Side Story Chapter 191
The group of dullahans in front of Selim creaked from time to time. As these dullahans were high-class undead, they responded to the unprecedented mix of demonic and divine powers spreading across the sky.
“What in the world...?” Selim murmured.
“It’s His Majesty.”
Selim's eyes widened.
Duke Tremblin approached Selim with a gentle smile. “Other people would think that the woman over there is the Silver-Eyed Ghost Sword, but we know that it’s my master and your father, Your Highness.”
The first emotions that Selim felt were shock and ecstasy. These sickeningly annoying undead were the main cause of this battle that refused to end no matter how many times Selim swung his spear. However, the Emperor of Avalon had dominated these undead with his divine and demonic power alone—as could be seen from the dullahans going down on their knees. The skeletons and ghouls, undead inferior to the dullahans, had prostrated themselves on the ground long ago.
The entire battlefield, excepting a few humans, kneeled or bowed to a single person who stood majestically above the chaos. Powerful demons, each one a lethal threat to Avalon’s forces, shouted futilely at the top of their lungs in their human forms.
“It seems the intermediate and lesser demons have been incapacitated by His Majesty’s power, so we only have to deal with the remaining demons and death knights,” Tremblin noted.
Selim slowly took a look around. There were around fifty demons still standing and three hundred death knights. Those undead knights were so rare in the Human Realm that they had been consigned to legend. A man could scour the entire continent his entire life and never catch the barest glimpse of one, yet hundreds of those beings were gathered at the gates of Avalon right now. Astonishingly, that number wasn’t high, considering all of the monsters in the Demon Realm that had escaped to the Human Realm after their realm’s fall.
“Let’s go. It pricks this old man’s conscience to let His Majesty do all the work,” Tremblin quietly said.
“...Yes, Duke Tremblin.”
Selim and Tremblin made their way toward the center of the battlefield through the path that cleared up when the undead split into two sides, but they ran into another pair of men halfway there.
“Kireua...”
“You’re safe, Valmont.”
The moment Selim saw Kireua coming toward him from the opposite side, he regained some of his composure. Kireua was stronger and his energy was vastly more stable than before. The changes in his brother were enough to affect Selim emotionally.
“Selim,” Kireua said. “I’m going to be His Majesty’s heir no matter what it takes.”
Valmont and Tremblin's eyes widened. Their eyes turned to Selim as they swallowed nervously, wondering how Selim, Kireua’s competitor.
“...I’ve also changed my mind. I’m never going to let you have the throne without a fight,” Selim responded.
Valmont and Tremblin shivered. Until now, the princes had maintained that they didn’t mind who became the next emperor of Avalon.
“This war... must have changed the princes a lot,” Valmont whispered.
Tremblin nodded. “It’s great that they changed in a good way.”
“Is this... a good change?”
“Competition drives growth.”
“Perhaps you’re right—when a competition is done in good faith. Otherwise, Avalon will have to repeat history,” Valmont said with a frown.
“Did you look at them before you started worrying about that?”
Valmont flinched and looked back and forth between Kireua and Selim. There wasn’t a single trace of malice to be seen in their eyes right now, only a healthy fighting spirit.
“...The human heart is very fickle, so we should wait and see. They might have a change of heart after tasting the intoxicating sweetness of political power...” Valmont disparaged with a bitter twist in his voice.
“I trust the princes.” Tremblin shook his head. “Let’s get going. We’re going to be left alone right in the middle of these monsters.”
Selim and Kireua were already far ahead of Tremblin and Valmont, walking shoulder to shoulder. They looked like close brothers as they walked toward the sunset, but their conversation was menacing.
“What changed your mind?” Kireua asked.
“I already told you that I don’t think you’ll make a better ruler than me anymore.”
“What?”
“You used any means necessary to win and your plans even risked endangering civilians this time. I realized through this battle that you aren’t qualified to be His Majesty’s heir,” Selim said firmly.
Kireua pressed his lips together. Selim was talking about the period when Aden von Agnus had taken over Kireua’s body and tried to open Arcadia’s gates to the enemy. However, Kireua couldn’t tell his brother that his weak resolve had allowed someone else to hijack his body. It was a matter of his pride. Kireua would rather be called a heartless tyrant than be known as an idiot.
“...An emperor needs to understand the necessity of sacrificing the few for the many and be able to make a rational decision even in an urgent situation, because a moment’s hesitation can lead to numerous casualties on the battlefield,” Kireua explained.
“Well...”
“Is there a reason to give up on the path to save more people, even if it puts some people at risk? It’s better than being wiped out because you hesitated.”
Selim glanced at Kireua. “One thing is sure.”
“What?”
“His Majesty would have won the war without such cheap tricks.”
“Ch-Cheap trick?!” Kireua scowled at Selim.
They came to a halt and started an intense staredown.
“Come on! What are you doing?” Valmont hurriedly ran between them. “The war isn’t over yet. This is not the time for you two to fight.”
Tremblin also came over and pointed at the sky. “His Majesty is coming down.”
All four people looked up at the sky. Just as she had walked up into the sky, Lilith Aphrodite descended to the ground as if she were walking down a set of stairs, looking down at everyone with a sword in her hand. However, everyone knew that that was their Emperor, the Martial God, in her body.
“...I’m not going to let you beat me here,” Kireua muttered under his breath as he looked over the remaining demons and death knights.
Due to their power, they weren’t under the Emperor of Avalon’s dominance. In fact, they held up their heads and bared their hostility toward the Emperor.
“There seem to be around four hundred of them... Are we going to be okay on our own?” Valmont asked. He was able to tell from experience that it wouldn’t be easy. Each of the demons had distinct abilities, so the outcome was unpredictable. On the other hand, Valmont, as a fellow knight, could determine the death knights’ levels with certainty. He could beat one death knight without a doubt. While he could fight two death knights on equal terms, he would certainly lose against three death knights.
Of course, Valmont’s analysis was based on the premise of fighting them head-on. He could take them down one by one using guerilla tactics. However, Valmont—in fact, four of them—wasn’t interested in doing that in the slightest with the Emperor of Avalon watching them.
“Why don’t you take advantage of this moment, Your Highnesses?” Tremblin asked.
Selim looked askance at him.
“This is your chance to show your progress to His Majesty and a perfect opportunity to compete as well.”
Selim was already stretching. It seemed Kireua’s words had gotten to him.
“How about this, then?” he proposed.
“Pardon?”
“Whoever wins this competition will have your support, Duke Tremblin. The recognition of the Sword Emperor.” Selim smiled faintly.
Tremblin’s eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. Maybe he would have reacted differently if Kireua had been the one to suggest it. Tremblin was surprised that the suggestion had come from Selim after Tremblin had already declared his support for the elder prince.
‘He doesn’t want loyalty for free... His Highness Selim is quite the fighter,’ Tremblin thought.
Tremblin could feel the three piercing gazes on him, so he only gave himself a moment to sort out his thoughts.
“Although I’m rooting for both of you...” The duke smiled. “Indeed, there is only one throne, so I’ll have to choose one of you in the end for the sake of Avalon’s future. Indecision would only make everyone nervous.”
Kireua and Selim nodded in agreement.
“Let’s do that. This competition won’t be enough for me to make a decision, but I promise you that its outcome is going to play a major factor on the day I must choose one of you.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for your decision, Duke Trembiln.”
Selim and Kireua bowed at Tremblin.
A long spear appeared in Selim’s hand, sparking angrily.
“Hey! Using Longin is cheating!” Kireua protested.
“Cheating? I do believe you also received His Majesty’s power.”
Kireua flinched because he immediately realized that Selim was referring to Greed.
‘But Greed is...’
“You’re awfully relaxed when the competition has already begun.”
Kireua couldn’t keep worrying about it anymore.
Already, the Emperor of Avalon had lightly swung his arm, sending explosions ripping through the air not so far away. Any concerns the four had about the Emperor’s atypical choice of weapon vanished because he had cut two of the death knights in half with a single motion.
“Oh... You’ve gotta be kidding me. I ran around all day and went through hell but only managed to take care of five of them, and he can kill two of them with one swing? He isn’t even using a spear,” Valmont grumbled, echoing the thoughts of the other three with him.
“Hahahaha!” Tremblin burst into laughter. “That’s why he’s called Martial God.”
The two princes exchanged glances before sprinting toward their father.
“I won’t lose to you!”
“It’ll be better with an extra little wager, yes? The loser will be the younger brother for a year and call the winner big brother every time they talk,” Selim suggested.
“That is an excellent idea.”
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