Chapter 140
There was nothing but absolute darkness.
“Where am I…” Joshua started.
However, he abruptly stopped speaking when he realized that his voice wouldn’t come out.
He felt weightless, as if he were flying through the air. In addition, he felt like he could see every detail around him. Joshua had experienced something like this before, and it was the day the Agnus duchy was razed to the ground.
Wooong.
As soon as Joshua recalled that, his surroundings abruptly shifted. The absolute darkness vanished, and light surrounded him. When he looked up, he found himself standing on a vast plain. In the middle of the plain stood a towering fortified castle.
‘That’s…’?Joshua’s eyes widened when he clapped his eyes at the banner of the castle.
This experience was different from the last time. Last time, he felt like he was in a dream as he watched Draxia raze the duchy to the ground. Joshua wanted to move back then, but he couldn’t do it. He wanted to take a closer look, but he couldn’t do that as well. All he could do was watch in silence as the scenes were presented to him.
This time, it was different. He could fly through the air as though he was a spirit, allowing him to look wherever he wanted.
He stared at the castle’s banner and saw a Gules, fully-bloomed chrysanthemum affronté.
The emblem belonged to none other than the Principality of Thran.
‘In that case…’
Joshua realized something and quickly looked around with sparkling eyes.
There would only be a few reasons why a castle’s gates would be fully shut, and the bright red pennant flapping beside the state flag would only be displayed during wartime.
This could only mean one thing.
‘I knew it…’
There was a massive force positioned close to the castle's entrance. Joshua’s expression remained unchanging when he saw the forces covering the whole plain with no end in sight.
‘That’s the army of Swallow. If that Death Knight was really Duke Altsma, then this memory…’
The Principality was a very young nation, in contrast to the Swallow Empire.
The Swallow Empire had always viewed the Principality as a vassal state, and they were in an almost master-slave relationship. As such, there were few actual wars between the Swallow Empire and the Principality of Thran.
Joshua also couldn’t remember an army of this size ever laying siege to Thran’s citadel.
According to official historical records, the Swallow Empire only suffered one significant setback against Thran, and it was during Prince Ulabis’ first campaign.
The Swallow Empire fielded two hundred thousand soldiers against Thran’s fifty thousand and failed to breach the Principality of Thran’s stronghold. In addition, they even lost eighty thousand men in the process.
While Joshua was deep in his thoughts, a piercing voice echoed throughout the plains in front of the enormous army, interrupting Joshua’s thought process.
“Ulabis, get out here, you punk! I swear upon my name that I—Wild King Duke Altsma—-will have my revenge! I’m shall wipe Thran off the map!” Duke Altsma hefted his gigantic, sawtooth sword.
The knights behind him jostled each other.
“Isn’t that sword too much for a bunch of chickens?”
Some soldiers mocked the enemy forces.
“Are you guys wetting your pants from hearing the Wild King’s name!”
“Does the Principality of Thran not have anyone else aside from cowards?!”
“Hahaha!”
The entire plains became filled with the soldiers’ mockery.
Meanwhile, a man on horseback squeezed through the small gap in the gate.
“Who?” Duke Altsma furrowed.
One of his knights muttered in response, “Fiery red hair, a tiny sword half the size of a longsword. There’s no doubt about it. He’s Ulabis, the inheritor of Agreta’s surname.”
“What? He’s just a kid, then?!” Duke Altsma boisterously laughed before moving forward.
“Duke?”
“All of you should back off. I’ll handle this,” Duke Altsma chuckled before tightly holding the horse’s reins.
“Let’s go.”
Duke Altsma rushed forward as his horse neighed, and the distance between the two abruptly narrowed. When there were barely ten meters of distance between them, Duke Altsma revealed a creepy smile and asked, “Are you that punk Ulabis?”
Duke Altsma grinned grimly while gazing at the other man’s two eyes that resembled fire.
“I am Altsma brun Edenhaits of the Swallow Empire. You should have heard of me since I’m a Master.”
At that, the man with red hair asked, “Did you really have to introduce yourself twice?”
“...” Duke Altsma didn’t respond to Ulabis catching him red-handed.
Instead, he dismounted his horse and revealed a wide smile before saying, “I just wanted to expose that fake facade of yours. Besides, wouldn’t it be huge injustice if you went on to your journey to the afterlife without knowing the name of the man who took your life?”
Urabis, who had hitherto remained silent, responded in a soft voice.
“The loser…” Ulabis started.
“...?” Duke Altsma seemed confused.
“Usually have many words. Regardless before or after the battle.”
“Bastard…” Duke Altsma smiled brightly. Then, he rushed at Ulabis without warning. However, Ulabis had already dismounted his horse as well, so he was prepared to receive Duke Altsma’s attack because he had already taken on a stance.
Ulabis’ sword was tiny in comparison to Duke Altsma’s enormous Wolf Fang’s Sword. Duke Altsma’s sword was as tall as he was, but it was quite narrow with serrated edges, which allowed him to rip through flesh while also capable of thrusting attacks. The sword gave him all the benefits of a two-handed and a one-handed sword.
Weapons like Duke Altsma’s sword were more commonly known as bastard swords. However, Duke Altsma’s sword was covered in a layer of crimson, which made the sword look like it could catch flame at any time.
In comparison, Ulabis’ black sword was long and narrow.
“...!” Duke Altsma’s eyebrows twitched. Ulabis seemed unaffected despite receiving his attack.
“You fool. You’ve become overconfident after breaking through.” Duke Altsma pointed his sword at the Ulabis.
“You can take a look at it for yourself,” replied Ulabis.
At that, Duke Altsma ruthlessly poured mana into his sword. He looked like he wanted to end this battle as soon as possible.
Wooong.
The air itself trembled as Duke Altsma’s sword vibrated. In the blink of an eye, another copy of Duke Altsma’s sword overlapped with the original—Aura Blade.
“You have broken through, yes, but A-Class Knights aren’t equal. I’ll show you that the ‘Master’ title is no joke!” said Duke Altsma.
“I am looking forward to it,” replied Ulabis as a burst of crimson flames enveloped his blade.
The flame was like a raging and all-consuming inferno, but there was something distinct about the flames of mana enveloping Ulabis’ sword.
However, Duke Altsma’s eyes lit up when he saw Ulabis’ Aura Blade.
“I’d like to see a bug like you block this.” Duke Altsma grinned savagely. “I’ll annihilate everything you have, along with that fortress of yours.”
He pointed his blade at the earth, dragging it along the ground. The shower of sparks was identical to what Joshua had seen from the death knight he had just been fighting against. Duke Altsma was about to unleash the ‘Howl of the Wolves’ once more.
“...”
Ulabis gently lifted his delicate red blade. Even in front of Duke Altsma, who had been a Master for almost a decade now, there was not a hint of anxiety in Ulabis’ expression.
“Flame Emperor: Wolves,” Ulabis whispered with bright eyes.
Ulabis’ swordsmanship was inspired by the place where he discovered the Primordial Stone, Magma, which was the hottest location on the continent. His mana caused the ground in front of him to fracture as if there was an earthquake, and crimson lava gushed out of the cracks.
The scorching heat seemed like it would engulf everything between heaven and earth.
Step, step.
The two rushed at each other. The distance of ten meters was just a blink of an eye for people at their level, so their swords quickly met.
“Hah!”
The collision resulted in a massive explosion that sent terrifying shockwaves in all directions, along with a dense cloud of smoke.
‘Wow.’?Joshua gasped. It was his first time witnessing Ulabis’ true power.
After some time, the smoke dissipated, and Joshua’s eyes widened upon seeing the scene.
The scenery around him rapidly changed, and when he came to his senses, he found an enraged Duke Altsma.
Duke Altsma was mocked and reviled by many nobles.
He was also stripped of his status as Master.
The scenery rapidly changed once again, and Joshua frowned at the scene in front of him.
‘Where am I?’
Joshua found himself inside a room that seemed to be around twenty square meters.
Duke Altsma was lying in a room of about twenty square meters. He was covered in bandages and burns of varying sizes. In front of him stood a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to Emperor Verona, but he looked more rugged than Emperor Verona.
“Why are you doing this, why?!” Duke Altsma was screaming at the middle-aged man. “Do you want the throne? Why don’t you go ahead and take it, then? As one of the great Nine Stars, you should be able to do it!”
”No—” Duke Altsma shook his head and said, “If you showed even a bit of ambition for the throne, then I would have immediately followed you rather than your younger brother. And why are you even here?”
“Well…” a deep voice emerged from the middle-aged man’s lips. “Now that I’ve become old, I’ve also become whimsical, you see?”
“You—”
“I have no particular desire to become Emperor, it’s just that the world is so dull and monotonous right now. At my age, everything feels the same. We need a change,” said the middle-aged man. Once he was done speaking, he retrieved a knife from his sleeve.
“Are you crazy?! What are you—” Duke Altsma hurriedly forced his injured body up, but his eyes widened upon seeing the knife buried in his heart. His mouth fluttered open, asking, “Why…? Keugh.”
“A defeated knight should stay silent.” The middle-aged man twisted the knife. “Your time is up.”
“Keugh.” Duke Altsma groaned, and his eyes soon lost their lights as his head drooped.
Duke Altsma suffered an incredulous death, but Joshua’s visions didn’t end there. It was the same when he saw the Agnus Duchy being razed to the ground, the memory of the dead would continue for a bit after their death, possibly revealing the most vital information.
“Come in,” muttered the middle-aged man.
At that, two men entered the room.
‘These two…’?Joshua's astonished eyes quickly turned red in rage.
“You worked hard, Father.”
The other man bent his head; he had green hair and green eyes.
“I’ll talk to Lucifer… And…”
The middle-aged man stared at the other man clad in black robes before saying, “It’s about time you create that monster. It should be easy to do so with the soul of a knight who dedicated his entire life to evil, am I right?”
The black-robed man bowed without speaking, and when he raised his head once again, Joshua got a clear look at his face.
“...!” Joshua's eyes widened to the extreme.
‘Is that…’
Like the Avalon Empire, the Swallow Empire was currently in the throes of a violent power struggle, and everyone in this room had connections with the Imperial Family of the Swallow Empire.
‘In that case, the pattern at the basement entrance…!’
Joshua was about to think about it deeply, but a brilliant light engulfed him once again.
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