The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 266

When news of the rebellion at the Southeast Rock Fortress reached him, Lord Braham apologized to Azadin.

“I’m sorry. It’s because I lack popularity. And my body is in this state.”

Having abstained from drugs since his break with Chashan, he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. He took off his armor, wrapped himself in a blanket, and joined Azadin’s expeditionary force.

He showed his willingness to participate in the subjugation, even if it meant being carried on a supply cart.

“I still want to go. The Southeast Rock Fortress was originally my assigned post. The information there, or my nominal position, whatever it may be, will be useful to you.”

Azadin allowed him to come along.

“Of course, Lord Braham. Your company is welcome. Shall we go then?”

Azadin organized a subjugation force consisting of the half-elf squad leader Legion and his 10 squad members, four Fireguards, the half-orc Kuntachi, the female rogue Camilla, and the alchemist Giacomo and blood mage Bernard.

The expeditionary force set out to subjugate the Southeast Rock Fortress, with Chashan bound in black iron chains.

Giacomo, who was supposed to be dead, shaved all his hair and wore a helmet to conceal his identity.

His tongue was still healing, so he had to write, but even during the march, he hung a wooden board around his neck, dipped a quill in water, and tried to communicate by writing with water.

‘So, the ones we have to deal with are the dwarven arrow guys? Those guys kidnapped my daughter. They’re my enemies.’

“Be careful. The Fireguards are watching.”

Azadin was wary of the four Fireguards’ eyes.

His other subordinates might understand if Azadin had saved Giacomo and smuggled him out, but those Fireguards were loyal to the future Chapter Master.

If they found out that Azadin had saved Giacomo, who was on the Order’s wanted list, he would be in serious trouble.

‘It’s okay since I’m not talking. And those idiots probably can’t read well anyway?’

“It’s better to be careful.”

‘Okay.’

Giacomo stayed close to Azadin and wrote small enough for only him to see.

‘Oh, he really talks a lot.’

Azadin sighed as he watched Giacomo constantly trying to communicate with him through writing.

“Why did you kill the Order’s geological survey team?”

‘To be precise, I killed them, but I didn’t kill them.’

“What do you mean?”

‘They were suffering from mutation. The same as the mark on me. I had to kill them before they mutated. Otherwise, monsters would have come out of their bodies and killed me.’

“Then who put the mark on you?”

‘I don’t know exactly. The one who put the mark on me was a priest of the Relief Order.’

“A priest?”

‘Yes. Not a paladin, but a priest. But he was wearing a large hood over his head, so I couldn’t see his face.’

“What did they make you do? What exactly did they want from you?”

‘They told me to hand over the angel’s blood that I secretly stole from the Order. But I had already turned the angel’s blood into that medicine…’

Giacomo quickly wiped the water-written words off the board with a rag.

“Where did you get the angel’s blood?”

‘I stole it from the Alchemy Workshop of the Wisdom Order.’

“It’s in the Alchemy Workshop?”

‘Yes. And in large quantities. It’s usually used for ceramite casting [a type of advanced ceramic material].’

So, Giacomo had stolen angel’s blood while participating in ceramite manufacturing, then joined the geological survey team, was attacked by an unknown priest, marked, and manipulated. That’s how it could be summarized.

“A large amount of angel’s blood… It doesn’t seem like they’re making Celestials [powerful beings of divine origin] with angel’s blood.”

‘I don’t know the recipe for Celestials.’

“Is there anything else? Any secrets you found out while working?”

‘I don’t know for sure, but it seems like angel’s blood is mined in Saint Mallory.’

“Hmm? That’s a city, isn’t it?”

‘I don’t know either. But such a heavily guarded item wasn’t being transported anywhere else, day or night, but only within Saint Mallory, so I think the angel’s blood comes from Saint Mallory.’

“What do you know about Celestials?”

‘There are quite a few of them. But Celestial research wasn’t my job. It’s a secret that only high-ranking officials of the Wisdom Order know. I’m just a slave alchemist from the Banlung Academy, barely considered a student. Unlike the genius Bernard.’

“What kind of person is Bernard?”

“Ahem. Cough, cough…”

When his name was mentioned, Bernard cleared his throat and then started coughing for real.

‘He was a person the dwarves cherished very much. Well, everyone who wasn’t a dwarf at the Banlung Academy was a slave anyway.’

If Giacomo’s words were true, the Banlung Academy seemed like a truly terrible place.

*********

After two days of marching, the group arrived at the Southeast Rock Fortress.

The Southeast Rock Fortress had already prepared for battle, blocking the gates and establishing a solid defense.

The moat reinforced with logs and sandbags outside the walls was ominous.

As if they had noticed Azadin’s group approaching, the dwarven sorcerers who had locked the fortress gates began to deliver their demands through amplification magic.

“Have you come? Messenger Clan!”

“Release Chashan!”

“And give us freedom of trade!”

“Otherwise, you will meet the Relief Order’s supply train as corpses!”

“Burn it.”

“Yes. We’ll burn it… Huh?”

Everyone was surprised.

When the alchemist Giacomo spread his arms wide, the leather bag he was wearing on his waist was revealed as his clothes were lifted.

He took out a glass bottle from it.

“Kuhahahaha.”

Alchemist Fire.

A secret fire bomb used by alchemists.

When Giacomo used blood magic on it, the alchemical solution became a stream of bullets, hitting various parts of the coca field and turning into pillars of fire.

-Whoosh!

In an instant, the flames began to engulf the poppy and coca fields.

Giacomo was out of his mind, perhaps due to the joy of revenge on the dwarves.

“Bu-rn! Burn it all!”

He cackled and cursed, setting fires with his short tongue.

“That- that crazy bastard! I knew it! Hey! Braham! Are you just going to watch this? How much is that worth! How much effort do you think it took to cultivate all that?”

Lord Braham was a drug addict.

After coming to the Chadra Plateau and seeing visions of destruction, he was terrified, succumbed to Chashan’s violence, and escaped into drugs, becoming Chashan’s loyal dog.

From the perspective of such a severe drug addict, seeing the farm burning was like throwing away gold, an intolerable sight.

However, Braham firmly said to Azadin.

“Burn it, Sir Azadin. I will follow your will.”

“Th-that… you idiot. You think you can quit now because you’re in a good mood? After a while, you’ll be begging for drugs like a dog! It’s always been like that!”

Chashan watched in anger as the Alchemist Fire burned down the drug farm. If they put it out quickly, they could reduce the damage, but to do that, his subordinates would have to open the gates and come out.

Some of the drug smuggling organization members were also drug addicts, so seeing the raw material fields burning would be very painful for them.

Indeed…

“The gate is opening!”

The female rogue Camilla warned.

The drug addicts, unable to bear seeing the drug farm burning, had rushed out of the fortress gates.

Among them were the dwarven sorcerers who had led the rebellion. They were wearing ornate dwarven armor and riding wild boars with teeth, Volfswein [a fictional creature similar to a boar], and they charged out proudly.

“Hey! You bastards! What are you doing!”

“Do you know how much this is worth!”

“Go out there and put it all out now!”

The dwarven sorcerers yelled at their human subordinates, ordering them to go out, defeat the enemies, and put out the fire on the farm.

“But, but the deputy leader, the Messenger Clan, is said to be a master archer. If we open the gates and go out, won’t we get hit by arrows?”

“The alchemist is setting fires! That gunpowder or alchemist’s fire is too scary…”

“Don’t worry! Our magic will protect you, so neither arrows nor fire will reach you!”

However, an arrow flew into the helmet of the dwarven sorcerer who said that.

A barrier of power formed around the dwarven sorcerers’ bodies.

But the flying arrow easily tore through the barrier of power and turned into a blue comet, hitting the dwarven sorcerer’s helmet.

“Kuh!”

The helmet was knocked off, and blood splattered.

Surprisingly, the flying arrow had broken through the barrier created by the dwarven sorcerers and had launched a powerful attack that had deformed the helmet.

The dwarven sorcerer plummeted to the ground, and his companions trampled him.

“Kwak!”

“Damn it! Azuresteel [a fictional metal known for its armor-piercing properties]!”

The dwarven sorcerers were flustered when they realized that their opponent had fired an azuresteel arrow.

Weapons made of azuresteel are specialized in destroying armor, so arrows fired with it are deadly.

More azuresteel arrows flew towards the dwarven sorcerers.

The surprised dwarven sorcerers tried to block the arrows by deploying layers of power barriers.

However, two arrows arrived at their targets simultaneously, destroying the power barriers and striking the dwarven sorcerers before new power barriers could form.

The Messenger Clan’s specialty, the Twin Shot.

“Kyak!”

The dwarven sorcerers couldn’t withstand Azadin’s arrows and all fell from their mounts.

“It’s better to use expensive arrows quickly than to save them. Now then, Legion, Kuntachi. Charge!”

After confirming that the enemy commanders had fallen, Azadin made Legion and Kuntachi the charge leaders and ordered the charge.

“Yes, Captain!”

“Ugh!”

When Legion transformed into a werewolf and charged, the morale of the Southeast Rock Fortress soldiers plummeted.

“Ugh! We surrender!”

“We are Lord Braham’s subordinates. We were threatened by the dwarves!”

Lord Braham’s subordinates immediately surrendered, and the other criminals did not dare to attack the werewolf Legion.

In the end, the battle ended in an instant.

Azadin had captured the Southeast Rock Fortress in a single battle.

*********

“Damn it. If you won, why don’t you put out the fire? Isn’t it your property now?”

Chashan was furious as he watched his farm burn.

“I was going to burn it from the start. It’s actually better that you started a rebellion.”

From Azadin’s point of view, he was going to burn the drug farm anyway, so it was actually a good thing.

If he had burned the farm after the smuggling organization had surrendered peacefully, the backlash would have been enormous.

“If you burn this, what are we going to live on now? How much profit can you make by farming other things? The people who farm here can’t escape poverty! Do you have any measures to deal with the decrease in profits?”

Chashan was furious at Azadin for destroying the foundation he had built and poured out various complaints.

“I’m not agreeing with what that dwarf said, but what are you going to do now? Captain?”

Camilla asked Azadin.

“You seem to have some complaints?”

“It’s absurd to tell drug smugglers to live righteously now. And they’re addicts. If they run out of drugs, they’ll go crazy again, and in fact, poppies and hemp grow everywhere. It’s easy for them to become addicts again.”

Camilla asked. Azadin’s answer was concise.

“That’s a problem for the next Chapter Master to think about. I’m just temporary. Now that things are settled here, shall we go conquer the next one?”

“Huh? What? Are you serious?”

Camilla couldn’t understand what Azadin was planning.