Side Story Chapter 88
After the Imperial Family and their distinguished guests finished exchanging greetings, a festival began in Arcadia.
“Wowwwww!”
The Palace garden was opened to the ordinary citizens of Avalon today. Of course, they were only permitted into the outer wards; they were strictly prohibited from entering the inner ward, where the Imperial Family lived. Nevertheless, the citizens were all quite happy. The arena, which the Imperial Knights used, was in the outer ward, which the international tournament was going to take place in.
“I never thought I would live to see the inside of the Palace.”
“I get you—it was unthinkable while the previous emperor was in power.”
“The old Imperial Family had the courage of a rat… Well, I understand since their daily lives were filled with threats, but… I can’t help but compare them to His Majesty.”
“People call him the Martial God for a reason.”
The citizens’ eyes were filled with pride. Although it was often said that even a king became the subject of gossip when he wasn’t present, no such thing could be seen in Avalon—Joshua Sanders, the Martial God, had cemented himself as a legend on the continent. Avalon’s citizens were certain that Avalon would rise once again after today.
The sudden pop! of fireworks lighting up the sky drew a fresh round of excitement.
“Woaaaahhhh!”
Shortly after, a woman revealed herself—the First Queen Consort of the Avalon Empire, appearing on behalf of the Emperor of Avalon in his absence.
-I am Iceline Sanders.
Iceline’s mana carried her sonorous voice to the farthest corners of the palace, and the audience responded fervently.
“Your Majestttyyyy!”
“God! I love you!”
“A Seventh Circle archmage!”
“Oh my goodness. It’s my first time seeing her in person—is she really a human? It’s unbelievable!”
The arena was filled with people, all cheering at the top of their lungs. Even the knights were giving her their full attention, as the tournament was going to finally start. Kireua’s eyes were especially blazing with fervor.
“Maintain your composure. They’ll think less of you,” Selim warned Kireua.
“When His Majesty first participated in the Reinhardt Masters' Battle, he must have felt the same as me right now.”
“…Kireua.”
“I don’t know what everyone else is doing, but I’ll deal with Duke Uraxen,” Kireua said firmly. Selim’s expression subtly changed.
-This tournament has been hosted to express our gratitude to our distinguished guests who have come here to congratulate His Majesty, the Emperor of Avalon, on his return. In addition, it is also a prayer for the peace on the continent to continue. Needless to say, murder is absolutely forbidden as it would run entirely counter to what His Majesty hoped for when he hosted this tournament.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“The Allied Powers of Palentine understand His Majesty’s wishes.”
“The Draia Kingdom also understood.”
“The Fordran Kingdom as well!”
-The rest, I leave to the participating knights. You may choose to proceed with single combat or group matches, but I hope all of you can relieve your stress today and work together to maintain the continent’s peace.
A man came forward and shouted, “I am Duke Uraxen from the new Tetra Kingdom! Since Her Majesty Iceline has entrusted us with arranging the tournament, I would like to propose that everything that happens in this tournament will stay in this tournament.”
It was clear what Uraxen was trying to say: even if they broke each other’s limbs or crippled each other such that they could never act as knights again, no one should make an issue of it after the tournament.
“Wh-Where is his confidence coming from?”
“I know the Tetra Kingdom is on the rise, but…”
“Where did you hear that?”
“You don’t know? The Tetra Kingdom’s mage knights knocked down the Terra Kingdom within less than a month, so even the Hubalt Empire officially acknowledges those mage knights’ powers.”
“Woah… The Hubalt Empire?”
“Isn’t it pathetic for a being born with balls to ambush other people to seek revenge just because he got hit once?” Uraxen continued with a wide grin, heedless of the other knights’ conversations. “Don’t you all agree?”
Whoever spoke up would be labeled a gutless man, no better than a eunuch. And just as expected, no one said a thing.
Uraxen’s smile deepened. “While I’m at it, we, the Tetra Kingdom, would like to challenge the Thran Kingdom’s proud Scarlet Flame Knights.”
An audible gasp arose from the crowd. Every single person in the arena was surprised. As that could be deduced from the name, the Scarlet Knights were personally trained by Ulabis the Flame Emperor himself, cementing them as the strongest knights in the Thran Kingdom. The great Nine Stars were considered greater than the Twelve Superhumans, and among those Nine Stars, the Flame Emperor was assessed to be one of the strongest.
To celebrate his friend's return, Ulabis had brought this order all the way over to Avalon directly under his command.
“Woaaaaaahhhhh!”
A shout that made the last seem like a whisper burst out of the audience area. In contrast, all the knights shook their heads in disbelief; they thought Uraxen was crazy, not bold. Even if he and his mage knights were called the new rising power, the Flame Emperor’s might was well established. How could Uraxen and his knights think about winning against the Flame Emperor and his Scarlet Flame Order?
Obviously, Uraxen had a plan.
‘Hubalt asked me to draw as much attention as possible. Since they’re probably starting something in secret using the Hashashin Guild’s assassins, Hubalt will be pleased if I start the tournament like this.’
The arena was as big as a ballroom, accommodating over one thousand people at once. A circle was formed around Uraxen and his mage knights, who watched their surroundings intently.
“Fl-Flame Emperor…!”
Ulabis stepped forward, his red hair fluttering.
“I never thought you’d get your payback like this,” he mused.
“What do you mean, ‘payback’? That's preposterous. If I were planning to get payback, I would have chosen Avalon, not Thran.” Uraxen glanced at Kireua. “There's no better way to attract people’s attention than by starting the first fight with the hosting country.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?”
“Okay, I’ll follow your rules.” Ulabis nodded.
“Each country will fight in a team of three knights. If a knight wins, he’ll continue fighting, but he’ll stand down when he loses. Whichever team has a knight still standing at the end will win. Naturally, no one will be held accountable for any injuries that may occur.”
Uraxen’s current proposal was meticulously calculated. If hundreds of knights from both sides fought all at once, the spectators’ attention would be divided. It was always more fun to watch a select number of the strongest fighting each other, just like how a battle between leaders was most eye-catching.
‘And it’ll be better to do that with you guys.’ Uraxen glanced at Kireua and Avalon’s knights once again.
“How does that sound?” Uraxen asked Ulabis with a smile.
“I like it—especially the part about not asking for compensation for possible injuries. I don’t object.”
“You are open-minded indeed.”
All of the mage knights except for Uraxen and the two others took a step backward, and the Scarlet Flame Knights did the same.
When both teams stood face to face with each other, Uraxen cracked his knuckles. “The audience is fired up enough… Shall we begin right away?”
“Sure,” Ulabis responded.
“Camisen,” Uraxen said.
“Yes, Your Grace!” one of the knights shouted as he stepped into the limelight. He was huge—two and a half meters tall, like a human ogre. Even his voice sounded like an animal’s growl.
“Go and show them our Tetra Kingdom’s power.”
“I will obey.” The miniature ogre grinned as he advanced, shaking the ground with every step.
“…That guy named Camisen,” Selim muttered to Kireua.
Kireua turned. “Do you know him?”
“I recognize his appearance. If I remember correctly, he’s the Hundred Butcher.”
“‘Hundred Butcher’? What? Does he count to one hundred before killing someone?”
“I mean one hundred people. He got his reputation for ripping apart the royal family of Terra and their guards.”
“What…? He ripped apart a hundred knights and the royal family with his bare hands?”
“Yes; he might have a big body, but he’s actually an expert mage, surprisingly. I know Classes don’t really matter in the era of authorities, but he’s at least A-Class.”
“…So Uraxen definitely had an ace in the hole, huh?”
Although the Terra Kingdom had fallen long ago, it wasn’t a country that anyone could take lightly. It was even said that if the empire of knights was Avalon, then the country of mages was Terra. There was no knowing why such a country had fallen overnight, but one thing was sure: the newly-founded Tetra Kingdom, the one responsible for the Terra Kingdom’s downfall, could never be underestimated.
“Who will fight me?!” the man-ogre named Camisen shouted at the top of his lungs. “Scarlet Flame Knights? Their name might be fancy, but they’re all from Thran, the small kingdom, insignificant kingdom.”
Ulabis raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond otherwise in accordance with the agreement they’d made earlier, despite Camisen blatantly insulting him quite literally right in front of his face. What happened today was going to end today, including the grudges they acquired during the tournament.
Instead, Kireua was the one with a vein bulging out of his forehead.
“That bastard… Is this why he gave a big speech in the beginning?”
“Why is no one coming forward? Come, I’ll fight any one of you, you Thran weaklings! Hahahaha!”
The other knights’ eyes were also bright with interest. It must have been infuriating as hell for the insulted, but there was nothing more interesting for the spectators.
But when someone finally quietly stepped forward, everyone was rather confused.
“…What are you doing?” Camisen asked.
“The first participant is me.”
The arena tensed.
“From what I recall, there’s no rule prohibiting the team leader from playing in the tournament…” Ulabis slowly drew his sword. “Is there a problem?”
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