The tentacle-shaped muddy mist transformed into something like a cradle, wrapped around the brothers, and pulled them inside.

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