The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 441

“First of all, congratulations on your great victory. Indeed, the decisive King Azadin.”

The Wights, including Dahlia, bowed before Azadin, congratulating him on his victory.

However, despite their verbal congratulations, the Wights’ expressions were grim. This was because the number of Dahlia’s kin, the Elf Wights, had been reduced by half.

The attack at the moment of Triodana’s successful assassination was a timely decision.

The enemies were in disarray, unable to do anything and completely panicked.

However, they possessed a terrible weapon called the Corrupted Angel. [A powerful, magically corrupted being].

The Wisdom Order had released the sealed Corrupted Angels to buy themselves time to escape, and in addition, they unleashed all sorts of Nether magic [Dark, forbidden magic], releasing monsters before fleeing.

These monsters were difficult for even the Pymbul Horde’s undead to handle, resulting in the Wights being reduced by half.

On the other hand, the Herald Clan, commanded by Azadin, did not directly fight these monsters as they were busy occupying the fortresses and watchtowers throughout the castle, so they suffered no casualties.

This made things suspicious.

Azadin’s vassal, the Wild Druid Sedrin, wanted her kin to be freed from under Sir Sork’s command.

‘Is she trying to achieve what she wants in this way?’

Dahlia was looking at Azadin with suspicious eyes.

At that moment, they smelled a sweet scent of blood.

Azadin was having a nosebleed.

It wasn’t just a simple nosebleed; it smelled of death.

However, Azadin spoke with a calm expression.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Pymbul Horde. Thank you, Sir Dahlia.”

“We were only following our master’s wishes.”

“Sir Sork, you mean. Hmm. Actually, we shouldn’t be here right now; we should be pursuing the enemy….”

Azadin wanted to eliminate the remnants of the Wisdom Order before they returned to Saint Mallory.

Originally, striking the rear of a retreating enemy was the most effective attack.

However, Azadin’s current physical condition was not good, and the troops were not his own but the Pymbul Horde borrowed from Sir Sork.

It was a golden opportunity to wipe out the forces of the Wisdom Order, but Azadin felt the disease gnawing at his body and blocked his nose.

“Ah, my head isn’t working well. Can I rest for a bit?”

“Of course. We will rest as well.”

“…….”

“It is said that the undead do not feel fatigue, but that only applies to those without souls. Undead with souls suffer from accumulated fatigue in their souls through thinking.”

“Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Azadin made that excuse, but it was clear to anyone that he was flustered by the undead’s request to rest.

*********

The Wisdom Order was attacked before they could reorganize their military system after losing Triodana, and they fled in panic.

Of course, not all of their forces were killed.

They reorganized their forces and began scouting, and they learned one fact.

Azadin had only brought 20 members of the Herald Clan.

The Pymbul Horde had joined them, but this Pymbul Horde was only the remnants of those they had already eliminated in the Fireglyph siege.

A great humiliation of being toyed with by a mere 20-man death squad, and even that was, when you think about it, almost entirely due to Azadin alone.

The enraged Wisdom Order wanted revenge, but Azadin had already seized Fireglyph, and the defeated soldiers who had fled when the castle was captured were gathering in Fireglyph one after another.

And a blizzard began to rage.

*********

“It was definitely summer….”

According to the seasons, it should still be summer, and even the hottest time, but snow was pouring down from the sky.

Azadin looked up at the sky and sighed.

“How is your body?”

Ismail asked from behind Azadin.

“To be honest, it’s not good.”

“Are you going to be okay? You have the Queen with you, so you should take care of yourself….”

“But if I hadn’t done it, things wouldn’t have gone so well.”

“That’s true, but….”

It was true that Azadin was overexerting himself and ruining his body, but if Azadin had stayed still, his entire force would have been destroyed.

His forces dying or himself dying.

Azadin had only chosen the latter.

“Is the reorganization going well?”

“The followers are expressing their dissatisfaction. Originally, desertion should be punished by death, but they are saying that these guys are being accepted back as soldiers.”

In Fireglyph, there were those who had been captured as prisoners while fighting the enemy and were about to become meat. [A grim fate for prisoners].

From their perspective, they had held the line until they were captured, but they didn’t like that the guys who had cleverly escaped were now showing their faces without any punishment.

However, as a ruler, he could not punish them and reduce his own forces.

“They will be given the punishment of serving as white soldiers. Their fiefs will be taken away, and they will be forced to serve in the military, and they will be at the very front line from now on.”

Azadin gave a moderate but definitely effective punishment.

“Then, Your Majesty, please rest. I’m worried that something might happen to your body.”

Ismail was worried about Azadin’s body.

To be precise, he was worried about Midiam being left alone if Azadin were to die.

“The weather is like this, and the forces are insufficient, so it would be impossible to pursue and fight the Wisdom Order. I understand.”

Azadin also felt that he needed to rest, so he sat on a chair and covered himself with a blanket.

“You should lie down in bed.”

“No. I want to stay awake a little longer.”

“Is it because you have gained eyes that you didn’t have before?”

“That’s a very sarcastic remark.”

Azadin, who was embarrassed, the monster who had no eyes, chuckled at Ismail’s words, which were unclear whether they were a joke or serious.

But then, the Fireglyph castle tower shook with a thud.

“…This is.”

“Something flew in.”

Azadin already recalled the time when Selim had flown in on a hippogriff in the past. [A mythical creature, half-eagle, half-horse].

If something heavy landed on the stone-made Fireglyph castle, the entire castle would feel the vibration.

“It seems that Sir Sork has arrived.”

Azadin said that.

However, the person who entered through the door was an unexpected figure.

“Hello, Captain!”

It was the Orc necromancer, Scott McGreene. Surprisingly, his flesh and muscles were reduced compared to usual, and his skin was also withered.

“…Did you become a lich?” [An undead sorcerer of great power].

Azadin, seeing the change in Scott, realized that he had succeeded in becoming a lich.

“That’s right. Now I’m free from our race’s chronic disease. It will be a blessing for the world that my superior intellect will not perish in vain.”

“It didn’t take as long as I expected.”

“Well, don’t compare my talent to other magicians. They’re too pitiful if they compete with me, right? They’re probably just some blockheads who were called geniuses in their neighborhoods.”

“…….”

At that moment, another Orc walked in behind Scott.

It was Sir Sork, the leader of the Pymbul Horde.

He walked towards Azadin and bowed before him.

“Congratulations on your victory, Your Majesty. Not only have you reclaimed the stolen castle, but you have also defeated the evil of the Rescue Knights, so Your Majesty’s fame will be even more elevated.”

“…….”

Sork was outwardly Azadin’s vassal, but in reality, they were equal allies.

However, perhaps to acknowledge Azadin’s kingship?

In official settings, he showed the appearance of a subordinate.

“I appreciate your sincerity, but there’s no one watching, so let’s just relax.”

“…….”

Sir Sork inadvertently looked towards Ismail. He and Scott were like that, but wasn’t Ismail a human?

However, his gaze also meant that at least he and Scott were self-aware that they were not human.

“Well, I’m just kidding. Anyway, Sir Sork, thank you for coming. The Pymbul Horde was a great help.”

“I’m glad it was helpful. This old man was worried that I might be hindering Your Majesty’s work….”

“That’s not true. We wouldn’t have been able to reclaim Fireglyph without your help.”

“No, it’s not. My subordinates alone could not have faced those Nether monsters. In fact, when we didn’t have Your Majesty’s protection, we were no match, were we? Thanks to that, half of my Wights have died. Lady Sedrin will be pleased. She wanted her kin to perish, after all.”

There was a barb in his words.

The Pymbul Horde, immortal creatures, had suffered irreparable damage in this battle against the Rescue Knights’ Wisdom Order.

In particular, the Wights were undead that were not easily restored, and the problem was that they had lost a large number of them.

So, should they create new Wights or Death Knights, high-ranking undead that require the binding of human souls?

That was something Azadin could not tolerate.

From Azadin’s values, there was bound to be discord with the Pymbul Horde.

And Sir Sork was well aware of that.

“Your Majesty. What will you do now? I heard that the treacherous bandits of Chitai are ravaging Naisandokar. Or will you continue to pursue the Wisdom Order and cut off their breath? Either way, we will gladly stand at the forefront.”

“Let’s continue to attack the Wisdom Order. Even if Naisandokar is cut off from Chitai, if we seize the Rescue Knights’ territory, we can transport supplies by water, and that will be much less damaging during transportation.”

Which is easier to transport, land or water? Of course, water is easier.

When moving by land, a huge number of carts and pack animals are needed, and even then, the amount that can be carried is very small.

Is Azadin trying to seize the Rescue Knights’ territory at this opportunity?

“That’s unfortunate.”

Sir Sork muttered that unintentionally.

It was a remark that came out of nowhere, but Azadin could understand what he meant by that.

“Ah, I apologize for my rudeness. It was just a soliloquy. Then, shall we move the army right now? The enemies will be reorganizing, so if we pursue and eliminate them at this time, they will fall without being able to do anything.”

“No. Actually, we are not in a position to fight right now. We need to identify the supplies remaining in Fireglyph and gather the defeated soldiers to reorganize.”

They had luckily gained the upper hand with the assassination and reclaimed Fireglyph, but Azadin’s army was actually in tatters.

It was fortunate that the Pymbul Horde had acted as a shield; otherwise, they would not have been able to win.

And now, the Pymbul Horde is not in good condition either.

“I see. I understand. Then, I will step back now. Please rest comfortably.”

Sir Sork said that and stepped away from Azadin.

Scott also looked at Sork’s expression and followed him out.

“……….”

Azadin sighed as he watched Sork retreat.

“What was that just now?”

Ismail asked cautiously.

“What do you mean?”

“That, Sir Sork suddenly saying it was unfortunate.”

“Well, it’s because he realized that I have no intention of using the Pymbul Horde in the fight against Chitai.”

“Huh?”

“Chitai is, after all, a fight against humans. If I mobilize an undead army in a war against humans, my reputation will be ruined.”

“That’s unfortunate….”

“From Sir Sork’s point of view, I’m not a lord worth serving. Sir Sork personally likes me. But in the end, we have different positions and different goals.”

“…Isn’t that a big problem?”

Ismail was terrified.

Azadin’s current physical condition was terrible.

Except for the Herald Clan, all of his vassals were defeated soldiers from Fireglyph. What if Sir Sork had a change of heart now?

There was no way to deal with it.

It was like a woodcutter who had entered a tiger’s den.