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Side Story Chapter 3

“I’ll lead the army, Your Majesty,” Argo said.

“Are you sure you will be okay?”

“I was the one who sent the red paper to the enemy commander-in-chief, so please don’t worry.” Argo smiled.

Argo was genuinely confident. He intended to change people’s perceptions of them in this battle. The weak south rebel army? He was going to show them his and the army\'s real abilities. Traitor? If a woman hadn’t become Duke Pontier, then Suspens might have stayed loyal to the Pontiers. The start of their frustration was a duchess succeeding the honorable Pontier Family after its fall.

Dargo shook his head. “The Prince will never accept the challenge.”

“That’s still good for us. Our soldiers’ morale will rise if the prince hides with his tail tucked between his legs.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but it won’t work,” Dargo argued. “Everyone knows that your challenge was far-fetched from the start.”

“Under usual circumstances, it would have been far-fetched,” Argo countered.

“What…?”

“Have you forgotten that the commander-in-chief of that fortress is Joshua Sanders’s son?”

Dargo’s eyes widened.

Joshua Sanders’s name still bore indescribably weight in Igrant. The army that fought alongside him was never defeated. No one was able to block Joshua’s spear even once. He was the hero of the Empire and of the entire continent. He was a legend.

“I think there is a fifty-fifty chance.”

“A fifty-fifty chance?” Dargo repeated.

“A fifty-fifty chance of him accepting the challenge.”

“…Then let me rephrase my question. Are you sure you can win if he takes the challenge?”

Argo grinned. “I’m hoping he does.”

“Maybe I’m worrying for no good reason because I’m getting older, but he won’t be any ordinary opponent. Just like you said, Kireua Sanders is the Emperor’s son.”

Argo shrugged. “The only thing he has going for himself is his blood, which is now just symbolic. It’s not like the Emperor himself taught Kierua Sanders.”

“The Emperor resided in the Palace until ten years ago, so who knows?”

“From what I’ve heard, Kierua Sanders went to the Thran Kingdom to study when he was very young, unlike the rest of the Imperial Family.”

Dargo nodded. “I heard.”

“Is that so? I found out about it while I was taking the Imperial Knights’ test last year. But above all, he uses a sword, not a spear.”

Joshua Sanders, the missing emperor, had, as Argo pointed out, conquered the Empire with his spear.

“You seem awfully interested in Kireua Sanders.”

“He’s my age. Besides, he’s the son of a living legend.”

“Can I trust you with this?” Dargo asked.

“Yes, I’ll never lose in a sword fight. Our Suspen Ghost Slaying Art is the strongest sword art in the continent,” Argo said with a confident smile and saluted. “Please leave this to me. I’ll return with Kireua Sanders’ head.”

* * *

A single blare of the trumpet signaled that the enemy army was on the move.

The second blast from the trumpet signaled that the enemy army had just passed the valley, which was ten kilometers away from the fortress. Kireua couldn’t help but clench his fists as he stood on top of the fortress ramparts and looked down. Numerous soldiers and knights stood by his side.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, Sir Hamel.”

“Are you nervous?”

“…I can’t really say no.” Kireua wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

For the past several months, the battles had been small, so this was his first large-scale battle since he had returned to the Avalon Empire. On top of that, he was the commander-in-chief in today’s battle on behalf of his mother, who was feeling under the weather.

“You made the right call to not answer the red paper. A commander-in-chief should be able to see the bigger picture. I’m not saying you should stay behind and just yell ‘March!’ but you should be really careful about telling the soldiers to follow you. Everyone’s life depends on you, Your Highness.”

Hamel’s advice was sincere, but…

“…Sir Hamel, how well do you know me?”

Hamel flinched. “Pardon? Well….”

He’d heard the rumors about Kireua Sanders, the Second Prince of the Avalon Empire. The Prince had two older brothers and one older sister, so…

“People think I ran away,” Kireua said. “I wasn’t a prince of a kingdom going to an empire to study. It was the opposite, even though my dad, the best knight in the continent, was in the Empire.”

Kireua glanced down at his belt, where a sword one hundred and fifty centimeters in length rested. When Kireua had been a child, he always wished how great it would be if it was a spear.

“I wasn’t cut out to be a spearman. Me and the spear weren\'t a good match.”

“…It’s the same for everyone else,” Hamel quietly said.

In fact, knights using spears were rare even in this generation. Of course, that was only the case for the knights above the level of an expert because the soldiers preferred using a spear rather than a sword. However, it became a problem for those knights past a certain level. It became common knowledge in the continent that if a knight could become an expert with a spear, then he was more than capable of becoming a Master by using a sword.

The trumpet blared for the last time, just as Kireua caught a glimpse of the enemy army marching out of the far end of the valley.

“I was always compared to him and called a coward. When I began to focus on training with a sword, people mocked me, saying talent wasn’t hereditary.”

“Your Highness…” Hamel trailed off.

“But I don’t want to take it anymore.”

Hamel couldn’t say anything; he had no right to comment about something he hadn’t experienced.

“Listen, Kireua Sanders!” someone’s mana-powered voice shouted. “I am Argo rane Suspen, the prince of the Southern Avalon Empire!”

The rebel army stopped right outside the range of arrows, and a young man riding a white horse came to the front of the army.

“I came here myself because you haven’t answered my red paper! Are you not going to accept my challenge to a duel, Kireua Sanders, son of the Emperor?!”

“Bwhahahahaha!”

On cue, the rebel army burst into laughter.

“That coward! He must have chickened out.”

“And he calls himself the Hero King’s son. Tsk, tsk, that must be why he hauled his ass to the Thran Kingdom.”

“Hahaha, I guess I should have seen it coming since he’s been hiding behind his mother’s skirts until now. Hahahaha!”

Kireua raised an eyebrow.

Hamel quickly approached Kireua. “Don’t let them get into your head!”

The soldiers and knights were watching Kireua with worried eyes. Everyone must have been thinking the same as Hamel. If the rebel army soldiers successfully provoked their commander-in-chief, the morale of the soldiers and knights would totally collapse.

“…I told you before, right? I don’t want to take it anymore.”

“Your Highness!” Hamel shouted.

Before Hamel could stop Kireua, the Prince had jumped down from the ramparts.

“Your Highness!”

Hamel couldn’t believe how easily the rebel army soldiers had gotten into Kireua’s head! The die was already cast and he had failed to stop Kireua. They were out of options. In other words, Hamel had to prepare for the worst scenario.

“Ready the knights to intervene in the duel at any time!” Hamel instructed.

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Argo’s eyes sharpened because he just saw someone dropping down from the fortress’s ramparts. The idea that flashed through his mind was absolutely mad, but it soon turned out to be true.

“I am Kireua Sanders, the Second Prince of the Avalon Empire! I will accept your challenge, Argo rane Suspen!”

“Th-that idiot…” Thrill overwhelmed Argo. “Hahahahahaha!”

He flicked his hand at his soldiers and they slowly stepped backward. Argo was in his best state and could feel the adrenaline rushing through every vein.

Argo eagerly drew his sword. Kireua approached a quietly neighing black horse, which he had presumably prepared in advance, mounted it, and immediately spurred it toward Argo.

Argo smiled crookedly. He could think about Kireua’s motives later. All that mattered right now was that the prince had accepted the challenge. The stronger the impression Argo left on the audience with this duel, the better. If possible, Argo had to end this duel with one strike to prevent anyone from interfering.

Kireua judged that Argo’s soldiers had retreated far enough and sped his horse up. Argo tightened his grip on the reins as well. At this kind of distance, the soldiers in the fortress wouldn’t be able to fire their arrows since they might hit their own commander-in-chief.

Kireua was now a hundred meters away from Argo.

Argo infused his bizarrely purple aura, which was called Ghost Slayer, into his sword. The reason why it gained such a frightening title was that it blazed with fire that could burn away a ghost.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!” Argo roared. His muscles contracted, and his blood pumped powerfully through his veins as mana poured out from his mana hall. Right now, Argo felt like he wouldn\'t lose to anyone on the continent.

He hadn’t been just putting a layer of mana over his sword, either. He made his aura take a definite form, which indicated that Argo was at the level of a great expert.

Kireua was now ten meters away from Argo. If Kireua was this close…

Argo kicked his white horse forward, drawing a quiet neigh in response. He had no intention of dragging out this duel, so he had only one chance of cutting off Kireua’s head and increasing his army’s morale!

Argo’s eyes widened.

Fire suddenly rose up from Kireua’s sword, but it was different from Argo’s because Kireua’s fire was scarlet. On top of that, Kireua’s fire burned brightly in the clear form of a sword. Kireua’s sword was basically overlaid with another sword, meaning one thing.

“…A Master?” Argo’s jaw dropped to the ground.

Those were Argo’s last words in this world.