Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 207

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 207
Breaking the Black Armor
Crash!
At the thunderous sound, Ian and Romandro turned their heads in unison. They had parked the carriage beside the corpse and were waiting inside for support from the Imperial Palace. The temporary tent was too cramped to share with the guards, and besides, Romandro couldn’t bear to be near the body.
Ian pulled back the carriage curtain toward the source of the sound. The surroundings remained shrouded in darkness.
“It seems to have come from the west.”
“Did they find Barsabe?”
“Whether they found her or the Black Armor, it must be one of the two. I can feel Captain Jeirat’s magical power strongly. It’s a different caliber of strength than when we faced Berik.”
Ian pressed his forehead against the cold window and murmured.
It wasn’t just Jeirat. Magical forces that had been moving faintly yet swiftly from all directions were now converging toward a single point. It seemed they were signaling each other and gathering together.
Romandro studied Ian’s pallid complexion and asked with concern.
“I think it would be best for you to return to the Imperial Palace first. You’ve accumulated fatigue, and getting caught in the rain has me worried about your health.”
“Everyone has been caught in the rain. If I feel strained, I’ll let you know, so please don’t worry too much.”
Ian smiled and looked out the window again. Two guards were smoking cigarettes at the head of the corpse. Their expressions were obscured by what could have been breath or smoke.
Watching this, Ian quietly called out to Romandro.
“I know Chetour doesn’t have many people, but is it usually this deserted?”
The area was lined with factories both large and small. Since there were laborers working during the day, there should naturally be some working at night. Yet since arriving, Ian had seen only a handful of people over several hours.
Romandro clicked his pocket watch and answered with puzzlement.
“It doesn’t seem to be this quiet normally, but the weather is harsh, isn’t it? If they’re unlucky, basements flood and ceilings leak. This place tears down and rebuilds warehouses constantly depending on contracts.”
What was stored in the warehouses changed seasonally. Since the buildings themselves were constructed to be easily erected and demolished, who would stay behind for overtime during foul weather? By the next day, it was a common sight in Chetour to see repairs happening all over the buildings.
“Truly inefficient.”
“There’s nothing to be done about it. The districts are finely divided, and since it’s essentially the commercial foundation of the capital, the people leasing warehouse space change frantically every year.”
Tap tap. Ian fell silent at the sound of rain striking the window. Was that why it was so quiet? Despite the thunderous crash, not a single building had its lights turned on. Had everyone mistaken it for thunder?
Click.
As the carriage door opened, the wind and rain blew fiercely. Romandro covered his face with his collar and grabbed Ian’s sleeve.
“Ian?”
“Please wait here for the Imperial Guards and guide them westward.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to investigate that crash.”
“Can’t we go together?”
“…I can’t trust those guards.”
The guards standing beneath the tent were watching Ian. They seemed puzzled as to why he was leaving the carriage. Romandro frowned and asked quietly. The sound of the rain and wind would drown out his words anyway.
“What do you mean?”
“More precisely, it’s not them but their superiors. Please stay here and watch the carriage. I’ll be back shortly.”
Whoosh!
While Romandro was pondering Ian’s words, Ian stepped out of the carriage without an umbrella. Without hesitation, he turned toward the source of the crash. With the magical power felt so strongly, finding the way would be no problem.
Patter patter!
Whoooosh—
Watching Ian’s figure disappear into the rain, Romandro slowly closed the carriage door. Then he began observing the guards through the gap in the window curtain.
He wished the rain would stop, but the sky seemed to have a hole in it, pouring down torrential rain mercilessly.
* * *
One, two, three….
Captain Jeirat counted the number of Black Armor soldiers by sight. It looked like roughly ten of them, assuming no additional reinforcements arrived.
The Imperial Guards who had taken the earlier blow stood in alert positions, awaiting their captain’s command.
Thud, thud!
‘Such solidity to withstand five members. If their forces scatter, we have no chance of victory. Didn’t they say Riama alone died facing ten of them? If that’s the case….’
Zing. Zing.
Magical power erupted explosively around Captain Jeirat as its epicenter. The harsh, driving rain could not reach him—it struck and scattered around him instead. Only profound silence enveloped the area. The enemies hesitated and looked up at him, sensing an otherworldly presence as if he stood alone in a different realm.
Captain Jeirat reached his hand toward the sky.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Crack!
Thunder tore through the heavens. A brilliant beam of light spiraled from his fingertips, and the moment it transformed into the shape of a sword.
Flash!
Lightning struck downward. It felt as though the lightning that fell from the sky had materialized in his grasp.
In the darkness, Captain Jeirat’s eyes gleamed faintly. Determination and fighting spirit blazed within them, steam rising fiercely.
“Kopent.”
A prearranged tactical call. Since individual combat offered no chance of victory, they would simultaneously destroy the target with Captain Jeirat at the center. They reorganized their formation in perfect unison and leaped into the air.
Whoooosh!
It was instantaneous. Water split apart in the wake of their charge.
Captain Jeirat swung the massive sword with all his might, bringing it down at the armor’s neck. To reinforce the central attack, the members channeled their magical power in the same direction and swung their swords together.
Crash! Bang!
Crack!
“Arghhhh!”
Flash, flash! The wet street received the light directly, shining helplessly. One at a time, one by one. Yet all together. The Imperial Guards repeated the tactical call “Kopent” and brought their swords down once more.
Clang! Ting!
Finally, the helmet shattered.
The Knight inside faced Captain Jeirat with an expression of shock. A Knight stripped of its shell was nothing more than an ant before the Mage Knights.
Captain Jeirat severed his head without hesitation.
Thud.
The head rolled away, coming to rest at the feet of the others. The blood that had spurted like a fountain was diluted by the rain, growing fainter with each passing moment. Soon your blood will disappear just like his. Captain Jeirat raised his sword and issued a silent warning.
Whoosh!
‘When I and six members strike simultaneously twice, the helmet shatters.’
Information accumulated through experience. He had been somewhat tense hearing that the Three-Star General Riama had been defeated, but it seemed it might not be as difficult as he’d thought.
They were threatening, certainly, but Riama had been completely unaware of her enemies, whereas Captain Jeirat could assess his opponent’s full strength with each exchange.
‘So it means we need at least six members per unit when engaging them. To eliminate them all at once, all the Imperial Guards would need to be deployed, but if we defeat them one by one, we should be sufficient.’
“Cluster together! Don’t let them attack all at once!”
“Watch each other’s fronts and backs!”
“Damn it, he’s the captain! Be careful with this one!”
“Grab his arms or legs, anything! If we grab him, we gain the advantage!”
But the enemy, too, were people facing life and death, and they found a way to turn the tide. The flow had completely shifted. Now it would come down to which side’s rhythm would break first in this group-versus-group confrontation.
Captain Jeirat charged forward again with a fierce shout.
“Hyaaah!”
“Protect the Captain!”
“Protect him! Kopent!”
“Three on the left, two on the right!”
“Hold formation! Together we win!”
Clang! Clang!
As Captain Jeirat threw himself into the fray, countless attacks tangled and clashed against one another. When one of his allies intercepted a blow meant for him, armored figures would exploit the opening, only for another Palace Guard to push back in turn—in this chaos where visibility extended mere inches, they interlocked and maintained their precarious balance.
Whoooosh!
“Damn it.”
“Hell. Captain!”
“Don’t fall back!”
“Keep pressing!”
Rumble rumble rumble.
Thunder devoured their clamor. Screams and roars and cries filled the air, yet all that reached the ears was the sky’s anguished wail.
The Palace Guard protecting Barsabe rushed forward to join the battle, leaving her sprawled on the ground to watch. Each flash of lightning revealed her comrades’ silhouettes in fragments—fierce and ferocious images appearing like photographs before darkness swallowed them again.
‘If only I could move—’
If only I could move, I would throw myself into that fray and bleed alongside them. To lie here alone was a source of bitter lamentation.
‘If only I could bind them—’
I could suppress them faster than the rain and wind combined. Barsabe clenched her fist with desperate longing.
Then, a calm voice rang out.
「Ten Thousand Leaves」
It was Ian’s voice—woven together by magical power, ringing clear even through the chaos. It was one of the binding spells he had used when subduing Prince Marib at the palace.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Whoooosh.
The magical tree from another realm swiftly ensnared the armored legion. At this sudden intervention, everyone turned their heads toward the ancient branches.
Ian lifted Barsabe up with one hand and smiled.
“Why is there not a single binding mage among the Imperial Guards? Or perhaps you all simply enjoy fighting in the rain?”
“That would be Captain Riama’s specialty, sir.”
“So only the specialist can use it?”
“Ian, sir. Are you not the Minister of Magic?”
Barsabe replied through gritted teeth. It was like a scholar lecturing a student. They were Mage Knights, not mages—the highest authority of Bariel, the Minister of Magic himself, was saying such things. There was nothing to say in response.
Ian examined her wounds and gave orders to Captain Jeirat.
“I cannot hold this long. As you can see, I have not slept in days either. It would be best to finish this quickly.”
Zzzzzing!
Ian’s golden eyes deepened further—evidence that he was pouring his magical power into maintaining the spell tree.
The armored legion writhed and twisted trying to escape the branches, but it was futile. Captain Jeirat and the Palace Guards stepped back to secure distance.
Thwack!
“Oh, and among you—was there anyone who fought a red-haired knight at Meilideili?”
It was an unexpected question. The armored legion answered not with words but with violent resistance, severing the magical branches.
Crack!
“A pity. I would have spared them if they existed.”
Barsabe clutched her side and frowned. As if questioning what he meant. Ian met her gaze and smiled softly.
“Berik has a nature that demands repaying what he receives.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“The moment he wakes, he’ll make a fuss searching for his armor. There’s no surer growth than victory over one who has already tasted defeat.”
“…He’s not dead?”
“Unfortunately for him, he survived.”
“What about the extra edition or whatever?”
“That, fortunately, succeeded. Thanks to you.”
Barsabe relaxed, feeling relief wash over her. If we all returned alive with our colleagues from here, everything would be finished. My role ends here.
“…Sigh. Haha.”
“Jairot. Subdue them all. It doesn’t matter if some die.”
Whoosh!
The enemy was bound. Jairot and the Imperial Guards made a vow gesture toward the sky, then unleashed their assault simultaneously.
Boom! Bang!
Flash!
“What? What is that?”
Romandro, watching the west from the carriage, noticed the sky suddenly brighten. Like a sun rising and bursting across the western sky in the dark night.
It was an explosion that drove back the long night.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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