The Legendary Spearman Returns

Side Story Chapter 166

Side Story Chapter 166

Credos, the fourth strongest demon, was known as the Red-Eyed Demon—and there was a good reason for that title. Cyclopes, the one-eyed creatures, could use their true power when their eye turned red; cyclops called that the awakening state.

At this moment, Credo’s one and only eye turned dark red, but it wasn’t because he’d activated his power—his own blood stained his eye scarlet.

-The spear... that slew... the Demon Spirit...!

Credos raised his head as he fumbled his way onto his feet. His consciousness was fading, and he couldn’t even see clearly anymore; however, he could see a woman standing elegantly with a red spear in her hand. Credos knew the spear’s name very well.

-Lugia...

“It’s ‘Longin’.”

Credo’s eye widened. The Demon Spirit had definitely called the spear Lugia, but the spear’s original owner had given his cherished weapon a very different name long ago: Longin, the spear that pierced a god.

-Don’t... be ridiculous! He’s dead. There is no way he could survive, even with the Demon Spirit gone!

Credos’s energy burst out as his eye turned redder; he activated his power by using every ounce of his vital force. He didn’t care if he died in this battle since he had nowhere else to run anymore. He had pathetically escaped to the Human Realm from the faraway Demon Realm, and he wasn’t going to go through that humiliation again.

-Arrggghhhhhhh!

Credos went berserk, his demonic power overflowing. His eye enhanced his physical abilities by at least three times, but ...

“A monster without intelligence is the easiest opponent to deal with,” Joshua whispered.

A thin line was drawn on Credos'sshoulder.

“And it’s even easier if the demon doesn’t even have an Evil Sin,” Joshua added.

More lines were engraved on Credos’s body. He ended up bleeding so much that it was impossible to see his original skin color.

-I... will kill you!

Despite his grievous wounds, Credos continued to march forward, even as Joshua’s spear continued to rain attacks on him. He believed without a doubt that he would be able to crush a human woman’s body if he could just land a hit.

It turned out that Credo was just deluding himself.

The demon’s body was littered with wounds; they alone would have been enough, but Joshua wasn’t done. When Credos was three steps away, he was subjected to an attack that took him so off guard that his jaw dropped even through the haze of bloodlust.

Joshua’s spear swept neatly through Credos’s neck, leaving behind a brilliant crescent arc that hung in the air as Joshua turned to Perchlin and Tshchary.

The remaining two demons flinched as Credos's headless corpse fell to the ground a beat later.

“I think I said ‘next’... Are you two not going to fight me?” Joshua tilted his head.

Perchlin took a step backward. Credos was stronger than Perchlin, and even he was no match for Joshua. Perchlin wasn’t foolish enough to throw herself into a battle where she had no chance of winning.

-A-Are you really the Shining Darkness?

Joshua nodded. “I was once called that.”

-I offer you my loyalty!

Perchlin quickly went down on her knees and prostrated. Although Joshua’s words alone were not enough to convince her, she had to believe him after seeing what Joshua could do.

Joshua looked at Tshchary.

Seeing Tshchary move his huge scythe, Joshua’s eyes narrowed. It looked to him that Tshchary intended to keep on fighting.

-...I will also swear loyalty.

After hearing Tshchary’s answer, Joshua finally lowered his spear. The top five demons, it seemed, were people he could reason with.

“Now then, shall we have a proper conversation?” Joshua asked.

* * *

The fight in the plains came to an end. The undead that had been wildly lashing out against one another, regardless of friend or foe,now bowed to the same person. The monsters continued to run wild all around them, but the legion of death quickly quelled the monsters. Joshua stood in the center of everything.

“...It feels like it was all for nothing,” Selim murmured.

“What do you mean?”

“After all the trouble we’ve gone through, everything is miraculously sorted out as soon as His Majesty shows up,” Selim explained, drawing a bitter smile from Duke Tremblin.

They were all intimately familiar with the greatness of the Emperor of Avalon, but the skill he had displayed today far surpassed what they were familiar with. The Emperor of Avalon had lured an army of a million soldiers to him, but he looked like he could defeat them on his own.

“You’ll be able to do it, Your Highness,” Tremblin gently told Selim.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Nothing is impossible in this world.”

Selim shook his head. “That’s what I thought, but I now realize that there’s always an exception.”

“Are you disappointed?” Tremblin asked.

Selim shook his head without hesitation. “No, I actually feel encouraged to work harder. I’m truly proud of the fact that he’s my father.”

Tremblin broke into a smile.

The monsters, having returned to their senses, were running north. After the demons who had sworn their loyalty to the Avalon Empire began their work, the tide of the battle quickly turned in Avalon’s favor.

“Your Highness,” Tremblin quietly said. “By any chance, do you want to become His Majesty’s heir?”

Selim looked with wide eyes and saw that Tremblin was serious.

“Duke Tremblin, does that mean...”

“People tend to favor those who are close to them, so the Combat Emperor and Flame Emperor will support His Highness Kireua, although the Flame Emperor is an outsider.”

That was an undeniable fact. Ulabis, the Flame Emperor, represented the Thran Kingdom, but he was also Kireua’s teacher. Therefore, he would try to support Kireua in both public and private, and the rumors that Cain favored Kireua after all the time they had spent together were spreading.

Of course, Selim hadn’t paid much heed because he had been willing to hand over the throne to Kireua—but not anymore. This battle had changed his thoughts completely.

“If you want, I’ll give you my support, Your Highness,” Tremblin offered.

“Y-Your support?”

“Although I’m retired, I’m sure that not many people in the empire can fight neck to neck with me.” Tremblin chuckled gently. Tremblin’s support meant more than that. He was the famous Sword Emperor, so his support drastically increased Selim’s chances of inheriting the throne.

“Most of the nobles want you to be the heir anyway, so my support won’t mean much.”

“No, your support means more than all those other nobles’—but can I ask why you chose me?”

Tremblin looked in a certain direction without saying anything. Selim turned in the same direction and flinched—the Emperor of Avalon was looking after Kireua.

“I think that Avalon will get stronger that way,” Tremblin answered.

“What do you mean...?”

“There was a time when I believed that you were the only true heir—the only person to inherit His Majesty’s talent—but I realized that it’s possible to overcome innate talent, however insurmountable it seems, by sheer effort.”

“...You’re talking about Kireua,” Selim said.

“Indeed.”

“Then I really don’t understand.” Selim frowned slightly.

Tremblin sounded like he was cheering for Kireua, so why was he saying that he was going to support Selim?

“The scale should be balanced if both candidates have similar qualifications, shouldn’t it?” Tremblin smiled. “It would have been different before, but most nobles will change sides to His Highness Kireua since people tend to love dramatic stories.”

Between the story of a person who was born to be a hero and the story of a person with zero talent becoming a hero later in his life, it was obvious which story ordinary people would prefer.

“It seems that he’s about to move again, so I’ll go help His Majesty,” Tremblin said, noting the Emperor of Avalon heading to the castle gates after checking up on Kireua.

Things on the battlefield were sorted out, but the enemy still remained; two of the demons, their biggest problems, had infiltrated Arcadia. Even though the Emperor looked like he had a plan, Tremblin couldn’t just sit back and watch.

“...Duke Tremblin,” Selim said quietly.

Tremblin paused just as he was about to take off after Joshua. “Did you call me, Your Highness?”

“Even if I go after the throne now... wouldn’t I just be causing problems for the queen consorts, especially Her Majesty Charles?”

Tremblin smiled without turning around. This was why he liked the current Imperial Family. It was very common to see royalty killing each other, but Avalon’s Imperial Family thought of each other first, never mind fighting against each other for power.

“Some time ago, the queen consorts said that they would support the new emperor, regardless of which of the two of you inherits the throne,” Tremblin reminded Selim.

“They must have said that for the sake of the Imperial Family’s future.”

“No, they meant every word they said. All of them that I know truly consider both of you their own children.” Tremblin turned to look Selim in the eyes. “Do not doubt their sincerity.”

“But...”

“With all due respect, I think that you’re dishonoring their sincerity by saying that.”

Selim clenched his fists. Yes, he shouldn’t doubt their sincerity—as their son, that would be the worst thing that he could do. If he decided to do it, then all he had to do was try his best and take the throne.

“...Thank you for your support, Duke Tremblin,” Selim mumbled.

“My pleasure. On that note, shall we use this opportunity to get some bonus points?”

“Bonus points?”

“It looks like His Highness Kireua hasn’t recovered yet, but the two biggest enemies still remain.”

Selim picked up a spear from the ground. “That’s a good idea. I’ll take care of one of them on my own this time, so that His Majesty won’t have to go through the trouble.”

“Then I guess the other one is mine.”

“Do you want to make a bet on who will defeat their demon first?”

Tremblin nodded readily. “That is also a good idea.”

As Selim followed Joshua, shoulder to shoulder with Tremblin, a smile slowly lifted bloomed on his face.