The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 462

The Nether forces that poured out of Junggyeong were enormous, including not only the soldiers stationed there but also the civilians. Even young children who had not yet gone through puberty were transformed into grotesque monsters and charged at them. They were holding them back by relying on the city walls, but in the meantime, the Chitai King, Sebalhan, began casting a new spell.

-Crack!

The corpses and bones scattered on the ground moved and transformed by Sebalhan’s magic. A massive staircase, a slope made of the corpses of humans and monsters, was created and leaned against the walls of the White Tiger Gate. Arrows and gunfire blessed by the King of Azadin flew and ignited the slope upon impact. The sacred blessing of the king purified the filthy monsters, and flames of purification rose. However, regardless of whether their flesh burned or not, they ran up the slope and tried to climb the walls.

“Block them!”

“Aaaaargh!”

The soldiers of the White Tiger Gate and the Azadin army became one and fought against the onrushing Nether forces. The battle, which was like being in the middle of hell, continued until the sun went down. The exchange ratio was overwhelming. The soldiers’ weapons, blessed by the king, unleashed flames of purification with each hit, ensuring the enemy’s destruction. A single, unremarkable soldier fought fiercely, burning dozens of enemies with arrows and swords. Killing ten or twenty enemies alone was not even considered a feat. However, the difference in numbers was enormous.

And….

“Hmm.”

Azadin wiped his hand under his nose. Blood stained his glove.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?!”

Jibek asked Azadin. Currently, this front line was relying solely on the blessing of the King of Azadin. Without Azadin’s blessing, the White Tiger Gate would never hold. On the other hand, the enemy kept coming without tiring, while the humans were already exhausted and were only holding on with their willpower. While the regular soldiers could take turns and rest a little, Azadin’s role could not be replaced by anyone. Azadin had not been able to rest for a single moment since the battle began.

“It’s too difficult to try to unfold the Divine King’s Scripture [a sacred text] here without having the throne of Chitai. I want to somehow make a path to Sebalhan, but it’s not easy.”

Whenever Azadin launched an offensive to kill Sebalhan, Sebalhan would summon monsters to form a thick barrier. Conversely, if Azadin stood out, Sebalhan would relentlessly target him, so Azadin could not act alone recklessly. As it became a war of attrition between forces, the tireless Nether forces became much more advantageous. Moreover, Azadin was not in good health to begin with. Maintaining powerful magic like the king’s blessing continuously was incredibly draining.

“Shouldn’t we start withdrawing our forces soon?”

“But….”

Azadin knew that if he retreated here, they would suffer enormous damage. In any battle, withdrawing troops is the most difficult task.

Jibek and the Inquisitors stepped forward.

“We will secure the retreat route.”

Those who guard the retreat route, those who stay until the end, are essentially protecting their comrades with their deaths. When Jibek volunteered for such a position, Azadin shook his head.

“What nonsense… Absolutely not. Sir Jibek, I need you. I cannot sacrifice someone as talented as you here!”

“That’s very kind of you to say. But wouldn’t someone of my caliber be needed to seal the rear gate with minimal sacrifice?”

“…….”

“If that’s the case, then we….”

This time, the Celestial Fires stepped forward.

“If you die here, who will lead the army’s cavalry?”

As the commanders of the Azadin army began to volunteer to sacrifice themselves, the gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate, who had been listening, stepped forward.

“Hearing you talk, you seem to look down on us too much. Your Majesty Azadin. Why don’t you tell us to block the rear gate?”

Just this morning, Azadin was his mortal enemy. A thorough enemy who could fight to the death without exchanging a single word. However, even in such a situation, Azadin had willingly come to help the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate, and he was even trying to sacrifice his own confidants to buy time for the White Tiger Gate soldiers to escape. No, in this case, his confidants had volunteered to sacrifice themselves…. It would be better to tell the people of the White Tiger Gate that this was originally their responsibility, so they should embrace death, but neither Azadin nor anyone else was suggesting that they sacrifice themselves. It was like rescuing the elderly and women first from a sinking ship. As a Chitai warrior, he could not bear to see such a sight, so the gatekeeper volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb.

However, Azadin coldly shook his head.

“You must survive. That way, you will have credibility when you testify about the corruption of the Chitai King, won’t you?”

“That is….”

The gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate was speechless at Azadin’s words. He knew very well that Azadin’s reputation was the worst. Even if the sun rose in the east, they wouldn’t listen to him, so if Azadin and his confidants testified about the corruption of King Sebalhan, no one would pay any attention. But was he trying to save the people of the White Tiger Gate and let them escape for such a reason?

“Heh heh. Anyway, Your Majesty is really….”

At that moment, unexpected figures stepped forward.

“Then we will do it. If we block the retreat route, wouldn’t we be able to at least atone for our sins?”

This time, the nomadic soldiers of Chitai volunteered. The nomadic soldiers of Chitai, who were serving as common soldiers for their crimes of plundering, kidnapping, and killing the helpless people, and the responsible leaders of each tribe, stepped forward to defend the White Tiger Gate.

“Since we are prisoners anyway, if Your Majesty orders us to charge to atone for our sins, we will gladly do so. There is no need to waste talented people like the Celestial Fires or Sir Jibek.”

“Then you will surely die. Are you volunteering knowing that?”

Azadin felt pain in his heart as he looked at those who were volunteering for the mission. But they were sincere.

“Actually, even when we were plundering and raping the people, we didn’t really think we were doing anything terribly wrong. The settled people had done bad things to us too. And in war, these things are commonplace, so what’s the big deal? That’s what we thought.”

“…….”

“And even now, we think that what’s done is done. But seeing Your Majesty’s anger, we vaguely understand that it was wrong.”

“Your Majesty is risking his life to save the people of the White Tiger Gate, who were his enemies until just a moment ago. If he values the lives of his enemies so much, how much more would he value his own people? Even though he made us serve as common soldiers, he doesn’t hate us, so honestly, we were impressed.”

“We now understand why the previous kings couldn’t properly use the Divine King’s Scripture after seeing Your Majesty.”

“…….”

When Azadin himself climbed the walls to save the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate, who were his enemies, the nomadic soldiers from Chitai were deeply moved.

“Our king values the lives of even those who were his enemies until recently. But we harmed his people….”

“He’s not a hypocrite.”

So they chose to stay behind to protect Azadin.

“Of course, we are not just trying to sacrifice ourselves for nothing, Your Majesty. Half of us will stay here to atone for our sins, so please make the remaining half your true subordinates, not just common soldiers.”

“Yes. Please allow our descendants to proudly stand tall within the order that Your Majesty is creating.”

“I understand. I will do so.”

Azadin allowed the Chitai nomadic soldiers to guard the retreat route. At the same time, blood splattered. Azadin staggered and collapsed, and Jibek supported him.

“This can’t be!”

His body was as cold as ice. However, Azadin did not lose consciousness. If he lost consciousness, the king’s blessing would disappear, and the dedication of the nomadic unit that had volunteered to guard the retreat route would become useless.

“Let’s take His Majesty away!”

Jibek, the Inquisitors, and the Celestials supported Azadin and left the White Tiger Gate.

*********

“What?!”

Sebalhan was bewildered as he saw the change in the enemy’s momentum. The enemies had been replacing their soldiers whenever the defenders on the walls showed signs of exhaustion, and they had been holding out very well until now. But now, those being deployed were all Chitai nomads. The rest of the forces were descending the eastern wall of the White Tiger Gate, preparing to flee.

“Those bastards! Are they planning to run away?! Don’t make me laugh!”

Sebalhan was furious. He felt a maddening rage as he watched Azadin fight his army on equal terms by borrowing the power of the Divine King’s Scripture. Why is this guy performing such miracles? When he tried to research and use the Divine King’s Scripture, he could only use a few spells that used his own blood as a medium, and he could not perform large-scale miracles. Why did the spirits of Yaegas [a divine race] choose Azadin instead of him, their descendant? If the spirits had chosen him, if he could have used this miraculous power, he could have solidified his position as the Divine King and advanced further. Without resorting to the Nether’s sorcery and falling into corruption, he could have lived proudly as a member of the glorious Yaegas Divine Kings.

‘It’s because that guy drove me into this situation that I fell into corruption!’

He reached out to the Nether’s sorcery in his pursuit of power to not be outdone by Azadin. The grimoire containing this Nether sorcery was not just a simple grimoire, but contained a part of the evil god trapped in the Netherstrom [a realm of dark magic]. It instantly burned and captured Sebalhan’s ego. Sebalhan had become a slave to the grimoire, and he was furious at the Northern Emperor, who had given him this grimoire, and at Azadin, who had driven him into this situation.

But now they were retreating? And leaving the Chitai people as arrow fodder?

“Don’t make me laugh! Attack! Keep pushing!”

Sebalhan personally stepped forward and cast a spell to create a siege tower of death and placed it against the wall. The parapet could not withstand the weight and collapsed. However, the Chitai nomadic soldiers, wielding their composite bows and curved swords, roamed the walls and counterattacked, and the weapons imbued with the king’s blessing continued to display their power, burning the Nether’s forces.

“You fools! Are you baring your teeth at me, the king of Chitai, for the sake of a foreign king?! Surrender! You are Chitai people!”

“Is that what you have to say?”

“Haha. Our Chitai kingdom is a nation ruled by the descendants of the great Yaegas divine race! How dare a Nether force, transformed into zombies, usurp the title of the King of Chitai?!”

The tribal chief of the nomads mocked Sebalhan.

“That herald clan guy abandoned you as arrow fodder and ran away! Are you going to challenge me, the current king, for the sake of such a guy?”

Sebalhan shouted in anger.

“I became like this to protect the country from that guy! Know your shame for insulting me and clinging to the evil forces!”

“We are here because we know our shame, Your Majesty.”

The tribal chief of the nomads said with a bitter smile.

“We are here to wash away our shame.”

“You bastards!”

Sebalhan’s army surged towards the White Tiger Gate like a tide.