Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 581

The surroundings were as bright as day. Thus, Barsabe, who was lying in a bloody mess, the puppeteers who were gathered with greedy faces, and even Rutherford, who was stepping back, were clearly visible.

Is he alone? The magic swordsmen drew their swords, and the Luswena mages tried to retreat and observe, as they had done before. It was as if they had no intention of wasting their strength in a pointless battle.

Thud!

But soon, as Jayrut, Hale, and Nakina soared up from below the cliff, the Luswena mages frowned as if they were in trouble.

‘They must be Bariel’s mages.’ These wretched bastards hadn’t stopped their pursuit even at night. Their presence here meant that their commander, Ian Hiel, could arrive at any moment.

“Barsabe!”

“Nakina, protect her. I’m going to infuse Barsabe with mana.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

Jayrut’s white shirt, which was hugging Barsabe, was instantly stained with red and black. Was she dead? Was she still breathing? Jayrut pressed his ear to her face, focusing on catching her breath. But it was so small and faint that he couldn’t hear anything.

Was it being drowned out by the wind? Yes. It had to be. It wasn’t that he couldn’t hear it, but that it was being drowned out.

“Commander Jayrut. Please step aside for a moment.”

Whirr. Whirr.

Hale grabbed Barsabe’s hand without hesitation and poured mana into her. Her hand was so cold it was chilling. It felt like holding a corpse. But he maintained his composure and focused on channeling the mana.

“I asked you, you bastards. What did you do to her molars?”

“Hic! W-we don’t know anything!”

“Lord Rutherford, d-d-do something!”

“Two mages, two magic swordsmen.”

“Hey, Luswena! This is doable, right? Don’t think about backing out, and help us! Or you’ll die. Both to us and to them.”

Beric scanned them with sharp eyes. The cocky bastards on the left were magic swordsmen, and the ones standing aloof on the right were Luswena mages.

And in the middle, an instinctively unpleasant aura. Beric pointed his sword at him and muttered.

“Damn it, you’re Rutherford.”

Long, flowing hair, tanned skin, and an annoying face. Beric rolled up his sleeves and grinned.

“I’ve heard your name so much it’s become an earworm, and this is the first time I’ve seen you like this. Nice to meet you? I really wanted to see you.”

“I don’t know who you are.”

“Beric. Ian’s friend.”

“Ah, Ian Hiel?”

“Thanks to you, you bastard! I’ve been working my ass off for 10 years!”

Whoosh!

As Beric pushed off with his feet, flames erupted around him.

The magic swordsmen, realizing that he was a formidable opponent, moved to the left and right to block Rutherford.

“Many of our guys died too!”

“Block him! To the right!”

“Huk! Th-this bastard… why is he so fast?”

“I’ve been suffering since I left home! I was just sad that I couldn’t see your face, but today I’m going to get my revenge!”

“Ugh! Help me!”

“Clean your neck and wait! I’ll cut you down cleanly!”

Clang! Clang!

Whoosh!

Beric shouted as he cleanly cut down the magic swordsman blocking his path. Was the bandage around his stomach just for show? He looked seriously injured, but his strength was astonishing.

The Luswena mages nodded and joined the battle, unleashing what little mana they had left.

“Luswena! We didn’t finish our fight during the day, did we?!”

Whoosh!

As mana in the form of a whip flew towards Beric’s unguarded back, Nakina lightly deflected it and protected Beric.

The situation was turning serious. The puppeteers slowly began to retreat, and then they started running across the vast field. They intended to hide below the cliff while the magic swordsmen and mages bought them time.

“Run, run! Escape!”

“The cliff is splitting down there!”

“Heeik! Damn it. This is why I didn’t want to come out.”

In the puppeteers’ minds, along with fear, only one goal was set. To return to Toolun alive.

But at that moment-

The sky flashed, and a huge beam of light fell in front of them.

Boom!

Crack! Crack!

A bolt of lightning fell from the clear sky.

The puppeteers, terrified, turned around and saw Jayrut, sweating profusely, glaring at them with heavy breaths.

“I-is that old man also a magic swordsman?”

“But he looks like he’s in the worst condition.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“If you step up, I’ll help you.”

“No, if you step up, I’ll help you!”

“Shut up!”

Jayrut’s thunderous shout fell upon the chattering puppeteers, who were pushing each other. He kept glancing at the disheveled Barsabe, barely concealing the trembling in his voice.

“Tell me the truth about what you did to Barsabe. Otherwise, I will cut your heads in half next time.”

It was terrible. It hurt to lose other members, but at least they had died honorably in battle.

But Barsabe’s condition was far from honorable, it was filled with disgrace and shame. Jayrut couldn’t bear to see his subordinate and his friend’s daughter meet her end in such a way.

“Lord Rutherford!”

The puppeteers just rolled their eyes and ran back towards Rutherford. It was as if they were saying that since he was the one who ordered it, he should take care of it.

But the magic swordsmen and mages were too busy holding back Beric and Nakina to have any leeway, and Rutherford was just standing there blankly, as if he had lost his mind.

“Lord Rutherford!”

It felt like everyone’s shouts were echoing in his head. His stomach was churning as if he had swallowed a lot of salt water, and he felt the blood rushing to his head.

Rutherford clutched his pounding heart and called out to God. Just like he had done in the abyss, he desperately prayed for salvation once again, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“You bastard!”

In an instant, Beric rushed at Rutherford with clenched teeth, and he raised both hands and reflexively created Idgal [a type of magical crystal].

Whoosh!

Small, sharp crystals brushed past Beric’s earlobe. A little blood trickled down, and Beric felt as if all the energy in his body was leaking out through that small scratch.

Beric was surprised and grabbed his injured ear for a moment-

Rutherford just unconsciously kept creating Idgal and attacking. Unlike his long clothes that swayed softly with his fists, his eyes were empty.

“Beric! Be careful! I know that because I’ve been hit by it!”

Nakina shouted, having grasped the situation, but she also froze, looking puzzled at Rutherford’s expression.

His expression was like that of someone who had their soul stolen, moving by instinct. An empty shell struggling to survive.

Beric clicked his tongue, annoyed, and Rutherford was still cut off from the outside world, consumed by the chaos in his mind.

“A fake.”

‘He’s doing everything Ian does?’

Beric ignored the fading mana and drew the sword from his waist. Just a blade is enough to cut down something like that.

‘What did you say?’

Meanwhile, Rutherford frowned at Beric’s whisper.

‘Fake? Me? What?’

If you think about it, wasn’t Ian the fake? He was wearing a green-eyed shell over his original blue eyes, but who was this guy calling a fake?

“Then try getting hit by this. You’ll feel with your body whether it’s real or fake.”

Clang! Clang!

Rutherford’s eyes flashed as he continued to create Idgal from his fingertips. The continuous stream was like a swarm of flies. It wasn’t threatening, but it was a very annoying attack, so Beric glared at him irritably.

Clink!

When the blades met and the two got closer, Beric glared at him and spat on his face. Ptooey! It was an open display of disgust.

“……!”

It was more composed than he expected, but the reaction was clear. Rutherford was dumbfounded and angry, and created an even larger Idgal.

“Why? Do you feel like shit?”

“…I swear on my life. I will tear you to pieces and throw you down the cliff.”

“That’s a long way of saying you’re going to run away. You’re acting like a noble, what a joke. You swore, right? I’ll make one too.”

Clink!

Beric’s red eyes sparkled with laughter. The feeling of blood rushing and excitement rising as the blade passed by. And the opponent was Rutherford….

He would capture this bastard alive and offer him to Ian. And in doing so, he would fill the emptiness he had felt for the past 10 years, even if only a little.

“I’ll make you kneel before Ian.”

The humiliation Ian had shown in front of the mages.

“Let’s do our best. Huh? If you can’t keep it, you’ll give up your life.”

It would be a shame to just repay it as it is, so he had to return it several times over. Isn’t that how the world works?

Rutherford’s eyes trembled, but the corners of his mouth were slowly rising.

‘It’s something that can be solved by dying.’

It was a curse he had experienced hundreds, thousands of times. From Bandor to Rutherford, what would change if he died just one more time?

Even if everything Rutherford had achieved now was suitable for threatening Bariel, this wouldn’t be the only opportunity.

There would be a next time, a next time.

Despairingly, the next time….

-To the cliff.

“……!”

Rutherford shuddered at the voice ringing in his ears. It was God’s revelation. He had reached out to him once again to tell him a solution.

He was moved for a moment, but then Beric’s fist struck him.

Wham!

His body tumbled and his mind went blank, but Rutherford planted his hands on the ground and extended Idgal like a fence. As if to say, don’t come closer. At the same time, dark red clots of blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

“I didn’t hit you that hard?”

“You ignorant, lowly thing.”

“You got beaten up by someone like that?”

Ptooey! Rutherford spat out blood as if he was used to it and laughed. His white teeth were all stained red, making him look like a manifestation of a demon.

But at that moment, he felt his life being eroded as a price for creating Idgal.

“Oh?”

Beric’s eyebrows twitched as Rutherford staggered backward. He wondered what he was trying to do, but then-

Hale, who was tending to Barsabe, shouted.

“Beric! Stop him!”

“Ah! Okay!”

He was trying to fall off the cliff.

He might lose his life, but it was the only way to shake off the pursuit for now. There was no other option unless one of the Luswena mages used forbidden magic.

Thud!

“Beric!”

“You crazy bastard!”

Rutherford threw himself without hesitation, following God’s voice, and Beric followed him in an instant.

Nakina also shouted in surprise, but she couldn’t approach. She was blocking the opposing magic swordsmen and mages at the same time.

Thump!

“Wh-what is that?”

A huge vibration echoed from below the earth.

Nakina lowered her body, and the opponents also held their breath, on guard.

Thump!

“Damn it, what is this! Commander Jayrut! Commander Hale! What do we do in this situation?”

“Commander Hale, please escort Barsabe to Agiar first. I’ll take care of this, so please.”

“No, I’ll stay too. Nakina! You take Barsabe. She needs to get treatment right away. There’s not a single piece of flesh that’s intact.”

“Commander!”

“I won’t accept any objections. I am your commander.”

As Hale spoke firmly, Nakina picked up Barsabe and flew away.

Then, Jayrut pointed to the bottom of the cliff and told Hale.

“You, who can fly freely, look down the cliff. I’ll hold these guys back.”

“Understood.”

‘Beric, you little rascal.’

The two thought the same thing at the same time and split up. Although it was almost a lull, the number of opponents was too overwhelming. And Jayrut was in a chaotic state.

But, it was doable.

No, they could do it.

Whirr!

Whirr!

As he took out his lightning sword and wiped the sweat from his chin, the sound of a water buffalo horn was heard in the distance.

Booo-

Booo-

It was Bariel’s reconnaissance team. At the head of the pack was a man with gray hair, who looked good in the darkness-

“Surround them!”

It was Siaosi.