The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 395

“Tch.”

Azadin leaned back, his body bending almost to the point of falling. He braced a hand on the ground and twisted to evade Astadier’s attack.

The exploding sword sent fragments flying, lacerating Azadin’s body, but fortunately, they missed his vital points.

However, because he hadn’t worn his helmet or mask, mindful of the public’s reaction as he entered the city gate, his face was wounded and covered in blood, a truly disastrous sight.

Yet, even in this situation, the light in Azadin’s eyes did not fade.

“Now it’s my turn, right!?”

Azadin pulled an arrow from his quiver and simply threw it with his hand.

He didn’t have time to nock it on the bowstring, but it flew accurately toward Astadier.

“How dare you!”

Astadier swung the leather strap he used to control the iron chisels, deflecting the arrow like a whip.

The arrow, thrown by hand rather than shot from a bow, fell weakly to the ground.

However….

-Ting! Papak!

Sparks flew from Astadier’s iron mask.

Iron-tipped coins, shaped like arrowheads, had struck Astadier’s iron mask.

Azadin had thrown the iron-tipped coins at the same time as the arrow.

The light, small iron-tipped coins hit Astadier’s iron mask, causing sparks to fly, and some even embedded themselves in it.

If he hadn’t had the iron mask, he would have been in trouble.

“Not bad! That’s it! That’s how Laila’s son should be!”

“Um… what?”

Azadin was momentarily taken aback by Astadier’s strange words.

Why was this guy acting like he knew him?

Taking advantage of the pause, Astadier readjusted his leather strap.

This time, instead of iron chisels appearing all along the strap, six chisels were bundled together at the end.

Astadier swung the leather strap like a giant mace. The six chisels, gathered in one place, increased the weight, making its power terrifying.

The iron chisels, aimed at Azadin, struck a nearby shop’s awning post, shattering the thick wooden pillar like a reed, and even piercing through fences and brick walls.

The power was such that it was unimaginable what would happen if it hit a person made of flesh and blood.

“Kyaaak!”

“R-run away!”

The onlookers were now scattering in panic.

‘Yes, run away. That’s the easy way. But Laila’s son? What’s that about? If it’s Laila, then surely….’

Azadin unfastened the Crescent Moon Bow from his waist.

However, before he could even nock an arrow, Astadier’s attack came flying.

Azadin dove under the cluster of iron chisels, closing the distance.

The chisels, now heavier due to being grouped together, had increased in power when swung, but their speed had decreased.

It was slow enough for Azadin to handle easily, but he predicted that Astadier had a trick up his sleeve.

“Hup!”

Indeed, Astadier stepped on the leather strap mid-swing, reducing the radius of the rotating strap.

The chisels, which had been slow when the strap was long, accelerated explosively as the strap shortened, flying towards Azadin.

‘I knew it.’

Azadin closed the distance further, charging at Astadier. In his hand, he now held an axe blade made of blue steel, Azure Steel.

The Azure Executioner flew towards Astadier’s neck with a fierce momentum.

However….

“Got you!”

One of the iron chisels at the end of the leather strap appeared near the handle that Astadier was holding.

Astadier punched the back of that chisel with his fist.

-Thwack!

With a loud bang, the iron chisel was launched with terrifying force.

A trap within a trap, and on top of that, Astadier’s use of these iron chisel techniques. It wasn’t the typical swordsmanship of a knight, so those unfamiliar with it would be helpless.

‘The problem is, it’s actually easier for me than orthodox swordsmanship.’

Azadin used the Fire, Flower, Wind, Moon, Earth Spider technique to escape. [A martial arts technique focused on agility and evasion.]

The iron chisel, having lost its target, flew straight ahead, aiming for the civilians.

“Damn it!”

Zibeck blocked the attack with his shield, but the shield shattered, and Zibeck’s body was thrown back. Selim jumped in to catch Zibeck, but even Selim was pushed back.

The hippogriff supported Selim from behind, barely managing to stop them.

The iron chisel, having pierced the shield, went through Zibeck’s helmet, almost blinding him.

It was fortunate that they had blocked it from a distance. If they had taken that hit at close range like Azadin, even the mighty Azadin would not have been unscathed.

But now that his desperate technique had missed, it was time for Astadier to pay the price.

Azadin grabbed Astadier’s cloak and the hem of his clothes, spun around, and moved behind him, unleashing the Fire, Flower, Wind, Moon, Azure Pine of Kazas Haze. [A powerful martial arts technique.]

With terrifying force, he slammed Astadier into the ground, then activated the magic, Fire, Flower, Wind, Moon, Azure Pine, sending Astadier flying into the sky.

And in mid-air, he grabbed him once more and slammed him into the ground twice in a row with Kazas Haze’s Azure Pine. Even a Yaegas God-King [A member of a powerful race] with a sturdy body couldn’t help but scream.

“Kuh-ack! S-stop!”

“Stop?!”

“I, I lost.”

Surprisingly, Astadier admitted defeat after being hit by Azadin’s Azure Pine twice.

‘Hmm, that’s unexpected. He could have fought more.’

Azadin, not wanting to kill the former king Astadier, deliberately threw him to land on his back instead of vertically, which would have broken his spine, when he used Azure Pine.

The pain would be immense, but not enough to kill him, so a sturdy Yaegas God-kin would be able to withstand the attack.

But then….

“Indeed. You are my son.”

“……What?”

In that instant, Azadin felt as if he had been hit on the head with a mace.

What was this guy saying now?

“I am your father!”

Astadier declared, sprawled out on the ground.

*********

Astadier’s declaration was clearly heard by everyone present.

The residents nodded their heads in agreement.

Azadin’s actions had been unconventional.

Heroic deeds that the soulless blasphemers and the Messenger Clan could not possibly achieve.

Now, it all began to make sense.

In fact, Azadin was a prince of the Yaegas God-kin!

“Indeed!”

“He was a prince!”

“Ah. Damn it!”

Azadin couldn’t hold back his anger.

Once, Azadin had cursed his own lineage.

The cursed son born from a man’s womb due to the curse of servitude.

It was not easy not to curse that fate.

But having overcome it, it was now Azadin’s pride.

To be saved not by lineage, but by his actions, beliefs, will towards good, and discipline.

Bearing the teachings of the Ascetic School in his heart, he was proclaiming a new teaching on this land, calling himself a Savior Knight.

But that man had instantly thrown Azadin’s teachings into the gutter with his absurd delusion.

Azadin approached Astadier, who was lying on the ground.

“I am not your son. Are you out of your mind? You?”

“Yes. I suppose so. You would want to deny it. But no matter how much you deny it, my blood flows in your veins. Laila’s son. Though I am not in a position to proudly call myself your father, I feel rather relieved to have lost so splendidly!”

“No, I’m saying don’t feel relieved! I’m not! I am Acre’s son! Not yours!”

“Acre? Ah, I see. Laila’s original fiancé. Haha. That man is truly unfortunate. To embrace a woman carrying my child and raise it as his own. In the end, both he and I are bound by love for one woman!”

“……”

Just by Azadin mentioning Acre’s name, a melodramatic love triangle, worthy of being sung by minstrels, was instantly completed in Astadier’s mind.

Acre, unable to give up Laila, who was carrying Astadier’s child, embraced even her child.

He raised Laila and Astadier’s child as his own, and that was Azadin.

At least, that’s how it was in Astadier’s mind.

‘Oh, I’m going crazy.’

Azadin was furious, seeing that Astadier had no intention of listening to him.

*********

“What?”

Zekt’s eyes widened at the news coming from the south.

“Azadin was Lord Astadier’s son? No, that can’t be….”

“Yes. That’s the rumor….”

“Are you out of your mind? Did Lord Azadin say that himself?”

Zekt was Azadin’s enemy, but he secretly acknowledged him.

‘To think he would be such a scoundrel, fabricating his lineage for personal gain… No, it’s strange to expect such integrity from an enemy, but I thought Azadin would be different.’

Fortunately, the adjutant immediately dispelled Zekt’s misunderstanding.

“No, sir. Lord Astadier is claiming it, and Azadin is denying it.”

In the public’s perception, it was seen as a young hero’s rebellion against his suddenly discovered father.

Astadier was a drunkard who went around to every tavern in town, claiming to be a sinner and deserving of death, so the people around him knew his story well.

A fallen former king who had leaked the God-King’s Scriptures after being seduced by the Messenger Clan’s evil beauty.

Despite that, he still loved her, but he would kill her and himself to atone for this great sin. Astadier would say such things whenever he was drunk.

So, Astadier became famous, following the taverns and the minstrels, and when the rumor that Azadin was his son spread, it had already become an accepted fact.

As the saying goes, a rumor can travel a thousand miles, and in reality, messenger birds with vitality magic were diligently spreading this news across the country.

“Ah, ah, this, I knew something like this would happen someday… I should have ended Lord Astadier’s sorrowful life with my own hands. I shouldn’t have let him live, and now this mess is happening!”

Zekt realized that he should have killed Astadier with his own hands, and that letting him live had caused things to go wrong.

‘But Astadier’s combat ability was something I couldn’t ignore. Azadin, that guy defeated Astadier in a single fight?’

When Zekt had faced Azadin before, he had felt that Azadin was a tricky opponent with good tricks, but still a manageable adversary.

However, if he had defeated Astadier without any significant injuries, then things were different. Perhaps Azadin had improved his skills quite a bit?

‘His reputation has been soaring recently, and there must have been some catalyst. Was it because he took the throne of Corasar and collected copies of the God-King’s Scriptures? Or was it the various miracles? If so, I should avoid fighting him one-on-one. Then, can I win if I lead an army and fight him with troops?’

Zekt felt his head getting complicated.

Since Astadier had declared Azadin to be his son and had stuck with him, the possibility of winning by fighting with troops had disappeared.

Of course, Astadier, having only led a few of his aides, was not a threat to the overall situation.

However, the justification that Azadin gained was enormous.

If Azadin was the son of the Yaegas God-King, then his declaration of the New Testament would also gain credibility.

Even if Zekt, as an Inquisitor, tried to condemn and execute him as a heretic, the popularity and status that Azadin enjoyed in the south were not ordinary, making it a great burden.

‘If only Astadier had stayed on our side, it would have been manageable. He foolishly started a fight, lost, and ended up joining the other side, so it’s a lost cause from the start. This is a losing battle from the beginning. Should I try to make peace?’

Zekt coldly realized that this battle had more disadvantages than advantages.

Just then, a messenger from Azadin’s side arrived.