The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 417

Azadin observed the soldiers’ reactions. Half of them were wavering, while the other half remained resolute.

To further divide them, Azadin once again addressed the soldiers and residents of Bissen.

“Your so-called angels are nothing but evil heretics, created using the tainted blood of fallen angels. Do not be deceived by them. If you surrender now, your acts of treason will be overlooked. However, if you resist, as guardians of the royal law, you will face the full punishment of the law. Know that this is not a ploy because breaching your walls is difficult, but purely to offer you a chance at forgiveness.”

In reality, Bissen’s walls were in disarray, damaged in various places due to the Messenger Clan’s sabotage just the previous day.

It was difficult to maintain a defensive advantage. Even if Azadin was a member of the Messenger Clan, Bissen’s rebellion had lost its justification.

‘And unless I’m completely suppressing and controlling the soldiers’ minds, there must be considerable animosity by now.’

The Bissen province was renowned for its iron ore and iron products, and such places depended heavily on trade for their livelihood.

However, since both land and water routes were connected to either Banreung or Butuma, trade had been cut off since they rebelled against Azadin, who had claimed the throne of Banreung.

Even if those who were reluctant to see the Northern Empire or Azadin seize power tried to fill the void, it was not easy to support remote places like Bissen.

Given time, they would lose control of the residents. Azadin was confident that the subjugation of Bissen’s rebellion was practically complete.

But then, crimson-winged Celestials appeared on the walls of Bissen.

“Shut your mouth, Azadin of the Messenger Clan. Do you think we’ll be swayed by your empty words?”

“Our lord is none other than Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire! He is the king of kings! He is the one rightfully chosen by the King’s Church! You, as a member of the Messenger Clan, are merely a usurper who dared to seize the throne!”

“We have sworn allegiance to the Northern Empire, so how can we break this oath?!”

It was clear they were trying to boost the soldiers’ morale by invoking the name of the Northern Empire.

Azadin scoffed and replied,

“How dare you speak so carelessly of the Northern Empire. Sir Karna, who stands here, is the son of the Northern Empire!”

“………Huh?”

Karna looked at Azadin in surprise.

Originally, he was a reincarnated Celestial, and officially, he was the deceased son of the Northern Empire.

It was true that he was the son of the Northern Empire, but biologically, he was not the son of the Northern Empire.

However, what did that matter to the people?

“Do not tarnish the honor of the Northern Empire. The one who sold the name of the Northern Empire to you was Sir Triodana, wasn’t it? He is indeed the son of the Northern Empire, but he is a scoundrel with impious and wicked intentions, selling his father’s name!”

“Y-you…”

The Bissen side was also flustered.

Azadin, acting as if he were close to the Northern Empire, was speaking on behalf of the Northern Empire and its position, and their attempt to boost morale by invoking the name of the Northern Empire began to crumble.

Azadin’s subordinates could only chuckle at Azadin’s actions.

‘For the honor of the Northern Empire, this man is telling lies without batting an eye…’

The effect was very powerful.

Azadin’s display of not being particularly hostile to the Northern Empire, but rather respecting it, was truly a masterstroke.

“It is lamentable that you were deceived by Triodana’s lies and tarnished the name of the Northern Empire.”

“No, don’t talk nonsense! You are the one who is carelessly using his name!”

In the end, the Bissen side, having fallen for Azadin’s manipulation, aimed a cannon at him and fired.

The cannonball landed far in front of Azadin, then bounced off the ground and flew towards him.

He was outside the cannon’s range, but luckily, the cannonball did not get stuck in the ground and bounced, flying low.

However, Azadin stood still.

The Kerim mountain goat that Azadin was riding was a ghost given to Azadin by Ara’el, and the cannonball merely passed through his body.

“Shooting at an envoy who is recommending surrender!”

“That’s insane! It’s blasphemy!”

Azadin’s retainers were in an uproar.

It was rude and disrespectful to shoot at an envoy recommending surrender, let alone when that envoy was a king.

To shoot when the king himself was recommending surrender. Of course, it was not a distance where he could be hit in the first place, and the Bissen side was doing it as a last resort.

It was an admission that they had no chance of winning the argument with Azadin.

‘Hmm?’

But the reactions of the soldiers, who had been wavering until just now, had disappeared.

When the crimson-winged Celestials spread their wings in unison, a sinister aura flowed from them, suppressing the minds of the Bissen soldiers.

They opened their mouths like surfacing goldfish and took out crossbows, bows, and muskets, entering a state of engagement.

‘They’re suppressing their minds.’

At that moment, a group of cavalry from the Bissen side jumped down the broken wall and charged straight ahead.

As if skilled riders were running down a cliff, the riders ran straight down the broken and tangled wall, charging with terrifying momentum.

They were trying to quickly capture Azadin and end the fight.

They knew that Azadin was the core of Azadin’s army.

“If we capture him, all problems will be solved!”

The crimson Celestials charged towards Azadin with terrifying momentum.

However, Azadin, as if teasing them, deliberately waited for their charge… and moved the Kerim mountain goat he was riding to the side.

The Kerim mountain goat jumped to the side.

The speed of that change of direction was so great that the crimson Celestial cavalry, who had been charging on horseback, were taken aback.

Originally, the Kerim mountain goat’s height changed more than a horse when running, so it was not something a person could ride.

Even if it ran a little, the rider would be thrown up and down.

However, if it was a member of the Messenger Clan, they could cling to the Kerim mountain goat, and then the Kerim mountain goat could easily outmaneuver horses with its amazing jumping power and change of direction.

While horses were better at running in a straight line, it was difficult for horses to catch up with the Kerim mountain goat, which was excellent at changing direction.

The charging crimson Celestials hurriedly turned their horses’ heads. As a considerable number of cavalry tried to change direction quickly, their turning radius naturally increased.

It was a feat just to be able to change direction without getting tangled up with each other.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Azadin looked at the Celestials who were changing direction and chasing after him, and was genuinely impressed.

Of course, from the Celestials’ point of view, it looked like Azadin was teasing them.

If he had run away far away, they might have given up on Azadin and attacked other soldiers, taking advantage of their breakthrough power.

However, Azadin was still waiting for them in a space where they could reach him with just an outstretched hand.

The crimson-winged Celestials charged towards Azadin again, and Azadin once again made the Kerim mountain goat sidestep, avoiding their attacks.

‘He could run away if he wanted to, but he could also jump into the soldiers…’

Azadin decided to deliberately stay close to them, not fleeing at full speed, to lure these crimson Celestials.

Then, a young woman among the crimson Celestials ran straight towards Azadin.

“Die! The enemy of my father!”

It was Lady Meya, a holy knight of the King’s Church from the Corasar Salasma region, whose father had been killed by Azadin.

“You wouldn’t say you’ve forgotten my father, Sir Gares, would you?!”

“Of course I’ve forgotten. Excuse me, but who are you?”

Of course, Azadin remembered her.

Sir Gares, a holy knight who killed civilians in an accidental incident in the Salasma County, and his daughter, Lady Meya, who killed people to cover it up.

However, he deliberately pretended not to know her to provoke her and picked up Grimslaw’s mace.

The mace grew and transformed on its own, becoming a long shaft, and at the end of it, the axe-head of Azuresteel, the Azure Executioner, was attached, becoming a long halberd.

Azadin used this halberd to block Meya’s attack, but…

-Chiik!

An unexpected, tremendous force pushed Azadin back. Even the Kerim mountain goat had to move several steps to the side.

“Strong. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Originally, Lady Meya was a bit lacking in skill for a holy knight of the King’s Church, more of a scholar than a warrior.

But now, she was attacking Azadin with terrifying momentum.

Her swordsmanship was crude, but her tremendous strength and speed, which transcended human limits, compensated for her crude swordsmanship.

Azadin blocked her attacks with his axe-halberd, slowly dodging to the side.

“Don’t run away!”

Meya was annoyed. Even if she tried to chase Azadin, her horsemanship could not keep up with Azadin’s movements.

Instead, she spread her wings and flapped them in the air, adding to her horse’s movements.

“Oh! Impressive!”

“Shut up!”

Meya chased after Azadin, mixing her wing flaps with her pursuit.

Azadin’s axe-halberd and her sword clashed several times in the air, sparking.

“So, why aren’t you going back to your hometown and staying here, Lady Meya?”

“The gods have pitied me, who was mocked by you and Zekt, and have given me this power!”

“So, which god?”

“Eek! Shut up! If you really want to know, try beating me!”

Meya, enraged, thrust her sword towards Azadin’s neck.

However…

-Kang!

Azadin’s axe-halberd shattered Meya’s crimson ceramite longsword.

Blood spurted from the cross-section of the sword. Surprisingly, this crimson ceramite longsword was bleeding as if it were a living creature.

Azadin reversed the halberd and used the pike part to wedge Meya’s hilt into the ground.

Meya tried to resist the force by stepping on the stirrups of her saddle, but her horse knelt and bowed to the ground.

“Ugh?!”

And Azadin maintained that state with one hand and grabbed the hilt of another weapon he was carrying on his back, Aurelia Dawn, with his other hand.

Meya was in a situation where she could neither do anything nor resist.

Other crimson Celestials, unable to bear it, rushed to help her, but arrows rained down on them all at once.

“Support His Majesty! This is not an honorable duel! Those things dared to fire on His Majesty, who was recommending surrender first!”

Following Midiam’s cry, the Messenger Clan began to fire arrows.

And…

-Thud!

A metal stake protruded from the chest of a Celestial who was approaching Meya and Azadin.

“For the King to act as bait himself. It’s hard to just watch.”

“How many should we kill and how many should we keep alive?”

Sir Zekt and Sir Astadeer had appeared on either side of the Celestials.

*********

As the Messenger Clan rained down arrows, and former inquisitors, Zekt and Astadeer, blocked their retreat, the battle quickly ended anticlimactically.

Half of the crimson-winged Celestials were killed, and the other half were taken prisoner.

As Azadin defeated the crimson-winged Celestials in one fell swoop, the governor and officials of Bissen quickly rushed in front of Azadin and bowed their heads.

“We are sorry. We were being manipulated by them.”

“An evil magic suppressed our minds and clouded our eyes. Now that we have seen the light, it is as if a blind man has opened his eyes and has been greeted by the light of the King’s grace.”

So, they were claiming that they were only being manipulated by magic and that it was not their true intention.

“Well, whether that’s true or not will be revealed by investigation. So? How did you become these crimson-winged angels?”

At Azadin’s question, the surviving crimson-winged Celestials held out a small glass bottle.

It was angel’s blood.