The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 125

Azadin whispered his findings to Guillaume Balte.

“So? Sir Guillaume Balte. What will you do?” the elf merchant, Kepka, who had been observing, inquired.

“I will release the salt monopoly for three years,” Guillaume Balte declared.

“Salt monopoly? That’s a weak offer. And it’s limited in time,” Kepka countered.

“I am well aware that you are already smuggling salt. I also know that releasing the monopoly for three years won’t be a significant benefit to you,” Guillaume Balte stated, jutting out his chin. His face, already long, seemed to stretch even further, making his chin more prominent. It wasn’t a handsome face by any means, but it possessed a certain dignity in its peculiarity.

“You wouldn’t want the retainers loyal to Adler to resent you, would you? If you guide me to Adler, I will kill him. The retainers will submit to me once Adler is dead, but I doubt they will look kindly upon you, who aided me and took excessive compensation.”

“Are you suggesting that if you receive excessive compensation, the retainers will not leave us alone? Is that what you mean?” Kepka asked, a smile playing on his lips as he recognized the subtle threat in Guillaume Balte’s words. He was more surprised than offended by the dignified manner in which the threat was delivered.

“But if I grant you the salt monopoly for three years, huh? If I were to harm you, wouldn’t it be difficult for you to obtain salt?” In other words, the three-year monopoly was not just about increasing income but also ensuring their safety for that period. That was Guillaume Balte’s underlying message.

“How about it? Just guiding me to Adler is quite a favorable condition, isn’t it?” Guillaume Balte pressed.

“I understand. Hmm. This Count Rantaric won’t be easy,” Kepka said, handing over a bundle of clothes. “These are the merchant guild’s attire. It would be wise to have them altered in advance so you can wear them. And don’t expect too much from us. We’ll simply get you inside. After that, whether you kill Adler or beat him up, that’s your concern.”

“Understood,” Guillaume Balte replied.

The negotiation with the Telbarin Guild’s elf merchant had concluded.

*********

Azadin’s group changed into the Telbarin Guild’s porter attire and set off towards Rantaric. The road to Rantaric was heavily guarded with numerous checkpoints and soldiers, including some from the Messenger Clan. However, thanks to the pass provided by Kepka, they were able to pass through all the checkpoints without any issues. Eventually, the group safely entered the town below Rantaric Castle.

“I can’t believe it. How were you able to do this?” Azadin asked, surprised by the ease of their journey.

“Well, we’re transporting drugs under Lord Adler’s orders. If they were to search our luggage in front of others and find drugs, wouldn’t that damage Lord Adler’s reputation?” Kepka explained.

“……”

“From now on, it’s your territory. What are you going to do?” Kepka inquired.

“That’s none of your concern. How do we hand over the cargo?” Azadin responded.

“We’ll leave it in the warehouse by the river, and that’s it. People from the castle will come out and take it separately. By the way, Lord Adler is not among those who take the cargo. In other words, this is all we can do,” Kepka clarified.

“I understand. It can’t be helped. As promised, if I become the Count, I will recognize the three-year monopoly in Rantaric,” Guillaume Balte stated.

“If you become it, that is. Don’t get caught by Adler and start spouting nonsense,” Kepka retorted.

“Heh heh. You’re not going to sell us out to Adler, are you?” Guillaume Balte asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

“If we got you this far, Adler would know we were involved, unless he’s an idiot. Our reputation isn’t good, but we’re bad guys, not idiots,” Kepka replied.

“That’s a relief,” Guillaume Balte said, offering a wry smile.

Guillaume Balte had successfully entered Rantaric through a deal with the Telbarin Guild’s elf merchant, but now the real challenge began. If he, the eldest son, did not agree to relinquish his claim, all power would be transferred to Guillaume Balte now that the Count of Rantaric was missing.

However, Adler had accused his father’s disappearance as proof that Guillaume Balte had murdered the Count of Rantaric. In this scenario, his authority as the eldest son would be suspended until the trial was over. With the retainers turning their backs on him, they would not leave Guillaume Balte alone. It would also be foolish to gather other followers or hire mercenaries to fight Adler. Adler’s retainers would intervene, and if they killed the retainers, the Rantaric County would be left in ruins.

They had already invaded Salasma and lost a significant number of troops, talent, and money. It would be problematic if Guillaume Balte managed to secure Rantaric but the retainers were decimated. If he could simply capture and defeat Adler, his reputation for conquering the Saenop Fortress would be enough for the retainers to switch their allegiance without any hesitation.

“Let’s go through the secret passage,” Guillaume Balte suggested.

“Secret passage?” Azadin asked.

“There is a secret passage known only to the Count of Rantaric and his family. However…”

“Adler would know about it too, right?” Azadin interrupted.

“Yes. But Adler wouldn’t tell the retainers or soldiers about it,” Guillaume Balte explained. It was an escape route created in case the retainers betrayed them. They wouldn’t inform the retainers or subordinates about it if everything was normal.

However, both Guillaume Balte and Azadin knew what awaited them there.

“Even if he doesn’t have the retainers guarding it, he might have placed undead there,” Azadin speculated. Looking at the supplies Adler had purchased, it was clear that he was a necromancer.

“Looks like it’s time for this Scott McGreene, the specialist in undead, to step up again,” Azadin said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“……”

“Why? Are you dissatisfied? Paladin? Are you going to smash them with your proud divine magic? It’ll echo for miles!” Azadin teased.

“No. Tsk,” Zibeck grumbled, having to accept it, even though he feared his senses becoming dulled.

*********

The secret passage leading to the Rantaric Count’s castle was connected to a hidden mausoleum. Guillaume Balte struggled to turn the rusty mechanism.

“If you turn this, the hidden door of the mausoleum will open, and you can enter the castle through there,” Guillaume Balte explained.

“Wait. Let me try,” Brand said.

“Brand?” Guillaume Balte questioned.

Brand took hold of the rusty mechanism’s crank instead of Guillaume Balte and turned it. With a creak, it turned, and the door began to open. The door, which hadn’t moved when Guillaume Balte was struggling with it, opened with ease.

“Alright then,” Scott said, getting up from his wheelchair and sending his shadow into the open passage. “As expected, there are undead swarming inside. But…”

“Why?” Azadin asked.

“They’re the corpses of children. And they all look similar,” Scott replied, his tone grave.

“……” Brand’s expression turned strange at those words.

“First of all, there are no undead with empathy,” Scott continued.

“Empathy?” Azadin asked, confused.

“The caster connects their eyes or senses to the undead, so the caster notices the moment the undead notices. But if you put such a spell on them, it’s tiring. It’s also impossible with simple necromancy using corpses. However, even if there is no empathy, the caster can tell if many undead are defeated,” Scott explained.

“Can you undo it?” Azadin asked.

“So that the caster doesn’t know even if the undead are defeated? Heh heh. That’s my specialty. No, I don’t even need to defeat them. This…” Scott took out an amulet from his pocket. “If you stick this on your forehead and hold your breath, the undead won’t notice you. Let’s use this to avoid the undead and go in.”

“……” Azadin gave a wry smile at Scott’s confident attitude. ‘This guy is incredibly useful. It’s not something to say in front of Sir Zibeck, but there’s a reason why people are fascinated by necromancy,’ Azadin thought.

*********

When they entered the mausoleum, there were indeed corpses of children swarming inside. The corpses, mainly of four- or five-year-old boys and girls, had been transformed by strange magic into gruesome shapes. Bones had grown out of their shoulder blades, resembling the remnants of wings.

“Necro Angels. Not bad,” Scott commented.

“Necro Angels?” Azadin asked.

“It’s when the blood of a god is mixed into a corpse. They may look small, but they are very powerful, so be careful. However, their detection ability is very low,” Scott explained, walking forward with the amulet on his forehead.

“Ah, damn it. My muscles are aching,” Scott muttered. He approached a Necro Angel blocking the way. The gruesome Necro Angel didn’t seem to notice Scott approaching. Scott created a black shadow blade from his fingertips and lightly stabbed the back of the Necro Angel’s neck.

“!!!!!” The Necro Angel trembled without even screaming. Scott picked up the paralyzed Necro Angel and moved it to the side of the road.

“Follow me,” Scott instructed.

“……” Sir Zibeck followed behind him, glancing at the fallen Necro Angel. It was a deformed child with silver hair, a characteristic of the Yaeghas gods.

“This is…” Zibeck began.

“It must be the work of the Count of Rantaric. It’s the result of repeated breeding to produce one Adler,” Azadin explained.

“Breeding? Are you saying these are the Count’s children…? Why these children?” Zibeck asked, his voice filled with disgust.

“Probably because they need to grow to a certain extent to see if they are a success or failure based on their growth or intelligence,” Azadin replied.

“So, they raise them until they are four or five years old and then kill them?” Zibeck frowned as he saw the evidence of the terrible sorcery committed by the nobleman he was supposed to defend in the King’s Church.

“I’m approaching this cleanly from an academic perspective. Humans are too savage. They’re closer to beasts. How can they use necromancy so disgustingly?” Scott muttered as he cleared the Necro Angels that were blocking the way one by one.

At that moment, Ismail stopped Scott.

“…There’s a trap,” Ismail said, his voice low. He had found a wooden box installed on the floor and carefully removed it. There was a spring device attached to the wooden box, and the moment it was released, the connected string would be released, probably setting off an alarm somewhere. Ismail carefully fixed the rope connected to the wooden box to another solid rock.

“Good. We’ve passed through the mausoleum. Just the undead in the mausoleum now are enough to burn Adler alive,” Guillaume Balte said, but his brow was furrowed. “But… it’s shocking. I thought my father was cold, but I didn’t think he was someone who would go this far.”

“That’s how desperate he is. In the age of Jupiter [a reference to a specific time period or era],” Shati said, snorting. “Those so-called Yaeghas gods are more afraid because they have so much. When the day comes when they lose everything, they’ll use necromancy or Nether magic without discrimination. They’re ridiculous.”

“……” Zibeck couldn’t really refute Shati’s sarcasm. Even Judge Zekt himself used Nether magic.

“Okay, okay. That’s enough. We need to be quiet from now on. It’s the castle,” Azadin announced, indicating that they had reached the bottom of the castle after passing through the mausoleum section.

*********

There were soldiers in the place they arrived at underground through the mausoleum. When Azadin gestured, Midiam and Ismail quickly moved through the darkness and approached the soldiers from behind, aiming their daggers at their necks.

“Huh?” one of the soldiers gasped.

“Quiet… What’s going on upstairs? Where is Lord Adler?” Azadin demanded.

“L-Lord Adler is… meeting with the Messenger Clan in the reception room,” the soldier stammered.

“Messenger Clan? Who?” Azadin asked.

“T-The leader of the Messenger Clan, a woman,” the soldier replied.

“……” Azadin tilted his head. “Could it be that Araiel is here?”