Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 743

“By the way,” Tommy asked, wiping away sweat as they took a breather in an alleyway, moving through the capital under the cover of darkness. “Are there no mages at all in Toloon?”

It was strange the more he thought about it. All the countries near Bariel had at least a few mages, so how could a large nation like Toloon not have even one?

“Even Clifford, where the lineage of mages is said to have been cut off, had them in the past. Perhaps mages will appear again with time. But Toloon not having any from the start… is that really true?”

“As far as I know, there hasn’t been a single one,” Banusa replied, watching the movements of the guards outside the alley. It was true. There wasn’t even a mage mentioned in passing in Toloon’s history.

She hadn’t questioned it before, but now she thought she understood why. It was a stronghold of the underground god, who opposed the divine, so perhaps mages, who were called children of the gods, were not naturally born there.

“That’s probably why the royal palace is squeezing the families like they’re catching mice. They’re trying to find mercenary mages.”

“Did they find any?”

“I don’t know. To confirm that, we’d have to contact the mansion, but isn’t Ian-kyung hoping to go straight to the royal palace?”

Ian simply nodded, as if telling them to keep their voices down, as guards were running from the opposite direction.

“It doesn’t matter if we know or not. We’ve already faced a mage controlled by puppetry in Ruswena.”

They were deep in enemy territory, after all. Their destination was set, so it didn’t matter what kind of preparations the enemy had made.

As the guards turned a corner and disappeared, Banusa took the lead again and dashed forward.

“The royal palace must already know about the mage’s intrusion. Putting aside the mercenary mages, the Ardo family is probably on high alert.”

“Ardo, you say?”

“They are a family of spiritists who control fire. They are in charge of Toloon’s national defense.”

“How many are there?”

“I don’t know the exact number, but there must be close to a hundred.”

“Wait a minute, a hundred? Are you talking about the number 100?” Tommy asked, surprised. How could there be so many family members available for deployment in wartime? Were they that blessed with children?

“Those who share the bloodline have their own spirits in some way. There’s a big difference in power, but that’s about how many are available for combat. Of course, that’s just the Ardo family.”

There were a total of five families that controlled natural elements. That meant there were 400 spiritists on standby, excluding Banusa’s family.

Hale chewed on his dry cigar and muttered, “We have no choice but to get past them without revealing our position.”

“Yeah. It’ll be tricky.”

This place was in the palm of the Toloon king’s hand. It wasn’t a metaphor; it was literally true. Once their targets and locations were confirmed, they could launch any kind of attack.

Therefore, Ian’s group aimed to enter the royal palace as quietly as possible. The other mages patrolling the walls would probably draw attention away from them.

Kooong!

“Did you feel a vibration somewhere?”

“It seems to be coming from the east, sunbae [senior].”

“Right? I think so too.”

Nakina suddenly stopped, sensing something. The east wall was the gate where the Bariel main force would enter. Could something have gone wrong? The vibration was ominous.

“Ian-nim [term of respect]. The reverberation came from where His Majesty is. Is it alright?”

“What are you worried about? Mages will be guarding His Majesty. And Beric and the royal guards are with him as well. We just need to do our part.”

“Yes, I spoke out of turn. I apologize.”

“Banusa. How much further do we have to go?”

“We’re almost there. At this speed, about 10 minutes. If we turn left here, my mansion will be there-”

At that moment, Banusa’s spine tingled with heat. As she turned around in surprise, Ian, Hale, Tommy, and Nakina lowered their stances, their eyes flashing.

Shwaaak!

It wasn’t a mistake. Banusa bit her lip, feeling the hot energy pass by her side.

“Ardo.”

“Banusa. You should have said you were coming up.”

It was Ardo, the head of the family that controlled fire spirits. He was Banusa’s longtime friend and a comrade they relied on in the royal palace.

Ardo frowned as he looked at Ian’s group, who were wearing robes.

“I didn’t think it was true, but it was.”

“What?”

“Rumors were spreading. When you went to the Masantar Temple and lost contact with your family, people started saying something was wrong. And recently, the Bariel bastards destroyed the Masantar Temple. But since there was no news about you, I thought it was one of two things.”

Shwaaak!

At Ardo’s gesture, flames shot up from the ground. They quickly engulfed Banusa and Ian’s group, creating a huge dome.

“Ardo!”

“Banusa. Don’t say anything more. Don’t confuse me anymore.”

She had come near the royal palace with the enemy, the mages of Bariel. There was no need to think deeply about what that meant.

But Banusa was his longtime friend. Just by resolving not to execute her immediately, he had already endured a lot.

“Ardo! Calm down and listen to me!”

“Ian-nim, our position will be exposed immediately if this happens.”

“Yes, we should kill them quickly-”

“No!” Banusa raised her arm, blocking Nakina’s path. Then, as if she could never allow it, she glared. What she wanted to destroy was the royal palace, not her friend.

“…I can persuade Ardo, so don’t harm him. If you do, I can no longer guide you. Truly.”

“Tch.”

“Ian-nim, what should we do?” Nakina clicked her tongue and looked back at Ian. Ian looked up at the solid wall of fire and suggested, “If you want to persuade him, do so. But we have to go.”

“Hey, Bariel mage! I don’t know how you persuaded Banusa, but don’t be arrogant! This is Toloon!”

Shwaaak!

The barrier grew thicker, as if to contain Ardo’s rage. Banusa anxiously took a step closer to him.

“Ardo. Listen to me. I heard you’re also confused by the royal palace’s unreasonable demands.”

“Is that why you’re betraying the country?”

“No! I’m not trying to betray it, but to fix it! You don’t know what I saw at the Masantar Temple.”

“Banusa! Please come to your senses! We are the guardians of Toloon!”

“Shadow!” Banusa kept glancing at Ian’s group as she shouted. She had to give them trust. Otherwise, Ardo would surely die here.

“I saw the shadow of the god. It was no different from a monster. It’s deeply rooted in the royal palace, using Toloon as nourishment, which is no different from the fall of Toloon. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I didn’t know mages could use illusions.”

“That’s not it!” Banusa shouted, frustrated.

Then, someone slowly approached over the fire barrier. It was Ardo’s family members. They surrounded Ian’s group and took a fighting stance.

“Ardo-nim! We received a signal from the royal palace. Reinforcements will be here soon.”

“Damn it.”

Ian smiled, looking at Banusa. Now that things had turned out this way, there was no other choice. They had to move before the king knew their exact location.

“Ardo! Do you think it’s right to live like this!”

Damn it! Banusa had no choice but to summon the water spirit. The water jets that shot out in all directions blocked Ardo’s flames.

“The king is holding our hearts in his hand, playing with us like toys. Do you think that’s right! I’ve had my eyes and ears taken away! Ardo! You know you’re no different!”

Ardo took a step back, frowning. It was something he acknowledged, but he couldn’t connect it to the destruction of the country.

Ziiing! Ziiing!

“Ian-nim. I’ll open a path.”

“We should go first.”

“Banusa!” Tommy and Nakina called out to Banusa, releasing their magic power. She turned the water flow behind Ian’s group, creating a small gap.

Tommy and Nakina waved at Ardo and slipped out first.

“Ian-nim! This way!”

Ian did the same. He glanced at Ardo and Banusa for a moment, then left a word.

“Banusa. There is someone I know who escaped the king’s puppetry. His name was Ardo, wasn’t it? It’s something you might find interesting, so listen well.”

“What?”

It was absurd. She had never heard of anyone, including her ancestors, escaping puppetry on their own.

For them, puppetry was like a mark of the gods. Once entangled, it could never be undone.

But a way to escape?

“It’s faith. Even if your heart feels like it’s about to burst and your brain feels like it’s melting, if you face death head-on, you will live. That’s all I can say.”

Ian left those short words and slipped through the gap without hesitation.

Seeing that, a vein popped out on Ardo’s temple.

“Ardo-nim. I’ll chase those bastards!”

“No! Everyone, listen to me! If you chase them, you will surely die. That man is Ian Hiel, the Minister of Magic of Bariel!”

Ardo’s family members stopped, about to turn around. The one closest to the gods among the mages. The young mage whose mother the royal palace had tried to kidnap but failed? Was that who they were talking about?

“Ardo, I-!”

It was the moment Banusa was about to appeal to them, blocking their path.

Thump!

Her heart beat loudly again. The king was calling her. The feeling was different from the signal he had sent a few hours ago.

If she didn’t respond this time, her heart might burst…

-Banusa.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ardo paused at the word ‘Your Majesty’.

Banusa, sweating profusely, looked straight at Ardo. See, what is the situation for you and me right now?

-You, are you with that Ian guy right now?

“No, I’m with Ardo.”

-Ardo?

“Ian-kyung is now…”

The king’s silence grew longer at the title ‘kyung’. Banusa smiled, clutching her heart.

“He’s heading to the royal palace, Your Majesty. Please be careful. The path isn’t difficult, so it won’t take long.”

“Banusa!”

The actions of someone who had decided to die. At that, Ardo screamed and took a step towards her.

“Aaaah!”

Banusa collapsed, clutching her chest. Her whole body trembled, and saliva dripped from her mouth. The enraged king had clearly stabbed a needle into her heart.

Ardo grabbed Banusa’s shoulder and supported her.

“Banusa! Banusa!”

“Your Majesty!” But Banusa smiled, looking at the air as if to show off. Perhaps all the king could see was Ardo’s flames. Ah. What a perfect time.

Banusa continued to mutter, tears streaming down her face. It was a reflexive reaction due to the pain.

“I saw the underground god at the Masantar Temple. It was no different from a monster, so is it inside Your Majesty’s body as well?”