Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 728

Beric and Cedric descended the slope with practiced movements. Eirin, following behind, also kept her balance without difficulty. The grass lay flattened in their wake, leaving a long trail.

Whoosh!

Reaching the Bariel camp, Beric rolled forward once and landed perfectly, while Cedric lowered his stance to reduce his speed. Ta-da! Beric grinned brightly, spreading his arms in greeting.

“We’re back.”

“We’re back!”

And Cedric followed suit.

They weren’t this way before going to the Masantar Temple. How did they end up becoming so alike? Jerritt frowned, stroking his prickly beard. He had sent Cedric to learn from Beric to help him grow, but now he wondered if he had made a mistake, worried that Cedric might pick up bad habits.

“Oof!”

Thud!

Unlike the other two, Eirin’s landing was clumsy, and she ended up hitting her head on a wooden barrel.

She then staggered to her feet. Looking up at the portal high in the sky, she realized how high she had fallen from, and her heart sank.

“Eirin?”

“Ah, help me up.”

“Unbelievable. What happened?”

A soldier recognized her and offered a hand, and then Siao Shi stepped forward to greet the three.

“Beric, where’s Ian?”

“Ah, he’s busy smashing Masantar and heading into the capital of Toolrun. I’m returning to the Imperial Guard with these kids. That paladin over there kept saying he felt something was off, or whatever.”

“Something was off?”

“I don’t know. Is everything okay here?”

“Okay…”

“Is there a problem?”

Beric, dusting off his jacket, turned his head. Following Siao Shi’s gaze, he saw a line of people standing on the hill. They were all frozen, clutching daggers, startled by the sudden appearance of Beric’s group.

‘Let’s see, faces bashed in, covered in blood, and weapons pointed at their necks…’

“What, are they being threatened?”

“Something like that. They seem to be people kidnapped from Bariel.”

“Ah, for the slave market?”

“They said they’d release the hostages and clear the way if we waited a week, but we can’t do that. The Toolrun regular army will arrive in the meantime. But His Majesty is deeply troubled. He can’t ignore his people.”

“I suppose not.”

‘Because he loves Bariel.’

Beric casually rotated his shoulders and then asked, puzzled.

“Isn’t it just a matter of rescuing the hostages?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Commander Jerritt! What are you doing? Don’t just stand there!”

Beric shouted, looking towards Jerritt, who frowned as if to say he knew that already and signaled him to be quiet. ‘A guy who just arrived here, honestly.’

“We were just discussing that, you little rascal. How’s Masantar?”

“Killed the High Priest Raju. The temple is completely destroyed. The underground was connected to the abyss, you know? I filled it with Idgal [a powerful magical substance], so it should be fine unless something special happens.”

“Fine? It doesn’t sound like a simple matter-”

“Ian said so, so it must be right.”

‘Ah, well then.’

At that moment, the mages flying in the sky landed lightly near the barracks. It was in preparation for a possible hostage rescue operation. They would be able to rescue them more easily and safely than anyone else.

Jerritt nodded as if to say it was time and bowed towards the Emperor.

“Your Majesty. The timing is right. We will have the mages bind the enemy, and in that gap, we will rescue the people of Bariel. Once we determine the hostages are safe, we will deal with the enemies without mercy.”

Jin let out a small sigh of relief and nodded.

He would treat them differently from the enemies they had faced so far. He would punish them without any mercy for daring to threaten him with his own people.

“Kill them without mercy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

‘Has the Emperor ever given such an order before?’ Jerritt felt the unusual intensity of his anger and nodded to the Imperial Guards. Three were chosen, excluding Barsabe, who was dedicated to guarding the Emperor.

“With the mages, three will be enough.”

“Um, it looks like Beric is trying to come along.”

“Let him do as he pleases.”

Beric was telling Cedric something, pointing towards the enemy camp. It seemed he was teaching him things as a senior.

“No, you idiot. It’s faster to go up that way.”

“No, I’m telling you. It looks flat, but there’s a slope.”

“You cheeky brat. Do you think I’m blind?”

“Then, shall we try it ourselves?”

In reality, they were just arguing over trivial things, debating who was right and who was wrong.

Jerritt, who had been watching Beric closely, suddenly tilted his head.

‘Come to think of it…’

The déjà vu he had felt when he saw Helna of the enemy camp earlier. He now seemed to know what it was.

‘Sharp eyes, red eyes, and a slightly upturned lip…’

And above all, that annoying way of speaking.

He wondered who she resembled, and it was that guy, Beric.

“Commander. We’ll be back.”

The Imperial Guards nodded to him and ran forward. Beric, noticing their movement, pushed Cedric aside and jumped up the hill.

Thud!

Tap tap tap!

The mages, who had already been briefed on the situation, drew magic circles with their fingertips and fixed the coordinates towards the enemy camp. Helna and her subordinates, seeing this, froze in terror.

“W-what do we do? Boss.”

“Damn it… Listen! Make a wise choice! Don’t think that’s all there is! If you include those behind us, there are two or three times more! I was trying to make a polite offer, but is that Bariel’s answer!”

Whoosh!

Helna grabbed a slave by the hair and slit his throat in a hurry. It was a warning that she would gladly kill them if they came any closer.

The slaves, terrified by the limp body falling to the side, begged.

“Please, spare us! Don’t come! Please!”

“Aaaah! We’ll die! We’ll die!”

“It can be proven that these people are from Bariel! Does Your Majesty truly intend to kill his own children!”

Whoosh!

Thud!

“Their deaths are all Your Majesty’s choice! It is Your Majesty who is killing them!”

Helna’s fierce cry reached the Emperor. Jin’s jaw clenched, and his eyes filled with cold fury. He had never seen anything so arrogant and wicked.

Meanwhile, Beric, Cedric, and the Imperial Guards reached the top of the hill with the speed of the wind.

Buzz! Buzz!

The mages’ bindings were perfectly in place. Opaque ropes appeared in an instant, snatching the wrists of Helna and her subordinates.

They struggled in panic, trying to break free, but how could a commoner break through magic?

Thud!

Cedric, who arrived first, swung his sword and beheaded the subordinate standing closest to Helna.

It was instantaneous. The head flew off lightly and crashed to the ground, and a fountain of blood spurted from the severed surface.

“Not bad-”

Beric also grinned, aiming for Helna’s neck.

It was then. Helna’s eyes widened as she saw Beric, and Beric also paused for a moment. He couldn’t help it.

The same red eyes as his.

Red eyes were not rare, but something was strange. It was as if a broken magnet had suddenly moved and stuck together.

Swoosh!

Beric’s sword barely grazed Helna’s neck. He pulled his sword back, looking at Helna with puzzled eyes, and Helna also stared at him, panting.

A meaningful silence.

It was broken by Cedric, who didn’t understand the situation.

“Senior. Why are you swinging your sword like that?”

“…”

“It’s almost like you’re just scratching her.”

“…”

“Senior? Hey, Senior Beric?”

Even with Cedric’s calls, Beric didn’t move. In contrast to Helna’s lips slightly trembling at the name ‘Beric’.

“…Beric?”

“Who are you?”

“Oh my god.”

Beric gripped his sword again and aimed it at Helna’s neck. But Cedric clearly felt that there was no killing intent in the tip of the sword.

Helna bit her lower lip tightly. Beric saw her nose turn red and her eyes become moist.

“Is it really Beric? Really?”

“I asked you, who are you?”

“I, I’m Ibia.”

As soon as the name Ibia was heard, Beric couldn’t help but stop breathing. That name he would never forget until he died.

“Sister?”

As Beric muttered, Helna screamed. It sounded like she was happy, but also like she was lamenting the absurd situation.

“…No way! You were alive! Oh my god, oh my god!”

“Is it really you, sister?”

“Yes! We used to roast beans every Saturday morning, right? Meria caught a rabbit, and we built a house together in the backyard. Oh, Mom liked to wipe the wooden cutting board. Do you remember?”

The words that flowed out like a torrent were almost unconscious. And then, a choked voice followed.

“…Why, why that night, I…”

That night, the rainy night.

The sisters were kidnapped by strangers and disappeared, and Beric was left alone. Just as many things had happened to Beric, many unspeakable things must have happened to his sisters. That must be why she was here now.

Beric looked back and forth between the dagger in her hand and the corpses scattered on the ground in confusion. Then, he dropped his sword with a thud.

“…No.”

The sister in his memory would never do such a thing. She couldn’t even twist a chicken’s neck properly and was always scolded by her mother.

“Beric. It’s good. Please save me. Huh? I see you’re the Emperor’s guard, so please put in a good word for me with the Emperor. Please save me. We have so much to talk about. Huh?”

“Sister. Just a moment.”

“Oh my god, you’re a magic swordsman. It’s unbelievable. Why, why couldn’t you use any power that night?”

Beric took a step back without realizing it. The sudden encounter with his family was causing too much confusion.

Cedric also lowered his sword and looked back at the Bariel camp. ‘Wasn’t the situation turning out strangely?’ He wondered if he should receive new orders…

“Beric! What are you doing?”

Tap tap tap!

It was then. The Imperial Guards had arrived and leaped forward. It meant, why couldn’t he cut down a single bound enemy? For them, this was a really simple task.

Clang! Clang!

Crash!

As the Imperial Guards tried to cut down Helna, Beric reflexively blocked them. It was such an unexpected situation that the guards were pushed back greatly.

Whoosh!

“…?”

Jerritt, Jin, and Siao Shi, who were watching this, frowned at the same time. As the dust that had risen greatly gradually faded, Beric, who was taking a counterattack stance, revealed himself.

“Ugh, damn it. That hurt.”

“Beric, you crazy bastard, what are you doing?!”

“What are you trying to do right now? Huh?”

They grumbled irritably and got up. Even if he was an idiot, he should know how to distinguish between an enemy and an ally.

“Beric?”

“Ah, um, sorry. Just a moment.”

“What?”

“Just wait a moment.”

“What are you saying…? His Majesty is watching. Did you just arrive and not understand the situation?”

The guards whispered, glancing behind them. Facing the Emperor’s rage, which they had never seen before, what kind of nonsense was he trying to do?

But Beric did not release his counterattack stance, and his sword was still pointed at his comrades.

“…It’s because she’s my sister.”

At those words, the Imperial Guards stopped at once. With that one word, the whole situation was understood. They didn’t know what to do and looked behind them, and then, after confirming Commander Jerritt’s cold gaze, they took their stance again.

“Beric. You can’t do this.”

“No, damn it. I don’t want to do this either.”

“The Imperial Guards only follow the orders of their superiors.”

“I know! She’s my sister?!”

As a comrade tried to break through, finding a gap in a moment, Beric blocked him again, unleashing his magic power.

Commander Jerritt, who was watching the scene from afar, let out a small sigh.

‘Beric is definitely a talent. He has overwhelming martial prowess even within the Imperial Guard.’

But at the same time, he lacked the qualifications of a commander. Because he didn’t have ‘that’ which a commander should have.

“What’s going on, Commander Jerritt?”

It was the Emperor’s question. Jerritt immediately drew his sword and bowed to Jin.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. It seems my lacking disciple has not been taught enough. I will go and instruct him.”