Chapter 147
The immaculate dazzling white light died down and vanished. The pair of wings High Priest Herald had seen also disappeared. Everyone could finally open their eyes, and there was a profound sense of stillness.
- Hey, you bastard of a master!
Lugia’s raucous voice echoed in Joshua’s mind. It was a voice that didn’t suit the stillness at all.
- Are you crazy?! I brought you back, and you repay me by poisoning me? Did I just waste all my power on you? I’m inside you, so I’m also covered in this filth!
Joshua directly ignored Lugia and proceeded to check if there were any changes in his body. Joshua had just used divine power on its own for the first time, so there could be some side effects if he had used it wrongly.
The four energies inside Joshua were composed of Joshua’s mana, Bronto's power, divine power, and demonic power. Demonic power and divine power were polar opposites that could not be combined at all.
If one made a mistake when manipulating demonic power and divine power at once, it wouldn’t be a surprise if something bad happened to their body. It was all thanks to Duke Altsma that Joshua realize he could finally utilize the four energies independently.
It was a gamble that had paid off spectacularly, so Joshua couldn’t help but inwardly congratulate himself while smiling happily. It couldn’t be helped because Joshua had just discovered that despite manipulating just one of the four energies, it still contained enough power as if he had manipulated all four of them at once.
It was really interesting.
‘Of course, I still have no idea just how effective it would be in battle.’
In the face of an unexpected situation, it was reasonable to react ad hoc.
“...” The silent throng from Hubalt stared blankly at each other.
The crystal ball, which was a blessed artifact of the Hubalt Empire, had shattered into pieces, and its fragments were strewn across the floor.
Step.
Joshua lightly stepped forward, and a crunching noise could be heard as he trampled on the remains of the crystal ball.
Upon seeing that, Modrian looked like he received a signal as he awakened from his stupor and exclaimed, “You… what have you done?!”
Modrian yelled with a blank gaze, “What have you done?! How dare you—”
Joshua interrupted with a chuckle. “Pick one. Do you want to speak nonsense, or do you want to address me respectfully?”
“...!” At that, Modrian’s eyes widened. He finally recognized his mistake.
Seeing that, Joshua continued. “A blessed, divine artifact actually can’t contain my divine power—the divine power of a knight from another nation. Is this what the Hubalt Empire amounts to?”
“That’s…” Modrian immediately closed his mouth. He couldn’t bring himself to say that Joshua was right. The second he did that, the so-called Tears of the Gods would be reduced to nothing but a joke.
“Don’t make me laugh!” Modrian had no choice but to gnash his teeth and lift his sword.
“There is no way that was divine power! People like you tend to have no appreciation for religion, and in addition to how you gave off demonic power just now, there’s no way you can wield God’s power!”
The holy knights started kicking up a fuss in response to Modrian’s words.
“That’s right! There's no way that was divine power!”
“It doesn’t make sense for someone who is neither a priest nor a holy knight to possess divine power!”
“How ridiculous! That was just a unique type of mana!”
The holy knights became even more ferocious in their yelling as time went on. This wasn’t really strange because people would sometimes refuse to accept the reality happening before their eyes, and it was all because they didn’t want to accept it.
For them, it was unacceptable.
These holy knights were geniuses who had invested blood and sweat into their craft to reach where they were today, and none of them wanted their efforts to be dismissed.
However, in the presence of a ‘genius’ who was beyond extraordinary, they couldn’t help but feel inadequate and envious.
It was a natural, emotional reaction.
“I don’t know. I think those two disagree with you,” Joshua said indifferently.
“W-what?” Modrian trembled at Joshua’s indifferent look.
He then turned around and saw the wide eyes of High Priest Herald, who looked like he still couldn’t believe what he had just seen.
Moreover, it would be an understatement to describe Selene’s emotional turmoil as a mere shock because she was trembling like a leaf. However, the important part was that Selene and High Priest Herald were stronger than any holy knight in this room when it came to divine power. As such, their expressions dumbfounded Modrian.
“High Priest Herald… Selene… What is—” Modrian muttered blankly.
“Stop treating him with disrespect, Sir Modrian.”
“Yes?”
At the solemn voice of High Priest Herald, Modrian was stunned.
High Priest Herald’s eyes softened as he explained, “I swear… It was such a pure energy that it couldn’t be anything else but divine power.”
“...!”
‘Wait, that can’t be…!’
The holy knights were dumbfounded as well.
At that, High Priest Herald emerged from the throng and bowed respectfully.
“Please accept our apologies, Lord Sanders of Avalon. I speak for all of us in asking that you quell your anger.”
“...” Joshua directed an odd stare at High Priest Herald, who was bowing in front of him. It also seemed like he was oblivious to the stunned expressions of everyone else around him.
Regardless of Hubalt and Avalon’s affairs, Joshua was still a noble of another nation. In addition, Joshua was young enough to qualify as High Priest Herald’s grandchild, yet he actually bowed in front of the former. It had to have been a difficult decision to make.
Joshua thought about it for a moment before saying, “I understand.”
“Thank you.” High Priest Herald lifted his head.
Joshua nodded before changing the subject. “This man doesn’t seem like his life is in danger, but he’s still unconscious, so I think there’s something wrong with him.”
At that, High Priest Herald moved even closer to Joshua.
“High Priest Herald!” Modrian exclaimed.
“It’s fine.” High Priest Herald casually dismissed Modrian with a shake of his head. He then approached Christian and nodded at Joshua as thanks before checking Christian’s condition.
“Well…” High Priest Herald sighed. “I apologize for having to bother you, but we need to move Sir Christian now.”
“What?” Modrian asked, “Is his condition that bad?”
High Priest Herald nodded. “It’s feeble, but I can feel it.”
“Then…” Modrian clearly knew what High Priest Herald was talking about.
“Sir Christian is a powerful holy knight, so it’s difficult for demonic power to penetrate his defenses. Demonic power is basically poison for holy knights, and because demonic power managed to infiltrate his body…”
“So the demonic power we felt earlier was…!” Modrian exclaimed in astonishment.
“We have no time to waste. We have to move Sir Christian to an appropriate location and make sure he receives the appropriate treatment as soon as possible.”
“I-I understand!” Modrian exclaimed. With that, a few holy knights walked over with Modrian toward Christian.
They remained vigilant, but aside from faint traces, they couldn’t feel any significant demonic power anymore. Moreover, High Priest Herald’s words reassured them as well.
Modrian was carrying Christian away with the other holy knights when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“My apologies…” Modrian started.
“...?” Joshua directed a bewildered look at Modrian.
Modrian continued in a voice that sounded more like a mosquito’s droning. “I’ll formally apologize to you at Reinhardt…”
“...” Joshua smiled dryly without saying anything.
“Let’s go!”
The holy knights hurriedly moved toward the exit. High Priest Herald trying his best to keep up with the group suddenly came to a halt. He turned to look at Joshua and said, “I don’t know why I saw the wings of Michael, one of the seven archangels…”
“...?” Joshua tilted his head.
“However, if it was God’s will…” High Priest Herald stared right into Joshua’s eyes, and in a voice that only Joshua could hear, he muttered, “I hope we’ll meet again.”
“Let’s see…” Joshua shook his head slightly and smiled.
“My… bet!” a feminine voice cried out.
“...?” Joshua looked up ahead and saw Selene trailing behind High Priest Herald
“We’re not done yet, so you better be prepared!”
Joshua didn’t know what to say.
At that, Selene quickly made her way out and slammed the doors behind her.
- That nutjob.
Now left alone, Joshua couldn’t hear anyone else aside from the cursing of his beloved weapon.
***
The Neutral City of Reinhardt…
It was the one and only neutral city, and it was located in the heart of the continent. To be more specific, Reinhardt was located on an ownerless piece of land, and it had a deep history that couldn’t be scoffed at.
Reinhardt had also long become the location of choice whenever nations interacted with other nations to sign treaties or trade agreements. Since it was a neutral city, it had always been the city of choice for world leaders when it came to such gatherings.
As such, Reinhardt was also considered a symbol of peace.
Considering all those things, it wasn’t a surprise that Reinhardt had become the biggest tourist destination on the continent.
- Now that I think about it, isn’t this the first formal competition where my master will compete with people from all over the continent?
“...” As usual, the robed Joshua ignored the voice in his head.
An enormous fortress wall could be seen in the distance. It was his first time seeing Reinhardt’s walls in this second life of his, but Joshua could vividly recall his memories of the vast metropolis from his past life.
“Reinhardt…”
Reinhardt could be considered the first step of Joshua’s comprehensive strategy. If everyone started acknowledging him as a Master, not only would he be able to return to Avalon victoriously, but his authority would also increase significantly.
He could also receive additional rewards depending on Emperor Marcus’ mood and if his arrogance would allow it.
“Masters’ Battle...” Joshua muttered before slowly toward one of the gates of the fortress.
It had been a week since the turmoil at Rev, and at last, the event to celebrate the powerhouses of each and every nation throughout the continent was here.
It was a gathering of powerhouses to showcase their skills, and Reinhardt's gates were currently wide open for them.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel