The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 20

“Are those the mercenaries you were talking about?”

Derrick frowned.

“It seems they’re trying to take over this entire town and loot everyone who passes through. Which means…”

‘They don’t know who stole their bone wands. So, they’re clearly trying to occupy the relay station town and investigate all the travelers passing through.’

“They weren’t that many, yet they easily broke through the gate. Was it a surprise attack? Or… did the Divine King’s blood awaken in the Count’s bastard?”

“It didn’t seem like it.”

“Then they must be Kurt cultists. They must have figured they had a good chance of winning, so they attacked this town. If that’s the case, it’s better to run away now.”

Derrick assessed the situation calmly.

‘As expected of a former herald, even though he was defeated by Ara’el and forced to retire, he had excellent situational awareness.’

“Then I’ll act separately.”

“No. Before that… hand over the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Do you think I’m going to steal your credit?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

“Well, that too, but if you take the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, Derrick, your group will become a target for their tracking magic, right?”

“There’s no problem.”

“No problem, my foot… Are you going to fight? The merchants in the Korasar Merchant Guild are using the Iseon Palace [a place of business or a building]. If such rumors spread, the merchant guild you’ve worked so hard to build will be ruined, won’t it?”

Currently, their caravan includes Derrick, a former herald, two individuals who have fully completed their clan’s training, and others who are more skilled than the average merchant’s guards.

However, the ‘Korasar Merchant Guild’ is just an ordinary merchant guild. There’s no reason to show off their combat abilities in a crowded place.

Furthermore, revealing their connection to the herald clan would be a disadvantage. They can’t afford to lose this guild, which they’ve painstakingly established in the Korasar Kingdom.

“You.”

Derrick was furious at Azadin’s words. Because Azadin’s point was correct.

If they hand over the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, the Korasar Merchant Guild would likely have to fight directly, and in the process, the guild’s true identity could be exposed.

“Well, I’ll play the bait, so don’t worry too much.”

Azadin said that and stepped down among the servants who were taking down the stalls.

“It hasn’t been long since I had my laundry done, but I need new clothes. I’ll take some from the merchandise. Is that okay?”

While Azadin was gathering his equipment, Midiam and Ismail brought over the goats that had just been shod.

“What’s going on? We were resting well.”

“You guys, grab the food from the table inside that tent.”

Azadin pointed to the tent where he had just eaten with Derrick.

“Food in this situation?”

“How many people in the world are starving? You shouldn’t take food lightly. Let’s take it.”

As Azadin said that, two armed men approached the caravans’ wagons.

“Alright, everyone, calm down! We won’t allow anyone to leave the town!”

“If you stay still, nothing will happen, so please calm down.”

Their tone was polite, but they were speaking while holding maces and longswords. There were two of them.

‘Why are they pulling manpower from here?’

Azadin knew the total number of mercenaries led by Tarki.

They had conscripted a few rowdy young men from the town to increase their numbers, but even then, there were only about 20 of them. They should be busy enough taking over the gate and relay station, so it’s strange that they’re pulling troops to subdue the caravans.

Moreover, there are only two of them?

Indeed, other merchants, not the Korasar Merchant Guild, protested.

“Hey! Take care of them.”

“Sure.”

The other merchants’ guards surrounded the mercenaries.

“Did you think that merchants would blindly avoid conflict? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You guys are the mercenaries who attacked the gate, right? It’s okay to kill you anyway!”

The merchants’ guards rushed at the mercenaries.

Five against two.

The outcome seemed obvious, but an upset occurred.

-Thud!

With a dull thud, the bodies of the guards who had charged flew away.

The mercenaries had simply swung their weapons, but the moment the weapons collided, the steel bent, and the recoil sent the guards flying.

“Oh, dear.”

“This power is too much for weapons to handle.”

They threw away their broken maces and swords, took new weapons from the fallen merchant guards, and began attacking the remaining guards.

“W-wait a minute!”

“I surrender!”

“Agh!”

They mercilessly attacked even the guards who surrendered and begged for mercy, killing all five in an instant.

“H-heek?!”

“M-my goodness!”

The merchants, who had stepped forward without much thought, were horrified, and the mercenaries laughed as they stood up.

“Don’t worry. We’re not trying to kill the merchants.”

“Yeah. Just… um.”

“Uh.”

The mercenaries stopped talking and stood there blankly. Their gazes lost focus and wandered emptily in the air. Then, their gazes turned to the fallen corpses.

“What is it?”

“…I’m hungry.”

They dropped to the ground and crawled like four-legged beasts toward the corpses they had just created.

And….

-Crunch!

They began to tear at the corpses.

“Kyaaaaak!”

The screams of the merchant group’s women were heard.

*********

Screams began to erupt throughout the relay station town.

The mercenaries who had spiders implanted in their bodies gained terrifying strength and were able to slaughter other soldiers in an instant, but they all couldn’t overcome the strange hunger that suddenly came upon them and began to devour people.

At first, they rushed at the corpses and simply tore at the soft flesh, but eating like that couldn’t keep up with their appetite.

There were so many chunks of meat, but the human mouth was not suitable for devouring it in a short amount of time.

The moment they thought that, a change occurred in their bodies. First, two more legs with sharp claws appeared. New, long, exoskeletal legs appeared from their backs, making it easier to tear apart the corpses.

Their jaws split vertically, making their mouths open wider, and sharp teeth grew inside, allowing them to chew and swallow meat faster.

And an even greater hunger came upon them.

“Meat….”

“More meat!”

As they turned around, craving meat, their faces were already covered with swarms of countless spiders instead of eyes.

*********

“H-heek….”

The merchants were horrified as they watched humans transform into such a state before their eyes.

The two mercenaries had already turned into gruesome monsters and were engrossed in devouring the corpses they had knocked down.

“Let’s use this for a moment.”

Seeing that, Azadin picked up a javelin displayed in a shop and threw it.

-Thwack!

It pierced the spine of one of the mercenaries who was tearing at a corpse on the ground. The shock that was transmitted to the nervous system would have been enough to kill an ordinary person instantly.

But the mercenary didn’t die.

“What?”

He only showed a dull reaction, as if he felt less pain than if a thorn had pricked his toe.

When the mercenary pulled out the spear stuck in his body, countless small spiders swarmed and filled the hole.

“Who is it?”

The mercenaries, who were preoccupied with the corpses, didn’t see Azadin throwing the javelin. No, even if they had looked, they wouldn’t have seen Azadin.

Because Azadin had immediately turned around behind the wagons and disappeared from sight.

“Hey, that’s a follower of Atra, the spider queen of the Kurt gods.”

Derrick warned as Azadin moved around behind the wagons.

“I know it’s a spider because I can see it. You guys stay put, Derrick. Pretend to be helpless merchants.”

Azadin replied to Derrick’s warning and moved between the wagons, bypassing the mercenaries.

“Their bodies are already like corpses, and their nervous systems are connected by small spiders using magic. Be careful, Azadin. Even though you’re a dropout, you’re still one of the 108 spirits of Aragasa [a reference to a group of powerful individuals].”

‘Your failure will be a disgrace to the clan.’

Derrick was saying that.

“Don’t mention it!”

Azadin picked up a bolt of cloth from a nearby merchant’s wagon, climbed onto the roof of the wagon, jumped down, and spread the cloth in mid-air, covering the two mercenaries. And….

“Hup!”

He stomped on the ground with both feet and delivered a long-range blow over the cloth.

First high, then lower.

-Whump!

With a rapid series of attacks, it sounded like gunpowder exploding.

The mercenaries were disoriented by Azadin’s powerful attacks. Even though they were divided into spiders, Azadin had expanded his attack from a point to a surface using the cloth as a medium, evenly striking all the spiders.

But this wasn’t enough.

-Rip!

New arms, or rather spider legs, that had sprouted from the mercenaries’ backs, pierced through the cloth and lunged at Azadin.

Azadin had no choice but to retreat to avoid the spider legs. But as soon as he did, the mercenaries tore through the cloth and quickly got up.

“This is troublesome.”

It was then that Azadin muttered that.

“Here!”

Midiam quickly grabbed a torch hanging on a wagon and threw it.

At that moment, the mercenaries screamed in pain from the heat of the fire. The small spiders inside their bodies were vulnerable to heat. Small insects would be cooked all over their bodies with just a small amount of heat.

‘I know, but starting a fire isn’t that easy.’

In this caravan camp where the merchant wagons form a wall, starting a fire recklessly could lead to a major disaster.

So, while Azadin was hesitating, Ismail brought several torches, lit them, and started throwing them.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Agh! What is this!”

The mercenaries were horrified and tried to escape the encirclement of torches, but Azadin kicked them back inside.

“Go inside and warm yourselves up.”

The spiders, startled by the heat, tried to escape, abandoning their safe haven and food, the mercenaries’ bodies, but if they came out of the body, it was even more hellish.

On the other hand, if they hid inside the body, they would be burrowing into the mercenaries’ flesh, which was not yet fully transformed, causing them pain and triggering a rejection reaction.

“How was it? We’re useful, right?”

Midiam approached Azadin, shrugging.

“It’s not over yet, so be careful.”

Azadin said that and set fire to the torn cloth. Other merchants also brought things that could be burned and threw them, while others dug the ground with shovels to gather sand to prepare to put out the fire, so the flames didn’t spread to the wagons and merchandise.

In the end, the two mercenaries fell without much resistance, burned by the fire.

“Ugh. What is this?”

The merchants were horrified as they looked at the monstrous creatures that were still burning. It was gruesome to see spider legs sprouting from a human body burning in the fire.

“Come to think of it, who are you guys? Huh?”

When the merchants turned to ask Azadin, he had already disappeared.

“W-what was that?”

“Strange people.”

*********

“How was my help? Was it timely? You don’t have to thank me. I’m just….”

As Midiam followed and boasted, Azadin praised her.

“Well done. You’re indeed a fellow clansman I met in a faraway land.”

“Oh, you’re doing that again. Can’t you just accept me as your retainer now?”