The transcendent skill, Divine Onslaught, had only one inheritor.
The only person who could use such a technique was the owner of Sigmund.
—Don't forget, brother Jin. You are now one of us. Our successor—our one and only Apprentice. You need not fear anyone.
Although the fight was exhilarating, he had a moment to think about what Vahn told him. Was it because he saw the hopeless faces of those who stood against 'Conviction', or was it because he saw the face of Vahn within the spell?
The bright flashes danced around and illuminated the room.
"R-Run!"
Duroka barked. Instead of a bold, deep voice, it was a voice that carried genuine panic. He instinctively reacted after seeing the lights of Conviction. It wasn't something he could just deflect with his hammer.
Kzzzzt!
The massive lightning spear felt like a whale charging at lightspeed. It was hard to believe that such a thin projectile could carry such weight.
The wolves could not dodge it. Aside from the lack of space, the sheer amount of fear prevented their muscles from even twitching.
Had they been a normal group of Illustrious Legend beastmen, then they'd at least attempt to retaliate. However, they felt the presence of the Goddess of Battle. The being that their ancestors wouldn't even dare to look at.
In a puny human's sword, and in the human's eyes.
'I did not come find you as a thief…'
Krrpt!
The spear pierced through Duroka's abdomen.
Not a single drop of blood came out of the wound. The moment the spear touched his body, an intense flame swallowed him and turned him into ash.
'…I came as a conqueror.'
The call to escape was an empty cry. In a split second, Duroka became a pile of dust, and his comrades could not believe their eyes.
'Something's wrong.'
'This can't be real.'
As those thoughts passed through their minds, they clenched their eyes shut when facing the flashing lights.
Flash!
Conviction flashed once more and set its next target ablaze. The spear of Conviction searched for the next target as if it were not satisfied.
No one could believe their eyes. Who would've thought that two assault general White Wolf tribesmen would die so easily?
At that moment, Sigmund was pointed towards Chukon. The White Wolf beastmen protecting him shook their heads, instinctively begging for mercy.
However, Jin's eyes didn't tremble one bit. He remained as cold as an executioner at the guillotine.
"""AAAHHHHHHH!"""
Three white wolves closed their eyes.
They did not die instantly like the other two, however. The defensive barrier cast by Anz's Grand Magician temporarily blocked the attack.
'Have Chukon's eyes already recovered? No, he probably did it out of instinct.'
Pzzzt! Bzzzzp!
The grand magician's 'Polarized Field' lived up to its name. It must have been cast as soon as his eyes closed, but it still endured the blows of Conviction.
Although he completed the Third Blade of Divine Onslaught, Jin's aura was still only in the late 7-star stage. If he at least hit 8-star, then Chukon's barrier wouldn't even last three seconds.
'Of course, this probably isn't all you've got, Chukon Tolderer.'
Crkcrcrk!
Before they could let out screams, all of the White Wolves burned to ash. Jin finally stopped Conviction and recalled all of the lightning into Sigmund.
The aura from his unstable Heart of Light calmed down as he collected the screeching and screaming lightning bolts.
'I guess I have to at least hit 9-star to use it comfortably.'
It wasn't entirely pointless, though. Even with aura inadequate for Divine Onslaught, he sweeped five general-level White Wolf Tribesmen.
'Has Syris passed the compass to Enya safely?'
Although he wanted to check immediately, Kal Zipfel seemed to have recovered his vision.
'Shit… What the hell is going on?'
He couldn't sense the frantic panic of his subordinates screaming, "Lightning! Lightning!" However, the burning smell and lack of White Wolves proved something.
The ones who witnessed the slaughter had their legs shaking, their eyes screaming for retirement.
The greatest source of fear was the unknown monster that caused all of this. Neither Chukon nor Kal could think of anyone who could induce such fear.
If it were Myriad Iceblades, then it would be Talaris. If it were Mind's Blade, then it was Luna. And if it were Death Blade then it'd be a dark knight of Runcandel.
However, Jin had used a lightning-based move. To their knowledge, there wasn't a single knight who fought using lightning.
'Along with the unknown sword skill, he used a forgotten ancient light spell—Tzenmi's Photon Cannon from the depths of the hidden library… It matches.'
Kal and Chukon concluded simultaneously.
A magic swordsman.
* * *
The Zipfel Clan and Kinzelo Group both knew of the mysterious magic swordsman at the Delki Kingdom due to Jin's fight with Beris and Kuzan.
Especially on Zipfels' end, they considered that it might be the magic swordsman who impersonated Beradin, as reported by the survivors of the Tesing incident.
'Then is that man…?'
As Kal and Chukon struggled to reach a full conclusion, Jin took a step towards them. A single step, and the peons flinched.
"What are you thinking, Chukon Tolderer? Kal Zipfel?"
"…Where the fuck are you from?"
Chukon replied. He and Kal looked rather frustrated. They didn't know how information regarding the Compass even got out.
There was nothing they could do. They had not intel; how many allies he had downstairs, how strong he was, and the reason he went for the compass.
They thought that they only needed to be cautious of the Runcandels and Vermont Empire, but they never foresaw the appearance of an obscure third party…
'Not a Runcandel, probably a Vermont.'
'Is this the monster that the Vermonts have been experimenting with?'
Jin shrugged.
"There's no point in figuring out who I am. You'll die anyway."
He spoke coldly, but Jin didn't look forward to killing them. He just had to stall for time. He had to calm his heart down and let the first floor figure itself out.
He also needed to determine Chukon's and Kal's current thoughts and future actions.
"It's been so long since I've been humiliated like this. My enemy knows me, but I do not know them… Being a Zipfel, that's not usually the case. I'll officially introduce myself. I am the Zipfels' Pillar of the Fourth Tower of Magicians, Kal Zipfel."
"I know."
The Fourth Pillar for short. Kelliark's third son.
Jin didn't know much about him. He hadn't been on the press, nor did he meet him in his past life. However, he knew that the Fourth Tower did a lot of dirty work.
At first glance, doing the menial work didn't sound very impressive, but it was the opposite. The Fourth Tower had the most press release after the First Tower.
Essentially, they were a hot topic.
"You're bluffing too much. I admit that you're strong, but you can't face me and Chukon together."
"You think? You said you'd rip apart the bugs of Kinzelo, but now you turn to him again?"
"Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, it's no longer necessary. Anyway, we have a policy at the Zipfel Clan. We follow the mindset of 'recruiting strong enemies'. So, on that note, I present a proposal. Come with us, and I will promise you more than you would ever want.
"Kal Zipfel! You—!"
Chukon furrowed his eyebrows.
"My eyes will fall out, Sir Chukon. Didn't the Compass already fall into his hands? It seems that he already knows of our relationship. I don't think a battle would be—"
"That's horseshit!"
"Please, calm down. If he refuses, then we shall kill him. If you are yet to be satisfied, I can make you an offer as well. Honestly, I have no confidence in taking him on alone. Do you think you can?"
Five White Wolf tribesmen as well as dozens of 7-star knights and magicians died already. This was a feat that the two could also recreate, but not in such a short period.
"Become one with the Zipfels. Seeing that you're after the Compass, I don't think this offer is something you can easily turn down."
Jin smirked.
He was now sure of one thing.
'So the Midnight Sun Magicians' Kozak is definitely not here.'
The Kozak.
The horrifying ship that he faced at the Kollon Ruins.
Jin had to confirm the absence of the airship, which was why he dragged the conversation.
'If the Kozak were here, he wouldn't be giving such recruitment offers. Instead, he'd just go all out. If this island disappeared, he could just flee using the Kozak.'
That was the first problem when he came upon the island. Although he confirmed that the Midnight Sun Magicians were not present in the casino, he couldn't just assume that the Kozak wasn't hiding in the clouds.
However, with some further thought, the Zipfels would never send the Kozak to such trading operations. The airship was something that only moved during wars, not to this kind of a slum.
The same logic applied to the Kinzelo Group as well. If they had a ship with an entire army prepared, they would've arose suspicion from the Zipfels.
"So no Kozak, I guess."
Jin strategically chose to speak these words, and Kal's eyes widened.
No other perfect reaction existed.
"What…?"
"Then I don't need to discuss it further. Magicians, let's finish up."