The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 321

Azadin suddenly noticed Prince Kalintz staring at him. This prince, with his lion’s mane hair, had the look of a Northerner, but he was different from the Celestials.

Unlike the androgynous and beautiful young men like Karnana and Trioda, his rugged Northern appearance asserted that he was of a different breed.

‘But still, this guy is a son of the Northern Empire’s Cohen Lionheart, so is it okay to tell him?’

Reincarnating as a Celestial is like a privilege given to the children of the Northern Empire.

If he learns that fact, wouldn’t Prince Kalintz revert to being a loyal son of the Northern Empire?

But conversely, there’s no reason not to tell him. Even if Azadin doesn’t say anything, the Northern Empire’s communication network will eventually reveal the truth.

Azadin told Prince Kalintz the secret of the Celestials that he had discovered.

“Good heavens. Is that true? Then why wasn’t I made a Celestial?”

“Do you want to become a Celestial?”

“To be honest, I do. They’re all handsome and beautiful, and they have angel wings, which is pretty cool, right?”

“Aren’t you a member of the Eight Divine Clans? It doesn’t sound sincere when a noble Yaegas Clan member says that.”

“The Eight Divine Clans are nothing special. We don’t have wings. Outwardly, we’re no different from humans now.”

The King’s Church would have a fit if they heard this, and it was being said by a member of the Yaegas Clan himself. Azadin was suddenly envious. Because he was a prince, it was a joke, but if someone like Azadin, an untouchable under the King’s Church’s order, said that, wouldn’t it sound like jealousy and envy?

“But you have to die to become a Celestial, right?”

“Oh, then I don’t want to. Anyway, you’ve really discovered something huge. Are you okay? Won’t the Order expel you?”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes. They probably won’t be able to expel me. And even if they do, I have a plan.”

Azadin already had a loyal companion named Selim. Selim could take Azadin’s place in the Chadra Highlands, and Azadin could still hold the real power.

In fact, it would be better if the Order expelled Azadin. Azadin was a chosen guide who could prove miracles at any time. Expelling someone chosen by the angels could inflict a huge political blow on the expelling side.

In other words, if someone who opposed Azadin expelled him, Azadin would be grateful.

But it didn’t seem like his opponents would be that foolish.

“Then, you’ve had a long journey, Sir Azadin. Take a rest. Contact me again if anything happens.”

Prince Kalintz gave Azadin a polite send-off. Although he was a son of the Northern Empire, his attitude was so friendly and approachable that Azadin could understand why his subordinates were willing to serve him.

*********

Azadin seized the hangar of the Fire Glyph used by Chashan, one of the Chadra Ogres, and made it his base.

His official territory was the Vermillion Fortress, but now that he had subdued the Chadra Ogres and grown into a warlord, it was too inconvenient to handle his affairs from the Vermillion Fortress.

“Wow, Captain. You did it!”

Scott was amazed at Azadin’s Fire Glyph base.

“You were clearly a wanderer without a home, but now you own a decent mansion in the city.”

“It’s not exactly a decent mansion, but it’s certainly big.”

Zibeck was also amazed at Azadin’s hideout.

A large building with troops who had an unusual level of training saluted Azadin as soon as they saw him.

“You’ve arrived, Captain!”

“We’ve heard the news. The other officers are also hurrying over…”

“Good. Everyone’s working hard. I’d like to receive the reports on what’s been happening.”

Azadin received his subordinates’ salutes and decided to review the reports.

*********

Azadin established Zibeck and Scott in his command structure, and while he was away, he received reports on the businesses within his territory and handled major and minor affairs.

Even while Azadin was away, construction had steadily progressed, and the road leading to Banreung was now sufficiently passable for caravans.

The installation of the giant reduction gear was complete, making it easy to transport large quantities of goods down from high places.

A mountain path that was once difficult for even one person to pass had now been transformed into a road that large merchant groups could use.

Not only that.

The work of organizing the territories of each domain and hunting bandits, monsters, and wild beasts had also gone well, greatly increasing the effective arable land of the territory.

It required a lot of labor to cultivate the land and turn it into fields, but that was also solved with the help of Selim’s livestock and the druid Sedrin. In particular, the help of the druid Sedrin was very effective.

‘What? You need to make a field, but the tree roots are deeply embedded? There are many stones? Hey, walk.’

When Sedrin commanded the trees, the tree roots sprouted legs, stood up, picked up the nearby stones, and moved into the forest and disappeared.

Tree Walking. Sedrin could use this powerful primal green magic used by high-ranking druids without any effort.

Her involvement in Azadin’s reclamation project quickly turned the wasteland into excellent fields.

As a result, the residents actually resented Sedrin.

How much better would it have been if she, who had been slapping people on the back as a druid, had paid attention to the people’s livelihood earlier?

It was good that she was helping now, but… the fact that she was now showing such outstanding abilities also meant that she had ignored the suffering of the people for a long time.

The werewolf Legion and the dwarf warrior Kalan led the soldiers to subjugate the monsters in various places to ensure the safety of the roads, and the number of goblins they defeated reached three digits.

They trained the soldiers while defeating the goblins, and although it was in the style of Celsord, even the novice soldiers looked quite skilled. It was clear that Legion and Kalan had trained the soldiers with all their heart.

Places that were once unusable land due to the appearance of monsters and beasts had become effective arable land.

The wasteland was reclaimed by Sedrin’s Tree Walking, and the stones from there were collected to pave the roads, so the productivity of the entire territory almost doubled.

In addition, Lord Soke, the leader of the Pimbul Horde, also secretly dispatched the undead to help with the road paving, so the road network and drainage system were also improved.

All of this work was organized by the half-vampire Nicelda, who was in charge of the paperwork, and the documents were detailed and easy to read.

“Everyone worked hard while I was away. That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Azadin honestly praised the achievements of his colleagues and subordinates, which exceeded his expectations.

It wouldn’t have been strange if they had slacked off while he was away, but they had shown as much productivity and passion as when Azadin was present.

“Hahaha. We have to work hard before Pimbulbert comes. And, though it’s hard to say it myself, the productivity of the ranch improved when I gave up on making hippogriffs, didn’t it?”

“……”

Azadin didn’t know what kind of expression to make as he watched Selim laugh heartily. After all, what Selim was saying was a confession that his stubbornness and persistence had been eating away at the productivity of his own territory and the ranches near the reservoir, wasn’t it?

The Shadow Druid Sedrin said indifferently.

“It’s against the druid’s law to turn everything into fields, but it’s different if Pimbulbert is approaching. We had no choice but to cooperate. It’s a big mistake to think that we’ll continue to cooperate like this after Pimbulbert.”

Those who were called the Chadra Ogres were now presenting their opinions on an equal footing with Azadin.

On the other hand, Legion and Kalan seemed to want to hear Azadin’s praise as his subordinates.

“We worked hard, Captain. You can even give me a kiss here.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Legion. Anyway, Sir Azadin. We really worked hard. If you’re going to praise us, give us some money to buy beer.”

In fact, these people had been living as they pleased before Azadin came.

Kalan and Legion were essentially villains, no different from robbers, who had been illegally collecting tolls from those passing near the Vermillion Fortress.

However, with the increase in Elemental Wailing patients and the prophecy of Pimbulbert about to be realized, they could no longer remain idle.

“Okay. If you’re going to praise us, give us rewards.”

“It’s not exactly a reward, but I brought gifts.”

Azadin handed out the gifts he had bought in Saint Mallory.

When he took out sugar candies, high-quality silk from the South, and gift-wrapped cigarettes and distributed them to the commanders, they were all amazed.

“Oh, you didn’t have to go to such lengths.”

“Our captain is so kind and thoughtful.”

It was unimaginable for a superior to give gifts to his subordinates, so they were moved by Azadin.

“Well, thank you all for working so hard. Thank you for following my command as a member of the Messenger Clan. It’s not just gifts, I’ll give you bonuses.”

“Haha. Not only gifts but also bonuses? May you live long, Captain.”

Kalan, who had received the gift-wrapped cigarettes, smelled them with his nose without lighting them, and was so happy that he wished Azadin a long life.

But then, a messenger rushed in, flustered.

“C-Captain, it’s a big problem!”

“What’s wrong?!”

“The caravan we sent has been captured by the Dwarven Arrow bastards!”

“What?”

The merchant group sent towards Banreung had apparently been attacked by the Dwarven Mafia.

“That’s not all. Chashan has escaped.”

“Oh, that guy, he’s such a pain.”

Chashan, who had been in custody, had somehow managed to escape with his Dwarven Sorcerer brothers.

Azadin clicked his tongue at the news.

“Well, it’s actually good. I was going to raid the Banreung Academy anyway.”

Azadin’s subordinates, the alchemist Giacomo and the blood mage Bernard, had a bad history with the Banreung Academy.

And the four members of the Messenger Clan, Hwajopungwol, had warned Azadin about the Elemental Wailing, and the place where research on the Elemental Wailing was most active was the Banreung Academy.

*********

The area near the Southeast Rock Fortress had long prospered by using the smuggling route between the Chadra Highlands and the Banreung Kingdom.

Luxury goods needed in the exile were obtained through the Banreung Kingdom, and in return, drugs were produced in the Chadra Highlands and distributed to the world through the Banreung Kingdom, resulting in a huge flow of gold.

In such a place, the idea of switching to a general merchant group instead of drugs was, in fact, Azadin’s stubbornness.

All the general merchants, dwarf merchants, and residents on this route were all in the pocket of the Dwarven criminal organization, the Dwarven Arrow, and they had used bribes and brainwashing magic to help Chashan’s group, who had been imprisoned by Azadin, escape.

They had even captured some of Azadin’s subordinates and were now challenging Azadin to a fight.

He had to retaliate against the fight that was being thrown at him, but there was one problem.

Until now, when he fought Chashan’s gang, he could fight within the Order’s territory.

But now, the fight was taking place outside the Order’s territory, within the territory of the Banreung Kingdom.

A pass, and a solution to the political problems that would arise as a result, were needed.

“Hmm. So, you’re asking for a pass that allows you to pass through the Banreung Kingdom, is that it?”