Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 949

As Beric slowly raised his head, a shadow fell over him. His mouth was slightly agape at the sight he was witnessing for the first time. So much so that even others in the arena paused their fights to watch Beric; his reaction was quite normal.

Sarak.

Ian flipped through the papers, checking the information on Beric’s opponent. Just like the enemy Barsabe had faced, this one’s strength was ‘body enhancement.’ However, the problem was—

“It’s an enhancement using the principles of necromancy.”

“Even though discrimination and prejudice against other races and ability users have eased over time… isn’t it still too early for a necromancer?”

“They’ll probably get the cold shoulder, talking about the dignity of the Imperial Palace.”

“Look over there, the Imperial Guard’s expressions.”

The Imperial Guard, including Captain Herch, slightly turned their heads, seemingly discussing something. They were likely debating whether he met the selection criteria and what to do if he passed.

Sarak.

“Still, looking at his record, he’s definitely an asset to Bariel. He’s from the north, and it’s confirmed that he’s been active in monster battles for the past ten years as a mercenary.”

“Even so, he’s a necromancer. It’s not certain if he really helped or not.”

‘Aren’t they the ones who wander around looking for corpses? If there’s a battle, they’re bound to show up,’ Ian thought.

Ian shrugged and continued flipping through the papers. In fact, these things were of no importance, and only the results of the selection test would determine the outcome, but…

“Even if his purpose was personal gain, the help received is still help.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The mage slightly leaned over to check the documents Ian was holding. Though the opponent was tricky, there were ways to break through. The mage glanced at Ian.

“Are you not going to tell Beric?”

At that, Ian raised an eyebrow as if he were crazy and glared at the mage.

“Oh my, how scary.”

“Are you joking?”

“Yes, it’s a joke, a joke.”

‘This is the time-honored Imperial Joint Recruitment. How can we mix personal connections into this fair test?’ Ian thought. ‘If all the people in the Imperial Palace were like you, our Bariel would have unified Gaia long ago.’ The mage chuckled, put his arm around Ian’s shoulder, and looked straight ahead.

“Look at Beric, he’s spacing out.”

As the mage said, Beric was still just staring at his huge opponent. Unable to watch any longer, Barsabe threw a towel and shouted.

“Beric, you idiot! What are you doing! Attack already!”

“Ah, right.”

Beric sniffed, gripped his sword, and charged at his opponent. Considering he had only trained at Count Jack’s mansion for a couple of months, his stance was excellent. He was faithful to the basics, but his swordsmanship still had his own sharp and free feeling.

“Captain Herch, is that child Beric the one?”

The one Ian brought to the mansion who emptied the food storage in just a week.

Herch took out a cigarette and smiled faintly. At the time, his father was overjoyed to have a new magic swordsman, but then he started looking worse day by day, saying something was wrong.

“Does he really eat that much?”

“My father became stingy.”

“Wow, that’s bad.”

“We’re not even that bad.”

‘If Count Jack, who was known for his generosity, became stingy, how much does he eat? Should we even bring him into the Imperial Palace? He might turn the Imperial chefs into enemies,’ Herch thought.

“He’s a bit peculiar.”

Herch muttered, watching Beric swing his sword diligently. He was definitely a magic swordsman, but his ‘attribute’ was questionable. After a separate investigation, Beric’s family was all ordinary people. He didn’t seem to have any mixed-race blood, but his actions were not human.

“Should we look into it?”

“No need. Once he joins the Imperial Guard, we’ll have him examined separately.”

If they conducted their own examination, including a blood test and a request to the magic department, they could immediately find out the secret about the child.

Right now, he was just an ‘insignificant’ commoner from the back alleys, so they were just watching, but from the moment he became a member of the Imperial Palace, they couldn’t leave even a shred of doubt.

“The test has just started, but it seems like you’ve already brought him into the Imperial Guard.”

At the guard’s joke, Herch realized something. He turned to his subordinate and smiled kindly.

“I suppose I have.”

Just seeing him sparring with Barsabe at the mansion’s training ground was enough to convince him of his potential.

Herch exhaled smoke and focused his gaze back on Beric.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

Black blood spurted from where Beric’s sword had passed. No, was it even blood? Beric, covered in a strange liquid, retched and crouched down, while his opponent regenerated new muscles as if he hadn’t been hit at all. It was all an ability using necromancy.

What Beric had cut was not the main body, but a mass of undead surrounding it. Beric roughly wiped the dark red fragments from his face with his shirt.

“It looks so tasteless.”

“You crazy bastard, how can you talk about taste when you’re fighting a person? Are you a cannibal?”

“If you’re done, get lost!”

“This guy is being a jerk even when I’m trying to help.”

Beric raised his middle finger at Barsabe, who was yelling while stuck to the barrier. But even so, she didn’t turn away and continued to shout warnings at Beric.

“It’s coming from the side!”

Swoosh!

It was the opponent’s first attack. Something like a long arm stretched out and aimed for Beric’s side. He thought he could easily dodge it, but…

“… !”

Thwack!

An arm sprouted from the arm, and then another arm from that arm, quickly creating a net like tree vines.

Beric was flustered by the unconventional attack and paused, and the opponent didn’t miss the chance, stabbing Beric in the side.

“Hey!”

As Beric knelt down, Barsabe slapped her forehead and exclaimed. Beric wiped the blood flowing from his side with a blank expression.

“Beric! Are you not going to get your act together?”

“Be quiet.”

“That’s why I told you to study! Do you even know what that is? It’s a necromancer, a necromancer!”

“Damn it, why do you keep telling a blind man to study? Have you forgotten that I got scammed by your grandpa because of that?”

“I said I’d teach you how to read! And who got scammed? Anyone could see that my grandpa was at a loss. Do you know how much my grandpa lamented that he wouldn’t have written that contract if he had seen how much you eat beforehand?”

“I’ll do it when I join the Imperial Guard!”

“Forget it, you idiot! Listen carefully. Necromancers—”

“Uh, stop.”

Beric, who had been ranting like he was going to eat her, cut off Barsabe’s words. He roughly squeezed his side, massaging the pain, and straightened his sword.

“I’ll take care of my own business.”

“You…”

Barsabe paused. She almost crossed the line without realizing it. This fight was Beric’s fight, and he was a guy who was good enough to beat her twice, but she was worried that he might lose and not get into the Imperial Guard.

“Just watch, pretty.”

As Beric muttered teasingly and ran out again, Barsabe’s serious expression quickly turned to disgust. She retched and picked up her towel without hesitation, taking a step back.

“Whether you die or not, just win and come back.”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Then I’ll cut off your tongue instead of that guy’s tongue.”

“Hahaha. I don’t fight with weaklings!”

“You little—!”

Thud!

A roar erupted as the necromancer and Beric clashed. A huge gust of wind swept through, and dust swirled, but it was blocked by Ian’s barrier and disappeared in a rectangular shape. A completely separated space. Barsabe looked at the gust of wind rushing in front of her as if she were looking into another world.

Bang! Thud!

Swoosh!

Endless expansion and regeneration, unconventional attacks. She couldn’t read the pattern. Did the mass of undead surrounding the body have a will of its own? It was a completely different way of attacking than the living.

Beric continued to exchange attacks with his opponent, constantly looking for an opening.

‘There seems to be a way,’ Beric thought.

Judging by what Barsabe was about to say, there must be an answer. But the problem was that he didn’t know what it was. To be honest, he had only figured out what ‘undead’ was by guessing.

‘And the smell of blood,’ Beric thought.

‘Damn it, this can’t be the blood of a living person, can it?’ Combining various pieces of information, he knew it was a mass of corpses, but…

Thud!

‘Is he even human? This is the Imperial Palace. No matter how strong and friendly they are, they wouldn’t have brought in a monster, would they?’ Beric thought.

Beric glanced at Ian, who was holding the documents. Ian’s blue eyes seemed to be shining coldly, but with firm belief.

‘He must be human,’ Beric thought.

A shaman or something. But the mass of flesh in front of him was not human by any means.

Then where is it? That ‘human’?

‘Inside,’ Beric thought.

Inside that flesh, like a larva, using the corpse as a shell, endlessly attacking and regenerating.

Then…

‘Weakness,’ Beric thought.

There must be a kind of core. Just like his first victory when he punched Barsabe in the jaw, if he found the right spot and hit it accurately, he would win. And that would be the ‘human’ hiding inside the mass of flesh.

“Maybe?”

Right? As Beric muttered, tilting his head, the opponent responded as if answering, unleashing a series of attacks. And then, hands and hands wriggled together to form a giant fist.

“Oh.”

A giant fist the size of a carriage.

The other participants watching this were shocked and gaped their mouths.

Thud-!

Beric dodged, but the speed was not to be underestimated. When the fist hit the barrier, Ian frowned slightly.

‘The power is incredible,’ Ian thought.

The slight tremor was transmitted to him. Beric rolled away several times to avoid the fist, but it was not easy to avoid the opponent’s attack, which occupied an absolute volume in a limited space.

Swoosh!

“Ah-”

And finally-

Thud!

The giant fist slammed down as if crushing Beric’s entire body. Barsabe turned her head, unable to watch, and Ian squinted one eye.

“Beric!”

“He’s going to get killed. Healing mage, get ready.”

“Understood.”

Barsabe’s shout and the mages who sensed the outcome put the healing mage on standby. The fist was slowly lifted again. Underneath, Beric, covered in blood, was crushed, half out of his mind.

“Hey, are you okay?”

The examiner approached Beric and asked, but he couldn’t answer. Just as the examiner was about to blow the whistle after several questions.

“Ah. Shit.”

Thump.

Beric tapped the barrier with his finger, telling them to stop.

“…I can still do it.”

“Your condition is very bad.”

“What do you know? I know my condition best, ah, shit. It really hurts, damn it.”

Beric staggered to his feet and tried to grab his sword again. But the sword was completely shattered into pieces of scrap metal.

Weapon changes were prohibited during the test, so now Beric had no choice but to fight with his bare hands.

“Captain.”

“Ian.”

The Imperial Guard and the mage called out to Herch and Ian at the same time. As if asking what they should do now.

However, the two of them remained motionless, only watching Beric.

“Rules are rules, if you can’t overcome them, this is the end.”

Herch’s words.

“If it’s his limit, there’s nothing we can do.”

Ian’s words.

As if he had heard the two men’s words, Beric smiled faintly and stretched out his right hand into the air.

Buzz! Buzz!

“… !”

Barsabe’s eyes widened.

A huge flame erupted from Beric’s hand.

“You messed with the wrong guy! I’ll pay you back double—!”

Thud!

The ‘sword,’ called the second awakening of a magic swordsman.

Beric swung the crimson sword fiercely and jumped up again.