Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 600

“Waaaaah!”

The city gates swung open, and soldiers led by Lautan charged straight ahead.

In response, the Bariel soldiers maintained their formation, awaiting orders, but silence prevailed. The enemy was rushing to kill them, yet they had received no instructions.

‘Is this right?’ Everyone looked bewildered, facing a situation unlike any battle they had experienced before.

“Come on! If you want to pass, step over my corpse!”

“Waaaaah! Let’s protect Purpato and Burgos!”

“We will defend it! We will defend it no matter what!”

Thud! Thud!

With fervent shouts, the pounding of hooves shook the earth.

As the Bariel soldiers hesitated and grew confused, the mages, following Ian’s orders, deployed a shield that spanned the entire length of their formation.

Zzzing! Zzzing!

“Higher!”

“Shield! Move it further forward!”

It was primarily intended to block the initial charge of the Purpato soldiers.

Lautan’s eyes gleamed with delight at the sight. It was a charge born from a mere suspicion. A suspicion he himself wasn’t sure of, which he wanted to prove.

But now, instead of counterattacking, the Bariel mages were deploying a shield, drawing a line on the ground. His suspicion was roughly correct.

A glimmer of hope appeared. They had truly sworn not to kill after passing through the Purpato forest, and they could never harm Purpato!

“The mages are setting up a defensive line!”

“Prepare the arrows! We keep charging!”

“Let’s exhale and cut down everything!”

Tap tap!

Whoosh! Ping!

At Lautan’s gesture, arrows flew from the city walls. Those who couldn’t draw their bows shouted their determination, and the Bariel soldiers could only swallow hard as they watched the enemy approach.

“Haaap!”

Clang! Clang!

Crack!

Finally, Lautan’s sword drew a large arc.

Lautan gripped the handle with both hands, clenching his teeth. He didn’t know if this would break the mages’ shield, but there was something else that was important.

The flow of the battle that this attack would bring.

“First strike!”

“Purpato has launched a first strike against the Bariel army!”

“Let’s go! Attack following Lord Lautan!”

Clang! Clang!

Each time the Purpato soldiers swung their swords, the shield vibrated with a zzzing sound.

There was no fear of it breaking, but the mages looked back at Ian, troubled. The ferocity of the enemy’s attack made it seem like the tide of battle was turning, a ‘misconception’.

“Lord Ian, is it okay to keep holding out?”

“Shouldn’t we at least move the Bariel soldiers back?”

“It’s fine. Hold your positions until their excitement dies down. Focus on maintaining the shield. We must not allow any harm to come to the Bariel side through any gaps.”

“Yes, I understand. It’s not like it’s Idgal, anyway. This is more than manageable.”

“Keep acting up! Let’s see whose arms hurt first!”

“We told you to resolve this through dialogue, you bastards. Tsk tsk. Hey! You guys are making a mistake right now, you know?”

Idgal reacted to physical impact, but the shield was not a concern unless it was made of a special material.

The mages calmly rolled the shield into a dome, covering the Bariel soldiers. This was to block the arrows flying from afar.

“Good! Keep focusing!”

As the mages focused on the shield, Lautan’s subordinates shouted with confidence.

“It seems to be true, Lord Lautan! There’s no counterattack from Bariel! Seeing that they’re not even trying to make contact, it seems there was a Purpato forest oath.”

“Thank you, guardians of Purpato!”

While everyone was praying with emotion, Lautan lowered his sword for a moment and took a breath.

It was clear that Bariel could not attack Purpato. But more detailed and accurate evidence was needed. At this rate, Purpato would collapse on its own. Human stamina had its limits, and their food and weapons were also finite, weren’t they?

Swoosh.

Lautan, who had been raising morale, raised his hand. It was a signal to temporarily stop the attack.

At this, Tweller, who had been watching quietly, stepped forward and faced Lautan across the shield. He hadn’t realized it from afar, but he was a very large man. Tweller looked at him for a moment, then spoke.

“…I’ll introduce myself again. I am Maxim Tweller, Minister of Imperial Defense of Bariel.”

“Are you going to keep this up for days? If you are true warriors, remove the shield and come out here to settle this.”

“I would like to, but His Majesty the Emperor’s will is not so. But, do you think this shield is for Bariel?”

“If not?”

“This is a shield for you. If even one soldier is injured by Purpato’s attack, we cannot let you live in the name of Bariel. For those who have sacrificed themselves for the empire, we will not stand idly by. So, stop this meaningless and wasteful attack for a moment. We wish to have a deep conversation.”

Lautan rested his sword on his shoulder and looked down at Tweller. Minister of Imperial Defense. He was probably the next decision-maker after the Emperor here.

There would surely be information to gain by talking. Lautan nodded, meaning he was fine with it. As if to say, ‘tell me whatever it is’.

Tweller stared at Lautan impassively.

‘He’s on edge.’

His movements to find out about the Purpato oath were clear. Thinking it would be better to think once more before speaking, Tweller took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

“The Purpato oath is true. The master of the forest favored Purpato and offered it. But that was just an offer. If your resistance becomes fierce and harms Bariel, we will gladly kill you and step over your corpses. We will also burn Purpato, which the guardian loved and cherished, and erase it from history.”

“You bastard! How dare you speak so boldly!”

“Don’t act so high and mighty, you invaders! This is the land where we were born and raised, and the proud Burgos!”

“I’m giving you a choice. If you don’t resist, you can protect both your lives and your land. But other than that, there will only be despair.”

Lautan’s eyes narrowed as he listened quietly.

“You made an oath with the guardian, so how can you kill us?”

“If you’re curious, I’ll show you. Nothing can stop Bariel.”

It was Ian who made the oath with the Purpato deer. It was only that the death of the Purpato people should not occur by Ian’s command, so wouldn’t other methods be possible?

He couldn’t get help from the mages under Ian, but Bariel had tens of thousands of soldiers. And also, Jin Verosian, who could move them.

Lautan, who had been pondering something for a moment, smiled.

“You weren’t the one who met the guardian and made the oath directly.”

“……!”

Tweller paused at the unexpected words. Was there a flaw in what he had just said? In less than a second, he reviewed it several times, but there was nothing special.

As cigarette smoke leaked through his tightly closed lips, Lautan laughed out loud.

“All Purpato people know it. The legend of the guardian.”

Whenever a great disaster struck Purpato and the surrounding areas, the guardian would raise the ‘Maze Forest’ to protect this land.

“To pass through the forest, you must swear something. And every oath is given blessings and curses without exception.”

Curse.

At those words, the mages looked back at Ian. Their faces seemed to say, ‘What is he talking about?’ There was no mention of a curse? Tweller didn’t look at Ian, but he focused all his attention in that direction.

Lautan, who was facing him, couldn’t have missed this. He turned his head to the side and looked at Ian.

“Is it you? The one who saw the guardian of the forest directly?”

Ian’s hand, which had been stroking a branch inside his sleeve, stopped abruptly.

He was no ordinary man. More than anything, he seemed fearless. More than just rushing in with the determination to die, there was something aggressive about him.

“So?”

“Let’s hear it. What exactly was the oath? Only then can I deeply consider whether to cooperate with my Bariel or not. If a Purpato person dies here, an unavoidable curse will befall you, wouldn’t that be better?”

It was a lie. From the words ‘deeply consider,’ Ian realized that Lautan was lying. It was just a ploy to get information.

In the face of the mercilessly flowing time, Purpato would eventually have no choice but to kneel before Bariel, so they were trying to find a gap by extracting information beforehand. The choice was bold and correct.

“Lord Ian, an unavoidable curse? Is it true?”

“Why, why didn’t you tell us?”

“What kind of curse is it? Lord Ian, please tell us about it. Could it be that you don’t trust us? If so, then scold us instead. Don’t keep it to yourself.”

“Yes, I will gladly accept your scolding. But I cannot accept this situation.”

As the mages whispered their resentment, Ian raised one hand. As if to ask them to stop their excitement for a moment and listen.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s just my judgment. I am your superior and a mage who carries Bariel. I judged that mentioning the curse would not help the war. So, don’t be too upset-”

Ian paused as he was about to continue. The mages’ eyes had turned triangular. After taking a short breath, Ian finally surrendered.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Yes, it’s enough that you know. Ugh, really.”

“I’ll let it slide just this once. Not twice!”

Soon, a report about the curse would also reach Jin in the back. It would be good to sort out the situation a bit before that.

Ian held up the branch and approached Lautan.

“As you guessed, I am the one who met the master of the forest and made the oath. This is the proof. I broke it off before the forest disappeared.”

Lautan and his subordinates looked at the branch with surprise. It was the very thing they had only heard about in legends. Hope that they could live and protect Purpato welled up naturally.

Snap.

However, Ian broke it with a smile. With a hand that was so decisive it was eerie.

“If you want, I’ll do as you wish.”

“The, the curse is absolutely unavoidable!”

Ian whispered at Lautan’s cry.

“It’s unavoidable, but it’s not something I can’t handle.”

‘He’s not ordinary either.’

Lautan’s spine tingled for a moment, and then all the legends that had come down to Purpato flashed through his mind. Considering the overall situation and Tweller’s attitude…

“He’s the one who must not be killed.”

“Yes? Lord Lautan, what do you mean?”

“That guy! Since the one who made the oath directly with the guardian has given his name, it means that Tweller or others can lead an attack on Purpato!”

He was called the Minister of Magic, so mages were excluded from the battle. The Bariel army remained, but there was still a chance of victory.

Swoosh.

At that moment, Lautan pointed his sword at his own neck and shouted.

“Everyone in Bariel, listen! If Purpato is attacked by the order of someone other than the Minister of Magic, I will cry out to the guardian and commit suicide! I will die because of the pain, fear, and frustration that this man has given me!”

So what? The mages gave him a nonchalant look, but the Purpato people were the opposite. Their eyes were sparkling, filled with respect. They knew the legends that came down from Purpato.

“Do you think it’s not possible? There’s a similar story in the legends. Just by defining my death as your fault, the effect will be clear.”

As Lautan growled fiercely, the mages took a step back. They didn’t know the legends or have any information about the guardian, so they thought it was better to be careful first.

But on the contrary, Ian moved closer to him.

“If you die because of me, the master of the forest will be angry. But for that to be possible, you must first know about me.”

“Of course! Ian Hiel, Minister of Magic of Bariel!”

Ian lightly shook his head.

As if he knew it would be like that, he smiled faintly.

“Not that, but my real name that I told the master of the forest.”