Chapter 144
“Wait!” Joshua exclaimed.
The holy knights, who seemed like they were about to charge, froze.
“It’s a misunderstanding,” Joshua continued.
“Silence, vile creature!” Modrian gnashed his teeth. “The foul demonic power radiating from your body is solid enough evidence. What misunderstanding is there?!”
“...” Joshua didn’t know what to say.
Upon seeing that, Modrian roared once more. “Hear this, my fellow knights! Do not be fooled by that creature’s vile tongue! Hermes has bestowed upon us His blessings! May Hermes' blessings be with you!”
“May Hermes' blessings be with you!”
“Haha…” Joshua chuckled hollowly at the sight of the holy knights roaring. It seemed that they were truly prepared to duke it out with him.
At that moment, a voice echoed from behind. “Wait a minute, Sir Modrian.”
“High Priest?” Modrian remained unmoved by Joshua’s words, but he stopped upon hearing High Priest Herald’s voice.
“Don’t you find anything strange about this?” asked High Priest Herald.
Holy Knight Modrian furrowed his brows and said, “What do you mean, strange? High Priest, can’t you sense the evil in his body?”
“Well…” High Priest Herald stared into Joshua’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but be disturbed when he noticed it.
He was disturbed upon noticing Joshua’s unwavering eyes. Those eyes radiated faith that seemed as if they could never be toppled. In addition, Joshua had a pair of pure eyes and sincere eyes.
High Priest Herald only knew of one individual with similar eyes as Joshua’s.
'It could just be me, but his eyes remind me of… Sir Chrysler…'
Of course, there was a difference between the eyes of the two individuals. Sir Chrysler, the renowned Knight of God, had gentler and more respectful eyes, but this young man’s eyes radiated a sense of dominance that could make anyone shrink back.
This was one of the attributes that only a person who had been considered a Hegemon-King could give off.
‘If the demon king really descended into this world, it’d be another story—’
The High Priest Herald sighed upon noticing that Joshua wasn’t turning away from his gaze. It was simply unbelievable that the source of that tremendous demonic power they felt earlier came from a young man with a pair of pure eyes.
After a while, High Priest Herald spoke in a determined voice. “It’s faint, but I can sense that Sir Christian is alive.”
“...!” Modrian’s eyes widened upon realizing something just now.
“We have no idea why he’s holding Sir Christian, but we have to remain cautious in case he’s an enemy,” said High Priest Herald. “We must think and act more cautiously. Do you understand what I mean?”
Afraid that Modrian wouldn’t get convinced, High Priest Herald added, “I mean, it doesn’t matter how much of a nasty person he is, but if he’s truly the wielder of the tremendous demonic power we felt earlier, then there’s no reason for him to take Sir Christian hostage. He could easily wipe us out.”
Joshua smiled. He had been listening to High Priest Herald and Holy Knight Modrian’s conversation all this while. However, the smile that appeared on his lips looked more like a villain’s smile that one could find in those fairy tales.
“Don’t move…” Joshua started.
“...!” The surrounding holy knights, including Modrian, shook at Joshua's words.
“If you take one more step…” Joshua gently grasped Christian's neck. He sounded like a true villain as he continued. “All this is just a misunderstanding, but you’ll be forcing me if you keep acting like that...”
“This bastard…!” Modrian scowled and roared. “If this is really a misunderstanding, then show us your face!”
“Oh, right.” Joshua noticed what he was wearing and scratched his head once again. After a moment of contemplation, he eventually placed Christian on the floor and gently removed his robes under the bewildered eyes of the knights.
The figure beneath the robes rendered everyone dumbfounded with his handsomeness.
“Oh…” Joshua swept his eyes across the knights. His eyes, which looked like they had been carved out of the abyss, captivated everyone as he said, “I just want to talk. I have no intention of harming this guy.”
Ignoring everyone’s dumbfounded look, Joshua introduced himself.
“My name is Joshua Sanders, a noble of Avalon.”
At that, the surroundings became noisy.
“J-Joshua Sanders?”
“Isn’t he that rumored individual? The monster who is going to represent the Avalon Empire in the upcoming Masters’ Battle…”
“Actually, I don’t think the rumors are doing him justice. Even elves would weep if they ever see his face…”
Joshua's rare navy blue hair started fluttering in the air as the murmurs got louder.
However, Modrian seemed like he didn’t like Joshua at all as he grimaced.
“Silence!”
“...” The commotion was instantly silenced. At that, Modrian continued. “How can you prove your identity as Baron Joshua Sanders of the Avalon Empire?”
“...” Joshua remained silent.
Modrian saw that, and he sneered before saying, “I hope you're not telling us to believe you just because of your appearance, right? The continent is huge. One could have one or two doppelgangers out there.”
“There’s no way someone can look like him—” muttered a knight.
However, Modrian shot him a deathly glare, and he was forced to close his mouth.
.
Modrian turned to Joshua once more and said, “Prove your identity to us.”
“Gladly.” Joshua chuckled before infusing the Deon Ring he was wearing with mana.
A burst of brilliant light enveloped Joshua as a faint hum reverberated and filled the area. In the blink of an eye, Joshua was now wearing immaculate white armor. The holy knights were wearing white armor as well, but the golden edges of Joshua’s armor made him give off a nobler aura than the holy knights.
If it weren’t for the existence of Deon Rings, such a heavy-looking armor would be completely impractical to wear to battle and would only be able to serve as display armor.
Modrian saw Joshua’s transformation and sighed. “Wheeew…”
Meanwhile, the rest of the knights were excited because of how good Joshua looked in his immaculate white armor.
“The Knight’s Tomb…Oh, it’s not.” Modrian’s eyes lit up when he realized it.
The majority of the knights of the Hubalt Empire were familiar with the history of the so-called ‘Knight’s Tomb,’ despite Avalon being a distant land from the Hubalt Empire.
Of course, they also knew how it was related to a certain family.
“I've heard that Baron Joshua Sanders' Deon Ring is a family heirloom given to him by his father, Duke Aden von Agnus. However, where is the emblem of the Agnus Family, which is the Knight’s Tomb? I don’t see it on your surcoat.”
Modrian was trying his best to calm down, but he sounded antagonistic without him realizing it.
“...” Joshua smiled wryly as he looked at his surcoat. Modrian was right. The ink-black broadsword which had been a part of his surcoat had vanished, and it had long been replaced by an Argent surface.
“It’s all because I had to surrender the Agnus name upon receiving the Sanders name.”
Obviously, it wasn’t of his own volition. Duke Aden von Agnus had ordered him to remove it after Duke Agnus selected Babel as his heir. No, it wasn’t actually an order. It was more like a request.
Duke Aden von Agnus just didn’t want Joshua to be tied down by the Agnus name.
“That’s not enough. Surely you’re aware that it’s not enough evidence of your identity?”
“Haha.” Joshua chuckled in response.
“What’s funny?” asked Modrian with a frown.
Joshua looked at his own feet and muttered to no one in particular, “Let me borrow it for a while.”
Immediately afterward, something started floating over to Joshua.
“A-A sword!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Telekinesis… Is this really happening right now? Is this for real?”
The shouts of the stunned holy knights echoed loudly.
Christian's sword had unsheathed itself and floated over to Joshua. Joshua held the immaculate holy sword.
Modrian felt a sense of foreboding, so he immediately warned the others. “S-Stand guard!”
“Relax. I’m not going to harm anyone here,” Joshua said casually before infusing his mana into the sword in his hand.
Wooooong.?
Joshua’s mana made the air itself vibrate as a resonant hum emerged from the trembling sword in Joshua’s hands. A few moments later, another sword manifested and overlaid the immaculate holy sword.
“Aura Blade,” Modrian muttered in disbelief. He could hardly believe it.
“Is this enough proof?”
“That’s…” Modrian was about to speak, but he quickly closed his mouth shut.
An Aura Blade wasn’t as common as cabbages on the streets. There had been some rumors about a navy blue-haired young man with unparalleled looks as well as the strength of a Master. It was also practically impossible for two people to have the same A-Grade Deon Ring with the same armor contained within it.
“Enough, Sir Modrian.”
“Selene?” Modrian flinched when he heard Selene speak.
Selene had been keeping her silence for quite a while now, but she finally took a step forward and said, “In the first place, a demon’s contractor cannot possibly wield a holy sword, correct?”
“Haaa…” Modrian sighed. Selene was right.
Upon seeing that, Selene continued moving as she said, “Moreover…”
“Selene, what are you…” Modrian’s eyes widened when he saw that Selene was rapidly approaching Joshua.
“There's no way someone as handsome as him could be the Demon King, right?” said Selene. She lifted a finger and gently stroked Joshua’s jawline.
“...” Even Joshua was stupefied by the veiled lady’s actions.
“You don’t like this, do you?”
“Obviously…” Joshua stepped back.
“Make a bet with me.”
“A bet?” Joshua muttered blankly. He looked dumbfounded as well.
“If you win…” Selene lifted her veil and licked her lips with her bright red tongue. She stared right into Joshua’s eyes before saying in a low voice, “I will personally guarantee your identity here and make sure that you’ll be able to get out of here unscathed.”
“I—” Joshua was about to reply to the domineering lady.
However, he kept his mouth shut upon hearing her whisper into his ears once more.
“The others seem like they haven’t noticed it just yet, but the godly artifact I have seems to say otherwise.”
Joshua smiled wryly at the crystal ball in Selene’s hands, which was still emitting a faint dark glow. When Selene saw the wry smile on Joshua’s lips, she revealed a look of anticipation at his response.
However, Joshua shattered her hopes as he muttered, “Why should I do that?”
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