Margrave’s Bastard Son Was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 759

Ian’s eyes widened.

Yes, it was a logical move for the shadow. If his existence was the foundation of the Imperial Army’s faith, then eliminating him was the most direct approach. He could continue to fight Ian, but that held no real meaning for him.

-If the rain seeps into you, it will completely erase your secrets. And it won’t take long.

‘Annihilation.’

To strip away all the faith Ian had inspired, and even erase the memories of the gods themselves.

If Ian and the Imperial Army were eliminated in that state, the war would end. Toloon would be victorious, and as time passed, the shadow’s power would grow exponentially. If that happened, the black seed would sprout again in Ian’s Bariel and rise once more.

-Show me. Show me the sight of you, the so-called children of the gods, bleeding and dying at my feet, for all to see!

The dark clouds stretched across the horizon. Had they covered all of Toloon? No, the skies of Vergos and Bariel were likely the same.

Kugugung!

Kugugugung!

Thunder and lightning raged, and people cowered in fear. It seemed the Underworld God was up to something, but no one could guess what. Cruelly, only Ian knew what was coming.

Tuk.

A drop of rain fell.

Ian unconsciously raised his hand and wiped the rain from his cheek. It was so clear it vanished with a single touch. A sharp pain pierced Ian’s heart.

“Rain?”

“Rain, it’s raining?”

“What is this all of a sudden…”

Tudook. Tuk. Tudook.

The rain wasn’t heavy, nor was it scattered. The Shadow God knew what he was doing. If it were heavy, humans would seek shelter, and if it were scattered, it wouldn’t soak in deeply enough.

It was a cool, gentle rain, enough to wash away the heat of battle in an instant. Ian unconsciously touched his forehead. His hand was trembling.

“Sir Ian?”

Tweller noticed Ian’s unusual state and called out cautiously. The shadow wasn’t moving, so why was Ian in so much pain?

As Tweller carefully approached, Ian turned to look at him. His face was wet.

“Minister Tweller.”

“If there’s anything I can do-”

“…Who am I?”

From Tweller’s perspective, Ian’s question was completely out of the blue. Who are you? They had spent too much time together for such a question.

“Sir Ian, are you alright?”

“…Yes, I’m fine.”

Ian barely managed to force out an answer.

Even if Ian Verosian’s existence was erased here, the will of the gods would not be erased. They would surely win. So, Ian told himself there was no problem.

Yes, he consciously kept thinking that way. So, Ian enveloped himself in magic and slowly moved towards the shadow.

“Minister.”

In an instant, Tweller’s mind froze. He didn’t know what was happening, but it felt like something from the depths of his memory was being cut away. Tweller couldn’t properly respond to Ian’s call due to the strange and bizarre sensation.

“Hurry and cut down the remaining lives. The shadow’s power is growing stronger.”

There must be gods hiding underground as well. If Ian ‘Verosian’ is erased, faith will weaken. So, they had to quickly strike down his power and restore the balance.

Taat!

Ian flew towards the shadow.

Tweller belatedly nodded and gave orders to his subordinates. They roughly wiped the blood from their faces with the rain.

“Finish up here and start searching.”

“Yes, Minister!”

Sreung!

The swords of the subordinates who had cut down the last remaining gods were neatly sheathed.

In an instant, Tweller frowned with a strange feeling of unease and looked behind Ian. The shadow had clearly tried to target this place but had withdrawn its will and turned back. Why?

‘The faith of the gods is what determines victory or defeat.’

But it ended so anticlimactically with just Sir Ian’s one counterattack. If he wanted to eliminate the doubt about that guy’s actions…

‘Either he established faith in a different way, or he damaged our faith.’

But he didn’t know. It crossed his mind that perhaps Ian might know the answer. Yes, he just needed to do his part. As always, he would fulfill his duty as the Minister of the Imperial Defense of the Bariel Empire.

Tweller shook off his 잡념 [잡념 – japnyum, meaning ‘idle thoughts’]. He gripped his axe handle and looked for a way down the fortress wall. If there was an underground shelter, it was likely under the fortress wall, the plaza, or the royal palace.

‘There might be an entrance to Buksan [Buksan – a mountain] under the royal palace, but we can’t access it right now.’

That part had to be left to the mages or magic swordsmen. Tweller led his subordinates and ran forward. His movements were so swift that it was hard to believe he was an old general who had swung his axe hundreds of times.

* * *

Kwaaaang!

Peong! Peong!

Meanwhile, the explosions echoing in the sky were ominous.

The shadow stood still, but Ian was endlessly attacking, circling around it like lightning. As if he was trying to pour out everything he had, endlessly.

The soldiers watching this cheered and raised their fists.

“Minister Ian! Keep going!”

“You can do it! Yes, the shadow is just a monster! Mages are the blessing of the gods!”

“Of course, that’s right! Let’s all sing together!”

“Sun-! Chaaaaang-!”

Doong. Doongdoong. Doong.

The military band beat the drums fiercely. The soldiers sang and shouted Ian’s name repeatedly.

On the surface, morale couldn’t be higher, but Jin, who was quietly watching, was seized by an uneasy feeling.

“Your Majesty, it’s a monster’s rain. Would you like to take shelter for a moment?”

“No. Just as Eirin did, I will be with everyone. Sir Ian didn’t say to be careful, so don’t worry. It’s just rain.”

Jin firmly refused Siao’s urging. Even as he did, he seriously followed Ian’s trajectory with his eyes.

“But, isn’t something strange?”

“…Isn’t he a formidable opponent?”

“That’s true, but.”

Jin held back his words. It didn’t seem like the Ian he knew. Instead of the usual relaxed and calm attacks, it was hasty and…

‘Desperate. It feels like he’s struggling.’

It felt like he was twisting his whole body not to destroy the opponent, but to escape.

But what could he know from looking up from below? He could only roughly think, as Siao said, ‘He’s struggling because the opponent is strong.’ It pained him that he couldn’t help, but everyone had their own role.

“Eirin!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Eirin responded reflexively to the Emperor’s call. The cross engraved under her sleeve was particularly dark. It was because the monster’s blood had hardened. Jin handed her a megaphone magic tool and asked.

“We need the Holy Knight’s prayer.”

“…Ah, gladly.”

“Pray when the nation is in peril.”

They would continue to shout and pray.

Even if only one person survived in the end, that person must continue to sing and pray. That was the respect for the warriors who risked their lives to fight the Shadow God, and the last honor of the Imperial Army.

“Captain Hale. How much time is left?”

Even to Jin’s question, Captain Hale’s answer didn’t come easily. Even now, the mages were frantically setting up and erasing magic circles, desperately trying to implement the spell they had learned only once. Hale showed his palm.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll finish it within 5 minutes.”

Combat magic circles are usually executed within a few seconds. On the battlefield, every second determines victory or defeat, so if it takes longer than that, its practicality is virtually zero.

But 5 minutes. Considering that they had started working before the battle, it would take Hale about 10 minutes to draw the magic circle. Jin immediately knew how difficult this was.

Kwaaaang! Kwang!

Hale focused on the magic circle again. His gaze was on the magic circle, but even so, he could tell that Ian’s energy, which he felt from afar, was somehow strange.

‘It’s wavering.’

He didn’t know why, but Ian was losing his composure and raging like a blazing fire. He was uneasy. It was clear that the situation was not good. Hale took a tense breath and focused on completing the magic circle.

“Ahahahahaha!”

At that moment, a melodious laugh flowed from the royal palace. A clear and pure, but somehow unsettling child’s laugh.

The King of Toloon was holding his stomach and laughing like crazy. As if he didn’t care about the murderous gazes of the mages and magic swordsmen surrounding him.

“…Captain Jeyrut.”

Why, why is he like that? At the subordinate’s call, Jeyrut calmly composed himself. Rain continued to flow down his chin.

‘Don’t be deceived.’

Finding out why he was so distracted was a problem for later.

Jeyrut drew his sword like lightning and charged at the King of Toloon. All the members, including Beric, simultaneously surrounded him and narrowed the gap.

“Ah. How funny.”

The king wiped the tears from his eyes and lightly twisted his body to avoid the magic swordsmen’s attacks. Naturally, the tips of their swords gathered together, forming a circle.

Jiiing! Jiiing!

Above them, the mages were preparing. The magic circle that had appeared in an instant tightened around the king’s body, and the magic swordsmen’s swords flew again, aiming for the child’s heart. There was nowhere else to escape.

Chwaak! Chak!

Chaeaeng-!

But the red Idgal [Idgal – a type of magical energy] that sprouted from the child’s body easily broke the magic circle and even deflected the magic swordsmen’s attacks. All of this happened at once.

…It’s not a human’s movement. Captain Jeyrut thought so. As if there was no other choice, he threw off his uniform.

“Cut down without distinguishing between friend and foe.”

If they were careful of each other when friend and foe were intertwined, there would be gaps, and the king was the right size to slip through those gaps. They had to be more daring. Even at the cost of friendly fire. This was Jeyrut’s judgment.

On the other hand, the child was looking at Ian with a relaxed smile, and Beric found that act itself strangely unpleasant and disliked it.

“Damn it, stop grinning…”

“Why? It’s funny.”

“What’s so funny, you bastard!”

“Beric! Now is not the time-”

Jeyrut was about to urge him, saying that it wasn’t important right now.

“Do you know who Ian is?”

“What?”

“Ian. Ian. Ian. That thing you follow and trust in. I asked who Ian is.”

What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden? Beric was dumbfounded and unconsciously retorted.

“I, Ian is Ian. Are you trying to die?”

“Ah, yes.”

Ian____

Ian____?

In an instant, it felt like something was being cut away from their minds. An indescribable sense of loss… Everyone was in the middle of a battle, so they didn’t show it outwardly, but they were quite flustered by the sudden, strange feeling.

Especially Beric.

‘…Ian is Ian. Why is that?’

Why? What is it? Why does it feel like something is wrong?

As Beric’s eyes wavered, the child couldn’t help but burst into laughter again. Enraged by that, Beric amplified his magic power and created a flame greatsword.

“Stop… laughing!”

Kurururung! Kung!

Flash!

Following that, Jeyrut’s lightning fell from the sky into his hand. It was the moment when everyone was preparing for battle.

“……”

The King of Toloon knew. If all of them attacked, it would surely be overwhelming.

“Pfft-!”

But he couldn’t help but laugh.

Ah. How pitiful and ridiculous they were.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Taat!

As Kumasha tilted his head and laughed, the magic swordsmen attacked again.