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Kireua had taken the initiative; he had been planning to overwhelm Ranger to quickly end the fight, but just as expected, Ranger wasn’t an easy opponent.

“I didn’t think a mighty Imperial Knight would willingly roll on the ground…” Kireua muttered to himself.

Kireua had clearly misjudged. When he had delivered his barrage of scissor kicks from the air, Ranger had rolled on the floor to escape from Kireua’s attack. The technique was outright despised in the eastern continent because it resembled a lazy donkey avoiding trouble by rolling on the ground.

“Dignity? It’s not an important virtue for an Imperial Knight. Besides, I used to be a lowly mercenary,” Ranger quietly said as he stood up. “We, the Imperial Knights, exist for the sake of our mission, and our first mission is to protect members of the Imperial Family like you.”

“…If your definition of protection is coddling me in your arms, then with all due respect, I decline such protection, Sir Range.”

Ranger’s eyes gleamed. “Did you learn close-combat techniques from His Majesty?”

“Most of what I know is self-taught, but I did learn the basics from His Majesty.”

Ranger’s eyes shone brighter. He knew better than anyone else how ridiculous this was. A decade ago, Kireua had been just a boy, yet he hadn’t forgotten the close-combat techniques he had learned back then and instead had developed the techniques on his own to such an advanced level.

“…I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to be able to wrap yourself in your mana,” Ranger said.

“Is that because I’m not talented with spears?”

Ranger’s silence answered Kireua’s question quite plainly. As a matter of fact, Ranger hadn’t believed the news of the Second Prince becoming a Class A knight when Kireua had returned home.

Ranger had watched Kireua growing up from up close, much closer than anyone else. Maybe that was why Ranger had thought until a moment ago that Kireua was still a boy who had only gotten physically bigger, even though Kireua was an adult now.

“Great job, Your Highness,” Ranger said.

Kireua flinched.

“Do you still have anything else to show me?”

“…Of course.”

“I see.” Ranger sheathed his sword with a faint smile on his face.

Kireua tilted his head in confusion.

“I’ll be honest with you. Prince Selim is the only competent heir to His Majesty.”

“…Obviously.” Kireua nodded. “Unlike me, Selim inherited all His Majesty’s talents.”

“Yes, I became certain when Sir Cain chose to follow you to the west, not Prince Selim. I believed that Sir Cain was thinking the same.”

The more Ranger said, the more Kireua’s face darkened. Although Kireua was well aware of the truth, who would be happy to hear such things right to their face?

“I’m sorry, but for me, you were an immature child that took after His Majesty’s personality but not his talent.” Ranger shrugged.

“I told you this already, but I haven’t shown you my full power.”

“No, this is enough.” Ranger smiled from ear to ear. “I may not look like it right now, but I’m very excited right now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“A person that is born a genius or a late bloomer that finally taps into his great potential in order to become such a genius. Who will be the last emperor I’ll serve before I die…?”

Kireua's eyes widened.

Ranger looked sincerely intrigued. “To be honest, His Majesty doesn't really have a rival since he’s so ridiculously strong. I didn’t have many opportunities to assist or serve him, so my life was really boring.”

“Sir Ranger…?”

“If this civil war hadn’t broken out, I would probably have submitted my resignation and become a farmer in a rural area somewhere. Well, it’s better nowadays; fighting life or death battles makes me feel alive.” Ranger turned away. “I’m looking forward to seeing your accomplishments in the future. Please be careful and go show everyone in the Avalon Empire that the First Prince isn’t the only prince in this country.”

Kireua’s lips trembled as he realized what Ranger was saying.

Ranger grinned. “I’ll trust you and wait for your return here.”

* * *

Meanwhile, a royal conference was taking place in the Avalon Palace, the first conference in over a decade that the Emperor of Avalon himself attended. It was being held because the nobles heard the news of Lilith being in Avalon.

Since the Imperial Knights’ main job was to guard the Imperial Family, and the nobles were expert politicians, it was difficult to let the news slide. However, the conference had been silent so far due to Joshua’s immense presence.

Of course there was always an exception, and some subjects never hesitated to be forthright to their king even at the risk of their lives. As the Imperial Family of Sanders had always rewarded those loyal subjects instead of punishing them, it didn’t take long for the stiff atmosphere to change.

“I came here because I heard a royal conference had finally been called, but everyone is awfully quiet.” Joshua tilted his head. “Didn’t you directly ask me to hold this royal conference?”

“Your Majesty, please allow me to ask you a question.” One of the nobles came forward as if he had been waiting for this moment; it was Count Ziplier, an expert diplomat.

Joshua couldn’t help but smile upon seeing a familiar face. When Joshua had been crowned, Ziplier had been only a baron, so it was obvious that Sersiarin and the three Queen Consorts thought highly of him.

“I want to confirm one thing first: is it true that you took the witch from Hubalt under your protection?”

Joshua nodded. “If you’re talking about Lilith, then yes. To be precise, it’s an alliance of mutual benefit.”

“I knew it…!”

The nobles buzzed.

Ziplier bit his lip and then raised his voice. “I’m well aware that she is a close friend of yours, Your Majesty! But you need to banish the witch from the Empire!”

“Count Ziplier, just like you said, Lilith is one of my few friends from another country.”

“This is to protect the peace.”

“The peace? I think you’re forgetting that she played a major role in maintaining peace on the continent for a long time. The Continental War could have erupted decades ago, but thanks to Lilith coming to the front, everyone was able to avoid the worst,” Joshua said.

The murmuring died down because Joshua was right. Despite the warhawks in the Hubalt Empire like Zactor, the Martial Emperor, this age of peace had held for so long thanks to many figures in the papal faction like Lilith; Chrysler, the God's Knight; and Christian, the White Lion. After the disappearance of Joshua, the continent’s overlord, the Hubalt Empire was called the only major power in the continent.

But there was no way the nobles hadn’t been aware of that.

“But, Your Majesty, if Lilith Aphrodite has truly manifested the authority of a demon king, the Hubalt Empire won’t be our only problem. Supposing Avalon continues to support her, the other countries won’t leave Avalon be,” Ziplier asserted.

“What are you so afraid of?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m back,” Joshua calmly stated.

Ziplier’s jaw clicked shut.

“I’m Joshua Sanders, you know.”

If anyone else had said it, Ziplier would have called them a lunatic, but it was a different story when it came to the Martial God. He was the one and only.

“...Are you going to turn the entire continent into Avalon's enemy?” Ziplier asked.

“Let’s look at this in another way.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Avalon has accomplished something that makes it distinct from all other countries,”Joshua reminded them.

The nobles were totally confused.

“Avalon is the only country on the continent whose emperor exterminated the Demon Spirit. If Hubalt says something, tell them that the Martial God himself will exterminate Lilith Aphrodite, his friend, if her power drives her berserk.”

Joshua’s powerful voice echoed throughout the council chamber, silencing any opposition.

‘Huh…’ Cain shook his head in disbelief.

The pain in his face had faded long ago, and his master was the same as ever. When it came to wordplay, Joshua was peerless on the continent and moved with confidence.

Cain glanced at the back of Joshua’s head and chuckled dumbfoundedly. “…This is why I can’t leave him.”

Joshua wasn’t in his usual condition, so Cain wasn’t sure where he got the confidence to potentially turn the entire continent against them.

“Your Majesty, there is no easy way to say this and I don’t know about the other countries… But the Hubalt Empire is currently hellbent on finding justification to start a war. Even if you personally make a public declaration, there is a high chance that Hubalt will start a war and invade us,” Ziplier cautiously said.

“Let them.”

“L-Let them invade us?”

“Yeah.” Joshua shrugged. “You’re basically saying that they won’t listen even if we try to reason with them, right? When someone runs wild and can’t be brought to their senses, someone should knock some sense into them.”

Silence blanketed the area, sheer shock rendering the conference mute. The nobles perfectly understood what Joshua was planning.

“It’s the same with the Martial Emperor,” Joshua continued. “Letting them off the hook once is enough.”

“Your Majesty, you mean…?”

Whatever questions they had left were wiped away by Joshua’s next words:

“If another country comes after Avalon again, we’ll have to wipe them out for good this time.”

Their jaws dropped to the ground. Some of the knights trembled, unable to hold back their excitement.

That day, three words were engraved into the minds of the people there.

“Unify the continent,” the Martial God finally said. “If diplomacy isn’t an option, let’s just take over the Hubalt Empire.”