Night of the Soulless Heathens – 179



#179. Naga’s Island 1

The journey to Btuma would take more than a week on foot. Fortunately water transport was well developed in Btuma so Azadin decided to take a boat from the county of Kimalhaji.

however….

“Ah Captain. A minor problem has arisen.”

“Don’t worry about petty issues. I get it. I’m vibrating because I’m rotten.”

There was a large cabin prepared separately for transporting livestock and rare animals under the ship and Scott’s undead leopard was rotting there.

It was only natural that Scott had boasted that he would be safe for the next week since he was controlling a dead body with necromancy.

But in the hot and humid weather of Btuma the undead leopard rotted away immediately and a terrible stench filled the entire ship.

“Ah this is also the mother of all knowledge but there are things you don’t know unless you experience them. But Captain you shouldn’t be afraid of failure. We are explorers who carry the light of intellect and go through the unknown wilderness. A little loss is….”

“Get down. Right now. Or should I throw you into the river?”

The captain and crew pointed out the shore to Azadin and his party.

“Oh I’m sorry.”

Azadin paid the captain extra money. When the captain signaled to his men with his chin the crew lowered the boat and prepared the crane.

“I’ll give you your goat too. It’s dying.”

“…what?”

When Azadin panicked the sailors opened the hold and loaded Azadin’s exhausted goat onto a crane and lowered it onto the boat.

“No… Wait a minute.”

Azadin was confused but the sailors pointed to the rope ladder.

“Go. When you say it nicely.”

“No these are real.”

Shati was indignant at the harsh treatment of the sailors.

“Azadin! Just sweep everything away…”

“The sweater…..”

Shati suggested a mutiny on board but Azadin was shocked to learn that his mountain goat was dying.

“Well considering your personality unless you’re really angry you wouldn’t attack a merchant first.”

Shati grumbled and climbed down the rope ladder to the boat.

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*********

So the sailors left Azadin and his party’s luggage on the shore and returned to the ship.

“That’s why I told you to leave the leopard behind.”

Shati kicked the ground and groaned.

“I didn’t know it would rot this quickly. My cutting-edge magic doesn’t rot easily.”

“But it’s rotten?”

“…In this case it was my fault for trusting Scott.”

Azadin trusted Scott’s outstanding magical skills so much that he forgot that he was an orc. This is the result.

“So then you left the leopard and got the captain’s Kerim goat?”

“…Brother Azadin over there.”

Jiswaga looked at Azadin’s Kerim goat in confusion.

“How are you Jiswa?”

“This mountain goat. It looks like it has hippopotamus fever.”

“Hippo fever?”

“It is a disease that spreads from hippos around the Nebtuuma to livestock and most of those who contract it die.”

When Azadin examined it he saw that Sweater had a fever a rash under his fur and bloodshot eyes.

“Ugh. Hey Shati. Can you cure me?”

“Although the Cobra Queen’s magic does increase healing power it only helps wounds that would otherwise heal naturally heal faster and better. If there is medicine for the disease it can be given to the wound to help it heal faster. However if there is no medicine for the disease….”

“This is a big deal.”

If Azadin’s goats were lost here the party would lose a significant portion of their luggage.

Of course since Azadin was strong he could have dragged them by force and gotten other means of transport from a nearby village or lightened the load by clearing out unnecessary items but there was a problem other than losing the pack horse.

To Azadin this mountain goat has been with him through thick and thin since he was appointed as a messenger. He wants to keep it alive if possible.

“Let’s try the Cheonggeun Party’s leap forward.”

Jiswaga suggested.

“But what you and Jiss have is contaminated right? It even has Grimslow’s blood mixed in. If it’s Grimslow’s sap I think I can make it from my club.”

“The elixir we use is made by diluting the sap and mixing various herbs into it. If you feed the original sap as is you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if I fed them contaminated food?”

“Can’t we feed it that to revive it and then use the medicine that the messenger woman gave us to neutralize it?”

“Well I guess there is a way. Let’s try it.”

Azadin agreed to feed the Qingjian Tang elixir to his goats.

*********

-Whew.

A torrential rain was pouring down.

Azadin was at a loss as he looked at the road that had become a mud-slick in the rain.

Even though he fed the Qingjiantang elixir Azadin’s goat eventually died.

Sweater who could jump up an 80-degree slope as if it were flat ground and was not afraid of any wild beast or war unexpectedly succumbed to Btuma’s hippopotamus fever.

Scott had cast a necromantic spell on the Kerim goat to help it carry its load…

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I have already seen the undead rot away in the hot and humid climate of Bthuma. Even the Kerim goats won’t last long.

“Oh shit. My goat that I got when I was appointed as a messenger! My sweater….”

“Don’t blame yourself too much Captain. As the saying goes if there’s a meeting there’s a parting and if there’s life there’s death.”

“….”

“Doesn’t that seem like much of a comfort?”

“No it’s a total mess right now.”

Azadin frowned.

The soil of Btuma is so thick that you could build a castle on it and when it rains it instantly turns into mud.

Even the Imperial Road which the Emperor himself had built was destroyed in Btuma.

The synergy of the loess soil and the torrential downpours and the relentless storms in summer and fall caused even the great structures of Emperor Yaeslat to collapse and fail.

When it rains this much you can’t move.

Even a brief squall would cause the loess soil to become muddy and impassable.

Currently Azadin’s group was splitting nearby trees to expand the surface area as much as possible floating them on the water and casting necromancy magic on Azadin’s mountain goats to make them walk on the bottom of the water and pull the raft.

Since it was a makeshift raft I had to ride it carefully distributing my weight so that it wouldn’t capsize and my nerves were on edge.

“Hey. We can’t go far like this. Let’s find a village as close as possible!”

Azadin sent the Emperor’s voice up to the sky as a sign of foresight.

[There is a village. About 3 ri to the southwest!]

“Do I have to go 3 more li like this?”

Azadin was shocked but had no other choice.

By the time we finally reached the village the rain had stopped as if it were a lie.

But the road was still a mess.

In the loess-soiled Btuma people mainly travel by boat when it rains and those who happen to walk on land have to lay down planks on the ground and walk only on them.

Moreover since the sun had set Azadin decided to stay in this village.

When I asked the villagers if they had any lodging they pointed to a hut.

“Stay there. A silver coin will do.”

“Yes? A silver coin in a building with only a roof and an open space on all sides?”

Azadin was terrified by the money but he gave it to them anyway. Then they brought him fruit and fish.

‘Ah if it includes food it’s actually cheaper.’

Moreover Btuma slept well in a hut like this because the temperature did not drop even at night.

Rather if I were at home it would be too hot to sleep.

*********

Perhaps because they were surprisingly tired from riding the raft Azadin and his party fell into such a deep sleep that they didn’t even notice when someone carried them.

Everyone was able to get some good rest for the first time in a while because the Emperor’s voice warned those approaching without having to hire a separate watchman.

And the next day.

As we prepared to leave right after eating breakfast the villagers looked puzzled.

“Are you in your right mind?”

“It’s going to rain again soon. It’s dangerous to go out.”

“Huh? What is that….”

“If you don’t have a boat it’s better not to travel.”

Certainly the current road was still a mess. In places where the water drained quickly it was possible to walk even if it was muddy but in places where the water was standing it was impossible to tell how deep the mud was.

If you continue down this path you will not be able to survive.

“Then can I charter a boat?”

When Azadin asked the villagers were shocked. It seemed like he had asked a question that was impossible for them to answer with common sense.

“We are fishermen but…”

“I don’t sell boats.”

“I’ve used up all the ships I have so there’s nothing left.”

“Then can you please give me a lift to a big city?”

“Well let’s go. I don’t have any business going to the city.”

“I’ll give you money.”

“In our village there are merchants who come by occasionally and we do business but not really.”

The fishermen looked uneasy.

No matter how much money was given it was useless. In a remote village where money transactions were rare gold and silver were merely reserves for emergencies not desirable items.

“More than that you really have great muscles and a handsome face. Since you’re here why don’t you settle down with our daughter and become my son-in-law? Your thick arms will make you good at pulling nets.”

Everyone was flirting with Scott as if they were interested in him.

“I’m really in a hurry. We have to go to Btuma right away.”

“Then try negotiating with the wandering merchant who is coming soon. He will give you a ride on his ship.”

“ah.”

Azadin breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Still merchants come to this town. Right. They must have to negotiate for things like net repairs and other supplies.’

Azadin who had finally felt relieved now asked the merchant what time he would arrive.

“Someday soon?”

“Two days later?”

“yes?!”

I was shocked to hear that. I couldn’t waste time like that when I didn’t know when Btuma would be attacked by the Nagas.

“Oh there are merchants coming today.”

“There’s a merchant coming today? That’s fortunate.”

“That guy over there is going out.”

“Damn. You can’t say that!”

The townspeople mentioned another merchant.

“…You’re a merchant?”

“Yeah. That guy over there. You don’t like going out do you?”

“Oh no. If only I could get out of this town right now.”

“Then that’s good.”

“The merchant will come around dinner time so rest until then.”

*********

As the villagers had said Azadin rested well until evening.

And when evening came the sound of stringed instruments being plucked was indeed heard from the river.

Although it was still early evening and the sun had not yet fully set the villagers began to light torches and children ran excitedly to the riverside blowing flutes.

“Hello. Hello.”

A magnificent ship approached the riverbank and stopped. A young man wearing a gold necklace around his neck walked out of the ship grinning.

“I’m going out.”

Shati recognized him and clicked her tongue.

“Not only that everyone has to leave.”

Shati insisted that all sailors and bodyguards leave.