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Side Story Chapter 83

“What is that bad?”

“His arrogance is worse than the guys from the empires,” Kireua answered.

Ulabis’s smile grew. “They’re bound to be.”

“Why is that?”

“Have you heard about the mage-knights personally trained by their king?”

Kireua shrugged. “I heard the rumors. I spent my childhood in this Palace, my teenage years swinging swords in front of you, and only finally returned to Avalon now. So I didn’t really have time to meet them.”

“That’s a shame. I let you go so you can go out into the world and gain experience.”

“But how great are those mage-knights?”

“Pretty remarkable. As you already know, the concept of magic swordsmen was considered impossible for a long time,” Ulabis reminded Kireua.

“They just sound like a bunch of nobodies to my ears.”

“Not really. According to the rumors, they’re just as strong as the paladins from the Hubalt Empire.”

Kireua gaped in disbelief. “Come on. Although I hate to admit it, the Hubalt Empire is currently the strongest empire on the continent.”

“I’m talking about the knight orders’ level. Of course, the orders in the Hubalt Empire win out when you also consider the size—that’s the difference between an empire and a kingdom.”

“That alone is pretty remarkable,” Kireua marveled. Possessing knights that could stand shoulder to shoulder with those of the continent’s strongest empire meant that the Tetra Kingdom had the potential to fight equally against the Hubalt Empire with enough time.

“If you truly think so, be careful. It looks like that Duke Uraxen or whatever his name is is going to hold a grudge against you,” Ulabis warned him.

“That’s fine with me. I’ve only heard rumors about them, so it’ll be a good chance to see what these magic swordsmen are all about.”

“You definitely take after your father’s confidence.”

Kireua shrugged. “As you already know, I never trust anything before I see it with my own eyes.”

“Kiruea,” Ulabis said, his expression suddenly serious.

“Yes?”

“Is he really back?”

Obviously, Kireua knew who Ulabis was talking about, but it was a tricky question to answer as Kireua didn’t know Joshua’s intentions for this tournament. Was Joshua holding this tournament to promote peace or to unite the continent against the greedy Hubalt Empire? Kireua would have given an evasive answer if someone else had asked, but this was Kireua’s only teacher.

After pondering for a moment, Kireua nodded. “Yes, I’ve met him in person.”

“…I see.” Ulabis\'s eyes widened for a moment but he showed no other reaction, much to Kireua’s surprise.

“You’re pretty calm.”

“He’s always like that. He vanishes one day and shows up again when no one expects him. It’s like he’s a ghost, not a human.”

“As his friend, it must have been quite frustrating.”

“You’re his son, so you must have had it worse.”

“It was worse for the Queen Consorts.”

“Still…” Ulabis trailed off, drawing a curious look from Kireua. Ulabis smiled once again. “I owe your father more than my life. He helped me make the Thran Kingdom independent and revived my forgotten dream.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, and that was why I could still cheer for him when he decided to overthrow his emperor and take the throne. Unlike many other people of influence, I didn’t worry about him even for a second.”

People were very sly, so their goodwill changed easily with power. There was no such thing as eternal peace, just the current state of Igrant showed.

“Kireua, the other news I heard about was his plan to select his heir.”

“It hasn’t been long since I received the news, but you know about that already?”

“To be honest, I hope you will become his heir,” Ulabis said.

Kireua couldn’t reply. Although he understood Ulabis, becoming Joshua’s heir wasn’t something he could just do just because he wanted to.

“Call me a snob, but I’ve known you for a long time. If you were to become the next emperor of Avalon, I believe I would be able to focus on tending to my country even after Avalon drives out Hubalt and becomes the new most powerful nation on the continent.” Ulabis chuckled quietly.

“…Even if Selim becomes the next heir, you won’t have to worry about that. Selim isn’t the type of person who is interested in unifying the continent either.”

“No one knows that. Even a parent can’t tell what their child is thinking, so how can a brother who drifts apart as they grow up?” Ulabis said. He rose from his seat. “It’s just my personal opinion, but this tournament will be a very important moment for you.”

“What do you mean?” Kireua tilted his head.

“Although these delegations are here to celebrate the Emperor of Avalon’s return, they’re all thinking the same thing: Hubalt is their common enemy, so they need someone to unite them.” Ulabis turned his head. “The Martial God would, of course, have to be that someone now, but those foreigners will also be evaluating his potential heirs, you two princes.”

“Are you saying that the whole continent is going to keep an eye on Avalon to see if Avalon is planning any schemes for after it ousts Hubalt?”

“Something like that. In battles or politics, you always have to look three moves ahead. Although the Martial God has already proven himself, there is no guarantee that his sons would share the same ideas.”

“Then you brought this up because you also considered the future after the Hubalt Empire’s downfall…?” Kireua asked.

Ulabis nodded. “Supposing that a united force is formed, which country would like it if a new lunatic called Avalon shows up after defeating Hubalt?”

“…I see.”

“So refrain from behaving like that next time. No matter how annoying he was, he’s still older than you. You have to prove that you not only have an upright personality but also the skills.”

Kireua bowed with an awkward smile. “Thank you for still making the time to teach your inadequate student.”

“You should neither allow yourself to be belittled by them nor act recklessly like a mad dog. Everyone on the continent is watching you.” Ulabis waved his hand and then exited the meeting room. “I bet this tournament is going to be one of the biggest events in your life.”

* * *

All one thousand soldiers and knights of the rebel vanguard kneeled—at least, everyone who wasn’t among the five hundred dead or unconscious.

Even the rebels’ main unit stood vacantly staring at the unbelievable reality of the vanguard.

“L-Lord Andes, that really looks like His Majesty…”

“…I’m looking at him too.” Count Andes bit his lower lip.

“What are you going to do? You said that you had things under control, didn’t you?!” Viscount Hoothe snapped, so violently that it was almost mutiny, but Andes couldn’t refute him. How could Andes have expected this?

The vast plain was smothered in a stiff silence, the two armies with tens of thousands troops facing off against each other at three hundred meters. A single order, and the battle would erupt once again.

Andes had given up on this fight long ago—his soldiers’ morale was already at rock bottom. If Andes forced them to fight, he would lose for certain.

“Y-Your Majesty…!” Andes trembled as if he was having a seizure.

The Martial God slowly descended to the ground, approaching Andes. No one could speak. The only thing that the rebels could do was blankly look up into the sky.

“Do you want to live?” Joshua asked, his voice reverberating like thunder. A spark of hope lit up in Andes’s eyes. Since Joshua asked if Andes wanted to live, maybe it was safe to assume that he had a chance of surviving this. On top of that, he felt like all his questions had been answered now. If the rumors were true, Joshua was the mysterious assassin. The Martial God himself had slit Marquess Turtler—no, that black turtle rebel son of a bitch’s throat.

“Count Andes, w-what shall w-we do…?”

Andes kneeled before Hoothe could finish speaking. He could not afford to hesitate.

“W-We swear our utmost loyalty! Please spare my men! They’re also citizens of the Avalon Empire. They’re innocent—everything started because their pathetic leaders had the wrong ideas…” Andes sniffled and sobbed.

“L-Lord Andes?”

No matter how hard Andes thought, this was the right decision. When his opponent was the Martial God, his defeat was absolute. Rather than being branded an incompetent commander, Andes would prefer to be known as a commander who tried to protect his people at the risk of his life.

Unsurprisingly, Andes’s every move was calculated. If Turtler was really dead, Andes might officially become commander-in-chief of the military in the western region. Andes busily formulated a plan in his head.

‘I’ll pretend I was forced to do it and swear my loyalty. It’ll be hard to earn a position in the army in the capital, but someone will have to control the army in the west since people here have already betrayed him once. Even from his perspective, it’s a good move. Once he shows his mercy here, he’ll be able to quickly stabilize the country…’

The dead didn’t speak, so Turtler was going to be the villain now. And since Turtler was dead, the western rebels no longer had a reason to continue fighting. Andes and the others would get reprimanded for sure, naturally, but it was a win-win if Andes could gain his subordinates’ trust.

Just look at them. They were already welling up with tears.

But there was one thing that Andes hadn’t expected.

‘It’s obvious what he’s thinking.’ Joshua grinned in the air. He had been an emperor for decades, so he, an expert in politics, easily recognized Andes’s petty ploy. ‘It looks like he wants to save his face, so I’ll start with crushing it.’

Joshua gently landed on the ground and strode confidently toward Andes.

“Am I just supposed to believe your words?” he demanded.

Andes raised his head.

“Bark.”

“Pardon…?” Andes gaped blankly, unable to understand.

Joshua held out his foot and sneered. “Or do you want to lick it?”