Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 250

250.

I stared at my father, eyes wide.

It felt like just yesterday I was seeing him lying in the imperial palace’s bedroom.

His condition was terrible then, on the verge of death.

And now, just a few days later, I was meeting him not in the palace, but here in the Kingdom Alliance.

My father was personally encouraging the knights.

The knights, entrusted with an important mission, were overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the Emperor.

The rumor of my father teetering on the brink of death had already spread throughout the Empire, so the knights knew about it. Yet, here he was, encouraging them in good health.

They looked as if they were dreaming.

I wasn’t much different.

I carefully followed behind my father as he looked around and encouraged the knights, with the Shadow Squad guarding him.

After finishing his encouragement, my father gave me a look.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

My father’s voice sounded alright.

The soldiers’ morale seemed to be soaring.

I had believed I was playing a significant role in my father’s stead.

I even summoned the Spirit King, thinking I had instilled the idea that the Empire could manage even without my father.

But seeing my father appear in person, I realized my thoughts were nothing more than wishful thinking.

I thought I was leading the soldiers well and boosting their morale, but the difference between my efforts and my father’s presence was vast.

His mere appearance filled the soldiers with a readiness to throw their lives away and an overwhelming confidence that they could win the war.

‘Indeed, Ron Carl Leord.’

The image of the absolute ruler, built up since the founding of the Empire, was not easily erased.

Olivia, my father, and I entered my tent.

“I stopped by Grenian and briefly visited the main force as well,” my father said as he sat down.

I replied briefly, “Yes.”

Olivia and I also took our seats.

Without delay, I asked, “Are you alright, Father?”

My father nodded.

“I’m not in a condition to jump into battle right away, but I’m not bad.”

Hearing his condition from his own mouth was reassuring.

“I’ve heard roughly what happened while I was incapacitated. You’ve worked hard.”

“I didn’t do much.”

My father smiled at my modesty.

I never quite got used to my father’s smile.

Perhaps it was because his cold image was so strongly imprinted in my memory.

My father said in a gentle voice, “Thanks to you, the Empire didn’t collapse and managed to hold on. And now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the Empire and the continent is in your hands.”

“Your Majesty.”

I narrowed my eyes, seemingly taken aback.

“I was defeated by Karen.”

Not only me but even Olivia’s expression hardened.

We knew he had been defeated and collapsed by Karen, but hearing my father admit defeat was shocking.

“Your Majesty.”

“I also know that you summoned the Spirit King. I have faced countless strong individuals since founding Calpheon, and even after its founding.”

My father continued calmly.

“All of them knelt before my sword. Unless it was a large-scale battle, there was no need to use magic or spiritism. I made all the strong kneel with just a sword.”

Why else would his achievements be considered mythical?

His legendary feats were so incredible that they were hard to put into words.

And that streak was broken for the first time.

By a single youth.

“Even with all the swordsmanship, magic, and spiritism I knew, I couldn’t defeat that youth. That youth’s swordsmanship blocked all my abilities.”

Olivia stepped forward.

“But when Your Majesty faced him in the Kingdom Alliance…”

“Olivia, you’re right. Back then, that youth was just a fledgling who had barely reached Sword Master. But since then, that youth has grown at an incomprehensible rate.”

My father turned his gaze to me.

“Arun, just like you.”

I couldn’t say anything.

Karen must have been able to grow so quickly in such a short time thanks to the ‘System’.

But it was difficult to explain the existence of the System in this situation.

It was easier to admit that Karen’s ability to grow so incredibly fast was due to his talent.

“I can’t keep up with that youth’s growth rate. I’ve just barely grasped the concept of Grand Sword Master, but that’s not enough to beat him.”

My father’s gaze towards me intensified.

“But you are different, Arun.”

I couldn’t say anything.

“Your growth rate is even faster than that youth’s. And now you’ve even summoned the Spirit King.”

My father turned his gaze to the Shadow Squad.

The leader of the Shadow Squad approached and placed a box on the table.

“What is this?”

“It’s one of the treasures passed down from our family a long time ago.”

“Family…?”

“My family that I lived in before I founded the Empire. I never needed to use it, but you will need it now.”

My father smiled deeply.

“You can summon the Spirit King, but you can’t maintain it for long due to a lack of mana [magical energy], can you?”

My father was, as expected, perceptive.

He accurately pointed out my condition.

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“It’s one of the treasures that amplifies mana. Take your time to absorb it after this operation is over.”

I pulled the box closer.

‘It looks like a spirit orb?’

From the start, this continent had fantasy, martial arts, and various other settings.

Why wouldn’t there be a spirit beast’s inner core?

Looking at the radiant spirit orb, I asked, “This is…”

“It’s a spirit orb passed down through our family. The amount of mana wasn’t important to me.”

“Shouldn’t Your Majesty absorb it to recover your health…?”

My father shook his head.

“This is your share. It comes from our family, but Iriel found it.”

“Ah!”

* * *

No undead attacked during the night.

My father returned to the imperial palace again at dawn.

As soon as it was light, I was leading the knights and charging once more.

Even amidst that, I was talking with Olivia.

“If the White family goes to the west, it will alleviate a lot of worries.”

“Yes. Your father is different from Duke Austin.”

“Duke Austin shouldn’t have any other ideas. Knowing His Majesty’s condition, he might raise a rebellion to cover up his defeat.”

Olivia was also concerned about that point.

“If His Majesty’s condition were normal, Duke Austin wouldn’t dare to rebel, but…”

“Duke James will resolve that issue before going to the west.”

Yesterday, my father said he would entrust the west to Duke James.

He instructed me to focus solely on destroying the Kingdom Alliance.

He added that the Empire had enough power to defend the south and west, so I shouldn’t worry too much.

Following my father’s advice, I focused only on the task at hand.

Destroying one altar as quickly as possible.

Dudududu-!

The ground shook as ten thousand knights charged.

That’s when it happened.

The spirits whispered.

-Undead!

-Undead!

I immediately shouted at the voices of the wind spirits, “All troops, prepare for attack!”

The knights, without any doubt, followed my command to attack an invisible enemy.

Soon, the undead covered the front in darkness, and I narrowed my eyes, shouting once more, “Trample them all! Show them that the master of this continent is not the undead!”

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

The soldiers roared in unison.

Olivia emitted pure white aura, and I summoned all the spirits as I ran.

Soon, the undead and the knights met.

Kwaaaang-!

The warhorses did not fear the undead.

As if the obstacles in front of them were simply to be removed, they fiercely struck the undead’s bodies with their hooves.

Kwang-! Kwang-!

And the soldiers swung their spears relentlessly from horseback.

-There are traps in the ground.

At the words of the earth spirit, I immediately drew out mana.

‘It seems the undead were waiting for us.’

If they even dug traps, it meant there was a necromancer or a human commanding the undead.

The undead’s intelligence couldn’t create something like a ‘trap’.

The earth spirits absorbed my mana at a terrifying rate.

While spreading blades of wind, I said to the earth spirits, “Prevent the traps from activating!”

If the knights’ feet were tied, it would be no different from reducing our forces by half.

I shouted towards Olivia, “Olivia, find the necromancer!”

Sword Masters were much more sensitive to mana than knights, so they could easily find necromancers using black magic.

“There are many! I think there are at least ten of them.”

I took a breath.

‘I have to get most of the ten thousand knights back alive.’

The undead blocking our path outnumbered us.

This wasn’t a simple ambush, but a head-on fight.

If we were held back here or suffered significant damage, we might lose all the soldiers before even reaching the altar.

I immediately summoned ‘Sylphid’.

Gooooooo-!

A whirlwind separated the undead.

The mana hole shook violently.

I bit my lip tightly.

To minimize damage here, it was best to maximize the Spirit King’s summoning time.

I called out to Olivia.

“Olivia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Protect me. Sylphid will finish it.”

Olivia stopped chasing the necromancers and drew out her aura beside me.

The whirlwind grew larger, and the number of undead swept away by it increased even more.

The necromancers seemed to have used some kind of magic, but it was useless against the Spirit King’s wind.

The whirlwind sucked everything in and tore it apart.

And my mana hole soon bottomed out.

I squeezed out my mana hole to maintain the Spirit King for even a little longer.

Kwaaaaang-!

When countless undead had their forms erased by the wind, I finally collapsed.

The Spirit King also returned to the spirit realm.

Olivia supported me as I collapsed.

“Clean up the remaining undead!”

Olivia gave the order in my place, and the knights calmly cleaned up the remaining undead.

There were not even a hundred undead left.

Over ten thousand undead had instantly disappeared shortly after the Spirit King was summoned.

The knights, feeling the power of the Spirit King, were looking at me with awe.

Dududu-!

The ground shook once more.

Olivia’s pupils also shook with the ground.

“Undead… cavalry.”

“Undead cavalry?”

“Yes. The number is…”

Olivia couldn’t finish her sentence.

I bit my lip tightly.

It seemed I had summoned the Spirit King too hastily.

‘There must be no casualties.’

I took out the spirit orb that my father had given me yesterday from my pocket.

“Everyone, stand by!”

I shouted loudly and immediately swallowed the spirit orb.

A tremendously hot energy was engulfing my body.