Side Story Chapter 228

Side Story Chapter 228

A suffocating silence fell upon the palace. Kurz sat on his throne looking more serious than ever, which dampened the mood in the chamber. His subjects couldn’t say a word. All they could do was wait.

“Count Ericaz has arrived, Your Majesty!”

This announcement was what—or rather, who—everyone had been waiting for.

“...Let him in,” Kurz quietly commanded.

A middle-aged man immediately entered the chamber and prostrated himself before Kurz. “Greetings to Your Majesty!”

“Welcome, Count Ericaz.”

“Due to the urgency of the situation, I’ll get right into my report.”

Kurz nodded obligingly. In fact, he was having trouble enjoying his entertainment because of the issue at hand.

“I was planning to investigate the matter more thoroughly and deliver a better report—”

“Alright, get to the point.”

“...Yes, Your Majesty. A week ago, a man we presume to be Joshua Sanders was sighted in Hubalt. Adran mobilized all of their agents to track him down and located him this morning.”

Adran was Hubalt’s national intelligence agency, led by Ericaz.

“A team of fifty agents was sent in first, but they were eliminated.” Ericaz pursed his lips.

Some of Kurz’s subjects couldn’t hold back a frightened groan.

“Does that mean that Joshua Sanders is really in Hubalt?” one of the subjects asked, unable to contain his anxiety.

“The man was next witnessed in Neort,” Ericaz continued, ignoring the noble.

“N-Neort!”

The nobles gasped. Neort was one of the closest cities to Hubalt’s capital—it only took half a day at most to reach the capital from there.

“The second team of agents worked together with Neort’s guards, who were already on alert, and attacked the man with a group of two hundred and fifty people... But they were also wiped out,” Ericaz bitterly informed Kurz.

The nobles gasped again.

“Fortunately, we were able to get something out of this encounter.” Ericaz crawled on his knees toward Kurz and politely held up a recording crystal ball that contained the footage of the second encounter.

“Turn it on.” Kurz gestured at Ericaz.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” With Kurz’s permission, Ericzaz infused his mana into the crystal ball.

The footage it displayed in the air was a shocking sight.

A noble clapped his hand over his mouth in shock. “I-It’s real...!” he whispered.

A man and a woman stood in the center of the image, but the woman didn’t move at all; the man dealt with Hubalt’s team alone. At the distance the footage had been recorded from, it was hard to discern the man’s exact appearance, but he had black hair and eyes, which were uncommon traits, and his good looks shone through. There was only one man who was that handsome and that skillful.

“Joshua... Sanders...!” Kurz slammed his fist into the arm of his throne as he sprang to his feet.

He trembled, but no one could maintain their composure when they knew that the Martial God was coming after their life. Bel was the only one who stood a chance against the Martial God, but he wasn’t even in Hubalt right now.

“After all that talk about leaving the Martial God to him!” Kurz gritted his teeth.

It didn’t take long for Kurz to—

“Y-Your Majesty!” The head butler burst through the doors, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Some of the nobles tried to snap at the butler for his blatant transgression, but the butler’s next words sent them into just as much of a panic.

“O-Outside the capital! We’ve received a report that the Martial God has shown up on the outskirts of the capital!”

*

While Kurz was agonizing about the threat outside the capital, another one was sneaking inside.

“Your identity checks out, Miss Rilka.”

“Thank you.”

Rilka, a C-Class mercenary, received her identification badge from the guard stationed at the east gate, and then looked around. She looked nothing like her real self—Lilith Aphrodite—because she had used the Reipon she had received from Iceline, her friend and the Queen Consort of Avalon. It had taken her a very long time, but Lilith had finally returned to Hubalt’s capital, where she had been born and raised.

‘Security is tighter than usual, and the guards seem unsettled for some reason... Did something happen?’

Lilith stopped looking around and walked past the guards. She would have to be on alert from now on and avoid attracting any attention. The check that Lilith had just gone through was supposed to be the last needed to enter the capital, but there were several more stages now. In fact, a group of knights in full silver armor was blocking the road.

“Halt!” One of the knights stepped in front of Lilith.

Lilith presented her identification badge again. Everything was going smoothly until she saw the man who seemed to be the leader. Lilith knew who the man was.

‘Count Ericaz? Why is he here...?’

A count was working as a mere guard. Among other less relevant titles, Ericaz was one of the most influential nobles in Hubalt and was responsible for leading the empire’s intelligence agency.

Lilith carefully tried to maintain her composure as she walked past Ericaz.

The knight didn’t notice anything and was going to let her pass when Ericaz suddenly raised his hand.

“Wait.”

Lilith flinched and the knight immediately stopped her.

“Hmmm...” Ericaz peered Lilith.

“...Is there a problem?” Lilith asked nonchalantly.

Ericaz looked her up and down several times, tilting his head this way and that. “You’re definitely her... Why in the world did you come here?”

As if that was a signal, dozens of knights drew their swords and surrounded Lilith.

Something had gone wrong for sure, but Lilith held herself back.

‘He might be feeling me out...’

Lilith held her head high. “What’s going on right now? What did I do—”

Unfortunately, Lilith’s act was futile.

“Must you insist on feigning innocence, Lilith Aphrodite?”

Ericaz smiled crookedly, putting an end to any hopes of sneaking into the city.

‘I’ve been made!’