The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 168

The Rampage of the Minions 5

When the rain stopped, the mosquitoes became rampant again.

Scott and Sharty used magic to repel the approaching mosquitoes, while Azadin, riding on the back of a Kerim mountain goat, sequentially used the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture he possessed to refine the mana within his body.

After circulating the powerful white mana accumulated in the Divine King’s Scripture copies and strengthening the mana within his body, the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon technique and Kazas’s Haze were also becoming increasingly powerful.

At first, the changes were barely noticeable, but now he could definitely feel that he had become stronger.

However, perhaps because he was doing this while moving, he couldn’t concentrate properly.

The things Arael had said kept swirling in Azadin’s mind.

If what she said was true, then Aldis and Kazas, who had been his mental pillars, were ultimately figures moving within the Elder Council’s plans.

Though they might be good individuals, the Elder Council’s intentions were clearly evil, so those loyal to the Elder Council could also be considered to have dipped their feet into evil.

‘The Naga are attacking Butuma, and their leader is trying to seize the throne of Butuma… Hmm, how should I stop this? And if I have to confront the leader, can I really stop their ambition? Moreover, if my master or Aldis are on the leader’s side, what will happen to me? I’ve returned as the Emperor’s Second Lieutenant, but I might receive the curse of service again…’ [The ‘curse of service’ likely refers to a magical or binding obligation to serve the Emperor or a higher power.]

His thoughts became complicated. He had set out with the single-minded determination to save people, but in reality, he didn’t have any concrete plans.

He was putting on a brave face because if he showed his anxiety, everyone who followed him would also become anxious, but Azadin was also venturing into the unknown.

‘The Blue Banner Gang seems to be quite powerful, so it would be good if I could somehow get their help.’

But would it really go well? If what Arael said was true, wouldn’t it be dangerous if many Blue Banner Gang members gathered?

At that moment, a voice awakened Azadin from his reverie.

*********

“Oh… a fine day it is.”

A group of armed men, camping by a bonfire on the roadside at the ambiguous border between the Adirof Territory and the Kingdom of Butuma, greeted Azadin’s group.

The men, wearing decent armor and carrying hunting bows and arrows, were making a fire, but they seemed strange for hunters, as they were heavily armored.

‘They’re just bandits. They’re being cautious because we have a lot of people.’

Azadin recognized them as bandits but didn’t provoke them and returned their greeting.

“It is a fine day. We are on our way to Butuma, is there any news?”

“If it’s news you want, be careful. Some crazy people who turn into monsters are killing our acquaintances and running away to Butuma.”

“Crazy people who turn into monsters? Are you talking about werewolves?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Or are they turning into old trees?”

Azadin mentioned old trees, but they shook their heads again.

“It’s not that either. Anyway, they are definitely terrible monsters. Do you see that over there?”

“……”

Azadin looked and saw a broken tree by the roadside. There was something on the tree, a bloodstain that had been washed away by the rain. It seemed to be because of the rain that had poured down yesterday.

“Those guys attacked our brothers… They flew into the tree and it became like that. The tree broke and the person was really…”

“We tried to collect the body for the funeral, but we had to pick up the pieces and put them in a sack.”

The bandits said, shuddering.

“They keep appearing at the border between Butuma and Coral Sahar and killing people, so be careful.”

“We are also looking for them to avenge our brothers, but honestly… we are losing confidence.”

“Is that so?”

Azadin clicked his tongue after hearing their words.

These people in front of him were clearly bandits, but they seemed to have some loyalty. They were going into a hopeless fight because their comrades had been brutally murdered.

‘Still, they seem confident in their skills, considering their good equipment.’

Azadin approached the tree to see if anything was left.

Soon, he easily found a small piece of flesh. The piece of flesh stuck in the crevice of the tree had been detached from the body for quite some time, but it was still wriggling like a leech.

Azadin was familiar with this type of Nether minion.

“Hmm… this is…”

“What is it?”

“Sir Zibeck, do you know what this is?”

“Ah, this is…”

Zibeck frowned at the worm-like piece of flesh.

“Is it Sir Jekt?”

“It’s not Jekt himself.”

“What makes you think it’s not Sir Jekt himself?”

“Well, from the perspective of an Inquisitor of the King’s Church, the change of the owner of the Coral Sahar throne is a bigger issue than coming to Butuma, right? And that guy wouldn’t give up his splendid gold-plated armor. If it were Sir Jekt, there would have been talk of a gold-plated holy knight. Maybe Jekt himself went towards Coral Sahar, and these guys moved separately?”

“That’s true.”

Zibeck was impressed, realizing the logic in Azadin’s words.

Every time, Azadin quickly deduced and accurately grasped the situation with just a little information.

Zibeck, a holy knight, had also received training, but Azadin was on a different level.

“Still, let’s prepare.”

Azadin, while riding on the swaying mountain goat, trimmed a tree branch to make arrows with iron tips and prepared a steel great bow he had taken from a heavy crossbow.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Jiswa asked Azadin, flustered.

“Preparing for battle. Don’t worry too much. It’s nothing much.”

“I-is that so? No, how can preparing for battle be nothing much?”

Not only Jiswa but also the refugees and the Blue Banner Gang members began to tremble with anxiety.

“What’s wrong? The Blue Banner Gang members were bragging about catching bandits and monsters around here and extorting others, why are you so scared?”

“W-well…”

“We were patrolling, so the bandits moved away from the road and avoided us.”

“So, you have no real combat experience?”

“T-that’s right.”

“So, you’ve only been boasting and bullying the weak. Don’t worry. I’ll make you men this time.”

“O-okay.”

“Th-that is…”

The Blue Banner Gang members recalled the broken tree, the pieces of flesh stuck in it, and the equipment of the bandits who had been camping on the road earlier.

Unlike the disorganized Blue Banner Gang, the bandits’ equipment was excellent. They certainly didn’t want to show off their ‘manliness’ in front of an opponent that even experienced bandits couldn’t handle, but…

The current Taoist of the Blue Banner Gang was Azadin. And it was too late to turn back and run away.

“It’s so funny when it’s someone else’s story.”

Sharty, who was being dragged around by Azadin, scoffed at the Blue Banner Gang members, who were completely intimidated.

*********

“Krr… It can’t be. We, the children of the King of Teeth. We are much stronger than you humans.”

A bloodied ogre was denying reality.

The children of the King of Teeth, a huge army of ogres, hobgoblins, and goblins, had descended from the mountains.

The children of the King of Teeth, who raised yaks in the mountains, would form a large army and descend along the mountain paths to raid humans when they became hungry. It was their daily routine.

But now, they were being annihilated by strange humans, or rather, human-shaped monsters.

“We, with the Naga Empire, will attack Butuma. If you are not on our side, you are making a big mistake.”

“Hehehe. Do we look like followers of the Kurt Pantheon?” [The Kurt Pantheon is likely a reference to a specific religion or belief system within the story’s world.]

“Did you hear that? An ogre is begging for his life!”

The human-shaped monsters who had defeated the ogre’s army were laughing.

“So, you are just humans? Then ogres eat, and humans are eaten. The opposite cannot happen.”

-Crack!

The man shoved his arm into the mouth of the ogre, who kept talking nonsense.

Then, he expanded it. Dark red worms wriggled and pushed into the ogre’s body, starting to tear him apart from the inside.

The ogre writhed in pain, but it was a meaningless resistance since all his limbs had already been crushed.

“Hoo.”

The man looked around. There were over 50 goblin corpses and three ogres, all of whom he had easily killed.

“It’s a great victory. I’ve done something amazing that only legendary heroes could do.”

The one who said that was a man who once called himself the Bandit King at the border between Rantaric and Salasma, Doner.

“Yes. We are also getting stronger…”

Doner’s subordinates were also intoxicated with their power on the mountain of goblin corpses.

The exhilaration and omnipotence that came from victory in battle, and the physical pleasure felt as the black worms flowing from their bodies tore apart the corpses, were paralyzing their reason.

“With this much power, I don’t think we can lose to anyone.”

“Yes. Not even to that Inquisitor.”

The Inquisitor they were talking about was Jekt, the corrupted judge of the King’s Church.

They had become monsters by Jekt and were here at the border of the Kingdom of Butuma under Jekt’s orders. The border area was where the light of the King’s Grace was the weakest. Here, they were attacking people and monsters, building their strength and gathering information.

“So, what should we do now? We don’t think we can lose to that Inquisitor anymore? Do we have to keep waiting here under his orders?”

“No, let’s keep building our strength here for a while. The light of the King’s Grace is tormenting us.”

Doner became conflicted.

The reason they could clearly feel the existence of the light of the King’s Grace was because it was causing them pain.

What it meant was clear. They were no longer humans but beings that should be called monsters.

But on the other hand, the power of a monster that continued to grow was awakening their ambition and greed.

Even when they were ordinary humans, not monsters, Doner and his gang had enjoyed tormenting and assaulting people.

The violence and torture they had inflicted on Brand and others in the area when they were human were terrible and horrific.

They were already driven mad by the madness of violence, and now they had only gained the physical shell that suited them. And it was a great disaster for the travelers passing through this area.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Doner noticed a group of travelers approaching from afar. Some were armed, and others were not. They looked too shabby to be merchants, so they seemed to be refugees.

“More guests have come. Let’s catch them and kill them.”

Doner licked his lower lip.

He temporarily forgot that he had to follow Jekt’s orders, and he also put aside the reality that he had become a monster driven out by the light of the King’s Grace. He just wanted to be completely immersed in the thrill of violence.

Doner and his subordinates spurred themselves on with desire and ran down the hill.