<h4>Chapter 282: Temar''s First Tomb (3)</h4>


    <b>C282 - Temar''s First Tomb (3)</b>


    On February 25, 1799, all the gbearers who had set out to cheer up the ns under Runcandel''s control returned to the Garden of Swords.


    They had heard stories about Jin from sources outside the n while visiting each of their designated areas.


    "Hey, brother, wee back!"


    Smack!


    Mary abruptly punched Dyfus in the back.


    "Oh, you little lunatic... Mary! How many times do I have to tell you to stop greeting me like that?"


    "Did anything interesting happen on your journey?"


    "How could anything be more interesting than what you did here? I may have suggested it, but I made it clear. You deal with the aftermath."


    He was referring to Mary stealing Bradamante and handing it over to Jin.


    "Why? You were with Joshua a while ago. Did he tell you something?"


    "Surprisingly, no. But that''s when it''s most dangerous. You know that, right? Be careful for a while."


    "I don''t know anything about that. Besides, I''ve never watched my back in my whole life. Bute on, stop talking about that. I asked if anything interesting happened during the journey."


    Dyfus brought his hand to his forehead. "Yes, I''m the fool for expecting a normal conversation from you."


    "So, was there or wasn''t there?"


    "Yes, there was. On the fourth day of the journey, everyone was talking about Jin."


    "Tell me."


    "Damn it. Isn''t it condescending of you tomand me like that, seventh gbearer?"


    "Please, tell me, good sir fourth gbearer."


    "As expected, there were many ns that felt ufortable because Jin undermined the tradition and authenticity of the Runcandel n."


    "Is that so?"


    "There were some others who congratted him, saying that thanks to him, the Saints are once again helping Hufester, although they were by far the minority."


    "No, I''m not interested in any of that. You know what I''m asking you. Were there any rumors about Jin''s strength?"


    "Of course. They were talking aboutparing him to Dante Hairan. Apparently, some of the nobles from Hufester went to the Cosmos Arena where Jin had participated during his time as a provisional gbearer. They said the final battle was undoubtedly a spectacle. I mean that fightingpetition where you ended up as the runner-up."


    "Runner-up? I defeated that guy two monthster, so I''m the champion. Look, there are ears listening, okay? Don''t spill secrets like that around here. Anyway, Dante Hairan, huh? The world really has no idea."


    "What are you talking about?"


    "I almost lost to him."


    Dyfus immediately stopped. "You''re joking, right?"


    "Does it seem like I''m joking? Sure, the sessor of the Hairan Patriarchy is quite impressive, but he''s nothingpared to Jin."


    "I think you''re underestimating Dante."


    "Do you think it''s possible for me to lose against Dante?"


    Dyfus fell silent for a while.


    Certainly, Mary wouldn''t have acted this way after fighting Dante. A power simr to Mary''s at the age of neen? Jin is undoubtedly a beast.


    Obviously, Dyfus had expected Mary to defeat Jin. His original image was that Jin would be terribly injured in the process, leaving Dyfus alone with the mission to assassinate the ck Knight.


    At this rate, I''m just ying into my mother''s hands. Damn it.


    The mission to assassinate the spy ck Knight-Rosa had already decided to assign Dyfus with Jin.


    Soon, the stewards came to fetch the two gbearers.


    "Madam Rosa has called for a gbearer meeting."


    All the gbearers immediately gathered in her office.


    "We will discuss a single agenda item for this gbearer meeting. We also discussed it before the Patriarch left. It concerns the assassination of the ck Knight spy."


    "Yes, mother."


    Tension soared in the brief silence.


    "This mission will be carried out by the fourth gbearer, Dyfus Runcandel, and the twelfth gbearer, Jin Runcandel. Your mission is to provoke the death of the ck Knight inbat. The mission will take ce in the disputed territory of Bentica, near the Kingdom of M."


    The brothers felt different emotions when the fourth and twelfth gbearers were assigned to the mission. Some felt relieved, while others felt like they had missed out on something.


    Dyfus immediately looked at Jin, but Jin deliberately avoided his gaze.


    "A mining area where ancient eversteel was supposed to be found was recently discovered in Bentica. We have received information that the Zipple are introducing the White Night and the Kozec into the area for that purpose. Therefore, we have decided to send a ck Knight, two gbearers, and ten guardian knights for the mission."


    The Runcandels and the Zipples fought daily in skirmishesrge and small overnd, minerals, natural resources... basically everything.


    If they fought over gold mines ormonnds, the battle was waged with guardian knights and magicians or through ns under their control.


    But when they had to fight over rare goods like ancient eversteel or fairy traces, they shed with troops and key assets.


    This time, the Zipples were sending the White Night and the Kozec, while the Runcandels were responding with their ck Knight spy along with two gbearers and ten guardian knights.


    "The two gbearers will confront the Zipples along with ten guardian knights and the ck Knight spy. And you will make sure the ck Knight spy dies at the hands of the enemy in battle."


    This was an incredibly difficult mission to aplish.


    Assassinating a ck Knight itself was an achievement, but they had to induce a discreet death.


    The only reason they had to go to such lengths to kill a ck Knight was because of the n''s reputation. It wouldn''t look good if it was known that they killed a ck Knight by fighting against a force weaker than the Kozec.


    "Only a few within the Zipple n are aware of the ck Knight spy. Intelligence tells us that Keliac Zipple, Octavia Zipple, and three high-level elders are the only ones who know about it."


    This was the main reason the Runcandels were preparing this massive charade of the ck Knight assassination mission.


    The White Night didn''t know that the ck Knight was a Zipple spy.


    The Runcandels assessed that if the ck Knight was seen obliterating the White Night right up until the moment of his assassination, the Zipples would no longer bother trying to make more ck Knight spies.


    And there was a clear incentive if everything went ording to n—it would effectively make the Zipples fall for their own tricks.


    "And of course, after the death of the ck Knight spy, you must defeat the Zipple forces and secure the mine. Failure to achieve either of the two objectives will automatically result in failure for this mission."


    A brief silence followed.


    The gbearers were certain that this was by far the most difficult mission assigned to any of them in the past two years.


    "The mission willmence on March 8th. Make sure all preparations arepleted within that timeframe. Fourth gbearer and twelfth gbearer, if you have any requests orints about the mission, now is the time to present them."


    "Negative."


    "Please tell us the name of the ck Knight spy."


    Dyfus and Jin spoke at the same time.


    Jin didn''t have ess to all the n''s files with his privileges as the twelfth gbearer. He needed ess permission from at least the fourth gbearer or higher to obtain the personal data of the ck Knights.


    "Barton Vichena. I''ll give you detailed documentation on the target, so take a look."


    He hadn''t heard the name before. Therefore, he couldn''t gain any advantage in his fight against Barton Vichena from knowledge of his past life.


    "Thank you."


    "This is a mission that the entire n has put a lot of effort into preparing. I hope the fourth and twelfth gbearers bring us sessful results. That''s all. You may leave."


    The gbearers left the office.


    It was strange.


    For some reason, Joshua didn''t make any moves against Mary, who had recently stolen from his armory, or against Jin, the beneficiary of her theft. He simply walked out without looking at them.


    Luntia yawned a couple of times before returning to Rosa''s office. She didn''t mean anything by it. She just went back to retrieve the documents she had left inside.


    Miu and Anne didn''t bother Jin either. Ran and Vuigo exchanged several nces with Jin and Mary, but that was it.


    The Tona Twins awkwardly paced back and forth around Jin, as they did thest time, before returning to their rooms.


    "Do those adorable fools try to fight against you like I do?" Mary asked.


    "Probably not."


    "Well, it''s good to know. Jin, I''d like to give you some advice."


    "I''ll be fine, thank you, Mary."


    "No, I''m not fine, that''s why. Try to work with Dyfus on the ck Knight assassination mission as much as possible. Even if it''s just for the sake of the deal you made with me."


    Mary estimated that Jin was incredibly strong. But she still didn''t believe he was powerful enough to take on a ck Knight, especially in such aplicated mission.


    "Imagine how boring my life would be if you ever died or got injured. You see, the only thing holding me together these days is thinking about how I''ll fight against you in three months when springes. Now I''m leaving for you two to talk, alright?"


    Mary left. Jin and Dyfus were the only ones left in the hallway.


    "Mary is right, Jin." Dyfus spoke first.


    "What do you mean, Dyfus?"


    "I mean we should work together. I''m aware that you consider all your brothers as enemies. But this is an important matter. Even Father himself strictly mentioned that we should abstain from rank wars for the time being."


    "So, are you offering that we train together until the mission begins?"


    "Yes."


    "I reject the offer."


    Dyfus shrugged. "And why is that?"


    "I''m confident that you canplete the mission on your own without me nearby because I personally believe you''re the strongest among the brothers aside from Luna."


    "Really?"


    "And I also don''t think you''re the selfless type to give me credit for the mission. So why should I train with you? I''d just be used as bait or cannon fodder anyway. It would be a waste of my precious time."


    "Well, that wasn''t my intention either. I just needed something to say when Mary asks me about itter."


    "It seems you care a lot about Mary."


    "Perhaps more than Luna cares about you. So, Jin." Dyfus paused and continued calmly. "I hope you don''t kill or disable Mary in those fights you''ll have every three months."


    "Is that a warning?"


    "No, it''s just a request, from one person to another. I''m sure you, more than anyone, understand what I mean."


    Jin and Dyfus''s gazes shed. They weren''t filled with killing intent or a fighting spirit, but a mysterious tension filled the space between them.


    "Do you realize that requests usuallye with a price?"


    "Tell me what you want."


    "Don''t lower the ss of the Runcandels."


    His cold words were spoken out of disappointment.


    Dyfus''s eyebrows twitched.


    "It''s unbing of the Runcandels to make requests to the enemy. I''ll turn a blind eye to this incident since I also have brothers I care about, but if you show such actions again, I''ll no longer ssify you as my enemy, Dyfus."


    Jin turned around.


    Dyfus remained lost in thought until Jin waspletely out of sight.


    <b>-</b>


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