Chapter 202
The heads of the Twelve Families and the five Ducal Families were gathered in one room for a conference. As usual, Emperor Marcus sat smugly in his golden throne, surveying his subjects. All of them were present aside from the heads of two families—the Pontier Family and the Crombell Family.
Next to Emperor Marcus was his personal adjutant, and he was responsible for all the paperwork His Majesty couldn’t handle. He kept track of everything happening in the Avalon Empire, so it was safe to say that His Majesty knew what he knew.
“The war between Marquis Crombell and Duke Pontier is at its climax,” the adjutant recited. “Fendra Castle, the ancestral home of the Pontier Family, will soon raise the white flag…”
”Meanwhile, His Grace Pontier and Lady Charles safely relocated to Castle Peril. Two days ago, an army of five thousand attacked Castle Peril in the early morning, and the battle that followed resulted in the overwhelming defeat of Crombell’s army.”
The conference room was deathly silent.
“Two units of knights and 1,500 soldiers were killed. Gehog don Crombell, the Marquis’ eldest son, is currently a prisoner of war. Viscount Wright shen Nagari was killed, despite being an A-Class Knight. His corpse is hanging outside the gates of Peril Castle.”
The silence dragged on. How were they supposed to handle this shocking news?
After a long silence, Emperor Marcus finally opened his mouth. Of course, no one knew what he was thinking, which was the usual.
“How bad is it for the Pontier Family?
Stop.
The adjutant glanced at Emperor Marcus before replying, “I apologize, Your Majesty, but there is hardly any information on that. The number of casualties—dead and injured, both serious and minor—is estimated to be less than a hundred.”
“...”
Marquis Broly sighed. He knew the gist of what was happening because he was acquainted with Marquis Crombell.
‘However, I didn’t expect that they would be able to retaliate this fiercely…’
Marquis Broly still couldn’t believe it despite hearing it from Emperor Marcus’ adjutant.
Emperor Marcus revealed a strange smile, and as if he was urging the people who were gathered here to listen closely to him, he spoke in a slightly loud voice, “Does Duke Pontier still have enough power?”
“The biggest reason behind the defeat of the Crombell Family’s army was the sudden appearance of a powerful group of knights. They assisted the Pontier Family at the last minute.”
“...” Emperor Marcus didn’t say anything. He simply waved his hand, gesturing for the adjutant to continue.
“The reports claim that they are the Wilhelm Knights of Reinhardt.”
“Wilhelm… Knights?” Marquis Villas gasped. The heads of the ducal families were already cognizant of the fact, so none of them said anything, but Marquis Villas didn’t have enough connections, so it was his first time hearing about it.
He had been paying attention—yes, given the significance of the war, but his territory was distant from the capital. Therefore, it was only natural that he would hear of news when it was already too late.
“Why are they here instead of Reinhardt?”
The Wilhelm Knights’ name held serious weight. There were only a hundred of them, but each and every one of them was more skilled than any other knight of the same level as them.
“Baron Sanders… He cut Viscount Wright’s head off and led the Wilhelm Knights to victory against Marquis Crombell’s army of five thousand.”
“Fuckin—” Marquis Villas caught himself at the last moment and stopped talking.
“Hehehe…” Emperor Marcus smiled, much to Marquis Villas’ relief. It seemed that Emperor Marcus didn’t mind his Freudian slip just now.
“Those who fought and have witnessed the Battle of Castle Peril all said the same thing—Joshua Sanders is the God of War of our Avalon.”
“...”
“Recite Article 21 of the Imperial Laws,” Emperor Marcus said.
At his order, the adjutant immediately started reciting the specific article in the imperial laws.
“All territorial battles within Avalon must be approved by His Majesty the Supreme Emperor in advance. Section 1 states that no more than 5,000 enlisted soldiers per family may participate in a war. Section 2…” The adjutant droned on and on until he finally reached the part that they were all interested in. “Section 8: It is forbidden to invite outsiders or other groups that could harm Avalon, but the aforementioned can be changed at the discretion of His Majesty the Supreme Emperor.”
The final sentence in the section was the key. In the end, the painstakingly written laws were nothing but scraps of paper in the hands of His Majesty the Emperor.
Of course, that wasn’t the only thing they were concerned about.
“Strictly speaking, the Wilhelm Knights are not part of our Empire. They come from a foreign country.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied most of the nobles aside from a few.
Emperor Marcus looked at one of the few nobles who didn’t speak. He revealed a sly smile before asking one of them, “Aden, what do you think? In addition to harming my valuable subjects, whom I own. He’s also trying to shake the order of my Avalon. What do you think I should do with that brat?”
Before Duke Agnus could answer; however, Duke Prius, renowned as a scholarly man, spoke up first, “Violations of Imperial Laws should be punished harshly. Your Majesty, I think it’s best to bring him to the Imperial Palace, and we can then listen to how he’s going to justify his actions this time.”
“Well, technically speaking, I don’t think it’s against the Imperial Laws, which are my laws. He was brave enough to do that without saying a word to me, but I don’t hate his insolence for some reason, and that is what I think is the problem here,” said Emperor Marcus.
At that, Duke Prius didn’t say anything.
“First of all, I did allow Marquis Crombell many favors. In that sense, the war was already unfair for Duke Pontier,” Emperor Marcus added.
“That’s…” The nobles exchanged glances. They hadn’t expected Emperor Marcus to be so straightforward. Everyone had thought that he was turning a blind eye to the Mercenary King for some reason. However, Emperor Marcus’ words seemed like the nobles were mistaken all this while.
Emperor Marcus’ smile widened at the seemingly confused noble among the throng before saying, “His achievements are undeniable, right?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Military Advisor Duke Jegar tun Reye. “His accomplishments at Reinhardt delivered the name of Avalon across the continent for the first time in many years. I think that should be recognized with distinction.”
“I know, right?” Emperor Marcus seemed satisfied by Duke Reye’s reply as he continued talking, “When he comes back, I’m planning on bestowing upon him the title of Marquis, and I’m also thinking about giving him some lands down south.”
“...!” The aristocrats shared an astonished look. They knew that Emperor Marcus would once again yield his carrot and stick to great effect, but such rewards were too much for them.
Take Arie bron Sten as an example. It had been a long time since he was acknowledged as a Master, but he was still a Count.
A fifteen-year-old was a widely acclaimed and acknowledged Master, but now, he was going to become a fifteen-year-old Marquis as well? Was he going to just skip three ranks at once?
Such rewards were unprecedented, and there was a high chance that such rewards would never be bestowed upon anyone again.
“My god! Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
“Your Majesty, such rewards are too extravagant!”
Marquis Broly and Marquis Villas raised their voices.
“I am the law and the Emperor of Avalon.” Emperor Marcus’ eyes turned cold as he stared alternatingly between Marquis Broly and Marquis Villas. “I will do what I want; any objections?”
Both Marquis Broly and Marquis Villas wisely shut their mouths.
“His growth will decide our plans for the future. This meeting is adjourned. And from now on, anyone who dares to do anything that could affect the war in the slightest…” Emperor Marcus chuckled as a harsh light flashed in his eyes. “You will take responsibility for getting in the way of my entertainment!”
The war between the Pontier Family and the Crombell Family would decide the future of both families, but Emperor Marcus acted like it was just an entertaining game. As such, some nobles couldn’t help but get nervous.
“Get out of my sight.”
“We hear and obey,” said the nobles at the same time as they stood.
“Aden, I want you to stay.”
Stop.
Duke Agnus stopped in his tracks and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Marcus and Duke Agnus were eventually the only people left in the conference room—discounting the people hiding in the ceiling, but only Emperor Marcus could see or hear them.
“How about we start talking properly?” Emperor Marcus smiled while staring into the eyes of the unmoving and silent Duke Agnus. The smile he revealed was the deepest and most genuine smile he had ever revealed so far.
***
The Lion King hummed as he wandered through the beautiful gardens of Peril Castle.
“You must pay for your food,” a voice interrupted the Lion King’s enjoyment.
“Food?”
“You have been eating and playing for free, haven’t you? I’m sure you have no idea, but I don’t really like people who use my money without reimbursing me,” said Joshua.
“Your money?” The Lion King laughed like a madman before saying, “Are you sure it isn’t Count Keiros’ money or Lady Charles’ money?”
“Then, I will be asking you for an entrance fee for entering the beautiful garden here.”
“Pffft!” The Lion King boisterously laughed once more. “Hahaha, this is the first time someone asked me to pay for an entrance fee.”
“It’s the only way a pitiful child like me can get by in this harsh world.”
“...” The Lion King stared at Joshua, seemingly dumbfounded. He didn’t expect such words to come out of the latter’s mouth.
“All right, how much does it cost? Of course, I’m not paying you money.”
“It’s fine; I won’t ask you to pay with cash.”
“In that case, I’d rather pay with cash.”
“I’d like you to act as a notary,” Joshua finally said it.
Flinch.
“Notary?” The Lion King revealed a serious look.
“I want the challenge to happen here rather than in Reinhardt.”
“...!” The Lion King’s eyes widened.
“The actors are ready, so all you have to do is help me move the location of the showdown here. However, the most important part is that if someone wants to witness the fight, then they would have to buy a ticket—a very expensive one.”
“Are you serious?” asked the Lion King, seemingly dumbfounded.
“Yes,” Joshua replied with a nod.
“I don’t know if you have any idea what it means to be a notary, but it is a huge burden for me to bear. Being your notary means that I will responsible for any issues that will come up during the challenge.”
“That is the entrance fee to the beautiful garden here, and you will have to pay since you’re already inside the garden. Anyway, here’s what I want you to do—” Joshua started.
However, the Lion King interrupted after being silent for a moment. “So it’s a threat rather than a request. In that case, I would like to raise a few conditions on my side.”
“If your conditions are—” Joshua started.
The Lion King interrupted once again. “You threatened me with an extremely expensive entrance fee, so I think it’s only right for me to get my money’s worth, right?”
“That’s…” Joshua didn’t know what to say.
“I have two conditions.”
“Tell me,” said Joshua.”
“The first condition is that I want you to grant a request of mine in the future.”
“Well—” Joshua was about to say something.
However, the Lion King seemed to have seen through his thoughts as he said, “Of course, you’re welcome to refuse if you think it’s too much for you. You see, I’ve been defeated only once, and had a draw with another in my entire life. For the latter, it was against someone named Arie, who is from Avalon as well.”
“Um…” Joshua’s mouth gulped down his saliva at the mention of Arie.
“In the past…” The Lion King trailed off. He looked at Joshua for a moment before saying, “No, I don’t think this is the right time to talk about this. You’re about to fight a Superhuman, so I think you should focus on that first.”
“Is it related?” asked Joshua.
In response, the Lion King simply nodded.
“I think I get the gist. What is your other condition?”
“Are you willing to accept it?”
“I thought you said I’m welcome to refuse?”
“Yes,” said the Lion King with a wry smile.
“My other condition is…” The Lion King trailed off. His deep voice made it hard to hear, but there was no way Joshua wouldn’t hear him as he said, “I want you to be my successor.”
However, there was no way Joshua could have expected such a curveball.
“Accept my conditions, and I will be your notary.”
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