BXBX NOVEL Side Story Chapter 107
Raphael’s painful scream filled the council chamber. Ever since his right arm had been neatly cut off, he had been screaming at the top of his lungs.
Sersiarin didn’t have a strong stomach, so she quietly looked away.
Michael angrily drew his sword. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.
“Negotiations are over, so do I have any reason to spare my prisoners? They’re potential enemies.”
“As an emperor, how can you say such a thing?! War prisoners are protected by international law!”
“That’s strange,” Joshua sarcastically remarked. “As I recall, it was one particular nation who made those international laws and recently changed it as they pleased.”
“That is…!” Michael gnashed his teeth.
The aforementioned international laws had actually been made and distributed by the Great Temple of Hubalt, as self-proclaimed protectors of peace. Of course, it was only common law because the Pope had preached about it without going through the required legislative processes, so the law had no substance. Nevertheless, it was universally practiced because the leaders of other countries were the fervent champions of the law.
Yet, that was a problem for the paladins’ dreams of ruling the continent, so the highest ranking paladins had gathered and publicly announced that those laws were null. It had happened on the same day that Lilith Aphrodite had manifested the authority of a Demon King a few years ago.
She served as excellent justification. According to international law, no one was allowed to infiltrate or harm another nation, no matter what the circumstances were. In other words, international law prohibited people from causing even minor damage even if it were for the great cause of punishing evil. Preposterous, the paladins thought. That was why the paladins nowadays loudly proclaimed that international law was all but nonexistent; they said that there was no such thing as international law without any written records of it.
“International law is whatever a powerful nation would like it to be… No, it’s actually embarrassing to call that law. I have no reason to give your circus acts the time of day,” Joshua scoffed.
“Joshua Sanders!”
“Toss his arm somewhere far away. With the authority of a Great Angel, he’ll probably try to reattach it again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” one of the Imperial Knights said with a bow.
“Your arm isn’t going to grow back like a troll’s, is it? You wouldn’t even be a human any more; that’s more like a monster. Isn’t that ability too horrible for a noble paladin with the authority of a Great Angel?” Joshua tilted his head.
Raphael, the “noble paladin”, shook like he was about to explode and his face was already scarlet red. Nevertheless, he remained silent—the sword resting against his neck reminded him that the threat of execution was far too close.
“Wait a minute. There’s no need to go through the trouble since I can just kill them all right here,” Joshua muttered to himself.
“Y-Your Majesty.” Sersiarin grabbed Joshua’s sleeve.
Her actions actually made Michael more anxious.
“Wait!” Michael shouted. “Let—” He paused and corrected his tone. “No, I would like to propose a new deal.”
Joshua smiled subtly, tapping Sersiarin’s shoulder reassuringly.
“What deal? Isn’t it too late for that now?”
“Martial God, I understand how great you are, but you must have met Bel, the Hubalt Empire’s strongest man.”
Joshua’s silence sufficed as an answer to Michael.
“I guarantee you that I don’t know how skilled the troops that crossed our borders are, but they would inevitably be annihilated by the Martial Knights trained by Bel himself.”
“…You’re overconfident.”
“No, I’m certain. Bel and his Martial Knights are considered our counter to the Martial God for a reason. Hey, you, the middle-aged knight right below the throne. If I remember correctly, you’re the Combat Emperor, yes?” Michael abruptly turned to Cain.
Cain blinked in surprise, but responded, “That is correct.”
“Let me ask you: are you the one who directly fought against Bel?”
“Why do you think that?”
“There are draconic scars all over you, so how could I not?” Michael shrugged.
Cain\'s eyes widened. He couldn’t even see them. He had draconic scars?
“It seems you didn’t notice them due to your wounds, even as an Absolute. Those hideous draconic scars never disappear—they’re called the dragon’s curse for a good reason.”
“What…?”
“As time passes, it’ll corrode your vital force, slowly killing you. This ability is the biggest reason why Bel is feared,” Michael explained.
He had everyone’s attention now.
“Bel hasn’t been sighted anywhere on my way over here, so he must have had a change of heart or something. There is a high possibility that he’s returning to the Hubalt Empire without permission.”
“Haha, I see that paladins don’t hesitate to badmouth their comrade for being uncontrollable,” Cain sneered.
“Combat Emperor, you don’t have enough time to be snarky right now, so decide quickly.” Michael’s gaze turned to the throne. “Keep in mind that Bel thinks dearly of his subordinates. Maybe because he’s an orphan, he doesn’t hesitate to risk his life to protect his people. I really don’t think it’ll happen, but it doesn’t matter even if Hubalt has actually been breached as you people so confidently claim. Once Bel arrives and finds out that his subordinates have been harmed…”
Michael didn’t even finish speaking, allowing his audience to reach the obvious conclusion.
“In this deal, the Hubalt Empire won’t attack Avalon for one year and will provide the cure for the Combat Emperor’s draconic scars.”
“Hmph, this is nothing…” Cain tried to draw up his mana, but flinched. He was attempting to cover the draconic scars with his vigorous mana, but the energy from the scars and his mana clashed with each other, causing pain that was severe enough to make Cain’s lips twist in discomfort.
“I can see you’re baffled. That’s the scary thing about draconic scars,” Michael calmly said.
“Hmm…”
“Martial God, I hold my subordinates as dear as you do yours, and Hubalt has been researching draconic scars for a very long time.”
They had to because they had been sending in countless knights to create refine Bel into a living weapon. Anyone who fought against Bel died no matter what, so who would be willing to challenge him? That was why while Hubalt was gathering Bel’s sparring partners from outside the Empire, they had been carrying out their research on draconic scars. If there were any flaws in that ability, they could be corrected, but Hubalt needed to find a way to save the individuals who could be treated.
“…Queen Consort,” Joshua said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What do you think?”
Icarus paused for a moment, but her eyes were cold. “Since it’s impossible to treat Sir Cain in Avalon… Yes, that would be better to exchange the prisoners.”
“Your Majesty!” Cain raised his head in disbelief. “I’m fine,” he shouted at Icarus. “There is no need to let those trespassing thugs walk out of the Palace just because of a guy like me”
“No.” Icarus shook her head. “You’re more valuable than all the prisoners combined.”
Michael finally let out a long sigh and sheathed his sword. “It looks like we have a deal.”
“Your Majesty! Are you really going to let those thugs go?!” Cain yelled, his eyes wild and menacing with anger.
Joshua shrugged. “Icarus said yes. Besides, you must not be feeling well, so don’t overwork yourself, Cain.”
“Your Majesty!”
“In any case…” Joshua locked eyes with Michael. “...you aren’t going to say that the troops that have already crossed the border are in breach of the agreement, are you?”
“I have never acted so cowardly in my entire life.”
“Then it’s settled. The prisoners shall be released after our troops return.”
“I have a request this time,” Michael abruptly said.
“…Hmm?”
“You’re the ones who crossed the border first, so don’t blame us if they return to Avalon as corpses.”
Joshua chuckled. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. I heard from the Queen Consort that there’s apparently someone quite reliable in charge of the army.”
* * *
Meanwhile on—or rather, in the border of Hubalt, Avalon’s army was on the move.
“That place leads into the lands of the Hubalt Empire,” a knight said, pointing at the far horizon. A red cross was engraved on the surface of his armor.
“How many of Hubalt’s border guards have we killed on our way over here?”
“The number is estimated to be around three thousand.”
“What about our casualties?” the other man asked.
“Including the lightly wounded, it’s three hundred people, but over fifty percent of them are now ready for battle.”
The man frowned slightly. They had fought their way through three thousand people, but only took three hundred casualties. It was no exaggeration to call it a great victory, but the man didn’t seem pleased with these results.
“In other words, at least one hundred and five people were killed or gravely injured, even though the guards we fought weren’t even knights. That’s too many casualties,” the man said.
“But only our infantry sustained damage—”
“Belutin.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“Who are we?”
Belutin flinched and snapped to attention.
“We are the First Order of the Great Ducal Family of Agnus!” he thundered.
“Yes, we’re from the Ducal Family of Agnus.”
“May the light be with you, Your Grace!”
Only one person in the Ducal Family of Agnus could be called “Your Grace”: Babel von Agnus, the only brother of Joshua Sanders, the Emperor of Avalon. In spite of the fact that the family was merely one of many noble families, the Agnus family had once had hundreds of knights under its banner.
No longer. The Agnuses’ influence and power were a shadow of their former selves, so only five hundred knights from the Red Cross Order were present right now. Nevertheless, all of them were certain that they were the most elite knights on the continent. They were, after all, marching alongside Duke Agnus.
“…Let’s go. I turned my back on them during the civil war, but since he’s back I’ll have to repay the favor.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
With a sharp blast of the horn, the Arcadian garrison and the army sent from the Agnus family marched deeper into the lands of the Hubalt Empire spread before their eyes.