Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 672

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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 671. The Flag of Hawan
It was not a question seeking an answer. Or more precisely, whatever the opponent said mattered not at all to me.
The moment I sensed another self beyond the Forbidden Mage’s gaze, I unleashed the cold fury that surged within me.
Zing—! Zing!
「Eternal Silence」.
Golden eyes that dyed the world. The cloth protecting me in that light burned away and vanished, and simultaneously, cracks spider-webbed across Mando’s clock.
Crack!
“…!”
The light pouring from the shattered clock fell unfiltered downward, and the Ruswena Soldiers had no choice but to bear it in full.
Like the dead buried beneath volcanic ash, they froze in their fleeing postures and held their breath. Such slow, dull breathing. Yet the wind blowing across the battlefield was so scorching and sharp.
“Run! Flee!”
“The mages have gone mad! Aaaahhh!”
“My body, m-my body—!”
“Save us! Please save us!”
The Ruswena Soldiers could not believe it. They were in danger not from Bariel Mages, but from Ruswena Mages. What in the world was happening?
Eldetr drew his long bow and cried out to the Forbidden Mage—no, to the King of Torlun.
“Stop this at once! At once!”
But there was no chance he would hear. The Forbidden Mage kept his eyes fixed only on me ahead, and I had driven condensed mana directly into the Forbidden Mage’s face.
And that was a fatal blow that brought death.
Boom—!
Boom! Crash! Bang!
“I—!”
Eldetr quickly drew a fresh Idgal Arrow and aimed it, but the gale that erupted in the sky made it impossible to even stand properly. His teal hair, which had been bound up, whipped wildly in the wind.
“Ian!”
“Hold tight!”
The Bariel Mages gripped the World Tree’s branches and braced against the wind.
As the tempest passed, they cautiously opened their eyes and looked around.
“Haa, haa….”
I stood drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
And the Forbidden Mage had vanished without a trace. Shards of the broken clock scattered across the ground before turning to dust and blowing away. Eldetr froze with his bow still in hand, and the soldiers freed from the spell took the opportunity to flee in a desperate rush.
“A Forbidden Mage, and yet….”
Was such a thing possible?
I wiped away the sweat streaming down my chin with the back of my hand and looked toward Eldetr. He would not know. Starting with Wesley, I had already defeated many Forbidden Mages in one-on-one combat.
The last battle had been grueling because I faced two at once, but with my colleagues beside me now, there was nothing to worry about.
“…He is dead.”
The Bariel Mages murmured in unison as if their hearts were one, making the sign of the cross. A lament for the mage who fell into the abyss, stripped of his will. Brother bound to us by a sixth sense. We grieve and mourn your final moment.
“…Ian, are you all right?”
To the mages’ question, I raised my hand lightly. A gesture showing no trace of the previous battle, no fatigue at all. I understood perfectly well why Heil had compared the mystical orb to Akorelra’s potion.
Though I had indeed expended considerable mana, I felt almost no physical exhaustion.
“Good. No problem.”
With the King of Ruswena’s neck within reach, I swept my disheveled hair back and fixed my gaze on the next opponent.
Eldetr, heir to the blood of the cyan serpent. Your turn comes next. I shall hold you accountable for daring to invade Bariel and Hielo, disrupting the order.
Zing! Zing!
That was when it happened. The Ruswena Mages held by the World Tree simultaneously unleashed their magical power. Right—they still had many mages remaining, didn’t they?
A smile played at the corners of Eldetr’s mouth. If one Forbidden Mage couldn’t stop Ian Hielo, then two, or perhaps three attacking at once would do the trick.
“Huh?”
“Ian, something seems off about them.”
“Wait, hold on!”
The Bariel Mages took combat positions and tightened their grip on the World Tree’s branches even more forcefully.
However, the Ruswena Mages’ response was strange. They were only trying to break through the wooden vines and escape; no hostility emanated from them.
“It’s a portal!”
“What, what is this? What on earth is—”
The Ruswena Mages squeezed out their remaining strength to open a portal. Then, with all their might, they stretched their hands out as if swimming.
The Bariel Mages tried to seize them, but their objective wasn’t to ‘move together.’ Among the mages who kept pushing and pulling each other to create gaps, two threw themselves into the portal.
“You bastards! Where are you running to!”
“Grab them, grab those bastards!”
“Don’t go into the portal! We don’t know where it leads! I’ve got one here!”
Eldetr stared at the scene with bewilderment. How was this situation unfolding? Why were the Ruswena Mages opening a portal to escape the battlefield?
He understood this was also the King of Torlun’s decision, but he had never been consulted about it.
“Your Highness, the mages are trying to escape—!”
“It would be wise to move out of the way first. The tide has turned against us.”
For the King of Torlun to forbid the mages, he needed a Puppeteer in the middle to act as a buffer. A shield-bearer who would filter the forbidden power and bear that burden in their stead.
But since there was no Puppeteer in Ruswena now, drawing the mages to Torlun to perform the work was the safest and most certain method.
“What is this? Ian, why are they doing that?”
Berik, who had been busily swinging his blade and throwing punches, also watched the portal with confusion.
At this, I immediately flew toward the portal and issued orders.
“Hold them. All the Ruswena Mages. If it’s difficult, you may kill them.”
This was the method for executing forbidden magic. Following this, I realized that the King of Torlun could do nothing at this very moment.
That meant if the mages crossed over to Torlun, they could all be forbidden. A wave of greater hardship would come crashing down, so it was wise to stop them now.
“Ugh, uuugh—!”
“Understood! Everyone!”
“Pour all your strength into it! Damn, there’s no other way!”
At my command, the Bariel Mages squeezed their eyes shut and amplified their magical power.
The thick branches of the World Tree stretched out and strangled the necks of the Ruswena Mages, and soon, with a sickening crack, their heads fell backward.
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, I dove swiftly into the portal and caught one mage’s wrist. Then, with a smirk, the mage smiled. The portal’s entrance was shrinking at tremendous speed.
“Ian, get out of there!”
“The entrance is closing!”
…Better to kill them.
I aimed at the mages hiding in the black space within the portal, but they were like swimming fish. They moved freely through the void, laughing as if daring me to catch them, while the Bariel Mages crowded right up to the portal’s edge, calling out to me.
“Ian! You’re alright! Come out quickly!”
“Please! Please!”
There was no way out. Not right now.
I stretched my hand toward the portal entrance, and the Bariel Mages seized my hand, arm, and collar, pulling with all their might.
Whoosh!
The moment my feet crossed the threshold, the portal vanished. I had nearly been trapped in an infinitely expanding magical space. The mages clutched their pounding hearts and gazed up at the clear sky.
“Oh, oh my. Ian… I thought we were done for…”
“Gasp, huff. If we’d been even a moment slower, Ian, we’d never see you again.”
“Ian, I told you to come out quickly! Why are you risking yourself for those two!”
“They answered the King of Torlun’s call. If we don’t stop them now, it will become dangerous later.”
“We’re here now, aren’t we? Let’s do this safely, yes? We can take it step by step.”
“Hey! Is Ian okay?”
“Yeah, Berik! Don’t worry about it!”
“Got it!”
The moment Berik confirmed I was fine, he tossed aside his blood-soaked mage sword and collapsed flat on his back.
After the chaos subsided, the battlefield fell silent. The Forbidden Mage had been dealt with, and all remaining Ruswena Mages were dead. Countless corpses lay scattered across Ruswena’s golden reed fields like bedding.
“So now…”
The mages embracing me turned their heads in unison with a creak. Only one thing remained—the King of Ruswena?
Eldetr clenched his teeth and retreated, following Martin’s escort.
“Dragon! Black Armor!”
Even as soldiers scattered and fled in all directions, the Black-Armored Knights answered the King’s call. Their faces were resolute, ready to charge into battle at any moment.
But could they alone stop the mages? They weren’t even Mage Knights. And Ian was still in fighting condition?
Eldetr stepped back and issued orders to Martin. The only means to contact Torlun now was Countess Darsi.
“Send someone to the Royal Palace and bring Countess Darsi. She’s in the second drawer of my office.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Damn it.”
I couldn’t fathom Torlun’s intention in taking the Ruswena Mages. Was he withdrawing entirely from this war, or would he supplement his puppetry and send them back? Regardless, Ruswena now faced immediate danger.
“Bring the Idgal Arrows! Unless we blind them, there’s no way to escape the mages’ sight!”
“Fire the arrows! Keep them coming!”
“Any who flee will have their heads severed on the spot! Our families stand behind us! Will you protect them, or will you lead the enemy to their doorstep!”
“Get your heads in the game, youngsters! It’s not over yet!”
“Black Armor, we’ll support you! Idgal arrows!”
The Ruswena camp regained its vigor. Though their remaining forces were few, they had miraculously not collapsed.
But it was like a sandcastle. Everyone here knew that a single gesture from the mages would bring it crashing down.
“Just wait. I’m about to blow the palace gates off.”
It was the moment the mages rolled up their sleeves and began flying toward the main Ruswena force.
Boooo-
Boo-
A strange horn blast sounded loudly near the Ruswena border. Its tone was different from the buffalo horns primarily used by Bariel and the three neighboring nations.
The mages turned around in confusion, their brows furrowing.
“What in the world is that?”
Thousands of unfamiliar forces had crossed the desert without warning. National banners fluttered across their ranks—a sight that was all too familiar. Ian muttered as he observed the crimson seal stamped clearly against the white background.
“…Hawanguk forces.”
The ‘Doll’ that had slain Shatima and seized command was in Hawan. It had rushed down to support Ruswena’s battle, taking the southern desert route rather than through Merelrof.
“Your Highness, it’s, it’s Hawanguk!”
“Hawanguk has sent reinforcements!”
“Thank the heavens, truly thank the heavens!”
Martin and the Officers confirmed the border through their telescopes and reported with jubilation. There was no law saying they had to perish. Whatever forces Hawan had brought, they would not fall so easily to Bariel now.
“What of Hawan’s military strength? Can we ascertain it?”
“The Doll that Countess Darsi created should be their main force. Once we join with them, we’ll be able to communicate with King Toolun, Your Highness!”
Eldetr nodded and issued his command.
“Send one Dragon over there. We’ll share our situation.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Meanwhile, the Bariel Mages observing this development felt no particular sense of crisis, even as Ruswena pressed from the front and Hawan from behind. Their enemies were bound to the earth, while they soared through the sky.
Yet there was one man—
“Damn it. What the hell?”
Berik, who had been struggling on the ground alongside the Soldiers, glanced backward and spat out an irritated curse.

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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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