The Shadowed Legacy Of The Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 282

As Kormek had said, this was Azadin’s trap.

After Sedrin joined Azadin’s group, Azadin no longer needed to use the undead for mine operations.

Sedrin would enchant potatoes or sweet potatoes, using them as catalysts to summon root vine spirits, and the spirits would crush the bedrock with their vines.

Compared to the undead, who had to dig with picks and shovels, often breaking their limbs and needing bandages, their work speed was overwhelming.

Moreover, the sweet potatoes and potatoes would grow by absorbing nutrients from the soil.

‘Of course, don’t eat them. They’re poisoned with cinnabar [a toxic mineral],’ Sedrin warned those who eyed the tempting potatoes and sweet potatoes growing on the root vine spirits’ bodies.

Even though they were far more efficient than the undead in every way, the reason Azadin maintained the undead was a plot to weed out traitors.

As soon as Kormek took the bait and began his betrayal, Azadin used the hippogriff [a mythical creature, half-eagle, half-horse] to return first and then cleared out the undead in the mine.

“Kormek, why did you betray me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Azadin! You never trusted me! If you didn’t trust me in the first place, there’s no reason for any betrayal to even exist.”

“So, what exactly didn’t you like about me?”

“I didn’t like everything about you! To someone like you, we probably just look like trash who extort women with threats and money, right?! You see us as trash, don’t you?”

In Kormek’s eyes, Azadin was a man born handsome with overwhelming power, a person who was simply born fortunate.

How enjoyable and affluent must his life have been? Just thinking about it made his stomach twist with resentment.

“……..”

“Why?”

“No, it’s just that I’ve been thinking, women have been treating me well lately.”

Following Camilla’s advice, after taking off his mask, Azadin was personally experiencing a sudden surge in women’s favorability.

Before, women would throw food waste at Azadin or run away in fear, but now they were showing completely different reactions.

“Are you kidding me! Anyway, that’s not my only complaint! I don’t understand what you’re thinking!”

“Don’t understand?”

“Isn’t it basic human nature to beat others when you have power, and to seek money and women? What do you even want to do?!”

“Virtue.”

“Bullshit! That’s clearly just hypocrisy!”

Kormek couldn’t believe that things like goodness, justice, virtue, or conscience actually existed in this world.

His mother was a woman who was too busy filling her own belly even when her child cried from hunger, and his father was a pirate.

Having never experienced human affection, the world to him was a world of beasts.

A hell where nothing was given unless you seized what you wanted with force.

So, in his eyes, Azadin was an incomprehensible, alien monster that he could never understand.

If he didn’t get rid of that guy somehow, it would be dangerous.

That sense of crisis was why he betrayed him.

Of course, it was all within Azadin’s palm.

“You have the brains to understand what hypocrisy is. Then let’s go with that.”

“What?”

“I can never prove my sincerity with words alone. So, you can think of it as hypocrisy. I want to gain fame by being a hypocrite and leave an immortal achievement in this world.”

“What?”

“It’s simple. No matter how delicious a feast is, there will come a time when you’re so full that eating becomes a chore. It’s the same with embracing beautiful women. Those who are forever swayed by carnal desires may not understand, but those who have no difficulty satisfying those desires will inevitably seek values beyond carnal desires.”

“Ugh!”

Kormek was enraged by Azadin’s arrogant remarks that stimulated his inferiority complex.

But that was why he could understand Azadin’s words.

Someone as pathetic as you, who is only concerned with filling his own belly, wouldn’t understand, but when you’re too full, you seek values beyond what you can comprehend.

“Isn’t it a sad thing to live like a beast, only satisfying your carnal desires, and then die and be forgotten without leaving anything behind? Even you can imagine wanting your existence to be worth remembering by others, right?”

“……..”

Kormek felt confused by Azadin’s words.

Why is this guy explaining this to me?

He could execute a traitor immediately, and no one would say anything.

But why is Azadin explaining it to him?

“Are you going to spare me?”

“You contacted Chashan, didn’t you? Lead me to their hideout.”

“But…”

“I can get back faster than Sir Zekt. You know that, don’t you?”

“……..”

That was true. If they used the hippogriff to return quickly, they could raid Chashan’s hideout before Sir Zekt returned and before it was known that his actions of reporting Azadin were in vain.

‘But is that okay? If I eliminate Chashan…’

Even a fool like Kormek knew that his usefulness would disappear.

By defeating Chadra O’Gall and bringing him under his command, Azadin had become a big shot who was absorbing all the talent in the Chadra Plateau.

Compared to such talents, Kormek was just a useless bandit.

Moreover, since he had betrayed him, even if Azadin forgave him, Legion and Kalan would never forgive him.

“Promise you won’t harm me. Then I’ll guide you.”

“It’s not my place to interfere, but no, Azadin.”

Sedrin said, yawning.

“If you forgive even traitors, others will think it’s okay to betray you too. Let’s just kill him and extract information from his corpse. Isn’t that easier?”

“!!!”

After examining Azadin’s necromancy, Sedrin realized that Azadin was a considerable sorcerer.

Extracting information from a corpse wouldn’t be difficult.

It was a terrible necromancy that inflicted pain on the dead soul, but it would be a good example for this traitor.

Kormek, knowing the horror of that necromancy, was trembling in fear.

“You called me a hypocrite, but can you trust my promise?”

“If you break that promise, it will tarnish your hypocrisy.”

“Really? Everyone wants you punished, right? Would punishing you tarnish my reputation?”

“That’s…”

Kormek felt bewildered by Azadin’s words.

It was as he said.

Even if he were in Kormek’s position, if Azadin didn’t punish the traitor and forgave him, he would rather slander Azadin.

Saying that the foolish leader doesn’t care about the organization’s hierarchy and impulsively hands out forgiveness.

Even if he’s a hypocrite, shouldn’t he consider the importance of things!

…But now that he was the target of that punishment, his legs were trembling.

“Say you believe me.”

“What?”

“Say you believe that I will keep my promise. Then I will spare you.”

“Wh, what kind of…”

“You said I was a hypocrite. And if I make a promise with you, I’ll keep it because I don’t want to break that hypocrisy… So, believe that even if it’s hypocrisy, I will keep my promise to the end. Then at least you’ll know one thing about me. That I won’t easily break this hypocrisy.”

“……..”

Kormek couldn’t understand Azadin.

He had ridiculed goodness, favor, justice, and beliefs, so he couldn’t understand people who were moved by them.

He still couldn’t understand Azadin, but at least he could now understand that there was something to believe in Azadin.

“I, I believe you.”

“Then good. I’ll spare you. Lead me to Chashan.”

“……..”

Sedrin sighed from behind.

“Azadin, why make a promise with such trash? How about valuing yourself a little more?”

“Is this such a big deal that I need to value my body?”

“Be angry for yourself. Otherwise, those who love you will be angry for you.”

“Is that you getting angry for me right now?”

Sedrin clicked his tongue.

“Yes, you idiot.”

*********

Chashan wasn’t a fool.

As soon as Kormek’s group reported them, they moved their safe house to another location.

But they couldn’t stop Azadin from invading their hideout.

Azadin’s influence was already absolute in the Chadra Plateau, and within it, Chashan’s whereabouts were too obvious.

But Azadin still deliberately brought Kormek along… He brought him along to make Chashan angry.

“Damn it! That stupid traitor!”

Chashan and his brother, the dwarven sorcerers, were furious when they saw Kormek guiding Azadin’s group from the side.

“Just try to come in! I’ll show you why the dwarven sorcerers’ red magic is so scary!”

“I’ll burn you to a crisp!”

Chashan and the dwarven sorcerers had piled up necessities and supplies in an abandoned old fortress, barricading the entrance and holding out.

Archers were stationed at the escape route, and Selim came in through the main gate, carrying a huge door he had found somewhere.

The dwarven sorcerers attacked Selim with magic as they had warned.

White magic flashed from the door Selim was holding, repelling the dwarven sorcerers’ red magic.

The door, reinforced with wood and iron, didn’t even scorch despite being hit by fire magic.

The material itself was large and thick, and it was also protected by defensive magic, so it wasn’t easy to break with magic.

As Selim opened the way with his shield, the dwarven sorcerers had no choice but to retreat.

“Surrender, Chashan! Our leader has something he wants to ask you!”

“You crazy cow head! You’ve completely fallen for a messenger clan guy who just entered Chadra! You were a fellow Chadra O’Gall, aren’t you ashamed? Not only are your horns broken, but your dick must be broken too?!”

“There’s no reason to be ashamed of entering the hero’s army! I’m proud! His banner is my horn!”

Chashan mocked Selim, but Selim responded with what sounded like a fanatic’s statement.

“You’re completely insane! Damn it! If it’s going to be like this, let’s die together!”

As things didn’t go his way, Chashan was enraged and tried to cast a powerful fire ring spell.

He might die in this narrow fortress, but he couldn’t bear to live with the shame of being defeated twice by the same opponent and becoming a prisoner.

But as they were casting their spells, two eyes appeared on their roof.

The half-vampire Nicelda jumped down in her nun’s habit and ambushed Chashan’s group.

Chashan’s group’s consciousness was cleanly cut off, and they all fell to the ground.

“Th, then should I kill them!”

Kormek was restless.

In fact, Azadin didn’t really need Kormek’s help to find Chashan’s hideout.

In front of Azadin, who had already taken control of Chadra’s talent pool, moving safe houses was just a way to get caught.

But to Chashan, Kormek would be a terrible traitor who couldn’t be left alive.

So, Kormek couldn’t sleep soundly unless he killed Chashan.

But….

“Give up. Since the leader spared you in the first place, do you think he’ll kill them now?”

Legion’s subordinates, even the regular soldiers, were now speaking informally to Kormek.