Side Story Chapter 81

Side Story Chapter 81

The western rebels really couldn’t pull themselves together, especially Count Andes, the acting commander in lieu of Marquess Turtler.

“We just received a report from the first scouting party at the headquarters. They scoured the mountain, but the guards were nowhere to be found.”

“The report from the second scouting party is the same. They haven’t arrived at their destination, but they can’t find a single trace of life in the mountain!”

“W-We received an urgent report! One of the scouting parties located what seems to be Lord Turtler’s head...”

Andes interrupted the reports by slamming his desk angrily. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m not sure... That’s what the report says.”Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com

“Shut your damn mouth! You call that a report? Nothing has been confirmed, so keep that under wraps! Other people might hear you.”

“I-I apologize.”

Andes huffed and puffed. The other five officers in the tent were left wordless in the face of the incomprehensible reports.

“Fuck. Don’t all of you think the same? We’re talking about the Lord Turtler, so what in the world are those scouting parties looking at...?” Andes shook his head.

“Lord Andes, shouldn’t we at least make some preparations?”

“Viscount Hoothe, don’t tell me you believe that nonsense.”

“But the scouting parties wouldn’t say such nonsense in a situation like this unless they were crazy.”

“Enough!” Andes’s scowl returned. “If you all are trying to mess with me right now, cut it out.”

“Lord Andes...”

“It’s not even funny. I think it would be funnier if you said that the Emperor has come back after over a decade,” Andes said.

He was joking, but it came true.

A fierce tiger’s roar made the rebels instinctively cower, their eyes wide.

“I-Is this...?”

“W-We’re under attack!” a guard shouted.

“An attack...?”

“Enemy forces are estimated at thirty thousand, and they’re led by Ranger, the Imperial Knights’ vice-commander, and the Combat Emperor!”

“They only brought half of our numbers? Cain de Harry must be out of his mind! He should know his place...!”

“A-And there’s one more person. It’s unbelievable, but one of the scouts reported...”

“What is it?”

“...Umm... The man... His Majesty... I’m s-sorry. I received a report that the scouts witnessed a man who appears to be the Martial God.”

In a fit of rage, Andes cut off the head of the messenger.

“Urghh...” The soldier coughed up blood for a moment and then collapsed to the ground with a thud like a rotten tree.

“L-Lord Andes...”

“The world must be going crazy, hahaha—or did I go crazy? Why is everyone saying bullshit?” Andes mumbled.

“W-Why don’t we make some preparations though?” Hoothe suggested, mustering his courage. “No matter how hard I think about it, something’s wrong...”

Andes did not listen.

“Prepare? Prepare for what? Prepare for the fantastic nonsense about how Lord Turtler is dead and the Emperor showed up?” Andes shouted, his voice growing with every word.

“Well, there’s always a possibil—”

“Then let me ask you. Supposing the news is true, are there any preparations we can make?”

He was answered with total silence

“This is the Emperor. I’m talking about the Joshua Sanders. The Martial God stopped an army of a million soldiers on his own, so how are we supposed to stop him? Isn’t that the real bullshit? So I’m telling you: all of this is a scheme by those damned loyalists.”

“Scheme...?”

Joshua couldn’t help chuckling. This was his first large-scale battle since his return, and yet, it didn’t feel awkward. In fact, he finally felt like he was alive.

When Ranger and his army got closer, they could hear the rebels encouraging each other.

“Kill them! Kill them all and take back our country!”

“Let’s stop those arrogant princes’ power struggles with our own hands! There will be no more civil war in Avalon!”

“Don’t be fooled by that phony! Lord Andes himself will deal with the Combat Emperor!”

Ranger laughed. “To my ears, it sounds like they’re so terrified of the Martial God that they’ve gone delusional. They think they can take on the Combat Emperor. What do you think, Sir Cain?”

“Those rascals,” Cain muttered. His golden aura rolled over his surroundings like a tidal wave. “Then I’ll show them how deluded they are.”

“Hehehe. Those damned rebels woke up the sleeping giant.”

“Why don’t you stand down, Your Majesty? I’ll take the lead in this battle.”

Joshua quietly shook his head. “Let me give you a hand.”

Cain and Ranger’s heads swiveled around.

“Your Majesty, you don’t have to go through the trouble—”

“I’m doing it for the knights and soldiers behind you, not for you guys,” Joshua said.

“Pardon...?”

“We have to minimize our casualties if we can. It looks like they believe that I’m a phony, so won’t their morale decrease drastically once that belief is shattered?”

“Well, that’s true...”

“Then it’s decided.” Joshua nodded. He slapped his black horse’s bottom without waiting for an answer, sending the horse charging forward in surprise, neighing in protest.

“Y-Your Majesty? Oh, no!” Ranger, taken aback, hastily followed Joshua.

However, Ranger’s shock couldn’t be compared to Cain's.

“W-Why is he acting so reckless!” Cain stammered. He was the only one there who was aware of Joshua’s state. Joshua was as delicate as fine china at the moment. Every ability he used was a one-time thing, and even if he used mana from the environment, he basically became an ordinary person afterward.

“Hiya!” Cain also spurred his horse forward, preparing himself for anything.

Cain could see at least one thousand rebels, and half of them were knights, but Joshua was riding his horse right toward them on his own.

“Your Majesty!”

Cain’s loud shout shook the rebels. His superhuman senses allowed pick out the enemy’s voices from a distance.

“‘Yo-Your Majesty’?”

“I can see that now. It’s really His Majesty!”

“Shouldn’t w-we withdraw, then?”

“Nonsense! We never received any orders to retreat, so keep on running. You all know how vital the vanguard’s role is, don’t you?”

“B-But...”

“He’s a phony, he only looks like His Majesty. Or maybe he used an artifact! With Queen Consort Iceline’s ability, that’s a piece of cake!”

“Y-You’re right...”

“It doesn’t make any sense for the Emperor to suddenly return after over a decade.”

Cain's eyes widened as Joshua suddenly leaped up high in the air.

“Yo-Your Majesty!”

“Magic Spear Art Level 4,” Joshua said, adding mana for everyone to hear.

Mana turned into a bundle of rays of aura, and then those rays harnessed energy. A cloud of lightning floated into the air to pour down on the ground.

“Lightning Rain.”

Laying Cain’s concerns to rest in spectacular fashion, Joshua elegantly whirled his spear and cast a rain of lightning bolts upon the rebels.