Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 673

Vivianna, having laid Philia down, sighed and slumped. Such a tender and kind person, yet her fate is so cruel.

As Vivianna rubbed her forehead with pity, a child’s foot came into view. It was Roel, who had quietly approached. Vivianna hugged the child and whispered,

“Roel, don’t worry too much. Your mother has just fallen asleep.”

“Madam, please come this way for a moment.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

Roel moved Vivianna away from the door and cautiously looked behind him, as if Philia shouldn’t hear.

Vivianna knelt to meet Roel’s gaze, biting her dry lip. In all the time they had been together, Roel had never called her like this. There must be something important to say. Vivianna felt nervous, her fingertips trembling.

“I have something to tell you.”

“…What did you see?”

What Roel had seen? How could he explain it in words? The child hesitated, then got straight to the point.

“I must return to the Great Desert.”

“The Great Desert? You mean the Land of a Thousand Sorrows?”

“If I don’t go, the blood of the Thousand Sorrows will be completely cut off from the world. For the sake of the tribe, I must return to the Great Desert and be with them.”

“But Roel, right now-”

“I know there’s a war going on. I also know it’s much fiercer than what the Central Command has grasped, and that unfortunate things are happening. And my father has already…”

Her breath hitched. Roel finished his words, trying his best to control his emotions.

“…He has already become a star. The brightest one in the dark night sky.”

“… !”

Vivianna covered her mouth. Then, almost reflexively, she hugged Roel tightly, comforting him. Had the child witnessed his father’s death? If so, could there be a more pitiful ability in the world?

“Please, Madam. Send me back to the Great Desert. When the Central Command sends reinforcements to Hiel, please tell Lord Romandro to let me go with them. This is not for me, but for Bariel and the Great Desert.”

“Oh, Roel… you poor thing.”

“And one more thing.”

Roel looked towards the room where Philia was sleeping.

“Mother must never, ever go to Hiel. I must go alone.”

“Alone? Roel, Philia won’t allow it.”

“That’s why I’m asking you like this, Madam.”

“Oh my, this is…”

From Philia’s perspective, with her husband and two children all in Hiel, she would be the only one left in the Central Command, safe. Could she endure that?

And above all, Roel was too young. Unlike Ian and Nershaln, he didn’t have the power to protect himself, so Philia would be very worried and would surely oppose it.

“If possible, please persuade my mother, and if not, please send me away secretly. If you cherish me as much as you cherish Bibi.”

“Roel. No matter how much I cherish you, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you that much. Before being a mother to a child, I am Philia’s irreplaceable friend. I can never do that-”

“Yes. You are certainly my mother’s friend before being Roel’s mother. Then you should send me alone even more.”

“Why? I-”

“If Mother goes to Hiel, she will die.”

It was a truly chilling voice. Vivianna was startled and stopped speaking, and Roel regained his composure.

“Mother can never return to Hiel territory. That’s what’s best for her. Madam Vivianna, you are her closest friend, so you must wish for her peace. And as Bibi’s mother, I believe you will understand a child’s heart for their parents.”

What on earth had the child seen? Vivianna slumped down, staring only into Roel’s eyes. Was the world seen through those beautiful green eyes so cruel and terrible?

Roel pleaded, taking Vivianna’s hand.

“I want to protect my mother. Someday, when the energy of the Great Desert is restored, I think we can meet again. Madam. Please, I beg you, help me.”

Vivianna hesitated, unable to answer. But soon, she had no choice but to nod.

“Let’s first tell Lord Romandro about this. If we work with the Imperial Palace, it might be resolved well.”

While Vivianna went into the bedroom to get her coat, Roel stood quietly waiting.

At that moment, Bibi carefully came down the stairs and took Roel’s hand. She had sensed that something was amiss.

“Roel, are you okay?”

“…Bibi.”

Roel brushed Bibi’s hair back, giving her a sad smile. My small and lovely friend. Now it’s really time to say goodbye. Roel kissed Bibi on the cheek, saying goodbye.

“Bibi, goodbye. Take care. I might think of you every time I see the sunlight.”

“Roel…”

The farewell was brief. Madam Vivianna, who had finished preparing, approached quickly.

“Roel, let’s go. We need to find a carriage to the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Oh, Mom.”

“Shh, Bibi. Stay safe at home. Mom will be back from the Imperial Palace soon. If anything happens, tell Mini. Okay?”

Kiss. Bibi also kissed her daughter’s forehead.

After the two hurriedly left the mansion, Bibi stared blankly at the carriage moving away through the window. A small hand peeked out of the carriage and waved, but Bibi couldn’t see it because it was too far away.

* * *

KWAHAAA! KWANG!

KWANG! KWANG!

With a huge roar, smoke erupted, and the fire cannon shook violently. The soldiers holding it firmly were pushed back.

The fired projectiles flew towards Ian and Hale at tremendous speed. One grazed past Ian, and one flew directly towards Hale. Hale reflexively created a shield.

CRACK!

“… !”

The moment the projectile hit, Hale instinctively felt the outer surface of the shield break. It was too late to create another one.

KWANG!

The bomb exploded right in front of Hale, and he was thrown backward by the impact.

Startled, Ian turned to follow him, and then he witnessed the projectile that had passed by him explode in mid-air.

KWAHAAANG! KWANG!

Flames lit up the sky like fireworks. It was like a small, beautiful rain of fire. Ian, Hale, and the mages realized that the energy of the flames was unusual.

“Captain Hale! Captain!”

“Lord Ian! That, it’s magic!”

The familiar power felt from the gunpowder. The flames spread out in all directions as if they were alive, then ignited and exploded again on their own. Each one was as powerful and threatening as the first projectile fired.

KWAHAAANG! KWANG! KWANG!

The area around Hale, who had been hit directly by the explosion, was filled with thick smoke. He couldn’t be seen.

‘Instead of accuracy, the range and power of the projectile’s explosion are considerable, and there are even follow-up explosions. The fact that it can break a shield…’

Moreover, the strong traces of magic. It was clear that this was a weapon involving Eastern mages.

‘100 years ago, the early forms of fire cannons were not like this. But how?’

This was a future that was clearly different from what Ian knew. Like Shatima’s return, this must also be the result of something that had deviated from the original history. But Ian couldn’t immediately figure out what had caused it.

“Cough, cough!”

“Hale, are you alright? Don’t try to block it with a shield, deflect it diagonally. It doesn’t seem like it will be a long-lasting attack.”

Hale emerged from the smoke. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries, but the flames that had spread to his coat were a bit strange.

“Yes, well. Be careful, the smoke is very thick. But these flames won’t go out. They’re definitely not ordinary.”

“It’s magic. From Eastern mages.”

As the embers continued to crackle and dig in, Hale threw off his coat.

Below, smoke was already rising thickly over the golden reed fields of Luswena. The embers that had been scattered by the explosion met the wind and grew larger.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“These bastards, really!”

“The reed fields, the reed fields that have been with Luswena’s history, are burning! Oh, oh!”

Elderth, watching this, felt his neck stiffen again. Both Toolun and Hawan were waging war in such a rough manner, as if it wasn’t their own land. Regardless of the outcome, the burden that Luswena would have to bear was getting heavier.

They had experienced something similar in the Clifford War, but at that time, it was Luswena’s share, so they didn’t realize how serious the situation was.

“Dragons! Hurry!”

They had to hurry and make contact with Hawan to prevent indiscriminate destruction of the land.

But in order to face Hawan, there was a mountain they had to overcome-

“You! You bastards!”

ZIIING! ZIIING!

CHWAAAAK!

It was the mages of Bariel.

They quickly snatched the dragons flying with the World Tree and threw them to the ground, and dozens of soldiers who were crushed under them screamed and died.

Erica, watching this through a telescope, raised her hand again.

“Bring the next projectile.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

It seemed that simple fire-attribute projectiles were not enough. The soldiers worked in pairs to transport the projectiles, and soon, they reloaded with skillful hands.

In the meantime, the first to reach the Hawan camp was Beric.

“Get out of the way!”

With one swing of his sword, soldiers were swept away like paper dolls, but there were too many of them. To make matters worse, one of the four fire cannons aimed at the sky tilted towards Beric.

Casualties among their own forces were expected, but it couldn’t be helped. To capture the magic swordsman.

“Aim!”

“Aim-!”

“Everyone, clear the way! Get out of the way!”

“Get out of the way! The bomb is going to explode!”

The soldiers split to the left and right to avoid Beric.

As the path cleared in an instant, Beric could clearly see the inside of the Hawan army camp. He was suddenly in a straight line with the deep, round fire cannon hole.

“Fire!”

“Fire!”

KWAHAAANG!

A projectile flew directly towards Beric.

Beric gripped his sword and straightened his posture. If it had a physical form, wouldn’t he be able to cut through anything? A flying iron ball was something he could just split in half!

It was a plan that no human could dare to imagine, but Beric confidently raised his blade.

He could see it. The iron ball the size of a human head flying towards him. As Beric swung his magic greatsword with all his might-

CHWAAAAK!

The projectile was split in half.

“Oh!”

See, I knew it would be like this!

“Look! It’s nothing… ?”

The projectile, which had been split in half and had gone past Beric, changed its trajectory abnormally and merged again.

Then, as if it had been fired again, it flew towards the back of Beric’s head?

“… !”

POO-UNG! POONG!

A powerful explosion that overturned the dirt. Ian and Hale frowned at the same time.

“…”

“Beric!”

The new projectiles that were fired in succession also flew towards the two of them. Hale stopped flying and stood in place, bringing his two fists together.

ZIIING! ZIIING!

“Lord Ian, I will cover you!”

「Chae Bong [Colorful Stick]」.

A huge, flat stick appeared from his grasp. Just as the projectile reached them, Ian maneuvered downwards and barely dodged it, and Hale, who was behind him, met it.

BOO-OONG!

KUGOOOO!

Hale’s magic stick collided with the projectile.

Instead of bouncing off, the projectile stopped. Two forces were fiercely opposing each other in mid-air. Hale struggled to push the projectile away.

Finally, Hale shouted and swung his arm greatly, and the projectile returned to the Hawan army along the path it had come from.

SWISH!

“… !”

Erica’s eyes widened in surprise. Fortunately, the projectile that was returning exploded in the sky, and the soldiers barely managed to duck and avoid the sharp wind.

Hale put his magic stick on his shoulder and nodded with satisfaction.

“…That felt good.”