Chapter 99
“Your Majesty, Young Master Babel von Agnus, the pride and Rising Star of the empire, is waiting for you in the reception area.”
“Oh, he’s finally here?” Emperor Marcus looked up and smiled. He fixed his clothes and strengthened his posture. “Evergrant, is it done?”
Imperial Chief Mage Evergrant standing next to Emperor Marcus retrieved something from his sleeves and responded, “This is it, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Marcus grinned deeply as he examined the clear, swirling contents of the handcrafted diamond vial. There wasn’t a lot of it, but it was a mesmerizing sight to behold.
While looking at the clear liquid, a question appeared in Emperor Marcus’ mind. He looked at Evergrant and asked, “This is the elixir that restores long-lost memories, right?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“Side effects? Expected results?”
“This is for recovering old memories, not creating new ones. The impact will be excellent, and we are expecting no side effects.”
“As expected of the high-class mage Evergrant.”
Emperor Marcus smiled with satisfaction.
“Since the antidote has been created, can the memory-wipe elixir be mass-produced?”
Evergrant seemed worried as he responded, “It’s not possible, Your Majesty. Unlike the antidote, I didn’t create the elixir.”
“Hmm. I see, I may have spoken too soon.” Emperor Marcus muttered, looking seemingly disappointed. He stared at the silent Evergrant and said, “I heard that the Magic Tower offered you the Thunder seat. Is it true?”
“...!” Evergrant’s eyes widened.
“Why are you so shocked? You know I have eyes and ears all over the continent.” Emperor Marcus shrugged and said, “You’re a pretty capable mage, so it’s not a question of whether or not you will fit right in as one of the Magic Tower’s Seven Mages. I’m just a little sad, you see—I’m a bit sad at the possibility that the great Avalon might lose a great talent like you. There are not many people like you nowadays, after all.”
“Well…” Evergrant appeared to be pondering about something, and he eventually opened his mouth with a renewed look of determination as he said, “I already rejected the proposal of the Magic Tower. I will never leave Your Majesty’s side.”
“Huh?”
Emperor Marcus had a strange smile on his face.
“Is it because of the Fourth Prince?”
“Well—” Evergrant was about to say something, but he stopped.
Emperor Marcus could easily find out what was happening outside Avalon, not to mention the events happening in the Imperial Palace.
“I see the Fourth Prince as a snob with no regard for anything. So how was he able to fish up a talent like you?”
“Your Majesty,” Evergrant said, “I serve Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire, exclusively.”
“That is true.” Marcus chuckled. “And the Fourth Prince will have to keep his eyes open. Who knows what will happen if he meets my expectations? Perhaps he will be the next to succeed the throne.”
Emperor Marcus tapped the throne with his palm and said, “It was nice that you will be here for a long time, so I won’t beat around the bush anymore. The elixir is complete, so what do you want in return? I’ll hear it. If you want a title, I’ll give it to you. Land as well if that's what you wish for. Women? I can give you someone who will follow your every word. I can give whatever you want because it is within my power...”
It was such an arrogant statement, but it was irrefutable.
After all, the one who had said it was none other than the Emperor of the Avalon Empire, Marcus ben Britten.
Evergrant responded gently, his eyes brightening,
“Your Majesty, I would like you to give me access to the Secret Treasury.”
“The Secret Treasury?”
Emperor Marcus tilted his head as if Evergrant's response was completely unexpected.
“What an odd request. Are you sure you don’t want something else? That’s a bit… well, I can give you anything you want.”
“No, Your Majesty. Out of some personal reasons, I have been looking for something for a long while, and I wonder if it might be in the Secret Treasury.”
“So you have been waiting for an opportunity to access the Secret Treasury?” Emperor Marcus seemed interested.
Evergrant replied, “Your Majesty, I'm looking for a book.”
“A book?” Marcus leaned back into his throne, examining Evergrant with a smoldering curiosity. “An item typical of an old-fashioned mage like you, how boring.”
However, Emperor Marcus still waved his hand and muttered, “Jacken.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A man clad entirely in black immediately appeared.
"As soon as we’re done here, open the Secret Treasury."
“I hear and obey.”
“Great, then…” Emperor Marcus got up and cast a meaningful gaze at the door before saying, “Tell Babel von Agnus that he may enter now.”
***
‘What did I just see? It’s unbelievable. I don’t want to believe it…’
Cazes started as a mercenary, a rare occurrence among the imperial family's knights.
The Mercenary Guild of Igrant divided their members depending on skills and experience, and the divisions are similar to the Imperial Knights Order. The Mercenary Guild of Igrant only acknowledged someone as a true mercenary and give them the ‘gold card’ once they had completed at least a hundred 3-4 star quests.
Unfortunately, missions like running an errand, subjugating monsters, and participating in minor territorial disputes were 1-2 star quests. As such, the chances of someone completing a hundred 3-4 star quests were astronomically low.
Out of a million mercenaries, only a hundred would receive the gold card.
Cazes had managed this feat before he reached the age of forty, and he even had to take the head of a B-Class Knight as one of his 4-star quests. As such, one could easily deduce Cazes’ skill level.
He was a seasoned veteran with the Mercenary Guild’s gold card, and he became a mercenary knight after arriving at the land of opportunity, Arcadia. Eventually, he went on to become a Knight Templar of the Imperial Knights Order.
However, the long, slow journey of his career hadn’t sated his ambitions just yet.
Until now, he had always done whatever he wanted. He wasn’t really worried because he knew that he could move up to the top battalions as long he had the skills.
However, the knights of the 11th and 12th Battalions struggled to climb up to the higher battalions, and everyone scorned them for that fact alone.
The young man in front of him was just stating the truth he had always been avoiding. In addition, the boy had even become famous after apparently mastering ‘Aura’ at the tender age of ten.
“Stop messing with us!” Cazes stared at the boy and scoffed. “That’s definitely not Aura! It’s already unbelievable that you’re a C-Class Knight, yet you’re even trying to make us believe that you’re a B-Class Knight?! You’re just an immature brat trying to take advantage of His Grace’s power to deceive us with your petty little tricks!”
Cazes flushed and screamed, “You should be ashamed! Don’t you know that you’re tarnishing His Grace’s reputation with your childish acts?”
At that, Joshua burst out laughing.
“What’s funny?” Cazes frown deepened.
Joshua responded, “Do the 11th and 12th Battalion use their mouths to fight in the Bloody Battle?”
“What?” muttered Cazes with a dumbfounded look.
Joshua brandished the shining Lugia. “Why don’t we give this a shot? Then you will know if it's real or not.”
“...”
“Are you scared?” Joshua provoked.
“Damn it all!” Cazes couldn’t take it anymore.
Pang.
Cazes kicked off against the ground and rushed at Joshua without even waiting for the signal to start the fight. Cazes looked like he wanted to split Joshua’s strangely-shaped artifact in two, but that would be a dangerous move for Joshua.
“Cazes! Wait a minute!”
Ranger finally yelled out, but it was already too late. He could only watch gloomily.
Perhaps, Cazes still had a modicum of rationale in him. He had wanted to directly split that weird-looking artifact into two halves. However, if he directly confronted that mana with his…
‘I won't just break a bone or two. I will suffer severe internal injuries that I can never recover from! Even worse, I might become a cripple.’
In that split instance, many thoughts ran through Cazes' mind as he closed his eyes.
“...”
Joshua watched as Cazes rushed at him.
‘Stopping him in his tracks might be counterproductive due to the backlash. Then, in this case, strength over technique is the way to go.’
After inwardly grumbling, Joshua tightened his grip around Lugia.
Cazes finally reached Joshua, and his four-foot-long sword descended toward Lugia.
‘If that’s what you want, then so be it.’
Joshua’s eyes shone brightly as he brandished Lugia toward Cazes’ sword.
“...”
At that, Cazes finally recovered his wits, but it was already too late.
If he retracted his move now, he would take the full brunt of his Aura due to the rebound. Sadly, Joshua moved so fast that Cazes couldn’t even have time to retract his Aura.
Clang!
Their weapons finally clashed with a deafening roar.
The tip of Cazes’ sword struck Lugia's pointy tip.
Ranger and some of the other knights turned their heads away and squeezed their eyes shut, they could already imagine the outcome of such a collision. Joshua would definitely collapse and start vomiting blood.
However…
“Keugh.”
“...”
The training hall was silent.
The knights started processing the sight they had just seen, and they had no idea whether they should be worried or surprised.
“This is fucking crazy.” Ranger cursed. He had taken those words out of the audience’s mouths.
Rather than the child of Duke Agnus, his colleague ended up being the one vomiting blood.
Yes, it was his colleague…
A member of the 12th Battalion, Cazes.
Clink!
“I… keugh… lost.”
The motionless Cazes sitting on the ground glanced up with quivering eyes.
Joshua raised Lugia in front of the fallen Cazes.
“W-wait!” Ranger was about to make a move.
“Stop!”
However, a loud voice echoed throughout the training hall.
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