Chapter 203
Joshua stood deep in the forest near Peril Castle; not a single soul could be found nearby. He was staring at something dark, like a stain, on the ground in front of him.
A few moments later, Joshua started emitting a thick cloud of smoke that gave off an ominous and dangerous vibe.
“Rise.”
At Joshua’s words, the dense demonic power surrounding him gathered to form an individual. The individual in question was a Master and one of the highest authorities in his country. His skills were renowned throughout the world, and the entire continent knew him as the Wild King.
Now, he was a legendary Death Knight and Joshua’s loyal subject.
“Duke Altsma.”
- ...
Glowing red eyes appeared in the hollow eye sockets of the figure, seemingly made of smoke.
- I feel terrible. I feel like I died and was resurrected all over again.
He didn’t have a human body, but he still stretched his head as if he had a neck to strength. The voice of the figure, who was seemingly made of smoke, definitely belonged to Duke Altsma.
At the sight, Joshua remarked, “It seems that you fought hard.”
- ...
Duke Altsma nodded without saying anything.
“Now that you had fought him, how do you find him?”
- He lives up to his title as one of the Twelve. I couldn’t do anything but flee.
“Thank you for going out of your way to save my knight.”
Duke Altsma shook his head.
- There’s no way I could beat him, even if I had fought him head on.
Joshua’s eyes widened slightly. It was a strange thing to say, even if it was true. A Master, especially a Master from the three great powers, usually had the pride of someone who had achieved a divinity of some sort.
- Is it that surprising?
“Honestly, yes…”
- I finally understand why I lost.
“...”
Joshua remained quiet. He understood what defeat meant to knights like Duke Altsma.
‘The legendary death knights are really scary because they can keep growing despite being undead. Their intelligence is retained as well, so they can also receive enlightenment.’
Of course, before enlightenment could occur, a prerequisite had to be met.
The prerequisite was a powerful desire, like water desperate to escape from a dam.
Joshua stared at Duke Altsma and muttered, “Once all this is done, I’m going to let you meet him again.”
- ...!
The crimson eyes within the hollow eye sockets flickered. It was but a flicker that vanished in the proverbial blink of an eye, but there was no way Joshua could have missed Duke Altsma’s burning desire.
***
When he got back to the castle, Joshua pulled something out of his sleeve and laid it on the table with a heavy thump.
“...?” Icarus stared at the table, seemingly confused.
“Master?” Icarus could see that the pouch on the table was filled with money.
“I want you to use this money as effectively as you can.”
“Money?” Icarus opened the pouch, and her eyes quickly became blind from the sheer amount of money inside.
“Wow, just how much is this? Where did this money come from? Don’t tell me that you seduced some rich lady somewhere…?” asked Icarus in disbelief.
There were a plethora of 100-gold pieces and some paper notes as well, which meant Icarus was holding at least a couple thousand gold. There was no way that this amount of money could have come out of nowhere.
“Reinhardt knows how to make money…”
“Reinhardt knows how to make money? Are you perhaps talking about…”
“All forms of gambling are legal in Reinhardt.”
“No way…” Icarus’ beautiful blue eyes widened.
“I gave it a shot.”
“Wait, are you saying that you made a gamble on your own victory?!”
Joshua nodded shamelessly.
“You’ve got a lot of self-confidence, huh?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I can’t really say for sure, which makes it even more silly.” Icarus plucked the sack off the table. “This will help offset our costs nicely. I’ll make sure the budget is done just right.”
Joshua nodded. “This will only happen once, but I don’t really think that I’m gambling here.”
“Wait, are you planning on spending this much money to help the Pontier Family’s war efforts?”
“...?” Joshua revealed a confused look at that.
Fortunately, Icarus quickly explained, “You don’t really have to help them financially. Have you already forgotten that the Pontier Family has enough funds because they’re a merchant family?”
“...”
“This money should be used for the foundations of your own estate. I’m telling you, you should spend lavishly on your estate so that it will look like its own empire!” added Icarus.
“Is it really that important? We should prioritize work more than anything else…”
“No, that’s bad!” Icarus revealed a grim look and frowned before saying, “Master, you’re like a nominal baron! You’re the only noble without an estate in the whole Avalon!”
”Look at us—your people don’t even have their own place to call home! We have to save money for furniture, servants—stuff like that! Surprise, surprise, they cost a lot of money! Everything costs money! If you insist on using this money as war funds, then give me an itemized list, and I’ll see if it’s going to be worth it.”
“I really can’t hide anything from you…”
“What was that?” Icarus stared him dead in the eyes.
“Nothing… For some reason, I just feel like a husband being nagged by my wife.”
Upon hearing that, Icarus stared blankly at Joshua. “...”
“It’s a compliment. It means that you’re really taking your job seriously,” added Joshua.
“It’s not bad,” Icarus replied with a furious blush on her cheeks.
“What?” Joshua asked.
Of course, Icarus was quick to change the subject. “This amount seems like a lot of money, but it will be extremely expensive to manage one’s estate. This will definitely disappear in a flash. I think we would need more than a billion gold for our estate to rival the three great powers,” said Icarus with a smile.
“So?” asked Joshua.
“So from now on, you will have to work harder and make a lot more money for us.”
“...” Joshua stared blankly at Icarus.
“Don’t worry too much about it.” Icarus smiled sweetly and said, “I'll take good care of your money.”
***
Crash!
The antique pottery struck the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces after being smashed by Marquis Crombell into the ground.
“Again. Say that again.”
Flinch!
The knight flinched. He knew that he had to answer, but his answer would definitely make Marquis Crombell even angrier. In the end, the knight gulped a mouthful of his own saliva and started talking.
“Casualties are more than 1,500. Prisoners of war are estimated to be at least three thousand. About 471 troops returned safely, while the remainder is missing. Sir Wright and Young Master Gehog are—”
“Damn it all…!” Marquis Crombell cursed and grabbed another piece of furniture.
Crash!
A window was shattered as Marquis Crombell sent a piece of furniture flying toward it. Biting his lips until they bled, Marquis Crombell turned to look at the knight once more and asked, “The Mercenary King… where is he?”
“I’m here.”
The Mercenary King walked in through the open door as if he had been waiting.
“You look awful.”
“You think I care about that?”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that…”
Flinch!
Marquis Crombell was instantly silenced.
“This is your son’s fault. He got blinded by his greed and made the same mistakes countless greedy people have made before him.”
“...” Marquis Crombell shut his eyes without saying anything.
The Mercenary King let out a small sigh and said, “Joshua Sanders… he’s pretty impressive, but I didn’t think you’d lose this bad.”
“Joshua Sanders…!” Marquis Crombell said through gritted teeth.
“Give me the command over this territorial war.”
“What?”
“There are two thousand mercenaries waiting outside, and people all over the continent already know that I’m with the dimwitted Marquis Crombell. This is going to ruin my career, and it’s going to be near impossible to get jobs in the future…”
“In other words, you can say that I’m putting my life on the line for this job, so I want you to give me the command over this territorial war.”
Marquis Crombell didn't say anything in response.
However, the Mercenary King’s words made sense. He had to admit, but the question was whether he was willing to give an outsider control over a large army composed of seven thousand soldiers and a few thousand mercenaries.
“Do you really have to take command?” asked Marquis Crombell with his head low.
The Mercenary King replied, “I don’t really care about your son, but I’m sure that you care about him a lot. That is why you have to give me the command over the army. I am pretty sure that you don’t have the brains to negotiate properly, am I right?”
“In that case, give me the command, and I’ll negotiate with them in your stead. I understand that it’s a difficult decision to make, but—”
“He doesn’t matter.” Marquis Crombell interrupted.
“...?” The Mercenary King stared in confusion at Marquis Crombell, especially when he saw the incredibly cold light in the latter’s eyes.
“There is no way that I will let a blind and greedy individual lead my family..”
“What are you…” muttered the Mercenary King with wide eyes.
“I know you have bountiful experience when it comes to battles because you managed to become a well-renowned mercenary, even though we are currently in peaceful times. In that case, I will give you complete control over my territory, including my son.”
For a moment, the Mercenary King was dumbfounded.
The latter part of Marquis Crombell’s sentence was really important because it meant that Marquis Crombell’s son would no longer have anything to do with the family once the Mercenary King was done dealing with the Pontier Family.
In other words, Gehog had basically become a spoil of war for the Mercenary King.
Marquis Crombell’s ruthlessness was terrifying yet puzzling.
“All right…” The Mercenary King revealed a sour smile.
“However, we must win this war,” Marquis Crombell insisted. “I want Joshua Sanders’ head, so I can hang his head from the gates of my estate.”
“As you wish.” The Mercenary King smirked. “Tell them.”
The knight who came in to report lifted his head in confusion.
“Victory is always the sweetest when they’re drunk on it. I want to let you know that I’ll drag them down to the abyss with my own hands. I will let them taste the deepest depths of despair,” said the Mercenary King with a fierce killing intent.
Of course, his words were also directed at the brat who had no idea about the immensity of heaven and earth.
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