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Although there were less than two hundred Wilhelm Knights, each one of them was an elite knight of at least B-Class. When they were free from their shackles, they moved like fish in the water.
“Argghhhh! My arm!”
“Do-don’t kill me…!”
People’s screams and the horrifying sound of human flesh being torn and cut filled the air. The Wilhelm Knights swung their swords without mercy, letting out their pent-up anger. They showed a certain someone that they hadn’t been idle.
Their battle turned into a one-sided massacre.
“Please…” A man grabbed the pants of a Willhelm Knight as he was running amok. A cross was clearly engraved on the chest plate of the man’s armor, so the Wilhelm Knight realized that the man was the knight of the Hubalt Empire.
“Save me, please…” the Hubalt knight moaned.
“…Haven’t you heard that often?” the Wilhelm Knight asked.
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
The Wilhelm Knight narrowed his eyes. “The children beyond that wall must have said the same thing.”
The Hubalt knight’s eyes widened. Then as if he had given up, his eyes lost their spark.
“I just… followed orders…”
“That is why you should die,” the Wilhelm Knight coldly muttered.
And then he cut off the Hubalt knight’s head right off.
Blood sprayed out from the headless corpse like a fountain. The Wilhelm Knight, Atoba, didn’t move and let the scarlet blood splash all over him. Atoba wasn’t the only Wilhelm Knight that did that, however; they knew there was no such thing as legitimate murder.
Some followed their superiors’ orders, and some killed for pleasure. They also killed someone else to protect someone or something that was dear to them, but nothing could justify murder. The important thing was…
‘There is no need to hesitate, but I shouldn’t get used to murder. If I can finish something without killing someone, then I should because I’ll have to live with the lives I take for the rest of my life.’
Atoba put mana into his voice.
“Don’t let someone who isn’t involved in the arena get caught in our fight! Send the children to the west gate and the spectators to the north gate! Block the east and south!”
Kingaitu saw what Atoba was doing from afar and turned to Joshua.
“Is that okay?” he nervously asked.
Joshua gave him a confused look.
“Yes, it’s right to evacuate the children to a safe place, but as for the spectators…?.” Kingaitu trailed off, and Joshua finally understood what Kingaitu meant. “This was only supplied because there was a demand for it. They could be considered bystanders, but I think they’re worse in some ways.”
“Then are you suggesting we kill them too?” Joshua quietly asked.
“…Pardon?” Kingaitu blankly said.
“Do you think the other Wilhelm Knights’ hearts would be at peace if we did that?” Joshua prompted him.
“That’s…” Kingaitu couldn’t continue. How could he say anything more when Joshua said that? The Wilhelm Knight’s respectable king was worrying more about the Wilhelm Knights than about those bystanders.
“Was his name… Atoba?” Joshua asked.
“Do you remember him?” Kingaitu hadn’t expected Joshua to remember Atoba’s name, but he quickly leaped to elaborate. “He’s twenty-nine years old just like most other Willhelm Knights, but it’s actually safe to say that he’s the strongest after me.”
Kingaitu was basically the commander of the Wilhelm Knights, so if he assessed Atoba as the strongest knight after himself, then Atoba was talented enough to be the vice-commander of an ordinary knight order.
“They’re there!” someone thunderously roared.
Kingaitu flinched. A group of men was pouring in from the north gate of the colosseum, shoving their way through the spectators as they tried to flee.
“Move!”
“How dare you stop the Grand Hurent Knight Order?! Do you want to die?”
Kingaitu heard the shouts and jumped.
“The Hurent Knight Order!” he exclaimed.
“Do you know them?” Joshua inquired.
“They’re… part of the Hubalt Empire’s main unit, which practically rules Reinhardt right now. On top of that, they’re the Martial Emperor’s direct subordinates…”
The more Kingaitu explained, the colder Joshua’s eyes became.
It seemed that at least five hundred knights were entering the colosseum. The other Wilhelm Knights had already stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the Hurent Knights.
The Hurent Knights were indeed one of the Empire’s most elite knights, so even the Wilhelm Knights tensed up once the Hurent showed up. The Wilhelm Knights couldn’t be sure they would be able to win even if they fought in normal conditions, but they had gotten most of the weapons they were holding from the other Hubalt knights and they’d been starved for a long time, decreasing their stamina…
“Don’t lose your courage!” Kingaitu shouted at the top of his lungs. “We are the proud Wilhelm Knights! On top of that, our king is with us now!”
Kingaitu’s last words boosted the Wilhelm Knight’s flagging morale. Merely the fact that Joshua was here made the Wilhelm Knights feel like a million soldiers were backing them up.
“Yeah, I think I can deal with them alone,” Joshua said as he stepped forward, affirming their expectations.
A ray of light suddenly cut through the empty sky.
“That’s…!” Kingaitu’s eyes widened. His king held a four-meter-long light with a shape that Kingaitu was quite familiar with.
“That’s definitely the one from that time…” Kingaitu dumbfoundedly mumbled.
Joshua moved without hesitation with his weapon held tightly in hand. The Wilhelm Knight that had stopped moving, the Hurent Knights that had just entered the colosseum… Everyone paid attention to Joshua. In spite of the mask he still wore, the enormous light that Joshua held looked extraordinary. It was mesmerizing.
Joshua sprang forward just like he had in the Masters’ Battle which had taken place here in Reinhardt. Announcing his return, the long, blindingly bright light showered the entire colosseum with brilliant white sparks.
Joshua stretched out his arm, pointing his spear at the cluster of Hurent Knights.
“…Scathach’s Fury.”
The light of death that didn’t allow the enemies to escape. The glow of despair. One of the highest level skills of the Magic Spear Art.
The Hurent knights had no time to respond.
“Fu-fuck!”
Something flashed, and the white light drowned out heaven and earth.
A second later, the colosseum was rattled by an ear-splitting boom.
* * *
A knight hurriedly ran through the open door into the chamber of the Reinhardt’s regent.
“Yo-Your Excellency!” he yelled.
“What’s all the ruckus?” the Hurent Knights’ commander asked with a frown on the Martial Emperor’s behalf.
“The enemy has launched a surprise attack!” the knight reported.
The Martial Emperor’s eyes widened.
“An ambush?” the commander repeated.
“The colosseum has been invaded,” the knight informed him. “The other knights already went there!”
The commander’s eyes narrowed.
“Explain it clearly. What do you mean, enemies?”
“There is no time, commander! The knights that were protecting the colosseum have already been wiped out, and the other knights are also in danger—!”
The commander slammed the wall in frustration.
“Are there at least hundreds of enemies or something? But then how could no one have noticed when hundreds of enemy soldiers were at our doorstep?!”
“Actually, I don’t know all the details yet…” The knight looked at the floor.
“You fool! Lead the way, I’ll go there myself!” the commander angrily shouted. He immediately turned back to bow to the Martial Emperor. “…I apologize, Your Excellency. I’ll look into the matter quickly.”
“…Wait.” The Martial Emperor quietly raised his hand. His eyes were shining. “It looks like you still have more to report… Am I wrong?”
“…Well…” The knight trailed off reluctantly.
“It’s fine, so talk.” The Martial Emperor narrowed his eyes.
The knight hesitated for a moment.
“It’s not reliable, but… according to the eye-witness accounts… there are only two intruders… aside from the Wilhelm Knights who were set free…”
“Why are you keep talking nonsense!” the commander furiously shouted.
In contrast to the commander, the Martial Emperor’s eyes were colder than ever.
“…And?” the Martial Emperor pressed.
“Yo-Your Excellency.” The knight took a step back.
“I said it was fine.”
“Umm… The intruders were wearing masks, so we weren’t able to identify their faces…” the knight reluctantly continued.
“But?” the Martial Emperor said.
“One of the two created some kind of long light… but it looked like a spear....”
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“…A spear!” The commander’s eyes widened, bewildered. He would be lying if he couldn’t think of anyone when the word “spear” came up at a time like this.
“Joshua Sanders…” The Martial Emperor groaned and stood up as if he’d been expecting this surprise attack. “Tell the knights.”
“You-Your Excellency?” the commander stuttered.
“I’ll go there myself.”
The commander and the knight both looked at the Martial Emperor disbelievingly.
“Tell them to brace themselves. It’s highly likely that someone new is gaining supremacy of this continent today,” the Martial Emperor declared with quiet determination.