The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 506

Night of the Soulless Blasphemer 19

Cohen of the Northern Empire and his army passed through the thorn gate in an orderly fashion. It was as if they had practiced beforehand, their movements swift and disciplined.

It was clear evidence of the soldiers’ high level of training and the well-established command structure of their officers.

They were soldiers trained for the ambition of conquering the continent, but it was fortunate that they were allies now.

“Welcome, Cohen!”

Azadin greeted Cohen.

“Your words are too kind, Your Majesty. Please, give me your orders!”

“Take the left flank and move as you see fit. I’d also like some of your cavalry to assist the Celestial Fire!”

“Understood. Green Banner Knights! Follow the Celestial Fire and become their reserve force!”

“Yes!”

The commander of the Green Banner Knights, who seemed to be one of the countless princes of the Northern Empire, took the order and led his knights to follow the Celestial Fire.

Cohen of the Northern Empire paid his respects to Azadin, raised his sword, and took charge of the entire left flank with the rest of his forces. Although the light of the King’s Authority had disappeared, making it impossible to use the powers of the King’s Church, he used other colorless magic, green magic, and blood magic to protect his soldiers and invigorate them.

And finally, the Messenger Clan appeared.

Indim, Seraph, and Dimia stood at the front, with Sion Etar, and the messengers who had gathered reinforcements from all over the world by conveying the Emperor’s voice, passed through the thorn gate with bewildered expressions.

“We have gathered reinforcements from all over the continent in response to Your Majesty’s call!”

Indim, Seraph, and Dimia bowed before Azadin as if they had rehearsed it.

Even Indim, who was always grumbling, had perfect posture, showing no lack of respect for the Emperor.

However, the Messenger Clan, who were not part of Azadin’s faction, were bewildered. They had heard the stories.

Azadin had seized the southern kingdoms, negotiated with the Northern Empire, and received their oath of loyalty, becoming the Emperor.

But they never imagined that he would become the true Emperor, the master of the Emperor’s Voice, and draw out the contract of service [a binding magical agreement].

‘I heard he had seized the southern kingdoms.’

‘That Azadin of Muan! The guy who couldn’t even draw a bow properly and was the subject of everyone’s ridicule and contempt is the real Emperor?’

Unlike the bewildered Messenger Clan, the Northern Aragasa [a clan known for their loyalty and combat prowess] who appeared with the Messenger Clan knelt before Azadin in unison.

Unlike the Messenger Clan, who had seen Azadin as a powerless, cursed monster without even eyes in his childhood, these people had seen Azadin when he had regained his eyes and seized power and authority, so they only had admiration for him.

Moreover, hadn’t they turned their backs on the Northern Empire and chosen Azadin?

Even if they didn’t admire Azadin, they had no other choice but to pledge their loyalty.

“Long live the Emperor!”

“Savior of humanity!”

The Northern Aragasa were enthusiastically cheering and supporting Azadin with all their hearts.

With the atmosphere like this, the Messenger Clan also knelt down one by one.

‘It’s not an atmosphere where you can raise an objection.’

‘So what if there’s an objection? The Nether’s forces are devouring the world, are we all going to die together?’

‘Those huge monsters are fighting. It’s an undeniable truth that Azadin is protecting humanity as Emperor against the Nether’s forces.’

Seeing the reactions of the Messenger Clan, Azadin spoke.

“Hear me, all the Emperor’s messengers. You have fulfilled your mission well. As the true successor of Emperor Yaeslat, I promise that the moment this long night ends and the next morning sun rises, you will be released from your contract of service!”

“What?!”

“The curse of service will end?”

The Messenger Clan was shocked to hear those words.

The contract of service that the Emperor had given them was also called a curse.

The Messenger Clan was proud to be selected as the Emperor’s messengers, but they had always considered freeing themselves from this contract that bound them as their clan’s long-cherished wish, and now Azadin was saying that he would release them?

“Excuse me, but… is that possible?”

The elders of the Messenger Clan asked, risking disrespect.

“Hey. Are you doubting His Majesty the Emperor right now?!”

“His Majesty the Emperor is the rightful successor of Yaeslat! The Book of the Firebird and Windflower that writhes within your blood already tells you that!”

The three of the Northern Aragasa, Aliya, Kista, and Harlan, instead scolded the Messenger Clan.

‘Hey, when did these guys become messengers themselves…’

‘Why are you interfering in our clan’s affairs? Even if you’re Aragasa like us, why are you giving us a hard time when you have nothing to do with the curse of service? Are you saying you’re the Emperor’s close aides?’

The Messenger Clan was dumbfounded to see the Northern Aragasa acting more aggressively than they were.

But they also couldn’t hide their joy.

Being freed from the curse of service was their clan’s long-cherished wish.

“Now! Divide the forces into three and support each unit! And those I call, come with me to Lord Zekt!”

Azadin said that and chose the three of the Firebird and Windflower, Indim, Seraph, and Dimia, and the three of the Northern Aragasa, Aliya, Harlan, and Kista.

Azadin had acknowledged these six as the strongest agents among the Messenger Clan and the Northern Aragasa.

“No, I understand His Majesty’s position, but isn’t it better to pick from our clan instead of trying to save face for those Northern Aragasa kids? Like Sion Etar or something.”

Indim expressed his dissatisfaction when the three of the Northern Aragasa were selected. But the three of them were also just as dissatisfied.

“If Sion Etar is the best of the best from the Messenger Clan, then your skills must not be that great.”

Harlan sneered, mentioning Sion Etar.

“What? It’s okay to insult Sion Etar. But I can’t stand being insulted!”

“……?”

Sion Etar’s expression became complicated at Indim’s remark.

“Now, now, Harlan. Don’t do that. His Majesty spent his childhood with the Messenger Clan, and he needs to maintain a good relationship with them in the future, so it’s only natural that he would be considerate and pick three from the Aragasa and three from the Messenger Clan. Let’s understand the political issues.”

“Oh, my!”

Kista was saying things that made the Messenger Clan’s stomachs churn.

But the three of the Firebird and Windflower, who were actually chosen, didn’t think much of it.

‘They seem to have some skills.’

‘They directly insulted Sion Etar, but it’s not like we should get angry just because Sion is being insulted, right?’

Indim, Dimia, and Seraph cut off their thoughts, since the three of them were separate from the Messenger Clan, even if the Aragasa were ignoring them.

“……?!”

Sion’s expression became even more complicated as he watched.

“Now, everyone, calm down! If you have the energy to argue, focus on the battle!”

Azadin stopped the Northern Aragasa and the Messenger Clan and gestured to Scott.

“Scott! Send us to Zekt!”

“Got it! Boss!”

A Necro Titan, smaller than the other Necro Titans and hastily made, stretched out its hand made of black ice and held it out in front of Azadin and the Messenger Clan.

Azadin climbed on top of it, and the three of the Firebird and Windflower and the three of the Aragasa followed.

“Your Majesty.”

Midiam looked at Azadin with a heavy heart. She wanted to go with him, but as the Empress, she couldn’t act as she pleased.

“Ismail! Protect the Empress!”

“Yes!”

“It’s okay, Midiam! I’ll definitely come back!”

“Understood, Your Majesty. You must come back!”

Midiam understood Azadin’s position and didn’t insist on following him.

As Azadin and the selected Messenger Clan members climbed on, the Necro Titan stood up.

-Kwarururung!

Thunder roared again, and the Nether’s minions and monsters appeared.

The dimensional rift halo that had appeared above Zekt’s head had already risen to the height of the clouds and had turned into a huge rift with a radius of about a thousand feet, continuously emitting lightning.

Below it, Zekt stood on a mountain of insects.

“Hold on tight! Boss! I swear on the name of Scott McGreene, the greatest genius of all time, I’ll definitely get you there!”

The Necro Titan carrying Azadin began to sprint.

*********

“Amazing.”

Zekt was impressed as he looked at the human army gathered before him.

The strongest anvil on the continent, the Dragon Blood Heavy Infantry Arangian Guard.

The Celestial Fire, created with great care by the Rescue Knights.

The Aragasa clan, called the Kingslayer and the Soulless Blasphemer.

The Dwarf Musketeers and Artillery Corps, the alchemists of the Banreung Academy, and the elite forces of the Northern Empire.

All of humanity’s power was moving in unison under the command of Emperor Azadin, fighting against the Nether’s minions.

It was truly a sublime scene.

Even though individuals were still lusting after money and women, indulging in alcohol and food, and blinded by their own selfish desires, at this moment, they had become sublime beings.

‘Is this the true miracle?’

Azadin had said.

The power of the Divine King’s Scripture or the miracles of the Rescue Knights were just magic.

In an absurd and harsh world, the fact that humans yearn for virtue is a miracle, and now the power of that miracle was aiming for Zekt’s neck like a sharp sword.

Zekt felt a strange excitement at that fact.

“The desire of all these humans, united beyond national borders! The fact that I can stand at the opposite end and ruin all of that is so delightful! I’ve never experienced such joy in my life!”

“That bastard’s crazy!”

Indim openly cursed.

On the other hand, Aliya said with a bitter smile.

“I can understand it to some extent.”

“Understand what? Are you going to side with that guy?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Both of you be quiet.”

Azadin stopped the bickering pair and shouted to Zekt.

“It’s not too late! Zekt! Surrender!”

“There’s no way I’d do something so uncool now, is there? Ah, Your Majesty. Let me warn you in advance. Don’t even think about jumping over here without thinking after riding that ice monster. This is a swarm of bugs that eat human flesh. It would be no fun if you jumped in here and died without even being able to collect your bones.”

Zekt even kindly warned him, pointing to the mountain of insects he was standing on.

“Thanks for that!”

Azadin fired an arrow.

He shot an Azuresteel arrow and a Black Steel Arrow, linked together with the Two-Line Bow.

It was a technique where two arrows flew on different trajectories and hit at the same time, and there seemed to be a strange magic on the arrows, making them dangerous.

But Zekt created a two-dimensional space and absorbed Azadin’s arrows.

“Too bad…”

Even Azadin, the Emperor, was taken aback by the fact that the Black Steel Arrow, a precious treasure for him, had flown into the subspace without any effect.

But at that moment, other arrows flew from behind Zekt.

Using Azadin’s attack as bait, the arrows of other messengers flew in a curved path.

The arrows with the magic of the Firebird and Windflower, ‘Crane,’ were flying in a long detour, aiming for Zekt.

“It’s useless.”

Zekt opened another subspace and blocked the arrows coming from behind, but at that moment, the Black Steel Arrow popped out from the second subspace he had opened.

The arrow that Azadin had shot was moving freely in the subspace, ready to pop out at any time.

-Kagak!

Zekt hurriedly blocked the Black Steel Arrow with his sword.

His sword was condensed with powerful Nether magic to offset the power of the Black Steel Arrow, but the Black Steel Arrow was also a divine object containing the power of the Four Dragon, and sparks flew as it pierced a hole in his long sword and even pierced through his armor.

The Black Steel Arrow pierced through Zekt’s shoulder and came out through his back.