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On February 27, 1800, a raging sandstorm obscured everything in sight outside the field camp.
The relentless sandstorm that blew all day with the power to bury everything was so tedious that even just watching it could make you nauseous, but the fact remained that this very sandstorm had concealed the members of Runcandel for the past few weeks.
It had also shielded the fact that there was a massive battleship construction yard here until Zipfel intentionally leaked the information.
"Ugh..."
Diphus groaned softly, pressing his forehead.
He felt a pounding headache after reading the newsletter brought by the enforcement knights who had gone to the nearby village in the morning.
(The Windfury and Black Crown Prince fought a battle on deck in the sea near Tikan..... The sea split and the sky opened up whenever the two knights swung their swords.)
(The war of ranks had started out of nowhere due to Mary Runcandel's provocation! The winner was the 12th flagbearer…)
(Mr. Cosmos, the confidant of the 7th flagbearer, revealed, 'the Captain wanted to continue to fight the 12th flagbearer as soon as she heard that he single-handedly defeated the Black King Mountain Hideout.' Were the rumors about the Black Kings incident true?)
(The rumors circulated that the 12th flagbearer had been involved in the recent unknown battle near the Gaifa Archipelago... Did Jin Runcandel kill (or make disappear) Amela?)
(Mr. Zemo, a confidant of the 12th flagbearer, confirmed, 'Amela was indeed sent to the other world by our lord in a single slash.')
(Jin Runcandel climbed to the fifth rank in just one year after becoming a flagbearer. Has the Runcandel succession structure truly changed?)
(Overwhelming victory against the 7th flagbearer! The 12th flagbearer continued to soar, and how long would their legend last?)
'Mary, I expected you to cause a big incident, but I never expected you would have a duel with the youngest in front of the public.'
They hadn't been able to visit the village every day, so it had already been over a week since the news had come out.
While the infiltration team was hiding in the Sota Desert, the world was in chaos due to the battle between Jin and Mary.
-Do whatever you want for the time being. Cause as many incidents as you like, train as you please. I'll take care of the aftermath."
Diphus recalled the words he had said to Mary some time ago. He truly intended to help Mary live her life to her fullest.
However, he desperately needs Mary's help due to the unexpected leak of information about the battleship construction yard by Zipfel.
Luna and Luntia were on different missions and unavailable, and the lower-ranked flagbearers were likely to be more of a burden if he called them.
So, with the intention of getting help just one last time before Mary left, he hurriedly sent a letter indicating the infiltration tunnel.
Diphus never thought he would hear the news that she had a fight with the youngest.
'Could it be that she didn't receive the letter? No, that can't be. Knowing Mary's style... She probably challenged the youngest to a duel with the intention of the winner to come here to support me.'
Phew.
Diphus let out a sigh.
Asking Jin for support wasn't something he hadn't considered at all.
He had just officially become the 5th flagbearer in ranking, but Jin's strength and abilities are comparable to the top flagbearers, as proven during the patriarchy declaration.
However, the reason he preferred Mary's support over Jin's was clear.
Coordination and teamwork.
Needless to say, the brother Diphus trusted most was Mary. If he had to entrust his back in such a dangerous mission, it had to be Mary.
Moreover, in terms of teamwork, Mary was a much better fit than Jin. Just knowing about Joshua and Jin's relationship would make anyone think so.
'Of course, Jin and Joshua would probably divide the work, but... I don't have a good feeling about this.'
Swoosh!
As he had that thought, suddenly both the front and back doors of the barrack opened at the same time.
Joshua and the Black Knight, who were out scouting, entered through the front door, and Jin, who had just arrived, entered through the back door.
"...The youngest? Why are you here?"
When Joshua raised an eyebrow, Diphus shrugged, and Jin casually asked a question.
"There are quite a few strange tunnels along the infiltration tunnel. Were they made by you, 2nd flagbearer?"
Strange tunnels.
That was a question that had intrigued Diphus as well. Joshua had created the entire infiltration tunnel into the Sota Desert. Diphus had attempted to create a different tunnel from another direction but had failed and eventually joined Joshua's tunnel.
During this process, Diphus had also confirmed that Joshua's infiltration tunnel was in a shape that no ordinary person or average magic could create.
Joshua's infiltration tunnel clearly dug deep enough to cause the ground to collapse, but for some reason, it maintained its shape without collapsing.
"Yeah, I made it."
"It seemed like an infiltration tunnel that couldn't have been made by humans."
"Do you think your limited standards apply to everyone? I've clearly overestimated your intelligence."
"Are you not hiding the fact that there's a helper, the so-called prophet or something?"
Since he had met Joshua in the mausoleum immediately after the patriarchy declaration, Jin had judged that Joshua would soon reveal the existence of the prophet to everyone.
Even back then, Jin had openly discussed the prophet in front of other flagbearers and elders, but Joshua had shown no sign of being particularly disturbed.
"You seem to be having some misconceptions."
Joshua shook his head and continued speaking.
"I've never hidden the existence of the prophet. The fact that you and the other flagbearers didn't know about it was simply because you lacked the necessary access to information."
Jin chuckled.
"Well, I didn't bring up the subject to get a strong reaction from you. I feel reassured to think that someone who has been a top secret for a long time is helping me with my work. There are two Black Knights now as well."
The Black Knights didn't react to Jin's provocative behavior. Joshua's gaze landed on Jin's shoulder, where Murakan in the form of a cat was snoring.
"I'm relieved to think that the clan's guardian deity is watching over this mission. Our goals are infiltration and assassination, so you're more suitable for the job than Mary."
While the two were conversing, Diphus continued to ponder the word "prophet."
'How much information did the youngest find out about Joshua?'
And how did they find out?
Diphus felt a mixture of bitterness and curiosity.
He had been aware for a while that Joshua had some special power or helper behind him, but that was all he knew.
He had been investigating for a long time but had found no clues about what Joshua possessed. He had assumed that Rosa had hidden information about Joshua from him, making it impossible to find out.
On the other hand, Jin seemed to know everything about the prophet since the patriarchy declaration. Diphus couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat.
'A defeat is a defeat, and I need to figure out a way for the youngest to share his information with me. I have to gather as much information as possible and move faster than Joshua, even if it's slower than the youngest.'
Diphus came to that conclusion, while Joshua and Jin continued to look at each other.
'I mentioned the Black Knights on purpose, but there was no reaction. Has Dox not gone to Rikalton yet?'
Jin thought to himself.
He hadn't received any contact from Dox yet, so he didn't know how his orders were being carried out.
Also, regardless of whether Dox went to Rikalton or not, it wasn't that difficult for someone like Joshua to hide his true feelings.
Joshua smiled and took out a bundle of documents from his pouch.
"Here is the information about the secret shipyard that we've been monitoring and the details of the operation until your arrival."
The document provided detailed information about the internal structure of the secret shipyard, surveillance personnel, risks, and special considerations.
'All facilities of this scale are built underground?'
Jin examined the internal structure, and he was taken aback by the sheer scale of the secret shipyard. It was much larger than he had anticipated.
Joshua smiled, as if he had expected Jin's reaction.
"There are a total of 24 sections, each equivalent in size to a decent-sized castle. Over half of the desert's underground is the secret shipyard. It makes me wonder how they built a facility this size and kept it secret all this time."
A few sections marked in red stood out.
"These marked sections are believed to be the most critical areas for the battleship's design or essential resources for battleship construction. The 4th, 11th, 17th, and 19th sections have the strictest security, and we haven't been able to access them yet."
Up to now, the infiltration team had been scouting the internal structure with the Prophet's power. The fact that they could not infiltrate these areas even with that special power and the abilities of the two top flagbearers and the two black knights meant that the only way was to enter by force.
And the moment they entered those four areas by force, the real time limit for this mission would begin.
"We need to choose our initial entry points wisely because we may only have one opportunity."
"Yes. The real operation will begin at 2 AM tomorrow. From then on, we obtain information directly from the inside, select one of the four sections, and begin the mission of destroying and taking over. The top priority is securing the battleship blueprint and destroying the most important resources. I guess this is enough explanation, right?
Jin nodded.
"Okay, then I guess I'll just have to rest for a bit."
Joshua turned around, taking up the newsletters on the table.
"And congratulations on reaching 5th rank. I'll give you a bottle of good wine as a gift when we return."
"Thank you, I'll gladly accept it. Oh, and thank you for your help during the Black Kings incident."
The conversation turned back to Dox once again.
When Joshua saw that Dox did not return during the Black Kings incident, he instructed his newsletters to write articles favorable to Jin and Murakan, ultimately increasing the clan's prestige.
"As I was looking at those articles, it occurred to me that there were times when the second flagbearer and I got along well."
"I hope the same thing happens during this mission, Black Crown Prince of Huphester. Hahaha…"
The moment he heard the title of Black Crown Prince, Jin felt an intense desire to kill Cosmos all over again.
As Joshua and the Black Knights left the tent, the eyes of Jin and Diphus naturally met.
"Second eldest brother."
"Yes?"
Jin spoke after a brief pause.
"...Let's kill that person during this mission."
Diphus was taken aback by the sudden declaration.