The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 169

Meanwhile, Azadin was using the Emperor’s Voice to monitor Doner’s group.

The Emperor’s Voice acted as a scout, surveying the surroundings and relaying information to Azadin.

It wasn’t a direct magical link sharing vision like a scout bird, but the Emperor’s Voice’s descriptions were helpful enough.

It hadn’t been like this before.

The Emperor’s Voice was an artificial spirit. A masterless artificial spirit would try to minimize mana consumption for its own maintenance.

Despite that, it had become so cooperative with Azadin. Whether it was due to its promotion to the Second Spirit or its accumulated contributions, there was no harm in its cooperation.

[Be careful, Azadin. There’s an armed group of about eight heading this way.]

“An armed group of eight? Are they the ones? The murderous monsters the roadside bandits were looking for?”

[I can’t be sure, but I do sense Nether mana. Also, there are ogre and goblin corpses nearby. It’s quite a sight. Almost a company’s worth of bodies are piled up.]

“Eight people took down a whole company?”

If that was true, then they were likely the murderers, the monsters the bandits were searching for.

“Hey, can you relay my voice to the bandits we passed? If you explain it well without being too off-putting, we might get their help.”

If an artificial spirit suddenly spoke to them, the bandits might be startled and run away. But the Emperor’s Voice made an unexpected suggestion.

[How about mimicking the voices of their comrades who were killed by those bandits? If we explain the situation in a spooky voice, wouldn’t they come on their own?]

“Why would the dignified Emperor’s Voice resort to such a tactic…”

[Should I not?]

“No, I’m fine with it. It’s just that you’re being so proactive all of a sudden, it’s a bit bewildering. Is it because I got promoted?”

[Many have left their posts as messengers, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Since there’s mana to spare, we’re just protecting the remaining messengers.]

“What?”

Azadin was shocked by the Emperor’s Voice’s words.

For messengers to leave their posts voluntarily or involuntarily was unheard of.

Of course, the messenger clan wasn’t completely invincible. They could be injured or even suffer permanent damage, making it impossible to perform their duties.

Or, if they grew old and their skills declined, they would pass on their position to a successor and retire.

But if it were such a retirement or succession, the Emperor’s Voice wouldn’t say that there was mana to spare.

The disappearance of messengers, leaving their positions vacant.

It was a roundabout way of saying they were killed or dismissed.

To think they died while on duty… just recently, there was the rebellion of the Arael faction.

“Could it be that the Council killed the messengers who sided with the rebellious Arael faction?”

[That’s not something I can discuss, Azadin. I told them, using the voices of their comrades, to avenge them, or they would be cursed, and then I gave them the information.]

“Oh, even cursed them? Then they’ll come running.”

[Indeed. They’re all terrified, but they’re not running away. They’re coming to break the curse and avenge their comrades.]

As the Emperor’s Voice said, the bandits were taking up arms at their camp and heading this way.

“You’re planning to make the bandits fight. You’re quite the schemer.”

Sharty was amazed at Azadin’s plan to use even the Emperor’s Voice to draw the bandits into the fight.

“But it’s reasonable. The bandits want revenge, and we can’t just leave them be, can we?”

Jibek defended Azadin, drawing his sword and examining the blade, wiping off any residue with a leather strap.

“Enough with the nonsense, let’s get the people to safety! And join up with those bandits!”

Azadin, protecting the refugees, retreated and joined up with the approaching bandits.

And almost at the same time, Doner’s group, descending from the hill, arrived in front of Azadin’s group.

*********

“That guy is from the messenger clan, isn’t he?”

Bandit King Doner was actually pleased to find Azadin’s group.

Inquisitor Jekt had ordered Bandit King Doner to find Azadin and Jibek. And here they were.

‘Jekt is a real mastermind. How did he know that the messenger clan would cross the border? Or is it just a coincidence?’

Doner felt a tingling sensation.

In the past, he had been severely beaten by Azadin’s group.

But he wasn’t the same as he was back then. What would it be like now? Even if the opponent was from the messenger clan, called the King Slayer, the Soulless Blasphemer, wouldn’t their power, now accustomed to being monsters, be superior?

Then he saw Azadin drawing his bow.

-Swish!

An arrow flew.

It was an incredibly fast arrow, but it was at a distance, and he saw it being fired, so he could see the arrow coming.

“I can see it! You bastard!”

Doner’s subordinate tried to deflect the arrow with his shield.

But…

-Thud!

The arrow pierced the head of the guy holding the shield. He had clearly seen the arrow’s trajectory and swung his shield to deflect it, but the arrow had rotated mid-flight, changing its course and hitting his head.

“Kahaha! You fool! The messenger clan’s arrows change course! Don’t you know that?”

Even though their comrade’s head had been pierced by an arrow, they all laughed it off.

The one who had been shot in the head also pulled out the arrow, looking embarrassed. It was a serious injury that would have killed a normal person. But surprisingly, when he pulled out the arrow, dark red bugs wriggled out of his wound and filled it.

The Blue Banner soldiers were horrified at the sight.

“Hick?!”

“W-what is that?!”

“It’s a monster!”

“Ah, that’s the…”

Everyone’s mind flashed back to the broken tree by the roadside.

A monster with the strength to throw a person and break a giant tree. Those were the monsters that killed and ate people.

They were humans, but the people saw the shadow of monsters in them and trembled in fear.

‘Funny, you guys are also their minions.’

They had been monsters wielding death just the day before, though neutralized by Arael’s medicine.

“Shall we tear them apart a bit?”

Azadin fired a series of cheap iron-tipped arrows.

He used the Two-Line Bow technique, firing multiple arrows in succession, but they all hit the target simultaneously, a skill of the messenger clan. Three arrows struck one person at the same time.

The opponent tried to deflect the arrows with his shield but screamed as he was hit by the other arrows, only to recover from the arrow wounds.

“It seems arrows won’t kill them.”

Jiswa, the Blue Banner’s Taoist, was flustered, but Azadin continued to fire arrows, slowing down the eight enemies and preventing them from charging all at once.

Then the bandits stepped forward.

Enraged by the loss of their comrades and the invasion of their territory, the bandits willingly charged. They fired arrows and swung polearms, striking the leading monsters.

Blood splattered, and a bloody wind rose.

The bandits, well-equipped, were indeed skilled in martial arts and fought very well. The Blue Banner youths were chilled to the bone. They were probably quite famous mercenaries.

“Wow. These guys are fighting really well. Doner!”

“There’s a limit to what they can do in human form!”

“Do it!”

The monsters revealed their true forms.

They had been watching the bandits who came for revenge, enjoying their superiority as if they were cats toying with cornered mice, knowing that they could kill them easily if they unleashed their full power.

The bandits, who had been doing well just a moment ago, were suddenly at a disadvantage.

“I understand your intentions, but I can’t just stand by and watch.”

Jibek couldn’t bear to watch and stepped forward.

He knew that Azadin was deliberately pitting the bandits against Doner’s group to weaken them, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch them die before his eyes.

“That guy is…”

“Isn’t that the paladin?!”

Doner’s group recognized Jibek and attacked him. Jekt had ordered them to capture Jibek as well when he gave them the order.

But Jibek calmly faced the monsters.

“Sir Brand sends his regards.”

At that moment, a rusty iron mace flew from Jibek’s hand and landed on the ground. The divine magic of the King’s Church activated, striking the newly transformed monsters with the divine punishment of the King’s Light.

“Kuh-ack!”

Then Jibek jumped in, swinging his longsword, cutting off the arms of Doner’s group, and then diagonally striking their hind legs, cutting behind their knees.

The bandits were also quite skilled swordsmen, but Jibek’s swordsmanship was so refined that it made their skills look like children’s play.

In an instant, Jibek cut off their limbs, forcing them to their knees, and then swung his sword horizontally, beheading Doner’s group as an executioner would behead a prisoner.

Not letting his guard down, he chanted an incantation and cast a purification spell, burning the black bugs that continued to pour out of the severed bodies with white flames.

“Ugh!”

“The King’s Light!”

Doner’s group couldn’t even look at the King’s Light emanating from Jibek, it was too blinding.

They had gained great power by becoming monsters, but they had become more vulnerable to the King’s Light. If they encountered a proper paladin like Jibek, they would be even more helpless.

“…What? That guy. Was he that skilled?”

As Doner was panicking, Azadin rushed towards him.

*********

“Block him!”

“You bastard!”

Doner’s subordinates poured out bugs from their bodies, enlarging their bodies and swinging their arms and legs. The weapons held in their enlarged hands and the enlarged arms themselves flew towards Azadin with terrifying mass.

But Azadin used the Earth Spider technique to slip under their attacks, ignoring the others and standing right in front of Doner.

“Hello, Doner. Why are you here?”

“Ugh… You! You’re that messenger clan member from back then!”

Doner tried to counterattack Azadin, but before he could, Azadin’s hand pierced Doner’s left eye.

He bent and gathered his fingers, lightly piercing his left eye and tearing apart the entire fundus [the interior lining of the eye].

“Kuh-ack!”

For the current Doner, losing an eye wasn’t that serious of an injury.

But the pain from the area hit by Azadin spread throughout Doner’s body as if it were burning. Azadin’s attack, with his whole body filled with the King’s Light from the Divine King’s Scripture copy, inflicted pain on Doner.

“Aaaaargh!”

Doner rolled on the ground in unbearable pain. Azadin kicked Doner.

“Ugh!”

“You’re making too much of a fuss? I can’t kill you so easily because of Sir Brand, but you’re being so dramatic.”

“You bastard. That old man’s…”

“You have to die in agony.”

“Don’t make me laugh!”

Doner reflexively swung his weapon, but Azadin dodged the attack and kicked Doner in the torso.