Return of the Unrivaled Spear Knight

Side Story Chapter 110

“Sir Raphael, are we really leaving Avalon like this?” one of the paladin’s who’d joined the retreat later asked.

“…We've got to get out of this place first,” Raphael answered through gritted teeth.

“I understand, but our men are pretty shaken.”

Raphael glanced at the back. Just like the paladin said, all of the troops’ faces were downcast due to the insults that they had been constantly lambasted with on their way to the north gate.

“What? They’re holding white flags?”

“The Hubalt Empire is the most powerful nation on the continent, but they lost to Avalon, the country that’s already a mess from their civil war?”

“Message! Hurry up and send a message home that we should ally with Avalon as quickly as possible!”

“But isn’t it strange? …It looks like they haven’t taken any casualties. They could fight the moment they have a change of heart.”

“Why does that matter to us? Look at the results right in front of you. Hubalt is too proud to wave the flag of surrender unless they’ve suddenly gone mad.”

It was utterly humiliating. The paladins who had regrouped later were trembling with fury after they heard what had happened in the Palace.

“Can’t we just fight them? The Martial Knights will mock us if we return to the Empire like this,” a paladin objected.

The Martial Knights were one thousand elite knights who had been trained by Bel himself. Although the current Hubalt Empire was mainly run by the paladins, that was only possible because Bel wasn’t interested in politics, nor were his one thousand knights.

Regardless, the paladins loathed being defeated in battle. Once Bel and the Martial Knights found out that Raphael and the paladins had returned after they had been defeated by Avalon, they wouldn’t even treat the paladins as human beings.

“Gabriel.” Raphael came to a decision and spurred his horse forward. “No matter how I frame it, this isn’t right.”

“…Wait.”

“Huh?”

“I feel the same, but… endure it a little longer.” Gabriel narrowed his eyes.

Raphael 's eyes widened as he finally noticed that Gabriel was clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails were digging into his flesh.

“You…”

“Michael will send us a signal eventually; right now, time is what we need most.”

Raphael couldn’t understand. Strictly speaking, they were the invaders and had already infiltrated Avalon’s capital, so it was only logical to claim the city as quickly as possible.

“What do you mean? We already embarrassed ourselves by surrendering, but now we need to buy time?” Raphael frowned.

“The Heaven’s Mind said that tens of thousands of Avalon’s soldiers have passed the border to the Hubalt Empire.”

“Why are you mentioning that right now? If that’s true, that’s all the more reason to conquer this place quickly rather than waving these ridiculous flags.”

Gabriel quietly shook his head. “It’s not about that.”

Raphael knew that Gabriel always maintained his composure, even in the worst of times; that was why he was willing to wait patiently for Gabriel’s next words.

The answer Raphael got was even better than he had expected.

“The war isn’t over—it’s just beginning.”

“What?”

“You saw them on the way over here, right? Aside from essential personnel, there are only a few hundred of Avalon’s Imperial Knights in Arcadia, so that means that all of Avalon’s available troops, including Arcadia’s garrison, have been sent to the border.”

“Skip the part we both already know.”

“What would happen if we occupy one of the four gates, one of the most difficult points in a castle to capture?”

Finally, Raphael’s eyes widened. He may hate to think too much during battle, but even he was able to understand what Gabriel was saying.

“We take over the north gate, which the enemy opened for us to exit, and wait for reinforcements?”

“Yes, we’re going up against the Martial God, who fought against an army of a million soldiers and knights on his own. We’ll be able to increase the odds of our victory by occupying a gate and fortifying it for a siege.”

“Woooooh…” Raphael shivered “You brilliant bastard! You’re a genius, Gabriel!”

“…I assume this is what Michael had in mind since there’s no such a cure for Bel’s draconic scars.”

“You two are national treasures! Hahahahahaha! Heaven’s Mind, my ass! That wretch is nothing in front of you two!”

The clattering sounds of horse hooves against the ground quickly brought them within eyeshot of the gigantic north gate.

“Get ready, Raphael.”

“Good, good. Let those fuckers say whatever they want for now.”

There were some delegations near the north gate too. The Imperial Knights who had been following the paladins of Hubalt from a distance gradually slowed as if bringing the paladins of Hubalt to the north gate was the end of their job.

Every single one of those damned knights got on Raphael’s nerve until the end. Nevertheless, the end of his mouth curled upward in unsuppressed excitement.

“I’ll chop the heads off of everyone who ran their mouths.”

* * *

“What… in the world happened?”

Michael couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d just seen. His World Upheaval technique produced an immense and overwhelming agglomeration of aura. It had been blocked too easily. It didn’t make any sense, considering the memories Michael glimpsed using his holy power.

“Martial God… Haven’t you become weaker?” Michael asked in disbelief.

“Oh?” Joshua quietly exclaimed. “It looks like you know something about me. Have you used your holy power?”

“You even know of the existence of holy power?” Michael’s lips trembled. Holy power was a type of clairvoyant power similar to the high priests or the archbishops when they received a prophecy and spread the divine message of god. Michael’s ability was more advanced than theirs—he could see into a scene at a certain moment, which could be in the past or the far future, like a dream. What he had seen only left him more confused.

“Until yesterday, you were crumbling like sand… so how can you become this stronger overnight?”

Joshua’s eyes sparkled. Holy power was indeed a nuisance, but this was for the better; this way, Joshua would be able to upset Michael even more.

“It’s simple. This body belonged to your comrade.” Joshua shrugged.

“What…?”

With a loud buzz, Joshua’s face quickly transformed from his original handsome appearance to the original body’s owner’s.

“U-Uriel…!” Michael stammered, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

Uriel was one of the Four Paladins, just like Michael.

“You… are out of your mind!” Michael screamed at the top of his lungs.

Although it wasn’t befitting of a paladin, Michael let his murderous energy burst into the air. “You are the Demonic God, not the Martial God! How can you even think about taking a fellow human’s body!”

“A corpse is just a shell. It’s the same as insects molting.”

“You sure are confident for a person who talks like a black mage—!”

“Let me ask you this, then,” Joshua interrupted. “You people claim to worship your god and love peace, but you don’t hesitate to slay fellow humans to achieve your ambitions of conquering the entire continent. Is that something a human would do?”

“Don’t try to justify what you did, Demonic God! You’re a demon!”

“…Yeah, it was like this in our past lives too. I was always the bad guy.”

“What…?” Michael blankly murmured.

“There’s this expression in this land about ‘rolling with the punches’.” Joshua hefted his spear and grinned. “Since it’s come to this, I might as well become a real Demonic God, just like you said.”

“Are you kidding me…?!”

“It’s simple. If you die here, there’s no witnesses or evidence left, are there?”

Michael gasped, and then quickly braced himself. “You won’t be able to have your way. I will fight evil until the end!”

“Well, it’s not for us to decide who the real evil is, but there's one last thing I should tell you…” Joshua’s legs flexed, launching into the fight. “I’m hardly a villain considering what you did in your past life.”

* * *

It only took Bel less than half a day to arrive at the border between Avalon and Hubalt.

Bel stretched. “Oh! I feel sluggish from just overworking myself a little.”

He was carrying Carmen von Agnus on his shoulder like she was a corpse.

“…Hehe, if someone saw me right now, they would think I’m returning home with a woman I kidnapped to make her into my wife. What would the boys think if they saw me?” Bel chuckled, but it abruptly cut off as an ill feeling hit him.

“…Huh?” He tilted his head, confused. “What is going on?”

It was too quiet. On top of that, he could detect the reek of blood.

As soon as he realized the oddity, Bel took off like a bolt of lightning. It was hard to believe a human could move like that.

Bel quickly found the corpse piles and an ocean of blood. The bodies of thousands of soldiers were scattered all along the border, and all were wearing the crest of the Hubalt Empire.

“Urghhh…”

Bel’s head snapped around; he’d heard a nearly inaudible groan that he would have missed if he hadn’t been paying attention. He located a dying soldier quite quickly.

“Hey, what happened?” Bel asked.

“Wa… ter…”

“…You won’t make it anyway. Tell me who did this to you and I’ll avenge you.”

The soldier went still, as if he had given up on surviving already.

“Av… alon…”

“What? Avalon? Are you serious? They crossed the border while their capital is being invaded?”

Bel didn’t receive any answer; the soldier was already at his limits.

“…I’ll let you rest.” Bel raised his foot high and then slammed it against the ground.

The soldier’s head exploded like a watermelon, but Bel didn’t look like a person who just committed a murder.

“Someone quite intriguing must be up ahead… Shall I have some fun with them for a moment? Bel murmured.

He simply… trembled in excitement at the appearance of a worthy new opponent.