Swordmaster's Youngest Son Novel - Chapter 830
Chapter 830
[What? Ugh, my head, what’s that nonsense again? And just now, someone asked if I was a different Murakan, and the guy who massacred the commoners and sent Temar to bed. Call that bastard a fake Murakan from now on. He only did things I don’t like.]
“Well, then. The Murakan we have before us has no intention of killing us…”
[Oh, that’s true! That guy is fake, and I’m the real one. That bastard is nothing more than a painted image by Sir Kaytam… No, forget that. Anyway, stop saying things like ‘forgive us’ because I’m not a bad guy.]
“I attest to that.”
Jin said as he jumped off Murakan’s back.
The people were surprised again, not knowing that Jin and Shuri had been on Murakan’s back this whole time.
Jin was wearing the young Patriarch’s black coat adorned with ten black swords.
Runcandel’s attire hadn’t changed much over the centuries, so the people thought Jin was a knight of Runcandel.
“Oh, a knight of Runcandel?”
“Yes, I’ve been on an external mission with Murakan for a long time and was on my way back to the Storm Castle. So go ahead, keep talking. What happened to the Patriarch?”
“Well, Murakan-nim…
[Fake Murakan!]
“I’m sorry. So, Temar-nim was attacked by the Fake Murakan-nim. We, the common people, don’t know the exact details, but there was a great battle in the Black Sea. Thanks to the timely arrival of the Ten Great Knights, he managed to survive, but… many people saw Temar-nim get injured.”
According to the villagers’ explanation, the Ten Great Knights had pursued the fake Murakan after rescuing Temar.
The pursuit lasted from the Black Sea to Mitel, and during the process, the Ten Great Knights suffered minor and major injuries.
The fake Murakan only stopped attacking after they barely reached Mitel.
“Maybe he refrained from directly confronting the remaining Ten Great Knights and Runcandel’s full force, as it would have been a burden. However, the fake Murakan isn’t just avoiding a head-on battle; after that, he continued to attack various places in the Mitel Kingdom and the Huphester Alliance.”
“Are you saying he’s trying to kill him?”
“Yes… There may be reasons why he couldn’t accurately track Sir Temar’s whereabouts. He may be anticipating that Sir Temar will recover using Numerus’ blood and return… That’s all we know so far.”
“I see. Thanks for telling me. I should return to the Storm Castle as soon as possible.”
When Jin got back on Murakan, the villagers exchanged glances and let out sighs of relief.
They couldn’t believe they had seen Murakan and still survived.
[That damn fake guy, me and the boy will definitely take care of him, so everyone can rest assured.]
[Nyaah! Nyaah!!]
Shuri also raised her front paw and inflamed her fighting spirit.
“Thank you, thank you!”
“Of course, there’s no way the true guardian dragon of Runcandel, Murakan, would do such a thing. This is the real Murakan, right…!”
“Please, make sure to execute that scoundrel!”
The group left the town amidst the villagers’ sincere cheers.
[Boy, cancel the idea of taking it easy and exploring. Let’s go full speed. Hm, it seems like one of the guardians painted by Kaytam was me from this time, and because of that contaminated painting, that guy has gone crazy, don’t you think?]
“Most likely.”
[Ah, it annoys me. I’m really angry. No matter that it’s just an incident in a painting, someone is pretending to be me, using my name and wielding powers like mine to do such things. I’ll find both the fake and the one who contaminated the painting and tear them apart.]
While Murakan vented his frustration with curses that pierced the sky, Jin recalled the record he saw in the second tomb from the past.
-There really is a tower in the Black Sea… It means the Patriarch is there. Haha… Murakan, is there really no other way than this? Honestly, I doubt myself.
-Temar has weakened. I can handle it perfectly well on my own. The reason I called you is simply…
-It’s not that. I doubt if this is the right thing to do. It’s too cruel, to kill the Patriarch with our own hands. Both for him and for us.
-Don’t hesitate now, Padler. Do you think I want to kill him? This feeling of despair is beyond words. It haunts me too.
A conversation between Murakan and Padler from that record.
‘According to the record, there really was a tower in the Black Sea, and Temar seemed to be going crazy. And at the moment Murakan and Padler were about to finish him off, Orgal appeared. Orgal proposed that there was a way to save Temar.’
The record was cut off, and Jin couldn’t see what that proposal was.
‘They fought against Temar in the tower of the Black Sea. It’s true that they more or less subdued the weakened Temar. But, are the events happening in the painting now related to what happened back then, considering the contamination?’
Whatever the event from a thousand years ago that Kaytam left, solving the contamination would probably shed light on it.
“Murakan.”
[What?]
“If we head directly to the Storm Castle like this, won’t we be attacked? You and the fake look exactly alike. Maybe the people of the Storm Castle might misunderstand us and attack us.”
[That’s true, but we can’t take it easy. At least, the strength level of the Ten Great Knights is necessary for attacks to work against me, so we’ll ignore the rest and go full speed. We can calmly explain everything once we reach the Storm Castle.]
“Hmm, I wish misunderstandings could be easily cleared up with words. Anyway, let’s discuss some situations. We’ll have to explain our presence.”
After two hours of flying, the Murakan Mountain came into view.
During their journey, Jin confirmed that their presence was reported by lighting bonfires and firing signal flares in various territories.
Naturally, the Storm Castle and nearby cities were all prepared for an attack.
“I see evacuation processions. It seems they’ve issued an evacuation order, which means they’re ready to fight while destroying the entire city.”
When Jin finished speaking, suddenly, sword strikes and projectiles threatened them from somewhere on the ground.
Numerous knights, probably around three thousand in number, were firing a barrage of attacks.
However, their countless sword strikes didn’t even reach Murakan, who quickly ascended to a higher altitude.
From that moment on, none of the knights’ sword strikes reached the group.
It was practically impossible for regular knights to confront a powerful dragon like Murakan.
While Magicians could use binding magic or long-range spells, knights could only rely on their physical skills in aerial combat.
However, there were exceptions like the Ten Great Knights, who were special powerhouses.
Swish-!
Suddenly, a menacing sword strike rose from a position halfway up the mountain.
It was a sword strike that effortlessly pierced Murakan’s protective shield, and there was no need to check who its wielder was.
“One of the Ten Great Knights, huh?”
[Yes, only they can pierce my protective shield like that. I wonder who it is. Whoever it is, it’s a familiar face.]
Successive sword strikes left traces in the sky.
Murakan quickly changed direction, dodging some and overlapping protective shields to block others.
“Murakan…! You finally dare to extend your claws to the Storm Castle! I’ve been wanting to find you somehow and avenge the Patriarch. Come down here, I’ll kill you!”
[Ah, Dranax, it’s you!]
Murakan immediately recalled the memories of Dranax Runcandel, the former Patriarch of the ‘Kamalga’ clan, who was famous as a conqueror in southern Hufester a thousand years ago.
Like most of the Ten Great Knights, he had switched his loyalty to Temar and changed his name.
“Don’t say my name with your filthy mouth, why am I even bothering with you?”
[Oh, I almost forgot about you! I got along very well with you back then.]
“What nonsense are you saying?”
[How can I forget someone who liked to settle things with fists like me? So, it’s better to have a conversation with someone other than you. I’ll be at the Storm Castle, see you later?]
“What? Stay put! Bastard, stay put…!”
Murakan blocked and dodged Dranax’s sword strikes and ascended to a higher altitude again.
It was impossible even for ten great knights to catch Murakan, if he decided to flee.
You can interfere with regular dragons’ flight by emitting energy, but that was impossible in Murakan’s case.
[By the way, you were wrong before, really. I’m the real Murakan, and the one who made Temar like that is the fake! Maybe someone will explain it when you return to the Storm Castle!]
“Aaah! I’ll kill you! Come here, come back!”
Dranax’s furious screams were quickly fading.
He fired a few more sword strikes towards the group’s rear and released his aura.
“Wouldn’t it have been better to explain it calmly? It seems you’ve provoked him even further.”
[You don’t know him well enough. Unless someone he perceives as smarter than himself explains it to him, he’ll never listen.]
“So, weren’t you that kind of comrade to him?”
[As you know, I’m not only exceptional physically, but I’m also very intelligent. But he was completely oblivious to that. Completely oblivious.]
Soon, Murakan reached the entrance of the Storm Castle.
There, two of the Ten Great Knights and some selected elite knights were standing on the castle walls, waiting for the group.
“Murakan… It seems you’ve come to make a final stop at the Storm Castle. It pains me to see you fallen. Today, we will cleanse your vile sins with your life. May you find remorse even a little before your death.”
[Wait! I didn’t come here to fight. I came to reveal the truth. I see, there’s someone who can communicate. Hey, Frey! Yes, you’re Frey Runcandel, right? I didn’t hurt Temar, it was the fake Mur… Argh, here we go again! That guy is fake, and I’m the real one. I’ll explain everything in detail, so please, lower your sword.]
“Ay, you’re still underestimating us. Even Hell won’t be able to contain your wickedness. So, let’s end the conversation here. I can’t wish you good luck like before when we were comrades. Instead, I’ll curse you. All forces, attack!”
[No, just listen to me for a moment!]
Murakan shouted desperately, but the opponents attacked without any hesitation.