The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 361

Among the Celestials, some recognized the Wendigo’s kin.

“Hey, aren’t those Nether’s kin? Those things?”

“The ones that attacked Saint Mallory Port…”

Although the Celestial Fire wasn’t stationed at Saint Mallory at the time, they had been analyzing the Wendigo’s corpses, so they knew these were the Nether’s kin that had attacked Saint Mallory. [Nether’s kin are creatures from the Nether realm, often associated with chaos and destruction.]

Why did they suddenly appear here?

The answer was in Triodana’s tent, which was emitting a sinister magical power.

However, despite this terrible situation, the Wendigo’s kin were being used as cannon fodder, and the situation began to improve.

The Banlung fortress cannons had to fire continuously to deal with the Wendigo’s kin, and as a result, vulnerabilities in their defenses began to appear.

“Commander Karna! What is going on here?”

“Lord Triodana is suppressing a rampaging Nether artifact!”

“What? But…”

“Enough! Right now, taking down those fortress cannons is the priority! Celestial Fire! Assemble!”

Karna, the commander of the Celestial Fire, ordered the hippogriff riders to mount up. [Hippogriffs are mythical creatures, part eagle and part horse, often used as mounts.]

Using the hippogriffs, a small elite force would be deployed into the sky above the Heart of the Mountain Fortress.

Vampires, dwarf sorcerers, and blunderbuss soldiers tried to stop them, but the Wendigo’s kin focused their attacks on those fortress watchtowers.

“Now!”

The hippogriff riders swooped down and landed on the fortress cannon watchtowers.

They fought off the gunners loading the cannons and engaged in fierce battles with the vampires, dwarf sorcerers, and dwarf guards.

It was a chaotic situation, but the power of the Celestial knights was not to be underestimated, and the fortress cannon watchtowers were subdued.

As some of the fortress cannons fell silent, the ironclad defenses of the Heart of the Mountain Fortress began to weaken.

*********

“…Is this a battle of the Relief Knights, or a battle of demons?”

Edir, a follower of the King’s Church who already viewed the Relief Knights with suspicion, was dumbfounded by the horrific tragedy unfolding before his eyes.

It wasn’t a battle between people, but a battle between monsters.

With gunpowder and cannons firing, the horror was reminiscent of the depths of hell.

“Alright. Shall we enter through the secret passage?”

After assessing the situation, Azadin suggested returning the way they came and entering through the secret passage.

“What? Without helping them or finding out what Nether artifact the Relief Knights are using?”

“No, I know what the Nether artifact is.”

The Nether artifact that Triodana was currently using was originally Azadin’s.

“I thought I might have to help if he couldn’t control it, but looking at the current situation, it seems he can. So, let’s take care of our Errantry quest first.”

Azadin said this and strode into the secret passage.

The underground passage of the Banlung Academy was filled with various magical eukaryotes. [Eukaryotes are organisms whose cells have a nucleus and other organelles.]

These monsters, which grew by eating the surrounding magical waste, spewed fire, electricity, and acid, and their bodies were embedded with the corpses of rats, lizards, and other small animals that were being digested.

Azadin used Aurelia Dawn to burn the eukaryotes and moved forward, searching for a path. [Aurelia Dawn is likely a magical weapon or artifact.]

But then…

“So, we meet here!”

A clear female voice was heard.

Surprisingly, Griselda, fully armed with dwarf sharpshooters and her daughters, was blocking one side of the underground passage.

“Amazing. Even with this chaos, you came to block this place?”

Azadin spoke in a tone that was hard to tell if he was genuinely surprised or sarcastic.

Even with the Heart of the Mountain in a precarious situation, she was still aiming for Ashajit’s Eye. [Ashajit’s Eye is likely a powerful artifact.]

“If we recover Ashajit’s Eye, we can solve such problems easily. More importantly, you. Did you really think you could move around with Ashajit’s Eye and avoid my surveillance? You underestimate me too much, don’t you think?”

From the moment they entered Griselda’s territory with Ashajit’s Eye, Griselda knew the exact location of Azadin’s group.

So, she had assembled her elite forces and set out to intercept Azadin.

“Griselda!”

Niselda, upon seeing her mother, Griselda, began to rage.

She, who usually had the appearance of an elegant lady, was now growling like a bloodthirsty beast, ready to charge at Griselda at any moment.

However, Azadin blocked her path.

“Griselda. Is Bishop Akenar here?”

“Of course. She has also started a new life as my daughter! Would you like to meet her here?”

Indeed, among the vampires, one of Griselda’s daughters was wearing new black mourning clothes.

She was wearing a black shroud, with the mask she wore as a cleric of the church still covering her face to hide her beauty.

“Bishop Akenar.”

“Ahaha. Count Azadin. Did you perhaps come looking for me? I’m delighted.”

As Bishop Akenar opened her mouth in delight, blood trickled down her lips.

Her voice, sweet and decadent, called out Azadin’s name, as if she had just been indulging in someone’s blood.

Azadin frowned at her appearance.

“She’s from the Yaegas royal family, yet you managed to turn her into a vampire.”

“Haha. Royal family, what a joke. They’re all mongrels now, just putting on airs! And originally, my power, my blood… Ah, why am I even having this conversation with you?”

Griselda, annoyed, shouted at Azadin.

“Now, hand over Ashajit’s Eye. If you do, I will accept you into my night court, and you will forever share pleasure in the highest position among my collection. Akenar is deeply infatuated with you! How about standing by my side with Akenar?!”

Griselda tempted Azadin with pleasure. But Azadin scoffed and replied.

“When making such a request, shouldn’t you bow your head a little more? Considering the gap between you and me, you should be prostrating yourself on the floor.”

“What?”

“It’s laughable how you’re so confident you can win now, after being so thoroughly defeated before. Such a positive way of thinking. Griselda, if your sins weren’t so grave, we could have been good friends.”

“You insolent fool! Fire!”

As Griselda ordered her subordinates, the dwarves fired their matchlocks and blunderbusses all at once. [Matchlocks and blunderbusses are early firearms.]

Matchlocks and blunderbusses were not very effective in terms of power and accuracy at this distance, but it didn’t matter.

Since it was an underground passage with a ceiling and walls, the accuracy was easily compensated for.

Numerous black gunpowder flames erupted, and acrid smoke filled the underground passage.

“Cough…cough, cough. No, I’m going to suffocate!”

Griselda coughed and fanned herself due to the aftermath of the dwarves’ volley fire.

“Ah… Count Azadin…”

Bishop Akenar, who had been incorporated as one of Griselda’s daughters, was saddened as Azadin’s figure disappeared into the smoke.

“Don’t worry, if he’s not dead, I’ll accept him into our bloodline. With his handsome face and high reputation, he’ll surely be an interesting toy. If not…”

Even if he died, he could be resurrected as a wight using necromancy. His appearance would also be relatively maintained upon resurrection, making him a good toy to use. [Wights are undead creatures, often animated by dark magic.]

Griselda was about to say that, but she could feel that Azadin’s presence had not disappeared at all.

-Mercurial Blood!

And the Mercurial Blood magic was cast. [Mercurial Blood is likely a type of magic involving mercury.]

Red smoke mixed with toxic mercury was released in the underground passage.

The surprised dwarf sharpshooters and sorcerers backed away.

Thick trees continued to grow in front of them, absorbing the surrounding filth as they grew.

These trees had taken the brunt of the matchlock and blunderbuss volley fire and protected Azadin’s group.

“It, it’s a Nether artifact! That thing!”

“What?”

Azadin used Grimslaw’s mace, no, Grimslaw’s artifact, as a shield against the matchlock attacks. And Bernard mixed cinnabar with blood magic to cast the Mercurial Blood spell, sending toxic fog this way. [Grimslaw’s mace is likely a powerful artifact.]

The startled dwarf musketeers tried to reload their matchlocks, but it was a weapon that took too long to reload.

“Insolent!”

The dwarf sorcerers burned away the Mercurial Blood with fire magic.

The toxic smoke burned, turning the underground passage into even more of a chaotic mess.

At that moment, huge shadows broke through the fog and flames and charged towards the dwarf sorcerers and Griselda.

“Blood Golems!”

Bernard had summoned blood golems. [Blood Golems are constructs made of blood, often animated by magic.]

Bernard, who possessed Ashajit’s Eye, continued to create blood golems, which would have caused ordinary mages to faint after creating just one or two.

The golems made of blood picked up junk from the sewer and charged, their bodies wrapped in Mercurial Blood.

“Eek!”

The vampires and dwarves smashed the blood golems with magic and weapons. As they were the elite that Griselda had personally selected, they displayed swordsmanship and magic that were far superior to the other vampires they had encountered so far.

They sliced through the blood golems like tofu and suppressed Bernard’s near-infinite blood magic with their own magic.

In an instant, the blood golems turned into lumps of gore, and Grimslaw’s tree barrier was burned away.

“Hahaha. Is that all you’ve got? Count Azadin! If you surrender now, I’ll make you my special concubine! Or I’m not confident I can leave your handsome face intact!”

Griselda was confident of victory, but…

She suddenly realized that Azadin’s presence had disappeared.

-Thud!

And a sword was plunged into Griselda’s side.

A blade had emerged from within the gore of the shattered blood golem.

“Ah?!”

Azadin revealed himself from the remains of the blood golem.

Griselda doubted her own eyes.

So, Azadin had Bernard create blood golems centered around him, and then, he had buried himself inside the blood golem, approached her, and then, at the moment the vampires destroyed it, he had hidden himself inside the gore?

He did this?

He had only obtained Ashajit’s Eye recently, yet he had already thought of this way to use it?

And he had done it in such a desperate situation?

It was truly the idea of a born assassin.

It was a glimpse into why the Herald Clan was called the Kingslayers.

‘Why did it have to be Aurelia Dawn!’

Griselda immediately pulled her body away, but the blade turned golden and flames erupted.

Aurelia Dawn began to burn Griselda’s side.

“Ugh…”

Griselda couldn’t even scream. Although she quickly pulled her body away, the unquenchable fire burned her body.

Other vampires rushed at Azadin to save Griselda. It was no different from throwing themselves at Aurelia Dawn.

-Sizzle!

-Slash!

The blade of Aurelia Dawn surged, and even a graze from it caused the vampires to scream and fall back in agony.

“Ugh! That damn Aurelia Dawn! Because of that!”

Griselda used her fingernails to cut away the flesh from the area where Aurelia Dawn had pierced her, and only then was she able to barely avoid the holy flames.

No matter how high-ranking a vampire Griselda was, she couldn’t be unscathed after cutting out a chunk of her internal organs.

In the end, she, who had made such a grand entrance, began to flee once again.