Chapter 309
“He’s…the Hero King?” Christian blankly murmured.
Although it was his first time seeing the Hero King, he could instantly recognize the Hero King by the many rumors Christian had heard about him: his hair was deep blue, nearly black, and when Christian looked into the Hero King’s eyes, he felt like he was looking into an abyss. The Hero King’s skin, on the contrary, was snow white. The man as a whole was surreally handsome.
When Cain was five footsteps away from the Tower’s entrance, he loudly shouted, “Master!”
Thump!
However, the man who seemed to be his master slammed the end of the red spear, which Cain was familiar with as he was with his favorite weapon, against the ground. It was as if he had no intentions of allowing Cain to approach any further. Since Cain hadn’t expected the man’s reaction at all, he came to a halt and blankly gaped, unable to hide his perplexity as he quietly asked, “Master…? Why…?”
“Master, please say something…” Cain repeated, but he couldn’t continue.
“That’s not our master,” Icarus said.
Cain’s head snapped around to look at Icarus.
“What did you say?”
“The master I know isn’t that emotionless.” Icarus shook her head.
Cain scowled at Icarus.
“What are you talking about?” he growled.
“Don’t you remember?” Icarus asked.
“What are—!?”
“There was a being who looked the same as our master,” Icarus reminded him before he could shout.
“…Wait…” Cain widened as he came to a realization.
“Oh, yeah. Our master got that being from here,” Icarus remembered.
“…A doppelganger!” Cain growled.
Yes, if it was that, then he understood why he was able to feel the enormous power boiling inside the being like a volcano about to erupt. A doppelganger didn’t just copy a person’s appearance.
-You’re more stupid than I thought…
A voice suddenly echoed inside Cain’s head, making him flinch.
-I’ve been looking forward to seeing your ability, since you’re his first subordinate…
“Who are you?” Cain instantly drew his black greatsword from his back.
-Well, I guess he’s the only exception among humans…
“Where in the world…!?” Cain’s eyes swept over their surroundings, but he quickly froze. No matter how hard he searched, he could only find one being aside from his companions.
-Yeah, you’re wrong.
A resonating sound echoed as if the voice was waiting for Cain to reach such a conclusion.
-You should look further down.
Up until then, Cain had been intensely staring at the doppelganger, but he gaped in shock after he saw another being, the one that was making the air tremble.
“A sp-spear is doing that?” Cain stuttered.
The spear elegantly whirled around.
-Never mind. Get ready. Although he asked me for my help, I’ll be the one who decides if you’re worthy enough for me to teach.
“What are you talking—?”
-So…
The spear interrupted Cain and exuded an ominous black, bloody light.
-From now on, you’re going to go through the same tribulations that your master went through. It’ll be simpler than you think, though, since….
In the suffocating silence, only the spear quietly spoke.
-You just have to use every bit of your strength to survive.
“…Hup!” Cain felt that something was up and subconsciously inhaled.
A black mouth appeared out of nowhere in front of Cain and devoured him.
* * *
While the Hubalt Empire had become weaker due to the internal conflict between the Pope and the Emperor, there were several causes for the Avalon Empire’s slow crumble. It had started with the death of Duke Agnus, one of the Nine Stars, and then Emperor Marcus had suddenly disappeared, aggravating the battle for the throne between the two princes.
In the end, Avalon had to lock down its border since they couldn’t deal with the other countries while the power struggle inside their country was escalating. Avalon had become a closed country.
Right now, Kiser, the First Prince, looked up at the throne in the palace of the Avalon Empire and said, “Did I really take only three months to get this back? My country is a mess. I don’t understand how things got this far… When in the world will this fight end?”
“I don’t know…” someone immediately replied. “I think the casualties will have to at least double before that happens.”
“…It sounds like you want that to happen.” Kiser narrowed his eyes.
“Hahaha.” The person quietly chuckled. “Maybe I do.”
Kiser slowly turned back and saw a snake-like middle-aged man with only one arm.
“Arie,” Kiser said.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Arie answered.
“They’re also the citizens of the Avalon Empire,” Kiser quickly reminded Arie.
“But they’re also rebels who dared to point their swords at you, Your Highness,” Arie reminded the prince in turn.
“…Everyone makes mistakes.” Kiser looked away. “They’re just walking down the wrong path because they’ve been deceived by that sly Kaizen.”
“If mistakes are repeated, then they can no longer be called mistakes, Your Highness.” Arie stared at Kiser.
“The important part is that no one taught them that.” Kiser closed his eyes.
“Maybe you want to believe so.” Arie shrugged, making Kiser unable to speak any further. “If you still think that way, this civil war will continue much longer, Your Highness.”
“…Then what do you want me to do?” Kiser bit his lower lip.
“Isn’t it simple?” Arie asked, grinning. “We can just kill them all.”
“You’re…” Kiser stopped to heave a long sigh. “...truly cruel.”
“Hahaha,” Arie giggled. “You already knew that, but you still came.”
“…Never mind.” Kiser shook his head and pointed at the door. “By the way, there are some people I would like to introduce.”
“Oh, are they your guests, Your Highness? I was wondering who they were.” Arie’s head turned toward the prince’s guests; he was already aware of their presence. The door opened, and two men entered. When Arie realized who they were, he fervently stared at the men with sparkling eyes.
“…Woah? This is… surprising. I did hear the recent rumor, but…” Arie’s smile deepened, and he bowed slightly. “It has been a while, Your Highness.”
A man that resembled Prince Kiser approached.
“Yes, it really has been, Count Arie.” Kaiser, the Fourth Prince, smiled.
“…Let’s exchange greetings later. Since you’ve disappeared for the past three years, I didn’t even know if you were alive, much less expected that you would show up here right now, Kaiser. And…” Kiser trailed off and glanced sideways to look at a green-haired expressionless yet handsome man who was standing behind Kaiser. “...you even brought the man who was once called the ‘War God’ of the Swallow Empire.”
Kaiser’s smile widened.
“You recognized him.”
“In times like this, I should always be up to date with information.” Kiser shrugged.
“You’re always careful.” Kaiser nodded.
“I’m just distrustful, not careful, and I’m still distrustful.” Kiser’s eyes turned cold. “You and the War God are officially the worst criminals of two empires. The War God betrayed his country, and although everyone despises the undead, you…”
“I’ll prove myself,” Kaiser declared.
Kiser flinched.
“…What?”
“Babel von Agnus is currently Brother Kaizen’s loyal subordinate and leading all those rebels, so I’ll bring his head to you,” Kaiser explained.
Kiser snorted. “You’re going to take over a ducal family just like that?”
Kaiser shrugged.
“Even though Duke Agnus’s family may not be the same as before, it won’t be easy for you to get rid of them yourself.”
“That’s…” Kiser bit his lower lip.
“As they’re paying attention to your every move, they’ll mobilize all their force to deal with you if they feel you’re even thinking of doing something to them. In contrast, there is only a rumor about me returning, so no one will be able to expect that I’ll suddenly attack Brother Kaizen.”
“…Aside from all that, if you were me, do you think you’d believe me if I said that to you?” Kiser asked.
Kaiser shook his head without hesitation.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“…What?” Kiser’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t trust people. I just read the chessboard and plan my next move,” Kaiser nonchalantly explained.
Kiser gaped at him slightly.
“So I came up with a good plan,” Kaiser continued.
“A good plan?” Kiser repeated.
“Extend an olive branch,” Kaiser suggested.
Kiser’s face crumpled up. He didn’t need to ask to whom he should extend the olive branch.
“I’ve had enough—!”
“I received information that says that the Hubalt and Swallow Empires have formed an alliance.”
“…What?” Kiser opened his eyes wide as he processed Kaiser’s unexpected revelation.
“There is already a precedent for this, so why are you surprised?” Kaiser tilted his head curiously.
“What nonsense are you talking about?!” Kiser shouted. “The Hubalt Empire was already betrayed once, so why would they form an alliance with the Swallow Empire?”
“To be exact, the two powerful figures from their respective empires reached an agreement, not formed an alliance,” Kaiser explained. “They’ll probably pretend to go to war and gather up their soldiers in one place because they think they don’t need to care about how other countries would react, nor do they feel the need to continue the meaningless war of attrition. The Crimson Sky would have promised to get rid of the Pope’s people and the Knight of God, and on the other hand, the Martial Emperor—no, the Martial God—will get rid of the Allied Powers and the ‘King’.”
Kiser remained silent. Kaiser looked at him and continued, “Isn’t it a commonly used technique? Get rid of the bothersome small fries first, and then the two empires will be free to contend for the supremacy of the continent to the very end…”
Kiser gritted his teeth. “You mean…”
“Yes, they no longer consider the Avalon Empire a worthy opponent.” Kaiser shrugged.
“I’m sorry to interrupt…” Arie jumped into the conversation between the princes with a grin. “They didn’t think of the Avalon Empire as a worthy opponent in the first place.”
A silence descended on the king’s chamber, but Kaiser quietly broke it.
“It’ll soon be the third anniversary of His Majesty’s death,” he said. “Although you don’t have much power, you should at least have the power to hold a national memorial. The commoners and nobles of the Avalon Empire, Brother Kaizen, the rebels… Summon everyone.”
Kiser was silent for a long time.
“…Will they believe me that easily?”
Kaiser smiled contentedly in his mind at Kiser’s reaction.
“Even if they don’t, what can they do? They’ll probably believe it once they meet the person I brought.”
As soon as Kaiser finished speaking, the door opened again, and another man walked inside. It was an old man with slicked-back white hair with his hands clasped behind his back.
“How…?” Kiser’s jaw dropped in surprise. The servant had reported that two men had entered the palace, but, astonishingly, one more man had entered. But then Kiser’s eyes widened until they threatened to pop out of their sockets. “Yo-you’re…?”
“Woah, today is full of surprises. Hahahaha.” Arie burst into laughter, unable to hold back his mirth anymore.
“D-Duke Tremblin?” Kiser gaped.
“…Greetings, Your Highness.” Tremblin bowed, but his expression was grim for some reason.
No matter what anyone said, he was a legendary figure who had brought honor to the Avalon Empire. Although Duke Agnus had passed away, he and the Sword Emperor Duke Tremblin were called the two strongest men of the Avalon Empire. Therefore, naturally, his absence from the Empire when he began searching for the missing Emperor three years ago was a major contributor to the Avalon Empire’s downfall.
But he had appeared again.
Tremblin shrugged.
“It has already been three years now, so it’s time for the imperial family to officially acknowledge that His Majesty died and move on.”
Kiser flinched. “You mean…?”
“A new emperor has to lead the Avalon Empire,” Kaiser mumbled. He clenched his fists and looked straight into Kiser’s eyes. “The day for you to make the Avalon Empire rise again has come.”
Kiser clenched his fists.
Kaiser instantly turned as soon as he finished speaking.
“If you’re interested in my plan, let’s schedule a meeting and I’ll tell you the details then,” he told his brother.
“You…” Kiser wasn’t sure what to do.
“Oh, yeah! Berche’s Bloody Battle is coming up soon, so it’ll be a good chance to gather up the Imperial Knights. You and Brother Kaizen each have exactly six battalions and you probably haven’t been able to find out each other’s power because of other countries, so it’ll be a good chance to find that out. Hahahaha!”
Kaiser’s genuine laughter echoed throughout the king’s chamber.
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