The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 92

“Midiam!”Ismail grabbed the flagpole and leaped off the ramparts, catching Midiam as she was about to fall.

“Ugh!?”

“Kuh!”

The moment Ismail and Midiam grabbed each other’s hands, they both felt a sharp pain. Kahsan had thrown her with such force that it felt like their arms would be ripped from their sockets.

“Ugh! No, no!”

His arm hurt so much that he couldn’t support Midiam’s weight. Ismail knew Kahsan was waiting for them, but he had no choice but to return to the ramparts. Kahsan, who was indeed waiting for them, casually wrapped his arms around Midiam and Ismail’s necks.

“Cough!”

“Eek!”

Ismail and Midiam collapsed to the ground.

“Heh heh, impressive. For a Messenger of Azadin, you’re quite skilled, aren’t you? You must be from Etar. If you were adults, you might have beaten me. But you’re too young now.”

Kahsan subdued Ismail and Midiam, then shrugged.

“It’s a waste to leave you to a half-wit like Azadin. How about becoming my Messenger?”

At that moment, a snicker came from behind Kahsan.

“What are you talking about when a Messenger ambushed a Messenger?”

“Hmm?”

Kahsan was surprised to find another Messenger, Azadin, who had somehow climbed onto the fortress.

“Azadin!”

“Sorry. I was watching.”

“… !”

If what Azadin was saying was true, then he had been calmly watching Kahsan, Midiam, and Ismail duel.

And Kahsan hadn’t noticed Azadin’s approach… If there had been an ambush, what would have happened?

‘Well, it’s just boasting.’

It was true that Azadin had been watching, but he had seen it while climbing up to the fortress, not specifically to observe Kahsan’s skills. He couldn’t just stand by while Midiam and Ismail were being thrown out of the fortress.

“Haa.”

Beside Azadin was a knight. A Holy Knight, he had used his status to pass through the Rantark army and entered the fortress, claiming to be a negotiator.

“Azadin, it’s been a long time. I saw you when you were a little kid, but you’ve grown a lot.”

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

“It’s Kahsan. Two classes above you! You wouldn’t say you don’t know me, would you? Kahsan, the bow breaker!”

“The one who cried after getting beaten by an Ara’el [A powerful warrior tribe]?”

“You little bastard, how dare you mock me!”

Kahsan was furious at Azadin, but he quickly regained his composure.

“More importantly, who is that guy next to you? He looks like a Holy Knight from the King’s Church?”

“You have a lot of bows, wouldn’t you lend me one?”

Azadin focused on the four bows Kahsan had. His own bow was broken, so he needed a replacement, and there were bows right in front of him.

“My question comes first. What are you doing, Azadin? I’m two classes your senior. Is what your senior says a joke?”

“Actually, it’s a bit of a joke. You were mercilessly attacking children, even ambushing them.”

“You bastard.”

“Why did you join hands with Rantark? I haven’t heard anything about that. What were the conditions?”

“You answer first. I won’t talk to you anymore until then!”

Kahsan wasn’t stupid either. If he had become a Messenger, he had to be proficient not only in martial arts but also in tactics and strategy.

Azadin couldn’t play word games any longer.

“This person is a collaborator who is helping me expose Lord Zekt’s corruption.”

“The price? Gold coins?”

“No, justice.”

“Justice?”

“The true mission of the Emperor’s Messenger. To listen to the pleas of the wronged and to practice justice in this land.”

“Ah… ha ha ha. You’re crazy, Azadin. How can you say such embarrassing things so casually?”

“You’re the one who should be embarrassed, not me. I’m doing this because the Emperor’s Messenger is honorable, but you’re just doing it as a last resort. Isn’t it a bit much to live like a hunting dog on a leash, doing what you’re told?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m doing this of my own will. Otherwise, do you think I could have passed that harsh selection process?”

“But in the end, isn’t it just for your own selfish desires, without any aesthetics? Even a hunting dog works hard if you throw it a bone.”

“Ugh. You’re really a talkative one.”

Kahsan loosened his neck and shook his hands, laughing.

“Well, Ara’el told me to bring you back alive, but I don’t want to. I can’t stand seeing a loser like you get a position just because you’re Ara’el’s brother. I’ll kill you here and now.”

“Ah, so you’re on Ara’el’s side.”

Azadin heard that and put his hand on his sword hilt. Then, Zibeck stepped in front of Azadin, stopping him.

“You can’t fight in your current condition.”

He had treated Azadin and knew that he was in no condition to fight. He had sewn up the wounds with needles and thread, but if he fought again in that state, it would be lucky if it just worsened. In this era, many people died from infections even from small wounds.

“What? Are you putting a Holy Knight forward instead? How resourceful. How did you persuade a Holy Knight?”

Kahsan was dumbfounded to see Zibeck trying to fight in Azadin’s place.

“If your will is high, you will find comrades who share your purpose. I don’t know if a livestock that wags its tail for food can understand the meaning of will.”

“You bastard! I too am doing this for Ara’el’s will…”

At that moment, Azadin moved.

Kahsan was surprised by Azadin’s sudden attack, but he sneered at Azadin’s clumsy, slow, and weak movements.

‘A disgrace to the Messenger clan, just as they said! With that kind of skill…’

Kahsan didn’t even bother to draw his sword, and tried to strike the side of Azadin’s blade with the edge of his hand. But the next moment, Azadin dropped his sword and grabbed Kahsan’s wrist.

“…Huh?”

Kahsan was flustered by Azadin’s suddenly precise movements and immense strength. More than anything, the moment they made contact, a wild magic flowed from Azadin, piercing through Kahsan’s body.

Azadin walked past Kahsan, picked up the giant, and threw him out of the fortress.

“Whoa!”

Kahsan tried to grab the flagpole like Ismail had, but Azadin pulled a dagger from his belt and threw it at him. The force of the flying dagger was so strong that it seemed like it could pierce a cow’s skull.

“Kuh!”

Kahsan had no choice but to fall to the bottom of the fortress without grabbing the flagpole.

“Just you wait!”

Kahsan used the magic of Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon [A type of magic that manipulates natural elements] in mid-air to reduce his falling speed, and at the moment of landing, he rolled on the ground to absorb the impact as much as possible. But seeing him roll and not get up properly, it seemed he couldn’t escape without any injuries.

“Ismail, shoot.”

“Yes!”

As Ismail fired arrows, Kahsan began to run away, cursing.

“Wow, amazing, Azadin!”

Midiam ran over, delighted, but Azadin was sweating profusely.

“…Huh?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to overdo it? You used your strength with a broken rib.”

Sir Zibeck clicked his tongue at Azadin’s recklessness. In Hybris, people could die from just falling over and getting sick. If there were fractures and external injuries together, it was common for infections to lead to death.

“Everyone in the Messenger clan looks down on me, so I can easily win if it’s just once.”

“Your entire clan looks down on you? I can’t understand. Didn’t you fight Lord Zekt, the Judge, on equal terms? There aren’t many people in the Messenger clan who can do that, are there?”

“I was a bit of a mess when I was young. Many of my friends only remember that version of me, so they all look down on me. Thanks to that, I was able to get bows quickly, so it worked out well.”

Azadin was holding two Moon Crescent Bows in his hands. While picking up Kahsan, he had grabbed the Moon Crescent Bows from his thigh and pulled them out.

“But that won’t work anymore. So, what I mean is…”

Azadin said that and looked at the fortress commander.

“Uh, are you talking about me?”

The fortress commander, feeling the gaze, was flustered.

“I have something to talk about.”

Azadin called the fortress commander with his finger and went into the barracks for the soldiers. It seemed he wanted to talk separately so that others wouldn’t hear.

*********

“To be blunt, let’s hand over the fortress and make peace.”

“What? If we do that, Count Salasma will peel our skin off while we’re still alive.”

“Count Salasma is already dead. There’s no one to punish you.”

“But won’t the person who becomes Count Salasma later punish us?”

“Hmm. It seems the people of Hybris know less than I do. Think about it. Why did Count Rantark suddenly invade this place?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

“Because Count Salasma’s heir lost his fertility and his right to inherit. From Count Rantark’s point of view, he had put a lot of effort into arranging a political marriage, but he didn’t expect to lose Salasma’s inheritance rights so easily. That’s why he’s making a show of force. At best, he wants his daughter to inherit, and at worst, he wants to take the area near the Kora River. Even if someone else becomes Count, if he takes the river basin, he’ll be in a better position in the future.”

The Holy Knight Zibeck, who was listening, was impressed.

‘Amazing. He has excellent political insight. Even Holy Knights in the fortress don’t learn the laws of the Eight Kings, is it because he’s the Emperor’s Messenger?’

“So, if we hand over this fortress to Count Rantark, what will happen to us? Either way, if the person who becomes Count Salasma later sees us, would they want to keep us alive?”

“Let the people go free and the soldiers join Count Rantark’s side. That way, less blood will be shed. Count Rantark is massacring this area to erase the nearby villages and move his own people in, making it clear that this is his land and making even the King’s Church recognize it. But if the knights and non-commissioned officers who originally received fiefs near here surrender to Count Rantark, there’s no reason to massacre the people. He’ll have a legitimate reason to occupy this land.”

“Are you saying… change masters?”

The fortress commander, who was indeed a knight, was uncomfortable with Azadin’s words. If you change masters carelessly, the disgrace will remain for generations.

“Count Rantark will treat you well. And you’ll be taking on a bit of disgrace to save the people. Isn’t that something a true hero would do? The high nobles might say something, but the people here will understand your choice as noble. If you want, I can even write a song about it? A song about a knight who took on disgrace to save the people, that’s a popular topic, isn’t it?”

“It’s the only way you can survive. Do you really think that Count Salasma, who died while you were defending this fortress, will come back to save you?”

Ismail added a word.

“Well, yes… if we fight like this, we’ll just die, so surrendering under those conditions would be more honorable.”

The fortress commander seemed to be moved by Azadin’s words.

“Yes. If we open the fortress ourselves before it’s broken, it’s only natural for a warrior to save us! We’re alive!”

The soldiers also seemed relieved.

‘Will it really be like that?’

Midiam recalled Count Rantark’s terrifying actions and was skeptical.

‘Let it be. They seem happy.’

At that moment, a horn sounded from outside. And the voices of several soldiers chanting at the same time were heard.

“I am Count Rantark Garnaher! Messenger clan! Respond to negotiations!”

Count Rantark Garnaher had initiated negotiations first.