Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 363

Acorella’s descent had multiple implications. It suggested that mages were directly intervening in the war between Vergos and Clifford, which could soon lead to an uncontrollable imbalance in morale. If those with power akin to gods roamed the battlefield, wouldn’t it be obvious where the scales would tip? In a battlefield that seemed destined to rot horribly due to the synthetic monsters, a sense of sacredness began to sprout. It was small but certain, and one could feel its vitality throughout their body.

“Kyaaah!”

“Captain Acorella, be careful!”

“Yeah, don’t be reckless! That thing’s tongue is super long!”

“Wow, to be told not to be reckless by a mutt, I’ve seen it all.”

*Zhiing. Zhiing.*

Acorella’s eyes flashed as she released her mana. Her eyes turned golden. As she was mainly in charge of research in the Magic Department, her mana wasn’t as strong compared to the other division leaders. And above all, her basic physical strength was lacking.

“Haaap!”

But her power to offset that was her mana stone. Just as a swordsman grabs a sword and an archer grabs a bow, she held a dagger embedded with a mana stone and quickly dashed towards the monster.

Tiefe’s mouth split open, and a long tongue flew quickly, aiming for Acorella’s heart.

“If you wag your tongue carelessly, it’ll get cut off!”

*Chwaaaak!*

Acorella completely severed Tiefe’s tongue with her dagger. She had drawn out physical strength with mana, but that was it. The lizard’s tongue was easily cut like paper due to the effect of the mana-sealing stone. The moment the blade entered, it nullified the monster’s regeneration ability and its very existence, reducing it to a mere lump.

Acorella’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the tongue twitching on the ground.

“Ah, it’s killing me!”

“Captain, isn’t it regenerating?”

“Oh, it’s not? Since it’s already dead, I guess it can’t do anything about the regeneration? I’ll see if the skin can be cut too. Pick that up and hold onto it! We’ll use it for experiments.”

“Huh? This? You want me to hold this?”

“You’ll be in trouble if you lose it!”

Acorella shouted that and then lowered her body and rushed towards Bergmann’s belly. But before that, Berik flew in and kicked the guy’s belly. The heavy weight was pushed back and tumbled.

“This guy, needlessly interfering!”

“Give me some of that too. I want to slice it too.”

“No, you idiot. Wait until the supplies come.”

“Aaaah, hurry! I know where the core is. I’ll cut it open quickly and accurately.”

“I said no, get lost!”

While Acorella and Berik were bickering, the synthetic monster hesitated and stood up. A thick, unpleasant liquid dripped from the severed end of the tongue. It would be like blood for a human, but since it was a rotten corpse, the mucus itself was truly bizarre.

Acorella scratched her nose and handed the dagger to Berik.

“No, our mutt should go.”

“You just don’t want to get your hands dirty, do you?”

“Isn’t that more efficient? Go! Ah, handle it as cleanly as possible. I want to take that and try a few things.”

“Yes, yes. I’m going. I’m amazing at cutting meat, you know.”

‘That’s ridiculous. Since when did he cut meat to make such a claim?’

Acorella dusted off her collar and looked around, making eye contact with the Vergos soldiers surrounding them with spears. They couldn’t hide their tense and fearful faces, because they knew that if someone like Berik, who had broken through the synthetic monsters, was there, they would be no match. Who would want to throw themselves against a wall? Even if they did, they would want to be the last in line to create a small ripple.

The soldiers moved together, maintaining a constant distance while surrounding Acorella.

“Ahahaha! Is that a threat? It looks like you’re escorting me.”

“M-M-Mage, get out of here! You’re not a Clifford person!”

“That’s right. This is a war between Vergos and Clifford, so why is a B, B, Bariel mage interfering?”

The non-commissioned officers standing behind the soldiers threw out a word each. If they couldn’t suppress them with force, the best thing to do was to persuade them to leave.

Acorella’s golden eyes flashed as she tilted her head.

“Funny. Then why did you guys bring in even the minorities?”

* * *

Mey closed her eyes tightly. Soon, an enemy’s blade would cut her neck and take her breath away. It is said that when you are about to die, memories of the past flash by. The day Noah first cried and confessed his curse, the moment she hugged him, and the big and small events that happened in the palace flashed like phantoms.

*Kwaang!*

But soon, she realized that there was nothing wrong with her body. When she cautiously raised her head, she saw that the synthetic monster was strangely twisted and shaking back and forth. The soldiers were surprised by the sudden anomaly and retreated, and soon Mey crawled towards the corpse of her dead comrade. Amidst the commotion, she was trying to take advantage of the fact that it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe as complete darkness fell.

‘Why is it like that?’

It was an opportunity for Mey, but she couldn’t figure out the reason. How could things that had been moving so well, as if they were alive, be shaking like they were going berserk?

*Zhiing. Zhiing.*

“It’s a mage! A mage has come all the way here!”

“What do we do? Captain!”

“T-Take out the bows! Maintain formation and don’t scatter! We will shoot arrows at the same time. Keep in mind that it’s the sky, and shoot without any gaps! Aim high!”

It was known that a mage had invaded the rear, and the surroundings became chaotic. Strictly speaking, Ian was just flying in the sky to observe the overall situation.

“Ian, sir. It seems like arrows are about to be shot.”

“Okay.”

*Kkwaaak!*

*Peeng! Ping!*

The soldiers pulled their bowstrings with all their might and aimed at Ian’s vicinity. Rather than hitting him at once, it was a response that felt more like pushing him away or checking him with sheer numbers.

*Zhiing. Zhiing.*

“Ian, sir!”

As the arrows swarmed, Ian lightly gestured and created a shield. With just a single gesture. While a typical mage would write out the formulas on the ground and calculate to set up a barrier, Ian simply created one in the air as if he were swatting a fly.

*Tiing! Ting!*

Arrows with Idgal tips [a type of arrow tip] rained down like rain. The more they did, the more cracks appeared in Ian’s shield, and then Ian quickly created a new shield again.

“A-Are you alright? Ian, sir?”

“It would be troublesome if I were hit by a stray arrow.”

It was a nod to retreat now that he had seen the overall picture. The moment the mage nodded.

*Shwiik!*

The synthetic monster’s tongue broke through the arrows and flew quickly towards Ian. The surprised mage detonated a mana sphere to stop it, but it continued to rise without hesitation.

“Ian, sir. It’s dangerous. Go towards where Berik and Captain Acorella are.”

“Wait.”

The mage urged him, but Ian didn’t move, his expression somehow only frowning. Even though the arrows kept flying and shaking his shield.

‘What is it?’

The movement only seemed to pretend to attack, but there was no will. He slowly looked down, and soon met a suspicious person. Among those who were running around with weapons, someone was standing still with their hand raised. A necklace was wrapped around his hand, and a red jewel dangled from his wrist.

“Ian, sir?”

“Ah, this.”

“Ian, sir!”

*Zhiing! Zhiing!*

Ian descended towards the person with their hand outstretched. The closer he got, the greater the threat of arrows became, but he didn’t seem to care. Protected by the constantly created and broken shields, he quickly approached the person with the jewel.

“The mage is getting closer! It’s an opportunity!”

“Don’t miss it!”

“Captain. It seems the mage has recognized the necromancer!”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know either, but-”

“Protect the necromancer!”

The officers mistakenly thought that Ian was trying to kill the necromancer. That was because if he died, the synthetic monsters would be nothing more than rotten husks. With the new order, the soldiers surrounded the necromancer and then fell over, blocking him with their bodies. Through that gap, the necromancer’s hand was still showing the jewel.

“What are you doing, hide below!”

“Hide your body!”

But he was steadfast. Even if his vision was blocked as he fell, his will to show the jewel was firm.

Ian, who had come within a few meters. Now, not only archers but also infantrymen with swords and spears were attacking Ian. The mage kept fending them off as if he were escorting him, but there was a limit to mana.

“Ian, sir! Come up-”

*Zhiing. Zhiing.*

*Kwaaang! Kwang!*

「Hoirok(回祿)」[Hoirok is a term referring to a fire god or a large fire].

In an instant, a huge flame soared from Ian’s back. It soon became the shape of a huge woman, twisting her whole body as if stretching. Unlike the hot flames, nothing was burning. It was just the fear of humans, who felt like they would be burned by the heat, that made them instinctively retreat.

The flame-shaped human swirled around Ian as if it were in harmony with the wind, creating space around him.

“Uwaaaak!”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“It’s fire! Fire!”

Was it some kind of mental breakdown? Some soldiers grabbed their own hands and rolled around, while others threw dirt to save them. The illusionary flames blazed with the wind. The mage was dumbfounded, staring blankly at Ian’s back.

What had he just seen? The shield was one thing, but how could he activate and control such high-level magic in an instant? It was said that the archmage who had taken the mage’s oath was at that level, but was Ian really walking the same timeline as him?

*Taat!*

Ian grabbed the man’s wrist as if snatching a jewel from the air. The soldiers tried to stop him by clinging to him, but how could they stop someone who floated up as if there was no gravity?

Ian checked the jewel up close and then declared loudly.

“I have taken the necromancer as a prisoner. If you want negotiations, stop fighting immediately and enter a state of truce. Otherwise, I will find all the remaining necromancers and kill them.”

A synthetic monster began to stomp towards the direction where Ian disappeared. But soon, it seemed that the distance was too far, and it stood blankly, sitting still like a dog that had lost its owner. Even when the soldiers tried to push it, it didn’t budge and just stopped. It had truly returned to being dead.

*Shwiik.*

“Ian, sir! I-Is that a necromancer? Why did you bring him? You should have killed him right away!”

The mage followed Ian, shouting, but Ian only lowered his head and made eye contact with the man.

A distinctive feature of the Astanans, with blue hair. And-

“Hasha, you’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”

The one who had forged and possessed the brooch of the Bratz family.

“It’s been a while, Ian.”

Hasha. As a successor of a minority group, there must be a special reason for him to participate in Vergos. Hasha realized that Ian’s actions were to prevent him from getting into trouble.

“I’m always receiving help.”

“Don’t worry. I’m getting the hang of receiving it now.”

Vergos’s inner workings that Clifford and Bariel didn’t know, and the reason why even the minorities were mobilized. Ian had no doubt that Hasha would tell him everything.