Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 382

“It’s moving.”

It was a very soft murmur. But the officers, who had been spacing out, jumped up and approached Ian, and the soldiers also rushed outside, grabbing their weapons. The Burgos soldiers, who had been holding their ground, had begun to move.

Ian looked at Acorella, and she made a circle with two fingers as if to say there was no problem.

“Why, why are they suddenly moving?”

“It seems like the right question to ask is why they haven’t moved until now. Isn’t their side at a disadvantage if they hold out? It must mean that something they were waiting for has arrived.”

If there was something they were waiting for, it could only be reinforcements from Burgos. Another hellish battlefield was about to unfold. The officer asked a soldier,

“How is the eastern border?”

“Yes. All the defending soldiers have been withdrawn, and the residents of nearby villages are evacuating. The Luthweena army did arrive on the way, but as you said, they are only watching and not entering. We are continuing to monitor the situation.”

The reason something exploded as soon as they came down the wall was because of a simple device that the mage had installed. It would be great if it could stop the enemy’s advance, but unfortunately, it didn’t have enough power to cause any real damage, so it was just there as a threat.

If it could buy them even a day, or even just a few hours, it would be worth it.

“Accurately determine the speed at which they are approaching the capital. That is the most important thing. Luring them in is to gain an advantageous position for us, so we must also be able to control their speed and distance.”

The officer hesitated and looked back at Ian. It wasn’t a big deal in the current situation, but it was impressive that he had grouped Clifford and Bariel together as ‘us’.

Even if they were moving for the benefit of each country, they were the only allies they could rely on right now. The officer nodded and replied firmly,

“Don’t worry. Clifford’s shadows are excellent.”

“Good. I’ll go see the changes in the camp from the sky. They’ll probably move when the sun rises, so please prepare as well, officer. But where on earth did Prince Noah go?”

“Ah, that is, for a moment-”

“He went to see the May envoy.”

Acorella answered instead of the embarrassed officer. May, who had recovered some of her strength in the palace, had returned to the front lines to jump back into the battle.

The prince was trying to send her back, and she was trying to stay. Acorella shrugged her shoulders, saying it was quite a sight.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“Are you going yourself?”

“Yes. It’s better than hearing it secondhand. The mana stone?”

“It’s currently slightly to the left based on my position.”

“Hmm. If it’s to the left, it’s close to the forest where Prince Noah was conducting guerrilla warfare. I understand for now.”

Screech.

As Ian opened the window, Beric grabbed his sleeve. He seemed to be asking to be taken along because he was bored and restless. Ian, sitting on the windowsill, looked down at him and smiled.

“I don’t think I can because you’re heavy.”

“What? I’m light.”

“I’ll let go if you make a fuss.”

“Okay. What Ian says is always true.”

Then Acorella chimed in.

“It’s not ‘true,’ it’s ‘sincere,’ you mutt.”

“I know, you psycho!”

“Tsk, tsk! How is he going to make a living with that temper?”

They had become quite close after spending a few days together.

Ian had no choice but to take Beric with him and release his magic. Eyes that shimmered beautifully like Venus. Hair fluttering with the power of magic. It looked as if the god of the moon was returning to his homeland.

The officers were mesmerized until Ian flew into the sky, and then they closed the window after watching the two disappear into the distance.

Tap.

Knock knock.

“Ian, sir. Weapons have arrived from the palace.”

“Ian, sir, just left. Bring the weapons in here. Our mages will be using them anyway.”

“Ah. Yes. Um, may I come in?”

“I just told you to come in?”

“Because you, you scold us if the mana stone moves.”

“Ah, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Acorella poked her head out at the soldier’s message and said.

Following her were a variety of weapons, from longswords and daggers to miniature blades. No wonder the manufacturing was delayed; it was because of this.

Hale was a man with a wealth of combat experience, especially in monster battles. Knowing that the core of synthetic monsters was under thick skin, he had thought more deeply than anyone about the variety of weapons.

Acorella picked up a perfectly forged sword and examined it carefully.

“It turned out well, right? I was a little worried because Clifford’s main focus is on farming tools rather than weapons, but it’s much smoother than I expected. The blacksmiths are burning their souls without sleeping.”

Out of the thirty or so, only three black swords were made of mana-sealed stones, and the rest were all amber-like gold.

Acorella brought the weapon to her nose, sniffing and closing her eyes tightly at the beauty that deepened in the light. The scent of Idgal [a magical substance] was perfectly infused.

The soldiers, worried that she might get hurt, tried to stop her, but she ignored them and brought her face closer to check for any rough spots.

“…Hale. I guess I don’t have to cut him.”

“Yes?”

The mages would be divided and deployed. Ian’s side would guard the wall, and Hale’s side would be in charge of supplies and blocking the final front.

Acorella lightly swung the sword and watched the dawn break.

Swish.

“Sounds good. It’ll cut just by touching it, right?”

Meanwhile, Ian was quietly flying in the sky with Beric.

Torches were sparsely lit in the Burgos camp. Normally, they would avoid lighting even the minimum amount of fire in the middle of the night to avoid exposing their position to the other side, but seeing them spread so openly, it seemed that the movement was confirmed.

That meant that they could attack the wall soon, or even within a few hours.

“Ian, but why are they splitting up like that?”

The left and right wings were clearly divided. It was as if they were trying to leave the middle empty.

Ian flew even higher to observe the overall movement, and then he raised an eyebrow.

“Ian, Ian, Ian.”

“What, do you want me to let you go?”

“No. Why are they splitting up like that!”

Beric was startled and grabbed Ian’s arm even tighter. Other mages would be forgiven for whining, but there was a small part of him that thought Ian might not.

Ian muttered as he watched the sun rise behind him.

“They’re making space.”

“Space?”

“Let’s go a little closer to the border. They’re probably making space for Burgos’ reinforcements to enter.”

They flew west. Beric followed Ian, looking down at the black-armored figures rippling below his feet with a new sense of wonder.

As they passed the occupied village of Baki and approached the border, they saw something black in the distance.

It was a legion. A formal legion that had come down from Burgos. It was not just a support force; the numbers were considerable.

“Wow, it looks like an ant swarm.”

“Beric. We’re going higher. Hold on tight.”

“…Higher? Why? Isn’t this enough?”

They had seen how many were coming, so wouldn’t it be better to go back and prepare? Beric asked, but Ian went even higher to the west without answering.

And in the middle of the legion, they found the Burgos flag, spread out wide. A huge cloth that dozens of people were holding up and moving. The emblem of the Burgos royal family was embroidered in gold thread on a black background.

“…The king is coming himself.”

Even a general, or a minister in Bariel’s case, was only allowed to have a flag that a soldier could hold. Such a majestic march was only given to the dignity of the nation. Damon must be riding in one of the many carriages.

“Is the short-hair coming himself?”

“Beric. Can you smell it from here? The smell of monsters, I mean.”

“Hmm. It’s too far.”

Beric closed his eyes and concentrated. But there was nothing in particular that he could smell or that made his heart beat faster.

Ian couldn’t see any large entities like synthetic monsters either, so that was the question. If the king himself was going to the front lines, wouldn’t it be normal to have a force that was incomparable to the synthetic monsters they had seen before? They were planning to break through the capital, and they knew that Bariel’s mages were stationed there to defend it.

Ian felt the sky gradually brightening and slowly turned his body. When he turned his head to the east, the sun rising between the mountains and the pink clouds unfolded before his eyes.

‘If King Damon is coming, then Eriphony will come as well. I need to send a message back to Bariel again.’

Bariel had already obtained information about Eriphony’s departure, but it had not yet reached Ian in Clifford.

Wasn’t Jin’s reply still dry with ink? Ian didn’t know if the reply was on its way or if the Crown Prince hadn’t picked up his pen for personal reasons.

“Ian, but there’s something I want to do.”

“What is it?”

“Can I take the king’s head? It doesn’t matter if it’s Burgos or Luthweena. When else in my life will I get to stab a king? Don’t you think so?”

“Well, I don’t mind, but I wonder if you can, Beric.”

“Huh? I’m the best in Bariel.”

“Even so, he’s the king of a country. The ones who protect them are the best in that country. Go ahead and try if you can. But only on orders. Independent actions are dangerous. Not for you, but for the innocent.”

“Okay, okay. Actually, I don’t like that short-hair very much. He’s just unlucky, I guess.”

Swish!

While Beric was chattering and constantly dissing Damon, Ian smiled and returned to the Clifford wall.

The sun had fully risen, and a new legion had entered the space divided into left and right wings. In an instant, Burgos’ power had increased several times.

* * *

“So, you stopped here?”

Eriphony glared at the officers with a dumbfounded look.

A vacant border. There was no one to stop them, but they said they couldn’t take a single step due to a silent explosion. How absurd was that? Eriphony tied her long hair up high and put on her gold armor.

“It was determined that it would be better for the mages to come and see, so we waited. If we rashly entered, there could be losses in our forces, and above all, what Your Majesty ordered was to break down the wall…”

“Shut up. Your excuses only make you more pathetic.”

Was it even possible that there had been no action until the king-led legion arrived? Eriphony thought she wanted to behead the officer right away and called for Eldert.

“Eldert, bring the mages.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Swoosh.

The mages of Luthweena, who had been closely following behind the carriage. There were a variety of people, from children to the elderly, both men and women. They bowed before King Eriphony, wearing their uniforms.

“Can you feel the flow of mana? There’s a small mage named Ian in Bariel. But his power is not ordinary. See if it’s a trap.”

“Excuse me.”

Zzzing. Zzzing.

An elderly woman stepped forward first and placed her hands on the ground. Then, light spread from where her palms touched, and even the trees of unknown shapes caught fire.

“Hmm.”

“Is it a trap?”

“It’s more of a trick than a trap. There may be an explosion when passing through, but I don’t think there will be any problems. By the way, I can feel that this person’s power is really strong, Your Majesty.”

“I told you. He’s small but not ordinary.”

Eriphony took out a huge golden bow. And without hesitation, she released the bowstring.

The arrow cut through the tremendous wind and pierced the camouflage structure, and then, with a small flash, the tree was shattered.

She lightly lifted the bow, which was as tall as she was, and commanded,

“…Advance. To the capital of Clifford.”