Return of the Unrivaled Spear Knight-Chapter 301Side Story

“Are you scared because we’re on our own?” Kireua taunted.

“…Are you talking to yourself?” Selim scoffed.

Kireua chuckled. “Hey, Selim.”

“There’s enemies right in front of us. We don’t have any time for small talk.”

“Don’t be so uptight. Do you actually want to become emperor?”

Only then did Selim turn to look at Kireua, though his spear remained pointed forward. “Not really.”

“Is that so? I’m also not really big on the throne. Shall we just hand over the throne to Iruca and travel the world?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Right back at you.” Kireua’s expression turned serious. “You and I both want to be His Majesty’s heir. Am I wrong?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“His Majesty’s heir should be as strong as him so that Avalon remains prosperous.”

“…An emperor can’t rely on martial prowess alone. The position demands competence in all fields, so martial ability is the most useless in some ways.”

“Although I understand what you’re saying, I couldn’t disagree more, especially in troubled times like this.” Kireua looked forward pointedly.

As Selim had had an idea of what his brother was trying to say from the start, he simply shook his head. “Just ask me to make a bet that whoever defeats more enemies will become His Majesty’s heir. That’s more like you.”

“Oops.” Kireua burst into laughter.

Unwilling to be ignored any longer, the Seventh and Eighth Martial Knights approached the brothers despite the injuries on their thigh and shoulder, respectively.

“Do you think we’re decoration?”

“You aren’t going to be lucky again.”

Maybe because Joshua was gone, the other Martial Knights didn’t join in on the fight out of respect for their fellow Martial Knights’ wounded pride.

Although the Seventh and Eighth Martial Knights had gathered as much of their mana as they could, not a single trace of their gods’ presence could be detected.

Kireua and Selim turned to look at the two Martial Knights with a gleam in their eyes.

“Get out of our way, you minions.” Kireua narrowed his eyes.

He and Selim immediately leaped forward, so the two Martial Knights hastily raised their swords.

“Huh…?”

Before they realized how much danger they were in, the two Martial Knights had lost their heads. It was over so fast that even Hawke couldn’t maintain his usual poker face.

“What…?” Hawke’s quivering lip betrayed his shock.

“Do you know what the biggest difference between me and you people is?” Kireua asked as he landed next to the two headless corpses. “I may have Evil Sins, but I never thought of these abilities as my power.”

Even though he spoke with confidence, Kireua had only learned this lesson after overcoming several close brushes with death.

“Compared to me, you people have been relying too much on authorities, right up until you lost them just now.”

“Me and the Martial Knights… relied on our authorities?” Hawke murmured.

“I understand. Your authorities must have been essential to have any chance against the Battle God’s strength.”

Hawke frowned slightly.

“Your boss is a freak,” Kireua continued. “Although I hate to admit it, he reached the zenith through pure skills. I have no idea where a freak like him came from.”

“All that effort to win the approval of their god, but it led to the worst possible outcome, huh?” Selim chimed in.

Selim’s honest yet hurtful remark crushed the pride of the best knights in Hubalt.

***

“Mmm…”

Joshua emerged from a pool of light into the council chamber of his palace. His lip trembled when he discovered hundreds of men on their knees, waiting for him.

“Ah…” Joshua gasped.

They were Joshua’s loyal Imperial Knights, those who had formerly been part of the Auxiliary Battalion. They had been together with Joshua for the longest time.

“Hail, Your Majesty!”

“Hail, Your Majesty!”

Viper and Cazes were kneeling at the front. Despite Joshua’s current boyish appearance, they instantly recognized him.

Not only was the Auxiliary Battalion gathered, most of Joshua’s people were in the chamber. But… some of them were missing.

“Why…?”

“Duke Tremblin… was killed in action,” Valmont answered. Having spent his entire life protecting the Imperial Family from shadows as Duke Tremblin did, Valmont was still bitter about his loss.

“I see… That’s what happened to Duke Tremblin…”

“Ranger’s life is also hanging by a thread. Well, he had been complacent with his training recently, so… I guess he brought it upon himself.” Cazes let out a sigh before he continued his report. “Although he isn’t from Avalon, I heard that the Flame Emperor has passed away.”

Joshua was silent, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. It was harrowing to realize that the brilliant stars from the past were falling one after another.

‘I guess this is the cycle of life,’ Joshua thought.

The news saddened him and hurt his heart, but it wasn’t the time to commemorate the deceased and wounded, not while they were still at war. Besides, it was time for those of the previous generation to step down so that the new generation could lead the world. It would be best to bequeath them a safe, peaceful world where there was no conflict, but not everyone got to enjoy a happy retirement after a time of change.

“Fortunately, we’ll be able to take care of the invaders,” Cazes said.

“Hubalt without the Battle God is a piece of cake for us,” Valmont added with forced optimism.

Even if Bel wasn’t around, Hubalt was currently the strongest country on the continent, so Joshua wondered what brilliant tactics his people were using to take care of the forces from such a strong country.

“Would you like to go up to the top? You’ll be able to get your answer there.” Icarus came forward and asked Joshua.

He nodded in response.

On their way up, they saw scattered piles of the corpses of Hubalt’s knights all over the hallways and stairs—and the sounds of swords clashing could still be faintly heard.

“Ah…” Joshua exclaimed when they reached the top of the palace. Their vantage point gave them a full view of Arcadia. From the palace garden to the nearby streets, most of Hubalt's forces had already been removed from the battlefield. Without Bel and the Martial Knights, Avalon’s army was crushing the enemy.

Having already dealt with the Four Paladins’ attacks, Avalon’s troops knew the most effective way to deal with these enemies and could execute their plans without specific instructions. Magic traps installed in the major streets went off with perfect timing, throwing Hubalt’s army into chaos. After the Four Paladins’ attack, Arcadia had been rebuilt into a veritable fortress.

However, that wasn’t all.

“Take back the Palace!”

“The Martial God is the hope of our alliance!”

“To Avalon’s aid! We will fight until the end!”

There were people who were helping the Avalon army with their lack of manpower. Various country’s flags flew in the air, borne by the alliance’s knights. They were fighting alongside Avalon’s army as if it was their war. It must have been Icarus’s idea to have the alliance pretend to strike Hubalt’s capital when they were actually heading for Avalon.

“If they didn’t have faith in Avalon, they wouldn’t have listened to me in the first place.” Icarus smiled.

“Icarus… You must have gone through a lot to make up for my incompetence.”

“No—this is all thanks to the trust you gave to these people.”

Joshua's eyes widened. Charles’s eyes were glued to the ground, and Iceline’s eyes were bloodshot from trying to hold her tears in.

“I know that you’ve been blaming yourself over and over. You thought that the world ended up in this state because you broke the balance.”

“I—”

“Even if everyone in the world calls you a selfish jerk, your family will never do that to you,” Icarus declared. “We are on your side. We’ll wait for you forever, so make sure you come back to us. No dying.”

Joshua trembled, overwhelmed by emotion. Maybe because they were husband and wives, Joshua’s wives already knew what he was going to do.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t notice it, Your Majesty?”

“Dad…” Iruca teared up from a few steps away.

“You’re a mean man.” Charles pouted.

“I’m going to chase you to the end of hell if you don’t come back,” Iceline added.

Icarus turned to look at her. “You’re going to follow him anyway even if I tell you not to.”

Iceline’s face reddened, which Icarus found adorable.

“Yeah.” Icarus giggled. “At least one person should be with him until the end, and it should be someone who’s competent.”

“Umm…” Iceline was at a loss for words.

“...Master.”

Everyone turned toward the stairs. There was Cain, staggering up the stairs.

“What? Why are you here?” Viper exclaimed. He quickly approached Cain to help him walk.

“…Cain…” Joshua looked at his knight sorrowfully.

Cain was a mess. One of his arms was completely gone—seeing him like that broke Joshua’s heart.

“You haven’t even gotten married. You can’t treat yourself like this…” Viper bitterly chastised.

However, Cain’s eyes were as clear and calm as ever as he walked toward Joshua.

“…I never regretted becoming the Martial God’s First Knight, although I ended up like this and you weren’t exactly a good master,” Cain said with a deliberate air of mischievousness as he hugged Joshua. “…I won’t be able to follow you, but my heart will be with you until the end. ”

Cain took a step back and pressed his fist against his heart. “…No, even if I’m born again, I’ll become the first knight of Joshua von Agnus while he’s still a bastard.”

“Cain…”

“Thank you for becoming my master.” Cain smiled.

At the same time, all of the knights gathered placed their hands over their hearts.

“Thank you for fighting with us to protect our future!”