The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 193

Jiswa was someone who sincerely believed in the Cheonggeon Clan’s teachings. To him, Azadin was a chosen one, so even when Azadin said he had no intention of taking over the order, it only seemed like humility to Jiswa.

‘Indeed, the chosen one is also so humble.’

So moved, Jiswa was even more eager to spread this gospel to everyone.

“Strike him.”

As the Cheonju [leader of the Cheonggeon Clan], he naturally couldn’t tolerate Azadin’s existence. From the Cheonju’s perspective, who had gained power by using Grimslaw’s body, Azadin’s claim of being chosen by Grimslaw was extremely unsettling.

“…Seriously.”

Azadin lightly tossed Grimslaw’s staff in his hand. The staff spun around Azadin, striking the spears that were thrust at him.

The spear shafts broke and bent. Grimslaw’s staff, which reduced its power when hitting people, showed no mercy when hitting objects.

“Huh?!”

“Ugh?!”

The spear-wielding men dropped their weapons, startled by the shock that traveled through their hands.

They had been disarmed and stripped before entering the audience chamber, so they were caught off guard. While they were panicking, Azadin strung his bow and picked up a broken spear shaft, placing it on the bow.

It wouldn’t fly far without fletching or wings, but it was enough for shooting indoors. At this distance, it would be easy for Azadin to pierce the Cheonju.

‘But I can’t kill the Cheonju here. The King of Butuma wouldn’t have kept him alive for no reason.’

The Cheonggeon Clan members were a potential threat. To effectively manage so many people, the King of Butuma had recognized the Cheonggeon Clan.

If Azadin killed the Cheonju here, the Cheonggeon Clan organization would collapse. So, with the spear shaft on the bowstring, Azadin warned,

“Withdraw your soldiers immediately. I don’t want to harm my fellow believers, Cheonju.”

“You, you, Jiswa. You sent to Adirof and now you do this to me…”

“That’s not it, Cheonju. Things are getting complicated, so why don’t we dismiss the crowd and talk?”

Azadin chuckled at the Cheonju’s behavior.

The Cheonju wouldn’t have been this foolish originally. Does power make people stupid?

At least the Cheonju, who ruled them, should know that Jiswa was someone who purely pursued the teachings, regardless of power.

‘He thinks Jiswa will do the same thing as him, so he’s overly wary of me, and that’s why this is happening. Tsk.’

Azadin shot the spear shaft at the Cheonju, who wasn’t listening to him.

“First, the left ear!”

-Thwack!

The spear shaft that Azadin shot pierced the Cheonju’s foot, and then the Cheonju’s scream followed.

“Ch, Cheonju!”

The shocked men tried to approach, but Grimslaw’s staff, dancing in the air, immediately struck the jaw of the approaching man.

The men stopped, seeing the staff dancing on its own, knocking people unconscious.

“Uh…”

“Those who seek the way of the Azure Sky, listen.”

Azadin shouted to the bewildered Cheonggeon Clan members.

“I have come here to deliver Grimslaw’s revelation. In addition to the first revelation given to the Cheonju, I am here as a messenger of God, who wishes to elevate him to a higher level. Those who are not qualified to receive the revelation will die.”

“B, but you just hurt the Cheonju?!”

In the meantime, Azadin picked up another spear shaft and shot it with his bow.

“The right ear!”

“Kaaaaa!”

“The current wounds are sacred marks. They are wounds for the Cheonju to become a greater being by receiving the revelation, so do not doubt them.”

Azadin said so nonchalantly and picked up a third spear shaft.

“Kuh! I, I understand! I understand! Everyone, step back!”

The Cheonju finally realized that Azadin could kill him at any time but was deliberately not doing so, and he withdrew his soldiers.

“Jiswa, you step back too.”

“Yes? Me too?”

“Yes. Go and see if more troops are coming and let me know.”

Azadin sent even Jiswa away, using the excuse of assigning him to surveillance.

“Hmph…. Is it okay now?”

The Cheonju noticed something was strange when Azadin sent even Jiswa away.

“Hah. Good. You’re not completely clueless. Cheonju. It’s good that you understood before you got hurt more. I was wondering where to shoot next besides your ears.”

“Ugh…”

“Ah, shall we talk while looking at each other?”

Azadin went up to the platform where the Cheonju was and looked down. The pretty boy, bleeding from his ears, was lying on the floor, covering his ears with silk to stop the bleeding, and groaning.

“Are you really the Cheonju? Or an agent?”

“I, I am the Cheonju himself. This is because of Grimslaw’s influence…”

“You look younger than your daughter. But you definitely seem to be a member of Grimslaw’s faction.”

Azadin had received Grimslaw’s oracle, but he hadn’t taken the fluid into his body, so he hadn’t become a member. However, being this close, he could faintly feel the power of Grimslaw emanating from the Cheonju.

“First of all, I’m sorry. I kept trying to stop him, but Jiswa really believes in your religion, so he doesn’t listen to me.”

“……”

“As you can see, it’s true that I have Grimslaw’s body in my hands, but I’m a messenger clan [a clan with a special connection to the divine], so I have no interest in your order. What I’m interested in is preventing the messenger clan’s traitors from joining hands with the Empire and invading Butuma like they did during the Korasar incident.”

“What exactly do you want?”

“Save the people of Sogaeji. Provide them with shelter from the rain and food. And for the order to fully cooperate with Butuma’s defense efforts?”

“If we do that, we won’t last long. If a siege begins, the food stored in the order will quickly run out…. The King of Butuma has recognized our religion, but I don’t think he’ll prioritize supporting us even if supplies run out during the war.”

“Well? He recognized the religion because of public opinion, not because he was particularly moved by your teachings, right? But can he just throw away those who have devoted themselves to the defense of Butuma? By then, public opinion will be even more on your side, right?”

“You don’t understand. If there’s a shortage of food, they’ll go berserk.”

“Go berserk?”

Azadin was startled. Of course, the rampage that had occurred in the Barony of Adirof flashed through his mind.

“Yes. Even the Cheonggeon Clan members who have taken the unpolluted elixir will go berserk and eat people if they feel their lives are threatened due to lack of food.”

“…What did you feed them, exactly? Turning people into such monsters.”

“It’s better than suffering from malaria and fever. You… you seem to be from the north, but strangely, you don’t seem to suffer from endemic diseases.”

“Well, I don’t get bitten by mosquitoes, and I can make tea out of all the water.”

“Is that possible….”

“Actually, I did get bitten a bit. But thankfully, I don’t seem to have caught anything yet. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about the food situation. Bel Hoda has promised to provide food.”

“What? From Bel Hoda? Those guys are arrogant sugarcane plantation owners who think the world is theirs?”

“An arrogant guy who thinks the world is his….”

Azadin scoffed at the Cheonju, who had been elevating himself with such pomp and circumstance, saying such words. He could see the speck in someone else’s eye but not the log in his own….

But a leader of a new religion must be this self-absorbed to make it work.

“I’ve persuaded the Bel Hoda plantation owners. So you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You seem quite confident. Do you have any other requests?”

“Yes. The enemies I know will try to weaken the light of the royalization by contacting Butuma’s quartz throne. Before the Nagas begin their full-scale invasion. I want to stop that, so can you introduce me to someone who is well-versed in Butuma’s throne and castle structure?”

“Hah, I happen to know someone like that.”

“Who is it?”

“Manja-Zadek.”

“Manja-Zadek, as in the King of Butuma?”

“Yes.”

“You can introduce me?”

“Yes. But can a messenger clan dare to face the king?”

“Well, we’re all just humans who eat bread and drink tea, so why can’t I meet him? Besides, I’m meeting him with the guarantee of the Cheonggeon Clan, right? It’s even better if I have Manja-Zadek’s permission. It’s better to investigate the inside legally than to sneak in and touch the throne.”

“……”

“It would be good if you could introduce me soon. So, what do I have to do to stabilize your order?”

“What?”

“Anyway, I suddenly appeared and tarnished your prestige. There must be something I have to do to make up for that. I’ll agree to it as long as it’s not too unreasonable.”

“You’re easy to talk to. Are you really not here to usurp my order?”

“I told you, I’m not. Ah, of course, I want to make you pay for killing innocent people in Adirof, but I’m dedicated to saving the lives of the people of Butuma. For now, I need help to prevent the tragedy that’s right in front of us.”

“You’re a strange one. You’re really doing this to prevent the Nagas from invading Butuma?”

“Hey. Did you think that way when you first created the Cheonggeon Clan? Looking at how much Jiswa believes in and likes you, you wouldn’t have had such thoughts at first, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve lost your initial intentions, so you see Jiswa’s actions as a ploy to usurp your power, right? Jiswa is not that kind of person.”

When Azadin insisted that Jiswa’s motives were pure, the Cheonju chuckled.

“Everyone claims to have pure intentions. Even the guy who’s hiding a knife behind his back.”

“But if you can’t distinguish between real and fake intentions, that’s just stupid. You’re just too caught up in power struggles and have become paranoid. First of all, Jiswa isn’t smart enough to jump into a power struggle. He’s too, well, ‘pure’ to be interested in power.”

Jiswa was too stupid to jump into a power struggle. Azadin was putting it in a roundabout way.

“So you’re saying you’re purely here to save Butuma without any interest in power?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no such thing as pure goodwill. Especially not from a messenger clan? I thought the messenger clan were monsters hungry for blood and slaughter.”

“The messenger clan is also having a complicated internal situation right now.”

“Hmm. I understand. I’ll recommend you to Manja-Zadek. But before that, there’s something you need to do. Something necessary to restore my authority. You promised you’d do it, right?”

“Okay. What is it? I’ll agree to it as long as it’s not too unreasonable. It’s good for me if you run the order well.”

“It’s simple if it’s simple, and complicated if it’s complicated. It depends on how you take it.”

“…Why are you making it so complicated?”

When Azadin asked, the Cheonju took a deep breath. Was he also aware that his words could potentially provoke Azadin and turn him into an enemy?

The Cheonju, having made up his mind, opened his mouth.

“You will become my adopted son.”

“……”

Azadin was a very intelligent person, but it took him a moment to understand the Cheonju’s words.

“What? Adopted son? Me? Yours?”