Chapter 180
Chapter 180
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Surrender
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Protect Lord Ian!”
“Iaaaaan! Haha!”
The warriors’ hearty laughter brushed past Ian’s ears. They willingly offered their bodies to the incoming arrows and easily snatched them out of the air, snapping the shafts with their bare hands.
“Lord Ian! Be careful!”
The mages were no different. With no time to exchange greetings with the barbarians who had dropped from the sky, they immediately turned their backs to him and cleared a path. The soldiers pushing up were helplessly shoved back, trampled underfoot, and sent tumbling down the stairs.
Boom! Crack!
Tap-tap-tap!
“For Lord Ian!”
“For Lord Ian!”
“For Ian!”
Everyone shouted in unison, volunteering themselves as his shields. A sharp light gathered in his hand, soon shooting out between his fingers like a cool stream of water.
Pheew!
Such was the arrow from Prince Marib aimed at his nape. Nersarn swatted it away with his hand and leaped alongside Ian.
“I didn’t expect you to come here yourself.”
“You asked me to help when the thin ice breaks. Spring is coming, yet the imperial palace is still gripped by a harsh chill.”
“With you blocking the wind, it’s not cold anymore.”
“In my father’s name—”
Clang!
Nersarn muttered as he sliced through the napes of charging soldiers. Perhaps due to the sprint, but his ears were unusually red.
“—I have come.”
“Argh! They’re not human—they’re monsters!”
“We are warriors of the Great Desert!”
“You filthy beast whelps dare come here?!”
“Prince Marib, fall back for now!”
“You must join the Third Palace guards! Your Highness! Order the retreat!”
Clang!
Prince Marib’s adjutant crossed swords with one of the warriors. It wasn’t just them. Swords clashed from all directions, sparks flying intermittently. Prince Marib retreated step by step but never released his bowstring.
Shweee!
Clang! Clang!
This time, it was Hail who knocked away the arrow. He too leaped down the stairs with Ian, personally swatting aside the grotesque projectiles flying at them.
Splaash!
A puddle of blood—whose, it was impossible to tell—spread thickly. As Ian crouched low and landed, the blood at his feet swirled along the flow of mana.
“Marib!”
Ziiing! Ziiing!
His voice brimmed with dignity. Like the roar of a lion crying out from a cliff, it easily overpowered the noisy battlefield. The ground trembled where Ian stood.
「Myriad Leaves」
Hail wondered for a moment if he’d misheard. But before he could process it, cracks spiderwebbed across the floor first, and the world shook as if it would split left and right.
Rumble!
Myriad Leaves, the tree of eternity with lush foliage so dense its end could not be glimpsed. Wasn’t it a spell that summoned the power of a magic tree from another realm?
From behind Ian, the branches of an ancient tree extended beautifully.
Swoosh.
The more the branches stretched like yawning limbs, the more verdant leaves sprouted, and Ian ran onward. It created an optical illusion, as if Ian were dashing alone through a forest.
“Move! Stay with Lord Ian!”
Tap-tap-tap!
The illusory tree trunks writhed like living things, binding the soldiers. The more they struggled, the tighter they constricted their limbs. Some had their necks snapped and died on the spot, while others trembled at their fingertips from lack of air.
‘Unlike Binding, this is magic for subduing foes across a wide battlefield. But summoning a magic tree from another realm must consume an enormous amount of mana.’
Hail watched Ian’s back anxiously as he ran without hesitation. With reliable allies here, it seemed he could pour everything out without worry. Judging by the blood loss, he was already holding on through sheer willpower.
Shweee! Ping!
“Your Highness, he’s closing in!”
“Prince Marib, dodge!”
“Escort His Highness! Block that man!”
“Damn it.”
Prince Marib muttered a curse after loosing his final arrow. It was frustrating to let a fish nearly hooked slip away, but to see the tide turn completely... He swung his bow at the approaching vines. Were there mysterious gemstones embedded in it too? Each contact with the magic tree triggered a small explosion—boom!
“...!”
Swoooosh!
Ta-dak!
A gust of wind blew. The scattering leaves created a spectacular sight. Prince Marib, locking eyes with Ian’s golden eyes mid-leap, froze unwittingly.
Their gazes met in midair.
Though just an instant, it felt like eons to Prince Marib.
Splaash!
At Ian’s gesture, the magic tree’s vines lunged to impale Prince Marib’s torso. He drew a new sword from his waist and countered. Ian noticed the blade’s color was slightly different.
“…Just how many of those mysterious gemstones do you have?”
“Not enough to kill all you lowly, filthy mages? Hardly.”
Lowly, filthy.
It was the natural order that most mages came from such stock. Bariel had an overwhelming number of commoners, after all.
“The lowly, filthy one is you, Marib!”
“Right! You turned the imperial palace upside down overnight, and now you spout nonsense!”
The mages who had brushed death traded barbs. Nakina even flipped them the bird, unleashing curses they could scarcely comprehend.
“Lord Ian! Plenty of our mages have been hit by arrows—not me! We gotta grab that bastard, no, twist his neck till he spills about those gemstones!”
“Insolent fool! How dare you speak of Prince Marib like that!”
“Shut your trap! You’re the only ones here calling him ‘Your Highness’!”
Veins bulged at Prince Marib’s temples. He seemed properly provoked by the mages’ crude words. Gripping his sword, he glared at Ian.
“The mistakes of subordinates are the leader’s responsibility. It’s not this sword that will take your head—it’s those three-inch tongues of theirs.”
He charged straight at Ian, cleanly severing the magic tree’s illusion. The spell dissolved into fine particles of light. But Ian kept drawing mana to counter. As warriors rushed to assist, Ian shouted.
“No. Marib is mine to handle.”
Politically speaking.
The Cheonryeo Tribe were already despised border minorities in Bariel. If they directly subdued an imperial prince, who knew what burdens that would bring? With no imperial decree on the current situation, Marib had to be resolved at Ian’s level.
Slash!
One side unleashed relentless attacks, while the other only defended their position.
Heavy yet subdued clashes continued. Jin and Philia, his Magic Department colleagues, the warriors, and everyone who had evacuated the palace watched their duel in silence.
‘The mana drain from the gemstones is easing bit by bit.’
The wielder might not notice, but Ian, taking the hits, felt it clearly. It was a good sign. If the gemstones had limits, the mages’ incapacitation was likely temporary.
Crack.
In that moment, a fracture appeared in the amber blade.
“Ian!”
Shweee!
The excited Prince Marib, oblivious, struck again, and the magic tree shattered it mercilessly upon contact.
The fragmented blade tore his earlobe, and Ian coughed up blood violently. Philia collapsed, unable to watch.
“Ahh! Ian!”
“Madam, Madam. It’s alright.”
Jin soothed her. The boy’s hands trembled too, but his eyes on the fight were steady.
“Lord Ian smiled.”
The instant the sword shattered, Ian smiled through his blood. As if he’d spotted an opening. Having summoned all his strength thinking it was the end, blood surged forth.
Swoooosh!
As Ian leaped into the air, the magic tree extended even more grandly. It soon seized Prince Marib’s limbs, hoisting him up and slamming him mercilessly to the ground.
Boom! Crack!
“Urk...!”
Ian dropped onto Prince Marib.
He pinned the prince’s solar plexus with his knee and grabbed his collar. Pinned beneath, Prince Marib looked up at Ian with dilated pupils.
“Your Highness!”
“Get him off! Pull that bastard off His Highness!”
“Who says?! Kill him!”
“Kill him!”
As Prince Marib’s men charged, minor chaos erupted again. Lying on the ground, Prince Marib realized something hot and wet trickled from his nape.
His men’s blood. It flowed and soaked his golden hair. Ian’s cascading locks above gleamed lustrously, while Prince Marib’s were matted with dirt and blood.
“...”
“I told you.”
Ian’s whisper tickled his ear.
“You will not be etched in history.”
That again. Prince Marib lifted his blue eyes and asked.
“Then what about you?”
“...”
“Will you be etched in history?”
“That doesn’t matter to me.”
Shik!
Prince Marib drew a hidden dagger from his wrist, aiming for Ian’s nape. But all he could cut were thick leaves.
The weight of the massive ancient tree grew heavier.
At this rate, he’d be crushed to death.
“I am the First Prince of the Bariel Empire! Everyone, look closely! See who kills me now! This man sent intruders to Gail’s chambers and deceived me, inciting brotherly strife!”
It was a desperate outburst, gasped out with great effort. Murmurs rose from the evacuated palace folk. As if to say keep going, Ian tightened the vines around Prince Marib’s throat even more.
“After history flows on, posterity will judge! Who was right, who was wrong! The Magic Department means to kill me and seize the palace!”
“No!”
A shrill voice directly refuted Prince Marib. It was Jin. Only then did Ian turn back in surprise. The boy squeezed out courage, eyes glistening with tears.
“Everyone, listen clearly! Lord Ian and the Magic Department saved me, Arsen, and my mother. And they saved you all too! Think straight—who caused this mess to take the palace? What you’ve seen and endured is the truth.”
He paused, holding his breath, then made his decision.
“Brother Marib. Do you know what it means that you tried to kill me?”
Quarrels between princes. In Marib and Jin’s case, it was more one-sided violence, but by convention, it would be seen as a quarrel.
“Since you tried to kill me first, I have the right to kill you too. Lord Ian, do as you will. That is my will.”
It was a declaration of support—killing Marib would bring no issues.
Prince Marib scowled and let out an incredulous chuckle. As if these little brats had plotted this.
“Surrender.”
Prince Marib played his final card.
“I surrender in the neutral zone.”
“Your Highness!”
“Will you kill me even now?”
With no imperial decree or trial yet, guilt couldn’t be judged. For Ian, who’d claimed the neutral zone, executing a surrendering foe in front of everyone would be awkward.
Prince Marib panted and laughed.
“Will you kill me!?”
Sloooowly.
Instead of answering, Ian tightened the vines around his throat even more. Consciousness faded into the distance. On the verge of blacking out, Prince Marib heard Ian’s voice drawl.
“Pathetic. Your Highness.”
“Cough...”
Prince Marib shuddered and finally lost consciousness. Turning from the sprawled body, Ian directed the mages.
“H-He’s dead?!”
“Bind Marib and imprison him.”
“O-Ohhh! Y-Yes! Got it!”
“Sort the soldiers too—separate the dead from the living. Mages, inform the palace of Marib’s surrender and secure Gail’s position. Also, mages who’ve lost mana may be disoriented, but maintain formation and wait. It’s likely temporary.”
As Ian wiped blood from his mouth and took command, Berik came running from afar, swinging his black sword.
Tap-tap-tap!
Thud! Thump!
“You fucking bastards! What did you do to our Ian! Ian! Ian! Huff!”
Berik, who’d been sprinting blindly, froze at the sight of the warriors. And the fallen Marib. Eyes wide, he looked around in confusion.
“Wh-What?”
“Our rude Berik! Long time no see!”
“Wh-What’s going on! What’s everyone doing here! Haaaa!”
“Come here! Let’s see how much you’ve grown!”
“This guy—skipped training, huh? All soft.”
“No, I didn’t? How’d you all get here? Huh? We won? Looks like we won?”
Berik, thrilled to reunite with old friends, jumped around, unable to hide his joy. Watching with a smile, Ian staggered and collapsed forward.
“Lord Ian!”
“Iaaaaan!”
“Score a goal. Shut up.”
“Lord Ian, are you alright?”
Magic Department colleagues, warriors, and Berik surrounded Ian. Even Philia and Jin descended the stairs, stepping in blood. Ian glanced at the gathered faces and gave a faint smile.
The day was too long.
The problem was, it wasn’t over yet.
Eyes closed, Ian muttered a question.
“Berik, the painting?”