The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 339

“I apologize for being late, Lord Azadin.”

As if sensing Azadin’s feelings, or perhaps not, Sir Sork nonchalantly dismounted from his wyvern and landed beside Azadin.

“Griselda’s retreat has caused the cultist mutants to go berserk. I’ve temporarily contained them with the undead. They’ll self-destruct over time, so there’s no need to spill the precious blood of our people. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Sir Sork spoke as if he could read Azadin’s mind. Griselda had indeed caused the cultist mutants to go on a rampage to cover her retreat.

The mutants, now crazed, charged without fear of pain or death, wielding immense power.

However, such rampages always come at a cost. If they didn’t engage them directly and just waited, they would eventually self-destruct.

But that was easier said than done; ordinary soldiers couldn’t stand against the rampaging mutants. Sir Sork, however, was easily managing it with necromancy.

Sir Sork’s wraiths possessed the mutants, whose minds were weakened by the rampage, causing them to fight each other, allowing everyone else to catch their breath.

As time passed, the rampaging mutants began to fizzle out.

Those who overexerted themselves had their bodies decay and collapse, while others, as if waking from a dream, looked around, disoriented.

“Good. The intense fighting seems to be over. How was it? Did I help a little?”

“Ah… yes, it was a great help.”

If he admitted that Sir Sork’s help was significant now, it would be difficult to refuse his requests later. However, it was an undeniable and tremendous contribution.

The cultist mutants were not enemies that ordinary soldiers should be fighting.

They had tentacles capable of breaking both a horse and a knight in one blow, and they spewed cursed words and magic.

If they had to face such monsters, even the most well-trained soldiers would inevitably be injured. It was only because Triodana and the Celestial Knights were at the forefront that the front line was maintained; otherwise, Lord Jerod and his Caracol followers would have been annihilated in an instant.

In this situation, the undead were a great help. They charged at the cultist mutants without fear of death.

How much blood would have been spilled if people had been used to stop them?

The reason Azadin’s military force had been so successful was that the casualties on Azadin’s side had been minimal. If many people died, if the casualties were high, no matter how well Azadin performed, the loyalty of the people would also fade.

“It seems you’re worried I might want the Eye of Ashajit. Don’t worry too much. I plan to leave the Eye of Ashajit with you for a while.”

“…Pardon?”

“After all, when Fimbulvert [a catastrophic event or period of great upheaval] becomes more severe, you’ll hand over the Eye of Ashajit to me yourself.”

“……”

Azadin felt uneasy at Sir Sork’s confident and generous attitude. Just how severe was Fimbulvert that he was so confident about the future?

In any case, Azadin was relieved that he wasn’t being pressured to hand over the Eye of Ashajit immediately.

“More importantly, since Griselda has escaped, we need to come up with a plan for that.”

“First, we need to gather the refugees here and retreat to Sandokar. So, Sir Sork, now…”

“I understand. It wouldn’t be good to be seen with the undead.”

He had broken the enemy’s advance, and it didn’t seem like any more mutants would attack, so he would leave while they returned to Sandokar.

Sir Sork said that and climbed back onto his wyvern.

Sir Sork’s army, unfazed by the cold of the blizzard-swept sky, retreated as mysteriously as they had appeared.

“……”

Azadin watched Sir Sork’s retreating figure in silence.

‘He’s an ally for now, but he’s incredibly burdensome. I might have to deal with him someday. What should I do? That guy doesn’t even suffer in Aurelia’s Dawn [a reference to a time of day or a specific event, possibly related to vampires] like a vampire.’

Azadin was hesitant, but on the surface, he appeared calm, so others couldn’t help but be impressed that Azadin was controlling Sir Sork, the legendary leader of the Fimbul Horde.

*********

“Oh! It’s the commander! Commander Azadin! Are you safe?!”

Selim was waving his hand. On the way back to Sandokar, Azadin had encountered the Second Army, including Selim.

The Second Army, including Selim, Bernard, and the Wild Druids, had been slowed down by the cold rain, wind, and gusts while rushing on hippogriffs and fine horses, and had fallen behind.

“Alright. We’ll camp here. Have the soldiers set up tents and rest, and replace the horses on the wagons with those in better condition.”

Azadin said that and had his own tent prepared. He set up a canopy between two caravan wagons, using the space underneath as his tent, and then called for Bernard.

“…I’ve heard the story. You met Griselda, I believe.”

“Yes. I took the Eye of Ashajit from Griselda.”

“Amazing. I heard Sir Sork helped, didn’t he want it?”

“He said he would leave it with me for a while. He was confident that when Fimbulvert got worse, I would naturally hand it over to him.”

“Huh. He’s quite the character, Sir Sork.”

“More importantly, tell me about Griselda. You must know about her.”

“…She’s a vampire operating in Banlung. Originally, she was a member of the Witch Coven.”

“Witch Coven?”

“They are followers of primal magic who offer twisted mercy to widows and grieving women. Shade Hag is a high-ranking member of the Witch Coven. She was a member of the Witch Coven and a famous adventurer with Sir Sork.”

“She was Sir Sork’s contemporary?”

“That’s right. They say they obtained an artifact called the Eye of Ashajit, along with powerful black magic and blood magic tomes, at the Batma Ruins, which is now the Banlung Academy. With that, Sir Sork became a lich and created the Fimbul Horde, and Griselda became a vampire and then collaborated with dwarf sorcerers to form the Banlung Academy.”

“But I thought the history of the Banlung Academy was much longer than the appearance of Sir Sork and the Fimbul Horde?”

“That’s because the term ‘Banlung Academy’ generally refers to the time when the dwarf sorcerers formed their group. You know how much the dwarves value history and tradition, right? Would they acknowledge the time they started collaborating with a vampire woman as the origin of the academy? They even boast that the dwarf empire existed in Hybris before the Naga Empire, that the ancient dwarf civilization ruled the world, and that this era goes back as far as 40,000 years.”

“So, what is your relationship with her?”

“She was a bloodthirsty monster who would drag attractive men from various places every night to make them her playthings. Shamefully, I was also kidnapped in my youth.”

“……”

“It might sound ridiculous to say I was handsome now with this twisted body. But dealing with vampires is like hard labor that ages you several years in an instant. Most don’t last long and die, but I had to do everything I could to survive.”

Bernard said that and took off his clothes to reveal his upper body.

There were countless scars, traces of healing, and magic circles to ward off curses.

“I survived because Griselda took a liking to me, but the thought of those days is so painful that I can’t bear it. That’s why I forgot that I had a daughter with her, and that my daughter is also a suffering soul. Now, I can’t say anything.”

“I understand completely. I mean, Niselda… is she alright?”

Azadin listened to Bernard’s confession and could understand his pain to some extent.

In name, he was Niselda’s father, so he had to take responsibility for Niselda’s life, but this was essentially violence.

Every time he looked at the child born that way, Bernard’s pain and trauma would resurface, so he had entrusted Niselda to the Mercy Order.

“I don’t know. I still don’t have the courage to talk about it. Anyway, I’m glad you gave that Griselda a blow… Can I see the Eye of Ashajit? I’ve been researching blood magic… maybe it could be helpful.”

“Well, I was going to show it to you anyway.”

Azadin took out the Eye of Ashajit and handed it to Bernard.

When Bernard touched the Eye of Ashajit with his blood magic, the Eye of Ashajit indeed began to bleed.

Bernard focused his mind and began to control the blood.

The blood flowing from the Eye of Ashajit moved according to Bernard’s will, changing into various forms.

“…Amazing. A blood mage would be envious.”

Bernard stopped the blood from flowing from the Eye of Ashajit.

“Perhaps this blood could help with the cure for Elemental Wailing? It would be good to give it to Giacomo.”

It was Bernard’s suspicion that the blood of Ashajit might have been used to create Elemental Wailing [a mysterious disease or curse].

Since Griselda was the one who spread Elemental Wailing, it was easy to assume that the Eye of Ashajit she possessed was somehow related.

“I’ll keep it for now. Griselda will definitely come after me for the Eye of Ashajit.”

“Maybe it would have been better to hand it over to Sir Sork.”

“Maybe. Hmm?”

Azadin sensed footsteps approaching his tent.

It was Lord Triodana who had come to see Azadin.

“Lord Azadin. Our Wisdom Order’s investigation team has confirmed your innocence in the murder of Prince Kalzmatti of Banlung.”

“That’s good to hear. But you’re not thinking of leaving with all these refugees, are you? Lord Triodana. There are still vampires and cultist mutants roaming around the Banlung Kingdom, and they could appear from behind at any time. There’s a limit to what ordinary soldiers can do. We desperately need the assistance of our Celestial Knights.”

Azadin, realizing why Triodana had come, took the initiative.

Triodana clicked his tongue and said,

“I will return to the Wisdom Order and call for reinforcements. Lord Azadin. If you need the help of the Celestial Knights, we could call the Celestial Fire Knights.”

“Hmm?”

Azadin tilted his head at Triodana’s statement.

“If I were the upper echelons of the Knights, I wouldn’t send the Celestial Fire Knights to Sandokar. I would rather abandon Sandokar and retreat to the Knights’ territory. More than anything, don’t you think so too, Lord Triodana?”

The Sandokar Gate is a very important strategic point on the border where Banlung, Arangi, and the Knights’ territory intersect, but it is a fortress on a plain.

Its defense capabilities are inevitably limited, and sending the Celestial Fire Knights here would inevitably result in casualties.

It is easy to replenish ordinary knights, but what would happen if there were vacancies in the Celestial Fire, which is entirely composed of Celestials [beings of divine or supernatural origin]?

Of course, people like Triodana were reserve forces for just such times.

However, Triodana’s affiliation is closer to the Northern Empire and the Asander forces than to the Rescue Knights Order.

Would Asander, a spy, allow Triodana to be consumed in Sandokar? That was Azadin’s question.