Chapter 150
The Pontier Family’s headquarters was now currently located in the middle of the basin near Aiden Gorge. Speaking of Aiden Gorge, there was currently a blanket of heavy fog around it, which obscured the basin just above it.
A man’s disappointed voice could be heard. “I’m very disappointed in you people.”
“W-what do you mean, Sir Cain?” asked a knight of the Pontier Family. Cain’s shoulders were slumped in dismay.
“We’ve been holed up in the basin for two weeks since Marquis Crombell started bleeding us out, but now, we’re wasting our time like this…” Cain sighed and shrugged. “The fact that everyone is divided makes me nervous, and it’s all thanks to a certain someone.”
“That’s…”
Most of the knights were agitated upon hearing that.
“Did you deliberately mean for me to hear that?!” A middle-aged man with a distorted expression glared at Cain. The middle-aged man was Baron Ashbal, and he was the leader of the knights here. “Do you think we are here just for fun? We are on the defensive rather than the offensive. The enemies could strike at any moment, so we have to be prepared and in peak form at all times.”
“...” Cain didn’t say anything in response.
Seeing that, Baron Ashbal growled. “You’re like a flower in a greenhouse, and I’m pretty sure you have no idea what war is like. I’m sure you have been spending all your time cleaning up your master’s mess, and you don’t even have any idea of how a war is like.”
Upon discovering that Cain did not have a title, Baron Ashbal quickly became hostile and started verbally abusing the former.
“At this rate, they are sure to make the first move. Victory goes to the fearless, as they say.”
“You’re awfully confident.” Cain pointed out.
“That’s right.” Baron Ashbal snorted. “Any competent commander should know something as basic as predicting their enemy’s next course of actions.”
“No…” Cain chuckled and shrugged before seemingly muttering to himself, “Maybe I should say that it sounds like you know what they’re thinking…”
Cain had spoken in a low voice just now, but it was loud enough for Baron Ashbal to hear.
“Are you suspecting that I’m a spy? Is that what you mean?”
“Oh my, what a shameful thing to say. Even criminals wouldn’t think of such things.” Cain flapped his hand. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Please, I implore you, find it in your magnanimous heart to widen the vision of this little one.”
“...” Baron Ashbal glanced at Cain for a few seconds before hastily turning around and walking away.
“Have you forgotten about what Icarus, the so-called commoner girl, said about how the longer the war drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for them?” asked Baron Ashbal.
Baron Ashbal came to a halt.
“The two families are vastly different, militarily and economically, so there is no reason to drag on the conflict for so long. The war budget is still the same, but public opinion may have changed,” Baron Ashbal said while looking at the fog. “If this war continues for too long, it will inevitably affect the neighboring cities, which is something Marquis Crombell will never want to happen.”
Cain sneered at that as he said, “Although you are disregarding me, it seems like you trust our strategist. I noticed how you were saying the same things.”
“Anyone who has a brain can think of that…” Baron Ashbal’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t speak like that commoner girl is the only one who has a brain here.”
“Yeah, sure.” Cain nodded his head playfully.
The sight made Baron Ashbal frown as he said, “If it weren’t for our situation, I would have given you a beatdown. You’re lucky because my lady appeared to save you.”
“I got saved?” Cain muttered blankly with wide eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Baron Ashbal glared at Cain.
“I thought I won that one…” Despite being under Baron Ashbal’s glare, Cain continued speaking, “To lose grip of one’s sword amidst a fight is a huge embarrassment for us knights, you know? It’s an unwritten rule among us, knights.”
Cain raised his finger and provoked. “Ahhh, I can still remember that loud clang! as if it happened yesterday—”
“All right, you’re done here, you punk!” Baron Ashbal was enraged. He gnashed his teeth, looking like he was about to charge at Cain.
“Ah!” Cain exaggeratedly raised his arms as if he were afraid and took a step backward.
“That long tongue of yours ought to be pulled out!” Baron Ashbal was still screaming.
“S-Sir!”
“Don’t get in my way! I’m going to tear him apart!”
“B-But… that’s not what I’m here for.” The young knight pointed at the gorge. “I’m here to deliver a message.”
At that, Baron Ashbal slowly came to halt. “What?”
Baron Ashbal’s eyes widened because he could clearly hear the sound of galloping horses. Soon, a knight on horseback bearing a red banner came into view. It immediately became obvious that he was one of the knights assigned to keep an eye out for any movements in Aiden Gorge.
“What happened? Are they moving already?” Baron Ashbal shouted angrily at the approaching knight.
“T-This is bad, Sir! Look at the water!”
“Slow down! I can’t understand you!”
The horseman frantically sawed at the reins. His hysteria was palpable as he approached. Everyone could also hear the sound of galloping horses echoing throughout the gorge.
Meanwhile, the horseman finally arrived, and after receiving help from his fellow knight, he hurriedly reported.
“The Dennis River has become completely frozen!“
“...!” The knight next to the horseman stared at the latter with wide eyes.
Cain and Baron Ashbal glanced at each other, and their eyes met in mid-air.
“No way,” Cain muttered. However, his expression seemed relaxed as he said, “It’s just like she said…”
The Dennis River would always flow without freezing, even in the middle of winter. It was all because flowing water would never freeze. As such, it had always been extremely difficult to cross the Dennis River because it was one of the rivers with the strongest current throughout the empire
However, if the river froze, then it would be a perfectly usable route to maneuver around Aiden Gorge.
‘It will be a direct route to the core of the Pontier Family!’
Cain gulped a mouthful of saliva at the thought.
If the messenger’s words were accurate, then they were in a dire situation. Of course, it would only be a dire situation if the Pontier Family had never considered the possibility of the Dennis River being frozen.
Fortunately, one person had predicted that this would happen.
Still, Cain seemed anxious. It wasn’t because of the situation. Rather, he was anxious about her—anxious about the young lady with light blue hair and blue eyes.
***
“They’re so… magnificent,” Sonna muttered.
Many people were entering the building. However, Sonna only had eyes on Ulabis and Akshuller.
“Well…” Shrek seemed to greatly admire Akshuller.
“They aren’t from any of the great powers, are they?”
“Give us ten years at most, and we can surely defeat them.”
The Swallow Empire Logan brothers' daring words made Shrek's brows quiver.
He chided them, “You two talk too much.”
“Shrek?” Sonna directed a confused look at Shrek. It seemed that Shrek's admiration for Akshuller was stronger than she had expected. ‘Was it the gauntlet he had selected in honor of him?’
Tetsu, the older brother, glanced at Shrek and continued. “It wasn’t meant to take a jab at the Mercenary Guild. Rumors will always be exaggerated, as far as I know. Even if the subject of the rumors is the Knight of Red Flame or Second Mercenary.”
“Their reputation doesn’t really matter,” Estu noticed what Tetsu was trying to say, and he decided to finish it for the latter. “Their skill is what matters the most.”
“Well...” Shrek hesitated before eventually nodding in response. “I may have spoken in haste.”
“The so-called ‘Giant’ is well-renowned throughout the entire continent, but…” Tetsu trailed off.
Once again, Estu finished the sentence for Tetsu. “However, Ulabis and Joshua Sanders are the perfect examples of people with exaggerated rumors. The two of them have no graceful demeanor to speak of, so the rumors about them have to be overblown.”
Babel’s figure twitched upon hearing Joshua’s name.
The Logan Brothers also attracted the attention of two holy knights from Hubalt.
“I get why you said that about Ulabis. But why Joshua Sanders?” asked the curious Sonna.
“Have anyone here seen Joshua Sanders before?” Tetsu asked.
This time, Estu spoke for Tetsu, “Young Master Babel is the only exception.”
The Reinhardt Martial Arts Competition had few entrants, unlike the Masters Battle. The rising stars of many nations found it beneath them to participate in such a low-ranking competition. They felt like participating would have no significant impact on them.
Of course, there were many other reasons why they chose not to participate, such as the fact that they wanted to spend more time on personal training. In addition, becoming famous through the Reinhardt Martial Arts Competition was like plucking stars out of the sky because every participant was a star.
“I was there.”
The Logan brothers’ heads turned to the voice. The source was a gorgeous lady in pristine white armor with her hand raised high up. Her mysterious silver hair and eyes identified her as the strongest swordswoman under the age of thirty.
“Lilith?” her fellow holy knight, seated next to her, wore a perplexed look.
“Oh, there’s one.” After a brief pause, the Logan brothers looked away from her, and Tetsu started speaking, “Let’s ask the others then. Do you believe that a perfect talent like Joshua Sanders exist?”
“...” Everyone stayed silent at that.
Seeing that, Tetsu continued as if everyone was on the same page as him.
“He has looks and talents beyond definition at the age of fifteen, and he’s a Masters’ Battle participant despite his young age. His pedigree is flawless as well. Some even compared him to a dragon that has come down to the mortal world to display his prowess.” Tetsu shook his head and finally got to the point. “Isn’t it interesting how someone so perfect just appeared out of nowhere?”
“Even a novel’s main character won’t be as perfect as him,” Estu added from the side.
As a result of Estu's assistance, Tetsu was able to go smoothly.
“Many people were there to witness it, so there should be a lot more witnesses—” Sonna started.
“It’s common practice for the great powers to create a fictional hero so that they could flaunt their power.” Tetsu interrupted her. His jealous response to the rumors was a display of his mental maturity. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he got bullied into fleeing…”
“I guess he won't show up here, then,” Estu added once more.
“Well, I’m pretty sure Avalon would spread those rumors around just to hype his existence. He’s probably just a chump. Actually, I even doubt that he’s good-looking.”
The two brothers then broke into a fit of laughter.
“That’s…” Sonna finally awakened from her stupor. She turned to look at Babel and was perplexed. Wasn’t this a direct insult to Avalon?
However, Sonna was caught off guard by the curveball Babel had thrown at her.
“I wish.”
“What?”
“What?” The Logan brothers looked at him as well.
‘It’s hilarious…’?Babel smiled bitterly. He would have assumed the same thing if he were in their shoes. Joshua was just that amazing that it was hard to believe what he had achieved so far.
“Nothing…” Babel responded as silence suddenly descended on the whole building.
“What?”
“Has the lottery started?” One of them asked.
The silence was then shattered by a voice that came from behind the door. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice and heard footsteps approaching the door of the building they were in.
“...”
After a few moments of silence, the host saw a young man walking into the building. He was an incredibly handsome young man with navy blue hair and eyes as deep as the abyss.
“Ah! A representative of Avalon!” The herald finally discovered the young man’s identity, and he hurriedly announced to the crowd. “Baron Joshua Sanders, representing the Avalon Empire, has arrived!”
The herald’s booming voice filled the building and attracted everyone’s attention.
Joshua finally made his public debut, and it was in front of the continent’s biggest names.
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