Kireua Sanders truly embodied Joshua Sanders right now. He spoke without hesitation, got the job done using any means necessary, and slayed everyone in his way.
“Everyone, draw up your aura! The Emperor has no intention of sparing us!” Viscount Mendes yelled at the top of his lungs.
There were still over four hundred of the rebel knights left, and their combined auras made the air rumble. Luckily, no of them seemed to possess an authority. Marquess Suspen, with the authority of the White Tiger, was the only one who had gone through the awakening process in the southern rebel army. Of course, these knights were still competent enough to use mana and aura.
“Don’t move. Whoever makes the first move will have to deal with my spear,” Selim quietly warned them.
The rebel knights froze stiff.
“What are you all doing?!” Mendes berated them. “Do you all have a death wish or something?!”
Selim tilted his head. “I swore on my mana that I’ll spare anyone who surrenders.”
“What the hell! First Prince, can’t you see what your father is doing?! He says he’s going to kill us all!”
“If that is His Majesty’s decision, then you should all die,” Selim coldly replied.
“What...?”
“But the Emperor I know is much more merciful than you think.” Selim glanced at Kireua reproachfully.
‘He’s giving me the eye,’ Kireua scoffed.
-Hehehe, Kireua is getting scolded~!
‘What do you mean I’m getting scolded? He’s no one,’ Kireua grumbled.
-Nope. He’s strong.
‘What do you know about humans?’ Kireua asked sarcastically.
-I’m talking about the one hiding inside his shell, not Selim.
“What...?” Kireua gasped aloud, forgetting the fact that he was talking to Coal. Hiding inside Selim’s shell? Did that mean that Selim had an authority? The thought gave Kireua goosebumps. Selim was already monstrously strong, so if he had the power of a god...
“I don’t believe you! Besides, his voice sounds quite young... Is he really His Majesty?” Mendes asked distrustingly.
That was when Kireua broke away from his thoughts.
“You still want to test me,” he coldly accused.
“This is a reasonable doubt, not a test!”
“Then verify it yourself, Viscount Mendes.”
“What...?”
Kireua immediately took a step forward.
“Stop sacrificing your innocent men and come forward. They might be your men, but they’re also my citizens.” Kireua’s voice grew louder. “I finally returned. Is this your plan to make me a bad emperor? You’re trying to make me a mad tyrant who murders his own citizens as soon as he returns.”
“You d-did that voluntarily just now.”Gét latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om
“You know that once an incident takes place, someone needs to take responsibility,” Kireua firmly answered.
“Mmmm...” Mendes grunted.
“What would happen if I forgave everyone here and held no one accountable? What would the other rebels think?”
“That’s...”
“Imperial law should be applied to all people since everyone is equal before the law. If a ruler pardons people just because they’re high-ranking nobles, then he’s disgracing himself and betraying the trust of his people.” Kireua’s eyes gleamed. “Will you take the responsibility for this uprising, Viscount Mendes? After Marquess Suspen’s death, I forgave everyone here, regardless of what’s happened, because they are all my people.”
A young knight in his early twenties trembled, overwhelmed by his emotions. Ever since they had been born, Avalon’s knights heard stories about Joshua Sanders, the man renowned throughout the continent as the Martial God. They could recite the glorious tales of Joshua’s path even in their sleep, so they instinctively knew that they wouldn’t be able to defeat him even if they all attacked him at the same time.
No, if the man standing in front of them was really the ruler of the Avalon Empire, all the knights wanted to kneel and shout celebrations of his return. They had genuinely missed him and had been waiting for him to come back.
“I do not plan on blaming people for their leaders’ faults, so don’t test my patience any further. I worry about the peace of the Empire as much as I think about my people. Too many innocent people have lost their lives.”
“You shouldn’t have killed Count Manto and Viscount Mendes that easily. The rebels could have become too agitated and attempted to fight until the end. ”
“But did they do it?” Kireua sarcastically asked.
“You—”
Kireua frowned. “Cut that out. You’re supposed to be more cold-blooded than me, so why are you being a big softie about such weird things?”
“I’m not being a softie—”
“Do you really think those traitors will never betray the Empire again? They already did it once. Besides, didn’t you hear me earlier? What would have happened if I spared their leaders?”
Selim was silent.
“The other rebel armies will think we’re suckers. That’s why everything happened in the first place, you musclehead,” Kireua grumbled.
“...I can deal with them.”
“Ah~ right! You sure as hell are one of His Majesty’s sons,” Kireua said in a sing-songy voice.
“Don’t be sarcastic. Killing isn’t always the answer. If the Heaven’s Mind had been here, she would have used them to stabilize the south quicker.”
“How?” Kireua asked.
“You could have shattered their mana halls and shown them mercy as a member of the Imperial Family. The other rebels will never surrender now.”
“Didn’t you say you can deal with them?”
“You said that the greatest victory is winning without fighting,” Selim reminded him.
“...Tsk.”
Of course, there might have been a solution other than executing them, but Kireua didn’t regret it. Even if he had gone back in time, he would have done the same. The rebels he had killed had been tormenting his mother for over a decade.
Selim shook his head. “...They’re wrapping up now. Anyhow, I’ll head to the east now.”
“Are you going to be okay? Going up against the Azure Dragon won’t be easy.”
“The Four Guardians were originally the gods’ pets,” Selim remarked.
“That’s very random.”
“I’m a god’s son—the Martial God’s son.” Selim smiled faintly.
Kireua chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Come to think of it...”
Selim tilted his head curiously.
Kireua looked at him and considered asking him if he had really manifested an authority, but in the end he couldn’t bring himself to raise the question.
‘Forget it. It hurts my pride as a man.’
“Nothing,” Kireua finally said, opting against it. “I’ll head to the west.”
Selim’s expression changed subtly.
“Kireua.”
“What.”
“No matter what the nobles in the capital say, they believe they don’t have to rush to decide the crown prince because everyone is already doing a good job.”
“...I didn’t plan on getting swayed by their opinions in the first place,” Kireua grumbled.
“So let’s decide who is going to be the crown prince based on the accomplishments we make in the east and west.”
Kireua turned his head to look at Selim. “...Are you sure about this?”
Selim smiled, baring. “I’m Selim Sanders, Joshua Sanders’s first son.”
1. The raw was twenty years ago, but Joshua disappeared about a decade ago. ☜