The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 187

“Ugh. The smell of tobacco. Do you mix tobacco with hemp? You should ventilate this place.”

“What? What is it?!”

“Hey, you!”

The plantation owners were startled by the sudden appearance of the intruder.

Around this clubhouse, they had stationed skilled mercenaries, as well as the largest and strongest workers from the plantation, and those with talent in martial arts. They had even released hunting dogs, making it a place as impenetrable as a dragon’s lair, where not even a mouse could enter freely. Yet, this young man was walking in with such confidence.

“Are you all children of the dark? You should ventilate and get some light.”

The young man opened the windows. Light streamed in from outside, illuminating the inside of the clubhouse.

In the darkness, they were powerful figures who could freely influence even the king of Butuma. But under the light, they were just corrupt, obese old men, indulging in pleasure.

“What an impudent fellow.”

“Step back, masters.”

The servants who had caught the exploding door pieces approached the Herald Clan member. Each of them moved with a skill that suggested they were well-versed in martial arts.

“This clubhouse of the Bell Hoda Sugar Business Association is a place only for the most esteemed guests.”

“You who broke down that mahogany door will pay for your crime with your life.”

“After cutting off one of your ankles, we’ll release the hunting dogs and play with you for a long time!”

The servants drew their weapons as they spoke. They were cane swords, with blades hidden inside gentleman’s canes.

“Oh, fancy.”

The young man from the Herald Clan admired the weapons.

“Your blood will make the blade look even more fancy!”

A servant shouted and swung his cane sword, but…

The young man lightly flicked his middle finger. Normally, flicking a hard metal weapon with a fingernail would injure the finger. But…

-Crack!

The blade snapped in the middle and flew away. Then, the young man’s hand snaked out, wrapping around the arm of the servant wielding the sword, and lightly tossed him away.

“Oh no!”

The servants were momentarily flustered. The direction in which the Herald Clan man threw their companion was, coincidentally, towards the sofa where the plantation owners had taken refuge.

Should they protect their masters first? If they protected their masters, should they protect the entire clubhouse? Or just the masters who paid their wages?

As they hesitated, confused, and rushed to catch the thrown servant, they were all swept away and tumbled to the ground.

“Hmm, cane swords are fancy, but they’re too thin and lack durability. I’d like to have one, but they’re not very practical.”

“You bastard!”

Another servant stepped forward. The servants working in the clubhouse, whether male or female, all had to be exceptionally good-looking. Among them, the largest, most muscular, and most trained head servant rushed at the young man from the Herald Clan, throwing a lightning-fast punch.

‘Our head servant is stronger than most Cell Sword mercenaries!’

‘A drunkard even died from one punch from the head servant…’

The servants all thought so, but the Herald Clan man simply blocked the head servant’s punch and, with the same arm, lightly jabbed the head servant in the face.

It was a light blow, without any shoulder or body movement, yet the head servant, who was quite robust, suddenly collapsed.

“Ugh?! M-move! Move!”

He grabbed his leg, shaking it with his own hands in agony. He was conscious, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

“Ugh….”

The servants realized in that one exchange that this intruder was far superior to them.

“Now, shall we have a conversation?”

The young man from the Herald Clan turned to the plantation owners.

“A conversation?”

“Even if I kill you here, others just like you will take your place. So, I want to talk.”

“…….”

The plantation owners were surprised that the Herald Clan member was talking to them, contrary to their expectations.

“I know that my petitioner, without much thought, has insulted your dignity and provoked you. And that you are trying to crush her with force. That’s your order, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, it is.”

The plantation owners were briefly taken aback by the young man from the Herald Clan, who was speaking on their behalf, but soon they smiled.

It had always been this way. The sugar plantation owners of Bell Hoda had immense wealth, and even nobles and clergy would flatter them to gain their favor.

Was this young man from the Herald Clan also flattering them? If so, it was worth talking to him.

“So, what kind of deal are you proposing, Herald Clan?”

“I’m trying to resolve the petition. If I can persuade you to accept my petitioner’s wishes, I’ll be satisfied, and so will you.”

“So, what kind of persuasion is it? What conditions will you use to persuade us?”

“If you give up slavery, there will be no reason for you and my petitioner to fight. The petitioner will be satisfied too. How about it?”

“Pfft. Are you out of your mind?”

The plantation owners burst into laughter. But the young man from the Herald Clan was serious.

“Slavery is prohibited by the Emperor’s orders and the laws of the Eight Kingdoms. Giving up slavery now and obeying the law won’t damage your reputation. Rather, you’ll be praised for your benevolence.”

“Do you think we’re fools?”

“Such praise is not worth a single coin!”

“Think about it. Would it be a loss if you abolished slavery and paid the slaves wages, instead of hiring slave hunters and maintaining private soldiers?”

“We have to maintain private soldiers anyway. Why do you think the nobles respect our immense wealth? If we don’t maintain private soldiers, the king and nobles will take our business.”

“It costs money to train and feed private soldiers. And you can’t just let the army sit around doing nothing. If you don’t give them work, they might try to see if they can take our wealth with their swords and spears. So, you have to give them work. Capture slaves, manage them, and use the money earned to pay for the army’s upkeep.”

In other words, they had to raise private soldiers because they didn’t trust the king and nobles, and they maintained slavery because they didn’t trust the private soldiers.

“We don’t just capture and enslave innocent people for sadistic reasons. We do it to protect this immense wealth, for our independence, for our survival and freedom.”

“Ah, I see. So, for your wealth and your freedom, you take away the freedom of others and enslave them. What a wonderful statement.”

“We are different from them.”

“How so?”

“They don’t deserve freedom, but we do.”

At that, the young man from the Herald Clan chuckled.

“That’s disgusting nonsense. We’re called the Kingslayers because we killed nobles every time they said such things. My eardrums are worn out from listening to the nonsense of nobles, so I’d appreciate it if you, who aren’t even nobles, would refrain from it.”

“So, is the negotiation over?”

“No. There’s still room for negotiation.”

“Room for negotiation?”

“Yes. Abolish slavery and pay wages. Then, we, the Herald Clan, Aragas, will help ensure that your plantations don’t fall into the hands of nobles. There’s no need to maintain a bad reputation by feeding useless private soldiers, is there? I promise you in the name of Azadin, the Second Herald of the Emperor.”

The young man from the Herald Clan, Azadin, made the offer. But this offer also seemed ridiculous to the plantation owners.

“Hahaha. What a funny guy. You, the Herald Clan, dare to try to take control of our Bell Hoda sugar?”

“Countless kings and nobles have coveted Bell Hoda’s sugar. And now the Herald Clan, while trampling on our dignity, is telling us to hand it over? As if they’re doing us a favor?”

The plantation owners scoffed at Azadin’s offer.

They were plantation owners who had even refused the king’s army, which had come to be the protector of their sugarcane farms and sugar factories.

And now, the Herald Clan was offering to become the protector of the Bell Hoda Sugar Business Association. How could this be a basis for negotiation?

“You seem a bit smarter than that girl, since you came to make a deal, but you’re still a fool. Is your brain bad because you have no soul?”

“Hmm? Do you think my conditions are that bad? Your thoughts will change once you experience what’s about to happen….”

Azadin shrugged.

At that moment, the clubhouse door was flipped over. The remnants that had remained after Azadin kicked the door and broke it were scattered again.

Through the completely broken door, a group of figures appeared.

A dwarf with a blunderbuss [an early type of firearm], a young human man with a sword and shield, an elf woman with blue war paint on her face, and a gaunt-faced human man with a long staff walked in.

They were the adventurers hired by the plantation owners.

“I was trying to avoid coming to the clubhouse if I could.”

The elf woman wrinkled her nose, waving her hand in front of her face as if she disliked the smell of the clubhouse itself.

“Bear with it, Beldras. Your employer is in danger. It’s a chance to get a bonus.”

“But it’s the Second Herald of the Herald Clan. Be careful. Even if only half of the rumors are true, we have a monster in front of us.”

The dwarf gunner warned his companions and aimed his blunderbuss at Azadin.

“Ah.”

“The Cell Swords….”

The servants were delighted at the arrival of the mercenaries.

The clubhouse servants were prohibited from carrying weapons, so the only weapons they had were kitchen knives for cooking.

Even the head servant’s cane sword had been broken by Azadin in an instant. Now, properly armed mercenaries had appeared.

But Azadin warned the mercenaries with a nonchalant attitude.

“It’s dangerous to aim that gun at me, isn’t it? That gun might hit your employer too.”

In fact, Azadin was also nervous. A gun was a weapon that even Azadin couldn’t underestimate.

‘I’ve only seen them fired from a distance during Herald training.’

It was then that Azadin became tense.

“Masters, over here.”

A young human woman wearing a mask had already slipped in through the window and was pulling the employers towards the wall.

The reason they had broken down the already broken door was to draw Azadin’s attention, making it easier to rescue the plantation owners later.

Once the plantation owners were separated from Azadin, other adventurers rushed in.

-Thud, thud….

Footsteps could be heard from the ceiling, indicating that the adventurers had climbed onto the ceiling.

The clubhouse was soon completely surrounded.

The adventurers on the ceiling tore off the roof and poked crossbows inside, ready to attack at any moment.

“We will help too.”

When the servants stepped forward, the mercenaries waved them away.

“Step back. Your loyalty to your masters is admirable, but now it’s time for the swordsmen who have tasted blood to step in.”

“You guys have some skills, but you’re different from warriors who are really trying to kill people.”

The Cell Sword mercenaries boasted and pushed the servants back.