Chapter 98
“Wait a minute, what did that kid say?”
“Did I hear him correctly? Is he talking about the Berche’s Bloody Battle that we are all familiar with?”
“Hey, kid, that’s not funny. Where did you hear that?”
As the muttering of the 11th and 12th Battalion knights’ grew, Ranger calmly stepped forward.
“Kid, you sure about what you just said?”
“...” Joshua kept his mouth shut.
“Hngh.” Ranger groaned and extended his hand over to Joshua. “Tell me where you live, and we’ll escort you out of the palace, you must have gotten lost or—”
Ranger suddenly stopped talking.
It was because when he saw something interesting on Joshua’s finger.
“A Deon Ring?”
“...”
“Am I seeing things? Is that really a Deon Ring?” one of the knights muttered.
At that, Joshua infused mana into the ring. The dazzling sunlight illuminated the pristine white armor that enveloped Joshua. Everyone was mesmerized by the sight, and they all gasped and kicked up a fuss.
“The Knight’s Tomb!”
“Does that kid belong to Duke Agnus?”
“With that kind of artifact, he must be at least of the direct lineage, right?”
“Are you a child of Duke Agnus?” Ranger cautiously asked.
“I’m Joshua von Agnus, and I’m here for the Bloody Battle,” replied Joshua.
“...”
A deafening stillness fell over the stunned men.
After a while, Ranger recovered his wits first, and he spoke in a low voice, “A child of Avalon, Joshua von Agnus, an unprecedented genius who can apparently control his mana before the age of ten and defeated a C-Class Knight. The rumors say you were born in the Agnus Duchy.”
“...”
“Does Young Master understand the severity of your words?”
“Yes.”
Ranger's eyes sunk even lower after Joshua's quick response.
“Do you know why Berche’s Bloody Battle has become nothing but a fairytale today?”
“If an existing member of the Imperial Knights Order loses, their position as an Imperial Knight Templar will be immediately revoked. The winner, regardless of rank, shall become a member of the Imperial Knights Order as a Knight Templar. However, whatever happens during the fight will be the responsibility of the fighters, no one else. This is His Majesty, Marcus ben Britten, the Emperor's will, and disobedience shall be punished as though one had committed treason.”
Joshua stared into Ranger’s eyes and then asked, “That's the Berche's Bloody Battle, right?”
“Yes, and it seems like you’re well aware of it. Despite that, you still want a Bloody Battle?”
Joshua nodded without hesitation.
“Well…” Ranger sighed and looked. “Is anyone willing to take part?”
The knights who made eye contact with Ranger quickly averted their eyes, creating a hush so deafening that even a pin drop could be heard. It was only natural because they were completely aware of how brutal the Bloody Battle could be.
Ranger groaned and muttered to himself, ‘If we win, it will be a huge problem. If the Young Master got severely injured, there’s no guarantee that he will just accept his defeat, considering how prideful the nobles are. But of course, we’re under His Majesty’s protection…’
Unfortunately, the Imperial Knights of the 11th and 12th Battalions held Duke Aden von Agnus, the great star of Avalon, with high regard. Among them, who would want to be a part of something that—if handled incorrectly—could make them be hated by someone they admired?
‘He just had to come when the Battalion Commanders aren’t here…'
Ranger stared at Cazes with a seemingly pained look.
At that, Cazes suddenly grabbed his stomach and exclaimed, “Ugh… Did you hit me in a weird place or something, Sir Ranger? Why am I suddenly in pain…”
Ranger shook his head, and there was a resigned expression on his face as he said, “I’m sorry, but if we don’t want people to get hurt, we need a C-Class Knight, at the very least.”
Ranger looked like he was about to step forward, so Joshua asked him, “Are you gonna fight me?”
“Yes, but I’m not merciful…”
“What's your rank here?”
“What?”
Ranger frowned. He was about to ask Joshua what he was talking about, but Joshua interrupted him and said, “I heard that you’re from the 11th Battalion and that you’re not like the other Battalion members. I can see that there are quite a few similarities between you and the 12th Battalion, but…” Joshua trailed off and chuckled.
He seemed excited as he said, “Those with the recommendation of the Imperial Family can quickly rise up the ranks and become a member of the top battalions, but that is not the case for you, right?”
“Young Master… W-what are you saying?” Ranger asked, seemingly astonished.
However, Joshua’s following words stupefied him.
“You have neither the ability nor courage to challenge the members of the top battalions, and all you do is wallow in self-pity. As for the rest? Just look at them—they’re terrified, and they have no idea what to do. Doesn’t that mean you lot are just a bunch of cowards?”
“Shut up!” roared the gloomy and furious Ranger.
The truth behind why so many members of the 11th and 12th Battalions had been staying here for so many years now was casually revealed by the young master of the Agnus Duchy.
However, Joshua’s words were akin to rubbing salt into their wounds.
‘They don’t want to confront the reality.’
They were afraid of facing the reality of their situations, so they decided to simply ignore it.
However, Joshua’s words brought them profound pain because it was tantamount to trampling on the final vestiges of their pride.
The reactions of the other knights' were similar to Ranger's.
Earlier, they were both curious and interested in Joshua.
But now, those feelings could no longer be found, as they had already been replaced by hostility.
Cazes, a member of the 12th Battalion, got up and dusted his butt off. Then, he coolly said, “Ranger, I’ll take care of this.”
Ranger’s voice made everyone feel as though he was an indifferent person, but right now, Cazes’ voice sounded sharp and frightening.
“Cazes?”
“I can’t tolerate this kind of attitude. This kid needs to learn that a knight’s pride and honor isn’t something he can just casually trample.” Cazes stepped forward and said to Joshua, “Young Master, oh, Young Master… Please don’t complain when you get hurt.”
“You?” Joshua gasped exaggeratedly and laughed.
It was an obvious ridicule.
“How dare you!” Cazes finally snapped after witnessing Joshua’s clear attempt to trample on his opponent's pride. “This brat is too arrogant! Is this because of your surname? I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s not going to help you here.”
The surrounding knights started kicking up a fuss.
“Cazes, you better do it right! If you’re planning on holding back, then get out! I’ll do it for you!”
“Crush the jaws of that kid who only knows how to flap his mouth!”
“Make him pay for shamelessly coming here to ask for Berche’s Bloody Battle!”
Cazes walked and recovered his sword that Ranger had sent flying over into the corner of the training hall. Amidst all this, he felt like his eardrums would burst at the ongoing clamor.
“I’ll give my all. I’ll sever your sword and show you just how vast the sky is.”
At that, Cazes injected mana into his sword, and the blue mana that manifested tore the air itself as it enveloped Cazes’ sword.
Cazes’ mana wasn’t like the opaque mana of most C-Class Knights. His mana was rather dense and defined. It even seemed as if it had some sort of form to it.
The 11th and the 12th Battalion members of the Imperial Knights Order, were expert knights on the brink of becoming B-Class Knights. The fact that Cazes managed to muster such a well-defined mana meant that Joshua’s remarks had truly angered him.
“Begin!” Someone shouted, signaling the start of the fight.
“A B-Class Knight might be able to give me a few scratches, but you’re a C-Class Knight! There’s a huge gap between us!”
“Well, many people said the same thing as you before, but…” Joshua’s smile deepened as he retrieved Lugia from its subspace and continued. “I don’t need to cross that gap between us.”
Cazes was astonished because he only heard a faint noise, and Joshua was suddenly holding Lugia.
“An artifact?” Cazes muttered.
Joshua started pumping mana into Lugia in his hand.
A bright white electric current spilled over into the ground, scattering in all directions and forcing the knights to make a hasty retreat. Soon, the electricity accumulated into a single point—into Lugia—to be precise.
The pure white electric current pouring out of Joshua’s body and into Lugia thoroughly astonished Cazes.
“Unbelievable…”
Back then, Joshua’s mana acted like water meeting oil whenever it made contact with the divine power and demonic power inside his body. But now, the blue mana in Joshua’s hand freely mixed with another color the knights couldn’t comprehend, astonishing the knights.
The mana adorned Lugia’s frame, and it shone brightly.
Joshua’s mana wasn’t inferior to Cazes’ mana in any way. In fact, Joshua’s mana seemed clearer and more defined.
“This…” Cazes blankly muttered.
It was clear that Joshua possessed the aura of a B-Class Knight.
“Who said I’m a C-Class Knight?” asked Joshua.
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