Night of the Soulless Heathens – 186



#186. Sugar Rush 2

A body was found hanging on a dock near the Vanema family home.

The Banema family attracted workers who fled from other farms because they heard that they were paid decent wages unlike other farms that trafficked people.

But someone had murdered those workers and hung them on top of that crane.

“These dirty union guys!”

Randa Vanema was purely outraged by the death of a human being.

This is the result of her actions. Of course the ones who killed her were the union guys but who would have thought that the repercussions of her foolish actions would be this big?

Randa Vanema was even more angry and saddened by the author’s death which she felt was almost her own fault.

“Mr. Barnema what should we do?”

“Take down the body. And give his family a bundle of rice and beans each a basket of dried fish and eight silver coins as condolence money to help them with the funeral.”

“This is definitely the work of the other farm guys. If this continues they’ll kill us all!”

“We must retaliate before that!”

“Open the armory and spend the money to hire mercenaries!”

The workers were shouting and getting excited but Landa Vanema was calm.

“Don’t be stupid. Are you suggesting that we go to war with all the other farms? Just wait. I’ve called in someone who specializes in this kind of thing.”

As she spoke a small boat docked at the dock. A masked young man got out of the boat and immediately approached Landa Vanema.

“Are you the petitioner?”

“If you say so are you a member of the Herald Clan?”

“Yes. The Emperor’s Herald Second Herald Azadin.”

“Hmm. From yesterday until today there have been eight guys who call themselves messengers. Are you real?”

“what?”

Azadin was startled by the unexpected remark.

Are there people impersonating the Messenger Clan?

‘It’s not like there weren’t any before. Usually when people are drunk and making a fuss or when con artists threaten people they use the name of the messenger clan but there has never been an impostor who came looking for a petitioner.’

When Azadin looked embarrassed President Banema smiled bitterly.

“It’s a distraction tactic by other farmers. So take off your face covering. I’ll judge by looking at your face first.”

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“…This is it? It probably won’t look very good right? But I’ll take it off for you.”

Azadin took off his mask.

“omg?”

President Banema was taken aback. When Azadin took off his mask his face was revealed to have a large scar where his eyes should have been.

“You don’t have eyes? But you can see your surroundings?”

“Born with such abilities. This is truly a sight to behold.”

“You seem to be the real messenger. For now that is.”

“Thank you for trusting me. I was thinking I should at least show you my archery skills.”

Azadin put his mask back on.

“You can shoot a bow without even seeing?”

“If you can’t do that you’re not a messenger. So should I take you to a place where there aren’t many people? I don’t think it’s something to talk about in a crowded place.”

“Don’t do that.”

Landa Vanema called his servants and armed men surrounded Azadin and his party.

“Okay then I will guide you.”

It was closer to a deportation than a guide.

*********

So Azadin and his party were led to the arena by Landa Vanema’s servants.

This arena was a pit called a pit with a sand floor and a fence around it with planks and the audience seats were arranged around it so that the audience could look down from above.

“Here is…?”

“It’s usually a place where dog fights are held and occasionally people fight each other. You know the match called the Btuma Brawl right?”

Randa Vanema said so and looked down at Azadin and his group.

The place where she was standing was in the VIP section of the stadium so there was a considerable difference in height between her and the inside of the stadium where Azadin and his party were. Jiswa felt uneasy at her imposing appearance.

“What happens if that woman has bad intentions?”

“Then that day is that woman’s memorial day. Didn’t you see our captain go out and bend his spine backwards?”

Scott yawned and lay down on the floor believing in Azadin’s skills. He did this to conserve and recover as much of his stamina and magic as possible.

“Looking at it it doesn’t seem like the petition was submitted in a very welcoming atmosphere for the Herald Clan. Well let’s hear the contents of the petition. I have a rough idea but I want to hear the details.”

“It’ll be a long story but I’ll tell it as best as I can.”

Randa Vanema told Azadin that he had inherited a farm and changed the way he ran it which caused the surrounding farms to attack him.

“Ah so that’s why those who pretend to be members of the Herald Clan came to you? Then when you were petitioning with the Emperor’s gold there was a traitor among those who were present? They knew that your rivals had petitioned.”

“yes.”

Randa Vanema nodded to Azadin’s words.

She now enjoys the support of farm workers who have been liberated and become free thanks to her and of farm workers who support her because their wages have increased.

But because there are so many people there are a lot of traitors and spies among them.

It was impossible to estimate how many traitors there were among those who had served the Vanema family since childhood.

In this situation the only people she can trust are the messengers summoned by Geumhwa’s petition.

“I heard that if you give Btuma’s farm money will be as abundant as the stars in the night sky. Have you ever thought about hiring adventurers?”

“I have money but it’s foolish to fight with it. They’d have more money if I had it. I can’t even hire a tinker to fix my pot so why would the Cell Swords come to me? Fortunately they already have a huge private army so they don’t need to hire the Cell Swords and they can just crush me to death with their strength alone.”

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“Is this the situation? Hmm. Okay I see.”

Azadin nodded.

“By the way I heard you studied abroad with the Rescue Knights?”

“I was trained as a paladin at St. Mallory on the Hybris Peninsula. My mother was a concubine. This farm was originally supposed to go to my half-brother but he died of a venereal disease so I was relegated to being a paladin.”

“You were a rescue worker? I’m a little jealous of that.”

Azadin’s eyes lit up when he heard that Landa Vanema was a rescuer.

“Huh. A rescue knight? You’re just a piece of trash with a good name. There’s a reason why I feel so down whenever I meet the knights of the King’s Church. What do you mean ‘envious?’?”

Then Jiswah spoke to Azadin with joy.

“I once worried that I should waste time on a petition like this but it’s good that the petitioner is the owner of Bel Hoda Farm. The owners of Bel Hoda Farm are richer than most nobles. If we can gain their support it will be of great help in practicing the Way of the Heavens.”

“The Way of the Blue Sky? You’re a member of the Jeonryung clan right? You’re not a member of the Cheonggeon Party?”

“I happened to also be a Taoist priest at Cheonggeundang.”

“How did that happen?”

“In addition I am a believer in angels. Since I was a child I grew up reading stories about the three archangels’ dedication to humanity and the heroic and virtuous knights of the Order of the Knights of the Rescue. The reason I said I was jealous was because I wanted to become a knight of the Rescue.”

‘…This kid is this really a messenger? Why is this sudden intense distrust raising its head?’

When Randa Vanema distrusted Azadin Azadin untied his bow and strung it. Randa Vanema’s bodyguards were startled.

“Hey you punk! What are you doing?”

They aimed their crossbows and bows at Azadin.

“I guess you don’t trust me because of what you said just now so I thought I’d show you a little trick.”

As he spoke Azadin quickly shot his arrow.

“Huh?!”

Even Landa Vanema’s bodyguards surprised fired arrows but something even more surprising happened.

Azadin’s arrow hit Landa Banema’s bodyguard with perfect accuracy sending him flying with the arrow he had set on his bow.

furthermore….

Azadin knocked away the arrows flying in front of him and spread the hem of his clothes to knock away the arrows flying behind him.

Due to the structure of this arena made of pits even if an arrow is fired from the audience seats if the audience is not in the center the walls will create a square shape so only the attacks of those standing on the opposite side will reach them.

Azadin used that square to deflect the flying arrows and single-handedly protected his comrades.

“If I shoot one arrow I get many more. Nice.”

Azadin picked up the arrow that had fallen to the ground.

The shootout that just happened was a life-threatening situation for an ordinary person.

In fact Landa Vanema’s bodyguards were covered in cold sweat all over their bodies.

But Azadin calmly picks up the arrow.

“Mr. Sa sir.”

“Stop it. That guy is a real messenger.”

Randa Banema has cast doubt on Azadin.

“Then let’s have a serious talk. Shall we decide on the specific scope of the petition?”

“range?”

“Okay. What do you want?”

“What? Of course…..”

Randa Vanema was speechless.

“You want to wipe out your competitors and take over the entire sugar industry in Bel Hoda? Kill the other planters annihilate their families and dispose of every single one of their babies so that no one can inherit?”

“that.”

It’s not that I didn’t think about assassination. There’s no answer with the regular method.

The sugarcane farmers of Bel Hoda used to joke like this over drinks.

‘If you have money you can use it even if you go out.’

‘It is we who choose the king of Bthuma.’

It’s common for drunks to brag at drinking parties but when you think about their money and power it’s not all empty talk.

Since it was impossible to deal with them officially she thought about assassinating them but even if she assassinated one or two farm owners their children would inherit the land and there was no way the angry heirs would let her live.

But you’re saying you’re going to kill all the heirs?

Even babies?

So why did Randa Vanema free the slaves?

Azadin lamented when Landa Banema’s answer was slow.

“You don’t say you want that. This is a troublesome petition.”

“Do you have a headache?”

“Your actions such as improving the welfare of the workers and rejecting the kidnapping trafficking and slavery that was taking place in this area were good and commendable. However it was a declaration of war on the other farms here that they must either follow your system or kill you.”

“….”

“He said that he was an awkward petitioner because he declared war without even being prepared to kill.”

Randa Vanema felt a tingling pain in her bones at Azadin’s words.

This stranger who had only recently arrived in Bel Hoda understood the situation of the plantation owners much better than she who had been born and raised in Bel Hoda.