Return of the Unrivaled Spear Knight

Side Story Chapter 315

At every slash sent another head flying, all of which belonged to the commanders of Hubalt’s forces.

“I repeat! All Imperial Knights of Avalon, prioritize taking control of the west gates!”

“Th-The I-Imperial Knights?! I knew they were too skilled to be ordinary knights!”

Avalon’s special unit was comprised of one thousand three hundred knights. Compared to the twenty thousand enemies they faced, the unit was too small, but they were crushing their enemies regardless. The main reason that was possible was that Avalon's army had attacked the gate from the inside and outside simultaneously. In addition, the mages magnificently demonstrated why they were called the greatest weapons of war.

“Blizzard!” Iceline’s spell swept over the west gates, chilling the enemy to the bone.

Hundreds of archers instantly went rigid, unable to nock their bows. Theta jumped on the opportunity and cast another spell.

“Tempest.”

“Arghhhhhhhhhhh!”

The Eighth Circle spell increased the range of Iceline’s Blizzard, expanding the snowstorm to reach the entire unit stationed at the west gates.

“We’ve secured the winch!”

“Open it!”

The west gate noisily creaked open. The moment it was fully open, the army outside rushed through with a bloodthirsty cry.

Hubalt's forces were caught in a dilemma. The gate had already been breached; even if their forces were large, it was impossible to stop their enemy’s charge.

“Fuck! Abandon the gates! Hubalt! We’re retreating! Regroup with the main force at the south gate!”

Avalon and the alliance’s forces cheered when the gate was reclaimed.

“I’ll handle the rest,” Ireuca shouted. “Your Majesties! Head to the palace with the Imperial Knights, please!”

“But…” Iceline hesitated, concerned.

“Don’t worry,” Theta quickly reassured her. “I’ll help them too.”

“No, this isn’t right. We’re winning, but that might change very easily if all the Imperial Knights leave,” Icarus pointed out.

Valmont came forward. “I believe that something bad happening to His Majesty would be far worse than anything that happens out here. Avalon would lose the war for sure.”

Cazes pondered the problem for a moment and came up with a compromise.

“How about this? Half of the Imperial Knights will stay behind, and the rest will escort Your Majesties to the Palace,” Cazes said.

The Imperial Knights exchanged glances. All of them wanted to go running to the palace right then and there.

“No, I still think that’s wrong. It’s also rude to our allies after they came all the way over here. We should trust His Majesty and focus on the battle—”

“How about this, then, Your Majesty?”

A person shrouded in black cloth silently appread from the shadows under a tree near the gates, startling everyone.

“Who are you?!”

No one had seen this person before. The Imperial Knights quickly surrounded her. Cazes and Valmont could feel cold sweat running down their backs because even people who were as skilled as them hadn’t sensed this person until they decided to step out of the shadows.

Iceline was going through a different emotion, though.

“You are…”

The voice of the mysterious intruder resembled the squeal of metal being forced against metal. It was obvious to Iceline that they were using a voice-changing artifact—one that Iceline had created.

“People call me the Assassin King.”

“Th-The Assassin King?”

The end of Aisha’s long seclusion came as a great shock, but she didn’t have the slightest regret about her choice. She and Joshua had settled her doubts.

‘Joshua, you told me that everyone will have to pay for their karma someday.’

If there were people who still harbored grudges against her, that was the karma that she would have to endure. That was why she was no longer going to hide. She was going to step out into the light and pay for her sins.

“Without their leader, they’re just a bunch of nobodies, so I’ll assassinate their leader.”

“Bel and the Martial Knights aren’t participating in the battle, so Gyo is their commander right now!” yet another new voice interjected.

Everyone’s eyes widened when they recognized who was speaking.

“The Silver Eyed Ghost Sword? Why are you here…?”

“I had the Magic Tower’s help. It took me a while to persuade the paladins, but they’re also coming to Arcadia.”

The group turned to look at Theta, silently asking for further explanation.

He shrugged. “…Hubalt contacted me first. Said that they want to set things right by helping Avalon.”

“As soon as the Magic Tower’s military teleportation gate is complete, ten thousand paladins will come to Arcadia,” Lilith added. “It won’t take long.”

Regardless of which faction they belonged to, their country was still responsible for war crimes. Lilith could understand if the people showed enmity against her, so she just went on.

“It’s not much, but Hubalt wishes to help everyone. And the empire would like to deliver its sincerest apology.” Lilith bowed to the allied forces. “I know it won’t be enough to atone for what the empire has done… But Hubalt will pay the price. Please let the paladins and I help you on the front lines.”

“…Stand up, Ghost Sword.”

Lilith stiffened. She had prepared herself to be slapped in the face, but the alliance and Avalon were welcoming her with open arms. The Imperial Knights were especially delighted because even if half of them headed to the Palace, the paladins could fill in for them.

“A rebellion can take place in any country.”

“The bully is elsewhere and yet someone else is apologizing on their behalf. Hahaha. Don’t do it, please. It feels really awkward to receive your apology.”

“Welcome. We need all the help we can get.”

“Let’s talk later and fight together first. There would be nothing more meaningful than bringing back peace to the continent with our own hands.”

Lilith’s eyes welled up.

“The enemies are divided between all four gates, and they’re panicking because we breached the west gate, so we’ll use this opportunity to take them down gate by gate and then put down their leader!” Icarus decided.

“I noticed on our way here that the majority of the enemies were near the south gate. We, Avalon, will take the south gate with the paladins.”

“Then Swallow will take the east gate,” Anna volunteered.

“In that case, the Magic Tower will attack the north gate.”

“The alliance will assist you at all three gates.”

The plan was decided in an instant. Against one giant evil, everyone was united. Their morale was sky high.

“All the countries have finally united against Hubalt. Let’s win. Let’s win this war and bring back peace.”

*

Bel was making a frantic last-ditch effort for survival.

“I! Won’t! Go! Down! Like! This!”

Using every ounce of strength he had, Bel reached for Kireua.

“Greed and Wrath! Come to me! I’m your true master!”

Surprisingly, the two Evil Sins reacted to Bel’s demand. Kireua stumbled. Although he had been hoping that someone would take away his Evil Sins, he had never thought about losing them like this.

However, Kireua’s concerns proved unwarranted.

Bel was ecstatic when he saw the two Evil Sins leave Kireua—but Wrath and Greed chose Joshua. As the Seven Evil Sins were prideful powers, they weren’t interested in losers.

“Wh-What in the world…? Ahh…! Me! I am your master!” Bel screamed at the top of his lungs.

Joshua didn’t even give a glance in Bel’s direction. His eyes were fixed on Kireua, who looked a lot better than before.

“Those Evil Sins are too greedy, and they won’t help you at all in becoming stronger,” he gently said.

“Your Majesty…?”

“Create your own path, Kireua.”

The Seven Evil Sins were too dangerous, so it was better to take them with him.

‘I’m still selfish even at this moment. I wish I could say goodbye to the others.’

-No, I see the most selfless person in the world. For the people you hold dear, you trapped yourself in the ice for decades and now you are trying to sacrifice yourself.

Joshua frowned. ‘…Everything happened because of my personal vendetta, so I’m simply reaping what I sowed.’

-Well, I’m also well aware of Avalon’s history, and I still think the same.

‘What do you mean?’

-Evergrant con Aswald and Kaiser ben Britten were the former Master of the Magic Tower and the fourth prince of Avalon, respectively. But they were building an army of undead underneath the palace—and the Demon Spirit used the former Emperor of Avalon as his vessel.

Arash meant what she was saying; it wasn’t just to console Joshua. The Demon Spirit had been very greedy, so it was obvious what would have happened to the empire.

-Let’s say you didn’t have your so-called “personal vendetta”. Do you think the Human Realm would have lasted until now? What I’m trying to say is that although there are people who suffered because of your choices, many people were also saved.

‘…I never thought I would be consoled right now.’ Joshua chuckled.

-To be honest, I feel bad about my empress. I didn’t really get to say a proper goodbye to her either.

Joshua smiled at Kireua. ‘Don’t worry about it. My children will tell her and the others about what happened.’

-Please tell Prince Kireua to take good care of my empress.

‘Can I also ask for a favor?’

-…I have a feeling I already know what it is.

Joshua strode toward Selim and Viper, who were lying on the ground.

‘I’m going to pour out all my divine power this last time. I think I can treat Selim, but I’m worried about Viper. I would very much appreciate the help of the Angel Spirit’s Fragment.’

-I’m ready.

A bright light burst out of Joshua’s chest, enveloping Selim and Viper and being absorbed into them.

“Mmm...”

Due to using too much power at once, Joshua felt languid, but they were successful. Selim’s cheeks grew rosy and Viper’s breathing became more stable. Joshua beamed.

“And… Kireua.” Joshua turned to look at his other son.

“Yo-Your Majesty.”

“Call me Father.”

Kireua trembled as it sank it that this was his father’s way of saying goodbye.

“I promised your mothers that I’d come back, but I’ll have to break my promise again,” Joshua said bitterly.

“Please… please don’t do this.”

“Your father has always been selfish.”

“No, no, you’re not.” Kireua’s eyes grew teary.

“Do I really have the right to love you?”

Kireua immediately shook his head. “You aren’t selfish. You’re my beloved, adored father.”

“…Thank you, Kireua. And from now on, live your own lives. Don’t try to be Joshua Sanders’s sons. Be Kireua and Selim Sanders.”

Tears crawled down Kireua’s cheeks.

“Don’t be sad. This is just the karma that your foolish father has to pay.”

Despite what he had said, Joshua couldn’t help but feel reluctant to leave.

“Your Majesty!”

The Imperial Knights burst into the gardens, shaking the ground with their footsteps. The three Queen Consorts were with them, obviously. As soon as Icarus saw Joshua, she understood what was going on.

“No!” She shouted. “You promised you’re going to come back!”

Iceline drew up her mana so that she could get to Joshua, but the dimensional rift between them was too wide. On top of that, Joshua had covered the rift with his mana so that no one else would be affected by it.

“You’re cruel… Too cruel…” Charles clutched her chest as she wept.

Just like Kireua, the three women also instinctively realized that Joshua had made a choice to stop the Human Realm’s collapse.

“No, I’ll keep my promise. I’ll come back, no matter what…”

Joshua repeated his promise over and over. Tears crawled down his cheeks as he made his oath.

“It’s… a promise.” Charles forced a smile.

Joshua could feel that he was at his limit. Even at that moment, the dimensional rift was widening. It was not going to give Joshua and the others any more time.

Cazes bit his lip so hard that it bled, but he quickly pulled himself together.

“…Salute to His Majesty!”

Sensing the imminent farewell, the Imperial Knights quickly formed into two lines and raised their swords high above their heads with their free hands against their chests.

Joshua smiled again as he looked at the Imperial Knights. Other people might think Joshua was out of his mind, but he had never felt more free than he felt now. With his selfish sacrifice, he could save his loved ones and the entire world. That was much better than the time he had spent as a revenge-obsessed monster.

“Let’s go, my other karmas,” Joshua told the powers of Wrath and Greed.

After Joshua had used all of his divine power on Selim and Viper, Greed and Wrath had become more. Using those powers, Joshua pushed Bel into the rift as hard as he could.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Bel screamed.

With his eyes on his loved ones, Joshua clutched the dimensional rift’s ends and pulled it close. Revenge? Joshua wasn’t sure if he would be able to give up on revenge if he had another chance of regression, especially if his enemies were leading happy lives.

“Come back! We’ll wait for you, so you must come back!”

However, if getting revenge meant that his loved ones had to sacrifice themselves for him, Joshua would give up without a second thought. Only after becoming a father and husband to his three children and wives had Joshua realized that dedicating his entire life to revenge would consume him and destroy the lives of his loved ones. Joshua loved his family with all his heart, so he was more than willing to forget about his enemies if by some miracle he were to get another chance at life.

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