The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 457

#459. Unstoppable Momentum 3

Azadin, having acquired the Chitai light cavalry, used them to spearhead his attack on Chitai.

Even though they were nomadic, these people were still citizens of Chitai, well-versed in the internal roads and terrain, making them excellent guides.

Moreover, the cities in the Chitai interior were reluctant to fight against their own people, the Chitai light cavalry. So, even while reorganizing the Celestial Fire and Inquisitor Zibeck’s forces, who had been on a forced march, the pace of the attack did not slow down at all.

With his silver tongue, he had gained cities and troops, and with their guidance, he was ravaging the interior of Chitai without slowing down his invasion.

‘We must, we must call for reinforcements from the Northern Empire,’ King Sebalhan of Chitai now realized that he could not stop Azadin with his own power. Even the capital was no longer safe.

He had clearly thought he was in a favorable position at first, but when he came to his senses, the enemy had already won over most of his main forces and was tightening his grip on the heart of Chitai.

If reinforcements from the Northern Empire did not arrive in time, there was no way he could survive.

‘No, how can this be?! How can this be happening?!’

‘When you think about it, we’ve never really fought a proper war,’ his vassals said.

After the death of Emperor Yaeslat, there had been minor disputes between the nobles and the royal family, but most of them had ended in mediation.

Wasn’t the difference between Azadin, who had fought tooth and nail to get where he was, and Sebalhan, who had always fought from a position of advantage as a royal, becoming apparent here?

Even Sebalhan’s vassals tacitly admitted that Azadin was the superior military commander.

‘I understand, so shut up and call for reinforcements! The enemy is not far from reaching the capital!’

*********

Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire was in a very good mood for the first time in a while.

Chitai was winning battle after battle, advancing into Naisandokar and even Sandokar, and the plan to throw the refugees he had been diligently gathering into Azadin’s territory was now moving beyond the planning stage and into the implementation stage.

Of course, the task of throwing refugees into his territory was not entirely satisfactory.

Originally, all plans are easy to conceive but difficult to execute.

To burden Azadin by handing over the refugees, they had to be kept alive until they crossed over, and that alone cost a fortune.

The northern kings had already completely abandoned the refugees, but now, to pass them on to Azadin, they had to be fed, clothed, and cared for again, which was no easy task.

Now, feeding, clothing, and keeping the refugees alive to transport them on a large scale was something that only those who had been caring for and managing the refugees could do.

And in any case, this was a large-scale transport operation.

A treacherous road that would take 80 days to walk across the border. The plan to shorten the treacherous distance to two weeks by sea was difficult even without any obstacles.

How could it work properly when it was not a single country, but with those who had other ideas, like Tarasar and Karasar?

‘He made it possible. Hmm. That thunderstruck messenger clan [referring to Azadin’s clan] dared to interfere and mess up my plans, but now everything will return to its place. I don’t like the way the Chitai are acting so high and mighty, but I should have moved against Chitai sooner.’

He picked up his wine glass and squeezed it. The wine glass, made of buffalo horn with a pewter trim, crumpled, leaving his handprint.

He squeezed the glass as if he were holding Azadin’s heart in his grasp.

‘This was bound to happen, but that messenger clan messed things up.’

He had made backroom deals with the Nagas [a reptilian race] and delved deep into Nether magic [a dark and corrupting form of magic], and the corruption of the Nether had seeped into his body.

‘But after defeating Azadin, I can take my time to purify myself. I will unify this continent, unite the Order of the Savior and the King’s Church, and elevate myself as a living god, leaving my mark on history, no, becoming a god myself.’

Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire was satisfied.

But then a cleric walked in.

‘Your Majesty, a message from King Sebalhan of Chitai.’

‘Hmm. What is it? Did they get a beating after pushing too deep? I told them to hold the line at Naisandokar.’

‘No, it’s a request for reinforcements.’

‘Reinforcements? What are you talking about?’

Chitai was next to Asendar, but it was a distant place, thousands of miles away, even though it was adjacent on the map.

Why would they ask for reinforcements now? When would they arrive if they were sent now?

But the priest’s expression was not good.

‘Chitai is in dire straits due to King Azadin’s attack.’

‘Hmm.’

The Northern Emperor clicked his tongue.

‘Wasn’t the last report that Chitai had taken Naisandokar and was advancing into Sandokar?’

‘Yes.’

‘And how long has it been since they asked for reinforcements? They would only have recovered Naisandokar, right?’

‘No. Currently, Azadin’s army has crossed the Black Mountain River, traversing the Chitai plains.’

The Black Mountain River was the river that separated the nomadic and settled peoples of Chitai.

He knew the river well because its main stream passed through Asendar, but to have crossed it was an unimaginable speed of advance.

‘They are splitting the Chitai army and charging forward at an unstoppable pace.’

‘Huh.’

Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire could not help but doubt his ears.

‘Wasn’t it just a while ago that the King of Chitai was acting high and mighty, and now he’s already in dire straits?’

King Sebalhan of Chitai had become arrogant and challenged the authority of the Northern Empire as he accumulated victories against Azadin’s army.

That was just the other day, or rather, not long ago, but now the story had changed and he was begging for help.

It was certainly a good sight to see a haughty man begging for salvation after the situation had turned around, but if it was the work of an enemy who was also a threat to him, he could not be happy about it.

Rather, Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire felt like he was going mad with rage.

It was a much better situation for Sebalhan to be arrogant than for Azadin to be splitting Chitai at an unstoppable pace.

‘What the hell is that guy?!’

Cohen was not angry at Sebalhan.

He was furious at Azadin.

*********

Before Azadin became prominent, Cohen Lionheart had no doubt that he was the chosen one.

Although he had been disowned by his father and sent to the Order of the Savior, he had distinguished himself in the Order with his superior martial arts and magic.

The fact that the studies, magic, and martial arts that were so easy for him were achievements that others could not achieve even after a lifetime of training made him believe without a doubt that he was the chosen one.

And the occasional visions of destruction.

The age of Jupiter was approaching, and the touch of the Nether gods could be felt.

Cohen, with his powerful magic and magical sensitivity, realized every time he looked at the night sky that the alien gods of another dimension were watching this place beyond the black sky, the sky studded with stars, and that the day the very thin protective barrier that separated this world from them would disappear, the age of Jupiter would come.

Nevertheless, Cohen decided to take it as an opportunity to become a great hero and was rather pleased.

‘I will overcome the crisis of destruction and unify this Hybris continent to become a being who will lead the world to a higher level.’

‘I will achieve the unification of faith that even Emperor Yaeslat could not achieve, and I will go beyond the Netherstorm to the outer continent and become a living god who will be remembered in history.’

It was a thorough self-affirmation and ambition.

So, he assassinated his mentor, Sir Planck, to take over the Order’s prophecy, planted his spies in the Order and each kingdom, and won over the northern Aragasa, doing whatever it took to achieve his great ambition.

He had devoted his life to this, but a thunderstruck fool he had never heard of was stealing the glory he had planned.

The Northern Empire had even started secret negotiations with the Naga Empire to oppose him, and had even joined hands with cultists he would not have even looked at normally.

He himself had dabbled in Nether magic, and he could feel the power of corruption eating away at his soul every moment.

‘It’s because of that guy. If it weren’t for him, I could have become a great holy king, no, a living god who would save humanity.’

The Northern Emperor, who was not used to inferiority, had abandoned and changed many things to overcome it.

Yet Azadin had survived to the end and was now threatening Chitai. When he asked how he had managed to defeat Chitai so quickly with so few troops, the Chitai envoy reluctantly explained the situation, and the content was unbelievable.

‘He’s recruiting the enemy and making them fight as white soldiers?’

‘Yes. The Chitai light cavalry, who were originally supposed to be punished for their massacre on the battlefield, are now atoning for their sins by fighting at the front. They know the roads well and are all originally from Chitai, so the march is very easy and smooth.’

‘Unbelievable. Is he becoming a god of war?’

Cohen Lionheart also prided himself on being no less skilled in military strategy.

However, if he were asked to recruit the soldiers of Chitai and make them charge at their former lord, he would have shaken his head.

‘The problem is that if we want to send reinforcements to save Chitai, we need ships. Currently, the ships are being prepared to send refugees to Arangi and Banreung.’

The Northern Empire was trying to undermine Azadin’s cause by gathering refugees from various countries.

Accepting and feeding the refugees was Azadin’s cause, and even those who hated him as a messenger clan felt a sense of moral debt for Azadin’s acceptance of the refugees.

So, the idea of sending refugees to Azadin to sink him with the cost was devilish.

But to send reinforcements to Chitai, that plan had to be stopped.

The Northern Emperor now had to choose.

Would he use his transport capacity to throw refugees, or would he use it to send reinforcements to Chitai?

There was no choice.

‘Abandon the refugee transport plan and turn the ships around to send reinforcements to Chitai.’

‘But it will take three weeks just to turn the fleet sent to Tarasar around. And will the Tarasar give back the ships they borrowed so easily?’

‘What I mean by turning around is not only the ships that have already left, but also the ships that are being built now. Immediately stop the ships that were originally going to Tarasar and Karasar and use them for the Chitai reinforcements. Estimate the materials, manpower, and costs needed for the operation.’

As soon as Cohen’s order was given, his excellent officials and staff immediately began work and first calculated the approximate cost and manpower.

The absurdly high cost made Cohen Lionheart frown.

The fatigue of hastily turning back the transport unit sent to Tarasar was enormous, and some of the escort ships that had been sent there were even captured by Azadin’s southern sea route fleet.

‘On the surface, the act of throwing refugees is not achieving great results. Rather, it is contributing to my being criticized by the educated class. And the cost is enormous.’

‘But my instincts are telling me. This is the most painful attack on Azadin. ‘

‘But if I lose Chitai while focusing on this, that would be absurd.’

‘It would be a disaster if Azadin were to take the throne of Chitai.’

The Northern Emperor was convinced that he had accurately grasped Azadin’s weakness, but he had no choice but to stop the attack of throwing refugees.

If he did not first seal off the rapidly splitting Chitai, he would not be able to prevent Azadin from establishing a bridgehead in the north.