Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 407

Order within chaos. War within order.

It was a strange sight. Three nations, numerous races, and even the husks of monsters were intertwined, yet they each recognized their place, maintaining a balance in the war.

Soldiers acted as shields for one another, and upon confirming the appearance of the Atan, the magic swordsmen leaped into the air, becoming swords themselves. The mages in the sky kept their eyes fixed on the slowly moving monster corpses.

“Get me over there!” Hasha shouted amidst the chaos. The synthetic monster he had been controlling had long since returned to the earth after its core exploded. This meant that there were no corpses connected to him, and it would take time and effort for the Atan necromancers to move new ones.

He needed to seize them first and bring them to his side. Two mages, understanding Hasha’s intent, lifted him up.

Clang! Clang!

“How close do we need to get?”

“It would be best if we could touch them, but let’s get as close as possible first. We need to see what kind of monsters the Atan have brought. If it’s something truly absurd, it’ll be a disaster, won’t it?”

Whoosh!

Boom!

Hasha turned his head in surprise. He saw a trail of afterimages rushing towards the Vergos command.

It was Ian. Supported by other mages, he was rushing towards the center without hesitation. Dozens, even hundreds of soldiers were blocking his path, but Ian’s attacks were unwavering. The enemy’s blood that soaked Ian’s hair, cheeks, and neck was clearly visible.

“Ughhh!”

“…Haa, haa.”

A soldier’s arms were severed, and a fountain of blood gushed out.

Ian lowered his body, breathing heavily. When he felt his stamina was running low, he used magic, and when he needed to conserve magic, he relied on his stamina again. Despite the chaos in his mind, the distribution of his attacks was almost perfect.

-Uncle Ian. You shouldn’t do that. Lower your body more. Otherwise, you’ll expose your flank to the enemy. It’ll also be difficult to use the recoil when counterattacking.

-It’s a bit difficult. It’s not moving as I want it to.

-You’ll get used to it with practice. Everyone is like that at first. But you have some talent. Next time you feel frustrated and want to explode something inside, grab a sword like this. If you show your magic to a servant again, you’ll be in real trouble. You’ll be banished to the slums. You don’t want that, do you?

-No. I will. But, Crony, what happened to the servant who saw my magic?

-You don’t need to worry about that. Now, shall we try again? Grab the sword.

Clench. Ian recalled the first time he held a wooden sword in Crony’s backyard as a child. He vividly remembered her kindly correcting his posture and praising him.

Sometimes, he wanted to erase it completely, but he couldn’t. Those memories had accumulated and made him who he was now, so they were memories he couldn’t discard.

Whoosh!

Tommy was slowly being buried among the soldiers.

If you give even a small opening in your heart, relationships will always fade with time. As each person follows their own destiny, some will turn their backs, some will show their faces, and others will disappear like the wind.

Ian, covered in blood, fixed his gaze on Tommy. A sigh of anguish escaped his rough breaths. Here he was again, throwing himself into the storm of relationships. Here he was again, keeping people close and disrupting fate.

“Block him! He’s starting to tire!”

“Ugh, ughhh!”

“Q-quickly, take the lead!”

Ian wiped his chin with the back of his hand. Blood mixed with moisture dripped down.

Damon, holding Tommy by the hair, continued to retreat, and soon ordered other mages to be brought. Tommy’s body kept slumping, making him unsuitable as a hostage.

“Hurry! Quickly!”

“Bring two more mages!”

“Ian! If you keep coming this way, I’ll cut off three heads at once! And I warn you, you can’t defeat me!”

Clang! Clang!

Ian ignored Damon’s taunts and continued to swing his sword. He would not waver. No matter what was whispered, he would only spill blood for Bariel.

Numerous lives brushed past the tip of Ian’s sword. It was the moment he leaped off the ground.

Screech!

A giant crow flew past Ian. Its gaping beak was filled with hundreds of sharp teeth, each covered in unpleasant slime.

These were the monsters provided by the Atan. When Ian tried to grab their necks and twist them, the mages blocked them instead, protecting Ian.

“Ian! Go!”

“We’re watching the sky!”

Boom! Boom!

One, two, three…

There were quite a few, but fortunately, the necromancers’ limitations were apparent. In the chaotic situation, it seemed impossible to control both the synthetic monsters and the flying monsters at the same time. The accuracy of their attacks was quite low, and the mages were able to easily fend them off.

“Hey! There goes Bariel’s lackey!”

“Chief! What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? Block him! That thing is talking like it’s something, the idiot.”

“It’s a Bariel mage! The mage is targeting Damon!”

The Atan, who had come as reinforcements, noticed the danger to Damon and signaled each other. But-

Squeak!

“Where do you think you’re going, you bastard.”

“Get out of the way. I’ll save Damon and play with you.”

“You wanna die, what do you mean play!”

“Oh? You’re being cocky?”

Verick, though pushed back, did not retreat. He put strength into his sword, holding the Atan chief in place. Efdiram laughed as if it were ridiculous, and Verick grinned along with him.

From the Great Desert to the civil war, there was one thing he had learned through experience. If he faced such a strong opponent and survived a near-death experience, he would always become stronger.

So, this time would be the same. He hadn’t lost until he was dead. Verick had always won, grown, and laughed. Just like now.

“If Ian interferes, he’ll dieee!”

“Just get out of the way for a second!”

“Hwaaaat!”

“Verick!”

Clang! Bang!

Two people flew in from Verick’s left and right. Barsabe and Jayrut. Barsabe provided cover, and Jayrut unleashed a lightning-like sword aura.

However, Efdiram deployed a shield and broke through it, then clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“That’s why the Empire guys are…”

“Did you say Efdiram? I am Jayrut, one of the three commanders of the Imperial Guard.”

“Who cares about introductions! Hey! Protect King Damon!”

“Yes, sir! Chief!”

“How dare you!”

Those who tried to attack, those who tried to chase, those who cut across, those who blocked, and those who grabbed were mixed together like ants. On the surface, it looked like a war between Clifford and Vergos, but the closer you got, the more the flow swirled around Ian and Damon.

Whoosh!

Thwack!

And an arrow aimed at Ian, passing through the sky. Ian reflexively deflected the arrow and realized it had been fired from the Luswena side.

He saw long, turquoise hair fluttering in the distance. It was Eripona.

‘It seems to be going as planned. Zaira.’

It was too long of a detour to go around to Bariel’s side. From Luswena’s perspective, it was best to first defeat Bariel to secure Clifford, while also ensuring that the rift did not occur as Vergos intended.

Starting with her arrow, numerous Luswena soldiers poured down.

The Clifford soldiers, startled by their brave shouts and the way they charged down the hill, hesitated. The direction the Luswena were coming from was behind them. If this continued, they would be surrounded from the front and back, and the tide of the war would turn against them.

“Prince Noah! Luswena is joining the battle!”

“They’re coming from behind! What should we do? We can’t split our forces!”

“Send a signal to the wall! We need reinforcements too!”

“Damn it!”

Vergos in front, Luswena behind. It was when Noah was frantically looking left and right, grabbing the war flag.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thud! Thwack!

Arrows of unknown origin poured from the forest, piercing the chests of the Luswena soldiers. The Luswena soldiers, who had been excitedly charging, thinking there was nothing to stop them, hesitated and looked around. The forest, it was the forest. It was not visible from below, but judging by the angle of the arrows, it was clear.

Noah frowned and focused his gaze on the forest, and soon saw the slowly emerging blue color.

Booooo-

“It’s Bariel’s reinforcements!”

“The main force from Bariel has arrived! Everyone listen! Bariel has sent soldiers for Clifford! Victory is ours!”

The Bariel insignia, embroidered one by one with gold thread, was sparkling in the sunlight. Tweller recognized his subordinates even from afar, and grinned as he split the head of the enemy soldier in front of him with his axe.

“They sure took their time!”

“Minister Tweller!”

“Yes! I see them! Don’t worry about the rear! Our families have arrived, so I can focus on the front with peace of mind!”

Whoosh!

Tweller’s subordinates were those who had rolled on the battlefield with him. Seeing the situation from the forest, they had decided that stopping Luswena’s advance was the priority, and had blocked their approach with arrows.

“Charge!”

Following the general’s orders, the soldiers leaped down with force, and dust rose as if the world was on fire.

“Damn it.”

Thud! Damon had no choice but to stab Tommy in the side, then continue to retreat. It was already difficult enough with Ian on the front lines, but now the Bariel main force had joined. He had no choice but to retreat. It was best to retreat and re-strategize.

Damon saw a soldier bringing a mage and quickly threw Tommy to the ground. Tommy coughed up blood as he was kicked and trampled by the soldiers.

Seeing this, Ian paused for a moment. Should he continue to chase Damon, or should he go and grab Tommy’s hand right now?

“Ian! Don’t hesitate!”

Whoosh!

At that moment, a mage quickly descended and grabbed Tommy’s arm. Since he had been injured in the side, blood gushed out even more, but there was no choice. This was what Damon had intended.

As the mage carrying Tommy disappeared towards the wall, Ian exploded his magic as if he was letting go of everything.

Ziiing! Ziiing!

“Ian! We still have two left!”

Yen and Kanchi.

Damon grabbed Yen by the hair and stabbed her arm with his sword. It was a threat, and also to disable a mage who might be absorbed by Clifford. Yen, with the Idgal [a magical artifact] deeply embedded, writhed in pain, twisting her limbs.

Boom!

Clang!

A speed like a falling star. Ian’s magic sent the soldiers flying, and he reached Damon in an instant.

A distance where their noses could almost touch. Damon felt a sense of déjà vu and widened his eyes again. Ian’s golden eyes, they seemed to be blazing like flames.

Clang!

Ian grabbed Damon roughly by the hair and slammed him into the ground. At the same time, a small necklace fell from Damon’s grasp, rolling on the ground like its disheveled owner.

“…Damon.”

“Ugh-!”

Ian pressed his head into the ground, putting his weight on it. The generals and soldiers were flustered, but no one could move. They were afraid that the king might die right there.

He was just suppressing him and looking down, but Ian’s murderous intent was extraordinary. It was truly overwhelming power. Ian pressed his knee into his Adam’s apple and shook his head by the hair.

“Damon. Answer me.”

Without a reply, his hands, unable to move, desperately grasped at the dirt. In the urgent situation, Damon noticed that the Idgal necklace was slowly glowing. It was because the magic that caused the rift was gradually increasing.

When Damon reached out to grab it, Ian laughed mockingly and stomped on his hand with his foot. Then he asked,

“What do you think is going to happen to you now?”