Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 678

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

Chapter 677. Search
Erika clutched at her heart.
It felt as though I were being crushed into fragments, pulverized beyond recognition. Every nerve ending throughout my body screamed warnings. If I reached the destination my will was driving me toward, only complete death awaited me there.
“E-Erika!”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you alright?”
“Here, get a stretcher-”
“No!”
When the adjutants moved to support her, Erika roughly rejected them. No one was to touch me. I was already overwhelmed with focusing on myself, and I would tolerate no distractions whatsoever.
Then, as a command echoed in my ears once more, Erika flinched.
-Return.
A crystalline voice that evoked whiteness. I knew well that if I obeyed, my racing heartbeat would cease and the deep-seated anxiety would fade away. It would be like the cheap peace granted to those who surrender.
-Erika.
Tears streamed down Erika’s eyes. The clearer my memories became, the more vivid that day’s death grew.
‘Shatima…’
Her clothes soaked in blood, her disheveled hair, and those eyes awaiting death. She had lived for Hawan, and she had held my hand.
To kill such a person with my own hands…
“Ahhhhh! Ahhh!”
“W-Withdraw!”
As Erika convulsed with guilt, the adjutants around her startled and retreated.
She remained sprawled on the ground, gripping the area around her pounding chest. If I followed that insidious, whispering command, everything would surely be fine. But was it really necessary for me to live at such a cost?
-No.
She barely turned her head to look up at the adjutants. Those who could not possibly understand the situation stared down at her with fearful eyes.
“Withdraw at once. Send word to the mages immediately.”
-Erika!
“Hawan’s path is not this one. If I were to go back on what I just said-”
Erika drew a dagger and slashed her own palm. The brief sting of pain sharpened my mind further. Then the voice in my ears grew louder and louder.
-You cannot!
“…You may kill me.”
Ping!
At that moment, something snapped somewhere within my body. I had expected my heart to shatter, but what I felt instead was relief.
Erika’s eyes widened slightly, then she murmured again as if reaffirming her resolve.
“Even if I die, Hawan’s path continues on.”
Ping!
The white voice cried out something, but it only reached her ears as a muffled drone. A strange sensation, like a thread being severed.
Soon, Erika’s eyes reflecting the world began to shimmer and shine. Finally, something had awakened. It felt like a dream, or perhaps a transparent veil. Whatever it was, what mattered was that Erika’s world was becoming whole again.
“E-Erika.”
“Yes.”
Erika turned her head sharply. She watched the retreating soldiers, then quickly got to her feet.
“I’m fine. Continue the withdrawal. But don’t send signals toward Hielo’s territory or Merelrof’s territory—wait in the Great Desert instead.”
“Understood.”
“The rest of you do the same—cross the border first. I need to meet Ian Hielo.”
“What? What do you mean, Erika!”
*Thud!*
Erika ignored her adjutants’ protests and mounted her horse immediately. I had to hurry and clear up this misunderstanding. Why had Hawan sided with Ruswena and attacked us? And what was the current situation unfolding in Hawan?
To fulfill Shatima’s will, Hawan could not turn its back on Bariel. And as a former head of Bariel’s Royal Palace investigation unit, I could not ignore this.
*Clop clop clop!*
*Neigh!*
Cutting through the soldiers retreating toward the border, I rode alone into the heart of the battlefield. I waved Hawan’s flag frantically to call the mages, but they were too far away and the noise was too great for them to notice. If they had pursued Hawan instead, this would have been no problem.
“Ian Hielo! Mages, hear me!”
“Hyaaah!”
“Please, just look this way!”
“Fall back! Fall back!”
*Boom! Boom!*
My cries were drowned out far too easily. I gritted my teeth and pressed my body against the horse’s neck, kicking my flanks hard. I needed more speed.
*Clop clop clop!*
And then, I sensed a strange presence behind me. One of my adjutants was following me. At first glance, it seemed he was following out of concern for me, but I was certain.
‘Another doll.’
A doll hidden in Hawan, like me, stripped of reason. It was trying to kill me before I could spread the method to break free from puppet magic.
I swallowed hard and shouted.
“Everyone listen! Do not fear death—just advance! This is a deception!”
“Hyaaah!”
“If you yield in fear, you will never escape! Just once, just once—assert your own will—!”
The soldiers retreated with battle cries, not even comprehending what I was shouting.
The adjutant’s pursuit grew faster. I drew my sword and prepared for the attack, continuing to charge toward where the mages were.
“The notion that you’ll break apart is an illusion!”
*Clop clop clop!*
*Slash! Clang!*
The adjutant who had chased me to my very side swung his sword at me with all his might.
I parried with all my strength, but couldn’t completely deflect it. A few more exchanges followed.
*Clang! Clang!*
“Listen, are you hearing me? Don’t be afraid—defy the command! If you do—”
“…”
“Then you can awaken!”
“…Shut up!”
“Fool! Damn it!”
*Slash!*
As my blade severed the adjutant’s left arm, his sword tore across my back.
The soldiers wondered what was happening, but they couldn’t stop their retreat—they could only glance back over their shoulders.
I staggered badly, but I grabbed the reins and steadied myself.
“Hyah!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Whiiii!
Just a bit further, and I can reach the mages.
* * *
As Erika charged toward the Ruswena barrier, the mages flew across the chaotic battlefield, organizing the situation. Their first targets were the dragon, the black-armored knight, and the archers firing Idgal arrows.
While the mages’ world tree spun wildly, processing these threats, Berik was the first to climb atop the collapsed barrier.
“Kahahaha! I’m first!”
“Berik, stop fooling around and push toward the next barrier! From here, I can see at least two more before the royal palace.”
“What? That many? But we don’t have our soldiers, do we? Is there really a need to push forward?”
“Reinforcements are coming from the center, so we prepare for what’s ahead! Besides, didn’t they have a reason for getting utterly crushed by Hielo?”
“That’s true!”
“Tomi, Jang! You two come with me behind Eldetr.”
“Yes, Captain Heil!”
The rest of you, clean up thoroughly before coming in!”
Heil gave these orders to the mages and flew over the second barrier. Idgal arrows poured down mercilessly, but they could not stop him.
Berik, who had climbed the wall with effort, grabbed a soldier who was about to fire an arrow by the collar and hurled him downward.
“Ugh, ahhhhh!”
“If you want to live, jump down on your own!”
“It’s a Mage Knight! A Mage Knight has climbed the eastern second barrier!”
“H-how is this even possible?”
“Kill him! The Mage Knight uses mana too, so Idgal weapons will be effective! Everyone, attack together!”
“Wahhhhh!”
Their courage was admirable, but the reality was brutal. Berik moved lightly like a cat playing with mice, flinging soldiers down below the barrier. Then he signaled the mages while looking at the firmly locked gate.
“I’m going down to smash that gate!”
“Be careful! We can’t see you from here!”
“Okay! Don’t you worry!”
The tide of victory was evident at a glance. The Ruswena soldiers seemed less like they were fighting the mages and more like they were struggling to survive.
Ian was about to follow the mages over the barrier when he sensed something and paused.
“What’s wrong, Ian?”
“…Nothing.”
Hawan’s forces were safely crossing the border and leaving the battlefield. It would be best to quickly finish Ruswena and pursue them. Ian flew higher and spotted the distant Ruswena royal palace.
“The royal palace is in sight!”
“Yes.”
Zing! Zing!
Aligned directly with the royal palace, Ian gathered mana in his clasped hands. Without hesitation, he fired a white beam of light toward the main gate of the palace.
Whoooosh!
But the attack, which had been moving straight ahead, was blocked and refracted near the final barrier. An invisible transparent protective barrier had been generated.
From what I could tell, it wasn’t the power of Ruswena mages, but rather a protective barrier maintained by mana stones like the border. I made my assessment.
“There’s likely something similar on the palace side. Rather than breaking the barrier, it would be easier to destroy the mana stones beneath it.”
“Yes, Ian!”
“Berik, clean up and catch up with me.”
“Okay! See you at the Royal Palace, Ian!”
Instead of answering, I soared upward rapidly and approached the final barrier.
Meanwhile, Eldetr, who had taken refuge inside the final barrier, suddenly glanced back. A massive beam of light plummeted as though it would strike at any moment, only to be blocked by the protective shield and dissipate. It felt like staring death in the face.
“Hurry to the Royal Palace!”
“Yes, understood, Your Highness!”
Below the barrier lay the heart of Ruswena’s capital. Citizens were fleeing into the streets in panic. The fact that the main forces they had believed would bring victory hadn’t even crossed the border was truly a devastating shock to them.
Eldetr clenched his lips and straightened his gaze.
Whoosh!
As the dragon landed in the Royal Palace courtyard, Eldetr rushed down and hurried inside the palace.
“Your Highness, this way!”
In Elbasa, the capital of Ruswena, there existed a mana stone diagram leading to the western outskirts. Escaping through it first and then planning for the future was the best option. Whether the mage stolen from cursed Toollun would return, and how Hawan might assist—such concerns weighed heavily.
Eldetr descended into the palace basement with the leadership and ventured deep into the vault.
“I will check first, Your Highness.”
An official reached his hand into the diagram to verify whether the connected location was safe.
Boom! Crash!
At that moment, the entire Royal Palace shook violently. The mages had clearly broken through the outer barrier and reached this place. Anxious, Eldetr stared intently at the official.
“Why is he taking so long?”
“W-well, I’m not sure. Perhaps something has gone wrong…”
“From the western outskirts—!”
“Your Highness!”
Just then, the official who had entered first came rushing back out of the diagram. His complexion looked deathly pale, suggesting something was terribly wrong.
“I’m afraid it won’t work.”
“It won’t work?”
“It’s… it’s Cliffford. They seem to have invaded the western outskirts. If we enter while everything is in chaos…”
“What?”
Eldetr felt a chill run down the back of his neck.
That’s right—how could I have forgotten about Cliffford? From the beginning, Bariel’s true ally had been bordering the west. Just as Hawan had pressed down from above, couldn’t Cliffford also squeeze Ruswena from below?
“I… I—”
Damn it! Eldetr clutched his head and froze in place. As the Bariel Mages’ attacks to break the protective shield continued relentlessly, his mind felt as though it were turning white.
Meanwhile, outside the Royal Palace, the finishing work was underway.
Whoosh!
“Captain Heil! The last one!”
“Shatter it!”
Zing! Boom!
As Heil and Tomi poured their mana simultaneously, the transparent barrier shattered with a tremendous crash. The antique Royal Palace now lay exposed.
Heil said we were almost there, then took out a cigarette and nodded.
“Search inside and outside the palace. Find Eldetr.”

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