The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 476

Just by coming this far, Azadin’s achievements are already unprecedented in the history of the Hybris continent.

What if he were to persuade Cohen Lionheart of the Northern Empire here?

It would be the birth of a merciful and righteous new king who has seized the world without shedding a drop of blood.

A man who unifies the Hybris continent through dialogue, not force!

Isn’t this a great feat that will be etched in history for generations to come!?

It’s already infuriating enough to be left behind by Azadin and have all the credit taken away preemptively; how can he stand to see that?

No matter what he was persuaded with. Even if he were to offer the position of emperor now, and Azadin were to declare himself Cohen’s vassal, Cohen had no intention of listening.

But….

“If I could kill him, I would….”

Azadin absolutely did not like Cohen.

If he could kill him, he would want to.

However, if he kills this guy, innocent people will have to die in agony, so he endures.

Azadin was persuading Cohen with that kind of attitude.

‘This guy. If he can’t persuade me in the end, he’s going to kill me. Not caring even if the people die?’

Cohen suddenly looked into Azadin’s eyes.

The purple eyes were coldly calm.

There was no agitation, sympathy, or conflict in them.

Just like a calm surface of water, it was reflecting the image of Cohen of the Northern Empire.

At that moment, he felt as if lightning struck inside his head.

He realized that Azadin was calmly accepting the current situation.

He tries to save the people, but he doesn’t waver even if the people die.

He does his best, but if problems arise, it can’t be helped.

He doesn’t get overly excited or overly sad; he just does what he can silently and calmly.

Even if Cohen were to act recklessly and take more innocent people with him, it wouldn’t cause any mental wounds or pain to Azadin.

Because he did his best.

He would just think, ‘Cohen is a really bad guy. Well, nothing can be done about it.’

He would shake it off and move on, and if human history continues, he will be remembered as the worst new king.

When he realized that fact, what Cohen felt was shame.

‘If I attack, that guy will lose his reputation.’

‘If more innocent people die, he will be heartbroken.’

‘If I give in to his persuasion and give him a bloodless victory, I will become a trophy that further illuminates his glory? Ah! What a pathetic thought. This guy has absolutely no interest in honor, and I was being arrogant, saying I would even throw away my life to tarnish his honor. I was not a king, but a clown!’

When he realized that, Cohen was so pathetic that he banged his head on the floor.

His head cracked, blood splattered, and he felt pain, but the shame was more painful than the physical pain.

Cohen is still Cohen.

He doesn’t suddenly develop a love for the people, the masses, or the citizens that he never had before.

He didn’t feel any value in relationships with other humans anyway, and he was only interested in his own superiority and the great achievements he would accomplish, and that fact hasn’t changed even now.

But because of that, he felt an even greater shock at the foolish act he had committed.

The emotion that came to Cohen, who barely shook off his disgust by banging his head on the floor himself, was admiration.

‘This guy is really amazing.’

It was pure admiration for Azadin.

********

The Northern Empire did not see other people as equal human beings.

So, he was alone everywhere.

He climbs the mountain alone in solitude.

In order to become a great new king who will leave his name in the history of mankind, he engaged in all sorts of schemes, and he had no sympathy for those who were sacrificed by his schemes.

Because to him, they were insignificant beings that he couldn’t see.

In that way, he was walking alone towards the summit, stepping on others on a path full of people.

Then, a rival named Azadin appeared to him.

At first, he thought of him as the same kind of being as himself.

A person who shouts for the greater good in order to leave behind proof that he is different from other inferior humans in this world, and to leave behind fame and great achievements.

Even if the spirits of Yegas [a deity or powerful entity in this world] chose him and the angels blessed him, he thought it was probably because of the imperial blood flowing in his veins, or because of the evil deeds that the Northern Empire had committed to achieve his ambitions.

He never imagined that Azadin would have no interest in honor itself.

But he learned it while facing Azadin.

This guy loves virtue, seeks justice, and wants to achieve the greater good.

But he doesn’t want any reward for it.

There is no demand like, ‘Because I love virtue, I am a good person,’ or ‘Because I seek justice, I will punish others,’ or ‘Because I want to achieve the greater good, everyone must submit to me.’

At first, he thought they were on the same level, but he was a being who had risen to a completely different, distant realm.

No, even thinking like this is already wrong.

Azadin didn’t have that kind of self-consciousness or competitiveness that Cohen of the Northern Empire had from the beginning.

At that moment, Cohen was truly impressed by Azadin.

********

The clerics who came at the call of Cohen of the Northern Empire were bewildered to see Cohen and Azadin in the same place.

“Your Majesty. I heard you called for us.”

Instead of Azadin, who received their gaze, his vassals and the Northern Aragasa [elite warriors of the Northern Empire] were furious.

“How dare you look!? This is His Majesty’s presence!”

“Shall I pluck out your eyes! You impudent clerics. Are you treating His Majesty with that kind of expression right now?”

“Ah, I, I’m sorry.”

The clerics were startled and bowed their heads, asking the Northern Empire.

“Th, then, is that person over there perhaps?”

“That is His Majesty Azadin.”

“Yes?”

The clerics were bewildered by the Northern Empire’s statement.

Cohen, the king, is calling Azadin, who is also a king, Your Majesty?

It’s clearly treating him like a superior, isn’t it?

Even if he were to treat him as an equal king, it would be a shocking event, but this is more than that.

“King Azadin of Banlung has shown a miracle. His Majesty has proven that he was chosen by the spirits of Yegas even while sitting on the throne of Asander, so he is the rightful owner of the throne and a living miracle itself.”

“Yes?!”

“I, is that true?”

The clerics were bewildered.

The title of the Northern Empire was King of Kings, an honorable position granted by the Church of the King.

It was a term that they picked up and used because they couldn’t dare call him emperor, but it meant that the Northern Empire was the most prominent among all kings.

So, the Church’s clerics were on the verge of fainting because the Northern Empire, who had been given authority by the Church, was supporting Azadin as a witness.

‘What should we do? This?’

‘It doesn’t seem like a stage we can dare to do anything about?’

“Well, so now, according to the order of King, no, Emperor Azadin, I will act as his vassal. First, send my message to Tarasar and Karasar. His Majesty is concerned about the increasingly severe cold wave and is trying to gather refugees in Asander. Thinking about it, I was foolish. It is right to gather people here where there is food, rather than transporting food to various places.”

It’s not wrong. But that means Asander will open its borders and accept foreigners without restrictions.

Wasn’t he living by giving only a little bit of food and showing off to other kings because he didn’t want to do that?

But now, he’s suddenly acting boldly as if he’s changed, and the clerics are having a hard time knowing if what’s happening in front of them is a dream or reality.

Moreover, the title he used for Azadin was… a term that could not be ignored.

“E, Emperor, you said?”

“That’s right. Now that Netherstrom [a powerful storm or cataclysmic event] is weakening and the famine of the cold is threatening the whole world, isn’t there a need for someone to lead humanity as one? Until now, I dared to covet that position, but I am happy to entrust everything to him because there is someone who is much more suitable for that position than me, and I have decided to become his vassal.”

The clerics suspected that Cohen might be being controlled by magic.

The clerics were not fools, so they knew that Cohen had great ambition.

But he’s giving up that ambition and becoming Azadin’s subordinate?

“W, well, anyway, we can’t launch ships in this weather. The weather will only get worse, not better.”

“That’s why I’m talking about a miracle, isn’t it? As soon as the ships are ready, the weather will change and it will be suitable for transporting people by ship!”

Azadin smiled bitterly as he heard the Northern Empire declare that.

‘Is this guy using my life to do good? No, if he kills me, isn’t this guy the one who benefits the most?’

The Light of Kingship, this was the culprit that was already putting a huge burden on Azadin, who had died and come back to life.

The more Azadin manifests the Light of Kingship to protect humanity, the more his lifespan is consumed.

If Azadin becomes emperor and dies in the middle, the position will naturally go to the Northern Empire.

Even if Azadin were to have an heir with Midiam now, Azadin’s faction, without him, would not be able to defeat the experienced Northern Empire.

From the Northern Empire’s point of view, it was a fight where he had nothing to lose and only things to gain, even if he admitted that he couldn’t defeat Azadin and entered the succession battle.

It wasn’t just Azadin’s thought; Azadin’s vassals were also openly glaring at the Northern Empire with displeased expressions.

The Northern Aragasa were especially bad.

They secretly wanted Azadin to kill the Northern Empire.

If the Northern Empire is persuaded and doesn’t die, and his power is preserved, the situation of the Northern Aragasa, who were vassals of the Northern Empire and then betrayed him, becomes difficult.

They have to serve the same king, no, emperor, while having a powerful enemy called the Northern Empire.

Since they had hit the other party in the back of the head, their own backs were bound to feel cold.

They want to find fault with him and punish him somehow, but the Northern Empire is so experienced in this that there is no room to find fault.

‘He’s not easy after all. Look at him lying without even batting an eye.’

‘Since when did he serve His Majesty Azadin? It’s like he’s the most loyal subject in the world.’

‘We should have killed him instead of persuading him. But His Majesty the Emperor persuaded that sly guy because he wanted to save even one more person.’

Ironically, the Northern Empire was sincerely impressed by Azadin and was trying to serve him, but no one, including Azadin, trusted the Northern Empire.

“Th, then, we….”

“Inform the upper echelons of the Church and the entire world of this fact. Of course, send messages to Karasar and Tarasar as well.”

“That is… we have actually been working with the Northern Empire to deliver messages until now.”

The Church of the King and the Rescue Knights had a monopoly on the Mirror of Communication, an ancient Hybris magical artifact, and had built a powerful communication network throughout the continent.

The Mirror of Communication, which could transmit human words much more accurately than a messenger, gave the Church an undeniable influence, even though it was an organization to deal with the Church’s unwanted bastards.

And the way to strengthen that influence is to deliver only the news they want and block the news they don’t want.

Until now, they had been working with the Northern Empire and delivering whatever the Northern Empire told them to, but now they would receive payment.

That’s what the clerics were saying.

“It doesn’t matter. If you don’t help, I will use the Rescue Knights organization.”

Azadin said that. But then it was.

-Krrrrrrrr!

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.