Side Story Chapter 30
About a week later, a group of five hundred people crossed the border of the southern region of the Avalon Empire.
“Halt!” Kireua abruptly raised his hand.
The knights pulled their reins, surprised, drawing loud neighs from their horses. They were currently near a giant reed forest located on the road to the western region.
“Your Highness, we’re going to arrive in the west soon. If you’re trying to take a break, wouldn’t it be better to do that after we pass through this forest?” Sparc Murtan asked.
“Are you worried about getting ambushed?” Anna tilted her head.
Sparc flinched.
Anna closed her eyes for a moment.
“I can’t feel anything from the wind,” she said as she opened her eyes.
Cain came forward as well. “That is what I believe too.”
The reeds in the forest were tall enough to hide people, but Cain wasn’t able to detect any presence even with his superhuman senses. He could say for certain that there was no one waiting to ambush them, at least within a thirty meter radius.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Kireua shrugged.
“Being careful is an essential virtue of a leader,” Cain said with a smile of contentment. “But you can trust me on this, Your Highness. Even if the rebels in the west dispatched their forces as soon as they heard the news, they couldn’t be here yet. Besides, Ranger won’t sit by and let them.”
“That’s not it.”
“Pardon?”
“I wanted to finish the ‘sorting process’ before we run into our enemies,” Kireua said.
Cain became more confused.
Kireua glanced behind him. “For the people in the southern rebel army, their biggest eyesores must be me and Selim. Selim chopped their leader’s head off, and I made them surrender for good.”
“Do you think there are still traitors among us?” Cain asked.
“There is no harm in being careful. The one thing I know for certain is that all the remaining skilled knights in the south must have gone after Selim or are here.” Kireua slowly took around his surroundings with cold eyes.
Some of the knights that met Kireua’s eyes furtively lowered their heads.
“This is a golden opportunity. Besides, look. That reed forest is perfect for an ambush.”
“…You expected all that, but you still decided to leave on your own?” Cain quietly asked.
“If I had been with the national army, those people might not have followed me.”
“I see…” Cain exuded vivid murderous intent. “I thought we hunted down all the traitors thanks to your hard work.”
“Your Highness!” Sparc exclaimed, appalled. “What do you mean?! We already swore our loyalty to you!”
“Sir Sparc, I always say this, but I don’t trust promises made only with words.”
“You’ve gone through all that to earn our loyalty, but now you’re throwing that away? The knights will be thrown into confusion!” Sparc desperately protested.
“That is what I’m trying to prevent.”
“Your Highness!” Sparc bit his lower lip.
“Enough,” Cain quietly said. Sparc hadn’t heard a single sound, but Cain’s sword was held against Sparc’s neck. “His Highness made a decision. Why aren’t you obeying it?”
“Sir Cain…!” Sparc closed his eyes. “They’re my comrades. If you can’t believe them, I’ll vouch for them with my life!”
“No, no, you’re understanding this all wrong. Why are you leaving yourself out of this?” Cain tilted his head.
Sparc’s eyes widened. He quickly turned to Kireua. “Your Highness! Is this really what you want?!
“I misjudged you. The relationship between a ruler and his subject is based on trust. Yet trust means nothing to you. You don’t have what that takes to become the emperor of this country!” Sparc raged with bloodshot eyes.
Cain’s cold sword dug into Sparc’s skin, dripping more of his hot blood onto the ground.
“You’re practically begging me to kill you,” Cain seethed, his voice dripping with murderous intent.
“Do it! I’m ashamed of myself for trying to serve such a gutless person as my master!”
Anna broke the tense atmosphere with a giggle. “Knights are really funny.”
“What…?” Sparc blankly murmured.
“If someone saw you right now, they would think you swore your loyalty the moment you met His Highness. You were defeated and didn’t want to die—that was why you kissed the ground. ‘Ashamed’, my ass. Can you even still feel that kind of emotion?” Anna scoffed.
“Anna bel Grace!”
“Gosh, my ears. Combat Emperor, if you’re going to kill him, just kill him already. He’s really noisy.” Anna picked her ear.
Cain looked at Kireua again, waiting for his order.
“I hate variables,” Kireua finally said, catching everyone’s attention. “So I checked your backgrounds on my way over here.”
“What…?”
“Your hometown, families, past, reputation…” Kireua pulled out a thick roll of parchment. “Everything is in here.”
“Wh-When…?
Giggling, Anna raised her hand. “I helped him! With my wind elemental spirits and the analysts of the Moon Gate, it was a piece of cake.”
“The M-Moon Gate?”
“They can find out anything with the right amount of money. Well? Are you still going to say you’re getting groundlessly accused?” Anna asked.
Silence fell upon the area in a flash.
“Everyone, get off your horses. After you put your swords in a pile, close your eyes and kneel,” Kireua ordered the knights. When they didn’t move, he gave them a sharp look. “What are you waiting for? If you’re innocent, you should have no problem doing this.
“I promise you that even if you are traitors, I’ll cut your heads off painlessly. I can show you that much mercy at least.”
After some time, the knights got off their horses one after another, the silence broken only by the horses’ quiet neighs. Most of them were young knights like Hans, who had lost his father because of Marquess Suspen.
However, some of the knights stayed on their horses until the end, busily exchanging glances with each other. There were about two hundred of them at minimum.
“…Hah.” Kireua smiled coldly.
It was exactly half of them. One silver lining was that Sparc, who was right beside Kireua, was closing his eyes with a grim expression.
“Sir Cain.” Kireua turned his head.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Can you hold on to this for a moment?” Kireua handed the parchment roll to Cain.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Sparc furtively opened his eyes but flinched at what he saw.
“Wa-Wait…?”
“It’s safe to assume that those of you who refuse to get off your horses are traitors, right?” Kireua smiled crookedly.
“Everyone, draw your swords!” one of the knights shouted, as if Kireua’s remark was the signal.
The still-mounted knights, over two hundred of them, drew their blades.
“There are only three of them! Let’s take revenge for the death of His Majesty and regain our land here and now!”
“Woaaaaahhhh!”
Kireua shook his head. “It’s not three.”
His voice was quiet, but he was speaking using mana. The knights on their horses stopped shouting, confused.
“For those of you who got off your horses, pick up your swords,” Kireua commanded.
“I’ll give a chance to the people who have been loyal to me from the start and the people who had a change of heart just now.” Kireua’s voice quietly intoned. “Kill the traitors using all you have.”
* * *
The incredible natural scenery unfolded in front of the northern rebels. On a usual day, it was hard to see the mountain due to the fog, but they were on it right now.
When the rebels went beyond a certain range, the blizzard blew once again. Since Armand was physically weaker compared to the others, he was shivering.
“…The blizzard is getting stronger,” he said, concerned. “Are you sure you can count on him?”
“What are you going to do if we can’t? Are you suggesting we scour this vast northern region on our own?” Carmen answered.
“I heard that all demons are sly, so if that demon plans on attacking us…”
Carmen shook her head. “It’s just one demon.”
“We don’t even know who that one demon is. I know it’s highly unlikely, but if he’s one of the top ten demons… Commander-in-Chief, you won’t be able to defeat him if he turns on us.”
“You’re worrying over nothing. Look, we’ve reached the peak.” Carmen pointed up ahead.
Armand’s eyes widened. How? It hadn’t been long since they set foot on the mountain, but they were already about to reach its top.
“How in the world is this possible?” Armand murmured.
“It must be that demon’s ability.” Carmen gestured at the man with her chin.
A memory flashed across Armand’s head. The ability to manipulate space. With that ability, one would be able to lock their target in a certain space and crush them to death by shrinking the space. On top of that, it could be used to increase or decrease a distance.
“Wait…?” Armand muttered to himself. The Dimension Demon was the only demon who could do that. Come to think of it, the demon guiding them looked like a hunter, just like the description in the books!
“Ba-Barbatos…!” Armand gasped under his breath.
“Humans, we’re here.”
“Urgh…!”
Whatever Armand was going to say was lost when the blizzard suddenly hit them once again, revealing a scene that left them wordless.
Armand’s jaw dropped to the ground. “...Is this place real?”
The mountain was so high that it felt like one could touch the sky from the top. Underneath the mountain, there was an endless wave of white. The most majestic part of the scenery was the frozen lake in the center.
However, Armand had to look away because one woman was walking as if none of it impressed her.
“Commander-in-Chief?” Armand said, bewildered.
Carmen kept on walking and passed the frozen lake to get to the edge of the cliff.
Armand’s eyes slowly widened. There sat a giant boulder of ice. The opaque chunk of ice was as big as a house, but inside was trapped someone whom Armand feared to see even in his dreams.
“Jo-Jo-Jo…!”
Did the muscles around Armand’s mouth freeze up? Or was he too shocked to finish his sentence?
“Joshua Sanders!”
Carmen drew her black greatsword and rushed forward without hesitation.
“Die!” she shouted, firing a powerful aura attack clearly intended to blow up the ice boulder.
Something shocking happened.
Armand inhaled sharply. Joshua Sanders, whom Armand had thought was already dead, suddenly opened his eyes.
-Get lost.
Carmen’s aura attack disappeared instantly.
The pressure that Joshua emitted overwhelmed the knights, forcing them to the ground.
“Mmm…. This isn’t enough, huh?” Barbatos, one of the highest-ranking demons, grunted quietly.
The cold blizzard swept through the area, silent once again.
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