C484

"Hmm! So you thought Jin-nim would win from the beginning and still told me to bet on Mary-nim, Valkas-nim? You even lied, saying that if I had seen Mary-nim"s sword in person, I would have thought the same..."

Tak!

Kashimir put down his gla.s.s and said.

Murakan and Valkas patted him on the back with a chuckle.

"I recently joined Tikan, shouldn"t I make a good impression on Murakan-nim? Jojojo, please understand."

"Anyway, you"re foolishly stubborn, aren"t you? Hey, even if we think the kid will lose, we must bet on him no matter what. Can you boldly bet two thousand gold if it seems like the other side is going to win or not?"

Kashimir"s forehead wrinkled as he saw the two people laughing.

"No, didn"t you order Valkas-nim and me to bet on Mary-nim, Murakan-nim?"

"Oh, now you"re shouting at me. Have you gone mad? Huh? Are you acting like this because you lost the bet and don"t want to give up the money? You, the second richest man in Tikan?"

"When did I shout again! And it"s not about the money!"

"You just shouted again. No, I can"t stand it, little insect. Oh, did you dodge? Come here! Hey!"

As if playing tag, Murakan and Kashimir comically started running, and laughter erupted around them.

"It"s a peaceful show."

Mary said as she watched all this.

After the duel and Cosmos-style awards ceremony, Jin and his companions, as well as Mary and the pirates, were celebrating a light after-party.

They were congratulating Jin on his victory.

Jin was sitting next to Mary, fiddling with the book that Cyron had written himself.

He was still as stunned as the first time he received it.

"It seems like my father is really interested in the elder sister."

Jin couldn"t imagine the sight of his ruthless father writing a training manual for someone.

Even if he tried to force himself to imagine it, he could only vaguely see the man"s back.

"Is Tikan always like this?"

"Most of the time."

"It"s really different from the gloomy atmosphere of the Garden of Swords. By the way, you can"t stop looking at it. Do you really like it that much?"

When Jin turned his head and smiled, Mary burst into laughter as if she couldn"t stand it.

"Even my cold-blooded little brother can make such a silly expression. I thought the only thing you were interested in was fighting like crazy, but this is also quite nice."

Jin adjusted his expression and gently tucked the book into his pocket.

"If you want, I can make you laugh more. What kind of expression should I put on?"

"Suddenly speaking so dryly makes it boring. You have to be a little embarra.s.sed to make it funny."

Clang!

They clinked their gla.s.ses together.

"Little brother."

"Yes, elder sister."

"All the major factions that haven"t gone to the Gaifa Islands are gathered in a desert called Sota. Have you heard of it?"

Mary was talking about the information she promised to tell Jin.

[¡Nyaaa!]

Before Jin could respond, Shuri, who had been lounging between Mary and Jin (they had called her because Mary missed her), let out a shout.

Shuri lifted her body and used the claws of her front paw to draw on the ground the location of the Sota Desert, indicating that she knew where it was, and Mary exclaimed.

"Well, it always happens to me every time I see you, but you"re really smart. Yes, Shuri. It"s there. The desert is near the center of the Lutero Magical Federation."

In the center of the Lutero Magical Federation, not only is the Sota Desert, but also the capital and the headquarters of the Zipple, "Drakka."

The first divisions of the three major factions are gathered near that area.

"What"s happening in that desert?"

"They are producing new Kozecs."

From the moment Mary first mentioned the word "Zipple," Jin had a certain expectation.

"This is the combat ship that Midor summoned with Myuron from that cube."

The highlight here is not the new "Kozec," but the use of the term "Kozecs" in plural.

"...So they are building and ma.s.s-producing giant battleships like Kozecs in facilities located in the Sota Desert."

"Yes, who would have thought they could ma.s.s-produce that?"

"So we have to go and destroy that production facility."

"That"s right."

It was a top-secret mission like no other.

In enemy territory.

Near the headquarters.

It was an attack on a secret facility, and only a very small number of people could be sent back.

Jin immediately began calculating various strategies for the mission.

The solutions were so grim that he had no choice but to grit his teeth.

"When did the clan find out that Zipple was operating a flying battleship shipyard?"

"The clan seems to have known about the shipyard operation for a while. They only found out the exact location shortly after you destroyed the Black King"s Mountain."

"Elder sister, you just said that not only our family but also Kinzelo and the imperial family are waiting in the Sota Desert. So, is it possible that our clan got the information after them?"

"That"s not true. They also got similar information at the same time and hurriedly sent their top executives to the Sota Desert instead of Gaifa. I"m sure about Kinzelo, but the Imperial family may not have sent people to Sota."

"Runcandel and Kinzelo, and the Imperial family got similar information at the same time. This is... clearly a trap."

Jin was convinced.

Zipples deliberately leaked information about the Sota Desert shipyard.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Runcandel, Kinzelo, and the imperial family to send people at the same time.

"Dyfus Oraboni" said the same.

"He probably also said it was a trap we couldn"t avoid."

Mary nodded.

Indeed, it was a trap they couldn"t avoid.

"Attacking the shipyard in the desert right next to Drakka is indeed a crazy idea. Even if we were successful and returned with our best effort, the benefits that the clan and other factions would gain would be minimal. Primarily, we would only consume Zipple"s resources and slightly delay the ma.s.s production of Kozec."

Of course, considering it"s a project to build a battleship, an astronomical amount of resources and manpower could be invested, but it"s not worth top-ranking personnel from each faction, excluding Zipple, risking their lives.

As long as the technology is preserved, they could rebuild the shipyard if it were destroyed.

But they couldn"t allow Kozecs to continue being manufactured.

In this operation, Zipple was effectively starting from scratch, trying to defeat other factions from the beginning.

If they had already lost.

Jin needed to find a way to win as best as possible, and only then could he avoid being defeated next time.

Or even if the clan lost, Jin had to create a situation where he could gain the maximum benefit.

That way, he could use those benefits when the clan finally became his.

What does Zipple want?

Why did they suddenly leak information about the shipyard at this moment?

To lure top-ranking personnel from each faction to the center of the Lutero Magical Federation and eliminate them one by one?

No, that violates the main premise that there would be no large-scale war as long as my father is here.

If the main Flagbearers were to die at the shipyard, it could lead to a large-scale war.

"If they intended to fight properly, they would have first built all the battleships and launched a preemptive attack at an unexpected time instead of revealing the location of the shipyard."

In that case...

What was their intention...?

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

Check.

"Is Zipples trying to check the strength of the representatives from each faction who attacked the shipyard or if they possess any special abilities?"

The Sota Desert was near the capital, Drakka, and Drakka was located in the center of the Federation.

Drakka hadn"t been exposed to any external force attacks in the last thousand years.

Even for Runcandel, it would be nearly impossible to create an infiltration team that could penetrate all border networks to Drakka.

"Attacking the secret shipyard next door wouldn"t be much different. If Runcandel, Kinzelo, or the imperial family manage to infiltrate the shipyard, it"s like Zipple checking the capabilities of external forces."

Kinzelo had the leader, the Legends Golem, and Bouvard; the imperial family had the Demon Men, and Runcandel had Jin, Murakan, and Joshua, the Prophet.

Of all of them, the only one that Zipple might not know exists is the Prophet.

A sharp intuition struck his mind.

"Zipple discovered that Joshua has a special ability and wants to know his power...!"

That"s why they laid out the sweet poison, the trap he couldn"t avoid falling into.

Of course, it could have been an excess.

But if that wasn"t the case, he couldn"t think of any other reason why Zipple would reveal the location of the secret shipyard.

Moreover, it"s very likely that Zipple didn"t include me in their calculations.

I chose to go for Gaifa instead of infiltrating the secret shipyard in the Sota Desert.

"Besides, they would have concluded that Joshua and I wouldn"t be able to carry out a mission together, considering our hostile relationship."

Finally, a faint smile appeared on Jin"s lips, which had been dark all the while.

Once again, it was his role as a variable.

"But, elder sister."

"Yes?"

"Why do you entrust this mission to me instead of going to the Sota Desert yourself? Is it because of the training you mentioned earlier?"

"That"s one reason, but if I had won the duel earlier, I intended to go myself. Sending the strongest increases the chances of Dyfus Oraboni not getting hurt."

Joshua and Dyfus were the two Flagbearers currently stationed in the Sota Desert, waiting for an infiltration.

Mary stood up, emptied her gla.s.s, and said, "It"s time for the losers to leave. This is a letter from Dyfus Orabeoni. The infiltration route is marked in the letter, so follow it. In case something happens to our big brother, I"m counting on you not to let him die."

"Elder sister, wait."

"Hmm? What"s wrong? Trying to thank me for the training manual? Heh, try it five times."

"No, that"s not it. Well, of course, I"m incredibly grateful. Please take a look at this."

What caught Mary"s attention as she tilted her head was a woven green rose.

"Actually, elder sister Yona was here before you arrived. She even confirmed that the ship was yours, but she was too busy to meet you in person, so she asked me to pa.s.s this on to you."

Mary"s eyes sparkled upon hearing a story that contained somewhat well-intentioned lies.

"Ah, really? Yona, that girl?"

"Yes."

"Haha! Yona had such a cute and adorable side! Isn"t she more embarra.s.sed than busy? Alright, I like it. To show my grat.i.tude for her kindness, my next challenge will be in Samil!"

"Elder sister Mary?"

"Cosmos!"

Mary rushed to the railing and shouted the pirate"s name.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Weigh anchor. We just decided our next destination!"

Immediately, the pirates, scattered on the deck, hoisted the anchor and prepared for the journey.

Mary covered her eye with the black patch again and, before running off, turned around and shouted.

"Return to Dyfus Oraboni without getting hurt. Understood?"

Jin smiled and nodded.

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