Margrave’s Bastard Son Was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 386

Elderht swung his sword reflexively, not even having time to order his subordinates to protect Eriphony. Was it because he was a magic swordsman? He hadn’t sensed any approaching presence at all.

Clang!

Barsabe, with an arrow lodged in her side, deflected Elderht’s sword. At the same time, the sword she was holding shattered and disappeared like sand.

It seemed Elderht wasn’t the only one surprised. Barsabe’s pupils widened, and her body seemed to slow down. She gritted her teeth and tried to jump back down the hill.

“Catch her!”

The severed bowstring must have grazed Eriphony’s cheek. The king clutched his scratched cheek and shouted, and Elderht and his soldiers jumped down the hill after Barsabe.

The sword Barsabe used was a unique weapon created with her own magic. But she had been hit directly by an Idgal arrow [a type of arrow that nullifies magic], so her magic had been nullified.

Barsabe tumbled down the hill and snatched a sword from a corpse.

“Damn it.”

Clang! Clang!

Could she, unable to use magic, really be of any value in this battle? Barsabe pulled the arrow from her side, watching the blood gush out like a fountain. What was she now, but another corpse lying on the ground?

Elderht, who had quickly caught up, grabbed Barsabe by the scruff of her neck, his turquoise hair flying.

“A magic swordsman from the Imperial Guard.”

“Let go of me!”

Thud! Thwack!

Barsabe kneed Elderht in the solar plexus, but all she hit was his hard armor. He forced Barsabe to her knees and firmly subdued her.

He knew that the nullification caused by Idgal was temporary. It would be more advantageous to take her prisoner than to kill her, in preparation for the future.

Although the punishment for injuring the king’s face was death, Elderht muttered, twisting Barsabe’s shoulder back.

“You will receive your punishment later.”

He was going to dislocate her shoulder.

Barsabe felt a chill run down her spine and squeezed her eyes shut. Pain was coming, so she shouldn’t be surprised and just accept it. She wouldn’t tarnish the honor of the Imperial Guard with a clumsy scream.

The moment she bit her lower lip.

Swish!

An axe flew as if to cut off Elderht’s head.

He barely managed to turn his head, narrowly avoiding death by losing a bit of his hair.

Barsabe, still on the ground, raised her gaze. It was Maxim Tweller, whom she had seen a few times, the new Minister of the Bariel Imperial Defense Department. He was standing on the opposite hill with his subordinates, chewing on a cigar.

“After going around the dead lands, it’s a mess.”

“Bariel reinforcements!”

Maxim recognized Barsabe’s identity at a glance. And the wound on her side and Eriphony’s broken bow.

Maxim nodded, and his subordinates simultaneously rushed down to save Barsabe.

Swish!

Barsabe didn’t miss the opportunity. She cut the Achilles tendon of the Luthweena soldier holding her and staggered towards the Bariel soldiers.

A chaotic scene where it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe. Barsabe just slashed and slashed to survive, running towards Maxim.

With her at the center, Bariel and Luthweena soldiers charged at each other with all their might.

Tap tap!

“Don’t let her get away!”

“A magic swordsman! Bring the magic swordsman!”

“Ugh!”

“Get out of the way! Damn it!”

Was it because her magic had been nullified that her stamina had also become that of an ordinary person? Barsabe was sweating profusely as she pushed through the crowd.

Elderht tried to grab her hair. But just barely before him, one of Maxim’s subordinates grabbed Barsabe’s hand. She was pulled onto a horse and leaned against the soldier’s back, clutching her side. On the opposite hill, Eriphony was glaring at her with furious eyes.

Barsabe met her gaze without flinching. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

While Eriphony and Luthweena were focused on her, what had happened in the sky?

Boom!

A wave of fiery heat rippled across the sky. Even Eriphony, who was quite far away, had to cover her face with her sleeve.

Ian and the magic division following him were fighting the Luthweena mages with all their might. Judging by the situation, it was more like one side was unilaterally pushing the other, rather than a clash.

“Heeuk!”

The old man and the Luthweena mages faced them with a very thin shield. The shield they had barely created was barely holding up.

Everyone was in a state of near panic, feeling like the shield would break if they even breathed wrong. Frankly, it felt like the other side was controlling their power a bit, and a sense of defeat was churning deep in their hearts.

Swoosh.

Ian lightly brushed his fingertips across the Luthweena side’s shield. Even the ice on a pond in early spring would be harder than this.

He smiled lightly and gradually increased his power. Cracks appeared along the point Ian touched, like glass shattering.

“Mages are close to gods. Although we are facing each other like this because of different nationalities, I honestly don’t want to kill you. Aren’t ‘we’ the ones who bond with each other through special powers?”

“Grandma!”

The old man’s nose and ears started to bleed. It was because he had used too much magic for his old body. The child cried out in surprise, and the Luthweena mages scolded him harshly.

“Zaira! Focus!”

Ian’s gaze shifted from the old man to the child. His eyes were red, and his cheeks were flushed.

“…If you surrender now, I will spare you.”

“What should we do?!”

“Don’t talk and just focus on the shield!”

“This is the land of Clifford, not Bariel or Luthweena. You may not know, but the more we use our power, the more it stimulates the rifts in the Gaia continent [a fictional continent].”

The old man frowned. But it was unclear whether it was because of the unfamiliar information or because he was struggling with his power. It could be both.

“It’s Vergos’s scheme to distribute the northern rifts to the south. If Clifford is overrun with monsters, not only Bariel but also nearby Luthweena will be harmed. This is the last chance. If you surrender, I will spare you, but if you resist, I will break this. There’s no point in dragging this out, whether it’s magic or time.”

Ian pressed down on the shield again. The cracks grew even larger. The old man felt the heat seeping through the cracks, and his mind felt like it was turning white.

‘Rifts? The king didn’t mention anything like that.’

And more than anything, is there any evidence that rifts exist beneath the land of Clifford? Other than what this man is saying?

The old man glanced at his sobbing grandson and took a breath.

“Ian Hiel, I will not thank you for your mercy. This is a battlefield, and I am a citizen of Luthweena, and the king holds our lives in his hands.”

They had families. If they knelt to Bariel here, their families left behind in Luthweena would be kneeling before the god of death.

The old man was about to put his hand into his inner pocket as if he had made a decision.

“Foolish-!”

Boom! Boom!

Ian, enraged, completely shattered the shield. Those who had barely been holding on were thrown back by the heatwave, and those fighting on the ground once again lay flat, trying to calm their fear.

“Ian-nim!”

“Grandma!”

Ian’s Flame God unleashed its fury. A wild, flamboyant, and unfathomably strong rage.

But on the other hand, it was an attack that felt pitiful. A silent and minimal pity that could be given to those who had made the wrong choice.

Kwaaaang!

The Luthweena mages all cowered, waiting for the pain.

But strangely, they didn’t feel any heat. The child cautiously opened his eyes and soon discovered that his grandmother was muttering something, her limbs limp.

“Kill the old man! Now!”

What was that? The magic division was just staring in confusion, and Ian shouted. And then he realized. The old man had offered his blood to magic and had summoned forbidden magic to face an opponent he could not possibly overcome alone.

‘The Curse of Perpetuity [a forbidden magic].’

The despair of mages who defy the laws of nature and fall into the abyss.

Boom! Kwaaaang! Bang!

But just like with Wesley, the power of ordinary mages could not reach the old man. Like small flames shot into space, their attacks disappeared into the darkness.

Ian gritted his teeth and tried to burn the old man with all his might. He had to eliminate him before it progressed further, before he gained the strong power he truly desired.

“Ian-nim!”

The Flame God bent its massive body to grab the old man.

But it wasn’t easy. Like with Wesley, it was possible to approach, but the difference in power was overwhelming.

It seemed that while Wesley’s rage was focused on breaking the magic seal stone and facing Gale, the old man’s desire was for a strong power that could bring victory in the war. He was someone who knew he would fall into the deep abyss and still did it.

Ian and the old man’s confrontation continued intensely.

“Ian-nim! Wait, Ian-nim!”

“Don’t interfere with Ian-nim!”

“But-!”

A rift was forming even within the magic division.

Some were trying to stop Ian, who was still bleeding, and others were trying to stop those who were trying to stop him. Even though they had taken enhancers, they were not helping now, and the members of the magic division were feeling the true meaning of despair.

Everyone was soaked. Some with sweat, some with tears, and some with blood.

“Damn it!”

Acorella frantically rummaged through his pockets. He was trying to see if there were any more enhancers left.

There was no hope like this. If it were Bariel, if it were the Imperial Palace, they might be able to help…

“We too…”

Someone muttered.

“Shouldn’t one of us also use forbidden magic?”

If Ian was struggling this much, shouldn’t someone from the magic division sacrifice themselves? If they were going to come out like that, shouldn’t we respond in kind? Were they just supposed to watch from behind Ian?

As if he had noticed that everyone’s minds were becoming a mess, Ian wiped the blood from his hand and shouted.

“One foolish choice is enough!”

That old man, the foolish old man who had thrown himself into hell despite being warned about the rifts in Clifford.

“Do you not trust me?!”

Ian gritted his teeth.

Any further magic stimulation would only be poison to everyone. And he no longer wanted the members of Bariel’s magic division, those who followed him, to fall into hell.

That was enough with Naum. It was time to end the idea of surviving and winning through someone’s sacrifice, not by avoiding it, with Naum.

Ian recalled the faces of the magic division members who had surrounded him and smiled, and shouted again.

“What did I say earlier?!”

Kwaaaang! Kwang!

The Flame God raged wildly. The old man’s fingertips twitched, and then his body, imbued with forbidden magic, regained its senses and raised its head.

The old man was crying. Whether it was a genuine emotion or not, it was hard to tell.

“You are my back.”

Ian finally coughed up blood.

Then Acorella cursed and approached Ian. Even if he couldn’t reach the forbidden magic, he could reach Ian. He was Ian’s back.

“Damn it!”

Zzzing! Zzzing!

Acorella transferred all of his magic to Ian. Seeing that, the magic division members flew in one by one, their golden eyes shining.

A faint smile appeared on Ian’s blood-stained face. It was warm. It felt like the hot heat of the Flame God was increasing.

“Ian-nim! We will be behind you!”

“Yes! If you want to retreat, throw yourself at us!”

“Even if you don’t want to retreat, just say so! We will endure!”

“We can endure!”