The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 139

On the rain-swept rooftop, Azadin’s companions were stranded, waiting for him. They had managed to reach the roof, but they were unsure of their next move.

Then, Azadin appeared at the top of the stairs.

“I told you to escape by boat, but you were waiting here.”

“Did it take long?” Midiam asked, greeting Azadin.

“Yeah.”

“Shall we escape by boat now?”

“No. Instead of escaping by boat… I’ve got some good information.”

“Information? What happened?” Ishmael asked, bewildered.

At first, they had heard Azadin fighting off the Nagas coming up behind them. But then, the sounds had suddenly stopped. They were all worried, but Azadin walked up looking perfectly fine.

“I met an interesting Naga and made a deal, and he gave me this.” Azadin showed them the bracelet, and Sharty was shocked.

“Raja’s Tear?!”

“You know it?”

“It’s a bracelet symbolizing Raja’s word. See the split jade attached to it? You had to match that jade with the one on the other side to mobilize the military power. In the old days…”

“It’s like a military seal. He gave me something amazing.”

“These days, magic has developed, so they use magic to communicate, but it still symbolizes Raja’s military authority. How did you get it? Did you kill Raja?”

“No. I made a deal with Raja Dehares of the Water Snake Tribe. He said he’d turn a blind eye if we only attacked the Sea Snake Tribe.”

“…N-No way. Dehares?”

“Do you know him?”

“How would someone like me know Raja! I don’t.”

“Then why did you act like you knew him? Anyway, Dehares said he’d release the people too.”

“Ah! Look at that!” Midiam pointed below the building.

Indeed, the Water Snake Nagas were releasing the people they had captured inside the building. They had even taken food from inside the building, and they were allowed to take it, so the people were looking bewildered, holding biscuits and sacks of barley, glancing at the Nagas with confused expressions.

“He’s got a fiery personality. I like this Naga Raja.”

“Did you make a deal to release the people too?” Midiam asked Azadin in surprise.

“It seems that Naga Raja wants us to mess with the Sea Snake Tribe instead of the Water Snake Tribe. So, I said that if I were to do that, it would be good if they released the people. That way, I’d be more motivated. And he agreed. He’s a Naga, but he’s a trustworthy guy.”

“I-Incredible.” Midiam was amazed at Azadin for persuading the Naga in this situation. And it wasn’t just Midiam.

“No way.” Sharty couldn’t believe what was happening before her eyes either.

“Anyway, this is that important, right? Sharty. You hold onto it.” Azadin handed the bracelet called Raja’s Tear to Sharty.

“Huh? M-Me?”

“It seems like it would look better if you had it than me, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“More importantly, we should go to the lighthouse, right? Or should we resupply our arrows first?” Azadin took cover under the eaves and unfolded the map he had received from Dehares. The map was wrapped in waterproof fish skin, and the inside was lined with oil paper. It was so thick and sturdy that you had to scratch it with a pen to make a mark.

It was made with such care for waterproofing that it could almost be called leather.

‘Is it because they’re the Water Snake Tribe, and they might be in the water at any time? It must have cost quite a bit.’ This map was a tactical map showing the jurisdictions of each tribe and the patrol routes of the reconnaissance and patrol units.

“If this map has the subtle cooperation of the Water Snake Tribe, we can definitely move around without encountering many enemies. We’ve gained unexpected help. But seeing this, it seems like the Nagas have complex politics too?”

“Of course. Hmm.” Sharty was mesmerized, looking at Raja’s Tear on her wrist.

“But be careful. I heard that the Sea Snake Tribe has started worshiping the Nether Gods instead of the Cobra Queen. They’re mutating, so they’ll be monsters beyond our expectations. Let’s resupply our weapons first. It’s not good to use the Moon-Crescent Bow when you’re soaked to your underwear. The Ashwood Longbow would be better.” Azadin pointed to the armory in the Sea Snake Tribe’s territory that he had found on the map.

“Let’s avoid the Water Snake Tribe on the way. They’ve done this much for us, so we should show some respect to the Naga Raja.”

“But they might release those people now and kill them later, right?” Ishmael distrusted the Nagas, but Azadin shook his head.

“No… From what I can see, the Naga Raja is a person who values his honor very much. He’s not the type to easily go back on his word. Ah, in this case, should I say Naga instead of person?”

“Of course! Nagas are a race that knows honor!” Sharty agreed with Azadin.

“……”

“Why?”

“No, it’s just that when Sharty says that, it feels a bit less convincing.” Azadin gave Sharty an awkward smile.

*********

Whether the Naga Raja had some way of communicating information to his kin, the Water Snake Tribe deliberately slacked off and avoided Azadin’s group. Thanks to that, Azadin’s group was able to pass through the Water Snake Tribe’s territory without much difficulty and reach the area controlled by the Sea Snake Tribe.

“Are those the Sea Snake Tribe?” While the Water Snake Tribe had smooth scales, the Sea Snake Tribe had thorns growing all over their bodies like fish in coral reefs, and they were generally larger and more threatening.

Azadin’s group knew the routes of the Nagas’ regular and irregular patrols, so they were able to move through the buildings without being detected and approach the Nagas guarding the armory from behind.

But…

“Ugh. It’s going to get moldy.” Scott grumbled, munching on dried fruit.

“The dried fruit is getting damp and might get moldy. I have to eat it all.”

“……” Dried fruit was expensive and considered a delicacy among dried foods. Of course, it was also vulnerable to moisture, so what Scott was saying wasn’t wrong, but it was annoying to hear it from the guy who was eating almost all of the precious dried food by himself.

“Ah, don’t give me that look. I’ll do my job properly. Just the fact that I’m walking around without my wheelchair should show you how much effort I’m putting in, right?” Scott picked up a piece of lumber he had taken from the abandoned building and cast a spell on it. As soon as he let go of it, the lumber flew with terrifying force and attacked the Sea Snake Nagas.

“Kuwek!”

“Kweok!”

“Nice!” Azadin also picked up a stone and threw it with terrifying power, knocking down a Naga and charging forward. Jibek followed, piercing a Naga with his sword and twisting the blade to cut open its ribcage.

The Sea Snake Nagas were sturdier and stronger than the Water Snake Nagas, but since they knew their patrol routes, it was easy to ambush them.

“Good. That ended quickly.” Jibek cut off the neck bone of the Naga he had knocked down and wiped his blade.

“Let’s check the armory.” The armory was already a mess, with Nagas and humans alike grabbing weapons, so there wasn’t much left. But they were able to find arrows, longbows, and a large heavy crossbow that they hadn’t taken.

“This will be useful.” Azadin separated the steel bow part of the heavy crossbow.

“Can a person pull that…” Jibek was shocked, knowing what Azadin was thinking as he disassembled the crossbow. Even a skilled crossbowman had to put his foot on the stirrup and turn the crank with both hands to wind the crane and slowly pull the bowstring to load a heavy crossbow. But Azadin was just pulling the steel bow with his bare hands?

“Hmm. It takes too much strength, but it’s not impossible. But the bowstring is too thick, so it won’t be easy to shoot while winding it?”

“……”

“We’ll just be satisfied with the Ashwood Longbows.” Midiam and Ishmael said, looking at Azadin.

“I wonder if Sion is okay.”

“Yeah. We should let him know that we made a deal with the Water Snake Nagas. Can we contact him with magic?”

“Yes. Let’s send a Foresight Bird first.”

“With a Foresight Bird?”

“I got an idea after seeing Sion use it.” Midiam had originally only used the Foresight Bird for scouting, but after seeing Sion’s Foresight Bird-Cormorant technique, she had adapted it to her own style.

“Should I call it Foresight Bird-Macaw? Hmm… It takes a lot of energy. Where is he?” Midiam released the Foresight Bird a short distance away and tested it.

“Ah, testing. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…” Indeed, the artificial spirit of the Foresight Bird was making sounds following Midiam’s voice.

Azadin was inwardly impressed by the sight.

“You’re quite talented for a human. Ah, don’t be too moved just because I praised you. It’s just praise based on human standards.” Scott ‘praised’ Midiam on Azadin’s behalf.

“Huh?” But Midiam looked perplexed.

“Why?”

“I can’t see my brother.”

“At the place with the ship?”

“Yes. He’s not even nearby. I tried calling him just in case…” Making sounds to indicate the location of the Foresight Bird would be burdensome for Midiam, who was connected to the Foresight Bird’s consciousness. However, even when Midiam called for Sion, Sion didn’t respond.

“That’s strange. Are there any Naga corpses nearby?” Azadin asked if there were any Naga corpses. If Sion had been caught by the Nagas, there would definitely be traces of dead Nagas.

“No. There are no signs of a fight.”

“Then he must be hiding? Hmm.”

“Oh, what should we do?”

“Sion is a former messenger, right? And he’s of the Etar bloodline. He wouldn’t be easily defeated, and he’s capable enough to do his part alone. What’s important now is to check the lighthouse. The problem is…” Azadin unfolded the map and looked at the lighthouse. The lighthouse was heavily guarded by the Sea Snake Nagas.

“If I were alone, I could climb the wall and sneak in, avoiding combat…” He couldn’t take Jibek, Scott, or Sharty, who didn’t have the ability to climb walls.

“You guys wait in the rear. I’ll go alone.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“No, it’s actually harder when there are more people. Rather than that, attach this Macaw to me. I’ll use it to communicate as I go. If something happens, I’ll escape, and you guys open up an escape route.”

“If that’s the case.”

“But it’s hard for me to maintain the Macaw for long.”

“There’s an easier way to do that.” Scott took out the corpse of a rat that had drowned in the water from a nearby warehouse.

“I can transmit information from both sides much more easily. But I’ll have to use necromancy.”

“Necromancy…” Jibek sighed.

“Use it. Use it.”

“Have you given up?”

“I’ll have to become a penitent knight for this compromise. Well, in my case, I’m lucky just to have the chance to become a penitent knight.” [A penitent knight is a knight who has committed a sin and is seeking redemption through service.] Judge Zekt would never let Jibek live. So, he wouldn’t have a chance to become a normal penitent knight until he dealt with Zekt.

“Okay. I’ll do it. No changing your mind later?” Scott cast necromancy on the dead rat. A large eyeball that seemed to take up the entire brain appeared on the rat’s head, and its tail became stiff like a wire.

“Ugh. It’s disgusting.” Midiam clicked her tongue at the sight.

“No, if you look closely, it has a cute side.” Scott insisted, handing the rat to Azadin.

“I’ll contact you through this. Treat it nicely.”

“What, how? Should I kiss it?”

“That would be nice.”

“……” Azadin silently took the rat that had been imbued with necromancy.