The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 81

Salasma and Rantaric were neighboring territories, destined to be bitter enemies. The Kora River, which served as their border, was a lifeline for water transport, irrigation, and fishing, leading to constant disputes over its river basin.

The current lord of Rantaric was Count Garnaher, a great noble who also owned the territory of Adirof. However, when Count Kazel ascended to power in Salasma, Garnaher underestimated him and launched an attack, only to suffer a crushing defeat.

Afterward, Count Garnaher revised his strategy. He sent his daughter to Count Kazel in a political marriage while also deploying agents to the border to sow chaos in Salasma by engaging in slave trading and supporting bandit groups.

The highest-ranking agent infiltrated by the lord of Rantaric was a former guard captain named Donair. Originally, Donair had no interest in such covert operations. He had always believed he would become a knight or, at the very least, retire with a fortune. He even harbored resentment toward Count Garnaher for sending him to lead a band of thieves.

However…

Once he settled in, he found it quite enjoyable. It was true what they said about being the head of a snake rather than the tail of a dragon. He had experienced it firsthand, and the old saying was spot on.

Donair took any woman he desired from among the women the bandits captured. He freely plundered various luxuries and treasures and even had a personal jester.

His hideout, which was more lavish than most noble estates, was called the Bandit King’s Palace by the other bandits. It was to this Bandit King’s Palace that a woman named Shati was brought as tribute.

*********

‘Bandit King, we’ve captured a Naga.’

‘What? What nonsense are you spouting?’

Donair was skeptical.

‘The Nagas are all part of the organization trying to rebuild Nagashura [a mythical city or kingdom]. They’re not easy to deal with. How could you have captured one with your skills?’

‘Well, it’s those guys, you know.’

‘The inn that puts guests in the pot.’

‘Ah, that place? So, poison works on Nagas too?’

Donair laughed in disbelief.

‘So, why the Naga?’

‘That Naga is incredibly beautiful.’

‘A Naga disguised as a human, you say?’

‘Ha, interesting. Isn’t she just a woman? You bandits always exaggerate.’

Donair thought this as he pulled out the person chained under his palace table.

‘Gah! What is this? Are you insulting a knight?’

The chained person was an old man with a snow-white beard. Though age had withered his youthful vigor and his skin was as dry as old wood, his bearing suggested he was a man of good education.

However, he was currently wearing a brass washbasin on his head, a crude wooden sword like a child’s toy, and ridiculously painted cloth armor. Moreover, he seemed mentally unstable, having forgotten his dignity as he picked up bread crumbs from the floor and ate them.

‘What do you think, Sir Brand?’

Donair sneered, and the old man called Sir Brand stood up abruptly.

‘Whether the Naga has disguised as a human, or the people have lied to please the king, or they themselves have been deceived by a swindler, the important thing is that you, the king, must judge for yourself! Isn’t that the duty of one who wears the crown?’

Sir Brand removed the word ‘bandit’ from Bandit King Donair’s title. Thus, Donair became simply the king, and his bandit underlings became his people or soldiers.

‘Hahaha. You’re really entertaining. It’s worth keeping you alive.’

Donair was originally the son of a tanner. Tanners were considered lowly, always smelling of foul chemicals. Even after becoming a soldier and achieving various merits, he was never recognized like others.

The Count of Rantaric had sent him to banditry because he was the son of a tanner. But this old man called him king. This place became his palace, and he became the king of a nation of bandits who plundered, killed, and even ate their people.

Yes, it couldn’t be boring. With a mad brass knight doubling as a jester in the Bandit King’s palace, adding one more Naga wouldn’t hurt.

*********

The bandit hideout was located in a basin. The drought that had plagued Salasma seemed to have spared this basin. A small stream, a tributary of the Kora River, flowed through the lush vegetation, and the bandits’ camps were scattered around it.

In the center stood a wooden fortress. It wasn’t a permanent structure, but it wasn’t as flimsy as a tent either.

It was a fortress made of wooden palisades that would take at least half a year to construct. Shati, who had been a Naga agent, immediately understood what had happened when she saw the bandit hideout.

‘It’s the work of the Rantaric lord. Count Garnaher, that sly fox!’

She had been in the border count’s palace of Salasma and was well aware of the conflict between Salasma and Rantaric. Although the daughter of the lord of Rantaric and Kazel, the son of the lord of Salasma, had a political marriage, the embers of conflict still smoldered between them.

At that moment, the soldiers opened the iron bars.

‘Come out, Naga. Our king wants to see you.’

‘King? The king of bandits?’

‘Yes. Our king even has a personal jester in his palace. He’s more kingly than most counts.’

‘…’

Even as a joke, the fact that he was calling himself a king suggested that his loyalty to Count Garnaher had waned.

‘Maybe I can survive this?’

Thinking of a hopeful future, Shati followed the soldiers.

The longhouse, located in the heart of the fortress, was decorated with gold, ivory, and various rare treasures. Women wearing exotic clothes looted from merchants were cleaning inside.

The longhouse was large, but it didn’t seem like it would require four or five people to clean. The fact that there were so many half-naked women suggested that the leader was deliberately showing off to his subordinates.

‘He’s going mad with the taste of power. It’s common with these types.’

Shati was dragged before the bandit leader, the so-called Bandit King. The Bandit King was a middle-aged man who seemed quite skilled.

‘This is… a Naga? She just looks like a human woman to me?’

‘Yes. Her companions also looked like human men, but they transformed when they attacked.’

‘Come to think of it, there was a story about the Count of Salasma turning into a Naga. This woman must be related to that. Right?’

‘…’

Shati was speechless. She had been looking down on the bandit for setting up a strange mansion, but he was unexpectedly sharp.

‘Aren’t you going to answer? If you get tortured, there’s no point in surrendering without resistance. Are you waiting for your companions to rescue you?’

‘It’s humiliating to even speak to the likes of you, you filthy warm-blooded monkey.’

‘Was it your doing that the count turned into a Naga?’

‘He chose it himself. Becoming a member of the great Cobra Queen Debislin [a deity or powerful figure in Naga lore] is an honor, a blessing too good for a warm-blooded monkey.’

‘Hmm. So, the Count of Salasma became a cultist. You wouldn’t have just accepted him as a member. What did he offer?’

‘The corpses of the people. We were going to make them into mummies and overthrow the Count of Rantaric.’

Shati mixed lies with truth. It was true that they had gathered corpses to create an undead army to devour the entire Korasar, including Rantaric. However, the Naga goddess, Cobra Queen Debislin, had accepted the count as a member because he had offered a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture [a sacred text or artifact].

If she mentioned the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, she didn’t know what kind of greed these bandits would show.

‘Hahaha. The nobles all think alike. They’re really crazy.’

‘It seems like you’re doing this because you want to become a noble too… How about it? Would you like to become a member of the Cobra Queen?’

‘Didn’t you call me a filthy warm-blooded monkey?’

‘That’s different. If you become a member, you can escape the fate of a filthy warm-blooded monkey. Our Naga race lives much longer and is much stronger than you humans.’

Shati hated these bandits, but if she could win them over, she would.

Count Kazel had been killed by the Messenger Clan, and the Nagas’ carefully laid plans had been thwarted. If she could win over this Bandit King and his band, she could recover some of the losses.

‘Hmm? You’re quite bold for someone who’s been captured?’

Donair smiled at Shati’s confident attitude.

‘What will you do? Will you accept?’

‘No, I don’t like it. How dare you try to negotiate with me on equal terms? Hang her on the rack. For food, give her the corpses of her fellow Nagas for a while.’

‘Yes, sir!’

‘…H, hey!’

Shati was taken aback by Donair’s reaction.

At that moment, a messenger rushed in.

‘L, leader! There’s big trouble!’

‘Trouble? What is it?’

‘Some crazy guy is attacking us!’

‘Crazy guy?’

‘Yes. He’s barging in, saying he’s going to buy the Naga woman, and he’s breaking the limbs of the guards or, or castrating them.’

‘Castrating?’

Donair turned to Shati.

‘It seems like you have a visitor. Do you have any idea who it might be? A companion?’

‘Ah, maybe.’

‘Tell me.’

‘You said you were going to hang me on the rack? Why should I tell you?’

‘If you don’t tell me…’

But the bandits screamed.

‘Oh, leader! This isn’t the time for that!’

‘Please, take command!’

‘…Damn it! Fine!’

Donair hastily began preparing for battle.

*********

As they entered the basin area of the Kora River tributary, which marked the border between the territories of Rantaric and Salasma, the signs of the drought that had plagued the eastern inland region disappeared, and a lush green forest path stretched ahead.

‘Don’t follow us so closely.’

The guards of the armed merchant caravan, who were walking ahead, were annoyed that Azadin’s group was following them closely.

‘It’s not like we’re following you. It’s just that the road is straight.’

‘Hmph. Nonsense. Do you think we don’t know your intentions? There are many bandits around here, so you’re trying to get involved with us and follow along, aren’t you?’

‘Even so, wouldn’t it be better not to be attacked by bandits if there are more people?’

Even just adding more people would make them a difficult target for bandits. Azadin pointed this out, but the mercenaries of the armed merchant caravan scoffed.