Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 553

Except for those actively involved in trade, most were crossing the Bariel border for the first time. This included even Emperor Jin. While Marib had undertaken a Grand Tour [a traditional extended journey through Europe undertaken by wealthy young men] as a Crown Prince in his youth, Jin had never had such an opportunity.

Everyone walked with a sense of vigor, feeling the tension, excitement, and unfamiliar emotions of leaving Bariel.

‘Seriously, all I see are rocky mountains.’

Beric, half-leaning out of the carriage window, looked at the scenery with a bored expression. It was a landscape where not even a single blade of grass could be found.

An Astana envoy approached, riding his horse alongside the carriage.

‘Are you feeling any better?’

‘So-so. I haven’t been eating properly, so I’m not quite myself.’

‘We’ll be joining up with the Astana army soon, so please bear with it a little longer. And Sir Ian.’

They looked into the carriage and called for Ian. Ian, who had been focused on his documents, turned his head, and they gave him a discreet wink.

‘His Majesty wishes to speak with you privately.’

‘Understood. I’ll see him when the carriage stops.’

‘Yes, then.’

What could it be that Hasha wanted a private meeting for?

Ian tilted his head for a moment as if guessing, but that was it. Just as he was about to pick up his pen again—

Booooo-

Booo-

The sound of a water buffalo horn echoed clearly from afar. It was a signal that the Astana reinforcements were in sight.

The soldiers, who hadn’t had a proper rest since crossing the border, all let out small cheers, and the Astana envoys also exclaimed with delight.

‘Oh, finally, I can stretch my legs and sleep!’

‘You said it. I thought I was going to die these past few days.’

‘Oh dear. I’m afraid I’ll get sick before we even get to Burgos. Hahaha!’

‘By the way, is that really the Astana reinforcement?’

‘Huh? Hey! Are you kidding me?’

There were about a hundred of them, at a rough estimate. Most were unarmed, and it seemed like there were even some children mixed in.

They might just look like that, like Katimako, but anyway, their first impression wasn’t very impressive. They looked more like refugees than reinforcements. Disappointed murmurs arose from the soldiers here and there.

‘Call the Astana envoys and confirm if they are indeed the reinforcements!’

The officers were just as bewildered. However, they calmly directed the formation and closely watched the group that appeared to be the Astana reinforcements.

Flap! They waved the Astana flag high, as if to say not to worry.

Dudududu!

Kooong!

‘Wha, what is it?’

‘It’s an earthquake! An earthquake!’

And then, the earth shook.

Having already experienced a fissure in the north, the magicians and the Imperial Guard reflexively released their mana and went on alert. But soon, what appeared were—

‘Wo, wow!’

‘Are they monsters?’

They were giant golems.

The parts that had been thought to be part of the rocky mountain were their heads, and soon, hidden hands and feet stretched out.

Five in total. It seemed as if about a hundred necromancers were casting spells simultaneously, as they moved while maintaining a constant distance.

‘They are the ones who live under the cliffs of Astana, and we have succeeded in subduing and taming them. Due to their nature, they are very receptive to spells. There are only five of them, but they will be able to firmly protect the front and rear of the Bariel soldiers.’

The Astana envoy proudly added.

In fact, those hundred or so people were practically all the people that Astana could conscript. They were a tribal nation, after all.

Heeing!

‘Halt!’

‘Everyone, halt!’

As the flag was raised, the procession slowly began to stop.

The closer they got, the more they were speechless at the size of the golems. The soldiers stared blankly up at them, and the Astana necromancers approached and greeted them happily.

‘Welcome! This is Astana!’

‘Oh, Pekuriren!’

‘Katimako-nim! You’ve worked hard!’

‘You’ve arrived just in time. Well done.’

‘Yes, of course. Where is His Majesty?’

The old man, who looked like he could die at any moment, bowed politely to Katimako, who had the appearance of a child. It was so cognitively dissonant that the soldiers tried to focus only on the golems.

‘Pekuriren.’

‘Your Majesty!’

‘Show respect. This is the Emperor of the Great Bariel Empire.’

As Hasha introduced Jin, everyone knelt down with a reverent attitude. Clack. The golem’s head also turned slightly and nodded.

‘Impressive.’

Jin muttered, looking up at the golem.

He guessed that it would easily reach the waist of a tower. It was surprising that Astana possessed such weapons. Furthermore, it made him reconsider the potential of the northern sorcerers.

‘Does that mean that other northern sorcerers can also control things of this size?’

‘It will be difficult to find things as big as golems, Your Majesty.’

‘Yes, I am confident. There is no tribe of sorcerers as great as Astana in the northern region.’

‘Since you are so confident, it makes my heart feel at ease.’

Jin said this while looking at Ian. It was a look that told him to anticipate and prepare for the possibility of other monsters being mobilized.

‘Is this, is this Ian-nim?’

‘Yes. I am Ian Hiel, Minister of Magic.’

‘Oh my! Goodness gracious!’

Unlike Ian, who politely extended his hand, they hugged him, disregarding the rudeness. It was as if they were overjoyed.

The magicians were shocked and gaped, and they physically pulled them away.

‘What are you doing? You’re startling Ian-nim?’

‘Is that how you greet people in Astana?’

‘Ah, I’m sorry. We were just so happy that we got carried away.’

‘…Did we have a connection?’

Ian tried to recall, but it wasn’t easy. However, they didn’t seem disappointed and clasped Ian’s hands again.

‘At that time, my family was rescued from the merchant group along with His Majesty… I mean, Hasha-nim, and returned to Astana. I always wanted to thank you, and I’m so moved that it has come to pass.’

‘My younger sibling was with them too!’

‘Not only did you save us, but you also gave us travel expenses, didn’t you? Thanks to that, everyone returned safely. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’

Not only Hasha, but also the number of people who had returned to Astana was not small. Everyone had directly or indirectly received favors from Ian.

Ian lightly patted their hands and replied.

‘It’s nothing. I am now affiliated with the Bariel Imperial Palace, so please direct all your gratitude towards them. That will make me truly happy as well.’

‘Yes! Of course!’

The hands they held were firm.

At that moment, Beric threw open the carriage door. He walked towards the golem, holding his still-unhealed wound, and then sniffed at its feet.

‘It doesn’t smell alive. Is it really a monster?’

‘You can think of them as dolls. They are beings without a self, only with will, so once a spell is cast on them, it doesn’t easily break, making them easy to control. But, who are you?’

‘Me? Beric.’

‘Beric! Oh! Beric-nim!’

‘Who? Beric-nim?’

Beric smiled slightly at the unexpected reaction. Come to think of it, wasn’t he also there when Ian rescued the people of Astana?

‘The Beric-nim who was captured while looking for Hasha-nim, right?’

‘That’s right. He’s the one. He couldn’t write, so he sent a letter as Hasha-nim dictated, right?’

‘You crazy! That’s not it! I wasn’t captured, I was just there! Until Ian came!’

‘Yes, yes. Of course. I know.’

‘But why the face? Thank me too!’

‘I’m sorry… but I can’t say things just to be polite.’

Judging by Beric’s ranting, it seemed like there was no need to worry about the wound on his stomach.

The people of Astana turned their gaze away from Beric and asked.

‘By the way, what happened to the advance party? They were supposed to pass through this route, but we couldn’t see them, so we thought we had missed them. If you hadn’t sent the messenger bird, we would have been confused.’

‘There was a situation. First—’

Ian gestured, meaning to organize the surroundings first.

‘Your Majesty. The soldiers’ fatigue has accumulated. How about we set up camp here early today and depart tomorrow?’

‘Good. We also need to organize the ranks with the Astana side.’

‘At the current speed, we can cross the Burgos border within three days. It’s later than planned, but it’s appropriate.’

‘Does that mean there are no problems with food supplies?’

‘That’s correct.’

Everyone agreed, and they decided not to go any further today.

Tents were quickly set up under the golems, and the soldiers, who had been afraid, soon became accustomed to them and lingered around the golems’ feet.

‘But what’s its weakness? The head?’

‘Golems are a collection of inanimate thoughts, so even if one part is broken, there is no problem with their movement.’

Oh, a foe with no weakness, that’s suddenly very interesting? Beric lightly punched the golem’s leg, and it slowly turned its head and looked down at him.

Clack.

‘What are you looking at?’

Then, the golem slowly raised its hand.

The shadow grew large, and the dirt that had accumulated on its shoulder fell off in a flurry.

What was it? Beric and the soldiers tensed up at the sudden movement, but only for a moment, as the golem stopped with its middle finger raised.

* * *

Tap tap!

‘It’s a disaster!’

At the sudden commotion, the key figures of the anti-royalist faction glanced at the man in front of them.

With a long pipe and roughly tied-up hair, Rutherford was sitting across from them, looking at a map.

And yet, such a frivolous report.

‘What is it that makes you so flustered?’

‘It seems that the Atan tribe that was dispatched to Bariel has been annihilated. We can’t reach them, and the messenger birds aren’t returning either.’

‘What did you say? Did you just say annihilated?’

‘Yes, and there was a massive geological change in the northern region, but regarding that—’

‘It’s a fissure.’

Rutherford replied quietly, shaking off the ashes from his pipe.

‘A fissure has created a gap, a sign from God, and there’s no need to worry about that. But, if the Atan tribe was annihilated, the other side must have suffered considerable damage as well?’

‘We are investigating, but it’s not easy to approach. There seemed to be no problem with the march of the Bariel army.’

‘Oh dear! This is quite something. Those who were so skilled have been annihilated. What should we do?’

‘I can’t understand it at all. Weren’t they also from the magician and magic swordsman lineage? How could they have died so meaninglessly?’

‘They were like wild beasts from the start. Didn’t I tell you? You shouldn’t have had any expectations. It’s fine. This is a problem between Burgos and Bariel anyway. The Atans were just the ones who gave them the justification, so let’s consider it a good thing that they were annihilated.’

‘No, but—’

While the anti-royalist faction members were throwing in a word each, Rutherford kept puffing on his pipe. Unlike his calm gaze, the way he was grinding his teeth looked very nervous.

‘…Don’t worry about it, everyone.’

God had not yet given any response. If there was a problem, He would have given an answer accordingly. This was proof that there was no problem with his plan, and furthermore, it meant that there was no need to waver.

‘The damage to the territory and the people due to the civil war here is already severe, so even if a battle breaks out, it should take place outside of Burgos.’

‘That’s absolutely right!’

‘It has been confirmed that the Emperor and his close aides have all left the Imperial Palace, so let’s do our work.’

‘Ah, yes, yes. We’ve already found the right person.’

Swoosh.

One of the anti-royalist faction members handed a report to Rutherford.

‘He is a specialist in assassination. He will take King Damon’s life without any problems.’

One of the reasons for the royalist faction’s unity was King Damon’s survival. Whether he wanted it or not, he was a descendant of the Burgos royal family, and furthermore, he had a connection with Bariel, so he was bound to be influenced by them.

But, what if Damon died?

‘The unity of the royalist faction will collapse, and the whole of Burgos will oppose Bariel.’

Rutherford nodded as he read the report. As if he was satisfied with this.

‘Let’s send this one.’