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Side Story Chapter 82

No one gave any orders, but the entire national army stopped marching and stared vacantly up at the sky. There was a danger of them getting caught up in the lightning storm if they approached any closer.

Joshua kept spinning his white spear, increasing the number of lightning aura bolts shrieking through the air over time.

“Arggghhhh!”

“S-Save me…!”

“Urggh…!”

The rebel knights wearing full metal armor took especially severe damage. As lightning and metal didn’t mix, the rebel knights were more affected by Joshua’s lightning bolts even if they used their mana to protect themselves. On top of that, these lightning bolts originated from Bronto, the primordial stone of lightning that was once called a divine relic.

When the area was silent, Joshua slowly landed on the ground like a god descending to earth.

Cain’s horse instinctively refused to move out of fear, forcing him to drag his horse so he could get to Joshua.

“Please be honest with me,” Cain said.

“What do you mean, ‘honest’?”

“You were lying about your condition, weren’t you.”

A man like Cain had gotten punched in the face, and it was hard to imagine that a person whose power was sealed could use the technique Joshua had just displayed.

“That’s why I only used a level 4 technique.”

“Pardon?”

“This is my limit right now.”

As Cain had been serving Joshua for a very long time, he immediately understood what Joshua meant. The Magic Spear Art’s Level 4 techniques were technically the level of A-Class knights, so even if Joshua was currently weak and a large part of his power was sealed, he was only weak compared to his past self. In other words, Joshua could use A-Class techniques without difficulty.

“I-Impossible…”

“It’s… really His Majesty…?”

“U-Unbelievable…”

The fact that the enemies who hadn’t been swept away by the lightning storm could stumble away corroborated Joshau’s remark. Had Joshua used a Magic Spear Art technique with his full power, that would never have happened, and those one thousand soldiers and knights would have been barbecued.

In any case, Cain what he should do in times like this.

“Kneel! The great emperor of the Avalon has returned!” Cain shouted, his voice pumped with so much mana that his words could be heard for miles.

“Woaaaahhhhhhhh!”

The national army let out enthusiastic cheers as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Ranger’s lips stretched into a wide smile. He could see that the army’s morale was easily at the highest it had been since the civil war had broken out.

“Hahahahaha!”

What was the use of an authority from a god right now? A god stood in their midst right now.

Joshua, Cain at his side, marched past the half of the rebel army that had been knocked out by his lightning. The roughly five hundred remaining rebels backed away.

“What are you all doing? Didn’t you hear what the man said?” Joshua tilted his head. “Then let me tell you again.”

Joshua’s mana lifted him into the air, allowing him to gaze down at the rebels imperiously.

“Kneel.”

* * *

“Teacher…?”

Ulabis, who had been looking around the garden in the imperial Palace of the Avalon Empire, came to a halt.

“Kireua…?” Ulabis murmured blankly, stunned by the familiar voice.

“I knew it was you!” Kireua hustled over to him, beaming.

Ulabis turned the ends of his mouth curling into a smile. “So you’re still alive, huh?”

“Of course—I learned from the best.”

“Well, you’re the Martial God’s son and the Flame Emperor’s student, so there’s no way you’d die in vain. I heard a lot about what you did.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the rumor on the streets is that the sidekick Second Prince finally became as good as the dirt under the First Prince’s toenails.”

Veins bulged out of Kireua’s forehead. “Which son of a bitch could have said such a beautiful story?”

“Who knows?”

“Don’t tell me you believe that too.”

“We’ll find out enough. I never met your older brother, Selim Sanders, in person.” Ulabis shrugged.

“He’s not my older brother.”

“Your mother is the Third Queen Consort, and his mother is the First Queen Consort. So this is the correct hierarchy even if you two are the same age.”

“I see you’re still great at irritating your student,” Kireua pouted.

“Do you want me to continue?” Ulabis asked, his smile growing.

“Oh, my. Isn’t this His Highness, the Second Prince of the Avalon Empire?” a voice came, interrupting their reunion.

Ulabis and Kireua’s heads turned.

“Oohhh! And that’s Grand Duke ‘Flame Emperor’ Ulabis standing next to him. My, my, today must be my lucky day to meet such highly renowned figures in one place.”

The man speaking looked very sly, like a baby snake.

“I didn’t know you would accept Avalon’s invitation too. From what I know, things are bad in your country right now; is it okay for you to be away right now?”

“Who are you?” Ulabis asked.

“My! I can’t believe I made such a mistake! I know it’s late, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Duke Uraxen from the Tetra Kingdom.”

“Tetra Kingdom…?” Ulabis frowned.

The Tetra Kingdom was a kingdom that had been recently founded on the ruins of the Terra Kingdom; after the kingdom of magic had fallen, a new kingdom had been established with a new name.

The Tetra Kingdom had recently announced that they supported the Hubalt Empire. Since Ulabis was considering the possibility that the Hubalt Empire was behind the civil war in his country, he was, unsurprisingly, uncomfortable with Uraxen.

“Thank you, but I believe it’s not a matter you should be concerned with,” Ulabis answered.

“Oh, my mistake. I apologize if I offended you in any way. There is a person I’ve been trying to meet for several days, but I couldn’t. I guess it put me on edge without me realizing.”

“The person you’re trying to meet is…?”

“I’m talking about His Majesty Joshua Sanders, the Martial God.”

Ulabis’s eyes turned colder. Uraxen was talking about an emperor; to say that he was on-edge in front of a foreigner was out of line.

The reason behind Uraxen’s arrogance was obvious to Ulabis, but it couldn’t be just because of the Hubalt Empire’s backing. The Terra Kingdom had once been called a country of mages and had neglected knights, in contrast to the Avalon Empire, but the Tetra Kingdom was a little different. Mage-knights were being trained in the Tetra Kingdom at a national level. A mage-knight, also known as a magic swordsman, was once deemed impossible. A mage’s mana circle and a knight’s mana hall were used in two totally different ways, so embracing both of them at once was basically suicide.

The impossible became possible with the dawn of the authority manifestation era. The current king of the Tetra Kingdom had the authority of harmony, so he could help other people use their mana circle and hall at the same time without any consequences. With the king’s remarkable authority, the Tetra Kingdom quickly grew into a powerful nation.

“I was going to pay my respects to His Majesty as soon as I arrived, but for some reason, he has been away for several days. I was hoping His Highness could give me an explanation regarding this situation…” Uraxen trailed off, giving Kireua a pointed look.

Once again, Uraxen’s arrogance was on full display.

“So what?” Kireua bluntly answered.

“…Pardon?” Uraxen blankly asked, totally thrown off by Kireua’s unexpected reply.

“Do you want me to look for His Majesty on your behalf or something?”

“No, that isn’t what I’m saying. If you know his whereabouts, you could tell—”

“I don’t know either. I don’t know, so just leave. A duke should know etiquette, so why are you ruining my happy reunion?”

Uraxen’s expression hardened. “Your Highness, are you sure about your answer?”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“I heard you say with my own ears that your host is arrogant for not showing up when his guest has arrived.” Kireua raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t necessarily put that that way…”

“It depends on how the listener interprets it. What did it sound like to you, Grand Duke?” Kireua asked Ulabis.

“That is what I heard, Your Highness,” Ulabis replied with a slight smile.

“See? Here’s my witness, so are you going to continue to play innocent?” Kireua asked, abandoning the last traces of formality.

“…You’ll regret this,” Uraxen growled, scowling at Kireua. “Avalon is the one that needs help right now.”

“I don’t know what help you’re talking about, but what did you say before that? ‘Regret’?” Kireua snapped, the end of his mouth curling into a vicious smirk. “There is one thing that the great emperor of the Avalon Empire, who also happens to be my father, told me.”

When Joshua was mentioned, Uraxen had to close his mouth. He said what he said without thinking about it too much, but if his remarks were considered insults to Joshua, he would have to face the Martial God’s wrath. There was nothing scary about the decaying Avalon Empire, but the name of Joshua Sanders was still scary.

“‘The only time you should regret something is after your death.’” Kireua turned to look at Ulabis. “Grand Duke, I would like to personally show my important guest to the meeting room, so can I have the moment of your time?”

Ulabis nodded, his smile widening. “Certainly.”

“Right this way, Grand Duke.”

Uraxen watched Kireua and Ulabis leave, his face crumpling up due to the deep humiliation.

“…Kireua Sanders is a worse rascal than what I heard from the rumors. I’ll see how long you can stay that arrogant.”

The tournament would start soon. Uraxen resolved to have his revenge for today in that tournament.