Icarus was hard at work, with only the dim moonlight for illumination. A knock came at the door, dragging the tacticians attention away.

Come in, please.

Miss.

Icarus frowned at Cain. You can stop calling me miss, now.

I have a question.

Im going to kick you out again if its something weird like looking inside my clothes!

Wh-What do you take me for? Cain smiled and scratched his head awkwardly. Master Joshua told you that he wants to rule the world?

Icarus paused.

He did.

And you said that theres only one way for him to become the Emperor without having Britten blood in his veins.

Hmm. Yes.

My guess is political marriage? I sat down and thought long and hard about it, and thats the best answer I could come up with. With no Britten blood, someone who did have that blood would do But if he marries the Princess, everything will go sideways. The Brittens have four children, and the mad Emperor doesnt seem interested in handing the throne to any of them.1

I dont know about that, but blood ties arent that easy to ignore. After all, blood is thicker than water.

You think the crazy Emperor thinks about it that way?

Icarus shrugged lightly. No one knows whats going on in other peoples heads. More importantly, youre speaking rather disrespectfully of His Majesty the Emperor.

Only one man rules over me, Cain immediately proclaimed.

Icarus shivered. It must be nice having a servant like this.

Come clean, Cain said. You said the Britten name isnt needed. He locked eyes with Icarus. Are you planning a rebellion?

If it fails, people will call it a revolt or a coup. If it works, its a revolution for the history books.

This is crazy. Cain slumped and ran his fingers through his hair. He wasnt surprised at all. Seriously, whats wrong with our master? Did the fame push the brains out of his head when he became a Master? You dont think Im being too greedy, right? An A-Class Knight like me should at least be able to get married?

Icarus sighed. This man always managed to make things involve his marriage.

The name of the Imperial family never changed in the entirety of the Avalon Empires history, has it? The Brittens basically built the Empire from the ground up.

It would be easier to create a new country, Cain mused. You could walk into any library, and any couple of books you looked at would tell you how many people bled that day. Im sure you knew that already.

Our master knows that too.

Cain shut his mouth.

Nothing our master does has ever been normal. Telling lies, doing things we cant imagine?

That just makes it more ridiculous, Cain pouted. Why take the hard path when he could take the easy one? A normal person would at least give his subordinates that much thought!

Icarus grinned. I dont know what else to say, but it is pretty dumb.

What, are we getting along now? Cain flashed her a crooked smile. I hope we get along just as well in the future. Hopefully, youll save me if Im ever in a pinch!

You think I have the power to save you?

Icarus started to shove Cain away when bells began clanging outside. Their eyes widened.

Emergency! The enemy snuck up on us!

The two shoved past each other to get out of the door first.

Get the hot oil ready!

Boil water if you run out of oil!

The enemy will be here within the hour! Hurry!

The walls were already a hive of activity by the time Icarus and Cain got there. Peril Castle didnt get much sunlightthe nights were dark and came early. Cain and Icarus were gratified to find, therefore, that the troops were wide awake and the preparations were proceeding in good order.

Master? Cain spotted a familiar figure. When did you get here?

Cain.

Yes?

Get Gehog don Crombell out of the prison right now.

Joshua just stared at the rising moon. His voice was low and cold, and his face was terribly expressionless.

After a moment of trepidation, Cain bowed his head. I hear and obey. He pushed aside his thoughts and hurried away.

Master! Icarus stepped toward Joshua.

Joshua examined Icarus.

The table is set for negotiations, but it looks like the other side isnt too interested in what we have to offer.

Haha. Thats no surprise. Many nobles put their household ahead of their own children, Icarus remarked. Well have to monitor the battle carefully, in that case. Isnt that right, master?

Master feels good to hear right now.

Oh, well Icaruss face turned pale, though Joshua couldnt see it.

If you insist on fighting to protect everyone, you may survive, but you wont win the war.

You mean! Icaruss voice rose. Never! It was the same back then, but this is much bigger!

It may be worth a shot.

Icarus gave him a confused look.

Even if we pull off a surprise attack and shock their main force, it wont break their morale. Instead, theyll try to prepare by feeling out our weak spotsbut a head-on clash would be a different story.

First of all, a head-on battle is only possible if we can bring the same force to bear, Icarus strongly refuted. You know everyone has a trick up their sleeves when it comes to these things. If youre confident you can win, thats the mentality you need to have!2

Joshua smirked. So youre doing it, right?

What?

Thats why Im here.

Dont be stubborn!

Can you see those soldiers over there? The ones carrying stones?

Icarus paused. Their expressions.

If you try to bottle up your fears, theyre bound to leak somewherethats what you see on their faces right now.

Just as he said, Icarus could see a hint of worry on the soldiers faces.

Theyre standing at the edge of a cliff, one foot already in the air. One defeat is all it takes for them to lose their family and everything theyve built. Nominally, Imperial law says they cant directly harm the people of the territory, but theyll feel it anyway. You can tell just by looking at what happened to the old Rebrecca territory. Theyll be slaves for life if they lose.

Sparks began to appear on the horizon. Marquis Crombell was here, and he wasnt being subtle about it. The thundering footsteps of his legion shook the castle to its foundationsThey were getting closer, their shouts rolling across the ground before them.

If the walls fell, the enemy would be right on top of them.

Wars are decided by the first battle.

Sir Cain! Icarus spun around with a bright smile. Cain stood there holding Gehogs limp body.

Master, please reconsider this.

Hm.

Master, please

Joshua jumped off the wall before Cain could finish his sentence.

The Pontier soldiers erupted into whispers.

IWhats that?

Was that Sir Cain again?

No One of the soldiers peered into the dark. No, thats Baron Sanders!

The soldiers worried expressions changed slightly. Their dark faces were still there but tinged with a hint of anticipation. Most of them had seen Joshua fight before; a lot of them had even seen him fight more than once.

Master! Cain scowled and looked ready to jump off the wall too.

[One Class higher, and youll get something even stronger than an Aura Blade.]

Cain heard an electric whisper in his ears, and his eyes widened.

Power?

[So, just watch carefully.]

Joshua cut the transmission with a smile.

Why did people call him the Unrivaled Spear Knight34 in his past life?

He led a hundred thousand battles, and each one ended with glory.5

This was the beginning of a story. A long story about a great hero forced to fend off hundreds or even thousands of enemies.

For a moment, the air around Joshua shook as if the fabric of reality was being torn apart. Huge amounts of power rose from within his body, rising on five-colored wisps of smoke.

Force Aura.

Joshua slowly advanced on the enemy with tranquil eyes.