The Shadowed Legacy Of The Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 453

“…….”

Everyone unconsciously looked at the Centurion after those words.

‘What are you…’

‘Huh? Really?!’

At that moment, Azadin rushed towards the Centurion.

The golden sword flashed towards the Centurion’s neck. Surprised, the Centurion blocked it with his curved sword and threw a punch at Azadin.

-Thwack!

Surprisingly, Azadin was hit by the Centurion’s punch.

‘Did it work?’

Just as he thought that, something hot suddenly seared the Centurion’s body.

‘What?!’

Azadin’s sword, like butter through a heated blade, sliced through, pouring molten metal onto the Centurion’s body.

‘Kkyaaaak!’

The Centurion, in shock, tried to shake off the molten metal sticking to his body, but at that moment, Azadin kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying.

The Centurion rolled on the ground, trying to endure the pain from the molten metal burning his flesh.

‘Since you chose such unnecessarily cruel methods, you should bear the consequences.’

‘Ugh.’

The Northern Aragasa [a group of warriors] realized that they couldn’t defeat Azadin with their current abilities.

Meanwhile, Jibeck and the Holy Knights followed Azadin, and the Chitai light cavalry were being utterly devastated.

The Celestial Fire [a type of magic] repeatedly broke through, tearing them to shreds.

‘Damn it!’

The Northern Aragasa abandoned the ruined Centurion and fled.

*********

‘Hoo.’

Azadin directly confronted the Northern Aragasa and then retreated.

Blood dripped from his nose.

‘Are you alright, Your Majesty?’

‘I’m still fine. Anyway…’

Azadin looked at the Celestial Fire Knights.

They charged again, tearing the Chitai army to pieces.

Those who had already lost the will to resist dismounted, laid down their weapons, and declared surrender, but they were trampled under the horses’ hooves, continuing to massacre the enemy.

‘Did you accept our surrender when we surrendered?!’

‘You guys are demons who shouldn’t live for even a moment!’

The Celestial Fire Knights, hungry for revenge, killed those who surrendered, and it wasn’t just them.

Stones flew from the forest.

They were the refugee soldiers ambushed in the forest. They were hidden in case the Chitai light cavalry hid in the forest, but they hadn’t participated in the battle. Now, it seemed they wanted to join the massacre.

They threw stones and swung hand axes at the surrendered Chitai people.

Their eyes were bloodshot.

‘…….’

Azadin watched the scene, his mouth tightly shut.

Everyone was consumed by the slaughter. Their resentment towards the Chitai was so great that they swung their weapons without anyone stopping them.

‘Stop.’

He opened his lips, which felt like they wouldn’t move.

Azadin understood their desire for revenge, but if no one stopped, he had to.

‘But Your Majesty. If we let the enemies live, they will become a future threat.’

Azadin’s aides, including Jibeck, protested. However, Azadin shrugged and said,

‘If we send the wounded back to the enemy, they will become a threat. In this time of food scarcity, is there a need to reduce the enemy’s mouths to feed? Let them run away.’

‘……’

As Azadin’s order was given, the massacre finally stopped.

However, the officers delivering the order repeated it slowly, in a dull tone.

It was clear to anyone that they were all dissatisfied with Azadin’s order.

*********

That night, everyone celebrated the victory and opened up the precious supplies of alcohol. Everyone was happy and drank when the alcohol was distributed, but the officers and those with some experience felt uneasy.

It was because they saw that Azadin was not pleased with their massacre.

‘It seems like you all have a lot to say to me.’

Azadin gathered his vassals and poured them drinks himself.

Jibeck, along with Sedrin, Nicelda, Karna, and Izmilla, stepped forward and knelt before Azadin.

‘We are sorry.’

Of course, the king himself had shown great valor in this battle.

It was clearly their fault that they hadn’t finished the matter before King Azadin arrived, but it was because Azadin was too capable, not because they were incompetent.

However, Azadin’s aides were not apologizing for their incompetence.

‘Why are you apologizing?’

Azadin asked, looking at the bonfire.

‘We are sorry for showing such an ugly appearance, Your Majesty, when you value even the lives of enemy soldiers.’

‘Hmm. Do you think so?’

‘Yes. We saw that you were displeased. Isn’t that why you let them go?’

Karna stepped forward and spoke to Azadin, his attitude polite but with hidden thorns.

The Chitai had done such terrible things, and the soldiers on the front lines were a bit excited and killed those who surrendered, but to release the enemies altogether? Didn’t he understand his subordinates’ feelings too little?

That’s what Karna was asking.

‘The Celestial Fire Knights were quite excited. Izmilla. Why do you think that is?’

Izmilla answered.

‘We were born from consciousness, and even though we look like this, we are still just children. Of course, there are those who have memories of their past lives, but most are no different from innocent children. But even I have never seen such a terrible sight before. Seeing the atrocities committed by the Chitai, I felt like my faith was being strangled.’

‘If you’ve all fought against the followers of Mezeri [an evil god] as Holy Knights, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen such a scene.’

The followers of Mezeri, the Wererats, ate humans, so their lairs were truly horrific.

However, Izmilla shook her head.

‘Of course, the lairs of Mezeri’s followers are terrible. The sight of humans being butchered and hung up like meat in a butcher shop is disgusting and nauseating, but the responsibility lies entirely with the evil god Mezeri. But the Chitai… they are, after all, brothers who serve the teachings of the King’s Church, the same humans, aren’t they? The atrocities they committed are, in some ways, more extreme than the actions of Mezeri’s followers. Mezeri’s followers ate humans to satisfy their unbearable hunger. But they committed such cruel massacres purely for fun, to confirm their violent superiority. If we were to measure the purity of evil, they are more evil and disgusting!’

Flames flickered in the depths of Izmilla’s beautiful eyes.

‘Why can’t you hate such people, Your Majesty?’

‘I did hate them.’

‘Yes?’

Everyone was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

‘I have lived almost my entire life as a cursed monster of Muan. Azadin of Muan. I was a hideous monster persecuted even among the Herald Clan [a clan of people with special abilities]. The reason I, who was marked as someone everyone could torment, was able to survive was because I had a special ability to see even without eyes, and that stimulated the curiosity of the mages. But they had no intention of raising me with care, so I grew up exposed to the pure evil of humans.’

Azadin spoke of his past in front of his subordinates.

Officially, he claimed to be a descendant of the Emperor’s lineage.

Because he had the eyes of Harkonia, and if you traced his family tree, an Emperor would appear.

And because it was convenient for ruling people.

However, Azadin did not forget his humble origins. No, he couldn’t forget.

‘Yes. Compared to Mezeri’s followers who kill people to eat, those who do evil for fun are even more purely evil. And as a human, I can’t help but hate beings with such evil.’

‘Then why…’

‘I killed them in my imagination countless times. Not for money or power, but just for the fun of it, I killed and killed again those dirty and terrible humans who liked to harm people in my head… but even so, I still wanted to live among humans.’

‘……’

‘I wanted to love and be loved. No matter how much I hate humans, I am too weak to live without the warmth of humans.’

Silence fell over the gathering.

In Hybris, for the warrior class, or rather, for anyone, it was taboo to reveal such weakness in front of others.

It would be less embarrassing to walk around naked.

But Azadin fearlessly revealed his weak soul, his weaknesses, in front of them.

The sight was so unfamiliar that everyone was shocked.

There was a fact that all of Azadin’s vassals agreed on: Azadin was somehow different from them, not an ordinary being.

The source of that otherness could be felt very clearly at this moment.

‘Right now, you are all yearning for revenge, eager to stain your hands with blood. I won’t deny that. If you want revenge, I will give you revenge. From now on, I will win and win again, and make the Chitai pay the price in blood. Those who killed will be killed, those who raped will be castrated, and I will seize their territory and even take their throne, making them regret this incident. But that must be done in the name of law and order, not in the chaotic massacre of the battlefield. Because you have to live even after taking revenge.’

Azadin said that to his aides and closed his eyes in front of the fire.

Using his power today was eating away at his body and life.

Sleep poured in, so Azadin advised his aides to retreat and closed his eyes by the fire.

*********

When Azadin spoke about his future plans, the reactions of his vassals were divided.

Some understood Azadin’s heartfelt feelings, while others could not let go of their anger towards the Chitai, their anger towards humans.

The difference in their reactions was due to their respective levels of extremism, but their hearts were all united.

They all understood Azadin’s feelings, but they were disappointed that he seemed to be talking too much about ideals.

The enemies disregarded law and order and committed atrocities, so why should our revenge be carried out with law and order?

He was already a difficult person to understand, but it seemed they would understand him even less.

There were those who said that.

The terrible massacre between humans left deep scars on the souls of everyone who participated in this war.

And Azadin knew that well.

‘I won’t tell you not to be hurt. I won’t tell you not to hate. I will just show you my way of belief.’

Azadin picked up his huge black horn bow and mounted his hippogriff, Fire Winter.

In the end, those who bear ideals must protect and prove them with power.

He, who had received more abuse and hatred than love, now stood in the cold wind, leading his dying body to prove his beliefs even to his own vassals.

‘Behold! From now on, I will hold the Chitai accountable for shedding the blood of the innocent! I will show those who dared to play with human lives that justice is alive!’

Azadin declared and took the lead, starting the march.

‘Will he be alright?’

Karna muttered cautiously as he followed behind him.

Jibeck, who was moving alongside him, asked,

‘What do you mean?’

‘Ah, Sir Jibeck. Well, the morale of the subordinates has dropped a bit because of the ban on the massacre.’

‘Yes. We also…’

‘But His Majesty is putting himself to the test for those vermin. Really.’

‘That’s right. Hmm, there’s one thing that’s certain.’

‘What is it?’

‘At least His Majesty definitely seems to have a soul.’

‘Ha, hahaha!’