CH 245

Magnificent…

What other word could describe the scene? How fast did one have to move their spear to create an illusion like that?

To the audience, it looked like crimson threads had imprisoned Galahad. However, when the threads were finally lifted, the audience members couldn’t help but howl in surprise.

“Ah!”

The audience members were horrified. The spear’s beautiful and complex dance ended when it pierced Galahad’s heart. This was a murder in the middle of the Imperial Palace, in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor.

“You bastard…!” Knight Commander Rod was enraged. He sent his sword hurtling toward Joshua, and the sword itself left a trail of fire in its wake. The attack was both fast and powerful, as expected from the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights.

Joshua raised his spear, deflecting the sword by brandishing his spear. Knight Commander Rod was stupefied by how Joshua had easily resolved his attack, but of course, his surprise only lasted for a moment.

“Are you out of your mind?” Knight Commander Rod started screaming, “How dare you harm the Imperial Knights of Avalon!”

Knight Commander Rod’s usual calm and collected demeanor were nowhere to be found. It was only natural because Galahad was the child of his old friend. Officially, he was Knight Commander Rod’s subordinate and the latter’s successor.

A motherless child, an ambitious child, a child with above-average leadership skills, a child talented enough with the sword to be called a genius, and a child who would stand at the forefront of the Empire in the near future.

Galahad was that kind of child in Knight Commander Rod’s eyes.

However, that child had died under Knight Commander Rod’s eyes.

The air heaved as the unique golden mana in Rod’s sword strained against its bindings. Rod den Hogg pointed the shimmering blade at Joshua.

“I’ll kill you…!” Knight Commander Rod was trying his best to suppress his boiling rage. However, the way he growled made it obvious that he was failing to suppress his fury.

The atmosphere completely changed in the proverbial blink of an eye.

The nobles carefully watched Emperor Marcus' reaction. The Imperial Knights were glaring at Joshua with murderous eyes. Duke Agnus had been maintaining a poker face all this while, but his poker face finally collapsed.

“This will be fun…” Emperor Marcus finally spoke.

“...!” The words that came out of his mouth were so unbelievable that the nobles stared wide-eyed at him.

“Y-Your Majesty?!” one of them exclaimed.

“Honestly, I was getting a bit bored. I was starting to regret arranging all this,” said Emperor Marcus.

The nobles didn’t know what to say as they stood there and stewed in their own confusion and surprise.

“I put a lot of effort into preparing this punishment, but not much happened. What happened until now wasn’t really exciting enough for my taste. It wouldn’t have made sense to continue all this.” Emperor Marcus stared at Knight Commander Rod and muttered, “Knight Commander Rod. Ah, the apex of the Superhumans. He’s the strongest of the Superhumans. Just how strong do you think he is while he’s furious? Aren’t you lot excited to see that?”

Emperor Marcus’ eyes were practically sparkling, which was in contrast with his bored look earlier. “It doesn’t matter if we delay our judgment of this for a while.”

“Y-Your Majesty?!”

“From now on, let no one intervene in their fight.”

“Your Majesty!”

The voice was deeply reverential, but Marcus spared a glance at its source anyway. There sat Marquis Lancelot, father of Galahad and an indisputable member of the Twelve Families. His bloodshot eyes made it obvious that he was holding onto his reason by a thread.

If it weren’t for His Majesty the Emperor’s order, he would have already snapped.

“Don’t give me some bullshit about giving courtesy to juniors,” Knight Commander Rod announced. “You’re nothing more than a criminal to be punished.”

Knight Commander Rod didn’t wait for a reply.

He lifted his sword and took a stance. He didn’t really move that much, but he seemed to have become another person after taking on his stance.

‘Knight Commander Rod, the Imperial Family’s First Sword.’

Joshua lifted Lugia in response. Galahad’s blood ran down Lugia’s crimson shaft. He casually brandished Lugia next to him and shook the blood off of Lugia’s body. It was a blatant provocation and a very effective one at that.

Knight Commander Rod couldn’t take it anymore. He shot forward, and the glistening golden mana superimposed on his sword extended to cover his entire body.

In Joshua’s eyes, Knight Commander Rod looked like he was covered in golden fireflies. It was an absurd sight, and the power Knight Commander Rod had mustered was equally absurd as well.

Knight Commander Rod’s every movement seemed like it was tearing apart the air itself.

Joshua was still maintaining Mountain Crush, but Knight Commander Rod’s sword seemed to be capable of splitting that mountain into two.

Joshua had to admit—he had to admit that Knight Commander Rod’s sword technique was something he had never seen before.

Joshua’s response to that kind of attack was equally astonishing as well.

“...!”

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There was a light clang, and Knight Commander Rod’s eyes widened.

He didn’t think that his opponent was weaker than him, but it was an amateur move to try and dissolve and attack by using the same type of attack.

When fighting an equally stronger opponent, the textbook response would be to parry a downward strike rather than face it head-on.

Therefore, nine out of ten opponents that Knight Commander Rod had faced so far with his sword technique had opted to avoid it by backstepping.

This was the secret behind why Knight Commander Rod’s opponents would always retreat in the face of his sword.

However, Joshua defied common sense and faced Knight Commander Rod’s attack with an attack of his own. After the light clang, the two men were forced to retreat backward.

“That was a powerful move.”

“Ridiculous.” Knight Commander Rod’s rage seemed to have been assuaged as he asked, “Why didn’t you back down?”

Joshua glanced at Galahad on the floor and replied, “I’m afraid of ruining the moment.”

“Let’s see how long that confidence of yours will last,” Knight Commander Rod vanished, leaving only the final syllable of his sentence in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Joshua with his sword.

Joshua repelled the attack, but Knight Commander Rod’s attack was too strong for him to remain standing without moving. However, Joshua used the force behind Knight Commander Rod’s attack to twirl around and slash at the latter’s side.

Knight Commander Rod responded by jumping into the air with his sword raised up above his head.

It wasn’t a complicated move.

Knight Commander Rod simply jumped into the air, but he avoided Joshua’s spear while being able to attack Joshua from above.

However, Knight Commander Rod wasn’t done just yet. His golden mana wrapped around his legs, multiplying their weight. Knight Commander Rod smirked. Joshua definitely wouldn’t expect the change in his weight, so this should be enough to break Joshua’s defenses.

However, Knight Commander Rod frowned when he saw Joshua’s expression.

‘What’s up with that smile?’ The younger man was relaxed—too relaxed. The look on Joshua’s face seemed like he was saying that he was giving himself and his spear to Knight Commander Rod.

‘Wait. Giving himself up to me?’ Knight Commander Rod’s eyes widened as alarm bells started ringing in his ears.

Joshua didn’t retreat. He used the tip of his spear as a fulcrum to send his foot flying toward Knight Commander Rod’s temple.

Knight Commander Rod mustered even more mana so he would drop to the floor even faster, and it resulted in him barely avoiding Joshua’s kick.

“...”

There was a momentary lull in the battle as Joshua raised his spear. He wasn’t really trying to kill Knight Commander Rod in the first place. He was simply defending himself. However, Knight Commander Rod had a grudge against him.

Lugia danced in Joshua’s hand.

Unlike the exhilarating embroidery of crimson lines earlier, Lugia’s dance this time was slower and tamer. However, Lugia had become even more powerful than before.

Now, Lugia possessed enough weight to crush a greater weight and enough power to break those who were more powerful.

‘Magic Spear Arts Level 6: Earth's Chapter…’

‘Offensive Mountain Crush!’

Joshua swung his spear in a simple vertical upward cut. Knight Commander Rod responded in kind. As their weapons collided, the audience couldn’t help but stare in wonder at their strength. The collision of their weapons distorted the space around them, and even the ground beneath them collapsed.

Nevertheless, neither of them backed down.

Backing down at this point was tantamount to admitting defeat.

Knight Commander Rod broke out in a cold sweat. He was confident in a battle of pure strength, but as time went on, he was starting to get pushed back. His famous indomitable sword seemed like it couldn’t resist Joshua’s power.

‘I expected this, but this is ridiculous…! I didn’t think I’d have to admit that he’s this exceptional and strong!’ Knight Commander Rod gnashed his teeth.

Could even the blood of the Titan of Avalon account for this?

However, Knight Commander Rod couldn’t let it end like this. Galahad’s restless soul was still watching him.

His eyes gleamed as the ringing of steel assailed his ears.

There was no more room for hesitation.

‘I was planning to hide this until I fought the Nine Stars, but…’ Having made his decision, Knight Commander Rod gripped his sword with every fiber of his being. It was followed by a torrent of a Superhuman’s mana from the bottom of his abdomen.

“Stop it. This isn’t a fight to the death.”

Knight Commander Rod stiffened. “How can you say that after what you’ve done.”

“We stand in front of His Majesty the Emperor and many nobles.”

“You committed murder before the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor and many nobles…” Knight Commander seemed despondent as he said, “Enough. I will deal with you, my former subordinate, according to the laws of this country.”

Joshua replied, “It was I who acted in accordance with the laws of this country.”

“Huh?”

“Galahad du Lancelot has committed the unforgivable act of treason.”

Knight Commander Rod’s brow was deeply creased in confusion, much like the rest of the audience.

“What nonsense is this?”

“The Lancelots’ eldest son? Treason?”

“Has he really gone mad? Otherwise—”

“He’s lying. He just said whatever came to his mind, so he can worm his way out of this situation.”

The furor grew bigger and bigger, but Joshua’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

‘Yeah, it was around this time.’

Galahad had returned to the capital, but the prince he accompanied was nowhere to be seen, and he didn’t appear even when Joshua became the Grand Duke.

Most importantly, Galahad remained in the Imperial Palace during that time. Joshua hadn’t learned the shocking truth until much later, and he learned it directly from the mastermind's mouth.

“I merely executed the traitor who dared to assassinate His Third Highness, and my actions are all according to Imperial Law.”