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Cough, cough!
The sound of Diphus clearing his throat echoed through the barracks.
"What did you say?"
For a moment, he thought his ears deceived him, but he received an immediate response.
"I told you that we should kill the 2nd flagbearer in this mission."
Let's kill Joshua.
Diphus had never heard such words since he was born. Even Mary at her prime had never said anything similar.
'I've been thinking about it, but he's really insane and…'
He's also a scary guy.
'He's not someone who would say things without thinking. Saying 'Let's kill Joshua' means he had already finished planning.'
The newcomer who had just arrived at the barracks now seemed to be planning to kill Joshua. Diphus couldn't immediately figure out on what basis this plan was made, but it sent a shiver down his spine.
"Anyway, you have a knack for surprising people. Why do you want to kill that person? I'm sure you are not doing this because you are angry at him for making fun of your new nickname, the Black Crown Prince."
"Of course, that's not the reason, but it wasn't pleasant."
"Joshua might have genuinely thought that your title was cool. When he was young, he liked his title 'Black Lion' the most. He used to say it felt like he was succeeding our mother."
Jin and Diphus shared a light laugh.
"I didn't know the second flagbearer had such a cute side."
"You might have found it even cuter if you had spent your childhood with him. Anyway, what if I decline your offer?"
Diphus adjusted his expression and inquired, and Jin shrugged his shoulders.
"Do you have a reason for that?"
"Once the infiltration of the underground shipyard begins, all the enforcement knights in the Sota Desert will return to the clan."
"Is this because retreating after infiltration is impossible if they're not at the level of Black Knights?"
"That's right. So the personnel directly involved in the mission are just you and me, Lord Murakan, the 2nd flagbearer you want to kill, and his Black Knights. It means that each person is precious in order to complete the mission."
Jin let out a sigh upon hearing this.
"You're talking like someone who came to this secret shipyard in the Sota Desert without knowing that it's a trap set by Zipfel, elder brother."
Diphus's eyes narrowed.
"Anyway, this mission can only be half successful at best. The best outcome will be returning safely after destroying the facility. The battleship's blueprints? Do you think Zipfel left something like that in this place after intentionally leaking the information? Clearly, there's nothing important in the 4th, 11th, 17th, and 19th sections."
Zipfel's purpose in leaking the location of the secret shipyard in the Sota Desert.
That was a problem Diphus had been pondering all along. He knew it was a trap, but it was too extensive to ignore. However, it was difficult to grasp what Zipfel's actual purpose was.
'Does the youngest have a guess about Zipfel's purpose? Killing Joshua is not an empty statement, but what are his intentions?'
As Diphus was contemplating, Jin spoke again.
"Stop thinking and make a choice. Will you join me in killing Joshua, or not? I'll give you five seconds. After that, even if you change your mind, I'll handle it on my own. 5, 4."
"Hey, hey, youngest! Wait a moment!"
"3, 2..."
In the end, Diphus nodded before Jin finished counting.
Though he felt like he was being dragged along, he realized that if he didn't negotiate with Jin now, he would probably be the one suffering in this mission.
Above all, it was an opportunity.
An opportunity to 'definitely' kill his eldest brother, the 2nd flagbearer, whom he had wanted to kill all his life. The youngest that Diphus saw was undoubtedly the person who would carry out his words.
"Damn it, alright! Let's do it together."
"A beautiful moment of brotherly solidarity, you won't regret it."
Seeing Jin smile slyly, Diphus muttered under his breath that there was no devil like him.
"But, there's a condition."
"Go ahead."
"Share all the information you have with me."
"For instance?"
"Information about Joshua's helper, the figure known as the Prophet, and what you think Zipfel's purpose is. And why do you want to kill Joshua."
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
"I will tell you the first one after the mission is over. However, I will tell you the second and third right away. In my opinion, Zipfel's purpose is to assess the capabilities of other major factions' forces."
"Are you saying Zipfel is using this shipyard as bait to assess the strength of external forces? Isn't that a bit far-fetched? Even I can't estimate the manpower and resources that have been put into this facility."
"You can think of it that way. However, perhaps you, too, have pondered Zipfel's purpose more than what I've just said. Is there a more reasonable explanation than what I just mentioned?"
There wasn't.
Diphus was also more concerned because he was aware of the main premise that 'as long as there is Chiron, there is no all-out war.'
"Especially, Zipfel would have needed to confirm Joshua's abilities. More precisely, Zipfel wants to see if Joshua and our mother have the strength to guard the clan in place of our father. Hasn't the era now arrived where we can no longer survive with just the name of the world's greatest sword master?"
Kinzelo had the mysterious power of its leader, Bubare's power of chaos, the Plutonian-type golems, the Empire had the Majins, Zipfel's living golems and mass production of battleships, and manipulation of history.
In such a situation, Runcandel had only held onto a single sword. At least, that's what has been revealed so far.
"So, the moment we begin the infiltration, Zipfel will have already achieved part of its goal. After all, he wouldn't have been able to create such a perfect infiltration tunnel without the power of the Prophet."
"I get it. So what about the third one? Setting aside the method of killing the 2nd flagbearer, what is your actual goal? What benefits does the death of the 2nd flagbearer bring to the clan?"
Diphus was asking this, but he had already drawn his own conclusion.
What effect will Joshua's death have on the clan?
'If the youngest and I kill the 2nd flagbearer in this mission, it will certainly bring division to the clan. Then I have to change the water and reorganize things.'
Remove Rosa and Joshua's rotten Runcandel.
That was the reorganization that Diphus had in mind.
After Jin made it public through Mary that the information about 'legacy of the first patriarch' existed within the clan.
The siblings, especially Diphus and Mary, no longer respected Rosa's favoritism. The premise that "Rosa always makes decisions for the family" had been shattered.
From then on, Rosa's favoritism was the biggest culprit in the destruction of the clan in Diphus's eyes.
'Of course, the utility value of Joshua and mother hasn't completely disappeared. After the reorganization is over, I'll have to confront my mother as well. The Prophet would be under my mother's control, not Joshua's anyway.'
What comes next?
The remaining flagbearers would continue to struggle for the throne, seeking out the legacy of the first patriarch of the clan to restore the former glory of Runcandel.
He needed to break the curse binding the clan and enter a brilliant era of magic swordsmen that Jin briefly showed.
Although they were competing for the throne, Diphus was in favor of Jin's declaration of the return of the magic swordsmen.
Jin seemed to see through Diphus's thoughts.
Diphus's thoughts seemed to be shaped in a way that wasn't bad.
'The future courses that elder brother Diphus is thinking of are close to the royal road. The problem is that there is absolutely no way Joshua would have sent his real body to this dangerous place. Elder brother Dipus doesn't know that, so he just thought it was a golden opportunity to change the clan, and he accepted my offer as if he was drawn to it.'
Jin hid his bitter smile inside, and made eye contact with Dipus.
"Second eldest brother, it feels like I am being graded for my test. What benefit does it bring to the clan? This is an opportunity to cut away the rotten chain of favoritism and purify the clan. Even if we kill Joshua, the Prophet is under the control of our mother anyway, so we can decide what to do with her abilities at that time."
Diphus's eyes widened.
He felt a strange sense of kinship knowing that Jin had the same thoughts as me. It was disappointing to think that his younger brother wasn't his perfect ally, like Mary.
"Second eldest brother, honestly, I didn't plan to make this proposal to you. I thought I could kill Joshua on my own. But elder sister Mary asked me to return with you without getting hurt."
"Mary, she said something that doesn't suit her. Creepy. Were you the type to be moved by such lukewarm words?"
"That's not it, but I'm also a human being. Sometimes I feel familial love, and sometimes I want to return the favor of my kins. That's why I told you in advance so that you wouldn't get hurt while I was killing Joshua. Coincidentally, our goals align."
Jin was sincere.
"Is this enough explanation?"
Diphus nodded and extended his hand towards Jin.
"Alright, it's a moment of beautiful brotherly solidarity, even if it's temporary."
As they shook hands, Jin couldn't help but feel a twinge of conscience for the first time in a long time.
'Well... Even if it means killing a clone, I will definitely make it beneficial to the clan in the end, so elder brother Diphus would understand me.'
Even if he doesn't understand, it will only be Diphus who looks foolish after the incident is over.
That is, if everything goes according to Jin's plan.
"Let's talk about your plan to kill him now. There might be many variables, so until we begin the infiltration, let's put our heads together to figure things out."
***
February 28, 1800, 2 AM.
Once the enforcement knights cleared the barracks and withdrew, the operation began.
Jin, Murakan, Diphus, Joshua, and two black knights, a total of six individuals, donned their infiltration gear and ran under the ground in the Sota Desert.
They were using a tunnel that stretched from where the barracks were to the secret shipyard, and it had been formed in advance by Joshua using the power of a prophet.
And as soon as they reached the beginning of the shipyard after running in silence for a while.
The group was able to encounter an unexpected sight.
"...Looks like rats used our tunnel."
Joshua said as he examined a round object placed on the ground, resembling a human head. He checked its face and it turned out to be one of the shipyard managers.
"It appears to be Kinzelo, 2nd flagbearer."
The moment one of the black knights made that statement, a loud crashing and exploding noise started coming from beyond the tunnel.
"...It seems like the beast bastards are causing trouble."
Joshua said, nonchalantly glancing beyond the tunnel.