Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 40

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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 40. Return
All those who called themselves warriors among the Cheonryeo Tribe were racing across the Great Desert. With Kakantir at the vanguard, sand whipped up fiercely around them. I followed close behind him, my hood pulled low over my face.
Berik, however…
“Hehehehe. Hehehehehek.”
“Quiet. Close your mouth.”
He clung directly behind the warrior escorting me, doing nothing but laugh continuously. He seemed delighted that I hadn’t left him behind. Though he was wrapped up like baggage in cloth and secured with rope.
“Lord Ian. Are you really sure we should take this with us?”
“What else can we do? He said he’d cause trouble if we left him behind.”
“The madman. Even when told to rest, he refuses.”
“That’s not resting? That’s being left out!”
Berik could miraculously raise his upper body, but even walking was difficult for him. We were all coordinating opinions that it would be better to leave him behind when he dropped a bombshell declaration.
That he would bite off his own tongue and die if we left him.
It was absurd, but knowing Berik, he actually seemed capable of doing it, so there was nothing we could do.
“So this counts as participating in battle? You’re just hanging behind Kusile the whole time and being carried around. Well, when arrows come flying, at least be a shield for us.”
“Nope. I don’t want to. From what I can tell, I’ll be fine in two days.”
“Your head’s completely broken.”
“I’m serious. I can feel it.”
I shook my head at Berik’s chatter with the warrior. That bastard definitely had hidden secrets beyond being a Mage Knight. Even the Cheonryeo Tribe, who were born with the essence of nature, didn’t display that level of recovery.
I kept glancing sideways at Berik, and he noticed, grinning widely. He seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
Clop clop clop!
“Kakan! Bariel is in sight!”
“Let’s go!”
A warrior running ahead shouted. The small temple where we had made the peace agreement began to appear. At Kakan’s cry, everyone simultaneously increased their Kusile’s speed.
Neigh!
In an instant, we swept past the temple and crossed the two rocks that marked the border. Berik chewed on guroot leaves and let out a cheer.
“We’re back!”
“Happy, Berik?”
“Yeah! I’m thrilled!”
The warriors burst into laughter simultaneously. Kakantir, who had been glancing back, did the same. He slowly pulled on his Kusile’s reins, slowing his pace. This was the meeting point where he had promised to meet Su.
“Everyone! Over here!”
“Su!”
Everyone approached warmly at Su’s appearance. After briefly embracing her comrades, she immediately reported on the situation.
“The Bratz mercenaries are quite capable. Despite being pushed back, they defended well using the terrain. Of course, since there was nothing superior beyond that, the battle inevitably turned against them. If they had abandoned the estate and retreated into the forest, it would have been over, wouldn’t it? They fought desperately, almost to the point of breaking.”
“What of Derga?”
This was the most crucial matter from the Cheonryeo Tribe’s perspective. At Kakantir’s question, which carried his fury plainly, Su smiled softly.
“He’s still alive. The Central Army hasn’t stopped pursuing him. There’s no sign of him entering the estate specifically.”
“Good, Su. Join us. We’re heading deeper into Bratz.”
At Kakantir’s command, everyone nodded in unison. They raced deeper toward the heart of Bratz. The river running through Bratz was stained blood-red, and corpses of indeterminate form were scattered everywhere.
And that wasn’t all.
The fields awaiting autumn harvest were devastated by the remains of destroyed dwellings, and screams and wails mingled together, piercing the ears with the most horrific sound humans could produce. From where, we couldn’t even tell.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Someone help me here! Please!”
“Wait, wait! A thief! A thief!”
“Has this bastard lost his mind! Give me back my bread!”
Slash! Thwack!
Where the blade had cut, the basest nature of humanity spilled forth. As though it were natural to trample someone’s foot to survive, the weak pressed down upon the weak, who in turn pressed down upon others still, an endless chain of desperation.
“It’s more wretched than I expected.”
“Is it? I find it precisely as wretched as I imagined.”
I responded to Kakantir’s words. Having endured countless wars, I was accustomed to such sights, yet still deeply uncomfortable with them. Even if this was an inevitable part of history’s flow.
Nersaren murmured while watching the smoke rising in the distance.
“At this rate, it seems like a rather fatal blow to both sides.”
“Yes. Absolutely perfect.”
The Central Army and Count Derga’s private forces—both factions being decimated to the brink of collapse was the best outcome for me and the Cheonryeo Tribe. Only then would the Cheonryeo Tribe’s presence loom larger, and only then could they strengthen my position.
“Gasp! L-look at that!”
That was when the estate residents cleaning up the streets pointed and shouted. They had spotted the Cheonryeo Tribe’s procession.
“Barbarians! The barbarians are attacking!”
“Oh, God! Why! Why!”
“Everyone run! Run!”
“Ahhhhh!”
They began fleeing with children clutched to their chests. Some had abandoned all hope entirely, merely praying in terror.
And with good reason—the estate was already devastated from the battle with the Central Army. When misfortunes pile on, there are limits. If the barbarians joined in, all that remained for these people was despair.
“Heartless monsters! You saw your chance and came running, didn’t you! Beasts! Get out! Get out of here!”
“Honey! Don’t say that! Please!”
“Yes, kill us all! Kill everyone! Let us be judged before God! Kill us all!”
“The Cheonryeo Tribe is attacking! The Cheonryeo Tribe!”
“Those bastards would rob a bank if they could, now run, run faster! Faster!”
It was absolute chaos. Kakantir’s expression remained composed, but the warriors made no effort to hide their displeasure. They hadn’t come to help, but neither had they come to attack. They were slowly driving Kusile toward the Manor.
“Ahhh!”
Thud!
Among the fleeing residents, a child fell. The parent who had lost their grip was nowhere to be seen. Kakantir stopped Kusile and looked down at the child.
“Hic…”
Tears welled up in the child’s round eyes. While the child trembled with clenched lips, Kakantir simply gazed down in silence. The fleeing residents also watched from a distance, frozen in place.
“There is a child ahead. Guide Kusile carefully.”
“Yes, Kakan.”
Tap tap tap.
There was no tenderness in helping the child up or asking about their condition. Instead, Kakantir instructed those behind to split and pass around the small child as though it were a boulder. The child simply stared ahead in shock, unable to move.
“Come now. Get up. The ground is cold.”
I extended my hand slowly as I passed. Beneath the hood, the face visible was not that of the Cheonryeo Tribe, but familiar golden hair and green eyes. The child instinctively grasped my grimy hand.
“Good child.”
I slowly guided Kusile forward while holding the child, and from far away, I gestured to the bewildered estate resident standing frozen.
“Come and take the boy. Are the parents here?”
“Y-yes, yes, me! I’m his father!”
“And what is a father doing standing there like that?”
At my call, a man snapped to attention and rushed over. He trembled as he received the boy. The figure beneath the slightly pulled-back hood looked familiar.
“…Lord Ian?”
“You know me?”
“I-I’m the Stable Hand, sir. Don’t you remember?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
I couldn’t recall his name, but his face was recognizable. Beyond the minor scars, he was so covered in dust and grime that I hadn’t recognized him at first. I patted the Stable Hand’s shoulder with a laugh.
“It’s been a while. I’m glad you’re alive.”
“…W-what is happening?”
“I’ll explain later. I’m busy now. Just know that the Cheonryeo Tribe has come to help Bratz, so don’t be too afraid. Spread the word to your neighbors as well. Take care of yourselves.”
Turning my head, I saw that all the Cheonryeo Tribe members were waiting for me ahead, including Berik suspended and bound among them. I urged Kusile forward with such natural ease, as if returning to where I’d always belonged.
“H-hey. What did he say?”
“Do you know him?”
As the Cheonryeo Tribe disappeared from sight, everyone rushed to the Stable Hand, each asking a question. They were desperate to know what would become of their fate, of their homeland.
“That was… Lord Ian?”
“Ian? The Count’s illegitimate son?”
“He was sold to the Cheonryeo Tribe… wait?! He crossed the desert!”
“What did the illegitimate son say? Huh? He spoke at length about something.”
Everyone recalled the existence of the illegitimate son they had forgotten, gasping in astonishment. The Stable Hand clutched his child tightly to his chest, his eyes following Ian’s departing figure. Before crossing the Great Desert, hadn’t he warned them—as if he knew the future—to leave the Manor, to tell Hena to do the same?
‘It wasn’t entirely because of that warning, but…’
In any case, most of those who left the Manor had escaped calamity, while those who remained had been killed by the investigation team.
With the Countess and even Young Master’s fates uncertain, the servants’ fragile lives were worth less than dust scattered on the ground.
“H-he said the Cheonryeo Tribe would help…”
“The Cheonryeo Tribe will help?”
“What…”
The territory’s people let out hollow laughs of disbelief. Yet no one dared to openly refute the claim, for the reality was simply too desperate.
With their homeland Bariel and their lord Count Derga locked in conflict, what other force could possibly intervene to stop them?
“Stand aside. You have no business here.”
“Charge! Keep moving forward!”
“Barbarians! The barbarian savages are attacking!”
“Ah, these bastards keep calling us barbarians, barbarians—wouldn’t it be better to just kill them and be done with it?”
“Kyaaaah! Beast-folk! Save us!”
“Silence. Mugurun. Keep your focus.”
“The Manor is in sight!”
Meanwhile, the Cheonryeo Tribe, having cut through the village, finally arrived at the Bratz Estate. Instead of the family’s banner, the scorched flag of the investigation team fluttered in the wind—a clear testament to who had won the battle.
Neigh!
Kakantir seized Kusile’s reins and brought her to a complete halt. Soldiers guarding the front of the Manor hastily raised their spears. Blood stained their helmets and armor, and not a single limb appeared uninjured.
“W-who are you!”
“Barbarians from the borderlands! How did you even get here?”
Thud!
The limping figure’s cry was pitiful to witness. As one warrior, his pride thoroughly wounded, drew his sword and stepped forward, I moved to block him. I offered an apologetic glance and took a step ahead.
“I am Ian, the illegitimate son of Count Bratz. These are warriors of the Great Desert, the Cheonryeo Tribe. We have not come to fight. Inform your master of ‘our’ presence.”
The soldiers faltered upon seeing my golden hair and green eyes. There was no doubt—I bore the appearance of someone from Bariel. Their gaze shifted to the warriors standing firm behind me.
They were beings who embodied the very essence of untamed nature. The raw aura of an apex predator was palpable, utterly unapproachable. The soldiers hesitated and murmured nervously.
“P-please, just… wait a moment.”
If ordered to retreat, he looked ready to crush his own skull with his bare hands. The soldier stammered and backed away, then hurried inside to report.
His remaining comrades gripped their swords in an awkward stance.
Neigh!
Though they flinched at Kusile’s cry and beads of cold sweat rolled down their faces.

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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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