The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 289

Azadin dismounted from the hippogriff, using his sword to clear a path through the undergrowth and branches. The mountain forest path, used by farmers with their carts, was wide enough for mules and horses, but the hippogriff kept getting scratched and snagged by branches. ‘If it was going to be like this, I should have just ridden a horse. The hippogriff is really inconvenient when walking.’ Besides the hippogriff’s large size, its body structure wasn’t suited for walking. The hippogriff’s hind legs had hooves like a horse, while its front legs had sharp talons like a bird of prey. This was good for short bursts of power, but not for walking on the ground for long periods. Flying was not an option either, as Firewinter was exhausted, and carrying two farmers would be impossible. ‘If I had flown alone, I would have gone much further by now. No, I shouldn’t think like that. If I had acted selfishly, these two would be dead.’ Azadin tried to endure the situation, thinking about the value of the lives he had saved, but he couldn’t help feeling frustrated with his circumstances. ‘Of all times, why did I have to run into those Bree bastards? Huh?’ Azadin was cutting through the undergrowth when he suddenly noticed a group of soldiers approaching from the south. Azadin had been using Ara’el’s voice in the sky as a scout, and it was Ara’el’s voice that had detected the approaching force. There were about five mounted soldiers, ten heavy infantry, and another 20 to 30 regular spearmen and archers under the heavy infantry, making up a mixed combat unit of about a platoon. ‘It’s hard to see through the forest. Should I move Ara’el’s voice closer?’ Azadin cautiously moved Ara’el’s voice closer. However, as Ara’el’s voice descended into the forest, the vision shared with Azadin began to fog up. Whether it was the magic of the forest or the magic of the soldiers, a powerful magic was interfering with Ara’el’s voice. ‘Hmm. They don’t seem to be Bree, but armed humans. What if it’s Lord Zekt? But Lord Zekt wouldn’t carry a banner, would he? Damn it, I want to see the banner clearly, but the vision sharing isn’t working well.’ Azadin hesitated for a moment, then decided to meet them alone. In Firewinter’s current condition, he couldn’t carry everyone. If they were enemies targeting him, Azadin would have to fly away alone to keep the farmers safe. ********* As Azadin emerged from the bushes, the scouts were startled and pointed their spears at him. “Who are you?!” “I am Azadin, a trainee knight of the Relief Knights!” “Relief Knights….” The soldiers sighed in relief when the person who suddenly appeared mentioned the Relief Knights. Azadin was also relieved. The banner of the knight behind the scouts was that of the Relief Knights. However, a nervous voice came from behind the scouts. “If you’re Azadin, aren’t you the messenger clan who infiltrated the Chadra Plateau! Soulless blasphemer! You should be a prisoner of the Chadra Plateau, so why are you here?!” “I don’t remember being a prisoner?” As Azadin said this, the knight behind the scouts approached. The knight’s banner had a flame wing symbol below the three-winged banner, the symbol of the Relief Knights. “Not a prisoner? Didn’t you commit the crime of desertion by leaving the encampment? You….” He said this, then removed his helmet visor and looked at Azadin. He was a handsome young man with curly blonde hair and aristocratic features. He looked down at Azadin with an annoyed gaze, but when he met Azadin’s eyes, he was startled. He had heard that he was a spy from the messenger clan, so he expected a strange and bizarre being, but he was surprised to see a young man with attractive features. “I didn’t desert. I have a pass here! And I came as a brother of the knights, but you treat me like a criminal and harm the brotherhood! State your name!” “Hmm…” The knight’s expression softened at Azadin’s confident attitude. “I am Aramis, a Hospitaller of the Relief Knights and a member of the Celestial Fire Knights. Azadin of Chadra. What brings you here?” “Celestial Fire…?” Azadin was surprised by Aramis’s words that he was a member of the Celestial Fire Knights. ‘Celestial Fire? I wanted to meet them anyway, but I didn’t expect to see them so soon.’ Azadin had originally left the Chadra Plateau to go to Saint Malory to gather information about the Celestial Fire Knights. But he never expected to see the Celestial Fire Knights here. “I was traveling with a formal permit from the Chapter Master when I found monsters attacking villagers in the forest. Here….” Azadin whistled, and the hippogriff and the farmers emerged from the forest. “They are my witnesses.” “Ah… Lord Sutton!?” The farmers, Digan and Duns, who were drawn out by Azadin’s whistle, recognized the old knight on the worn-out mule next to Aramis. “Ah.” “Do you know each other? Lord Sutton?” “Yes. They are my tenant farmers.” Seeing the old knight, Lord Sutton, say that, it seemed he was a knight who had a fiefdom nearby. The farmers testified that the Bree had emerged from the forest and attacked them, and that Azadin had rescued them. “Hmm. I misspoke earlier. Forgive me, Lord Azadin. I made a rash statement.” Aramis apologized to Azadin and didn’t even check the pass that Azadin offered. Even before Azadin offered the pass, his attitude had already softened considerably when he saw Azadin’s face. “Alright. I accept your apology, Lord Aramis. I needed the help of the Celestial Fire anyway.” “So, Lord Azadin, if you don’t mind, how about joining us?” At that moment, the other knights following Aramis were startled. “Ah, Lord Aramis!” “This will be the achievement of the Celestial Fire. Such a thing….” “Why him of all people….” Azadin chuckled as he watched those who openly opposed him in front of him. ‘They can hear me, you bastards. No matter how primitive the weapons of the tribes are, why do they act like they’ve already won?’ They were worried about Azadin stealing their credit. In fact, thanks to his exploits on the Chadra Plateau, Azadin’s reputation was already spreading widely. On the other hand, the Celestial Fire was a newly formed knight order. Of course, if they were made of Celestials, they would become famous in an instant, but ordinary knights considered Azadin’s reputation a threat and were wary of him. “Now is not the time to compete for credit. Shouldn’t we save the people first?” Aramis made a sensible statement here. ‘Oh? This guy? Not bad?’ Azadin, who had been looking at Aramis unfavorably from their first meeting, felt a liking for Aramis after hearing those words. “Lord Azadin. As you can see, we are a mixed unit and lack cavalry. The terrain is also forested. Of course, I don’t doubt the skills of our trained knights, but it would be good to have someone who can swoop down from the sky and harass the enemy.” Since Azadin had a hippogriff, he was asking him to swoop down from the sky and cut off the enemy’s flanks. “Let the cavalry attack first, then I’ll fly in and hit the enemy’s flanks. Unlike horses, hippogriffs don’t have much stamina, so just flying in the air consumes a lot of energy. You can’t handle them with the same sense as you handle horses.” “I see. I don’t know much about hippogriffs either.” Aramis agreed with Azadin’s words. ‘Good. I was curious about the power of the Celestials anyway. Let’s see what other Celestials besides Izmilla are like.’ Azadin joined the unit led by Aramis to see their skills. ********* Azadin dismounted from the hippogriff to conserve its energy and kept pace with the group. Aramis kept asking Azadin questions. ‘How did you get the hippogriff?’ ‘Why did you leave the messenger clan?’ ‘How do the messenger clans train?’ ‘Is it true that the messenger clans capture the Yaegas gods and drink their blood, as rumored?’ And so on, absurd questions followed. Azadin felt tired as he answered such questions perfunctorily. “We should be a little quieter when the scouts are searching. Unless the Bree are blind, they’ll definitely….” “There are so many of us moving anyway. It’s inevitable that there will be noise.” “But if the commander is talking, the soldiers will also relax and chat, and their concentration will decrease.” Azadin said this, but thinking about it, it was a good opportunity. This time, Azadin asked. “Where were you born? You seem to have a noble lineage.” “My parents are knights. I’m not in a position to boast about a family like humans do.” “…Are all Celestials like that? I heard that your commander, Karna, is of Northern lineage?” “What? How do you know about Commander Karna’s affairs?” “I have some acquaintance with Izmilla.” It was a fact he had learned thanks to Prince Kalintz, but Azadin mentioned the name of the Celestial, Izmilla. “…So you know that I am a Celestial. Unfortunately, there are many secrets about the Celestials that must be kept. I ask for your understanding.” Aramis, who had asked Azadin everything, kept silent when asked about himself. Of course, it was because Aramis was a Celestial. ‘I thought he was a naive kid, but he knows how to keep secrets. Hmm?’ At that moment, Azadin heard a commotion in front of him. Indeed, screams were heard from ahead. “H, help me!” “Ugh?!” It was the screams of villagers. The people who had escaped from the village were being chased by Bree soldiers. The Bree had lower bodies like goats or deer, and they quickly caught up to the people by leaping through the bushes. The Bree warriors attacked the villagers with large deer-horn axes and barbaric spears made by tying together kitchen knives they had looted from humans. The villagers also resisted, but the Bree soldiers were much larger and stronger, so they were no match for them. “How dare you!” Aramis handed his banner to his attendant and charged forward on his horse. -Celestial Encouragement! He cast an encouragement spell on his warhorse and drew his sword while on horseback. It was a two-handed longsword made for ground combat, a ceramite longsword [a type of extremely durable ceramic], but Aramis wielded it with one hand and blew off the head of a Bree soldier. “Kuh!?” The Bree soldiers rushed at Aramis, but Aramis didn’t care about being surrounded and continued to charge forward, cutting down enemies as they came. ‘He’s quite good as a cavalryman. The problem is….’ Azadin, who was watching from behind, coldly assessed Aramis. Like Izmilla, Aramis’s basic skills were not bad. He was a fine knight. However, he lacked experience. He was a very good breakthrough as a cavalryman, but if he charged alone now, when there were not many cavalry, he would only be surrounded by the enemy. More than anything, if he, the supreme commander, charged into the enemy lines alone, there would be no adjutant to take command from behind. As expected, the rampaging Aramis was trapped in the middle of the enemy lines, surrounded by the Bree soldiers’ formation.