The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 401

As the panicked crossbowmen and musketeers fired in unison, a barrage of gunfire and bolts rained down, killing the undead and the swarms of blood-sucking insects.

“Damn it!”

“The musketeers should focus on Lord Zekt, just like we practiced…”

But before the Bishop of Visen could finish his sentence,

-KABOOM!

With a deafening roar that seemed to shake the walls, a knight in golden armor appeared on top of the ramparts.

Crimson-black tentacles had burst from Lord Zekt’s armor, gripping the wall and pulling his body up.

“Th-this is! So he has fallen to such depraved power after joining hands with heretics…”

“How amusing.”

Zekt chuckled, sending a tentacle towards the bishop.

But then, a crimson-black flame sliced through his tentacle.

A ceramide longsword with a red blade had severed Zekt’s tentacle. [Ceramide is a type of advanced ceramic material known for its strength and heat resistance.]

“…Hmm?”

The woman standing behind the bishop stepped forward, wielding the strange ceramide longsword.

And her power was extraordinary. To cut through a tentacle as thick as a bull’s neck with that flimsy ceramide sword.

“Ah, so this is the Celestial Knight that has been the talk of the town. Which means, behind you are the Rescue Knights. Or rather, the Northern Empire? How interesting. So the one who holds the throne also wants to control the Church.”

Zekt, who envied kings, felt his jealousy boil over as he thought of the Northern Empire and Cohen Lionheart, who sought glory beyond that of an emperor.

Just then, the female Celestial Knight in front of him raised her helmet’s visor.

“It’s been a while, Lord Zekt.”

The face revealed beneath the visor was that of a young beauty. A face he had seen recently.

“Lady Meya?”

Meya, the holy knight of the King’s Church from the County of Salasma in the Kingdom of Corasar, who had joined Zekt’s army to avenge her father, had surprisingly appeared as a Celestial. [Celestial Knights are powerful warriors blessed by the gods.]

Her hair was white with streaks of crimson-black, and it was unclear whether it was blood or her natural hair color, but a strange and ominous aura surrounded her.

Zekt immediately moved his Nether tentacles to surround himself. [Nether refers to a dark, infernal realm.]

The musketeers fired at Zekt, but the tentacles absorbed the bullets with their mass.

Once the barrage of bullets stopped, Zekt’s tentacles smashed the wooden barrels stacked on the ramparts, turning the shards into sharp projectiles that he sent back at the musketeers.

The musketeers screamed as they were pierced by the wooden shards and fell from the ramparts.

“Lady Meya, it’s been a while. How have you been? But to think you’ve become a Celestial…”

Moreover…

The wings she spread were stained with blood.

The sword she held was also ominous. A ceramide longsword was supposed to have a bright, sun-like golden blade, but her sword was stained with a crimson-black aura, as if it had been pulled from a sea of corpses.

“I will avenge my father’s death, you who mocked it, Lord Zekt.”

Lady Meya pointed her sword at Zekt.

It seemed she had not forgotten that Zekt had turned her father, Lord Gazrek, into a wraith knight and dragged him around.

“Hmm. You are truly a young lady who doesn’t understand the greater good. And it’s not good to rely too much on hastily acquired power…”

But then, pillars of fire erupted from Zekt’s army.

Along with the ominous crimson-black flames, Celestials with red wings appeared.

“Ah. This is not good.”

Zekt realized he had fallen into a meticulously prepared trap.

*********

As winter deepened, Naisandokar had completely turned into hell.

The border region, already far from human cities, was a suitable place for monsters to thrive.

In places far from the eyes of humans, darkness, myths, rumors, and curses take on a physical form. Naisandokar, which the Kingdom of Arangi had long abandoned, had become a battleground for monsters with the arrival of Fimbulwinter. [Fimbulwinter is a term from Norse mythology referring to a great winter preceding the end of the world.]

Azadin decided to maintain only the minimum trade routes between Naisandokar, the Chadra Plateau, and Sandokar, and helped with the withdrawal and relocation of the remaining villages.

To safely relocate the slash-and-burn farmers who had hidden in Naisandokar to avoid harsh taxes, and the farmers who had been farming while protecting the dwarven arrow’s drug smuggling routes, Azadin sent the orc shaman Scott, the half-vampire Niselda, and druids who were masters of wild magic to Naisandokar to subdue the monsters and stabilize the roads.

The problem was that this was not only happening in Naisandokar.

In Sandokar, the worship of Mezery, the rat god of the Kurt Pantheon, had recently become rampant, and many people had fallen into becoming wererats. [Kurt Pantheon refers to the collection of gods worshipped by the Kurt people.]

Even though the food supply had not been reduced, people, frightened by the harsh winter, had fallen into heresy, tempted by the idea that they could survive by eating garbage.

Sea ghouls and nagas appearing on the coast of the Banlung Kingdom’s trade routes were also a problem. [Nagas are serpentine creatures from mythology.]

As soon as his territory expanded, all sorts of trials came crashing down. Although Azadin’s army had already absorbed many talented individuals, they were still suffering from a shortage of personnel.

At that time, the King’s Church sent a messenger to personally deliver a letter of excommunication to Azadin.

*********

“Um, first of all, Your Majesty. Please understand that this is not my personal opinion. How could I, ungrateful as I am, be disrespectful to King Azadin of Banlung? However, I also have a mission…”

“I understand, just give it to me.”

Azadin gestured to the Grand Bishop of Banlung, who was cowering before him.

A clergyman of the King’s Church, who had been suitably converted to Azadin’s side but not reported to the King’s Church, had been appointed as the bishop of the Heart of the Mountain diocese in Banlung.

He handed over the letter of excommunication with a reverent expression.

The letter of excommunication not only excommunicated Azadin but also warned that all those who helped or condoned him would be considered heretics and excommunicated.

“I’m sure you’re happy that things have turned out as you wished.”

Zibeck sneered at Azadin.

He was mocking Azadin for worrying that the Church might be weak and compromise with him.

“That’s unexpected. I appreciate that they didn’t compromise, but this is too extreme. I didn’t think the King’s Church had this much resolve.”

“First, I think we need to appease King Arangi. King Carnago IV doesn’t lack political sense, but he’s known for being easily swayed. It would be troublesome if King Arangi turned his back on us and betrayed us. Usually, a king wouldn’t do such a thing out of shame, but King Carnago IV is truly unique in that regard.”

For Carnago IV, such a blatant betrayal was nothing. Zibeck elegantly twisted his words to say something close to a curse.

“What about Lord Zekt? He went to assist Visen, right? Is he alright?”

“That man won’t betray us. No one else will offer him a throne, will they? Lord Zekt is more eager to prove that he can sit on the throne than the throne itself. This type is actually more bound and restricted.”

“You seem to know him well since he’s your teacher. But what I’m worried about is the Bishop and Count of Visen. They must have had a lot of complaints about the Kingdom of Banlung from the start.”

Visen was originally a county of Butuma, but due to the high-quality ore deposits, it became associated with the dwarves of Banlung. Eventually, its affiliation was transferred from Butuma to Banlung.

The problem was that, as a province, it was subject to higher taxes than other counties, and the customs guards stationed to control the land route to Butuma greatly infringed upon the authority of the Count of Visen.

From Visen’s perspective, they wouldn’t be happy with any king of Banlung, and now that someone as flawed as Azadin had become king, wouldn’t they harbor rebellious thoughts?

“Well, Lord Zekt isn’t someone who dies easily. Rather, let’s deal with the other pressing issues. I heard they are diligently suppressing the ogres in the Visen region… It seems to be going well.”

“That’s a relief then. Hmm? It seems we have a visitor.”

Azadin felt Ara’el’s voice react.

*********

Karna, the commander of the Celestial Fire Knights under the Rescue Knights, and his adjutant, Lady Izmilla, came to see Azadin.

They paid their respects to Azadin and continued to speak.

“First, we would like to state that this visit is purely personal. Please understand the circumstances of the Knights and do not blame us for our rudeness.”

Unlike the King’s Church, the Rescue Knights had not yet made any comments about Azadin.

If they recognized Azadin as king, they would clash with the King’s Church, and if they didn’t, they had witnessed the light of the king’s transformation of Banlung.

However, they lacked the capacity to directly govern Banlung.

So, they were ignoring Azadin as much as possible, and in fact, that alone meant that the Rescue Knights were doing their best to side with Azadin.

In that sense, Karna was first declaring that his visit was not an official visit of the Rescue Knights.

“Then I will gladly accept your help, Lord Karna.”

“Don’t you doubt me? I am the son of the Northern Empire.”

“Did the Northern Empire play ball with you when you were young and raise you with affection?”

“It’s not like that, but…”

“Then what’s the problem? Lord Karna. More importantly, what brings you here?”

“Visen has rebelled. It seems they are determined to subdue King Azadin according to the will of the King’s Church.”

“Visen? What about Lord Zekt?”

“Currently, Lord Zekt has lost all his forces and is in retreat.”

“Lord Zekt?”

Azadin was startled.

From what Azadin had seen, it was impossible for Visen’s forces and personnel to drive Zekt into retreat, even if he was alone.

But if that was possible…

‘The Northern Empire must have such a talent pool? But does the Northern Empire have that much leeway? He must have a lot to protect as well. There is an empire to the south, but the north is also a land of ancient giants and monsters, right? No, why is the King’s Church so desperate to fight like this in the first place?’

Azadin wondered about that. Lord Karna continued to speak.

“And this is an unofficial request from King Arangi Carnago IV. King Arangi needs a bribe to appease the clergy of the King’s Church’s Council of Bishops, so he is requesting 3,000 bushels (about 80 tons) of grain.”

It seemed that King Arangi had used the Rescue Knights’ ability to quickly transmit information through magical mirrors to request grain from Azadin.

He wondered how the King’s Church would react after sending the letter of excommunication, but King Arangi Carnago IV was indeed extraordinary.

If Azadin gave him money, he would side with him, and if not, he would turn his back on him at any time.

‘Wow, if a human is this much of a scumbag, it’s admirable. How can a king be so shameless?’

But if Visen had betrayed them, and even King Arangi’s support was lost, could Azadin’s army, which was already fighting against all sorts of monsters, hold out?