The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 292

The scouts who had been sent to monitor the enemy’s movements returned one after another, bearing grim reports.

“There’s a force of at least four hundred pillaging the northern lumber mill,” one reported, his voice tight with concern.

“To the west, about four hundred Bree soldiers are attacking the livestock farm, slaughtering people and devouring the pigs,” another added, his face pale.

“And it looks like there are around three hundred, maybe even four hundred, in the northwest as well,” a third scout stated, his tone grim.

It was clear that the enemy had divided their forces into three similarly sized groups, each intent on pillaging the villages. The soldiers’ faces grew darker with each report.

The sheer number—twelve hundred—was overwhelming. This was a force capable of destroying a small earldom. But even more concerning was their coordinated movement.

Even those with little military knowledge could see that the Bree were not just a disorganized band of barbarians seeking plunder. They were an organized army, moving under the command and direction of someone with strategic acumen.

Furthermore, the forces they had encountered might not be the entirety of the Bree army. There was a distinct possibility of follow-up units or reserve forces waiting in the wings.

“Sir Azadin,” Aramis called out, his voice carrying a note of urgency.

“The hippogriff can fly, correct?”

“Of course,” Azadin replied, his brow furrowed with worry.

“Then, could you possibly request support from the Fireglyphs?” Aramis asked, his eyes fixed on Azadin.

“I can request it, but the road to the Fireglyphs is blocked by enemy forces. Reinforcements won’t be able to get through,” Azadin explained, his voice laced with frustration.

“It’s the opposite,” Aramis countered, a spark of excitement in his eyes. “If forces come from the Fireglyphs, we’ll be the ones surrounding them from the front and back. Isn’t this a golden opportunity to encircle and annihilate the enemy?”

“…What?” Azadin exclaimed, momentarily stunned.

For a moment, Azadin almost cursed out loud. Gathering all the forces from the Fireglyphs would amount to about a thousand people. However, the Bree outnumbered them, and the dense forest would make it difficult to utilize the humans’ advantages. Aramis was suggesting a hammer and anvil tactic [a military maneuver where a force is trapped between two attacking forces], surrounding the enemy from the front and back. But even with the Fireglyphs’ forces, what kind of hammer or anvil could Aramis’s small group become?

“That’s impossible!” Azadin exclaimed, his voice rising in protest.

“Whether it’s an encirclement and annihilation or a hammer and anvil, we need at least an equal number to maintain the front lines,” one of the veterans added, his face etched with concern.

The squires and other veterans also voiced their opposition, surprised by Aramis’s suggestion.

“Is that so?” Aramis asked, his tone genuinely curious. “Even though we are the righteous and they are the evil, it’s not possible?”

“That’s…” one of the veterans stammered, unsure how to respond.

“Hmm,” Aramis hummed, his brow furrowed in thought.

Everyone looked troubled. In a rigid place like the King’s Church, this statement could be interpreted as follows: ‘Are you saying we’re going to lose? Do you want to be punished under military law? Whether we win or lose is not for you to think about. If your superior tells you to charge, you must charge even against a million-strong army.’ It was a dogmatic statement that rejected the subordinates’ personal judgment. However, Aramis was genuinely asking that question.

“Are you serious?” Azadin asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“…I seem to have made a mistake. It seems I haven’t been awake for long,” Aramis replied, his tone slightly embarrassed.

“You haven’t been awake for long?” Azadin repeated, his confusion growing.

“…Ah, I told myself not to say that,” Aramis muttered, tilting his head, looking even more embarrassed.

‘He’s like a child,’ Azadin thought, a hint of exasperation creeping into his mind. ‘Come to think of it, Ismilla also didn’t know much about the world. Of course, Ismilla wasn’t this bad… Could it be that all Celestials are like this?’ He could understand a little why the Order of Knights kept the existence of Celestials veiled and secret.

“Sir Aramis, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” Azadin asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Why do you ask? That’s not important right now, is it?” Aramis replied, his tone slightly defensive.

“Is it a secret that shouldn’t be answered?” Azadin pressed, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“It’s not that, but… it’s troublesome,” Aramis admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly. “It feels like you’re doubting my wisdom because of my young age.”

“No, it’s the opposite,” Azadin countered, his voice firm. “It’s not that we doubt your wisdom because of your young age, but we’re asking your age because your words and actions make us doubt your wisdom, isn’t it?”

The surrounding knights and squires were speechless. Azadin had voiced what they were all too afraid to say out loud.

“What is that, are you insulting me?” Aramis asked, his voice rising in indignation.

“If it felt like an insult, please forgive me,” Azadin replied, his tone conciliatory. “I was trying to gather as much wisdom as possible to save as many people as possible, and it seems I was rude. But, are there any other Celestial Fire forces nearby? I don’t think you came alone?”

Azadin quickly changed the subject to prevent Aramis’s emotions from escalating.

“The Commander is in Shackleton to the south,” Aramis replied, his tone calmer now.

“Commander?” Azadin asked, his eyes widening slightly.

“I’m talking about Sir Karna, the Commander of the Celestial Fire,” Aramis clarified.

“Sir Karna. He’s here?” Azadin’s eyes lit up at those words. This journey had started to investigate the Commander of the Celestial Fire, Karna, in the first place. And he was this close.

‘No, if possible, I wanted to see Saint Mallory too, but if I meet him here… Still, now is not the time to prioritize my personal desires,’ Azadin thought, pushing aside his personal desires.

“Let’s request support from Sir Karna,” Azadin said, his voice filled with determination. “We’ll request reinforcements from the Fireglyphs after joining up with Sir Karna.”

Aramis seemed reluctant, but the other knights and soldiers welcomed Azadin’s suggestion with relief.

“Okay, then shall we go right away?” Azadin asked, eager to move immediately.

However, everyone opposed Azadin’s suggestion.

“What? Now?” Azadin asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Everyone is exhausted from the continuous battles,” one of the knights explained, his face drawn with fatigue.

“I know they’re exhausted, but the Bree know we’re here,” Azadin countered, his voice urgent.

“There were no enemy scouts?” another knight asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

“It wasn’t a scout, but a Bree sorcerer was possessing the dryad who died a little while ago,” Azadin explained, his voice grim. “It’s dangerous if we don’t move right away.”

Azadin insisted that they should move immediately, but everyone was skeptical of his words.

“Are you saying we should abandon the villagers?” one of the knights asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“That’s right. The villagers are also exhausted…” Azadin replied, his tone firm.

“We’ll use the warhorses to pull the carts. Then we can escape with the villagers too,” Azadin suggested, his eyes scanning the faces of the knights.

The knights were shocked by Azadin’s suggestion.

“What? Are knights dismounting for the sake of lowly people?” one of the knights exclaimed, his voice filled with disdain.

“We are already fulfilling the sacred duty given by the Archangel of the Trinity just by rescuing them,” Azadin countered, his voice laced with frustration.

“Sir Azadin. It seems you lack experience as a knight… It seems you haven’t had enough time to properly learn the mindset and behavior of a knight,” one of the knights said, his tone condescending.

“I know you’re talented as a messenger, but… your knightly qualities are zero,” another knight added, his voice laced with mockery.

The knights, who had been on the same side when they were suggesting to flee against Aramis, now opposed Azadin’s suggestion with equal fervor.

“If we rest a bit, we can easily deal with those barbaric Bree,” one of the knights said, his voice filled with arrogance. “We can’t move like farmers, making our precious warhorses pull baggage.”

“No, damn it. You’re not even paladins of the King’s Church, what are you…” Azadin stopped talking, realizing his mistake.

In the world, the paladins of the King’s Church were considered more powerful than the Rescue Knights, and Azadin had inadvertently revealed that public opinion within the Rescue Knights. However, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated when he heard such pathetic words in front of him.

Azadin could clearly see why the knights were opposing him. It wasn’t just that they despised the farmers, but the real reason was that they were thinking about their own safety. If the knights were on horseback, they could run away at any time, but if they dismounted, they would have to share their fate with all the refugees and troops. It didn’t seem like the Bree would capture knights or nobles to get ransom, so the knights rejected Azadin’s request for their own survival.

‘Damn it. This is also annoying,’ Azadin thought, his frustration growing. ‘If they were the enemy, I would just crush them and take command.’ In the Chadra Highlands, Azadin had crushed the forces that opposed or undermined him and seized command. However, Aramis was not someone he could do that to. Even though he had some shortcomings, Aramis was quite favorable to Azadin, a messenger. It was self-defense to depose and seize power from someone hostile to him, but it was an unforgivable evil to bring down even someone who was favorable to him.

In the end, Azadin had no choice but to compromise. He gathered the village’s carts with the help of the cooperative vigilantes and prepared for evacuation by loading food and other supplies.

*********

Although the members of the Rescue Knights opposed Azadin’s suggestion, they were also afraid of a night raid. Their rejection of Azadin’s suggestion was a decision made under a rational judgment that prioritized their own interests, and they were by no means underestimating the threat of the Bree.

“Hey, keep a good watch,” the knights ordered the squires, their voices laced with anxiety.

“Soldiers, take turns keeping watch,” the squires ordered the soldiers, their faces grim.

And the soldiers pushed it onto each other based on their positions and seniority. In the end, the vigilantes and the least experienced soldiers were left to keep watch.

After midnight, as dawn approached, dark clouds began to gather in the sky. It started to drizzle after midnight. And taking advantage of the drizzle that erased their presence, the Bree scouts infiltrated the village and tripped the alarm line.

-Clunk!

It was the alarm line that Azadin had laid out throughout the village, pushing the soldiers and villagers who were so exhausted that they looked like they would collapse at any moment. “Judging by the Bree, it will be difficult for them to move low due to their body structure, so lay the alarm line at this height!” Azadin had instructed. The Bree’s legs ensured excellent jumping ability and fast movement speed, but they were not as free to change direction. The horns on their heads made it difficult to crawl or crouch. Not stopping there, he had instructed them to reinforce the ropes by connecting metal pots, pans, and pieces of pottery that made good sounds, and it had worked. The sound of the rain made the sound of the utensils barely audible, but they noticed that something had caught on the alarm line they had set up.

“Enemy attack!” someone shouted, their voice filled with panic. At the shout, the Bree’s javelin attack began.

*********

Azadin also woke up from a doze, his body stiff and aching.

“Damn it. Bastards,” he muttered, his voice laced with frustration. It was unclear whether it was a curse against the Bree who had attacked at this time, or a curse against the knights who had stubbornly ignored Azadin’s claims to move.

“My body feels heavy,” he thought, his mind foggy with sleep. Usually, he would sleep soundly with Arael’s voice as a boundary, but this time, Arael’s voice was not working properly, so he had slept lightly, and it didn’t feel like he had slept at all. However, he had to move.

When Azadin came out of the building, he saw Bree soldiers rushing in from the forest path and across the river. At least eight hundred, that is, two mixed units, were rushing in.

“We’re screwed,” he muttered, his voice grim. He didn’t want to say anything that would lower morale if he could help it, but the situation was dire. Even if Azadin himself could escape alive, the villagers and soldiers would not be able to avoid annihilation. If this happened, the knights would be useless even if they escaped on horseback. The center of the village was paved with stones so that the horses’ hooves wouldn’t sink even in the rain, but the forest would be muddy, making it impossible to escape on horseback. Of course, the Bree’s feet were also hooves, so their mobility would also be reduced, but if they both lost mobility, the side with fewer numbers would always be at a disadvantage.

Azadin was now at a crossroads of belief. Would he fight to the end to save the people? Or would he run away to save himself?