Chapter 28

Tarkus and the Dark Knight Bruford (3), originally The Hero of the 77 Rings in the WSJ release, is the twenty-eighth chapter of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga. It is also the twenty-eighth chapter of Phantom Blood.

Summary
Jonathan is fighting the black knights when a zombie approaches him from behind. Bruford gets behind the zombie and rips off its nose and the skin around it. He says to Dio that he wishes to finish Jonathan off by himself. Dio is not pleased with this, as he notices that Bruford is acting on his knightly pride rather than only on his orders, but he allows Bruford to do as he wants. Yelling out a battle cry, Bruford leaps into the air with both arms behind his back, using his hair to draw his sword and strike Jonathan. It is only thanks to Speedwagon's warning that Jonathan dodges Dance Macabre Hair in time.

Bruford is impressed by Jonathan's ability to dodge his attack, which he once used during the trial of the 77 Rings. In the trial, warriors must climb 10 kilometers of mountain road wearing heavy armor and traversing whatever obstacles are presented. In addition, the warrior must fight 77 knights on the way in. The knights hold golden rings on their armor that must be taken and worn to prove to the next knight that the warrior has defeated the previous ones. Each warrior fights normally, but, because of the rings, the challenger accumulates on his armor, the weight he carries increases and slows him down. When the brave knight faces the 77th warrior, he is weighed down by more than 100 kilograms of extra weight. Only five men have survived this great ordeal: Winzaleo, Eijkman, Caineghis, and Bruford and Tarkus themselves. Bruford made use of his Dance Macabre Hair technique to finish the trial.

Wasting no time, Bruford knocks Jonathan into the lake and goes in after him. Zeppeli becomes concerned for Jonathan's safety, because being underwater means that he cannot breathe, and thus, cannot use the Ripple. Believing that Bruford will inevitably defeat Jonathan, since they are both underwater, Dio leaves Zeppeli, Speedwagon, and Tarkus, intending to feed on the lives of the hapless people of Windknights.

In the lake, the fight between Jonathan and Bruford continues. Jonathan is desperate for a single breath so he can use the Ripple. Bruford, wanting to make the duel fair, says he will not use his sword. Jonathan, desperate for breath, tries something drastic: he dives to the bottom of the lake, attempting to use the trapped air there to get a breath without having to go to the surface. Lifting a single rock, Jonathan gets the air he needs to create Ripple energy in the form of a bubble. Then, increasing the speed of his bloodstream, Jonathan uses his "Underwater Turquoise Blue Overdrive" and hits Bruford in the face.