The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 415

Though I can see the madness reflected in their eyes, making it clear they’re not in their right minds, I also understand that they’re speaking their innermost thoughts without any embellishment.

The people of Hybris feel a sense of crisis as the Herald Clan prospers.

If even low-ranking officers harbor such feelings, then even if the Pymbulbert [a cataclysmic event or period of upheaval] ends, the path to harmony between the two races will be truly distant.

‘And it’s not like there aren’t plenty of hardliners in the Herald Clan who want to retaliate against the people of Hybris.’

Azadin lamented, realizing that the road ahead would not be smooth.

“Those who kill and devour humans, betraying the faith of mankind, condemn me simply because I am of the Herald Clan. What is this ‘purity’ you speak of, and what is ‘filth’? The blood of the Yaegas gods [a pantheon of deities] flows within me, and I have proven my sincerity with the light of kingship, yet you hate my origins more than your own misdeeds.”

“No! The people we killed weren’t killed by us!”

“If not by you, then who killed them?”

“You killed them! That’s why we were here, setting up defenses to intercept you before you could approach!”

The soldiers and officers of Azadin’s army felt not just disbelief but also fear at those words.

The enemies were now making absurd claims.

Words spoken in a state of reason’s paralysis are the most honest, without pretense.

They hate the Herald Clan so much that they deceive even themselves.

“But you reek of something too foul for that to be true.”

Selim sniffed and approached, rummaging through their clothes, and found chunks of meat that were not yet fully dried in their pockets.

“Salted human flesh. These bastards turned the villagers into preserved food. What a bunch of freaks?”

Evidence of killing and butchering humans was found on the officers who had been making ridiculous excuses.

Yet, even in this situation, they persisted in their claims.

“No! It wasn’t us!”

“It’s a frame-up! A conspiracy!”

“Y-you just put that in our belongings!”

“You’re trying to insult us!”

“Ugh! Just kill us already!”

They still blamed Azadin, cursed the Herald Clan, and denied their crimes.

The problem was that while they were just trying to deceive themselves here, their absurd claims would be accepted elsewhere.

Since everyone already hated and feared the Herald Clan, they would choose to believe the rumors they wanted to believe rather than the truth.

“……..”

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

Zekt, who had been watching, seemed annoyed and picked up a small insect, then poked the temple of the officer who had just spoken rudely to Azadin.

“Guh!”

A hole was pierced in his temple, and the insect entered. The officer’s eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites, and mucus and saliva dripped from his nose and mouth.

“Talking is for humans, not for beasts who can’t understand. There’s no need for you to converse with them.”

Zekt said, giving a sinister smile.

When the former inquisitor of the Royal Church used such gruesome sorcery in front of everyone, Lord Astadear and the church officials were startled, but they all kept silent because they understood Zekt’s motives.

“Who was your commander in this battle?”

Azadin asked the man possessed by Zekt’s insect.

“Gibniche. Asendar Knight. Half-elf.”

The officer, controlled by Zekt’s insect, spoke the truth.

“What army are you from?”

“Banreung Kingdom, Visen Province Governor’s Army.”

“Why did you eliminate the human village?”

“We didn’t do it. That filthy Herald Clan bastard killed and devoured the people of Hybris. Even with the Pymbulbert coming, those Herald Clan bastards are getting fat by eating humans, while we have to starve…”

“……”

“Ah, this one is just saying what he believes. But it’s quite a sight. It seems he was directly involved in the massacre, but he’s erased it from his mind and is rationalizing it like this.”

Zekt said, laughing. It seemed they needed to ask different questions to get proper answers.

“You butchered them with great skill. Was it Gibniche’s handiwork? Weren’t you afraid of an elf butchering humans? Even while butchering people like you, the king and nobles are using them?”

“That can’t be. The elf mongrels are just as disgusting. That filthy elf mongrel, he cuts and dismembers people like they’re pieces of meat, and though the sight is disgusting… the sweet smell…”

“So, they were the ones who did it. It’s practically a confession.”

Lord Karna said, but the others around him chuckled at his reaction.

“No, it’s obvious that they were the ones who did it. They finally confessed after many roundabout questions, but these guys have already become monsters who eat human flesh, so they shouldn’t be kept alive. They should all be burned at the stake.”

When Astadear, as a former inquisitor of the Royal Church, insisted on burning them at the stake, Zekt shook his head.

“I’ve gone to the trouble of casting a spell, so let’s extract some more information.”

The officer possessed by the insect answered Zekt’s questions one by one.

It was difficult to get proper information because he was distorting the events to his liking, but Zekt bypassed the officer’s defense mechanisms with appropriate questions and extracted the information.

According to the story, the forces of the Northern Empire, including this half-elf, had been reaching out to Banreung to take over the southern region in earnest for the past two years, and they had been importing a considerable amount of iron ore and gunpowder from Visen.

To prepare for war, they had established forces in Banreung and imported iron ore and gunpowder, while also drawing human forces to their side to fight against the vampirized dwarves.

However, as the Pymbulbert approached, Triodana, who had heard the voices of the messengers, betrayed them, and the elves revealed their true colors, killing and butchering humans in their old ways.

Of course, there was also the fear of food shortages caused by the Pymbulbert behind it all.

The bizarre prejudice that the Herald Clan were cannibals also played a part.

It was absurd that they believed the rumors that the Herald Clan were cannibals while being with the elves, who were actually famous for butchering and eating humans.

“Come to think of it, whose side are the elves on? The Northern Empire? Or Triodana’s?”

Azadin asked Karna, who was from the north. Karna answered seriously.

“In Asander, the elves tend to think that even the Northern Empire is just one of the cards in their hand.”

The elves tended to look down on humans, and even the Yaegas gods were treated with contempt.

However, rather than directly opposing humans, they preferred to take their time and plot.

According to Karna’s testimony, the elves occupied key positions in the Asander royal family and supported the Northern Empire’s religious unification and the unification of the Eight Kingdoms, acting as if they were the masters of these operations.

“They’re arrogant bastards. But once you’ve slept with them, some people say that humans are too bland. In fact, the Northern Empire also has many elf concubines, and many of his children are of mixed elf blood. I, too, before being reborn as a Celestial, had an elf as my mother.”

“You were a half-elf?”

“Yes. So was Triodana.”

“Hmm. I see. Then, shall we camp here for today?”

Azadin decided to seize the enemy’s supplies and camp in the fortifications they had built.

The soldiers were exhausted from burying the corpses and recovering supplies on the battlefield.

The battle was fought by the Herald Clan, Lord Zekt, and Lord Astadear, but even marching was tiring.

“I think we’re giving Visen time to respond. If we had marched without burying the corpses…”

“Then ghouls or evil spirits would have harmed the residents nearby. There won’t be many remaining Visen forces anyway.”

Azadin dismissed Zekt’s and the others’ opinions and decided to camp here for the time being.

*********

The next morning, Azadin’s army gathered supplies and cleaned up the campsite.

The soldiers, exhausted from days of marching, groaned, but they couldn’t avoid moving.

Then, a hippogriff arrived from the rear of Azadin’s army.

The messenger riding the hippogriff was surprisingly Prince Sram.

He was not on good terms with Karnago IV, and after Azadin and Arangi reconciled and formed a foster relationship, he remained as a guest officer in Azadin’s army.

But as soon as he rushed to Azadin’s camp, he shouted.

“Your Majesty! King Arangi has been assassinated!”

“Assassinated?”

Azadin’s lips tightened at the word of the king’s assassination.

“Sram, you didn’t kill him, did you?”

“It would be a lie to say I didn’t want to, but unfortunately, I didn’t kill him.”

Prince Sram was more honest than necessary.

*********

King Arangi Karnago IV was a carefree man who had ascended to the throne without any major issues, using his power and assets to maximize his own pleasure.

He had replaced his queen whenever it was strategically necessary and had countless concubines and lovers. However, as the Northern Empire’s momentum rose, he married a half-elf, one of the Northern Empire’s daughters, as his queen.

However, this tall half-elf woman, who was 30% larger than ordinary humans, killed King Arangi Karnago IV in the bedroom and fled with his heart.

It was revealed that the elf queen was a follower of the Spider Queen, as King Karnago IV’s body had a relic of the Kurt gods [a pantheon of deities], the Spider Queen, embedded in it, and countless spider eggs had been laid.

Of course, it was the work of Asander, but there were suspicions that it was framed on the Spider Queen’s followers to avoid suspicion from the Northern Empire’s Cohen. However, it was unlikely that someone like Cohen of the Northern Empire would order an assassination that was so close to political suicide.

Killing King Arangi would not greatly benefit the Northern Empire.

Therefore, the princes were preparing to succeed to the throne of Asander while sending a pursuit team to capture the elf queen to build their justification.

“Amazing. To call me in such a situation.”

Azadin read the letter that Prince Sram had brought.

Lord Eremba, Sram’s relative, had contacted Prince Sram and Azadin, telling them to aim for the throne of Arangi.

“King Azadin. You are also King Arangi’s adopted son, so you are in a position to claim the succession to the throne.”

Prince Sram said, but Azadin gave a bitter smile.

“It’s too ugly for an adopted son to claim the right to succession when there are legitimate children left, isn’t it? Besides, the true kingship is not inherited by bloodline but proven by the light of kingship.”

“But we can’t just call in any Tom, Dick, or Harry and put them on the throne. Of course, in Your Majesty’s case, you can’t be put on the throne in a different sense. If Your Majesty were to exert the light of kingship on another throne… it would be even more fatal to the existing kings. But isn’t that why it’s necessary? The throne of Arangi?”

Prince Sram urged Azadin to take the throne of Arangi.