The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 510

Azadin glared at Erasmaya.

The Nagas were enemies from the start, so their schemes and tactics were merely the result of each doing their best in their respective positions.

But the Elves were different.

Unlike the Nagas, they had deeply infiltrated human society, and despite their past crimes, they had already been forgiven by humans once before.

Yet, these Elves betrayed trust and humanity once again. This time, they even abandoned their own kind who opposed their will.

For such a vile war criminal to suggest deceiving the people to simplify post-war compensation issues…

Azadin’s voice, which never lost its composure even when facing enemies, was as cold and fierce as ice.

“Why on earth should I deceive my people for your sake? Don’t try to rise above your station. You are not worth it.”

“We are truly sorry. But Your Majesty, we were merely trying to save our clan in the face of the prophesied Age of Jupiter. The power of the Nether [a dark, chaotic realm] has already grown too strong, and the return of the sealed old gods due to the celestial changes was inevitable. We Elves and Nagas were only acting to refine the Nether’s power into a controllable form. Everything we did was ultimately for the sake of humanity.”

Erasmaya’s argument was as follows:

The coming of the Age of Jupiter was inevitable, as had been prophesied long ago, and could not be stopped.

Didn’t they, in fact, minimize the damage?

“Your deception is so clumsy that it feels like an insult. The Age of Jupiter, the coming of Fimbulwinter [a catastrophic, unending winter], was inevitable, that much is true. But for you to claim that you did all this out of concern for humanity is a blatant lie, isn’t it? You were simply blinded by your own gain, using other forces and ultimately betraying humanity. And now that things have turned out this way, you’re making pathetic excuses, aren’t you?”

As an emperor, Azadin wanted to bring criminals to court and punish them according to the law.

However, Erasmaya’s claims were so brazen that he felt like beheading her right then and there, without any trial.

“We will not deny it. We are criminals. But Your Majesty, as such, we are still useful. We possess immense wealth, forbidden arts, and all sorts of pleasures. If you forgive us, if you give us a punishment we can accept, we will gladly accept it and offer all our talents to you.”

When Azadin showed his anger, Erasmaya changed her attitude and proposed a plea bargain.

‘Are they really looking down on me like a fool? Isn’t it because everyone has spared you for your talents that you’ve been able to stab them in the back? In the end, if you survive this time, you think you can use your pleasures and indulgences to corrupt me and manipulate me to your will, right?’

Azadin decided to cut off Erasmaya and the Telbarin Elves this time.

But then, darkness fell before Azadin’s eyes.

*********

A terrible sense of exhaustion washed over Azadin.

‘Why now of all times! Those damned Elves are really lucky!’

Azadin had come this far, overcoming death several times.

His body, which was fortunate to be alive, often didn’t listen to him, which was no longer surprising.

But for this exhaustion to come now, in front of the enemies…

He couldn’t show weakness in front of the enemies now.

Even if Erasmaya and the Telbarin Elves were one thing, this Nagaraja [Naga King], Maharaja [Great King], was definitely not an easy opponent.

Azadin desperately tried to appear calm and stepped forward.

In this situation, he couldn’t strongly insist on punishing the Elves.

But if he suddenly showed weakness, they would definitely become suspicious.

“You Telbarin Elves are still selfish. Ending Fimbulwinter is more important than discussing your punishment right now. Step aside from the throne. Once Fimbulwinter is over, then I will discuss your punishment.”

As Azadin spoke calmly, the Maharaja looked at Dehares. Dehares nodded.

“Understood. What belongs to humans will be returned to humans. But Your Majesty, what do you intend to do now?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your Majesty has several options. As you know, Sir Zekt used the power of the Nether to isolate this world, severing the touch of the Yegas spirit [a divine entity] from this Hybris [the world]. If you restore it, you can once again have the Yegas spirit protect this land, or you can get closer to the angels of salvation and artificially strengthen the power of the Salvation Knights.”

“Or you could ascend and become another angel. It wouldn’t matter if you became a Great Angel of the Four Stars instead of the Great Angel of the Trinity, would it?”

The Maharaja subtly suggested another path to Azadin.

“Is that possible?”

“The connection between Hybris and the Yegas spirit has already been severed once. By restoring the severed connection and resetting the connection with another world, you can end Fimbulwinter, and in the process, slightly change the world as you wish.”

“So that’s what you guys were doing.”

Azadin realized what the Maharaja sitting on the throne had been doing.

Zekt had severed the light of kingship, the power of the Yegas gods, from this world through the throne of Butuma.

That meant that the world could be reset through this throne. The Nagas and Elves had been trying to reset the world by touching the throne after Zekt’s defeat.

“That’s right. After Zekt was defeated and the throne was freed from his shackles, we tried to take over that power. But the throne of Yegas rejected us. Of course, if we spent some time interfering, there would be nothing we couldn’t manipulate….”

Azadin noticed that the Naga Maharaja was bluffing.

When they offered a deal to Zekt, they said they sacrificed 10,000 of their clan’s eggs.

Even if oviparity [reproduction by laying eggs] is a more suitable method for mass reproduction than viviparity [reproduction by live birth], 10,000 eggs from a higher life form like a Naga would not be a cheap price.

There was no way that the Naga Maharaja could do what Zekt, a descendant of Yegas, had done by sacrificing 10,000 Naga eggs, by just ‘spending some time’.

“Our Naga magic has reached a different level than human magic, but we cannot make the mistake of fighting you, who defeated Sir Zekt, the legitimate son of the Yegas gods, without even a scratch.”

The Naga Maharaja and Nagaraja Dehares were misjudging Azadin’s condition.

They believed that Azadin had achieved an overwhelming victory against Zekt and was unharmed.

‘No, I don’t even have scales to be hurt, you fools.’

But their misjudgment was a very good opportunity for Azadin.

“I propose 7 years of good harvest, 7 years of good fishing, and 100 years of peace. Trade is allowed, but regular troops and spies must not leave the Butuma jungle for the next 100 years. If you do that, humanity will not approach the Naga territories either.”

Azadin made a negotiation proposal to the Nagas.

The damage humanity had suffered from this Fimbulwinter was enormous, but humanity did not have the strength to punish the Nagas.

It was better to seal them inside the Butuma jungle and receive a promise of 7 years of good harvest and fishing.

“100 years of peace, but isn’t that just unilaterally confining us too much? This kind of peace is too humiliating.”

“This isn’t the time to be talking about humiliation, is it? Considering the damage you’ve inflicted on humanity, there are many who want to fight you to the death.”

“What about your military supplies? Are your food and weapons sufficient? They won’t be, will they? Even though you won, I know you’re on the verge of collapse. And even at this moment, the beings of the Nether are still crossing over, aren’t they? Unlike you, the Kurt gods we serve were originally gods of the Nether. They liked Hybris and stayed here, becoming known as the Kurt gods, so we, who have gained their wisdom, know more about the beings of the Nether than humans do.”

The Naga Maharaja subtly threatened Azadin.

He was saying that he knew how hard it was for them to get through Fimbulwinter, and asking if they really wanted to fight the Nagas.

If they entered a war with the Nagas instead of receiving the promise of 7 years of good harvest and fishing, it would be a long time before humanity could recover.

But Azadin did not back down in this negotiation.

“If your subordinates willingly offered 10,000 eggs, then your regime must have a very solid foundation. Sir Zekt’s army has been winning battles every day, so a lot of Naga blood must have been spilled, and even after sacrificing 10,000 eggs, you’re saying that if you order them, they’ll all be happy to fight to the death? You have such loyal subordinates, I’m envious.”

He didn’t know how strong the Maharaja’s power was among the Nagas, but they must have suffered considerable sacrifices to operate in the Fimbulwinter situation. If negotiations with Azadin broke down in this situation, would the other Nagas blindly follow him?

As Azadin sneered, the Maharaja seemed speechless.

He didn’t know for sure, but Azadin’s point seemed to have hit a sore spot.

“Alright. Just as humanity has suffered from this war, we have also suffered. It is time for those who have survived to seek peace rather than fight each other. In the name of Cobra Queen Debislin, I accept the 100 years of peace as a covenant.”

The Naga Maharaja agreed to peace negotiations with Azadin.

Just as humanity was weakened by Fimbulwinter, the Nagas were also in a situation where they could not continue the war. Even without peace negotiations, the Nagas were not in a position to start a war right away.

“Good. Then step back, Nagas. Return to your territory right now.”

“Understood.”

The Nagas retreated, feeling both humiliation and relief.

Dehares, who was already acquainted with Azadin, bowed deeply to him.

“Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty. To think that you would consider peace even after defeating Sir Zekt, who had become a Nether Avatar. We look forward to future trade.”

“I look forward to it too. There’s no harm in trading.”

“Then.”

Dehares escorted the Maharaja and left Butuma.

A green magic circle appeared in the air and swallowed their bodies, and their presence instantly disappeared from Butuma.

*********

“Now, then, you Telbarin Elves are left. The crimes you have committed are worse than those of the Nagas. The Nagas were originally a race that opposed humanity, and their actions were their best efforts, but you, who belonged to humanity under the Northern Empire, betrayed humanity. Tell me why you should be spared.”

Azadin finished negotiating with the Nagas and now glared at the Telbarin Elves.