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Side Story Chapter 84

“How was I unfair?”

“He’s a count, so he’s a high-ranking noble, more or less. But you treated him worse than a neighbor’s dog.”

“Then what?” Joshua shrugged. “Should I have shown him mercy or something?”

“Well, no.”

Joshua and Cain could see every single rebel in the west getting tied up. It didn’t matter whether or not those rebels had surrendered—all traitors should receive a fitting punishment. Only after they were punished as a warning to others would they never again dare to even think of treason.

Despite everything else, Cain was dying to see the looks on people’s faces the day Cain and the others returned to the capital with fifty thousand captive—and mostly unscathed—soldiers and knights in tow.

“Hehehehehe….” Cain laughed like a villain.

“…What? Why are you suddenly laughing like a creep?”

“By now, the delegations must be trickling into Arcadia, yes?”

“So?” Joshua tilted his head.

“The sight of you alone will make their jaws drop, but when they find out that you made such a remarkable achievement as soon as you returned… I’m so excited that I can’t stay calm.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s nothing to you, but who in the world could have captured an army of fifty thousand with only thirty thousand and without taking a single casualty? You didn’t have to give a single order to the troops. Only the Martial God can do that,” Cain declared, as pompous as if he’d been the one to do it. Joshua’s small smile showed that he didn’t hate it.

“But the real deal, like the Four Paladins, will notice my state.”

“Well, even I can’t approximate your exact state, so how could they?”

“Their authorities are from none other than the Angel Realm. The Four Great Angels are as strong as Demon Kings.”

“Speaking of which, it suddenly feels weird.” Cain quietly chuckled.

“Why?”

“His Highness Kireua declared that he’ll break every one of their limbs.”

Joshua closed his mouth. While he trusted Kireua, he was still worried about him in some ways—perhaps it was just paternal instinct.

“We might have to hurry a little…” Joshua trailed off.

“Your Majesty! The preparations to transfer the prisoners are complete!” Ranger came running over.

“Great work.”

“Well, it’s nothing. You’re too kind.” Ranger pounded on his chest with a grin.

“Your Majesty, what are you going to do with that Count what’s-his-name and the rebel leaders?” Cain asked.

“Hmm… “ Joshua stroked his chin for a moment. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Do you have any plans in mind?”

“From what I heard, the western and eastern rebels aren’t on good terms,” Joshua recalled.

Ranger jumped in like a puppy waiting for his master to call him.

“Their leaders are polar opposites of each other,” Ranger eagerly supplied. “Marquess Turtler is cruel and has a fiery temper, but Marquess Drenius is cold and rational. On top of that, the former thinks of his subordinates like tools, but the latter is deeply trusted by his.”

“Yeah, they didn’t join forces in spite of the fact they share the common goal of overthrowing the government, so it’s understandable.”

“Yes, this civil war started in the west. In other words, Marquess Turtler raised his army first, and then the other hyenas from the other regions chimed in.”

Joshua nodded. “In the end, the rebels know that they’ll fight each other someday, so it’s definitely not easy for them to work together. Human greed is insatiable.”

That was why the power of Greed was scary. Humans’ instinctive desires showed their most cruel sides in times like war because there was no law to corral them. Plundering goods from conquered lands, assaulting people, raping women… Everything happened because of the dark desires hidden deep in humans’ hearts.

‘If Kireua is able to utilize his power well, he would be matchless,’ Joshua thought. ‘but otherwise…’

The Evil Sins’ powers fed off the desires around them, so the stronger the desires were, the stronger the powers became. Joshua agonized over it.

“This isn’t what you promised!” someone shouted, interrupting Joshua’s train of thought. The voice came from where the rebel officers were being held.

“The doggy must have gotten very angry.” Cain raised an eyebrow.

The culprit was Count Andes.

“Shall I go and break his legs off?” Ranger asked, half in motion already.

“Joshua Sanders! You call yourself the emperor of this country?! We surrendered, so how can you treat us like this? Did you not consider the possibility that the more ruthlessly you treat people like us, the worse this civil war will become?” Andes yelled at the top of his lungs.

“How dare that son of a bitch call His Majesty by his name…” Ranger gave Andes a death glare.

“This is why Avalon is in this mess! If I were you, I would have embraced the western revolutionaries and provided them with a second chance at life! You can punish them all you want after the citizens\' lives and the country stabilize!”

Andes actually had a point, forcing Ranger to swallow his words.

“You’re definitely not worthy to be an emperor. You should have just stayed as the Martial God. You’re such a scaredy cat, what countries would fear Avalon? Hahahaha!” Andes burst into manic laughter.

Cain angrily drew his sword. “I’ll deal with him.”

“Leave him be.”

“…I don’t know about our soldiers and knights, but the rebels would surely be shaken if I leave him be, Your Majesty.”

Cain was right. Those rebels had given up on fighting even before the battle had started. That was how terrifying Joshua Sanders was to ordinary soldiers; Andes was using that fear by telling everyone that Joshua was no emperor at all. And if Joshua was so merciless, it might be better for the rebels to keep on fighting.

“Untie me! Untie me right now!”

“Emperor, you’re a man of poor caliber. Can you really not see the sincerity of us, the citizens of Avalon?”

“We started this revolution for our country. If you had stayed on your throne, none of this would have happened! Emperor, you are ultimately responsible for this!”

One after another, the rebels raised their voices.

“They think they can say anything they want just because they have mouths,” Ranger growled.

Unlike what those rebels were saying, the civil war wasn’t all the government’s fault. Imperial law strictly limited the size of the noble families’ armies: two thousand soldiers and knights for barons, five thousand for viscounts, ten thousand for counts, fifteen thousand for marquesses, and thirty thousand for dukes. Their armies could only be used to protect and maintain order in their lands.

Forming an alliance with the other noble families was high treason. In other words, deploying a large army would be viewed as treason regardless of their actual reasons. Maybe they could have been blackmailed into it, but it was obvious what was going to happen once one exception was made. It was clear that the rebels were criminals, but they would scream at the top of their lungs that they should be exceptions as well because they also had good reasons. In many ways, Joshua would lose his authority as emperor, so it was important that he set a good precedent.

“I think executing them here right now isn’t a bad idea,” Cain murmured.

Ranger\'s eyes widened for a moment, but he nodded. “I agree. Even if the rebels from the other regions will fight to the end of their lives after we execute them, it would be better than embracing all of them and having to worry about them backstabbing us every day.”

“By the way, his name is Count Andes, right? He’s one shrewd guy. I don’t know about the others, but I’d execute him and hang his head on the castle wall. No one would dare act rashly again.”

“I’ll do it.”

“No, I’ll do it.”

“How about this?” Joshua abruptly asked while Cain and Ranger were arguing over who would be the executioner. They turned to look at him. “Let’s let them go for now.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Hear me out: I’m not saying we should free them for good. My plan is to make them join the eastern rebels,” Joshua explained.

“Pardon? D-Did you say east?”

“From what I heard, Selim is successfully driving Marquess Drenius, the head of the eastern rebels, into a corner, so I’ll make those rebels hunt down Marquess Drenius.”

Cain and Ranger\'s eyes widened.

“Capturing an enemy with another enemy?”

“I see. The situation may have taken a turn, but west and east Avalon have been on bad terms for generations…”

Joshua grinned. “Nevertheless, there is still a risk that they’ll partner up, so I’ll have to give them some tempting bait.”

“What bait do you have in mind?”

Joshua stroked his chin. “For example, if they successfully contribute to exterminating the eastern rebel army, I’ll pardon them… Something along those lines.”

“Are you really going to pardon them?”

“Of course—every one of them has a story and will make different levels of contributions. I’ll have to think about how I’ll use them after I pardon them.”

“...That is a very clever plan.” Even the cautious Cain nodded in agreement.

The civil war lasted for years, so the government lacked manpower. Using those rebels to take care of the remnants and restore the country was killing two birds with one stone.

“Since I have made a decision, I’ll be extra merciful. To whoever captures the enemy leader, I’ll personally write them a letter of recommendation to join the Imperial Knights, whether they’re a soldier or a knight,” Joshua said.

A recommendation from the emperor of the Avalon Empire was one of the few ways to join the Imperial Knights without going through Berche’s Bloody Battle. The tradition had practically died out after Joshua had taken the throne. The guiding principle of the current Imperial Knights was competence, and even Joshua, their idol, had refused a letter of recommendation when he was a young man. Therefore, someone who became an Imperial Knight through such means would only be hated and derided by the senior Knights.

“Whoever joins the Imperial Knights like that will be sent to the old Auxiliary Battalion, where the knights are from various backgrounds,” Joshua added.

“You’re a true demon, Your Majesty.” Cain shook his head in disbelief.

Ranger gave Joshua a look like he’d sprouted horns and a tail. “How d-does ‘Demonic God‘ sound instead of Martial God?”