Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 650

“Minister Martin!”

“I’ve confirmed it.”

Martin gestured for his rapidly approaching subordinate to calm down. In the distance, the dragons that had been scouting above the Wizard’s Forest had fallen, ensnared by a golden net.

The black-armored knights were with them, but the reason was unknown. To figure it out, they would have to send out another scout.

“Hmm.”

But what if they fell again? It would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

He rubbed his chin, frowning. Since it was the forest where the wizards lived, could there be some kind of anomaly? If not, what was that golden net? Martin pondered, then turned and approached Lady Darci’s carriage.

Knock knock.

“Madam. May I have a moment?”

At his call, Lady Darci drew back the curtain. It seemed she had been knitting, as yarn was scattered throughout the spacious interior of the carriage. Lady Darci tilted her head, her gaze questioning what was going on.

“What is it? It seems the carriage has been stopped for quite some time.”

“An anomaly has been detected in the Wizard’s Forest. All the dragons that went out scouting have fallen. Is it possible to communicate with the wizards?”

“Communicate? Hmm, I’m not sure.”

It would be good to get more information. Lady Darci just shrugged.

“It’s a difficult matter. If there’s a problem, wouldn’t it be enough to just bypass the Wizard’s Forest? Ho ho ho.”

“That would change the route. Even if it doesn’t seem like a big difference now, the distance to Hielro would increase significantly, requiring a report to the royal palace.”

“Hmm. How complicated.”

So, is it possible to reverse the wizard’s ritual, or not?

Martin tapped on the carriage window, urging an answer, but the lady just smiled sweetly and remained silent. Regardless of whether it was possible, she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

“I suppose I’ll have to see what’s going on myself. I’ll send Vitor. Since my vision is connected to him, I’ll know immediately if there’s a problem.”

Martin glanced towards the Wizard’s Forest. The entire vast forest seemed to be trembling slightly, as if something was happening. Flocks of birds taking flight from various places and the swaying ridgeline were evidence of this.

He had no choice but to step back.

“Understood. We’ll do that for now. However, I can’t send any more dragons until we know the cause.”

“As you wish. Even though he looks like that, Vitor is a wizard. If I tell him to hurry, he’ll fly there and back just fine. Just a moment. Let me tidy up here before we go.”

Lady Darci winked, and Martin turned his head with a displeased look.

No matter how he looked at her, she was a sly one. On the surface, she seemed to be cooperating as an ally, but in reality, she was trying to seize the initiative without revealing any of her own cards.

‘Is this going to be okay?’

Martin took out a cigarette. It was frustrating that he had no choice but to follow the king’s orders.

He was just about to light it when it happened.

Gugugung-

An unknown vibration shook the earth. It felt like an earthquake, but something was different.

Martin quickly grabbed his telescope and soon became certain. A huge gray cloud of smoke was covering the sky above the forest. What this meant was clear.

‘A ‘battle’ is taking place in the Wizard’s Forest.’

Who is it? Could there be a wizard hiding in the forest?

No. Even if there was, there would be no reason to attack dragons and knights armed with black armor. It would be more natural to hide quietly. To attack them meant they were an opposing force.

‘Bariel’s side?’

If Bariel’s wizards had come this far, the golden net from earlier would make sense. Some kind of magic, maybe.

But Hielro territory was burned, and most of Bariel’s wizards were in Kalamat. There was no way they could have been contacted in such a short time.

Martin tapped the cigarette with his fingertips, constantly watching the Wizard’s Forest. Not only him, but the officers and soldiers were also tense, their heads fixed towards the dense forest.

“Kueeeh……”

“Ohohot. I’m out. Just a moment. Please move aside. The smell is getting worse.”

“Minister. It’s, it’s Wizard Vitor.”

Not long after, Vitor staggered forward. Everyone covered their noses and backed away from the foul odor that was rising. The necrosis seemed to be getting worse.

Lady Darci moved the doll connected to her finger, and Vitor walked forward step by step.

Thud. Thump.

His steps were weak, devoid of any strength. *At this rate, when will he ever get there?* Martin frowned. But then, his pace gradually quickened, and soon he soared powerfully into the Wizard’s Forest.

“Kuh-heuk.”

The stench he left behind was considerable. *Will he be alright?* To be honest, he looked like a living corpse. It wouldn’t be surprising if his limbs fell off at any moment.

Lady Darci hummed a tune with her eyes closed.

“Alright, everyone, please be quiet. I’ll go see what’s there.”

The surrounding scenery appeared from a third-person perspective. It was faint, but soon lush greenery filled the view. Vitor had safely entered the forest.

She continued to guide Vitor deeper into the forest to find the place where the dragon had crashed, and soon discovered the village where the Luswena wizards had lived.

“Oh my?”

“What is it, Lady Darci? What do you see?”

“There’s someone there. Yes, yes. There’s someone in the forest. A little kid and a burly man. I also see golden nets tangled around the tree trunks. Oh my. The dragon and the black armor are all-”

Lady Darci paused, as if she couldn’t believe it. The dragon was collapsed and unconscious, and fragments of black armor were scattered everywhere. The knights, who seemed to be their owners, were crumpled and sprawled on the ground.

The two people Lady Darci had mentioned, the burly man and the little kid, frowned upon discovering the suddenly appearing Vitor.

“…Ian Hielro?”

“What did you say?”

“He looks like the Minister of Magic, hmm.”

“That’s impossible. He’s in Kalamat right now. He can’t be here.”

“It’s not that he can’t be here, but that he shouldn’t be here. For the Luswena advance. But what can we do? To me, it looks like Ian Hielro no matter how I look at it.”

Lady Darci muttered in a serious tone that was new to her. Then, she tilted her head and lightly flicked her fingertip. Vitor trudged forward, charging towards the two of them.

* * *

“Haa, haa…”

Beric wiped his chin and looked back at Ian. The magic explosion that had just occurred was considerable, but Ian stood upright without even a change in his breathing.

*Isn’t this really unfair?* He was exhausted from rolling around in the training grounds all day, while this bookworm, who didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, and just sat and worked all day, was perfectly fine?

Beric shouted irritably.

“Ian, what are you? How did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your magic just exploded, but why are you okay?”

*Foolish Beric.* Of course, it was because he had distributed his magic and Idgal [a type of magical energy].

The strategy was to open a path while approaching the opponent, and then convert to Idgal when penetrating, to save as much magic as possible. The enemy they were facing was Luswena itself. Without Acorella’s help, it was necessary to maintain composure and control their power.

*My main opponents will be the Luswena wizards.*

When Ian turned his head away, as if annoyed by what he was about to say, Beric rushed at him, yelling.

“Why aren’t you answering?! Tell me!”

“It’s because you’re neglecting your training.”

“Come on. There’s no one in the Royal Guard who has more holes in their body than me, okay? No one there risks their life like I do!”

Ian didn’t reply and instead generated magic in his hands. There were still the dragon and the black-armored knights who were still breathing.

“I’ll hold the dragon with Idgal for now. Let’s deal with the black armor first.”

“Okay. Still, we cracked those bastards’ heads in one blow. They’re definitely tougher than before, but we’re not pushovers either. Right?”

Beric wiped his snot and smiled with satisfaction. He felt that he had become stronger as much as his opponents had become stronger.

At that moment, the black-armored knights, having regained their senses, drew their swords and staggered towards them. Their sword-wielding posture was quite decent. Ian raised an eyebrow and told Beric.

“Beric. There are knights inside the armor.”

“The era of the riffraff is over, huh!”

“Be careful. One by one, slowly.”

“No problem-!”

*Whoosh!*

As Beric leaped forward with all his might, the black-armored group lowered their bodies in vigilance. In response, Ian placed his hand on the ground and generated Idgal.

The black-armored knights shouted irritably.

“…Damn it! Again!”

“Be careful! The black armor isn’t easy to deal with.”

“It’s okay. It’ll break if I hit it a few times!”

Idgal surged up, seemingly freezing their feet and legs solid. But as expected, Idgal was shattered with just a few movements.

Knowing it would happen, Ian immediately brought his right index and middle fingers together, drawing a circular magic circle.

*Whoosh!*

「Myriad Leaves」.

A giant old tree sprouted behind Ian, and thick tree trunks crawled up from all directions. It wasn’t the World Tree [a mythical tree often depicted as the center of the world], but it seemed as if the nearby trees were coming to life.

They firmly bound the black-armored knights’ arms and legs, and Ian poured out his magic endlessly, making it harder to break free than with Idgal.

“Here I gooo!”

At the same time, Beric, who had been floating in the air, dropped his sword. The magic sword instantly disintegrated and disappeared, and he immediately pulled something very small from his pocket.

The knights, looking up at the sky, paused in confusion. What was that? It was almost the size of a palm…

‘A hammer?’

*Clang!*

It was a Dera tribe hammer [a type of hammer used by the Dera tribe, known for their craftsmanship]. Beric swung the hammer with all his might, hitting the black armor’s helmet squarely.

“Head!”

*Clang!*

“One more time, head!”

He shouted with such comical energy. It was noisy, but the impact was definitely there, so Ian just watched Beric’s solo performance without saying anything.

After swinging it a few times, the helmets shattered like sugar pieces, leaving none intact.

“Heaaad!”

With the knights’ heads now exposed, Beric drew his magic sword again. Having dealt with the black armor more easily than expected, he became elated, put his hands on his hips, and laughed heartily.

“Ian, I think we could just lie in wait here and take out the ones that come. This kind of strategy is kind of fun.”

“Since the dragon scouting has failed twice already, they’ll probably react differently now. Well, watching and responding isn’t a bad idea either…”

Ian looked down at the fallen knights and suddenly turned around. He sensed a strange presence. It was something heavy and sticky, not like a normal aura.

Beric also noticed it, and he slipped the hammer into his pocket, meeting Ian’s gaze.

“Huh. Over there-”

*Thud, thud*. A man staggered towards them as if drunk. His clothes were luxurious, but the fluid flowing on the surface made him look a mess. Ian and Beric’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

“Ugh. Ian, what is that?”

“…His clothes are from a Luswena mage [a mage from the Luswena region, known for their magical prowess].”

“No way. Is it a monster? No, it doesn’t seem like a monster. I’m losing my appetite. Ugh.”

Who among the Luswena mages would have transformed into such a state?

The answer was simple and obvious. Someone who used forbidden magic. How he was still alive and not dead, Ian didn’t know, but he was quite certain.

“Is it you, who came to Hielro?”

“……”

*Swoosh.*

The man stopped once, took a couple of steps, and then stopped again, repeating the process several times. He wasn’t normal. It was as if he was being controlled by something.

“I’ll ask one last time. Is it you?”

*Zzzing! Zzzing!*

Ian lowered his stance and gathered his magic. As if waiting for it, the man growled horribly and charged.

Ian finished the question he hadn’t been able to ask.

“…Is it you who killed my family?”