The Shadowed Legacy Of The Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 465

With things having turned out this way, normally, they could have just used the alliance with Chitai as an excuse to subdue Azadin, and that would have been the end of it.

However, with the King of Chitai, Sebalhan, clearly corrupted, the justification was gone.

All of the schemes and plans that Cohen had been concocting were falling apart.

But then, something unexpected happened.

“Your Majesty, a letter from King Azadin has arrived.”

“A letter? From that guy to me?”

“Yes. It was delivered through the Rescue Knights.”

“What does it say?”

“It’s a request for aid.”

“What, what did you say?”

Cohen Lionheart was taken aback.

In the midst of a fierce competition for hegemony over Hybris, he was requesting aid from his rival?

Startled, Cohen reached out. The letter held by the cleric was pulled in by a strong force of Cohen’s magic.

The cleric’s feet were lifted off the ground.

If the startled cleric hadn’t let go of the letter in time, he would have been dragged along and seriously injured.

Even for a king, this was an excessive act of violence, but Cohen, without apologizing, unfolded Azadin’s letter.

*********

Azadin’s letter contained the following:

‘To His Majesty Cohen Lionheart, ruler of Asander, King of Kings of the Church, and protector of the Elves, I offer my highest regards. I, Azadin, though lacking in virtue, have been tasked with protecting the thrones of Banreung and Arangi.

Most Exalted King of Kings,

Recently, Chitai has invaded our borders, massacring civilians and carrying out large-scale looting and kidnappings. To hold them accountable, we have been forced into war with Chitai.

I am well aware that waging war amidst the harsh famine of Pimbulbert is a foolish act that torments all people, but due to my lack of virtue, I could find no other way to soothe the tears of my people, and thus, I have been compelled to engage in conflict with Chitai.

I have been deeply concerned that this lack of virtue might disturb Your Majesty, the King of Kings, but I feared that conveying my thoughts through written messages via the Church, with such vast distances between us, might lead to misunderstandings. I ask for your understanding in this matter.

Despite my foolish actions, I have always admired you from the depths of my heart, knowing that Your Majesty has maintained neutrality without any intervention, simply out of your gracious consideration for me.’

Azadin’s letter was filled with diplomatic rhetoric, and his excessive humility was almost laughable.

Azadin, known as the Overlord of the South, was being more humble than necessary, which felt almost like mockery.

The part about maintaining neutrality without intervention could be interpreted as a mockery, considering that the title of King of Kings was supposed to mean he would mediate disputes between kingdoms.

‘If you’re the King of Kings, you should have at least pretended to mediate when things went wrong between kings. What kind of King of Kings are you, keeping your mouth shut while Chitai was looting and killing civilians? What a moronic title. If you wanted to hear that title so much, I’ll keep calling you that from now on.’

It felt like he was being sarcastic.

“He’s being sarcastic. This guy.”

Azadin’s letter continued.

‘However, during the conflict, King Sebalhan of Chitai dabbled in Nether sorcery and lost his reason. Sebalhan first attacked the citizens of Junggyeong, turning them all into Nether minions, then captured all the fortresses near Junggyeong, and finally turned his terrifying spearhead towards us. I was so distraught that I could only gather a few soldiers and retreat.

Although all of this happened due to my lack of virtue, and it is my own fault, I am deeply concerned about the suffering that my lack of virtue will bring to my soldiers and, furthermore, to the people of Hybris. With the vast generosity of Your Majesty, King of Kings Cohen Lionheart, I humbly ask that you forgive my past rudeness and ignorance, and provide us with reinforcements to drive out the Nether creatures, as well as the promised provisions for Chitai. In return, I offer 2,000 gold coins to commemorate your boundless grace. Of course, how can mere worldly possessions repay Your Majesty’s generous mercy? But this is all I have to show my sincerity. I implore you to rebuke my lack of virtue and guide me on the right path.’

The letter ended there.

Stripping away the diplomatic language, it could be summarized as…

‘I acknowledge your title as King of Kings of the North and will pretend to bow before you, so please give me food in exchange for some gold coins, which are useless in the current famine.’

That was how it could be summarized.

The Northern Empire clicked their tongues at Azadin’s letter.

“Have this copied by the scribe so that you all can see it.”

“Yes!”

The scribe took it and read the contents of the letter, informing the ministers and copying the letter.

The ministers of the court, upon hearing the contents of the letter read by the scribe, chuckled.

“This guy is completely terrified.”

“He’s a disgrace to the name of the Overlord of the South.”

“Overlord, my foot. He was just a coward. Look at him, freezing up in fear.”

Cohen Lionheart’s vassals looked down on Azadin and mocked him for his low posture.

However, Cohen was feeling troubled as he looked at Azadin’s letter.

“So, how should we respond to this letter?”

“If he’s begging us for aid, shouldn’t we tell him to stop his heretical ways and hand over the throne to the rightful Yaehgas divine royal family?”

“Are you saying I should officially replace the ruler of another kingdom? Isn’t that what an emperor does?”

In the past, Emperor Yaehslat had arbitrarily executed the king of another kingdom, who was his relative, and claimed all the thrones for himself, calling himself emperor.

Alarmed by the emperor’s rampage, the King’s Church forbade the act of arbitrarily replacing the king of another country.

Of course, it was possible to replace them behind the scenes through political maneuvering, but doing it as the vassals suggested would be a blatant violation of the King’s Church’s laws.

Cohen could get away with it because the Church was lenient, but recently, as Karasar and Tarasar had begun to suspect Cohen, the King’s Church was also starting to feel suspicious of him.

If he were to violate the law like an emperor, there would surely be those who would object.

However, most of Cohen’s vassals did not understand why Cohen was evaluating Azadin so highly.

‘Why is he acting like this towards a guy who has practically surrendered and bowed his head? Is the king overestimating his opponent too much?’

‘Could it be that he’s feeling empty because the guy who’s been giving him trouble has given up the competition so easily?’

However, the Elves and the Northern Aragasa understood what Cohen meant.

“A capable enemy in front of you is scary, but an enemy who harbors resentment and comes under your command is even scarier. The problem is that, with Your Majesty’s title as King of Kings, it’s hard to refuse Azadin’s request when he’s being so humble.”

“That guy isn’t even a king!”

The old ministers were furious at the Elves’ remarks, treating Azadin, a member of the messenger clan, as a king.

“There’s a rumor that he’s a disciple of that elf named Kazas or something, and that’s why you guys have been siding with him lately.”

The ministers of the Asander court mentioned that Azadin was a disciple of the elf Kazas, which they had somehow found out.

The Elves glared at the old minister with contempt.

“Your Majesty, they say you should strike a drowning dog while it’s down. If the opponent is asking us for aid, they must be experiencing a severe food shortage right now. Now is the time to gather our forces, march into Chitai, cut off the enemy’s lifeline, and capture and punish Azadin for daring to call himself a king.”

“But we’ve already received a letter requesting aid. Wouldn’t it look worse if we attacked knowing their plight?”

The cautious Elves objected.

“It’s absurd to not bite the enemy’s throat when they’re already in your mouth just because you’re afraid of your reputation.”

“A petty person would take their own life to avoid shame and consider it a display of resolve, but the path of a king is to willingly endure shame for the sake of all people. Your Majesty, I believe it is right to plot and eliminate King Azadin, even if it tarnishes your reputation.”

The Elves and Aragasa took a cautious stance, but their caution was dismissed as them trying to distance themselves because of some connection to Azadin.

The Elves were suspected of siding with Azadin because he was Kazas’s disciple.

The Northern Aragasa were suspected of siding with Azadin because he was an Aragasa, and their valid opinions were ignored.

They were convinced that Azadin’s request for aid alone meant that his forces were on the verge of collapse.

“So, where is King Azadin right now?”

When Cohen of the North asked, an Aragasa agent nodded.

“We know he escaped from Baekhogwan, but I will inform you as soon as the evening report comes in.”

“Alright. You’ve done well.”

Cohen praised the Aragasa’s efforts.

But then, an Aragasa messenger arrived at the royal court.

“Your Majesty! King Azadin of Banreung has arrived at Changgok Fortress! And his forces are considerable. It seems he has absorbed most of Chitai’s forces!”

“What?!”

At that moment, all the ministers were shocked.

Changgok was a major gateway city on the border between Asander and Chitai.

In other words, Azadin, the moment he withdrew his troops from Baekhogwan, had turned his forces towards Asander while sending a deceitful letter requesting aid.

“This is absurd!”

The ministers, who had been looking down on Azadin until just now, finally realized that they had greatly misjudged him.

*********

After retreating from Baekhogwan, Azadin’s army did not move south but rather north.

This could have resulted in Azadin’s army being cut off by Sebalhan, severing their connection with their homeland, but Azadin took that risk and moved north.

Fortunately, the scholar Garasan of Chitai had joined Azadin, so the local magistrates, governors, and soldiers did not dare to attack Azadin.

With King Sebalhan having become a Nether creature and losing his legitimacy, there was no justification to attack Azadin.

Moreover, the fact that Azadin’s forces were intact without significant losses was also a major factor.

Even if there were nobles who disliked Azadin and wanted to attack him, they did not have the forces to contend with him.

Azadin quickly headed north with the support of each city through Garasan’s connections.

“You sent a request for aid to Asander, didn’t you? But heading towards Asander could be a problem.”

Jibek frowned.

Azadin had moved his forces quickly before the Northern Empire could respond.

The large-scale movement of troops near the border would be seen as a military threat by anyone.

He had disguised it as a request for aid and gathered his forces before the news could spread.

“If I just send a request for aid, there’s no way the Northern Empire would listen, right?”

“Then, are you going there for a show of force? But a show of force could provoke the enemy’s backlash.”