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***
Tikan was still in the midst of construction. The massive equipment from the Black King Mountain Hideout was being overhauled and newly installed, so it was only natural that it would take some time.
However, even though the construction wasn't complete, Tikan now possessed more than 80% of the defensive power of the former Black King Mountain Hideout.
Purely considering the defensive power of the equipment brought from the Black King Mountain Hideout, it was 80%. When taking into account the strength of Jin's companions and the newly formed blood alliance (though they considered themselves subordinates), Tikan stood as a city unparalleled in defense, excluding the two major factions.
At the moment, there was no small nation that could surpass Tikan. Since the joining of the mercenaries and the Black Kings, Tikan had become a land that could easily be called the fifth faction.
"Ah, the nation declaration is right around the corner..."
Perhaps because of this, the man who was the leader of Tikan, the owner of the Seven-Colored Peacock, and ghost blade Kashmir Alfrion, had been crying a lot lately.
It was due to inexpressible emotions, a sense of overwhelming appreciation, heightened sensitivity as he approached his forties, and a conviction that a long-cherished dream was about to come true, and the gratitude towards his companions. These were the reasons why Kashmir shed tears of happiness.
"Oh, Sir Kashmir is crying again."
"Euria, please give your father a handkerchief. Young master Jin is there too, what kind of insolence is that?"
So said Jet and Alisa, and Amela added, "Why are you crying, Sir Kashmir?"
Truly, after a long time, all the companions gathered for a meal. (Thanks to Murakan's persistence) Except for Gilly, who went for a walk with Murakan, everyone was seated at the dining table.
"It is still not enough to make a nation declaration," Jin said.
He was also emotionally moved. However, after this mission, naturally, a sense of urgency once again settled in Jin's mind.
"Yes, as the lord says, we are still lacking. Although the chances of Zipfel and Kinzelo touching this place in the near future are low, they will attempt pressure whenever the opportunity arises," Lata said, and Valkas nodded in agreement.
"The speed of installing defense equipment is slower than expected, my lord," Valkas remarked.
"I heard it's because the equipment was specialized for the mountain range where the Black King Mountain Hideout was located, Sir Valkas."
"That's correct. Compatibility with Tikan is not bad, but it's not perfect. Also, since our time in the Black King Mountain Hideout, I've felt that there's a lot of room for improvement in our equipment. Thanks to Amela, a lot of improvements have already been made."
Amela.
As shown in the Gaifa Islands, she is a master of warfare utilizing the power of chaos.
In the Gaifa Islands, she displayed even greater power by merging with Bubare's chaos, but even without that, she was already the world's best operator of war equipment.
Valkas evaluated her better than the entire Black King mercenaries, not in terms of sheer force but in the aspect of 'warfare'.
"Even though not all the equipment has been installed yet, it's producing 80% of the power. However, I understand watching Amela reinforce the equipment. It can still get better. It means we can surpass the power of the old Black King Mountain Hideout."
"Is that possible?"
"It is possible, my lord!"
Amela said, waving her hand out of her bush clothes.
Jin felt somewhat awkward because of her behavior. In the Gaifa islands, she fought with the intention of killing them the entire time, and after Yona's interrogation, she fainted, so he went to Sota Desert without having a word of conversation.
On the other hand, Amela behaved very friendly, and referred to Jin as the lord like Valkas and Lata. This was because her chaos had submitted to Yona, and fundamentally, she had the nature of a somewhat affable child. Her slight fear of Jin and Murakan seemed to have disappeared.
"Most of old man Valkas's equipment is the product of modern magic engineering. However, some are relics, commonly called masterpieces. Like the lord's helmet. It seems old man Valkas and my cuties didn't know that well."
Before meeting Jin, Amela roamed the world as a lifelong mercenary and explorer with chaos. Thanks to that, there weren't many people in the world more knowledgeable about relics and artifacts than her.
"Haha, I can't believe I'm hearing an old man from my peers."
"Good heavens, don't call me a cutie...!"
Amela, hidden in the bushy clothes, looked younger than not only Jin but even younger than Enya. For some reason, Valkas felt oddly hurt. The one who reacted strongly to the term 'cutie' was Lata and Faye.
"Masterpiece?"
"These things were made by either demons, or ancient Zipfels. Example of this is what old man Valkas calls the Black King Cannon No. 1, but in my opinion, it's more fitting to call it the Mana absorption spray-type all-purpose accelerating blasting cannon. Old man Valkas didn't know that, so he was using it like a regular cannon."
"Mana absorption... what? Hm, Lady Amela, you know how to use such difficult words. Did you understand?"
"Mana absorption spray-type all-purpose accelerating blasting cannon...?"
Jin, who always lived with academic critiques, was familiar with such long formal names.
"Well, will it get better?"
"If all the functions are completed, it will become the strongest cannon in existence. Um... for comparison, where is it, Kozec! It would be more powerful than Kozec's Mana Input spray-type all-purpose blasting cannon."
Even comparing the slightly different names, the former seemed stronger. However, it couldn't be confirmed if Amela's words were true.
"If that's true, how did that thing end up in Black King Mountain Hideout? During the time when the Black Kings existed independently, there were occasional exchanges with engineers from Zipfel or the imperial family for equipment maintenance. They couldn't just leave alone when they saw mana... something cannons."
"The cutie asks cute questions. Did they send top-notch personnel to the Black King Mountain Hideout? Since they always sent people who were like confused scarecrows, it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't know about it. It's a problem that can be figured out with just a little bit of brain."
"That's true."
"Hey, the cutie is an Amela fan!"
"Ooh, anyway, isn't it an incredible cannon? Can Lady Amela restore it?"
Amela shook her head at Enya's question. Because she was held by Lata, her neck was barely turning, so she was just shaking the bushes.
"Ah, ugh, that, aack, I, I can't. Ahh, bones, bones, I was hit! Just a moment! My abilities are lacking. And I'm not sure if there's personnel capable of restoring it."
"My lord, whether Amela's words are true or not, it seems necessary to recruit a proper magic engineer. There are many devices to improve, and above all, we need to find clues about the machine obtained in the Sota Desert."
An item that could change the course of the future war.
That's how the prophet described the machine to Rosa that Jin had acquired.
'Mother also didn't hear from the Prophet about the exact purpose of that item. If she heard it, she would have told me too, since it will definitely benefit the clan.'
Of course, the Prophet's words could be false. She might also not know the true purpose of the machine.
But the machine wouldn't just be with the blueprints; there must be a reason for it to exist.
To find that reason, Hister's record magic and the help of a genius magic engineer were needed.
"Jet."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Infirm me immediately if Arya contacts me."
Jin hasn't met Valeria since leaving Wantaramo Forest last year and spending time with Yona.
She holds the corpse of Vermont's Majin obtained in the Wantaramo Forest as evidence to pressure the imperial family.
In addition, she was analyzing the metal used by Kinzelo's leader that Jin had obtained from the sword emperor castle and the recording device Jin had given her, and also tracking down Temar's tomb while restoring Hister's magic.
The lack of contact could be either because there is no progress or because she is exposed to some danger. It must be one of the two.
'If not, she may have entered the next succession temple.'
In addition to Valeria, Jin was still unable to contact Misha, so he was a little anxious.
"Of course. Ah, no news is good news, so don't worry too much. We haven't been in contact with her quite a bit, but is there anything wrong with that haughty lady?"
"That would be great. Hey, Murakan. Ms. Misha..."
"My lord, Lord Murakan went for a walk with Gilly... Ah, there she comes! Huh? But why is there a giant toad... Is he riding Madame Talaris' Snow Toad Mort?"
The seven swords of the Hidden Palace, Ryu and Hiten, who were sitting at the table, stood up and bowed.
"Greetings, master!"
"Greetings, master!"
Not only Murakan and Gilly, but also their masters were on Snow toad Mort.
Next to them, for some reason, Kuzan, Veris, and Yulian stood with a seemingly blank expression, as if they were some kind of attendant.
"Hehe, son-in-law. Long time no see!"
"Madame Talaris, Lady Syris."
"Why is it that you never call this mother-in-law even when there's such an occasion, my son-in-law?"
"Didn't you get an invitation from Lucas Manfran?"
"Ah, it must have been a mix-up. I almost felt resentful again. Hahaha... Ha! It's mind-boggling. On the way here, I heard from that handsome black dragon that something strange clung to my son-in-law."
It was a story about Sandra Zipfel.
At that remark, Syris let out a sigh as if she had no strength to argue with her mother anymore.
"My son-in-law doesn't like her, do you? The daughter of a hostile clan?"
"Mother, even though she is Zipfel, she's a person who has greatly helped Jin."
"Heung, you are acting stiff as usual. Can't you even take a joke?"
"It wasn't a light matter."
Of course, Syris was never conscious of Sandra Zipfel.
However, even though Jin is her friend, she seemed unable to help him by betraying the hidden palace, but she felt strange that Sandra did it.
'If it were me from the past, I would have just laughed and sneered at this. After meeting Jin, I seem to have changed a bit.'
Talaris shrugged.
"Heung, I appreciate it too. But it does not give you a right to humiliate your mother like this in front of people. This mother is still the master of the hidden palace."
"I apologize for that, Mother."
"Hehe, I was just joking. Don't be scared!"
"Ah, really."
"I can still enjoy teasing my daughter. Anyway, it's nice to see everyone. It's a bit strange and fascinating to see all three great mercenaries eating together like this. Indeed, the charm of the man I marked as my son-in-law... So, what were you all talking about?"
"Mana absorption spray-type all-purpose accelerating..."
The moment Jin answered up there.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the entire Tikan. The equipment installed by the Black Kings was causing the alarm.
Wee-wee-wee
The alarm was triggered due to the sudden appearance of an unidentified object in the sky. And the protagonist who triggered the alarm was the person who escorted Jin and his group in the Sota Desert not long ago.
Zephyrin.