Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 42

Clang!

Deo barely managed to block Beric’s sword. Despite his improved skills, the numerous wounds on his side seemed to even the odds.

“Ooh.”

“Beric, are you okay?”

At Ian’s call, Beric turned, his grin incredibly cheerful.

“Yes, yes. So, don’t worry about me, Master.”

He spat out a mouthful of blood, but since he claimed he was fine, no one could argue. He charged at Deo again like lightning, his sword drawing a wide arc, relentlessly aiming for Deo’s vitals.

Clang! Clang!

“Count!”

Deo barely dodged, still trying to protect his master. Beric’s smile slowly faded, clearly displeased.

Derga, without thinking, charged at Ian again.

“Die, Ian!”

Whoosh! Swish!

The Count’s curse was the signal. The Cheonryeo warriors simultaneously released their arrows, and those wielding swords leaped over the mossy rocks and charged forward.

They were predators with their prey in sight.

Each step was powerful, precise, and destructive. The atmosphere was alien, as if they reveled in the joy of slaughter.

Slash!

Thud!

“Aaaah! Save me!”

“Yeah, you run well. Try to run away more.”

“Drive them, drive them over there!”

“Gendal! I caught that one!”

The warriors easily cut down the fleeing soldiers. Unlike Derga, these men were expendable. The dew-soaked soil absorbed the blood.

“Oops. Did they say we had to take the bodies?”

“Just the heads. We can’t carry the bodies. Too annoying.”

Clang! Clang!

“That one over there looks useful.”

“Was his name Bel? Seems like the knight’s friend.”

The small fry were quickly dealt with. The Cheonryeo warriors gathered around the elite knights, like a pack of wolves stalking their prey.

Meanwhile, Derga was panting and drooling. Su was only deflecting the Count’s attacks, not retaliating. He was simply wearing him out.

“I…Ian…! Ugh.”

“You’re something else, Father.”

“You, how…”

Su grabbed Derga by the hair and slammed him to the ground. Derga, now flat on the ground at Ian’s feet, struggled with a red face, but it was no use.

Ian knelt on one knee and muttered.

“I don’t know if it’s courage or greed. How could you collude with Bumat in the Winchen Desert? Either way, it’s none of my business, but as your son, it’s hard to watch.”

Snikt.

The sound of the sharp blade made Derga’s eyes widen as if they would pop out. Su was calmly cutting off Derga’s hair.

The enemy of enemies who had seduced his family and tried to kill his spiritual pillar [a person of great importance or influence]. The traitor of traitors who had formed an alliance and sharpened their swords behind his back.

“Wh-what are you doing! What are you doing!”

“I’m cutting your hair instead of your neck. It’s not time yet.”

There was a time to endure for the sake of perfect revenge and strategy. To soothe the boiling anger, anything had to be cut.

“You lowly, do you think you’ll get away with this!”

“Shut up. You sound like a pig being slaughtered.”

“Wh-what? You vulgar thing!”

“Shall I cut your throat if you don’t like your hair?”

Su muttered, holding a dagger to Derga’s throat. A fierce and burning rage dripped down. Derga swallowed hard, his eyes vacant, and then he witnessed a stream of blood gushing from Deo’s neck.

“Ugh…”

“De, De, Deo…!”

Beric slowly circled around Deo as if playing a game. He relentlessly stabbed at his vitals as if practicing. Deo fell forward with wide eyes.

Thud!

“Aaaah!”

Then to the left. The knights surrounded by the Cheonryeo were the same. Their necks were bitten as soon as they showed an opening. Even the knights who were considered elite fell helplessly.

“Ha…”

“Don’t worry. This isn’t where Father will die.”

Ian smiled brightly, caressing Derga’s cheek. Then Su put a black mask over Derga’s head and tied it with a string.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Aaaah!”

Then came the relentless beating. The warriors who were cleaning up the bodies also stepped on Derga’s back and cursed him.

Thwack! Thud!

“You bastard, how dare you… Winchen!”

“When are we going to kill him, Ian?”

“Can’t we just do it now?”

Derga had already fainted, his lower body wet, and his hands were trembling. It seemed that Chel was a carbon copy of his father.

Ian glanced at Kakantir and answered.

“Let’s hand him over to the Central Army first, and then we’ll create an opportunity later.”

If they could take control, Derga’s execution could be done as the Cheonryeo wanted. But first, it was important to gain the trust of the Imperial Palace by handing him over as they wished. Not Erika, but the centers of Bariel, fifteen days away.

Unlike the warriors who were licking their lips, Kakantir nodded from a distance. It meant he understood everything.

“Everyone, clean up.”

“Yes, Kakan.”

“Kakan! We see traces of the Central Army in the distance.”

“We’re too late!”

Beric chuckled and wiped the blood off his sword on his pants. He seemed satisfied with his warm-up, his expression much lighter.

“Beric. Your wound? It’ll be hard to treat if it gets worse here.”

Medical staff were limited, and there were too many injured territory residents due to the battle. It would be a problem if Beric was added to that list.

But Beric just sniffed and lifted his shirt as if nothing was wrong. The bandage that the Cheonryeo doctor had wrapped was still there.

“I’m really okay?”

“…How?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I relieve stress every time I swing my sword, so my recovery is faster? Stress is the root of all evil!”

Unlike his precise sword swings, his words were playful. Ian looked closely at Beric’s wound, but he couldn’t figure it out.

“Let’s go down!”

“Let’s make the Central Army run around quietly!”

“You’re the loudest. Hahaha.”

A warrior shouted, carrying Derga in a sack.

Ian walked past the beheaded corpses towards the Bratz mansion. The Cheonryeo falcons continued to circle above them.

* * *

“Erika, Erika!”

“The Cheonryeo have returned!”

Thump! Thump!

At her subordinate’s shout, Erika immediately went to the window and pulled back the curtain. The vulgar barbarians were entering through the main gate with great fanfare. They were all covered in blood and carrying a strange sack.

“What about the Central Army?”

“A messenger pigeon came, saying they will camp in the forest. They found traces of Derga and his soldiers.”

Crunch. Erika bit her nails and frowned. She had a bad feeling. It seemed that the expressions of the guys who had returned from the same forest were particularly bright.

Ian, who had dismounted from Kusile, entered the main building with a few warriors.

“Wait, ask for Erika’s permission-!”

“Shut up. Did you rent the mansion?”

“Be polite! We are the Imperial Investigation Team!”

“Really? We are the center of the Great Desert. Get lost.”

From the commotion in the hallway, it seemed that her subordinates were blocking Ian’s group. Erika sighed and opened the door to her office. The wide hallway was crowded with men.

“What’s all the commotion?”

“E, Erika.”

Ian lightly straightened his sweat-soaked hair and bowed his head. It was a polite gesture, but it lacked any respect or reverence.

“I asked what the commotion was, Ian.”

“We returned after chasing Derga, so what else would we be doing?”

At Ian’s signal, a warrior threw the sack to the floor. The thud was so loud that the hallway echoed. Erika’s subordinate hesitated and cut open the sack with a knife.

“Eek!”

What rolled out were the heads of the soldiers. Some were torn off, and some were cleanly cut. Erika, feeling nauseous, covered her mouth, and the warrior grinned nonchalantly.

“Oh, my. I apologize. I thought you’d be used to this since you turned Bratz into a sea of blood.”

“Shut your mouth! You guys are really…”

“Ah, the real one is here.”

Thud!

Another sack was thrown down. The sound was different.

This time, Erika opened the sack herself and looked inside. Derga, wearing a mask, was tightly bound.

“De, Derga?”

“Is it real?”

“It seems so.”

He was unconscious, but his life didn’t seem to be in danger. The investigators hesitated and looked back at Erika, as if they didn’t know what to do.

“Are we trustworthy now?”

“…Hmph. You’re not completely useless. Move Derga to the underground prison!”

“Ah, yes!”

The team members pulled Derga, but he was so fat that he didn’t budge. Even when they managed to carry him on their backs, they stumbled forward as soon as they took a step.

“Be careful, be careful!”

“Ugh!”

Thud!

How could they not laugh at that? The Cheonryeo chuckled and shouted.

“Do you want help? You’ll roll all the way to the basement like that. You’ll die before Derga.”

“Hahahaha!”

“We did well to catch him. How else would you have brought him? Would you have nursed him and then asked him to walk on his own two feet?”

Even Kakantir, who had been silent, couldn’t hide his laughter. As Erika’s face turned red as if it would explode, Ian casually changed the subject.

“Well, now that we’ve caught Derga, what are you planning to do? If possible, I’d like you to hurry up with the execution and leave.”

“Your words are very presumptuous, Ian. My mission is not over yet. I have to execute all those with the surname ‘Bratz’.”

“Does that mean?”

“You haven’t found Mrs. Mary and Chel, who are the main figures. If you’re free, why don’t you go down to the village and look for them? You can stay there while you’re at it.”

“What about the possibility that they went outside?”

“Almost none. I can pinpoint the day they disappeared. No woman left the castle walls that day.”

Then Erika, with her hair tied up, confidently returned to her office. She was subtly asserting that her seat was the one there. Only the subordinates who couldn’t handle Derga were left in the hallway, looking perplexed.

“Help them move Derga.”

“Yes, Kakan.”

After giving instructions to his subordinate, Kakantir nodded at Ian. It was a look that said he wanted to talk for a moment. Ian readily followed him to the back of the hallway, but then stopped.

“Why?”

It was because Beric had followed them without any sense of the situation.

Ian pretended to look around for a moment, then turned his head left and right before giving instructions.

“Don’t follow us, go to Philia.”

“Aaaah! Right! Your real mom?”

“Yes. You helped her hide, so you know the way, right?”

“I know, of course.”

Unlike his confident answer, his expression looked flustered. He didn’t forget, did he? As Ian was about to add something, Beric quickly ran out of the mansion.

“Sir Ian.”

“Yes, Kakan.”

Ian left Beric behind and faced Kakantir. His expression felt quite stiff.