Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 675

The Solution

Deeng! Deeeeng-!

The prayer time in Toorun was almost silent.

The attendants removed their shoes and moved barefoot across the marble floor to minimize any noise. Their movements were synchronized, and not even the rustling of their clothes could be heard.

They entered the king’s chambers with quick, silent steps, their heads lowered as they carried damp towels.

“Keok, uh-uh…”

Koomasha, the king of Toorun, scratched his neck and exhaled sharply. The attendants lowered their heads further, pretending not to hear his groans of agony, as if a thorn was lodged in his throat.

“Are you alright?”

“I don’t know why this is happening.”

Though dozens were in the room, only the prime minister spoke to him. Koomasha’s body trembled uncontrollably, and he slumped to the side again.

“Could it be because of ‘that’?”

Koomasha was silent for a moment at the prime minister’s question. Ian Hielo. Through the doll’s eyes, he had clearly looked at him.

“King of Toorun. Are you done?”

“Damn it!”

Koomasha frowned and scratched the soft floor. He then screamed like a madman, but no one dared to raise their head.

Ian Hielo had executed the almost only solution to puppetry. Whether he was aware of it or not, anyway.

‘To look directly at who is behind the doll.’

By doing so, the attack inflicted on the doll could reach the owner. The power was significantly reduced, but even that was an unbearable burden for Koomasha, who was still a child.

The child cried and painfully rubbed his body. His white skin quickly turned red.

“In the case of the magic swordsman Barsabe, His Majesty knew he was being controlled, but he was never attacked, so there was no problem. The same goes for other puppeteers; as long as their identities are not revealed, there is no need to worry about it…”

“I know! I know that!”

Things had clearly started to go wrong since Lady Darci’s incident. The forbidden magic, and the fact that the buffer had disappeared in the middle.

Koomasha glared at the prime minister with annoyance. He just stood there, looking down at him, and babbling as if he knew everything, while doing nothing.

At that moment, a calm announcement came from outside.

“The mages have arrived.”

The mages who had escaped through the portal in Lusswennah had arrived near the Toorun palace and entered. Koomasha shouted sharply, as if it was a good thing.

“Summon all the puppeteers!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Thanks to Lady Darci, he knew. To avoid repeating the same mistakes as before, more safety measures were needed.

He would place not one, but two or more puppeteers in the middle to prevent the force from reaching him.

“But Your Majesty, about Erica of the Hawan Kingdom. You said that she seemed to have learned the solution from her when she killed Prime Minister Shatima. Has there been any other reaction since then?”

The prime minister asked, handing the child lukewarm water. Koomasha breathed roughly but managed to take a sip.

“Not yet.”

“…Not yet.”

There were only two ways to counter puppetry. One was through external means, and the other was to cut it off from within. Ian Hielo’s case was the former.

And Erica’s case was the latter. He didn’t know how Prime Minister Shatima knew about it, but it was fortunate that her memories were fragmented and not fully conveyed.

“Do not allow Erica even a moment of will. If you are careless, it will be a big problem, Your Majesty.”

At the prime minister’s warning, Koomasha only raised his moist eyes.

Then, when he heard that the mages and puppeteers were ready, the child straightened his upper body, staggering. Damn that Ian Hielo.

“The mages will be forbidden again and sent back to Lusswennah, or rather, to Ian Hielo. Just in case, select a couple of puppeteers to go with them. And Lady Darci-”

Koomasha gestured for scissors to be brought. Soon, the child, holding small scissors in one hand, examined the tangled thread with his fingertips.

“Cut it off.”

Snip.

As the thread was completely cut, a small wisp of smoke rose from its end. There was almost no physical reaction, and King Eldert had put it in a drawer, making it useless even as a decoration. It was better to cut it off than to have it mess with his mind.

“Bring the Lusswennah mages and puppeteers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. That is a wise decision.”

The hot sunlight poured onto the cold marble. Koomasha sighed softly, listening to the distant ringing of bells. The world outside seemed so peaceful, but inside, it was so noisy.

Koomasha lightly closed his eyes and prayed to the underworld. He hoped that this time, he could take Ian Hielo’s life.

* * *

“Lady Erica, I think this might be the last attack.”

The rain was getting heavier. They were doing their best to keep the fuse from getting wet, but how could they stop the water from seeping through their hands?

The adjutant reported that this was the last attack and waited for Erica’s command. It would be great if they could catch the mages with magic bullets, but that was not their goal in the first place. To temporarily disrupt the mages in order to give a breather to Lusswennah, which was in danger.

“Shouldn’t we start retreating to the rear?”

“It would be best to cross the border into Hielo. There are troops waiting near Merelof, so if we send a signal, they will advance.”

“I don’t know about Hielo, but there are quite a few survivors in Merelof. If we fight with them, the mages won’t be able to attack easily.”

“By then, the fuse will be completely dry, so we can use it again. Now is the right time to retreat. Erica.”

“Please give the order…”

They were not officially allies, but the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ was not for nothing. They needed to join forces in front of the huge wall called Bariel.

Of course, it seemed very difficult, but if Lusswennah collapsed here, the aftermath would fall entirely on Hawan.

“Erica?”

But Erica had no particular reaction. She just stared blankly at the mages in the sky.

At that moment, the last bullet was fired.

Bang! Bang!

“Come on! Huh?”

Berik, who had been waiting for this, wiggled his arm as if he was about to swing his sword, but the bullet flew past him. Berik started running with all his might, chasing the bullet.

“Can’t you throw straight!”

And Erica’s adjutant saw this. He was relieved that he had bought some time, but he was also impatient because the decision was delayed.

“Erica! You have to decide!”

When the adjutant grabbed her shoulder and shook her, Erica finally muttered without any soul.

“Okay. Let’s do that. Order everyone to retreat.”

“Yes, I understand!”

It was very strange. He knew she was from Bariel, but was there a problem with meeting the mages? It was truly incomprehensible.

At the adjutant’s belated signal, the Hawan commanders waved their flags with all their might, ordering the soldiers to retreat.

Booo- Booo!

Meanwhile, Ian raised his hand for a moment, seeing the movements of the Hawan soldiers. It was as if he was telling them not to pursue. It was clear that he intended to draw the mages’ attention as much as possible.

“They seem to be going into Hielo and Merelof, ignore them. For now, clearing Lusswennah is the priority.”

It was okay even if they lost their territory for a while. Reinforcements were coming from the center, and they needed to make sure Lusswennah lost its power to be completely relieved and leave the rear empty.

And above all, if mages appeared in Hielo and Merelof, the people of the territory who had gained hope might come forward and try to protect their territory. It was admirable, but Ian did not want their blood either.

‘If the people of the territory get caught up in the war, even mages would have a hard time stopping them without casualties. It is right to evacuate them before the Hawan army reaches the territory.’

It was the moment Ian said that and turned around.

Berik, who had been running to the end chasing the bullet, finally jumped high and caught up. And then, with all his might-

Clang!

He swung his greatsword, which was lying down, and deflected the trajectory of the bullet.

The bullet, which had been falling close to the ground, gained power and flew straight. It flew between the dragons, past the heads of the Lusswennah soldiers, and to the solid wall.

Kwaaaang! Bang! Bang!

Puh-woong!

“Hoo.”

Berik shielded his eyes from the rain with his hand and watched the wall. It seemed that something had hit it properly, and the bricks began to collapse one by one, along with a huge cloud of dust.

Urr-rr-!

“Run, get out of the way!”

“The wall is collapsing! Get out of the way!”

Thanks to the rain, the dust quickly settled, but once the pile of stones began to collapse, there was no stopping it. It collapsed endlessly like dominoes, destroying the area. This was due to the nature of the last magic bullet fired by Hawan.

“The explosions keep going!”

“The vibrations continue! Run away!”

“Hawan, you crazy bastards! Please stop! We’re all going to die!”

The shockwaves continued endlessly. The explosions continued until they could no longer transmit power. It was a similar method to the “Chaotic Bell” magic used by Hale.

Berik looked at the collapsing walls with a ‘huh?’ face, and the mages looked down at him with bewildered expressions. The archers who had been shooting Idgal arrows from the wall had also disappeared into the dust pit and became silent.

“Berik, what are you?”

“I hit it a bit. Yeah. I hit it a bit well this time.”

“It’s so funny how he gets praised every time he does something like this. Don’t be arrogant! It was a fluke, you idiot!”

“Getting a fluke is also a skill, you know?!”

“Look, he’s already getting cocky. Damn it.”

“Ah, what are the mages doing? They couldn’t break a single wall when one shot would have done it! Hahaha! These guys were just playing around! Hey! Return your salaries!”

“Who would do it so stupidly like you-”

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard the mages’ excuses for not being able to break a single wall! Puhahahaha!”

The mages’ eyes narrowed. They gathered their magic power and then, living vines stretched out across the land of Lusswennah.

“…Kill that bastard too.”

“Got it.”

Chwaaaak!

The World Tree vines lashed out like whips, striking the ground. It was clearly aimed at Berik, but Berik, the person in question, was dodging well, and instead, the screams of the Lusswennah soldiers continued to erupt.

Kwaang! Bang!

“Uwaaaak! Ugh!”

The same was true for Eldert’s side. It was impossible to stand on the ground, so Eldert climbed onto the back of a dragon and grabbed his bow.

Kugugung, Kugung!

“All the walls have collapsed!”

The vibrations disappeared with it. The surviving soldiers wanted to run towards the rear wall, but the debris was so huge that they could not easily cross it. They had no choice but to scatter left and right, and the formation was uncontrollably broken.

Eldert watched the scene from the sky with a miserable gaze.

“Eldert!”

But soon, he snapped back to his senses at the mages’ call and held tightly to the dragon’s saddle straps. There were still two more walls left in Lusswennah. And…

Chwaaaak!

Eldert shook off his thoughts. Then, he shot arrows at the mages chasing him, creating distance, and flew towards the palace as if fleeing. Hale gestured for them to chase him.

“Catch him! Catch him alive and make him pay for his sins!”

Meanwhile, in a corner of the chaotic battlefield. Erica, who was about to retreat outside the border, stopped at the sudden voice.

-You can’t go.

It was Koomasha’s order.

Erica froze in place. If she wasn’t there, it would be impossible to immediately grasp how the situation in Lusswennah was unfolding. Her body wanted to return immediately and defend the front line, but something…

-Stay where you are.

Was this right? Was it really right to keep the Hawan soldiers here?

Thud. Thump.

In the rain, Erica recalled Shatima’s last moments again. And then, like thin ice breaking, her request as well.

“Keep your will, look at yourself. Okay?”

O