Chapter 177
The blinding white light gradually faded away, but Joshua’s face was still hidden. He was cloaked in a curtain of raging electricity that seemed like it would explode in all directions at any moment.
“Is he the God of Lightning…?”
The reserved seats hummed with excitement.
Shrek, the Rising Star from the Mercenary Guild was among those with the privilege to sit on the reserved seats, and since he had one of the best views of the stage, he was able to clearly see Joshua’s power in its glory.
“Oh, my god…” Sonna moon Terraforce, the first princess of Terra, was equally astonished. “Is he even human?”
Tetsu and Estu, the famous Logan twins of the Swallow Empire, would have to pick their jaws off of the floor later.
Everyone was completely focused on the two individuals on the stage.
His Highness Ulabis and Joshua Sanders were on a whole other level.
“Haha.” The sword of Hubalt chuckled, which was unexpected considering her usual demeanor.
“Lilith, you seem pleased, or am I mistaken?” Jermieng asked.
“What, is there something wrong with that?” Lilith retorted.
Her fellow holy knight and the other spectators from Hubalt looked at her with dark faces.
“He’s a foreigner, as I’ve noted before. Someone as powerful as that could be a threat to our nation.”
“He could be a treat, but he could be an asset as well.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jermieng, a fellow holy knight.
Lilith shrugged casually and said, “I’m saying that you don’t have to worry about Joshua because we have him.”
“...” Jermieng stopped speaking at the mention of ‘him’.
‘Joshua will have no choice but to accept my offer,’ Lilith muttered to herself with a smile.?‘Ah, I can still remember the conversation we had on that fateful day—in that tiny room—where there were only the two of us.’
***
“I refuse,” Joshua answered without hesitation.
Lilith's face darkened. “What’s wrong with marrying me? No, why are you refusing when this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you?”
Lilith genuinely looked like she couldn’t understand the reasoning behind Joshua’s refusal as she stood up. The moment she stood up, her clothes stuck even tighter onto her skin, which presented a wonderful view of her toned, gorgeous physique.
“...” However, Joshua kept his lips shut and sat down as Lilith moved behind him.
There was no one else here aside from Joshua and Lilith. As for the guards hiding in the shadows, Lilith had sent them away earlier, so no one could stop Joshua if he wanted to do something. Of course, Lilith also didn’t think that Joshua would hurt her.
Lilith pressed herself against Joshua’s broad back, and a sweet fragrance from a perfume assaulted Joshua's nose.
“Is there a better marriage partner for Master—Baron Joshua Sanders, the disowned and propertyless, than myself? My family is as powerful in Hubalt as the Agnuses are in Avalon. I myself lead the Moon Gate, both in name and in practice.”
Joshua could feel something touching his elbow.
“You know, every man out there is obsessed with me. Unfortunately for them, they will never get the chance to obtain me, but you? The opportunity to obtain me is right in front of you, and you will also obtain my family and the entire Moon Gate all at once.”
Lilith’s hypnotizing lips dropped one bombshell after another.
“Embrace me. Embrace me now, and I’ll forget what you just said.”
Lilith's thin outer garments slipped to give Joshua a view of her porcelain shoulder and the deadly line of her collar. It was a view that would make just about any man out there drool.
“Joshua Sanders—this privilege belongs to you and no one else. No more refusals—my dignity will not allow it. If you have someone you like… Yes, I will be the main wife, but I will let you take a concubine. Great heroes have always had many women, after all.”
The offer was extremely good that it was absurd. Unless the man in question were a eunuch, no man would refuse such an offer. Even Joshua was tempted to accept the offer. After all, wasn’t this a fantastic chance to acquire the most distinguished family in Hubalt as well as the finest intelligence organization of the continent at the same time?
Unfortunately for Lilith, her opponent was Joshua.
The silent Joshua finally broke the ice with a chuckle.
Lilith's eyebrows quivered. Joshua’s chuckle just now shattered her bravado.
“What’s funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I won’t really benefit from your offer, and I won’t lose anything as well.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Lilith.
Joshua replied, “I used to hear people telling me that I’m pretty thick-skinned, but it seems yours is thicker.”
“What?”
“Don’t you think your offer is too atrocious when you will get to marry the strongest person on the continent?”
“...!” Lilith's eyes widened.
‘The strongest person on the continent?’
“Surely you don’t think becoming a Master makes you better than the Nine Stars and Twelve Superhumans?”
As the Master of Moon Gate, Lilith had extensive knowledge about the continent, so she knew just how much the gap was between the Twelve Superhumans and a ‘normal’ Master. Yes, Joshua wasn’t just a normal Master, but there was no way that the current him could defeat a Superhuman.
“I’m sure you know about the gap between the Superhumans, the Nine Stars, and Masters, right? You grew up in a ducal house, after all.”
After saying that, Lilith stepped back. She was well aware that confidence was beneficial, but arrogance was not. They were two sides of the same coin, but arrogance was useless and an obstacle.
“You…” Lilith started.
“Five years,” Joshua interrupted her. “In five years, I will bring the entire continent to its knees. Of course, the Twelve Superhumans and the Nine Stars are included.”
“...!” Lilith's eyes widened. She saw that the light in Joshua’s eyes had changed, the suspicious light in his eyes disappeared, and it was replaced with something else entirely.
‘This is absurd, and I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s really going to come true now that he said it,’?Lilith muttered to herself.
Five years—for some, five years was a short time, but for others, it would be a long time. However, five years to become the strongest person on the continent was definitely not a long time.
“Anyway, I’m prepared to accept your terms as long as they are reasonable, and one last thing…” Joshua trailed off. He shot a cheeky grin at Lilith before saying, “I don’t like women who are too easy.”
“...!” Lilith was dumbfounded, but she quickly recovered and started laughing in a startling cacophony of disbelief, delight, and a plethora of other emotions. “Fufu. Hahaha.”
Had someone ever spoken to her like this before?
Lilith eventually returned to her seat and sat down. She admitted underneath Joshua’s grin. “Fine. As you said, I gave myself up too easily.”
Lilith felt like she had just gotten a kick in the face, but she looked brighter than ever before. However, the sight of that made Joshua remember a certain saying: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
“The offer will be the same, but rather than marriage, I want you to do something else instead,” Lilith mischievously licked her smiling lips and said, “I want you to become the Champion of the Masters’ Battle and face the Lion King.”
“What?” Joshua was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to say.
“The Lion King, Ryan Geiger, is one of the few who understands the true nature of our Moon Gate like you. His inspections have greatly curtailed the scope of our organization’s operations, and it is all because he’s the lord of Reinhardt—where our headquarters are located…”
”Naturally, if you win the Masters’ Battle, you will become the Lord of Reinhardt, and we won’t be as restricted anymore, but…” Lilith smiled bitterly. “I don’t think we will be able to silence him even if he is no longer the lord of Reinhardt, so if he travels around the continent as a free knight and started spouting nonsense…”
Lilith shook her head. She felt like she would have a headache just thinking about it.
“Setting aside his current status as the lord of Reinhardt, he’s a powerful individual in his own right. Moreover, you have to defeat him if you want the residents of Reinhardt to accept you as their new lord. You will greatly benefit if the locals are supporting you, and our Moon Gate’s operations will improve as well.”
Lilith stared at Joshua for a moment and saw that he wasn’t speaking. At that, Lilith continued. “The Lion King will never turn down a bet. I want you to bet with him and make him keep his lips tightly sealed as the condition. Of course, he will raise his own conditions as well, but I assume you will be able to handle it.”
Lilith smiled and finally said, “That is my new offer.”
***
Lilith was all smiles as she emerged from her thoughts. However, since she had gotten too immersed in her memories, she seemed to have forgotten where she was as she accidentally blurted out.
“Yes, there’s no denying that I’m happy. How could I not be happy when he managed to drag the jaws of those snobbish twin brothers of Swallow to the floor?”
“What?”
“Just what did you say, Lilith Aphrodite?”
Tetsu and Estu’s ears turned red at Lilith’s words.
Fortunately, the situation didn’t escalate as they were interrupted by a thunderous boom.
“Wow!”
“...!”
The audience, the entire continent, and His Highness Ulabis were staring right at Joshua as the latter stomped off of the magnificent stage and transformed into a bolt of lightning that made a beeline for Ulabis.
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