Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 364

Booo- Booo-

Left and right. The retreat horns sounded simultaneously.

The Vergos side judged that the situation was unfavorable due to the exposure of the necromancer’s identity and the intervention of the mages. On the Clifford side, they had confirmed the safe return of Prince Noah, so the signal was to return to the barrier and strengthen their defenses.

Soldiers who had been thrusting swords into each other’s chests and backs paused for a moment, gasping for breath. Even as they retreated to their respective camps, they watched each other until the very end, stepping backward.

Numerous corpses lay at their feet. Their five senses were not functioning well enough to feel relieved that they were alive. The smell of corpses and blood, the sound of horns, the bitter taste of dirt and dust. And above all, the throbbing pain of wounds they had not yet fully registered.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Usually, the side that had lost momentum would retreat, and the other side would pursue them. Completely crushing the fleeing enemy to secure victory was the only way to end a war.

“Haa, haa…”

“Let’s go back! Go back!”

“Help, help me!”

“Ugh… I, I too…”

“Help the wounded! Check on the survivors!”

It was strange. They had been trying to kill each other at the sound of the horns, but now, at the sound of another signal, they were back-to-back, sorting out the wounded from each side.

What could be more contradictory than the sight of them returning to their camps, none of them unscathed? Fortunately, the twilight had completely fallen, and even that sight was swallowed by the darkness.

Shwiik!

“Hey, let go of me, there’s still one left!”

“Really let you go? Here?”

“Be honest, you want to drop me and kill me, don’t you?”

“You’re the one who told me to let you go, Beric.”

The mages, following Ian’s orders, grabbed Beric and dragged him to the barrier.

The same went for Acorella and her subordinates. The barrier gate was wide open, and they flew along the path where the soldiers were returning. Soon, everyone was able to gather above the barrier, in the tactical room.

“The smell! It’s insane!”

“This is a piece of a monster. Don’t you want to know the limits of the mana sealing stone? How far the monster’s stats remain in the corpse, and if we classify and distinguish the various mana stones that react to it, in the future-”

Acorella gave a long speech while holding Tiefe’s severed tongue, but everyone just frowned, holding their noses.

But what could they do? There was no mage who could easily stand up to the captain, especially Captain Acorella.

‘When is Ian going to arrive?’

They could only hope that Ian would arrive quickly.

Perhaps their wish had been heard. Ian entered the Clifford barrier with a blue-haired man. Everyone flinched. Wasn’t that a Vergos soldier’s uniform? The surprised guards pointed their swords, but Ian waved them away.

“That’s enough. This one is my prisoner.”

“P-Prisoner, you say. How can he be Bariel’s prisoner in the Vergos and Clifford war? W-Who is he? He doesn’t seem to be an officer…”

The guard trailed off, glancing at the mages. But even the mages seemed to have no idea who Ian had brought. Beric approached the man and sniffed.

“He smells rotten.”

“Beric, you haven’t changed.”

“You, you know me?”

Blue hair and slightly pointed ears. Beric put his fingers to his temples, trying to recall the familiar face. When Hasha silently mimicked a dog, saying ‘Woof,’ Beric frowned.

“Don’t act cute. I still feel sick.”

“…I am Hasha.”

“…Hasha?”

“Yes. Hasha.”

“…Hasha!”

Where had he seen him? It was the Astanan appearance! He suddenly remembered seeing a picture of Hasha with his grandmother. Beric was so surprised that he gaped and spun Hasha around.

“What, how did you become a human?”

“I was originally a human.”

“No, you were a dog. A fluffy, white dog.”

“Ahem, Ian, sir?”

As the incomprehensible conversation went on, the mages subtly raised their hands. They were signaling that they wanted to join the conversation.

The Clifford officers were the same. Suddenly, a prisoner had been brought in, and they seemed to know him, so they couldn’t gauge how the situation was unfolding.

It was then.

“The prince has returned!”

The news that Prince Noah had returned alive. Everyone turned their heads at the same time, and Ian smiled as if it was a good thing.

“Now that the prince has arrived, it would be good for us all to gather and talk. Everyone, please come inside.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Continue to strengthen the defenses, and report immediately if any enemy movement is detected.”

“Let’s go in, let’s go.”

“Acorella.”

“Yes?”

Ian stopped Acorella, who was about to enter the tactical room, with an elegant gesture. And he smiled, looking at Tiefe’s severed tongue. It was a signal to get rid of that thing.

Acorella shrugged and handed the corpse piece to her subordinate, then casually wiped the dirt off her hands on Beric’s back and entered.

“Come on, our little puppy, let’s go in.”

“My back? What did you just wipe on me?”

“What are you fussing about when you’ve been rolling around in corpses? It doesn’t even show. Let’s go!”

Ian, the mages, the Clifford army’s staff, officers, and finally Prince Noah, all gathered in one place. The battle had temporarily stopped. The Vergos side would probably be going through something similar.

* * *

“So, this person is the successor of Astan? The acquaintance that Ian met when he went to the capital to receive his title?”

Those who heard about the relationship between Ian, Beric, and Hasha couldn’t help but be amazed.

If there was a wheel of fate, this would be it. A small connection made in Karenna had led to them meeting in the Clifford battlefield, putting their heads together.

‘Former Minister Wesley is a forbidden topic.’

Ian signaled the mages with his eyes. There was no need to officially inform the Clifford side of Bariel’s weakness. Of course, the fact that she had left a curse on Gale as she died had spread throughout Gaia, albeit secretly.

“So, due to some incident, you became a dog, and then you returned to Astan and found your body? My, the world is deeper and wider than I thought.”

The general shook his head, muttering to himself. He knew about monsters and magic, but these were things that were not easily encountered in Clifford. Seeing it with his own eyes made him feel like he was experiencing cognitive dissonance [a state of mental discomfort].

“Rather than finding my body, I found a way to borrow a human body. This body is my cousin’s. He passed away from an illness, and I am temporarily borrowing it.”

“So, will you rot too after some time?”

“…Beric, you really haven’t changed. Yes, I will.”

“But if you keep changing bodies, you can live forever, right? That’s good. You don’t die even if you die.”

When Beric said that, Acorella grabbed his cheek and stretched it. She said that since his thoughts were short, his cheek should at least be long.

“Do you think it’s good not to die?”

“If I don’t die when I fight, I’ll win everything! Aaaah!”

“What will you do if everyone dies and you’re the only one left? Huh? Will you eat all the meat by yourself?”

“Aaaah! It hurts! Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“Even a single drop of water rolls with a perfect structure. Each person’s lifespan is perfectly engraved, so would you be happy if you exceeded it?”

Hasha hurriedly tried to stop Acorella and Beric, and then shouted.

“The lifespan of an Astanan is three times that of a human! It’s long, but I can feel my soul being eroded each time I move bodies, so I probably won’t be able to do it many times.”

“Really? I’m curious. Isn’t there a mana stone in Astan that can offset that?”

“There isn’t. We are necromancers.”

Thump, thump.

The Clifford general carefully tapped the table, telling them to restrain themselves. Noah, who had returned, had been silent since earlier, with a stiff expression.

He had gone out with nearly a thousand soldiers, and only a few had returned, so they could understand his despair as a leader.

“So, ahem. Anyway, the necromancer Hasha from Astan. You joined the Vergos side, but since you have a connection with Sir Ian, can we assume that you will now cooperate with us?”

At the general’s question, Hasha paused for a moment. It was very brief. But Noah, unable to bear the silence, suddenly became enraged and grabbed Hasha by the collar.

“Answer me! Or I will cut you down right now. Do you know how much damage our side has suffered because of the necromancers? Baekgak [a type of synthetic monster]? Did you teach them how to handle Baekgak on the Vergos side? Tell me!”

“Your Highness, please calm down!”

“Oh my, why is he like this! Hasha’s collar is going to get torn again!”

“If you don’t cooperate with Clifford, I will kill you right now, and Astan too-”

“Prince Noah.”

Clack.

Ian put down his teacup. It was a very small gesture and a quiet call, but it was enough to calm the atmosphere in the tactical room.

“Is it because of the May envoy?”

The deaths of May and the elite few. Hasha was the one who directly controlled the synthetic monsters, so it was understandable that he would react like a fire. But Noah needed to realize that it was not a problem that could be solved that way.

“May, haa.”

“We don’t know yet if she’s dead or not.”

“Surrounded by monsters in front and soldiers behind.”

“Consider her alive until you see her corpse. That is the strength that those who have sent their loved ones to war rely on. Your Highness, the situation is different, but that’s the only way.”

Noah released Hasha’s collar and covered his head. He wasn’t crying, nor was he resentful. He was just calmly trying to calm his restless heart, like a storm.

“Didn’t the king say it?”

“…What.”

“That you, Your Highness, are the center of the world. If you think the May envoy is dead, everyone in the world will think so.”

Noah’s eyes widened for a moment, as if surprised.

He had grown up receiving royal education, but he had never heard such words. It was like the mindset of an emperor who ruled over all of Gaia.

Was it because he served the emperor? Was that the difference between an empire and a kingdom? As Noah paused for a moment, Hasha revealed the inside story.

“The King of Vergos proposed to the successors of the northern minority groups. He proposed that if they started a war with Clifford, he would actively support them in the power struggles and succession issues within their tribes.”

The north was literally an era of chaos.

Even within Astan, several tribes were constantly in conflict, and to unite them, more certain and powerful external help was needed. For Hasha, it was a very appropriate proposal that he had no reason to refuse.

“So, you made synthetic monsters and mobilized them here?”

“I swear, I didn’t know Bariel was there, Sir Ian.”

“You should apologize to Clifford right now!”

“Whoa, whoa, everyone calm down. If my head throbs, I’ll feel nauseous again.”

As Noah stood up abruptly, Beric pretended to gag, easing the atmosphere.

Hasha bit his lip. Threatening Clifford for the benefit of Astan was entirely his will, the will of his followers, and furthermore, it would be the will of all of Astan. So how could he apologize? No matter how much the other party was a prince of a nation, Hasha could not back down.

“Hasha. That’s enough. There is no one here who is without their own circumstances. Instead, now that you know of our existence, I would like to expect that things will be a little different in the future.”

Ian nodded as if he understood. Well, since it wasn’t really an invasion of Bariel, but a problem for the foreign country of Clifford, it would be more efficient and beneficial to adjust things appropriately.

“Of course. Considering the debt I owe Sir Ian, it wouldn’t be enough even if I gave my all in the future.”

“What about me? Hasha, I’m here too!”

“Beric, you, um. Yes, thank you.”

Hasha smiled slightly and placed something hanging around his neck on the table.

“Just as there are many reasons why King Damon is targeting Clifford, there are just as many reasons why the northern minority groups participated.”

Clink.

The red brooch of the Bratz family. Looking at it, disguised as a necklace, brought back old memories.

“Reasons? What are they?”

“The north is currently overflowing with monsters, and the ‘rifts,’ which are said to be their source, are endless. Unless we abandon the land, the monsters that appear there will not disappear.”

“And?”

“King Damon told us. There is a similar rift in Clifford, and if we develop that side and concentrate the mana imbalance, the rift situation in the north might improve a little.”

Prince Noah and the Clifford general’s faces turned pale. So, what they were hearing was that they were going to disperse the chaos of the northern continent to Clifford?

“You can find out the details by listening to this, Sir Ian.”

“Ah, yes. Well, this is more useful than I thought.”

The Bratz brooch had a recording function. Ian lightly injected mana, and the jewel turned red.

Then, the conversation that King Damon had with the minority group successors began to play.