The Legendary Spearman Returns

Two people watched from afar as Selim rained down attacks using his spear.

“I should—”

“I would like you to trust Selim with this one, Duke Tremblin.” Iruca stopped Tremblin from leaping off from the rampart with a shake of her head.

But the only thing between Selim and an army of tens of thousands was a line, so there was no way Tremblin could just stand down.

“Unless he shows his ability here, right now, many obstacles will continue to obstruct Selim’s way,” Iruca explained. “Besides, his role model is the emperor.”

“...You’re too tough on Prince Selim.”

“If his goal was merely to become an emperor, not the second Martial God, then I wouldn’t do this,” Iruca stated.

In some way, this war was as important to Iruca as it was to her brothers; it was her first war against a foreign nation acting as Avalon’s main strategist on behalf of Icarus. Iruca couldn’t leave the Second Queen Consort to be the main strategist forever since keeping the Queen Consort away from the dusty, grimy frontlines was a matter of national pride.

Above all, Iruca didn’t want her old parents to work themselves to the bone forever. No country was eternally strong, and generational change was only natural. A country that failed to accept that change would stop developing and lag behind other countries. In other words, losing this war meant that the end of Avalon was near.

“There are many nobles and armies who are here just because of His Highness,” Tremblin insisted. “Instead of letting him take the risk of fighting alone, it's better to take advantage of our fortifications—”

“That is exactly why I’m doing this.”

“Pardon?”

“Even if we choose to commit to a siege later, His Majesty would have overpowered the enemy’s vanguard at the opening of the battle to increase our forces’ morale.”

Tremblin grimaced. “...Your Highness, our forces can’t live under the Martial God’s wings forever. The pressure it will place on Prince Selim would be indescribable as well.”

“If he can’t endure that much, then he shouldn’t pursue the throne in the first place.”

Tremblin realized that Iruca meant every word of what she said. She had already sent Kireua, her other brother, on a suicidal mission. At this point, people would think that Iruca’s ultimate goal was to kill off all of her brothers and become the first female ruler of Avalon.

“I can see the battlefield again now.”

“Mmmm...” Tremblin groaned.

Just like Iruca said, the clouds of dust blotting out the battlefield were slowly subsiding.

“Oh, no...!”

“Wait, this isn’t how it was supposed to be.”

“I thought His Highness Selim was going to destroy the enemy’s front ranks and then we were going to start fighting.”

Selim’s spear was like a storm, but the Martial Knight, Urector, was standing in the same place he had been the whole time, unscathed. However, the area around Urector was distorted like ripples on a lake. He’d used his ability to read and manipulate energy flows.

“Huh? What happened? Wait, what did you say earlier? Was it ‘Whoever crosses that line shall face my spear!’?” Urector recited, adopting a mocking imitation of Selim’s voice.

Hubalt’s army burst out into laughter.

“Hahahahaha! Urector, you’re good at this!”

“He’s a prince, so I wonder what he’s going to do now. If I were him, I would be so embarrassed that I’d drown myself in the latrine.

“Come on, he might become the next emperor. That’s too harsh.”

“A prince poops too, doesn’t he?”

“I mean, even the Martial God is so crazy for women that he has three wives, so let’s say that he takes after his father—he should shove his head between boobs and suffocate himself to death. How does that sound?”

“Hehehe, you crazy fuck. The Martial God might hear you. You know, I think a hundred women would be happy to be the Martial God’s wives together.”

“It’s said that even a king gets bad mouthed when he’s not around[1]. Fine, I’m just jealous.”

“Well, Avalon’s Queen Consorts are known for their beauty in other countries too.”

The Martial Knights’ foul words were easily heard by Avalon’s forces thanks to a deliberate application of mana.

“Th-Those sons of bitches!”

“Your Highness! Your Grace! Please open the gates! I, Aleter, shall cut off the heads of those impudent scum!”

“I’ll go too! Please, let me go!”

However, Iruca continued to examine the battlefield, though there was no way she hadn’t heard the Martial Knights’ mana-infused voices.

“Your Highness...”

“Look over there.” Iruca pointed.

Tremblin turned to look, his head tilted in confusion, and found Selim leisurely resting his spear against his shoulder.

“What? Giving up already?” Urector grinned from ear to ear. He clenched his fists to center the energy flows at a single point.

Selim looked right into Urector’s eyes, unfazed. “That's what I wanted to ask you.”

“What?”

“Did you run away because you got scared?”

Urector realized something and his eyes snapped downward.

“Wh-When...?”

Urector had boldly crossed the line drawn by Selim, but he was right back where—no, he was three steps further back from where he had been at the start of their confrontation. It stung Urector’s pride that he hadn’t even realized that he had been pushed backward.

“Oh-hoooooooooo!”

“Idiot! He’s awfully full of himself for someone who didn’t even realize that he was pushed back behind the line by His Highness’s attacks!”

“Leave him be. It’s probably just because the people of Hubalt only know how to talk.”

“What? Hahahahaha! That makes sense!”

It was only natural for Avalon’s morale to surge. In contrast, those in Hubalt’s army, especially the Marital Knights, looked like they’d just stepped in a pile of shit.

“You fuck—!” Urector, increasingly red in the face, threw himself at Selim.

Selim fended off the knight’s charge. He considered Urector and the numbness in his palms with mixed emotion.

‘My plan was to cut off at least one of his limbs and then throw him into the middle of his forces...’

But Urector hadn’t even dodged a single one of Selim’s many attacks—he’d simply parried away every single one with his fists.

‘Indeed, the Martial Knights are the strongest in Hubalt—no, the continent.’

Selim could understand why they were confident. Those one hundred free-spirited knights were Hubalt’s secret weapon.

“Stand down, Urector.”

Urector stiffly turned around and saw another Martial Knight coming forward.

“C-Commander,” Urector stammered.

It was a man in his forties with an eye-catching scar on the bridge of his nose.

“This is a war. I won’t tolerate you acting on your own any further.”

“B-But my pride—”

“Is your pride more important than Sir Bel’s orders?”

Urector bit his lip and stepped back.

“All Martial Knights, listen! That wasn’t just for Urector! Sir Bel’s orders were to burn Arcadia to the ground. I prohibit any of you from acting on your own!” the Martial Knights’ commander shouted.

Selim’s face darkened. A collection of strong people tended to develop factions or fight each other for power, but not the Martial Knights. All of the Martial Knights were united under one strong leader.

“I’m sorry, but we’re out of time. All of us are going to attack you from now on. I won’t hear anything about how it’s unfair for a group to attack one person since you brought upon this yourself.” The commander looked straight at Selim, his voice getting louder. “Besides... I know he’s our enemy, but I have to respect Joshua Sanders, the Martial God, the Great Emperor of Avalon, for standing up against an army of a million soldiers! Since we’re merely one hundred knights, I’m sure he would be able to crush us without even losing his breath!”

Selim tightened his grip on his spear. The Martial Knights’ commander was no ordinary man. Even though it was only their first encounter, the commander was immediately able to make an accurate evaluation of Avalon’s forces. Were Selim to run away from this fight after what the commander said, the morale Selim had painstakingly raised would immediately hit rock bottom. Even disregarding all that, the act of running away from a fight was a disgrace as the Martial God’s son.

Tremblin could feel his palms sweating.

“...This’ll only repeat in the future,” Iruca muttered.

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Selim will continue to be tested and compared to his father. He's the Martial God, after all.”

“Still, there’s no reason to play along with them.” Tremblin stepped onto the crenellations, ready to leap off the ramparts. “It’s not too late. I’ll—”

“Even if he could run away from this fight, it would change nothing. What do you think our forces would think? We’ve felt it in our bones for years already. His Majesty is unchallengeable, but as soon as it became known that he went missing, Avalon ended up in pieces. The rebels ran wild, and the entire Imperial Family was endangered.”

“Mmm...”

“In the end, Selim has to prove himself on his own, and now is his chance.”

Tremblin’s lips trembled faintly. Even if Iruca was right, it was too reckless to let Selim battle them on his own. The Martial Knights were far stronger than anyone had expected. Even from afar, Tremblin could tell that every single one of the Martial Knights was comparable to a Superhuman.

“Besides, Selim’s authority as a prince would plummet if you were to step in. The Five Dukes are the leaders of Avalon’s aristocratic faction,” Iruca reminded Tremblin.

“...Although I fully understand what you’re saying, Your Highness, I really can’t leave His Highness alone here. He’ll be in danger at this rate—”

Before Tremblin could finish speaking, the fortress’s tightly shut gates were opened wide.

“Who is it! Who dares...” Tremblin’s roar died in his throat when he saw an unexpected group of people streaming through the gates. “They’re here...?”

1. The raw is ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ??. It’s a Korean idiom about how everyone can be badmouthed. ☜

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