Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 602

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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 601
Fire. The Oath’s Content
“Waaaaah!”
The city gates swung wide open, and soldiers led by Raudan charged straight ahead.
The Bariel Soldiers maintained their formation and awaited orders, yet silence prevailed. The enemy rushed forward to kill them, yet no instructions came. Not a single command.
Was this right? Faced with a situation unlike any battle they’d experienced before, confusion clouded every face.
“Come at us! If you wish to pass, trample over my corpse!”
“Waaaaah! Protect Purpato and Burgos!”
“Hold the line! Hold it at all costs!”
Thud, thud, thud!
With fierce battle cries, the thunder of hoofbeats shook the earth.
In the moment the Bariel Soldiers faltered and confusion gripped them, the mages under my command unfurled a protective barrier spanning from one end of the formation to the other.
Zing! Zing!
“Higher!”
“The barrier! Push it forward!”
It served to initially block the Purpato Soldiers’ charge.
Raudan’s eyes gleamed with exhilaration upon witnessing this. It had been a charge born from mere suspicion—a doubt he’d sought to prove, one he himself hadn’t truly believed in.
But now. The Bariel mages were drawing a line upon the earth with their barriers instead of counterattacking. His suspicion had proven largely correct.
A glimmer of hope emerged. They truly had sworn an oath of non-killing while passing through Purpato’s forest—they could never harm Purpato!
“The mages are constructing a defensive formation!”
“Prepare the arrows! We continue our charge!”
“Breathe out and cut through everything!”
Tap, tap, tap!
Whizz! Ping!
At Raudan’s gesture, arrows rained down from the walls. Those unable to draw bowstrings roared their resolve, while the Bariel Soldiers could only swallow hard, watching the enemy surge forward.
“Hraaaaah!”
Clang! Clang!
Crackle!
At last, Raudan’s blade traced a massive arc.
Raudan gripped the hilt with both hands, clenching his teeth. Whether this attack could shatter the mage’s barrier remained uncertain, but what truly mattered lay elsewhere.
The flow of battle this attack would bring.
“We strike first!”
“Purpato has launched the first strike against the Bariel forces!”
“Forward! Follow Lord Raudan’s attack!”
Clang! Clang!
Each time the Purpato Soldiers swung their blades, the barrier trembled with a zing.
There was no danger of it breaking, yet the mages grew troubled and glanced back at me. The enemy’s relentless momentum created an illusion that the tide of battle was turning against us.
“Lord Ian. Should we continue holding?”
“Wouldn’t it be better if the Bariel Soldiers withdrew?”
“No. Hold your positions until the enemy’s fervor subsides. Focus on maintaining the barrier. We cannot afford any gaps that might allow damage to reach the Bariel side.”
“Yes, I understand. Not Idgal, and well. This much is certainly manageable.”
“Keep spouting nonsense! Let’s see whose arm gets tired!”
“You want to resolve this through conversation, you youngsters. Tsk tsk. Listen! You’re making a mistake right now, aren’t you?”
Idgal did respond to physical impact, but the protective barrier was nothing to worry about unless it was made of some special material.
The mages, without hesitation, rolled the protective barrier into a circle and wrapped it above the Bariel Soldiers. It was to block the arrows flying from afar.
“Good! Keep concentrating!”
As the mages focused on the protective barrier, Raudan’s subordinates shouted with conviction.
“It seems correct, Raudan! There’s no counterattack from Bariel! Seeing that they’re not even attempting contact, it appears there was indeed a Purpato Forest oath.”
“Thank you, Guardian of Purpato!”
While everyone prayed with emotion, Raudan lowered his sword for a moment and caught his breath.
It was certainly true that Bariel couldn’t attack Purpato. But he needed more detailed and precise evidence. If things continued like this, Purpato would collapse from exhaustion. Humans had their limits in stamina, and their supplies and weapons were finite, weren’t they?
Whoosh.
Raudan, who had been raising morale, raised his hand. It was a signal to halt the attack momentarily.
At this, Tweller, who had been watching quietly, stepped forward and faced Raudan across the protective barrier. He hadn’t noticed from a distance, but the man was quite large. Tweller examined him for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“…Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Maxim Tweller, Minister of the Imperial Defense Department of Bariel.”
“How long will you keep doing this? If you’re a true warrior, lower the protective barrier and come out here to settle this.”
“I wish to do so as well, but His Majesty the Emperor’s will is otherwise. However, do you believe this protective barrier is for Bariel’s sake?”
“If not?”
“This barrier is for your protection. If even a single soldier is injured by Purpato’s attack, we cannot spare your lives in Bariel’s name. For those who have devoted themselves to the Empire, we will never stand idle. So cease these meaningless and wasteful attacks for now. I wish to have a deeper conversation.”
Raudan slung his sword over his shoulder and looked down at Tweller. The Minister of the Imperial Defense Department. He was likely the second decision-maker after the Emperor here.
Through conversation, there would surely be information worth obtaining. Raudan nodded in agreement. As if to say, tell me whatever it is.
Tweller observed Raudan impassively.
‘He’s on high alert.’
His intent to learn about the Purpato oath was clear. Thinking it best to reconsider before speaking, Tweller pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
“The Purpato oath is true. The forest’s owner regarded Purpato favorably and extended the proposal. But that is merely a proposal, nothing more. If your resistance becomes violent and harms Bariel, we will gladly kill you and trample your corpses. We will also burn all of Purpato, which the Guardian cherished and loved, and erase it from history.”
“You bastard! How dare you run your mouth!”
“Don’t speak so proudly as an intruder! This is the land where we were born and raised, and it is the proud Burgos!”
“I’m offering you a choice. If you don’t resist, you can preserve both your lives and your homeland. But beyond that, there is only despair.”
Raudan’s eyes, which had been listening quietly, narrowed.
“We swore an oath with the Guardian. How can you kill us?”
“If you’re curious, I’ll show you directly. Nothing can stop Bariel.”
It was Ian who had sworn the oath with the Purpato deer. The deaths of the Purpato people must not occur by Ian’s command, but other methods would work, wouldn’t they?
I couldn’t receive help from Ian’s mages, but Bariel had tens of thousands of soldiers. And there was also Jin Berosion to command them.
Raudan, who had been contemplating something briefly, smiled at the corners of his mouth.
“You’re not the one who swore the oath directly with the Guardian.”
“…!”
At the unexpected words, Tweller faltered. Was there a flaw in what he had just said? In less than a second, he replayed it several times, but found no particular weak point.
As cigarette smoke leaked through his tightly closed lips, Raudan laughed aloud.
“All Purpato people know it. The legend of the Guardian.”
Whenever great calamity befell Purpato and its surroundings, the Guardian would raise the ‘Labyrinth Forest’ to protect this land.
“To pass through the forest, one must swear an oath. And every oath, without exception, carries both blessing and curse.”
Curse.
At those words, the mages turned to look at me. Their expressions betrayed confusion—what was he talking about? There had been no mention of a curse. Tweller didn’t look my way, but I could feel his entire attention focused in my direction.
Raudan, facing me directly, couldn’t possibly have missed this. He tilted his head sideways to regard me.
“Is it you? The one who has directly seen the forest’s guardian?”
My hand, which had been caressing the branch inside my sleeve, stopped abruptly.
An extraordinary man. Above all else, he seemed devoid of fear. Beyond the willingness to charge forward in the face of death, there was something combative about the author.
“What if it is?”
“Then tell me. What exactly was your oath? Only then can I deliberate deeply on whether my Bariel should cooperate or not. If a Purpato dies here, an inescapable curse will befall you. Wouldn’t that be preferable?”
A lie. In those words about deliberating deeply, I detected Raudan’s deception. It was merely a ploy to extract information.
Before the merciless flow of time, Purpato would inevitably kneel to Bariel eventually. Before that happened, he was moving to extract information and find weaknesses. His choice was bold and sound.
“Ian, an inescapable curse? Is that truly the case?”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“What curse is it? Ian, please tell us. Surely you didn’t distrust us? If so, then rebuke us instead. Don’t bear this burden alone.”
“Yes, we will gladly accept your rebuke. But we cannot accept this situation.”
As the mages whispered their resentment between breaths, I raised one hand. A gesture asking them to pause their agitation and listen.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“Then what is it?”
“It was simply my judgment. I am your superior and the mage bearing Bariel. I determined that mentioning the curse would not aid our war effort. So, please don’t feel too hurt—”
I paused mid-sentence. The mages’ eyes had narrowed to slits. After a moment to collect myself, I finally raised the white flag.
“…I apologize.”
“Yes, now that you understand. My goodness.”
“Just this once, we’ll let it slide. But not twice!”
Soon, a report about the curse would reach Jin in the rear. It would be best to organize the situation before that happened.
I approached Raudan while holding up the branch.
“As you suspected, I am the one who met the forest’s owner and swore an oath. This is the proof. I broke it off before the forest disappeared.”
Raudan and his subordinates stared at the branch in astonishment. So this was the very thing they’d only heard of in legend. Hope naturally welled up—the hope that they could survive and protect Purpato.
Crack.
But I smiled and snapped it in half. My hand moved with an eerie lack of hesitation.
“If you wish it, I will grant your desires.”
“The curse—it can absolutely not be avoided!”
At Raudan’s cry, I whispered.
“It cannot be avoided, but it can be endured.”
…The author is no ordinary man.
A chill ran down the back of Raudan’s neck, and all the legends that had descended upon Purpato flashed through his mind. Considering the overall situation and Tweller’s demeanor…
“The author must not be killed.”
“Pardon? Raudan, what do you mean?”
“The author! He has sworn directly with the guardian and staked his name—this means Tweller and others can lead an assault on Purpato!”
As the Minister of Magic, mages were effectively excluded from combat. The great Bariel army remained, but victory was still possible.
Whoosh.
At that moment, Raudan pointed his sword at his own neck and cried out.
“All of Bariel, hear me! If you attack Purpato on the orders of anyone other than the Minister of Magic, I will weep before the Guardian and take my own life! I will die because of the pain, fear, and despair the Author has inflicted upon me!”
What was that? The mages exchanged indifferent glances, but the Purpato people were different. Their eyes gleamed with respect and admiration. They knew the legends passed down in Purpato.
“Do you think it won’t work? There’s a legend with similar content to this moment. Simply by declaring my death your fault, the effect will surely be real.”
As Raudan growled fiercely, the mages took a step back. Without knowing what the legend was or having information about the Guardian, it seemed prudent to be cautious first.
But conversely, Ian drew closer to him.
“If I am the reason for your death, the forest’s owner would surely be angered. However, for that to be possible, you would need to know who I truly am.”
“Of course! Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of Bariel!”
Ian shook his head lightly.
He smiled faintly, as if he had expected this.
“No—my real name, the one I told the forest’s owner.”

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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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