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“Oh! Oh my god,” Cain babbled. “What’s happening?!”
Their master came, leading a horde of men they didn’t know. Everyone was excited and relieved, but Cain couldn’t help but think, “That’s all you brought?” When he saw three hundred of Marquis Crombell’s knights sally out to meet them, Cain wanted to jump off the wall and run to his master.
He didn’t get the chance.
Far in the distance, he saw Joshua smile and shake his head, unconcerned. All the worry slipped out of Cain’s heart, replaced by excitement. Watching a hundred knights fall in behind his master made Cain shiver.
When one of Marquis Crombell’s best knights, Viscount Wright, stood in the way of his master, Cain unconsciously clenched his fists, only to be astounded by his first and final move.
Space itself opened to reveal a shining red spear. It lunged for the Viscount’s heart with pinpoint accuracy as if it had been purpose-made for this moment, ending the encounter in an instantaneous blur of motion.
An electric thrill ran down Cain’s spine. Joshua had indeed crossed the last great wall. He was a god that made the sky shake and the earth move.
“Viscount Wright has been an A-Class for more than three years… It’s over so quickly…?” Count Keiros, lord of Peril Castle and a B-Class Knight himself, muttered.
“Wh… What happened?” Icarus asked. “Who are those knights behind our master? Are they on our side?”
Cain’s usual joviality was nowhere to be found.
“For now… It’s safe to say they’re friendly.”
“Ah…” Icarus’s voice was exuberant.
“Oh, and… It looks like there’re a lot of women with him. Real jaw-droppers.”
Charles’s ears perked up.
Icarus’s gaze turned lethal. “What… did… you… say?”
Whatever Icarus was going to say was drowned out by the shouts and footsteps of Marquis Crombell’s army.
Count Keiros was quick to react. “Prepare to fire!” he shouted. He knew the enemy would be in bow range soon. Cain ignored the archers; his eyes were fixed firmly at the back of the Crombells’ army, picking out details most people wouldn’t be able to see.
Having put down the enemy commander, his master’s spear was now aimed at the rest of Marquis Crombell’s knights. The black knights following him were no less eager for blood, and, unbelievably, they had the skills to match Duke Agnus’s knights.
There was just one thing bothering Cain, however.
“Why is there a dog crawling in my place—!” He drew his sword. Cain thought he’d manned up, but it wasn’t true. His place was glued to his master’s side like a lover, and no one would take that from him. “I am Cain, the right hand of Baron Joshua Sanders! AHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Sir Cain—!” Icarus reeled in shock as Cain leaped off the walls and ran across the battlefield screaming1.
“Dumbass—!” Even Count Keiros, a famously mild-mannered man, let his thoughts slip out. No matter how you looked at it, Cain’s actions were madness.
Marquis Crombell’s forces noticed him a moment later.
“Who is that madman?” one of Gehog’s lieutenants wondered.
“Don’t worry about it,” the lieutenants who’d taken Viscount Wright’s place replied. “I’m sure someone’s going to knock him over eventually.”
“Right.”
Gehog frowned and took a step back to look at the bigger picture.
“Someone over there was very eager to get rid of them.” Gehog laughed and waved dismissively. His attention was on the walls of Peril Castle. “Charles… Charles de Pontier… HAHAHAHAHA!” Gehog’s eyes took on a gleam of madness as he considered what he was going to do.
His laughter abruptly stopped when the “crazy” man collided with his forces.
Their ears were assaulted by an ear-splitting roar as the maniac’s black sword scythed through the Crombells’ front lines.
“That guy— Don’t tell me—!”
There was only one person in the Pontiers with that kind of presence. That trademark black sword told them everything they needed to know.
“First Knight… Cain de Harry…”
“First Knight?” Gehog asked.
“That’s the name people gave him when he became Baron Sanders’s only knight. Baron Sanders recently became a Master, making him famous across the continent.”
Gehog scowled. Hearing the name of the guy who humiliated him was unpleasant, but he had to take the “First Knight” seriously. It was one thing to have a nickname within his family, but for it to be known across the continent meant that he was a serious heavyweight. The last people with names like that were the Seven Knights of the Emperor, who lived over 200 years ago. Imperial power was at its strongest back then, and all seven knights were on par with a modern A-Class Knight.
“It was awful. That guy is such a good-for-nothing—”
“Nicknames are just a boring hobby for lower-class people,” Gehog sniffed. “Send one unit. Focus on the strongest—I don’t want any nuisances when we’re so close.”
“I hear and obey.”
“Have our best knights focus on that one. You, too. The rest of the troops will break through the gates in the meantime. As soon as you have his head, come join us.”
“Understood.”
While they talked, a knight was cutting through Gehog’s protective cordone from behind. They didn’t notice.
“Master Gehog! Oh, this is important!” A messenger knelt in front of Gehog.
“What’s happening?” the lieutenant demanded.
“It’s—! S-Sir Wright is dead!”
Gehog and the lieutenant boggled at him.
“What nonsense is this?!” Gehog ground his teeth together angrily.
“Tell us the details,” the lieutenant ordered.
“T-The enemy came from behind—”
In an attempt to stave off Gehog’s rage, the lieutenant started yelling at the messenger for him.
“You’re telling me Commander Wright lost to a hundred people?!”
“Not a hundred… just one.”
“He challenged someone to a one-on-one fight. It looked like their leader. He killed Sir Wright before he had a chance to react.”
A terrible silence fell over the group.
“…Who did this?” Gehog rumbled.
“We haven’t confirmed their identity yet, but the one who killed Sir Wright was—”
“Was me.” A figure fell from the sky.
“You bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?” Gehog’s guards drew their swords and surrounded the uninvited guest.
Gehog himself, however, was speechless. He just stood there with wide eyes and a stiff face.
“Is this the first time we’ve met?”
“You—”
“I’ll send you to join your friend, Veron shen Villas. It’s always the same with your clique—why do the children of the Twelve Families all look like shit when they see me?” He called up the unsettling red spear and hefted it. “You and your family have gone too far. No more.”
“You can’t— You can’t be serious!” The lieutenant shivered, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
There was a rumor from Reinhardt about a spear. Spears were weapons for simple soldiers; strong men didn’t even bother looking at them. But that was a huge mistake on the part of Igrant’s people. Their mockery and disdain became frustration and despair as the young Master of Avalon shook the continent.
“Are you gonna kill me? I’m the son of Marquis Crombell? Do you know what that means?!2”
Joshua, king of Reinhardt, smiled bitterly as Gehog shrieked.
“Kill? Why would I want to kill you?”
Gehog felt a spike of anxiety pierce his chest. His worries were realized soon enough.
“Your house is the most successful merchant family in the Empire, yes?”
“Yes, yes! Well, I mean—”
“I know,” Joshua interrupted, his smile growing. “I’m going to steal everything from you except your life.”
EDN: LEEEEEEROY JENKINS! ↩️
TLN: Having Signora’s final moments flashback ↩️