Side Story Chapter 299

Side Story Chapter 299

Bel, whose whereabouts were everyone’s greatest question, was far away from Avalon right now. The original plan was to take Joshua Sander’s country and family captive so that Joshua would break out of the ice boulder on his own; however, that plan changed after Bel had witnessed Joshua’s family flee from Avalon.

Hence, Bel was slamming his foot into the ground with every bound, sinking the ground so deep that the sky looked impossibly distant. The Human Realm was already on the verge of destruction, so if Joshua's family’s goal was to buy time...

‘I can just bring the entire continent down, not just Avalon.’ Bel grinned.

After the Martial God got out of the ice boulder, he was going to see the world hurtling to its doom, not his family welcoming him.

“...Yggdrasil.” Bel came to a halt in front of his destination.

Yggdrasil was the tree that was the center and origin of this world. It was also the source of life, but it was withering like the collapsing Human Realm.

“Hahaha.” Bel chuckled as he landed before the tree.

The day of his final battle with the Martial God was near.

***

Meanwhile, the civil war in Swallow was also coming to an end.

“Do you... really think I’ll stop now?”

Despite Aaron’s ice-cold voice, Anna calmly answered, “Unless you surrender now, your people’s casualties will only increase.”

“My people and I will fight to the end. There are no cowards in the Killian family.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be a genius? You’re their leader, so make a wise choice; the longer you think about this, the more of your people will die.”

Anna pointed at the ground. As she said, the Killian knights were helpless before the joint attack of the Thran and Imperial armies. Aaron’s troops had been caught off guard and were being attacked from both the front and the back, putting them in a tactically disadvantageous position.

“You fight awfully dirty for an empress...”

“Wow, did you just recognize me as your empress?” Anna laughed despite the obvious insult. “And what do you mean by ‘dirty’? I know you worked hard to gain Thran’s favor, but it’s not my fault that they joined my side.”

“You coaxed them to join your side with a sweet offer that you aren’t even going to keep. Am I wrong?”

“You really look down on Thran, don’t you? But didn’t you guys work together for a while? They would be so very hurt if they heard you say that.”

As a matter of fact, some of Thran’s army heard Aaron and were looking up at the roof with eyes that radiated murder.

“Well, keep in mind that I’m willing to be a lot nastier if you aren’t planning to surrender.”

Anna gave a signal to Arash, who was with the Thran army. Arash came forward with one man being dragged by multiple people behind her.

Aaron’s eyes widened when he realized who the man was. “Haron...!”

“What choice do I have if you want to continue fighting? Unfortunately, your brother will be the first casualty.”

“Ha.” Aaron chuckled dryly. He knew that he had lost this fight. The Mercenary King, two Master-level Vaikals, and a powerful elemental spirit mage were bearing down on him. On the other hand, the army of Thran, had turned its back on him when he needed them most.

From the Flame Emperor’s death and the mercenaries’ arrival to Thran’s betrayal, it had just been one problem after another for Aaron. He got goosebumps when it occurred to him that Arash, who was looking up at him from the ground, had planned all of this.

“Brother! These people are planning to dissolve the empire!” Haron shouted at the top of his lungs, scraping every drop of mana he had left.

Aaron's eyes widened. “...You’re going to disband the empire?”

“It’s true. I believe a rotten tree should be rooted out,” Anna answered.

Aaron narrowed his eyes.

“...Is it because of Draxia bel Grace?” he asked, knowing Anna’s background,

“No, I’m not doing this for revenge. I just thought that it was more than possible for me to meet the same fate.”

Aaron silently acknowledged Anna's point. She wasn’t technically a pureblooded member of the imperial line.

‘If she means what she says... then I still have a chance.’

Aaron knew that he had lost this fight, but there was one question he wanted to ask from the man who used to be his brother.

Aaron looked at Akshuller.

“...Hey, coward.”

Akshuller tilted his head. “Hmm?”

“You said that you left the family because you wanted freedom and didn’t want to sacrifice yourself for the family. Was that the real reason?” Aaron asked.

That question had always haunted Aaron. Even if it was Akshuller’s true motive, there was no need to go through the trouble of taking the fall; given their late father’s personality, he wouldn’t have given the duchy to such a pathetic son in the first place.

“Hmm...” Akshuller looked at Aaron with mixed emotions for a moment before he shrugged. “Forget it. It’s not like you’re going to believe me.”

Anna could tell that Aaron’s assassins were extraordinary, but her gaze was unwavering.

“Bring it on.”

Aaron silently regarded her for a moment before jerking his chin. “Let’s hear it.”

“Your plan is to bring together the tribes whose interests align and then build a new country— maybe you’re going to build another empire?”

“So?”

“Alright.” Anna smiled, relieved by his answer. “But you need the world to be in one piece to build a country.”

“What?”

Anna pulled out a recording crystal ball from her inner pocket and infused her mana into it. The crystal ball hummed, projecting the evidence of the world’s collapse.

“...The world tree is crumbling.”

Anna shrugged. “I told you the world is headed toward its doom.”

“That nonsense is actually the truth?”

Aaron couldn’t take the situation lightly because of the evidence he was watching now.

“Stop denying reality, and let’s save the world. Do what you want with this country afterward.”

Aaron gave the crystal ball a blank look and swallowed.

“How? How in the world are we supposed to stop that?”

“The key is in Avalon.”

“Avalon...?”

Anna nodded. “So let’s save Avalon from their crisis first, for the world we live in—no, for your new country.”

***

In the underground vault of the palace of Avalon, Joshua grabbed Liper by the nape. The knight groaned in pain, but none of the Martial Knights could help him after witnessing Joshua’s overwhelming power.

“Purion, I know you can hear me.”

Purion’s power rang angrily in response.

“I’m going to kill your owner. Then you won’t be able to maintain your existence anymore.”

The ringing grew louder.

“But I’ll spare your owner’s life if you use your power to stabilize my son’s condition.”

The ringing quieted a little.

Joshua smiled bitterly. Purion’s power was a temporary measure, but Kireua needed any time he could get.

It seemed that Joshua’s blackmail had worked. Purion jumped out of Liper and then disappeared into Kireua.

“Wake up, Kireua.” Joshua gently shook his son.

“Your... Majesty?”

Kireua slowly pulled himself together as faint shouts came from aboveground.

“...It seems your mothers and reinforcements have arrived.”

“Is it... really you, Your Majesty?” Kireua mumbled.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m on my way to my last fight. “

Kireua’s eyes slowly widened.

“After all, you and the Human Realm are in this state because of me. I have to take responsibility for what I started.”

After a great deal of contemplation, Joshua had begun to speed up his defrosting using his own vital force. Despite his efforts so far, Joshua was forced to commit himself to a path that would lead to his own end for a singular reason: he wouldn’t be able to stop the Human Realm’s collapse otherwise, even if he annihilated the Demon Spirit.

“This is the world where you and the others live, so I will protect its future.”

Kireua’s lip quivered with emotions because he understood what Joshua was saying.

“Don’t look so sad. This is the karma I have to pay for.”

“Yo-Your Majesty...”

Joshua smiled gently. “I’ll trust you with the rest, my son.”