[Swordmaster's Youngest Son] Translated Novel Chapter - 234

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Translator, Editor, Proofreader: Ganu

My Discord Username : ganu.

For the latest chapters read SYS here: https://getsyuga.blogspot.com/

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NOTE: I will be taking a break. Exams coming up, plus just got flu

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Episode 234: Lani Salome (3)

What would it be if not human?

A demon, a beast, or something else. In any case, there was a strong hostility in the heavy footsteps, and Murakhan stared firmly at the closed door.

"Kid, take care of the religious fanatic."

As he said that, Murakhan didn't put down the glass he was holding.

"Got it. I don't know what it is, but I'll handle it quietly."

"Okay."

Thud, thud!

The footsteps in front of Lani's door ceased.

Creak!

Then Murakhan opened the door first and grinned with a sly smile. No, he tried to, but... after looking at them directly, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

The owners of the footsteps were bipedal and had two arms and legs, but they couldn't be called human or monsters.

If you had to categorize them, they would be closer to weak and unfortunate humans. They were also beings that Jin had encountered once before, at the Colon Ruins, before he became a preliminary rider.

"A bio-golem...!?"

Suddenly.

The faces of the soldiers that Murakhan had put to sleep flashed through his mind. The faces of the two ordinary people who were on guard duty, with no trace of abnormality even though they were experiencing this.

They were people who didn't have to go through such things.

It was the same when Jin first encountered a bio-golem at Colon. The mercenaries he had knocked out suddenly transformed into bio-golems and attacked him.

The bio-golems that had become unconscious mercenaries said this.

Please, kill us.

"Zipfel, you crazy bastards!"

The moment Jin muttered that.

The razor-sharp nails of the bio-golems flew towards Murakhan's face.

Since Colon, he had grown stronger and had achieved significant results.

If it had been the old Murakhan, he might have allowed a small scratch. But to the current Murakhan, it was as slow as flowing clouds.

Shak!

As Murakhan swiftly swung his hand like a flying blade, all four arms were cut off simultaneously.

Before the severed arms could even touch the ground, Murakhan reached out his hand again.

Thud!

His two hands, stained black with dark energy, were aimed at the vital points of the bio-golems. Murakhan instantly realized that their core, their "heart," was there.

"Tsk, I can't save you."

As Murakhan clenched his fist lightly, the hearts of the bio-golems burst, and they couldn't even scream.

As soon as their hearts shattered, their bloated bodies quickly began to shrink. The only thing left was their blackened husks, devoid of any traces of their humanity.

The three of them silently watched their bodies for a few seconds.

Naturally, Lani was the most shocked. She had a moment of nausea, but she managed to calm her trembling body and remembered her own status.

The daughter of the Holy King, a Holy Knight of the Dawn Society, and a humble person.

Lani took out a scripture from her bosom, unfolded it, and knelt beside them.

"Oh, Ayura, here have come my pitiful brethren in search of peace. Please console their unjust and futile deaths by embracing their souls..."

A pale yellow light emanated from her, enveloping the bodies of the deceased.

Whoosh...

The light soon turned into sacred Ayura's flames, turning the corpses into ashes. Lani, suppressing her vomiting, finished a short memorial and regained her composure.

The fragments of the shattered hearts that Murakhan had broken remained on the floor, not disappearing.

"Ha, bio-golems, huh? It's hard to believe even after seeing them. How can something like this exist in the Holy Kingdom? Did we mistakenly come to another country?"

Murakhan picked up one of the fragments and examined it. Jin also stared at the fragment intently. Within the fragment, a blue shimmering aura was gathered.

So a chilling sensation arose, but it was not something to be mentioned immediately.

"Lani Salome. For now, it seems best to move to a safe place wherever it may be. Those bastards will send more people soon."

With a determined nod, Lani, who had just opened her eyes, said, "Understood, please follow me."

Stepping out of the dim hallway, they didn't leave the Eastern Temple.

"If they find out that I've disappeared, there will be nowhere to hide within the Holy Kingdom. It's better to stay here, as there are few people who know about this secret passage."

She had been skilled at hiding or concealing things since she was young. After becoming the daughter of the Holy King, she naturally developed this ability in an effort to escape various malicious and burdensome gazes.

Creak!

Lani forcefully turned the neck of the giant statue of Ayura.

As Ayura's head moved aside, the empty space inside the statue were revealed. She entered inside, turned her head back to its original position, and darkness surrounded them.

The interior of the statue was connected to a "double underground" that led to the drainage system of the Eastern Temple.

After walking for a few minutes, Lani staggered and grabbed the wall.

"Hah, haa, hah...!"

She was overwhelmed by the feeling that her lifelong faith was being completely invalidated.

Her father, King Miklan, had been kidnapped by Zipfel, and Vankella had become corrupt to the point where it could no longer be called the "Holy Kingdom."

"The Holy Kingdom... is finished."

Jin didn't answer and locked eyes with her.

'She's on the verge of a mental breakdown.'

Jin understood well enough that she had collapsed.

But there was no way to comfort her anyway. Having lost her only family, her country, and now losing her faith, what comfort could Jin offer her?

Instead, Jin could provide practical help.

"Choose, Lani Salome. If you're so tired and exhausted that you don't even have the heart to seek revenge, I won't ask anything and will quietly send you to a land where you can live your life in safety. I'll guarantee your safety for a lifetime and provide you with enough money so that you don't have to work. If you leave with us right now."

Then Jin locked eyes with Lani.

"But if that's not the case, then gather your senses and let's have a meaningful conversation so that we can help each other. How many enemies there are, since when they have been manipulating the Holy Kingdom to their own will, whether there are trustworthy people within the Holy Kingdom, and so on."

"...It's true that I helped you in Santel. But I can't ask you to save my father or fight Zipfel."

"Why?"

Lani couldn't speak for a moment.

"You want to risk your life for me and the Holy Kingdom? Really, Jin Runkandel?"

"Yeah, I'm Jin Runkandel. So Zipfel is my enemy by nature, but it's also to repay the favor I owe. It's my choice as the successor of Runkandel. Allowing Zipfel to rule the Holy Kingdom would ultimately be detrimental to me and my family."

"Well, um... Kid, it makes sense, but aren't you being a bit cold? How troubled would the religious fanatic be...?"

"That's why you should also act pragmatically. I'm talking about making a deal. It's a choice as Runkandel. Let's incorporate the Holy Kingdom. If you help drive out Zipfel and fight alongside with me."

A silence fell.

Murakhan understood Jin's intention and looked at Lani with a serious gaze.

By the time the stench from the drainage became familiar, Lani opened her mouth again.

"...Please understand the embarrassing behaviour you just saw, Jin Runkandel. Okay, I'll go along with what you said. I'll make a deal with Runkandel."

From the moment she spoke those words, there were numerous changes within Lani's inner self in a short period of time.

It was clear that this young preliminary rider, who looked much younger than her, did not love the Holy Kingdom as much as she did.

But she was embarrassed by the fact that Jin cared more about the well-being and interests of the Holy Kingdom than she did.

"Good, what I will do is either rescue the king or drive out Zipfel from the Holy Kingdom. And what you will do is support me and Murakhan. Especially this guy has become quite sturdy compared to when you first met him, so feel free to rely on him."

Jin inwardly sighed with relief.

If Lani had impulsively decided to leave, he would have had to figure out where to start from the beginning.

If they drove out Zipfel from the Holy Kingdom, they could help the refugees and even make a proper appearance when they returned to Runkandel.

"...First, let me explain the current situation as I understand it."

Zipfel had already been absorbing the key figures and organizations within the Holy Kingdom one by one for several years.

Among them, the first group to become Zipfel's dogs was the Dawn Guard, the order to which Lani Salome belonged.

"So, that's why my father sent me to the Dawn Guardians of Doctrine. He told me to join them and investigate from within since there was no one else he could trust. Until recently, my father wasn't entirely sure either."

"Then after receiving the report from you about the incident in Santel, the king must have become convinced."

"Yeah. Right after my report, Zipfel kidnapped my father. At first, he tried to deceive me as well by pretending to be my father. Since he imitated his tone of voice and actions perfectly."

But there was one fact that only a few close aides of the king knew.

The king couldn't move his left index finger. While Lani felt that her father's divine power had weakened, she saw the imposter using his left index finger perfectly during a meal.

As soon as Lani questioned and investigated it, Zipfel cut off the king's left index finger and sent it to her room. Moreover, he did it through a fellow knight who was the same age as Lani, whom she trusted.

It was at that moment that Lani fell into despair.

"Those sick, perverted bastards."

"Did you keep the finger?"

When Jin asked, Lani shook her head.

"It burned down immediately after I checked and confirmed it."

"The Seal of Fire. It's a magic that can only be used if you are related to Shinu. So, It must be the work of Kelliark Zipfel or Kadun."

In other words, their opponents were Zipfel, and among them was Kelliark, the Patriarch.

Although Murakhan had regained his strength, it was impossible to fight against the entirety of Zipfel.

But if it was not a physical battle but a "war of public opinion," it was a different story. Even though the king's finger was gone, there were still fragments of the bio-golem's heart with Jin.

"Bio-golems and transformation magic. They will be the Achilles' heel for you."

When Jin showed the fragment of the heart, Lani understood his intentions.

"Are you planning to claim that Zipfel turned the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom into bio-golems as evidence?"

"That's right."

"But, I am the only witness."

"No, I have thwarted Zipfel's bio-golem experiments before. There’s a witness, and a great journalist is also waiting to report all this."

"...What did you say?"

"But that's not enough. We need several more concrete pieces of evidence to expose Zipfel's mask, and we need to expose them all at once. Who else knows that the real king can't use his left index finger?"