The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 354

Indim’s attack aimed for Azadin’s neck.

-Thwack!

But surprisingly, Zibeck jumped between the two and blocked Indim’s attack with his shield.

Indim stepped on Zibeck’s shield and soared up, trying to cut his throat with a dagger, but Zibeck deflected the blade with his helmet, skillfully letting it slide off.

Nicelda pursued Indim. Indim’s speed was indeed tremendous, befitting the top messenger of the Messenger Clan, but Nicelda’s speed was also beyond human limits.

Moreover, Nicelda, an assassin of the Order of Mercy, possessed swordsmanship similar to that of the Messenger Clan, so she was not easily pushed back by Indim.

Although Nicelda was taking damage with each clash, as a half-vampire, she regenerated her wounds and persistently clung to Indim.

“Impressive.”

“You too.”

Dimia tried to protect Indim with magic, but Bernard was blocking her spells with counter-spells.

But then, Azadin raised Aurelia Dawn.

-Divine Intervention!

A dazzling white magic pierced through everyone’s bodies.

It was a magic of intervention that forcibly canceled the battle state, but no one had ever experienced it being activated so powerfully and widely.

Indim and Nicelda, who had been rampaging, lost their speed and staggered.

“This… what is this?!”

“Oh my.”

The magic of Dimia and Bernard, which had been sharply intertwined, and even Zenith’s bowstring, which had been aimed at Azadin, lost its elasticity and slackened.

‘The King’s magic?!’

Everyone present was shocked that Azadin was using such powerful divine magic, the kind only a king would use.

Azadin, the one who had used the magic, acted as if it was nothing. He didn’t seem tired from using so much magic, nor did he suffer any side effects, which showed that Azadin was truly capable of taking any throne right now.

“Alright, that’s enough. Don’t do useless things, are you going to start a sword fight over a joke?”

“You call that a joke… are you kidding me, you bastard?”

“It seemed more plausible than the joke you made, though?”

Indim’s mouth snapped shut. If you think about it, it was Azadin who gave the opening for that joke, and the more you delve into it, the more it would only rub salt into Indim’s wounds.

Azadin, having silenced Indim with such a shock tactic, used the silence that had finally arrived to continue speaking.

“First of all, I think everyone is misunderstanding, I don’t hate power. Of course, I’m on the side that thinks the human mind is made to be unable to handle power… but if necessary, I won’t hesitate to seize power. That’s why I became a Count.”

“If you really didn’t hate power, you wouldn’t say things like you can’t handle it! You’d just be hell-bent on grabbing it! Your statement right now proves that you’re not fit to be a ruler!”

Indim spat and retorted angrily at Azadin’s words.

“Ah, that’s right. Just as someone who loves power can’t become a ruler, sometimes there are those who can become rulers even if they don’t love it. Look at me, Indim! I am the Margrave of Naisandokar! And within my body, Arahael and the Divine King’s Scriptures I’ve collected are coming to life! The Eye of Harkonia [a legendary artifact] proves that the Emperor’s blood is mixed in my veins, and one of the Holy Swords of the Order of Salvation is in my hand! The prophecy given to Sir Planck of Wisdom is also with me.”

“………”

“I will demand the Emperor’s position as a rival to the Northern Empire. I can’t trust the Northern Empire at all!”

“No, then… why?”

If he was going to aim for the Emperor’s position anyway, why did he say such nonsense to provoke Indim? Zenith and Dimia were curious.

“Because what I truly desire is not power! I want to create a world where wisdom, courage, mercy, and justice are prioritized over the blood of gods or angels! But if someone like me or the Northern Emperor becomes the Emperor, that teaching will fade, and the worship of the blood of gods will continue. Someone has to step up and lead this world, but if that becomes me, I’ll be destroying the ideals of the Order of Salvation with my own hands.”

“Are you planning to create a paradise on earth? That’s impossible since humans are all bastards. You’re just running towards a goal you can never reach.”

Indim argued that Azadin’s ideal was nothing more than a pipe dream that could not be achieved.

“A squirrel running on a treadmill with no end is better than a squirrel just sitting and getting fat. And it’s definitely not meaningless. Just by existing independently, the Northern Emperor will be aware that there is an alternative. And if it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll have no choice but to eliminate the Northern Emperor and take the throne myself.”

“…………”

“That’s quite an arrogant and disrespectful statement. Even though I’m an excommunicated holy knight, isn’t that a blasphemous statement that makes my skin crawl just by listening to it?”

Zibeck gave a hollow smile.

From the perspective of a holy knight of the King’s Church, Azadin’s words were more than just blasphemous.

He was talking about the position of king or emperor as if it were a dirty but unavoidable burden.

Someone was burning their own soul to get it, but Azadin, called a soulless blasphemer, was treating it like trash.

“It seems I’m really suited to being an excommunicated knight since I like such blasphemous stories.”

“Crazy… they say the person who claims to have no interest in power is the most power-hungry.”

Edir couldn’t believe Azadin’s words.

‘A guy who says he’s not interested in power is crazy. He must be trying to deceive the people around him into letting their guard down by saying he’s not interested in power… but wait, these guys are so dangerous that they were about to start a sword fight when Azadin said he wouldn’t aim for the Emperor’s position?’

Most of them were people who wanted Azadin to genuinely desire and aim for the Emperor’s position. To say in front of them that he’s not interested in power? If it’s a trick, it’s a really stupid one, isn’t it?

‘Could it be that this bastard… is he serious? He’s really thinking that since there’s no alternative, and the Northern Emperor is not good enough, he’ll take the position? ‘

Edir was confused, doubting Azadin’s true intentions.

*********

Even though it had taken a roundabout way, Indim, Dimia, and Zenith were inwardly satisfied with Azadin’s vision, his ambitious declaration that he too would aim for the Emperor’s position.

It was typical of Azadin not to openly reveal his ambition, but everyone present knew that was his personality.

Here, Indim began his confession.

“To be honest, the Northern Emperor’s offer was from two years ago, so I don’t know if it’s still valid. Back then, the Northern Emperor hadn’t grown as much as he has now, and Arahael was still around.”

Zenith also nodded.

“The Northern Aragasa [a powerful clan] are running wild, and I don’t know what kind of empty promises the Northern Emperor made while attracting various forces. Now that Arahael is gone, I doubt they’d give the shattered Arahael faction such a sweet position as the Emperor’s messenger.”

“If Azadin, you become the Emperor, you’d be much more trustworthy than the Northern Emperor. Besides, rather than a rugged older man like the Northern Emperor, a handsome young man like you, who resembles Arahael, is more in line with my aesthetics.”

Dimia praised Azadin’s appearance. Then Zenith also nodded.

“I don’t dislike older men either, but I’m more into Arahael. An Emperor with Arahael’s eyes, just thinking about it is amazing, isn’t it?”

“…It seems most of the reason you guys support me is related to Arahael’s appearance?”

“Well, we’ve only tasted your face so far. If you show us more than just your face, we have no intention of refusing.”

“Actually, there’s a difference in status between a guy who failed the messenger selection and us, who have been on the elite course from the start. We’re also higher in rank, aren’t we? If it weren’t for Arahael, we wouldn’t really be with you…”

“Alright, let’s stop with the useless talk. Let’s have a productive conversation.”

Azadin spoke to the former members of the Arahael faction.

“You guys go under the Northern Emperor. If you can, that is.”

“What? No, Count Azadin. Don’t you need talent to build your territory? It’s not for us to say, but there won’t be any talent like us, will there?”

“That’s right. They said they were the heroes of the Chadra Plateau, but they weren’t anything special.”

Indim said, looking at Zibeck and Nicelda.

“Of course, it’s impressive that a mere Count’s subordinate blocked my attack, though.”

“Tch!”

Nicelda lifted the veil covering her face and spat out blood-mixed saliva. She had sustained minor injuries when she clashed with Indim. It was clear that Indim was a level above Nicelda.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you!”

“Disappoint? What are you talking about? You did too well. I was originally planning to kill you in one blow. You don’t need to be discouraged for losing to me. Vampire. I’m the strongest among the messengers, you should be proud that you lasted that long against me.”

Indim said nonchalantly. Scott, the Orc necromancer, used to surprise people around him with his arrogance, and it seemed Indim was similar to Scott.

“…I apologize on his behalf. Indim wasn’t originally like this, but he received such harsh training in his childhood that he became like this.”

Dimia apologized to Nicelda instead.

“Our clan trains children too harshly from a young age. It’s common for them to die or become disabled. Nicelda, please understand.”

“If you say that, it makes me sound like a cripple, doesn’t it?”

“…You didn’t die, did you?”

“……”

Indim closed his mouth to understand the meaning behind Azadin’s words.

‘It’s common for them to die or become disabled, but you didn’t die. Is that what he’s saying?’

“Well, I can’t deny that I need talent.”

Azadin silenced Indim and headed to the stables of the nearby barracks. The horses were all gone, but there were piles of hay and fodder. Azadin lowered the hay into the trough and continued speaking.

“A dagger stuck in the enemy’s belly is more useful than a treasured sword in my hand. Oh, of course, if the Northern Emperor doesn’t need you, you can come back then.”

“………”

Try to get hired by the Northern Emperor, and if you can’t, come back and get hired by me. That’s what Azadin was saying. It was a statement that would hurt the pride of those called the Four Flowers of the Wind and Moon, but it was also a statement full of consideration, making it hard to get angry.

“We will try to get hired by the Northern Emperor. But depending on the circumstances, we might become loyal to him and become your enemies, Azadin…”

“That’s what I want. Choose rationally. If the Northern Emperor seems like a better master than me, you should naturally choose him.”

“……”

That’s a great deal of confidence. Even in front of someone who had already become the leader of the Northern Alliance and received the bizarre title of King of Kings from the King’s Church, Azadin calmly said that he would be a better person.

“Of course, that’s unlikely to happen.”