The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 137

The sight of Orcs, who shunned the very muscles others craved, left other races dumbfounded. Azadin quickly regained his senses and interrogated the Naga commander again. “Anyway, what about the King of Coral Sahar? How are the humans doing right now?” “They’re fortifying the royal castle and holding out. But the water has flooded in, splitting their forces and cutting off all supply lines. Despite that, the king’s power is so strong that we still can’t break through.” “Really? How could that… Did that woman named Zenith really extinguish the light of the king’s power for a moment?” “Yes, she did.” “Is that even possible?” “If it wasn’t possible, would we have been able to invade this city?” “Hmm.” From what he heard… Coral Sahar’s situation was dire. The King of Coral Sahar was holed up in the royal castle with his retainers, surrounded and attacked by the Nagas. Due to the wind, rain, and storm, not only was rescue impossible, but even the forces within Coral Sahar couldn’t unite. Moreover, this fact hadn’t yet been made known to the outside world, the King’s Church, or nearby territories. “This is a desperate situation.” “I’ve told you everything I know. Let me go. As promised.” “……” Azadin nodded, and Midiam and Ishmael released the Naga from the mast. As the Naga leader was freed, he bowed to Azadin. “A warm-blooded creature who knows honor. Thank you. And that traitor of our clan…” “No, I…” “Go lay some eggs in your cloaca [a reproductive and excretory opening]. Three of them.” The Naga commander left those words behind and jumped into the water, disappearing leisurely. “I know it’s rich coming from me, but are you crazy? Why are you letting him go?” “Why… We need to track him.” “Track him?” “Yes.” Azadin told Sharty that and had Ishmael and Midiam release their scout birds to track the Naga commander they had just released. “Good idea. But wait… I was seasick, and now that I’m on land, this is just as bad…” Sion Etar retched, his stomach churning. “Stop it, will you? Even drunks try to hide when they’re throwing up, but why are you so brazen about it?” “Why should I hide when I’ve done nothing wrong? The Etar clan is always proud.” “That’s what they say, Midiam. Do you agree?” “Ah, no. It’s different. Even proud people don’t show everyone when they go to the bathroom, do they?” Midiam shook his head at Azadin’s questioning. “I was holding the helm. So, I’m going to wash up and change my clothes here for a bit. I’ll watch the ship for a while, so you guys go on ahead.” “Are you sure? It’ll be dangerous if you’re left alone.” Jibek was worried about Sion being left alone, but Azadin shook his head. “Sion was a former messenger, so he’ll be fine. He’s quite skilled too.” Indeed, Sion waved his hand at the group, telling them to go while still retching. ********* “Hmm.” Midiam was in a quandary. When he was young, he admired Sion Etar. A handsome and cool cousin. To her, who didn’t see anyone outside the Etar clan as human, Sion was a handsome young man of her generation. She couldn’t help but admire him. But now that he was older, he realized something was off. Was this person always this strange? Midiam was bewildered by the gap between his childhood admiration and the reality he saw now. “Hey, can I stay behind with that Sion guy? Honestly, wandering around is too stressful for me.” Sharty said, following behind Azadin. It seemed that the ones causing trouble here were the Naga Empire, and if Sharty was marked by them, she wouldn’t be able to return to the Nagas. She was already branded as a traitor, and if she kept following Azadin’s group, there would be no room for excuses. “I don’t know much about the internal affairs of the Nagas. I need you to interpret the information we get. I didn’t even know that the Nagas were divided into water snake, sea snake, and dry land tribes.” “Usually, wouldn’t you be worried about when I might betray you? Why are you taking me with you?” “Well…” Azadin trailed off. ‘I’m taking you because I think I can kill you in one shot even if you betray me, so I don’t feel burdened.’ He couldn’t say that. ‘Even if she’s a Naga, she’d be hurt if I said that, right? I should try to soothe her feelings a bit.’ So, Azadin gave her a compliment he didn’t mean. “You’re beautiful, so it’s nice to have you around. It brightens the atmosphere.” “No, just for that reason…” “Well, and your regeneration magic is really good too. It’s been a great help. A really big help.” “Oh, you jerk. You can praise me all you want, but you’re not getting anything out of it!” Sharty said that, but her ears were red and twitching. ‘She really likes being praised?’ The Nagas had a strict class system, and those born into lower classes had to undergo a rebirth ritual to rise in rank. It wasn’t a joke; the only way to rise in rank was to die and be reborn. Count Salasma Kazel’s transformation into a Naga was also through that rebirth ritual. So, Sharty, who had never experienced self-affirmation, was completely flustered by Azadin’s blatant flattery. She had experienced human men complimenting her beauty, but Sharty, a Naga who revered the logic of power, considered such sweet talk as courtship to obtain her body. Azadin, who had already secured her as a prisoner, didn’t need to flatter her. The fact that a powerful figure in a position to do as he pleased was praising her could only be interpreted as genuine. ‘W-what should I do? I feel good.’ Sharty was flustered by Azadin’s praise. “Tsk, tsk.” Midiam, who was watching from the side, clicked his tongue. “By the way, the water snake Nagas are really fast. They’re running on the water like it’s flat ground, and because of that, the distance keeps increasing.” Ishmael, who was chasing the water snake Naga with his scout birds, was panting. The roads in Coral Sahar were a complete mess, with many places flooded and landslides causing collapses. It was no wonder that chasing a water snake Naga, who could move freely on the water, was difficult. Muddy puddles of unknown depth and the debris of collapsed buildings blocked the way. And at the few passages where people could pass, men had piled up furniture to create barricades, holding weapons and their eyes gleaming. “Hehehe.” “Where do you think you’re going?” “Hand over some food. And if you leave the women behind, that would be the icing on the cake.” “Huh?” They had habitually blocked the passage, but they were taken aback when they realized that Azadin’s group was larger than expected. Currently, Azadin’s group consisted of six people: Azadin, Midiam, Ishmael, Jibek, Scott, and Sharty. There were two women, but it was by no means a small number, and Scott’s physique was particularly impressive. Even though Jibek was imposing without his armor, he didn’t look like a paladin without it, so everyone was more wary of Scott than Jibek. “These guys are too imposing.” “Hmm. And well-armed too.” At a glance, Azadin’s group was not ordinary. Fighting them would be inevitable. But they were all out of their minds with hunger and stress. “If we’re going to die anyway, let’s do something before we starve to death.” As they were steeling their resolve, Azadin stepped forward. “I am Azadin, the messenger of the Emperor, of the 108th Order.” Azadin suddenly revealed his identity. The thugs blocking the passage flinched. “A messenger clan?” “Hey, kid. If you’re from the messenger clan, then I’m a dragon…” “Shut up, you idiot. What if he’s telling the truth?” The thugs’ fighting spirit waned. The notoriety of the messenger clan was helpful in this situation. “Hey. What are you planning to do?” “How could you bring the Nagas here…? Are the messenger clan out of their minds?” The thugs asked Azadin. Looking at that, it seemed that the messenger clan, specifically the Arael branch, was indeed responsible for bringing the Nagas to Coral Sahar. “Well, it wasn’t us? Who told you that the messenger clan brought the Nagas?” “We didn’t hear it, we saw it ourselves.” “A witch from the messenger clan extinguished the light at the lighthouse in the southwest of the city. Then suddenly, the sky opened up, and a storm came.” “And the Nagas came from the sea and the river.” “You saw that yourselves?” Azadin asked, and they looked embarrassed. “Well, actually, we just heard it. From a night watchman.” “I saw it myself. I was the guard at that dock warehouse.” “You idiot. You were so drunk back then that you couldn’t even recognize your own wife.” “That’s, that’s true.” “……” At that moment, Ishmael signaled to Azadin. “I can’t get any closer to the Naga I was chasing. There are too many Nagas.” “Really? What’s the situation?” “There’s a place where the Nagas are besieging the inner castle of Coral Sahar. There’s a Naga base there, and the Naga went in that direction.” “They’re besieging the inner castle?” “Yes. There must be at least a thousand of them?” Attacking Coral Sahar with a thousand troops was an absurdly reckless act. But currently, Coral Sahar was cut off due to the heavy rain, and each Naga was capable of ten times the strength of an ordinary soldier. “I understand. Hmm. Good work.” Azadin listened to Ishmael’s report and looked at the thugs. “Can we pass now?” “Y-yes.” “By the way, do you have any food?” Then Scott glared at them. “I can’t give you any! I don’t have enough for myself!” “……” He wasn’t wrong. ********* After passing through the thugs’ barricade, they could indeed see the Naga base. The Nagas had seized prominent buildings such as trading posts and merchant residences in Coral Sahar and turned them into their bases, sending reconnaissance units to the rear. Now that they had already surrounded the inner castle of Coral Sahar, the role of the reconnaissance units was to patrol the area and capture humans. The Naga queen, Debislin, was a god who enjoyed human sacrifices. In the past, when the Naga Empire ruled Hybris, they built pyramids of blood and continued human sacrifices to ensure that the blood never dried on those massive structures. The reconnaissance units captured people not only to prevent those who might be secretly using secret passages to move in and out of the castle or those who might be secretly supplying provisions, but also to use the captured people as supplies, that is, food. “Aaaah!” “P-please save me!” Screams began to be heard from the pharmacy, a four-story stone building. Judging by the fact that some Nagas were standing at the entrance of the building, looking around, it seemed that a Naga reconnaissance unit had searched the building and discovered those hiding inside. “What should we do?” Midiam asked Azadin. Realistically, Azadin’s group had no obligation to save those people. However, Azadin had declared to Midiam that saving the people of Hybris was a beautiful thing, and that without aesthetics, the messenger’s duty was nothing more than shackles. “We must do our best, as much as we can.” Azadin checked the condition of his bowstring and prepared for battle.