The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 102

“Orcs and Nagas, I see.”

Azadin peered through the darkness, observing the scene. An Orc in a wheelchair was moving from the bridgehead garrison, with Nagas standing behind him.

“Do you recognize anyone? Shatty?”

“Just a moment. I can’t see from this distance.”

Shatty said, taking something out of her pocket. It was a pair of glasses.

“Huh?”

Azadin was surprised by the sight.

“Those are glasses. Wow, it’s my first time seeing them.”

“Our Aragasas [a high-ranking Naga clan] all have good eyesight.”

“Be quiet. Nagas might be nearsighted, but they’re incredibly good at sensing movements.”

Shatty used the glasses to look at the Nagas in the garrison, frowning. She couldn’t tell exactly who they were, but she could tell which group they belonged to. However, telling this to the others would be treason against the Nagas.

‘How can I lie my way out of this? No, I can’t.’

Just as Shatty was thinking this,

“You look like you’re thinking something bad.”

“Yeah, this Naga is useless. Let’s just kill her.”

Midiam and Ishmael began to suspect Shatty.

Shatty felt terrible that they were so quick to talk about killing her. Aside from Azadin and Brand, even the paladin Zibeck and the messenger clan members Midiam and Ishmael disliked Shatty. Their desire to kill her wasn’t just idle talk; it was genuine.

“Wait a minute, I healed you, didn’t I? Healing. Wasn’t that incredibly useful?”

“Still, if you blatantly lie…”

“I haven’t yet!”

“If you haven’t yet, that means you’re going to in the future?”

With the situation turning like this, Shatty had no choice but to ask Azadin for help.

“You, do something about them! Why are they so impatient?”

“So, can you tell who those Nagas are?”

“My eyes are bad, so I can’t see well. But… maybe they’re from the Divine Scripture Recovery Team.”

“Divine Scripture Recovery Team? Does the attack here have something to do with the Divine Scripture?”

“The Divine Scripture appears when you humans are in trouble.”

“What does that mean?”

Azadin was dumbfounded by Shatty’s words, but it wasn’t entirely without a point.

Among the Divine Scriptures he had obtained so far, some were revealed by the dead who had already gone to the afterlife when people were suffering. He had also obtained them at sites where the apostles of Mezeri [a deity] were torturing, abusing, and massacring humans.

“What’s the principle? Where does the Divine Scripture even exist in the first place?”

When Azadin asked, Shatty shrugged.

“I don’t know the principle either. I just know it because my superiors told me. A researcher who studies magic in earnest would know better.”

“Then, would it be faster to capture that Orc and ask him?”

Azadin saw the Orc coming out in a wheelchair. Probably, since the undead hadn’t achieved much, he was going up to a nearby hill to see the situation with his own eyes.

Azadin had anticipated this situation and had Midiam and Ishmael lie in ambush here.

“They’re within arrow range. What should we do?”

Ishmael asked Azadin for his intentions.

“Shoot to kill. He won’t die from this anyway.”

As Azadin spoke, Ishmael and Midiam cast magic on their arrows and shot. Azadin also immediately grabbed an arrow, so the three messengers of the clan had launched a concentrated attack on one Orc.

Shatty watched this with dismay. These guys’ arrows had almost the power of javelins. If they ambushed with such arrows, even a Naga with good regeneration would suffer a fatal wound. Not to mention the Orc sitting still in a wheelchair.

She didn’t want to keep being dragged around by Azadin, a messenger clan member, but it seemed like it would end with their ambush.

But then, something unexpected happened.

*********

Many Orcs choose to stay as still as possible to extend their lifespan. However, most Orcs couldn’t achieve that dream. They had to be very active to satisfy their enormous appetite, which in turn led to increased muscle mass.

In this environment, necromancers had been researching ways to avoid overexerting their bodies using necromancy.

However, that also meant they were vulnerable to death. If they lay down to avoid using their bodies, or sat in a wheelchair like Scott, they would be vulnerable to ambushes.

Therefore, they needed a powerful protector to guard against ambushes. Scott had made a contract with a wicked and capricious evil spirit, a Night Crawler. In exchange for protecting him in moments of crisis, he would pay a huge price if he achieved results.

A necromancer who could handle a Night Crawler had to be a master of necromancy, so there weren’t many among the Orcs. Scott was called a genius necromancer among the Orcs because he could freely control the Night Crawler.

And that shadow spirit was activated. Six arrows were flying, and two of them were enchanted, causing even the formless black spirit Night Crawler to groan in pain.

“Huh?!”

Scott was only then realizing that he had been ambushed and was flustered. More arrows flew, but the Night Crawler manifested and knocked them away. The black shadow’s demonic form swung its hand, blocking the incoming arrows.

“Stop!”

Scott summoned the zombies and ghouls with physical bodies to create a barrier around him and tried to send the Night Crawler back. He was grateful that it had blocked the ambush, but such a Night Crawler demanded a huge cost just for a brief manifestation.

‘There’s no need to block the attacks after the ambush with the Night Crawler!’

Scott calmed the Night Crawler and contacted the Nagas.

“Ambush! The enemy is here, you snake heads!”

“What?”

“Where are they?!”

The Nagas came out.

*********

“Damn it… I should have killed him this time.”

Azadin was furious that the opposing Orc necromancer had survived this attack. He had poured six arrows into a concentrated attack, but a giant black shadow giant had appeared and blocked the arrows?

The necromancer was more capable than he had expected. He had been wary because he was an Orc, but he didn’t expect to meet someone of this caliber here.

“What is that? It’s a huge monster!”

The shadow spirit was so terrifying that just looking at it made the hairs on his skin stand on end. If they had to fight it head-on, it was a monster that would cause enormous damage.

“A monster of that level must be a burden to the caster. Let’s keep shooting!”

Midiam said, firing an arrow, but now the opponent had fully begun to defend. The corpses of the residents were surrounding the Orc, creating a perfect barrier. No matter how strong the messenger clan’s bows were, they couldn’t pierce through the corpses from this distance and wound the necromancer.

“This won’t do. You guys keep attacking! I need to get closer.”

Azadin said, turning to Shatty.

“Huh? Me? No way! Absolutely no way!”

Shatty was being forced to cooperate with Azadin, but that was only because she was being coerced. She could give some information or use her regeneration magic to survive, but she couldn’t cooperate in fighting the Nagas.

“It’s okay, Shatty. Your presence alone is a great help. Transform into a Naga.”

Azadin said in a gentle tone, putting Shatty over his shoulder.

“Eek! You warm-blooded animal! Where are you touching me!”

Shatty was horrified to see Azadin pick her up.

“Transform into a Naga quickly. You don’t want to be mistaken for a human and killed by your comrades, do you?”

“Ah, damn it!”

Shatty shed her human form and transformed into a Naga. Then, Azadin carried her and headed towards the enemy.

“………”

For a moment, Shatty thought about whether she could kill Azadin by constricting him with her tail. But as if Azadin knew what Shatty was thinking, he pulled out a dagger from his belt and hid it inside his wrist.

If she started constricting him with her tail, he would immediately tear her apart with that dagger.

‘Should I just watch the situation for now?’

While Shatty was hesitating, Azadin ran with her over his shoulder.

*********

“Huh?”

Scott saw the man running towards him and the female Naga he was carrying.

“Help me!”

The man said, pretending to protect the female Naga, raising his sword to deflect the incoming arrows.

“………?”

“What is that?”

“That’s clearly a snake head, isn’t it? Then is that man also a snake head?”

“No, our agents aren’t around here? And it’s not a civilian Naga either?”

But he was clearly carrying a Naga woman.

“Isn’t that the one? The one we dispatched to Count Salasma?”

“Ah, is that so?”

The Nagas had a hunch. There were Naga sorcerers and agents who had been dispatched to Count Salasma in exchange for receiving the Divine Scripture.

“Is that a survivor among them? At this timing?”

“Hmm.”

The Nagas pondered. It seemed to fit the circumstances, but why would they appear at this timing?

“Let’s give them support for now.”

“But don’t let them in.”

“Tch. If the captain were here, he would recognize them.”

The Nagas grumbled and began casting spells. Vines grew, forming a barrier behind the man carrying the Naga.

*********

‘I’m screwed.’

Shatty realized what Azadin was thinking as he carried her and was shocked. This man was subtly trying to get close by pretending that he was also a Naga.

Since Shatty had shown that she was a Naga, the other Nagas wouldn’t think that Azadin was a real human, but rather a fellow Naga who had transformed into a human.

‘This is a big problem!’

Even though her life was threatened by Azadin, she couldn’t just stand by and watch him deceive her own people. If she did, the Nagas wouldn’t leave her alone later. She had to do something now, or she would be in a difficult position even if she returned to the Nagas.

‘But if I do anything, I’ll die immediately.’

Azadin wasn’t unarmed. He had a dagger hidden, ready to tear her apart at any moment.

‘Hmm, if I reveal this man’s identity now, I’ll be the only one who dies, and this man will just slip away, right?’

Shatty, who had seen Azadin’s abilities up close, knew that if she risked her life to expose his identity in the current situation, she would be the only one to die.

‘It would be better to reveal it after we’re in the middle of our Nagas and a bunch of undead. But I don’t know if this is a thought based on rational reasoning, or if it’s just because I’m afraid of this man.’

Shatty wasn’t sure about her decision. Meanwhile, Azadin approached the Orc and the Nagas.

“Whew, thanks to you, I survived.”

“Wait!”

At that moment, the Orc necromancer spoke to Azadin.

“Put down your weapon and don’t come any closer. We can talk from a distance, right?”

“………”

The Orc necromancer was wary of Azadin and prevented him from approaching. This was very fortunate for Shatty.

‘As expected, the Orcs are smart. It’s true to their reputation. That’s a relief.’

And the Nagas approached.