The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 293

‘No need to even think about it.’

Azadin stepped forward to save the villagers.

From the start, there was no other choice for him. If he retreated here, he might survive alone, but then everything he had lived for would be in vain.

Azadin first ran forward to rescue the sentries.

The sentries, who were awake alone in the darkness of the night, were the first to be attacked by the Bree and were fighting them off. If he didn’t help them maintain their defensive line, the enemy’s wave would crash in instantly.

“Firewinter!”

Azadin called out, and the hippogriff responded.

The hippogriff kicked off the ground and soared into the air, then swooped down on the enemies, rescuing the sentries.

“Ah! Lord Azadin!?”

“Fall back! Firewinter and I will hold them off for a moment! In the meantime, wake the people and get into formation!”

Azadin declared that he would single-handedly hold off the enemy forces in place of the sentries.

It was an absurd statement! Even the sentries hesitated and looked at Azadin, but…

Azadin had no intention of retracting his statement as he drew his ceramite longsword [a sword made of a fictional, extremely durable material].

His blade blazed, evaporating the falling raindrops.

“Let’s go!”

Azadin charged forward, cutting down the Bree that threatened Firewinter, and then mounted Firewinter.

“Leap!”

The hippogriff flapped its wings and briefly took flight, using its weight to ambush the Bree.

When the impact broke the Bree’s ranks, Azadin jumped from the saddle and, together with the hippogriff, cut down the enemies. When it seemed like the enemies would surround him, he would ride the hippogriff again and escape.

Repeating the cycle of escape and assault, he was making a mess of the enemy lines, truly holding off the enemy’s offensive alone.

However, the rain continued to fall, the darkness was thick, and the enemies kept coming endlessly. And there were still soldiers isolated in various parts of the village, fighting the enemies, whom Azadin had not yet rescued.

*********

“W-What’s going on? Lord Azadin?”

Only after Azadin had assaulted several times did Aramis appear, not even fully armored.

“It’s a Bree attack. Where’s your armor?!”

“I managed to put on the breastplate, at least. How many are there? Huh… a lot?!”

Aramis’s Celestial eyes shone, piercing through the darkness and confirming the number of Bree.

‘You should have done as I said.’

Azadin wanted to scold Aramis and the other knights for ignoring his opinion, but scolding them now wouldn’t change the situation.

If anything, it would only add their resentment to Azadin.

Azadin pointed to the path beyond the watermill.

“Get the people across the bridge and evacuate them over there! After that, I’ll break the dam! The knights will mount up and engage in mounted combat, going back and forth between the watermill and the evacuation route. The soldiers will form a battle line at the bridge by the watermill and fire! The squires will stand by as reserves next to the soldiers, checking the enemies attacking the soldiers from the flanks and assisting the knights! You’re the most senior, right?”

Azadin picked out the most senior squire and put him in charge of the squires.

Both the veteran soldiers and the squires were inwardly impressed by Azadin’s concise and purposeful instructions.

‘He’s living up to his reputation. He didn’t sweep through the Chadra Plateau for nothing.’

‘Lord Aramis fights well, but his command is a mess. It’s a relief to have met him.’

‘The problem is whether the knights will listen…’

The soldiers were worried that the knights might not listen to Azadin because of his background.

However, the knights weren’t completely oblivious, and they all grumbled but mounted their horses.

“Lord Azadin! What about you?”

“There are still sentries isolated while holding off the enemies! I have to go save them! Soldiers! Squires! Bring the sentries who are following behind to the rear of the formation and reorganize! Those who were on sentry duty are exhausted, so put them in reserve to rest for a while!”

Azadin said that and called Firewinter, then together they ambushed the Bree attacking the sentries.

The hippogriff swooped down on the Bree from above, and Azadin cut down the Bree from the side like mowing grass. Even though they attacked alone, one unit was terrified and routed.

It was an incredible display of destructive power.

Thanks to that, the sentries who were in danger survived.

“Go to the watermill and join the squires and soldiers!”

Azadin shouted that to the sentries and then faced the enemies himself.

No matter how skilled one is in martial arts, how could just two people stop the advance of a large army!

The Bree shaman snorted and began casting a spell.

The Bree, who had been fleeing in fear, suddenly turned around as if possessed, foaming at the mouth, and charged at Azadin.

‘I wondered why these guys weren’t afraid.’

Azadin wanted to shoot the shaman in the neck with an arrow, but there were too many enemies, and he couldn’t let go of the ceramite longsword he was currently wielding.

And even Azadin was getting tired.

But then, it happened.

*********

“Charge!”

Suddenly, a shout came from the south of the road.

And the sound of hooves was heard.

About 40 knights were charging.

They all had angel wings spread out and were shining brightly even in the darkness.

It was a sight that would make even those with no faith seek God. The heavenly army had descended to earth at this moment, piercing through the darkness of the night and charging forward.

Everyone froze at the majestic and brilliant sight.

‘It’s actually cold.’

Magic of cold was spreading from the flag held by the leading knight.

The magic of cold froze the road, so that the horses’ hooves wouldn’t sink into the muddy road, and the troops could charge.

With a roar that shook the heavens and the earth, the knights all raised their spears.

They collided with the Bree army with the force of their charge, and the Bree army, which had been facing their backs and sides to attack the watermill, was swept away like a plank fence facing a flood.

The Celestial Fire Knights pierced through the flanks and rear of the Bree army and passed through. It was a scene that could be called a massacre.

“Waaaah!”

“We’re saved!”

The villagers all cheered. It was just a charge by a knight order of about 40 people, but they pierced through the Bree army with a force that shook the heavens and the earth. As a result, the Bree army, whose ranks were disrupted, had been the perpetrators of violence just a moment ago, but now they were the victims of violence.

The soldiers thrust their spears at the shattered Bree army, and the squires charged, swinging their swords. It was like swinging a sword at a patient with a broken leg.

The atmosphere of the battlefield changed as the Bree, who were disoriented by the knights’ charge, were helplessly killed.

‘Impressive.’

Azadin was impressed by the might of the Celestial Fire.

The Celestial Fire continued to break through the enemies, then turned around at the edge of the village and charged at the Bree again.

The Bree tried to stop their charge by putting forward deer bears and Bree giants, but…

When the leading knight raised the flag high and chanted a spell, a pure white beam of light struck the Bree giant.

-Thwack!

The white beam that hit the Bree giant’s knee instantly created a large icicle from the ground to the sky.

The Bree giant’s knee shattered, and icicles made of blood and water protruded like jagged teeth.

The Bree giant collapsed helplessly, and the Celestial Fire charged behind it. They quickly stabbed the deer bear with their spears, then boldly discarded their spears and switched to swords, penetrating the rear ranks.

Once again, the Celestial Fire Knights pierced through the Bree and charged. There were only 40 knights, but they already completely dominated the battle.

The dawn broke, the rain stopped, and the Bree retreated.

The Celestial Fire Knights had finally succeeded in repelling the Bree and saving this village.

*********

“I am Karna Lionheart, the leader of the Celestial Fire and the grandson of the Northern Emperor Cohen Lionheart. First, I commend you all for your valiant fight!”

The one who called himself Karna was a beautiful young man with fiery red hair, so pretty that it was hard to tell if he was a woman or a man. His burning red hair, under the sky where the rain had stopped and the dawn was breaking, had an almost unreal beauty, as if the best court painter was depicting it with true passion.

Not only Karna but also each member of the Celestial Fire had extraordinary beauty, so those who had lived their whole lives rolling around with ordinary farmers wondered if they had died and gone to heaven.

“Lord Aramis! You did well. Honestly, I was worried, but it was a better formation than I expected. You held out well!”

“I am ashamed, Commander. Actually, it wasn’t me who commanded the troops…”

Aramis pointed to Azadin.

“Ah. The hippogriff knight. Excellent. Who are you?”

“Commander, he is Lord Azadin of Vermillion.”

A young female knight introduced Azadin.

Surprisingly, a female knight who was acquainted with Azadin. Izmilla was here.

‘No, why am I surprised? Of course, she would be here. She’s a Celestial, after all.’

Azadin wasn’t surprised at all. However, if anything did stir a slight emotion in him, it was Izmilla’s flushed expression.

She was clearly intoxicated by the exploits of the Celestial Fire Knights. After all, they had plunged into a night raid, defeated the Bree, and achieved victory in the dawning morning, so it was no exaggeration to say that their very existence was a scene from an epic hero story.

The Celestials, who had inherited the blood of angels, had proven their worth.

“I see. So you are Lord Azadin of Chadra. I thought you were no ordinary man.”

Karna said that and smiled.

“Thank you for helping Lord Aramis. You are excellent.”

“You flatter me. I had no choice but to do it to survive.”

Azadin declined the praise and looked at the Celestial Fire Knights.

They had suffered some losses in the recent battle, and there were some wounded. But there were no deaths.

The individual combat power of the Celestials was so strong that some had been injured when their horses were hurt or killed during the charge, but even those were minor injuries.

It was truly a small loss compared to the heroic victory.

‘This is…’

Azadin felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He couldn’t help but acknowledge the skill, power, and even the beauty of the Celestial Fire Knights.

“Thanks to you, we survived, Lord Karna.”

“The honor is mine, Lord Azadin. I am pleased to see you, the hero who overwhelmed the heroes of Chadra. You must be tired from the battle, so let’s rest for now, and we’ll talk after noon.”

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

Azadin bowed to Karna and stepped back.

The child of the Northern Empire, why is he a Celestial? How are Celestials made?

Such questions still remained in Azadin’s heart, but he also felt that it was all pointless.

Evil forces were gradually rising, so what was the point of needlessly suspecting and digging into such people?

From the start, while the other knights ignored and despised Azadin, only the Celestials belonging to the Celestial Fire treated Azadin with favor.

Confusion seized Azadin.

The will to find out the truth and dig into it was dulled, and fatigue enveloped Azadin.

Azadin went into the hut assigned to him and collapsed, falling asleep as if dead.