Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 750

Barsabe carefully adjusted her uniform. She tightened the black cloth covering her eyes and gently stroked the blade of her sword with her fingertips. The cold, chilling sensation seeped into her mind.

As time passed, even after the Bael army had occupied the front of the royal palace and darkness had fallen, there was no response from within.

“Squad Leader Barsabe, are you ready?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

She pulled back the tent flap and immediately felt unseen gazes. They were the search party soldiers who would enter the palace with Barsabe.

They were stiff with tension, and for good reason. Entering an enemy building with no idea of its layout was a mission that meant risking death.

“Have we not found anyone who knows the palace structure yet?”

“Yes, there are a few soldiers among those the magic division took down who are still breathing, but they belong to the training camp outside the palace and don’t know the interior well.”

It meant that once inside the palace, Barsabe, with her eyes covered, would be no different from the soldiers with their eyes open.

She turned her head toward the faint vibrations coming from afar. The battle between the royal guards and the sorcerers at the ramparts was coming to an end.

“Is everyone safe?”

“Aside from minor and major injuries, it seems everyone is safe.”

“…That’s a relief.”

Barsabe took a small breath. She didn’t want to be nervous, but it was an unavoidable instinctual reaction. Taking a step forward, knowing death might be waiting, was not easy for anyone. But.

‘It is my calling to do it.’

“Barsabe.”

At the sound of her name, Barsabe turned her head. It was Jin. The Emperor himself came closer, patted her shoulder, and offered light encouragement. From the hand gripping her shoulder, an unspoken command to return alive was conveyed.

“Do not forget that your primary mission is to understand the internal structure of the royal palace, assess the situation of Ian’s group, and, furthermore, confirm the location of King Toloon.”

“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

“If there is no report three hours after you enter, I will send in the next search party.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“…When you return, let us greet each other with our eyes.”

Recover your sight. So that you may live in harmony with the world once more.

At Jin’s warm send-off, Barsabe felt tears welling up. But she straightened her back, saluting with a sharp hand.

Clack!

“The door?”

“It’s broken.”

A faint addition followed, ‘It seems Beric-nim smashed it.’

Then, even without seeing, she could picture it. How the door had been knocked off. Barsabe smiled faintly and tightened her grip on her sword.

“I’m going in.”

Barsabe walked ahead. Soldiers with torches parted to the left and right, following behind her. A swordsman who could feel what was unseen. Even if there were traps, Barsabe would surely notice them.

Watching their backs as they entered the royal palace, Jin swallowed a small sigh.

* * *

Tap tap!

“It’s dark. There’s no sign of anyone.”

“Move slowly while recording!”

“There are four corridors connected to the main building.”

“We will check the corridor at the very end first.”

Creak.

Upon entering the main building, Barsabe slowly raised her hand to her blindfold. Then, with all her strength, she tore it off and lifted her head.

Whirr!

The navy blue eyes, long shrouded in darkness, shone brightly. King of Toloon, are you watching? I have come right up to your chin. The act of seeing the world through me will soon become meaningless.

“Barsabe-nim, do you feel anything?”

“No. Nothing at all.”

At that, the search party soldiers scattered along the path, lighting the area with torches. It was more than strange; it was bizarre. As if all traces of people had evaporated, nothing was detected. Not the mages, including Ian, nor even the servants who had lived and died in the Toloon royal palace.

Barsabe sensed that something unusual had happened inside.

Swish!

“……?!”

A presence was heard from somewhere. Barsabe quickly aimed her sword and scanned her surroundings. A shadow stretched long at the end of the corridor, and then a familiar man appeared.

“Ah! Barsabe!”

“Beric?”

Barsabe frowned. Aside from a few scratches here and there, he seemed unharmed. The soldiers, who had been tense, lowered their weapons and breathed a sigh of relief, but Barsabe did not lower her sword.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I followed Ian and got lost.”

“How did you get lost? Did you get separated?”

“Yeah. There were monsters in the palace. Ian and Hale’s group went ahead, and the rest of us stayed behind to clean up. I think they went to Buksan.”

“Buksan……”

While Barsabe muttered with a puzzled look, Beric spun his shoulder and passed her.

“I’m so tired, damn it. What about outside? Are His Majesty and everyone else there?”

“Yes. Even though we’ve occupied the front of the palace, there’s no response from the palace, so I came in myself. But Beric.”

“Yeah?”

After a moment of hesitation, Barsabe tilted her head.

“What is Buksan?”

The fact that there was a secret passage connected to Buksan inside the palace had not been conveyed to Barsabe. Yet, Beric acted as if he naturally assumed she knew that fact. Something was strange.

And not only that…….

“And why aren’t you saying you’re hungry?”

“I’m just too tired! Too tired! You’re picking on me over nothing.”

“No-”

If he was in a state where he would say he was dying of exhaustion, he should have said he was hungry first. Wait a minute, and besides…….

‘He didn’t even call them molars.’

Even though it had been less frequent lately, there was definitely a problem with his honorifics.

Above all, if Ian had gone to Buksan, wouldn’t this guy naturally try to go there as soon as he finished his mission?

It was a deduction based on facts, not prejudice, so Barsabe’s brow naturally furrowed.

“Beric, come here.”

“Ugh, seriously. What a pain.”

Beric frowned and approached Barsabe. Then, as if to show off, he brought his face close.

The two shared a gaze in that state. As time passed, the wrinkles on Barsabe’s forehead deepened.

“…Hey.”

Beric? What a load of crap.

“What. What is it.”

“…Do you want to die?”

Swish!

From below, Barsabe’s sword was suddenly swung upwards.

The tip of the sword barely grazed Beric’s chin. If he hadn’t quickly stepped back, his face would have been split open on the spot.

“Ba, Barsabe-nim!”

“Hah!”

The surprised soldiers cried out, not knowing what to do. No, why is she suddenly like this? They usually fought fiercely, but not to this extent, right?

“Barsabe, are you crazy?”

“Take off the mask. Before I tear you apart.”

“I’m going crazy. Hey, you! Go out and report immediately. Tell them Barsabe seems to be crazy. It seems there’s an unseen trick inside the palace, so it would be good to restrict access for others.”

“Ah, th, that is…….”

The soldier hesitated, glancing at Barsabe. Her actions were indeed problematic, but they were currently carrying out a mission under Barsabe. Whether it was the right decision to listen to Beric’s orders instead of hers…….

“Don’t listen to him! This guy is not Beric!”

“See, I told you she’s crazy? She doesn’t recognize me. Me, who you guys recognize.”

“Ba, Barsabe-nim. Please tell us why you made that judgment.”

“Yes, to us, it seems like it’s definitely Beric-nim.”

“That’s how it looks on the outside. But my eyes can’t be fooled. It’s definitely a monster or a sorcerer’s trick.”

“So, why exactly-”

“If it were Beric! He would have said something after looking at my eyes.”

Because he knew better than anyone how long and thoroughly she had controlled her vision from the outside.

Even if it was dark inside the palace, if he had seen her take off her blindfold, he would have definitely added a word. Something like, ‘Did your eyes finally return to normal?’ or ‘Did you send your blindfold to the laundry because it smelled?’

At Barsabe’s explanation, the soldiers paused. …Is that a reason?

Whirr!

“Seriously. Even after this?”

When Beric released his magic power, his red energy instantly filled the surroundings. The soldiers gasped and tried to stop him.

“Beric-nim! If you use your power here, we’ll all die!”

“So, if you don’t want to die, go out and deliver my message right now.”

“Ba, Barsabe-nim! Please calm down first-”

The more Beric insisted he was real, the more convinced Barsabe became. That it was fake.

“I don’t know what your identity is, but your goal is probably to prevent the Bael army from entering the palace, right? Sorry, but our Beric is too dumb to think of something like that. Even now, if you were real, you would have just chosen to beat me up and knock me down.”

Prevent the Bael army from entering the palace! At this, the soldiers murmured as if they had realized something new.

‘Well, anyway, it’s impossible for the Bael army to enter any further.’

Whether it was a monster or a sorcerer, it was a being that perfectly imitated someone. It could cause confusion if they entered carelessly, and it would be quite troublesome if it even imitated the Emperor.

Barsabe smiled, flicking her fingertips.

“Seeing you release your magic power, it seems you’re not just imitating the surface.”

“Ha. Seriously…….”

“Let’s see how long you can keep it up, huh?”

Then, Beric spat on the floor and gave a strange smile. The atmosphere changed in an instant. The soldiers tightened their grips on their swords and slowly surrounded him.

“It’s not easy, really.”

It was Beric’s words.

A person who was easy to approach the Emperor, not in a position of great responsibility, so he wouldn’t draw attention, and with a low reputation, so even if he made a mistake, it could be easily overlooked.

And above all, he was a crazy strong guy. There were few who could stop him if he decided to fight seriously. So, they chose a guy named Beric, but to be caught the first time they met like this.

Barsabe smiled wryly and lowered her stance.

“I’m kind of grateful.”

It was so identical that she wouldn’t have noticed if it had just passed by without saying anything. That’s why she was even more grateful.

“I wanted to beat the crap out of that Beric bastard at least once.”

“Ha! This bastard is an enemy everywhere.”

“Hey, do you have molars?”

“Molars?”

Beric ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek and shrugged.

“Why do you ask?”

“Why else-”

Thud!

Barsabe burst forward, unleashing her magic power with all her might. The dark surroundings of the palace instantly brightened, and a deep shadow fell on Beric’s face as he tried to block it.

“I’m going to get some of Beric’s molars!”

Clang! Bang!

Boom!

At that moment, outside the palace.

Jin stopped and stood up, startled by the sudden vibration that echoed from inside the palace. Tweller also followed him, looking worried.

“…They’ve met.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It seems so.”

There was something inside the palace. Since the reaction came right after Barsabe entered, it was right to assume it was Barsabe’s battle.

Then, what on earth were Ian and the mages doing that it was so quiet? The fact that they were not moving despite ‘something’ being inside the palace, did that mean they were incapacitated? As Jin anxiously bit his lower lip, Tweller cautiously asked.

“Your Majesty, shall we deploy additional troops? While the barrier is important, if we maintain it at a certain level, we can send in a couple more people.”

“No. We will wait for the report as I told Barsabe. It could cause confusion if we deploy additional troops carelessly.”

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

It was the moment Tweller nodded, supporting his judgment.

‘Hmm?’

The entire building, centered around the main palace, lit up. Because it had been shrouded in darkness, the change was visible at a glance.

What was going on? Jin, who had been watching quietly, frowned at the strange movement he saw in the distance.

“Now, that is…….”

What on earth was it?

A huge shadow rising with the light on its back. They instinctively knew that it was the final hurdle of this war.