The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 123

Guillaume Balte had completely taken over Saenopi Fortress and the nearby manor in just one week. Meanwhile, Azadin explored the secret base of the Naga Empire. Although he didn’t obtain any special information other than the Nether interpretation book, he was able to acquire a lot of money and weapons. Since they had been marching hard, they spent a week exploring the secret base and took ample time to rest and reorganize. The rib fracture he had suffered was completely healed, and he was able to relieve the fatigue accumulated from traveling. However, they soon had to leave this place.

*********

“Azadin! It is said that Judge Zekt has appeared in a nearby village!” Sir Jibek came to inform Azadin of this fact. Azadin, who was training with Midiam and Ismael, was taken aback by the news.

“Zekt? How far away is he?”

“About a day’s distance.”

“Damn it. I didn’t buy much time.”

Azadin frowned at those words.

“Buy time?” Midiam asked.

“When I gave the Divine King’s Scripture to Nephti, I left my trace on her. To throw Zekt off my trail.”

Azadin had given a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture to Nephti, the 75th Spirit of the Herald Clan, and included a charm made with his blood. This was to ensure that if Zekt tried to track Azadin using magical powers, he would be led to Nephti’s group instead.

“Come to think of it, you did do that. I wondered why you so readily gave away a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture.” Midiam was impressed.

“Otherwise, there would be no reason to give away the Divine King’s Scripture.”

“I thought you were trying to get along with the Ara’el branch.”

“Well, if we can get along, that wouldn’t be bad either. But Ara’el and I are fundamentally incompatible.”

“They say he’s still far away, near the manor. What should we do?” Sir Jibek asked Azadin.

Should they fight? Or should they run? If they were to fight, should they chase after him and ambush him on the road? Or should they fight in front of people and create witnesses who saw Zekt using black magic? There were several options.

“Ambushing him on a deserted road seems to have more disadvantages than advantages, and if we fight in a crowded place, will he refrain from using Nether magic and worry about people’s eyes? Or will he choose to kill all the witnesses?” Azadin shrugged.

“Either way, if we fight, we can’t avoid the sacrifice of innocent people. Let’s run. The Nether magic that Zekt uses must be quite a burden on him as well.”

“Are you, the one who performed the miracle of defeating the Wendigo, running away because you’re afraid of a paladin? Even after defeating the messenger of the Nether?”

“First of all, I didn’t perform the miracle. The miracle performed me. And secondly…” Azadin chuckled at Ismael’s question.

“A guy who doesn’t acknowledge fear is just a fool. Yes. Zekt is scary.”

“Even though you performed a miracle, you’re choosing a very modest approach.”

“A person can die if they’re stabbed just an inch with a knife. Even a hero who kills a dragon can die from a child’s pebble. You can’t let your guard down. So, is everything ready for our escape?” Azadin’s group had packed their luggage and replaced the horseshoes of the goats and horses so they could escape at any time.

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Guillaume Balte willingly joined Azadin in fleeing from Zekt.

“But wouldn’t it be better to take the soldiers with us?” Brand asked. There were soldiers who had been under Sir Brock at Saenopi Fortress, and he suggested that it would be good to take them along.

“If we fight, we should only deal with Adler and his closest aides. There’s no need to escalate the fight unnecessarily. The more troops we take, the bigger the problem becomes.” Guillaume Balte answered Brand and then asked, “By the way, my father seemed to treat the Herald Clan more like guest generals than subordinates. If that was a deal using the Emperor’s treasure vault as bait, wouldn’t Adler also know about the Emperor’s treasure vault? Maybe he’s already opened it.”

“That’s impossible.” Azadin stated firmly. If the Emperor’s treasure vault had been opened and its contents had gone to Ara’el, there was no way there wouldn’t be any noise among the Herald Clan. From the Ara’el branch’s perspective, they would have actively announced that they had obtained the Emperor’s treasure vault to gain the support of other neutral Heralds. Having successfully evaded Judge Zekt, Azadin’s group was able to travel towards Rantaric for about a day without any issues. However, the next day… it started raining in the morning.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen rain.” Azadin, who had been on missions in dry areas, especially in Salasmar, which was suffering from drought and famine, was delighted to see the rain after a long time. But soon after… The wind became a gale, and the rain turned into a downpour, making it difficult to see even an inch ahead. The rainwater flooded the roads, and everything except the Imperial Highway turned into a muddy mess.

“What’s with this erratic weather?”

“Whoa, whoa! It’s slippery!” The roads called the Imperial Highway, the Empire Highway, or the Kingdom Highway were paved with flagstones, so they didn’t turn into mud even when it rained. However, the rainwater flowed over the flagstones, making the goats’ hooves slip. Azadin’s group quickly led the horses and goats to the side of the road. Then, Scott, who was pulling the wheelchair with the goats, screamed as his feet sank into the mud.

“Ugh! I, I should have brought a palanquin.”

“Even if you brought a palanquin, we wouldn’t be the ones carrying it.” Midiam was annoyed at Scott’s mention of a palanquin.

“You’re trying to solve everything with your body because you have low intelligence. Why not use the undead?”

“If we make the undead carry a palanquin in the middle of the road, even if they’re not paladins, they won’t let it slide.”

“We can deceive them with illusions.”

“No, it’s okay. Don’t do anything unnecessary. A palanquin is useless, but a wheelchair can be used for parts if necessary, right?” In fact, Azadin had used the wheels of the wheelchair to move heavy objects and spears. While Midiam and Scott were arguing, a large inn with a big lantern appeared in the distance at a crossroads.

“Let’s go there for now!”

“Yeah. I’m hungry!” Scott agreed.

*********

The sudden downpour and gale made the road treacherous. It seemed that everyone nearby had flocked to this inn, as a considerable number of people had gathered there to take shelter from the rain. However, a tense atmosphere filled the spacious inn. Sharp weapons reflected a dull light in people’s hands. The weapons, reflecting the light of the fireplace and torches, were held by two groups of people.

“You bastards! How dare you!”

“Do you think the Korasar Merchant Guild is a joke?!”

“Do you think the Telbarin Guild is a joke?!”

“No, it’s not scary. Aren’t you a drug organization and slave traders? Oh, how scary.”

“You wandering bastards!” The armed merchants were growling at each other, ready to fight at any moment, with clubs and swords drawn.

“The Merchant Guild and the Telbarin Guild?” Azadin recognized some of them as members of the Korasar Merchant Guild. But the Telbarin Guild? ‘Those are the slave traders, aren’t they?’ The ones who sold the Swamp Witch’s children were the Telbarin Guild. These armed merchants were merchants and villains at the same time, and their core was an organization with an elf family. Three merchants had overturned a table to create a barricade, while the majority of the other armed merchants were threatening the Merchant Guild. It was clear that the numbers were unbalanced. The threatening armed merchants numbered about ten, while the Merchant Guild had only three members. The reason why a fight hadn’t broken out yet was probably because they were effectively defending themselves with the barricade. Azadin gestured, and Brand stepped forward.

“Ahem. Everyone. Here is Count Guillaume Balte, the acting Count of Rantaric, the rightful heir of the Baron and Guardian of the Barony, Lord Garnaher.”

“Huh?”

“Oh…”

“This is the one who drove out the Wendigo, the monster of the mist that had taken over Saenopi Fortress not long ago, and is now on his way to Rantaric. What is going on here? If you have any difficulties or grievances, please petition. In the name of the Count of Rantaric, I promise a fair judgment.”

“In the name of the Count of Rantaric…” Laughter erupted from the armed merchants of the Telbarin Guild. It seemed that the reputation of Count Garnaher of Rantaric was not very good. Or perhaps they had something on their minds.

“So, what’s the matter?” Guillaume Balte stepped forward with an air of authority. His face, with its long, inhuman features and piercing eyes, was ugly, but now his bizarre appearance was filled with dignity, exuding an unusual authority. It was as if a great being, not human, had transformed into a human and was emanating dignity as its incarnation, making everyone tremble. ‘They’re just weak to authority, I guess.’ Azadin assessed.

“That Korasar Merchant Guild guy used some strange trick to steal our letters.”

“What nonsense! We caught them spying, stealing our business secrets, such as our transaction ledgers and purchase prices.”

The moment they heard their words, Azadin, Midiam, and Ismael realized. ‘Did we get caught?’ ‘Fools.’ The Korasar Merchant Guild was a secret organization in the Korasar Kingdom region of the Herald Clan. Outwardly, they were merchants, but their true nature was spies. And they had been caught spying.

“No, we just happened to rescue someone who had been attacked by bandits and found the letters.”

“Then why was the seal on the letters broken?”

“The bandits must have read them.”

“The courier carrying the letters was stabbed to death by something like a hook. And the wounds match the weapon you’re holding?” The weapon held by the Korasar Merchant Guild employee was a blackjack. It was a club with a leather strap, and inside was a heavy stone. It could be used to strike, and with a slight modification, it could be used as a throwing weapon. Moreover, there were sharp teeth on the metal ring with the leather strap, and there was blood on those teeth. The armed merchants were claiming that the blood was from their colleague.

“That’s a lie. There are many people who use this kind of weapon.”

“No. That’s not all.” One of the merchants took off his hood, revealing slightly greenish blonde hair. A hair color that humans could not have, indicating that he was an elf. Indeed, pointed ears and war paint with white pigment drawn under his eyes were visible. He was probably a high-ranking member of the Telbarin Guild.

“Don’t even think about deceiving an elf’s nose. I swear on my ancestors that the blood on that weapon is from our courier.”

“Ugh.”

“An elf…” Even the seasoned members of the Korasar Merchant Guild were flustered when they saw an elf among the opposing armed merchants. The reason why the Telbarin Guild, despite being treated as slave traders and villains, was respected everywhere was because the elves were absolutely not easy to deal with. Moreover, they had a guilty conscience.