The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 447

The news that Sion Etar had been falsely accused and captured, and that Azadin was suspected of assassinating the king and the delegation, reached Azadin’s royal palace. The fact that the northern kingdoms were uniting to subjugate Azadin and were transporting troops was also reported without any embellishment. Originally, when so many troops were mobilized, it was impossible to keep it a secret, even if they wanted to. The news that the four northern kingdoms had joined forces to form an expeditionary force to conquer Azadin was enough to make people tremble, but Azadin remained indifferent.

“Troop transport in this season. That alone must be difficult. They’re certainly working hard.”

In reality, the troop transport of the northern kingdoms was very difficult. No matter how fast they were, it would take at least half a year for them to organize their armies and start their expedition. During that time, Azadin could focus on other matters.

“But Midiam, you’re not suggesting we rescue Sion Etar?”

“It’s not like the clan will betray us just because Sion is not here.”

Midiam had respected Sion Etar, who was a high-ranking herald of the clan in her childhood. However, now she did not want Azadin to waste his strength trying to save Sion Etar.

“More importantly, are those Chita people gathered in front of Sandokar okay? The Northern Alliance will take a long time to transport their troops, but they are already right in front of us.”

“They won’t attack right away either. The troops at the Sandokar Gate are enough to hold them off for now.”

Although the Chita light cavalry had gathered in front of the Sandokar Gate, the nomadic light cavalry alone could not lay siege. Light cavalry, who must constantly strike and retreat to utilize their mobility, would lose their advantage the moment they were tied down in a siege. Therefore, they did not blindly attack but merely roamed around the Sandokar Gate, waiting for reinforcements.

“Then, let’s focus on the South Sea route expedition and the conquest of Butuma in the meantime.”

Azadin divided his reorganized troops, assigning the subjugation of the southern Merfolk to Lord Jekt, and the battle against the Naga kingdom that had seized Butuma to Lord Astader and his own direct forces.

“Food will run out in the spring, and yet they’re going on a long-distance expedition. My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest. The lack of food is truly terrifying.”

Midiam trembled with anxiety as she watched Azadin continue the war even though food was dwindling before her eyes. But it was a war that could not be avoided. It wasn’t as if they would send a peace and reconciliation delegation if this side didn’t start the war.

“It’s okay. I have a plan.”

Azadin reassured Midiam and set out on the expedition.

*********

While the northern kingdoms were declaring their subjugation of Azadin, Azadin, the overlord of the south, was embarking on the Butuma expedition and the subjugation of the Merfolk threatening the South Sea route.

‘The King of Kings doesn’t care about the monsters, but the soulless heretic, who is being criticized as lowly, fights the monsters alone. Who is the true protector of humanity?’

Such stories were circulating in the south, which was friendly to Azadin. To the King’s Church, it was blasphemous, but the King’s Church had already lost its power in the south, and Azadin’s New Testament Church had taken over most of it, so they could not stop the spread of the words. And weren’t the words true? When comparing the actions of those who called themselves great divine kings and legitimate descendants of God with the actions of Azadin, the soulless heretic, as a king, even those with a little common sense would know which side was closer to the true path of a king. Even among the southern people who were indifferent to Azadin’s New Testament, more and more people were sincerely believing in and following the New Testament.

However, Midiam, the queen and high-ranking official in charge of the logistics of this expedition, felt like her heart was burning. The reason why their reputation was good now was because they were paying soldiers’ salaries and laborers’ wages with food. However, the amount of food they possessed was limited, while the demand was increasing. Even if horses and cows stay still in their stables, they will feel full and gain weight with just a little food, but if they are made to pull carts, they will not be able to endure hunger no matter how much they are fed. The same goes for people. The amount they eat increases several times whenever they march or fight, and there is also the physical labor of weapons for those soldiers, carts for transportation, and repairs to roads damaged during the march, all of which consume food and supplies. War, in any case, leads to the consumption of large quantities of supplies. While the north was slowly gathering troops to subjugate Azadin, Azadin was launching an expedition to subjugate the Nagas, who were not even attacking immediately, with supplies that would clearly run out in the spring, so her heart was burning.

However, when the battle with the Nagas actually began, a strange phenomenon occurred. Food was not decreasing. Or rather, to be precise, it was decreasing as much as it was being consumed. However, the number of troops was decreasing much more and faster, reducing the number of mouths to feed.

*********

“What is this…”

Midiam was bewildered by the magical event unfolding before her eyes. As the queen, she was in charge of the finances that Scott had been managing. Originally intelligent, she had easily adapted to her duties and was reviewing the documents submitted by the accounting officials, and the rate at which demand was decreasing was no joke. That meant that many soldiers were dying.

“That’s why I told you. The idea that I love everyone is a hard thing to bear.”

Azadin smiled bitterly as he looked at Midiam.

*********

The main force of Azadin’s army was mostly refugee soldiers who had no combat experience. If these refugee soldiers were to fight against the agile Nagas or the Merfolk threatening the South Sea, casualties would be inevitable no matter how well they were commanded. Azadin accepted such casualties and deployed a large number of troops to achieve victory through numbers. And while reorganizing the units that had been devastated after the battle, he was promoting those among the refugee soldiers who had gained experience to elite soldiers, men-at-arms. In this process, the amount of supplies needed decreased as many died, and the combat power and elite status of the unit actually increased. Of course, it wasn’t all good. Combat experience made people sick, and the elite soldiers who returned alive committed crimes such as assault, murder, rape, and drug use.

“I am doing this while preparing for a lot of blood and sacrifice. For me, who is killing so many people, to love all people is an absurd evaluation.”

“That’s not true. This is inevitable, isn’t it? We have to fight to survive because the Merfolk are appearing in the South Sea, and to liberate the humans being raised as livestock by the Nagas in Butuma from their suffering. Besides, it’s not like the Merfolk and Nagas would willingly retreat if we sent them a delegation, right? It’s inevitable that there will be bloodshed, and Your Majesty doesn’t need to blame yourself for this. Look at what other kings are doing.”

Midiam was saddened by Azadin’s guilt.

“When I see those so-called blessed kings saving only the residents of their own towns and cities and abandoning others to a terrible death, Your Majesty, who doesn’t kill his own people with his own hands, has no reason to blame himself. Yet, the reason why Your Majesty blames himself is because he knows more. Unlike other foolish kings who wage war without calculating how many soldiers will die, Your Majesty is suffering because he knows the number of people who will die because of the orders he is giving, their fate. But isn’t it something that someone has to do?”

“That’s, right.”

“Then, don’t blame yourself too much and take care of yourself. You don’t seem to be in good health these days.”

“Did you notice? I’m trying my best.”

“No, it’s separate from that. Oh my, what am I saying?”

Midiam glared at Azadin.

“More importantly, what do you think about Sion Etar being captured by the Northern Empire? Should we rescue him?”

Azadin asked Midiam.

“Well, it would be good to rescue him if we could, but I don’t think we can. I don’t think the Northern Empire would use us for a hostage situation.”

“Right? But is the Etar clan okay?”

Azadin asked if there were any problems with the influence the Etar clan had among the Herald Clan. After all, the force that supported Azadin was the Etar clan, which had a political marriage with Azadin. Many other clans still believed that Azadin had monopolized the Divine King’s Scriptures. To the public, they were distrusted for being from the Herald Clan, and among the Herald Clan, they were discriminated against as traitors. In such a situation, Sion Etar’s existence was also important to Azadin. However, realistically, Sion Etar was either killed the moment he was captured, or he was in an even worse situation.

“It’s okay. Even if my brother is not here, the Etar clan will now support Your Majesty, and even if the elders of other clans try to keep Your Majesty and the Etar clan in check, they have nowhere else to turn. The clan has lost a lot of its accumulated power and potential in the Araell rebellion and the Korasar battle. And it has become ambiguous to join hands with other forces. If the Northern Empire has the agents capable of kidnapping Sion, they would not need the clan even more.”

Midiam coldly assessed the current situation. She still liked Sion Etar, but she coldly stated that it was not worth paying a huge sacrifice to rescue him.

“My, my. Our queen is so wise that I’m proud of her.”

“Whose disciple am I?”

“Even though you’re a disciple, I haven’t really taught you much.”

“Oh, yes, yes. I guess I was born with exceptional talent. Then.”

It was when Midiam was saying that and smiling. Ismail approached Azadin and Midiam’s tent. He cleared his throat outside the tent and made a sound.

“Your Majesty. The Chita light cavalry has bypassed the Sandokar Gate and moved south. We have received a message that they are currently engaged in looting and massacre in southern Sandokar.”

The Chita had crossed the line and, without waiting for the Northern Empire and its reinforcements, had bypassed the Sandokar Gate instead of attacking it.

“Sandokar? We should have prepared for this?”

Azadin had gathered cavalry that was different from the Celestial Fire and placed them in Sandokar in preparation for the Chita light cavalry bypassing Sandokar. In other words, the Celestial Fire was the elite knight order, and the second-tier knights who could not keep up with their marching speed were placed in Sandokar as a measure to block the retreat of the light cavalry if they bypassed Sandokar to loot. The reason why they had deployed valuable cavalry forces to Sandokar, which could have achieved many victories if they had been deployed to the Butuma front, was because it was much more beneficial.

“However, Your Majesty. It is said that the current Count of Sandokar and his family, as well as many commanders and high-ranking officers, are suffering from attacks by assassins. And the assassin is…”

Ismail took a breath and spoke carefully.

“They are said to be using Kazas Haze.”