The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 198

The Betrayer of the Clan 1

“Karchen, I can handle the assassins coming.”

“You, who were known as a dullard, can face our Aragasas [Emperor’s Messengers], other messengers?”

“I have already won duels against many active messengers. Besides, I have achieved many other merits, so I am now the Second Envoy.”

“Second Envoy?”

Karchen was skeptical of Azadin’s claim of having attained such a high position.

“So, please leave the assassins to me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How can I trust you? If you try to harm Manja-Zadek, we will lose our employer and be completely ruined. It’s enough for me to wander around for the rest of my life, being insulted by everyone as a soulless blasphemer. I don’t want my children to live such a terrible life!”

“……”

Listening to Karchen’s words, Azadin understood why many gave up being messengers and sincerely served the Golden King.

The life of an emperor’s messenger is arduous and humiliating. Even if it is honorable and necessary, who would want to pass on that suffering to their children?

It’s just that the curse of service is forcibly passed down, so they have no choice but to do it.

If they could escape that situation, it was natural to be loyal to Manja-Zadek, who offered such benefits.

‘When I didn’t know the circumstances, I belittled them for betraying the messenger clan and serving such a wreck, but now that I know the inside story, I understand their feelings.’

Considering the parents’ desire to give their children a life free from persecution, it was understandable why Karchen and other messenger clans served the Golden King Manja-Zadek.

Azadin genuinely wanted to help Karchen and her subordinates. So, he humbled himself and began to persuade them with all his heart.

“If I were to kill Manja-Zadek myself and take his throne, how would the other clans see me?”

“They would look up to you, of course.”

“Do you think the top of the Council would want that? I am Azadin of Muan. I’m the guy that the whole clan despised and ignored. Who would want to see such a guy suddenly rise to prominence?”

“You said you’re already the Second Envoy?”

“That’s why it’s more of a problem. It was a decision made unilaterally by my patron, Aldis. Everyone is probably very dissatisfied.”

Karchen was taken aback by Azadin’s words. She had seen people asking to be trusted, but this was the first time someone asked to be trusted because of their bad reputation.

“If you can’t trust me, trust my bad reputation. There are many of my kin who hate me. There’s no way they would allow me to rise to prominence now, is there?”

“That’s a very strange persuasion.”

“And apart from that, please believe that I am skilled. I have defeated several active messengers with my skills. If I stand by your side, you can end the situation with minimal damage.”

Karchen knew that with their own skills, they could never properly stop an assassination attempt by a messenger… Azadin’s words dug into the fear and anxiety that made her want to run away.

“Okay. Golden Seal Bearer. I’ll trust the insight of His Majesty who entrusted you with the Golden Seal. He is definitely not an easy person, so he must have had some reason for accepting you.”

*********

On the roof of the royal palace, where a storm was raging, Royal Guard Captain Karchen gathered the senior members of the guard.

It seemed as if they were all gathering to execute Azadin, but when Karchen decided to trust Azadin, the other guards were also pleased.

“If a young and energetic guy is going to deal with the active messengers, we can breathe a little easier.”

“I was just a servant, not a messenger, so I was losing sleep thinking about the messengers attacking, but this is a relief.”

“But Azadin of Muan is known as a dullard, isn’t he? Can he really handle active messengers?”

There were three Aragasas among the guards. However, they were all quite old, and either their messenger rank was low from the beginning, or they were not even messengers, so they were afraid of the situation where messengers would attack. In that situation, Azadin stepped forward and said he would deal with the active messengers, so they welcomed him with open arms.

“Alright, alright. Our guards include not only Aragasas but also necromancers, blood mages, and other heretical mages that the King’s Church wants to kill. We will mobilize all their human resources to support you. Azadin, you stay in the center of the castle, on the roof of the royal palace, and come to support us when we find an assassin.”

“Are you sure?”

That way, the guards would be scattered everywhere, and Azadin would be in charge of the place closest to Manja-Zadek.

She had asked him to trust her, but she was really trusting him this much.

“Ah, I don’t know. Either way, if it’s a gamble, we have to bet properly. It’s not like a substitute, but you have to defend well. Well, you don’t have any complaints about fighting your own kin, do you? You were being humiliated by your clan, so it would be good to take this opportunity to defeat them and be appointed by Manja-Zadek.”

“Appointed, you say?”

“It’s not bad. How long are you going to cling to the ghost of the dead emperor and wander around doing as you’re told? It’s good to settle down here and live.”

“It’s very hot and humid, and the bugs are poisonous, but you can live without worrying about the King’s Church.”

The Aragasas in the guard, who seemed to like life in Butuma, praised it in unison.

“But if that guy is the Golden Seal Bearer, isn’t he going to rise to prominence? If he settles here, we might become paupers?”

Then Karchen also clicked her tongue, realizing her mistake. In the first place, she had contacted Azadin because she was dissatisfied with him receiving the Golden Seal and becoming the Golden Seal Bearer, the King’s proxy.

But somehow, she was talking about the joy of settling down and living in Butuma.

“Well, let’s think about it after we get through this crisis. It’s too early to start infighting.”

“That’s true.”

“Then, Joan.”

A young mage with a wax raven on his shoulder was startled.

“Yes!”

“Stay by this friend’s side and assist him.”

“Understood.”

“Who is he?”

“Joan. He’s on our team. He’s a blood mage, but he faints when he sees blood.”

“……”

“But he’s useful as a contact. Then!”

Karchen and the guards moved to their respective positions.

*********

Although the storm was raging, the Nagas’ attack was sluggish.

The Nagas’ tactic was to first flood the city and then attack when the city’s defenses were broken due to the flooding.

They were used to fighting in the water, but humans could not move properly when flooded, so this was a very rational and effective strategy.

However, this also meant that they would not attack properly until the storm raged and the flooding progressed.

The problem was that Butuma was a place that often experienced squalls even in normal times, so it always had complete sewer facilities, and this time, it had completely introduced the flooded area, so it was thoroughly prepared for defense.

Coral Sahar was immediately flooded by the storm and lost its mind, but Butuma was not flooded well as the water drained quickly.

Even if the Nagas entered through the waterways, the Butuma army, which had already seen through the waterways, responded with a concentrated attack.

Warriors of the sea serpent tribe, who were several times larger than ordinary humans, jumped out of the waterways, but they were torn apart by war elephants, and the corpses created in this way were immediately turned into corpse soldiers by the necromancers belonging to the Butuma army and sent back to the Nagas.

The Nagas also actively used necromancy, but they had to go up, so they could only suffer one-sided damage.

*********

“…That’s what they say.”

Joan, a blood mage belonging to the Royal Guard, received reports of the war situation through the wax raven on his shoulder and relayed them to Azadin.

Azadin and his group were waiting under the stone statues that decorated the roof of the royal palace, taking shelter from the wind and rain.

“The Butuma army is fighting too well?”

“That’s why they’ve been winning every battle under the Golden King. Amazing, isn’t it, Captain?”

Shati was troubled by the Butuma army’s success, but Scott was happy as if it were his own business.

“I knew they would fight well from the beginning. Their skill in introducing the city and preparing defenses was extraordinary.”

Azadin’s mind was complicated. The fact that the Butuma army was fighting well also meant that the time for the messenger clan to intervene was getting faster.

But was he really prepared to fight his clan? Azadin was not sure of his own resolve.

Circumstantially, Aldis and Kazas were also participating in this terrible massacre.

He wanted to believe that it was impossible given their personalities, but Kazas was once called the Demon King and worked in the Naga Empire, and Azadin could not be sure that he knew everything about him.

And the same was true for Aldis.

“How about taking this opportunity to be appointed by Manja-Zadek and settle down here? Everyone seems to be living happily. How long are you going to wander around? The king also likes you. From what I see, the position you’ve been given is quite high.”

Shati seemed to like the fact that Manja-Zadek had promised them satisfactory compensation and status.

Serving under a wealthy and generous king was certainly a happy and stable life that everyone desired. It was within reach.

However….

“Why? You don’t seem to be in a good mood? You told me to betray my kin, but it seems like you’re heartbroken to betray your own kin?”

“That’s….”

“That’s strange. You were discriminated against by your kin. You wouldn’t have been treated very well, so why is it so heartbreaking to betray such kin?”

Shati sneered at Azadin. At that moment, Joan, the blood mage that the guard had assigned to Azadin, was startled.

“Ah, this is a big problem.”

“What’s the big problem?”

“An assassin has infiltrated the eastern sewer defense point. He is quite skilled and is probably from the messenger clan. They are requesting support.”

“Hmm.”

Whether Azadin was prepared or not, it was time to start fighting his kin.

*********

In the sewer behind the east gate of Butuma Castle, the Nagas, who had infiltrated through the narrow sewer, were being hit hard.

A sewer that only one Naga could barely pass through had accidentally opened, and the Nagas had entered through it, but the soldiers waiting above responded with spears.

It was a clear trap.

However, the Nagas, who were hungry for blood, wanted to somehow squeeze through this small gap and achieve merit.

So, they deployed mummy troops that had been embalmed and strengthened by the necromancy of necromancers. While the mummies blocked the spears and swords with their bodies, the Nagas continued to enter and succeeded in projecting a group of soldiers.

However, when the east gate guards, led by war elephants, were dispatched, the situation was reversed again.

“So, it’s our turn.”

“I didn’t want to deal with those fishy bastards, but it’s good.”

Due to the infighting of the messenger clan, many messengers were replaced. So, the newly appointed messengers were hungry for merit.

Haldun, a descendant of Aman, one of the five great bloodlines of the Aragasas, joked.

“So, what do you think, Midiam Etar? The Etar bloodline isn’t planning to eat up all of Butuma, are they?”