Chapter 164
A suffocating silence quickly engulfed the surroundings.
“D-divine power?”
The shocked voice of a priest shattered the silence.
The audience members were enthralled by the dazzling light they had never seen before. The six Masters, who hadn’t left their seats just yet, as well as the holy knights being led by Count Ford, stared blankly at the stage.
“God… that’s absurd! How could he wield divine power when he’s just an ordinary knight rather than a holy knight? He’s not even from Hubalt! He’s from Avalon!”
“Hey, look!” A priest exclaimed loudly as the clamor got louder around him.
Everyone turned to look at where the priest was looking, and they saw how Akshuller’s wounds were recovering at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"God…!”
The unquenchable flames of annihilation in the surroundings popped and fizzled as they eventually disappeared under the ray of light. Akshuller’s ruined flesh—and even his bones—started to heal, and the awful bubbles of pus disappeared like illusions. Akshuller himself stared blankly at it, but his complexion was rapidly improving.
“I’ve never done this before, so I had no idea it would be like this…” Joshua muttered.
One of the nearby priests was stupefied, and they exclaimed, “Your first time? Are you saying it’s your first time using Heal?”
“Yes, and it’s also my first time using holy magic.”
“…!” The surrounding priests gasped.
“Your first time using holy magic? Are you saying you figured it out just by watching us?”
“It’s not that hard if you know the gist of it. A knight’s mana, a mage’s magic and a priest’s holy magic follow the same fundamentals.”
“Well, that’s…”
Joshua had said those words casually, but if anyone else overheard him, they would definitely think that he was a madman. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got beaten up right there and then.
To begin with, all three energies Joshua had mentioned had distinctive, unique vessels. The mana of knights was stored in the mana hall beneath their abdomen, the mana of mages was stored in a ring in their heart (also known as circles), and finally, divine power was stored in the head, which was closest to the gods’ divine palaces.
Since their vessels were different, it meant that the circulation method would also be completely different, even if the fundamentals were the same. In fact, attempting to deal with two of the three energies at the same time would adversely affect anyone.
In a way, it was suicide.
Of course, Joshua wouldn’t have any trouble handling any of the energies because he didn’t really have a specific vessel to contain any of them. After all, he was using the ancient mana technique.
"You can use holy magic?” asked Akshuller. He was now staring at Joshua after looking away at his visibly healing wound.
“I was just imitating them,” responded Joshua.
“Look them in the eyes and say that to them,” Akshuller pointed at the priests with his chin. Akshuller was in disbelief himself, but the priests were even more astonished than him. In fact, the priests looked like they would have to pick their jaws up from the floor.
“How is it that you can do everything? No, wait. Are you really human?”
“Hmm…” Joshua turned to Iceline, who jumped when she realized he was staring at her. “Perhaps I’m not human.”
“What?" Iceline was startled.
Seeing that, Joshua smiled mischievously.
Iceline saw Joshua’s smile, and she scowled when she realized that Joshua had gotten her.
“I’m a human being, all right?” Joshua clarified.
“...”
“Next time, can you tell us in advance? At this rate, we’re going to get a heart attack.”
“You just have to be prepared to be surprised.”
At Joshua's answer, Akshuller boisterously laughed.
While they were laughing, there was another group staring at them speechlessly.
“N-no way… High Priest Herald wasn’t lying?” Count Ford muttered in disbelief. He had just arrived close to the stage, but before he could approach the stage, the sight Joshua had revealed forced him to come to a halt.
“It seems that we were mistaken.”
“Marquis Moreland?”
Count Ford turned to look at Marquis Moreland next to him.
Marquis Moreland continued with a stiff look. “He can use divine power, so even if we swear and accuse him of being a demon, no one would possibly believe us. After all, demons cannot use divine power. If we proceed with the plan despite knowing that he can use divine power, people will despise us.”
“In that case, how did Sir Christian… Wait, how?” Count Ford muttered blankly.
“Count Ford.” Marquis Moreland said, “This isn’t the time for us to take advantage of the people’s jealousy..”
“…!” Count Ford trembled at Marquis Moreland’s familiar words.
“Face reality and consider your next choice wisely. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do at the moment.”
“Damn it all…!” Count Ford cursed.
Marquis Moreland smiled bitterly, and with a look of resignation, he said, “It seems that our Hubalt Empire is done with this year’s Masters’ Battle.”
Count Ford seethed at Marquis Moreland’s bitter-sounding voice.
***
“Congratulations on your victory, Your Majesty.”
Upon returning to his accommodation, Ulabis nodded lightly at the red-armored knights congratulating him.
“Sir Christian has officially withdrawn from the competition, so only Your Majesty remains in Group B.”
Group B had only two new Masters, compared to Group A’s three. The rest of Group B had to return to their home country, and most of them didn’t even attract the six Masters’ attention. Some won their matches but were too wounded to continue.
Still, it could be said that this year’s Reinhardt Masters’ Battle could be considered to be the most prolific Masters’ Battle to date. After all, only one or two Masters would usually be acknowledged every Masters’ Battle.
“I went straight to the finals with one win? It seems that I’m pretty lucky,” said Ulabis.
However, he frowned when he felt a throbbing pain coming from his right wrist. It was the part that had collided with Akshuller’s massive fist. It was painful enough to make him frown, so he definitely fractured it.
“He certainly lived up to his reputation,” Ulabis muttered and chuckled. Akshuller was certainly no loser. After all, he was the so-called Second Mercenary, the Mighty Akshuller. As such, it was only natural for him to be one of the most popular figures.
“The youngest of the Magic Tower’s Seven Mages named Theta and Joshua Sanders of the Avalon Empire. Your Majesty’s final opponent depends on who will win in the final match of Group A.”
“It seems that there are only monsters left...” Ulabis sighed and shook his head.
“I’m going out for a while.”
“We shall be at your command.” The red-armored knights quickly trailed behind Ulabis.
“All right. You guys will only make me attract attention if you were to follow me, so I shall go there on my own.” With that, Ulabis put on the frayed robe he had stashed somewhere earlier.
“May I ask where you are headed?”
“I’m only going to a temple. And somewhere else that I have to go alone.”
The eyes of the knights widened at the mention of a temple.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
The knights looked worried, so Ulabis quickly waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s just a minor injury. My opponent will be a monster, so I think it’s better for me to make sure that I’ll be in peak condition by the time we fight. You guys don’t have to worry.”
“If that’s the case, let us tell the organizers—”
Ulabis shook his head and interrupted. “It’s not a major injury, so there’s no need to worry.”
“How can we not be…” said one of the knights, but he quickly trailed off upon realizing something. His eyes welled up with tears when he confirmed why Ulabis was doing all this. Ulabis was more concerned about the citizens of Thran being worried about him rather than his own condition.
Despite being injured himself, the lord he was serving still paid attention to his subjects.
“I’ll be right back, then.”
“Please be careful, Your Majesty.”
The red-armored knights simultaneously bowed at Ulabis’ walking out of the door. The knights appeared to treat Ulabis casually, but their respect for him actually ran deep.
***
Ulabis’ injury wasn’t serious, so it didn’t take that long for him to recover. However, it was already dark when he emerged from the temple. When he came out, he immediately visited a large building located in the middle of Reinhardt.
It was a majestic-looking five-story building.
Ulabis went up to the fourth floor. He was staring at the luxurious interior as if he was appreciating the designs and muttered, “I could have never imagined that the headquarters of the continent’s best intelligence guild, Moon Gate, would be in a place like this.”
“Isn’t that what you call confidence, Your Highness Ulabis?” A man appeared and smiled at Ulabis. He was an unremarkable man named Zero. He was the former branch manager of the Moon Gate Arcadia Branch and was acquainted with Joshua. “I regret that we can’t serve you on the top floor as someone of your status deserves. I’m hoping for your understanding because our captain is currently away.”
Zero bowed politely.
“No.” Ulabis shook his head at the courteous Zero. “I came here to look for you.”
Zero tilted his head and asked, “Your Highness was looking for me?”
“You’re the only one who knows the information that I want.” Ulabis’ burning eyes bored into Zero. “I want information on Joshua Sanders, including when he was still Joshua von Agnus. I heard that when he was still Joshua von Agnus, the information cost for him is a million gold.”
“That’s—”
“I will pay a million gold. In exchange, I want to know everything there is about Joshua Sanders.”
“…” Zero remained silent for a while.
“Can you tell me?” asked Ulabis.
Zero smiled at that and said, “As you know, Joshua Sanders is an important client of our organization. He is also the only being on the continent who knows the whereabouts of things that are quite essential to our organization.”
“Are you trying to bargain with me?” asked Ulabis with a grimace.
Zero shook his head and explained, “The value of the information has changed dramatically. Joshua von Agnus of five years ago and the current Joshua Sanders are completely different people.”
“So, how much do you want?” asked Ulabis with a scowl.
Zero smirked bitterly and said, “A hundred million gold.”
“…”
“Information about Joshua Sanders is worth a hundred million gold.”
When Zero’s words fell, a deathly silence descended.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel