[T.L: punisher87]
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"How much damage has occurred?"
"It's serious. The capital of the Milkun Kingdom has vanished without a trace, and it's estimated that the civilian death toll is at least two hundred thousand."
When Jin heard the number two hundred thousand, he thought his ears had deceived him.
"...Two hundred thousand, you said?"
If that was true, then Diphus had committed an irreparable massacre of civilians.
Tona Brothers, who were also listening, clenched their fists, and Mary's face turned pale.
She struggled to contain her emotions as her trembling fists betrayed her.
Even if Diphus were to escape from the clutches of chaos in the future, such a huge tragedy could not be forgotten.
It drove the siblings mad.
"...And the number of hostages is at least ten thousand."
As Kashmir continued his explanation with a grim expression, Jin felt as if his entire body was submerged in water.
'Rosa...that crazy monster...!'
A massive catastrophe had occurred, caused by the brother who had become a weapon of war under Rosa's command.
Jin's eyes were shaking as he looked at Kashmir.
"If there are only ten thousand hostages, did the Chaos Dragon and the Black ships move?"
"Yes, they attacked the Lutero Magic Federation simultaneously under Sir Diphus' command. It is believed that they used teleportation or summoning abilities of evil god in the form of massive dimensional portals and tunnels."
The Lutero Magic Federation was unable to put up a proper fight.
Hundreds of black ships and thousands of Chaos Dragons suddenly emerged from tunnels and dimensional portals, and unless it was Drakka's stronghold, there was no way to respond quickly.
Furthermore, Diphus executed a dual operation. At first, he appeared with a fleet as if launching a full-scale attack, then quickly disappeared like smoke while Zipfel rallied their forces, stirring up all over the Federation.
Within one hour.
Diphus' army of chaos inflicted significant damage on Zipfel and successfully escaped. Drakka's forces couldn't keep up with the mobility of the chaos army.
In addition, Diphus' battle prowess was also a problem. Octavia and the Spectre squad couldn't penetrate his overwhelming chaos during the pursuit even once.
The World's Strongest clan had been defeated without even being able to properly use its abilities.
The affected areas of the federation, including the Milkun Kingdom, were currently in a state of utter chaos.
The chaos left behind by Diphus had grown uncontrollably like a raging wildfire, still engulfing the remaining civilians in agony.
If the death toll exceeded 200,000, it meant that there were far more injured.
Even the Holy Kingdom, which had blocked all communication with Zipfel, immediately dispatched healers upon hearing the news.
Fear was spreading rapidly as if in madness.
There were many who claimed that even if any monster in the world appeared, Zipfel's territory, which had been considered the safest haven, had fallen so helplessly that the end caused by the chaos was only a matter of time.
As Kashmir explained these details, Jin held his breath.
What he needed to do was not succumb to despair but to stop Diphus as soon as possible, starting from now.
He had to assess the situation accurately.
"I must go to Drakka immediately. There may be attacks by the evil god while I'm absent, so please activate all defense equipment."
Now that it was revealed that Rosa had abilities like large-scale teleportation, battles could erupt suddenly at any time.
'A large-scale summoning or teleportation ability like that would surely have some restrictions. It might involve using humans or despair. I wonder if the reason for kidnapping the hostages was to compensate for that.'
The fear experienced by those who were already under the direct rule of the evil god, and the sudden fear felt by those who had thought they were "safe" in their land. The magnitude of the resulting despair would undoubtedly be different.
It was impossible to know immediately whether Rosa had enough power to mobilize her forces.
"Understood, young master."
"And where is Lady Syris?"
"She just returned from the Holy Kingdom."
"Young master, it would be better for me to go to Kinzelo myself with the help of Lady Syris. Also, I will inspect the Empire. There is a possibility that they were also attacked."
"Okay."
Jin and Kashmir turned around and moved forward, while Mary, despite her crumbling heart, turned back towards the infirmary. She had to overcome the feeling of imminent collapse.
"There will be a major battle soon. To fight properly, we must focus on recovery. Prepare the knights of our clan," she instructed.
"Yes, elder sister!"
Even as Jin headed towards the Red Owl's launch site, reports kept pouring in from the seven-colored peacock without a moment's rest. The real-time updates on the extent of the damage were presented as unimaginable numbers of deaths, making it difficult to grasp the reality.
Jin suddenly halted his steps.
He was in front of Euria's room, and he could hear suppressed crying beyond the closed door. As a contractor of Az Mil, she had been sensing the ominous premonition of this situation for some time now. Perhaps Euria already knew the outcome of this crisis.
Jin gently comforted her with a few strokes before resuming his journey towards the launch site.
Regardless of what Euria had witnessed, he was determined to create a future that was better than what she had seen.
* * *
The Red Owl couldn't pinpoint the coordinates of Zipfel's main headquarters. Jin had been thrown into a forest on the outskirts of Drakka, but upon arrival, he immediately encountered Ronil Zipfel.
It seemed that Ronil knew and had been waiting for the Red Owl to arrive.
"Are you here, Sir Jin?"
Jin didn't ask how he knew in advance and had waited. It wasn't a situation where he could find out, and the most important issue now was Diphus.
"Sir Ronil."
"Thank you for coming promptly. Allow me to serve you."
The district where Jin had landed had been attacked by Diphus. As it wasn't near the main base, the city as a whole was engulfed in fear.
Because the disasters that happened in Milkun and other parts of the federation couldn't be concealed through media control.
"While we were requesting support from Tikan, there was another assault."
Ronil spoke as they boarded the fourth flagship, Andion.
"During that time, was there another large-scale troop movement?"
"No, there wasn't. Diphus Runcandel, accompanied by two Black Knights, attacked the Barkle District. As we were prepared, civilian casualties weren't significant, but... the captain of the spectre squad suffered serious injuries. Lord Kadun engaged in combat before fully recovering, leading to further injuries."
Elder Brother Diphus.
As Jin was about to begin speaking, he looked out through the window of the battleship. The land was now filled with people he had killed or injured.
"... What happened to the 4th flagbearer?"
"He managed to escape without any casualties, just like in the first attack. It seems like he received significant power from the evil god...…."
According to Ronil, not only did Diphus possess the ability to teleport through dimensions and the Prophet's Tunnel through the power of the evil god, but he also had flight capabilities akin to Bale.
With his overwhelming mobility, he repeatedly attacked and evaded, like a ghost of despair.
The manifestation of the Evil God.
That's how Zipfel categorized him. Diphus possessed a power that couldn't be explained without acknowledging the influence of the evil god.
Andion arrived at Zipfel's main house. The castle, known as the headquarters of magic, was completely open and bustling with civilians, unlike its usual state. It was accommodating the terrified civilians.
Some of them pointed fingers and whispered as Jin disembarked from the Andion, or bowed their heads as if a savior had arrived.
The former group was wary of Jin, knowing that he was a Runcandel like the evil god and Diphus, and the latter was due to his deeds.
Just as Ronil was about to instruct the crowd to disperse, Jin stopped him.
"It's better to leave them be."
Jin walked past them and entered the mansion.
Inside and outside, Zipfel's associates were constantly on the move.
The only ones who weren't running were the highest-ranking elders. They were not as polite as Ronil even when they saw Jin rushing over.
Rather, there were many who frowned or showed outright hostility as if they were displeased.
Of course, since Jin did not even notice the grumbling of the old killifish because of the situation, but the elders appeared to be following Jin and Ronil naturally. They seemed to be aware that they needed to hear the upcoming conversation between the highest decision-maker and Jin.
After passing through the two corridors, they arrived at the office of the patriarch of Zipfel. Originally, there was Veradin where Kelliark should have been.
"We meet again like this, Jin."
"Veradin."
Despite the countless civilian casualties and the injuries suffered by Octavia and Kadun, as well as significant losses in their forces under Zipfel's protection, Veradin didn't show the slightest hint of remorse. Rather, he furrowed his brows, seemingly annoyed by the elders who followed Jin.
"Why have the elders come here?"
"What do you mean, young patriarch? We naturally want to attend the meeting..."
"If you're incompetent, at least be aware of the situation and be busy with something else. Well, now that you've come all this way, listen if you're curious. It won't take long."
The elders frowned, but they didn't dare to challenge Veradin's words.
"It seemed chaotic out there."
"I can't help but feel that your nonchalant attitude contradicts that. I just heard that the 4th flagbearer attacked Barkle district. Is there a reason why you are so carefree?"
"About a hundred civilians died. Although the spectre captain and lord Kadun were injured, the 4th flagbearer did not take any damage even after dealing with them. If that's the case, there must be a reason why he stopped, even though they could have turned Barkle District into ruins and advanced to Drakka."
"Then why did you urgently request support from the Vamel Alliance? Is it for post-recovery?"
Veradin smirked at that question.
"That's a strange question. It's a temporary alliance, so isn't it natural to ask for support? Above all, we need to prevent the growing despair that the evil god acquires... We need to rescue the hostages. With the 2nd and 4th flagbearers starting their activities, the despair that binds to the evil god is increasing rapidly."
When Veradin mentioned "despair," Jin's pupils dilated.
Zipfel already knew the extent of the despair harvested by Rosa.
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