The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 290

‘Helping isn’t difficult, but should I test their skills?’ Azadin nocked an arrow, his gaze fixed on the unfolding chaos. Aramis, despite being surrounded, pressed forward, cutting down any Bree [a race of monstrous humanoids] who dared to stand in his path. However, his initial breakthrough power was clearly waning. The dense, wooded terrain was hardly ideal for cavalry. Low-hanging branches and uneven ground made reckless charges perilous; a misstep could be fatal. Moreover, the Bree’s leaping ability was extraordinary. They could launch themselves high enough to reach Aramis’s head while he was mounted, displaying a physical prowess far beyond that of ordinary soldiers. They wouldn’t simply crumble under a horse’s hooves. Seizing an opportunity when Aramis’s sword was momentarily stuck after striking a Bree soldier, several Bree leaped into the air, their stag horn axes aimed at his head. It was a critical moment, but Aramis merely scoffed. “Hmph!” Pure white wings erupted from Aramis’s back, striking down the airborne Bree. He then began casting spells, targeting the Bree and aiding the villagers. “…Good!” Azadin fired arrows, supporting Aramis while issuing orders to the other knights. “Cavalry! Split into left and right wings, attack the Bree, and rescue the villagers! Infantry! To the center!” “Why should we listen to you…” “Firewinter! Come here!” At Azadin’s call, the hippogriff [a creature with the body of a horse and the head and wings of an eagle] approached with a growl. The horses, startled by the hippogriff, surged forward. Only then did the knights split, forming an attack formation. Azadin advanced, his arrows providing cover for Aramis. The Bree, their formation already disrupted by Aramis’s initial charge, were easily swept aside. While the Bree possessed superior physical abilities, their weapons were crude—stag horns, obsidian, or farming tools looted from villagers—no match for the soldiers’ proper arms. Their weapons shattered against metal, and the soldiers’ armor deflected most attacks. Moreover, Aramis’s soldiers were well-trained, further widening the gap. They knew how to exploit their strengths and target the enemy’s weaknesses. The Bree, unable to withstand the onslaught, began to retreat. “Don’t let those cursed things escape!” Aramis pursued, striking down the fleeing Bree. However, the Bree were faster than humans, making pursuit without cavalry impossible. Aramis was forced to halt his horse at the edge of the thicket after a short chase. ********* “Oh, my goodness!” “It’s an angel!” “The angel saved us!” The rescued villagers cheered fervently for Aramis. “Do not fear!” Aramis responded, raising his sword high and displaying his wings. The burning ceramite longsword [a type of extremely durable ceramic] and the translucent white wings, shimmering like shards of glass in the firelight, created a scene straight out of an old tale, captivating the villagers. Some even prostrated themselves, kneeling and praying in worship. It was understandable; a being with angel wings, a descendant of an angelic lineage, had appeared like a figure from legend to save them and drive away evil. ‘Indeed, this is the power of the Celestial Fire Knights,’ Azadin thought, clicking his tongue as he observed the excited crowd. Unlike the villagers, Azadin calmly assessed Aramis’s abilities. His command was, to put it mildly, lacking. While it was acceptable for a commander to charge into the enemy lines—given their limited numbers, it was impractical for their strongest knight to simply hold the flag—shouldn’t he have designated someone to take command in his absence? Since no one had been appointed, Azadin had been forced to assume command, which, of course, led to the knights’ rebellion, as Azadin hadn’t received formal orders from Aramis. In the end, Azadin had to use the hippogriff to force them into action. If he hadn’t been so diligently watching Aramis’s back, the ‘celestial’ knight would have been in serious trouble. ‘Well, he’s doing his job well enough just by having the skills, the will to save people, and the appearance of someone from an old tale. It would be too much to expect him to show seasoned command skills, wouldn’t it?’ As Azadin pondered this, Sir Sutton, a local knight, approached the refugees. “Sir Aramis!” “Yes, Sir Sutton. What is it?” “The Bree are attacking and looting the village’s food storage. It seems their goal is to steal food!” With Pimbulbert under suspicion, the Relief Knights were demanding food contributions from various regions. The Bree were exploiting this chaos to engage in organized food looting. Even for monsters, Pimbulbert would be harsh, so they were trying to secure as much food as possible beforehand. However, this was an unacceptable and fatal threat to the humans. ‘They are moving with a rather long-term strategy. That’s how I should see it.’ Azadin evaluated the Bree’s actions, while Aramis responded without hesitation. “Alright. Let’s go rescue them right away! We’ll recapture the village and drive out the Bree!” The villagers erupted in excitement at Aramis’s declaration. Aramis turned his horse and approached Azadin. “Sir Azadin, will you join me?” “I don’t have any other plans, so I’ll join you. I’m also concerned about those Bree things.” Azadin decided to join, intending to further observe Aramis’s character. ********* “But I thought he would charge from the sky with the hippogriff.” “Yeah. What’s he doing, just pushing us forward?” “Maybe he’s trying to use us up?” The other knights were dissatisfied with Azadin. Even when Azadin explained that the hippogriff couldn’t fly around so easily, they remained suspicious. ‘These guys? If I hadn’t pushed them, they would have been standing idly by, watching from behind… I’ve also killed the most enemies. You guys.’ Azadin sighed, listening to their complaints. Azadin had the knights charge while he shot arrows from behind, maintaining an advantage in the offensive where it was needed. However, this was a feat that could only be seen with a wide view from the rear. Most of the knights only remembered what they had fought and thought that Azadin was just playing around in the back. “Alright. I’ll charge first this time. It’s a bit different from what you think because of the hippogriff’s flight characteristics.” “Sir Azadin will charge first? Alright. I’ll yield the vanguard to you this time.” Aramis ignored the other knights’ slander of Azadin and replied with a bright smile. He seemed intoxicated by the glory of the battle and his recent achievements. “Okay. After I make the first pass, you guys charge in on the second pass. Got it?” “Understood.” “Then.” Azadin mounted the hippogriff and headed towards the village. Before that, he tried to use Ara’el’s voice [a form of telepathic communication] to check the situation in the village, but the magic permeating the forest interfered with it. ‘Ara’el’s voice isn’t working properly, probably because of the Bree’s magic. Their weapons are barbaric, but the looting itself is very systematic? The forces behind these guys must be even larger. We could be in big trouble if we’re not careful.’ Azadin raised the hippogriff’s altitude to observe the village with his own eyes. The fire in the village had been extinguished, and only faint white smoke rose. The Bree seemed to have diligently put out the fire and started looting. ‘Their discipline is quite good. Alright, then…’ Azadin approached the rear of the village, the retreat route, and began gliding from there. As the altitude decreased, the speed increased. The looting Bree spotted Azadin. “Kieek!?” “Krr!” They communicated in unintelligible screeches. Before they could react, Azadin charged from the rear, kicking the Bree with the hippogriff’s hind legs, and ascended again. Simultaneously, Azadin shot arrows from the hippogriff, taking down the Bree. Thanks to the arrows he had received from Aramis’s soldiers, he was able to fill his quivers with ordinary steel arrows, and he showered them without holding back. ‘Good! The first assault is fine…’ Azadin tried to gain altitude for the second assault. But then, a pure white spider web shot out from below, enveloping Azadin and the hippogriff. “Ugh?!” The spider web came from an unexpected high place. It wasn’t cast by a caster on the ground but fired from the top of a tree at the village entrance. Startled, Azadin quickly drew his ceramite longsword and cut the web, but the hippogriff was losing its balance. “Damn it! Firewinter!” Azadin jumped off the hippogriff and swung his ceramite longsword, cutting all the spider webs. Fortunately, the ceramite longsword had the property of burning on its own, melting the spider webs on contact. The hippogriff, barely freed from the web, flew into the sky, avoiding a crash. However, Azadin was now on the ground. The Bree charged, their horns pointed forward. “What?” Azadin held up his ceramite longsword, blocking the space between the incoming horns, and twisted it. The neck of the charging Bree soldier twisted, and his feet lifted off the ground. Azadin threw the Bree soldier away and kicked him as he fell. Another Bree soldier stabbed at Azadin with a spear made from a kitchen knife tied to a stick, but Azadin knocked away the crude spear with his forearm and stabbed the Bree’s lower abdomen with his ceramite longsword. -Thud! Thud! Slash! The Bree soldiers who had charged in with great momentum were taken down one by one by Azadin’s attacks. The Bree realized that Azadin was not an easy opponent and could not recklessly charge at him. They had intended to finish off a fallen knight, but instead, the opponent was taking down their comrades with single strikes. ‘Ah, damn it. What are the knights doing?’ Even though Azadin had fallen into the enemy lines, there was no sign of Aramis’s side. ‘I did tell them to come in after my second assault, but shouldn’t they be coming in by now?’ As Azadin thought this, a large rock suddenly flew towards his head. It weighed at least 20 stones [approximately 127 kilograms], a weight that a normal human could not throw. A boulder that should have been launched by a catapult was flying towards Azadin at a fierce speed.