Night of the Soulless Heathens – 199



#199. Traitor of the Clan 1

“Kartzen. I can take down the approaching assassins.”

“You who are famous for being dull can handle our Aragasa against other messengers?”

“I have already won duels against many of the current heralds. I have also made many achievements in various ways so I am now the second herald.”

“Second Commander?”

Karchen was skeptical that Azadin had achieved such a high position.

“So please leave the assassins to me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How can I trust you? If you try to harm Manza-Zadek we’ll lose our employer and be completely ruined. I’ve had enough of being a wanderer all my life insulted by everyone as a soulless blasphemer. I don’t want my children to live such a horrible life!”

“….”

After hearing Karchen’s words Azadin understood why so many people had left their posts as messengers and served the Golden King with all their heart.

Life as an emperor’s messenger is hard and humiliating. Even if it is honorable and necessary who would want to pass that suffering on to their children?

It’s just that the curse of service is passed down forcibly so they have no choice but to do it.

If one could escape such a situation it was natural to be loyal to the Manza-Zadek who offered such benefits.

‘When I didn’t know English I used to look down on them asking how they could betray the messenger clan and serve such a loser but now that I know the inside story I can truly understand their feelings.’

Considering the heart of parents who want to give their children a life free from persecution it is understandable that Karchen and the other messenger clans serve the Golden King Manja-Zadek.

Azadin was truly eager to help Karchen and her men. So he humbled himself and began to persuade them with all his heart.

“If I kill Manza-Zadek myself and take the throne how will the other clans view me?”

“Of course they’ll look up to you.”

“Do you think that’s what the highest of the Senate would want? I’m Azadin of Muan. A man despised and ignored by all his clans. Who would want to see him suddenly achieve great things and rise to prominence?”

“You’re already the second commander?”

“That’s why it’s more problematic. It’s something my guardian Aldis decided on his own. I think everyone will be dissatisfied.”

Karchen was taken aback by Azadin’s words. He had seen people ask him to trust them but this was the first time he had seen someone ask him to trust his bad reputation.

“If you don’t trust me trust my reputation. There are many of my own people who hate me. How can they tolerate my rise now?”

“There are so many strange persuasions.”

“And apart from that please believe that I am capable. I have defeated many active messengers with my skills. If I am on your side you will be able to end the situation with minimal damage.”

Karchen knew that on their own they could never stop a proper assassination attempt on the messenger… Azadin’s words dug into the fear and anxiety that made her want to run away.

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“Good. The Golden Lion. Let’s trust His Majesty’s judgment in entrusting you with the Golden Lion. He is definitely not a person who is easygoing so there must have been some reason behind his acceptance of you.”

*********

On the roof of the royal castle where a storm was pouring down Captain Karchen of the Royal Guard gathered his guard officers.

It seemed like they were all gathered together to punish Azadin but when Karchen decided to trust Azadin the other guards were also happy.

“If a young and energetic guy is willing to deal with the active messengers it will give us some breathing room.”

“I was just a servant and not a messenger so I couldn’t sleep at night thinking about messengers coming. At least that’s fortunate.”

“But isn’t Azadin of Muan famous for being dull? Can he really take on an active messenger?”

Among the guards there were three Aragasas. However they were all quite old and either had low ranks as messengers or were not messengers at all so they were afraid of the situation where messengers would attack. Then when Azadin came forward and said he would deal with the active messengers they welcomed him with open arms.

“Let’s go. In addition to Aragasa our bodyguards include necromancers blood mages and many other heretic magicians that the King’s Church wants to kill. We will mobilize all of their human resources to provide support. Azadin you stay on the roof of the royal castle in the center of the castle and when we find the assassin come to support us.”

“Is that okay?”

In that case the guards would be scattered in all directions and Azadin would be in charge of the area closest to Manza-Zadek.

I asked you to believe me but you really believed me so earnestly.

“Ah I don’t know. Anyway if it’s gambling you should bet properly. You may call it a substitute but you have to block it well. You don’t have any complaints about fighting your own kind do you? Since you’ve been humiliated by your own kind it would be a good opportunity to kill them and be appointed to Manja-Zadek.”

“Are you talking about the appointment?”

“Not bad. How long are you going to wander around like that clinging to the ghost of a dead emperor? It’s good to settle down here and live.”

“It’s very hot and humid the bugs are poisonous but I can live in the King’s Church without worrying about what others think.”

The Aragasas in the guard united in praise saying that they liked life in Btuma.

“But if that kid is a gold-digger won’t he rise to fame overnight? If he settles down here we might end up like dogs.”

Then Karchen also clicked her tongue. In the first place she had been dissatisfied with Azadin receiving the ban and becoming the king’s representative the ban messenger and had contacted him.

But somehow I found myself talking about the joys of settling down and living in Btuma.

“Well let’s think about it after we get through this crisis. We’ve already had our fill of squabbling.”

“That’s true.”

“Then Joan.”

The young sorcerer who was carrying a crow made of syrup on his shoulder was startled.

“yes!”

“Stay by this friend’s side and assist him.”

“All right.”

“Who is it?”

“Joan. She’s on our team. She’s a blood mage and she faints when she sees blood.”

“….”

“Still it’s useful as a contact. Okay!”

Karchen and his bodyguards moved to their respective positions.

*********

The storm was approaching but the Nagas’ attacks were sluggish.

Naga’s tactic was to flood the city first then storm it when its defenses were damaged by the flooding and no longer functioning.

They are used to fighting in water but humans cannot move properly when submerged in water so this was a very reasonable and effective strategy.

But this also meant that a proper attack would not be launched until the storm had raged and the flooding had begun.

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The problem was that Btuma was a place that often suffered from squalls even in normal times so they always had sewage facilities ready and this time they introduced a flooded area and thoroughly prepared for defense.

Coral Sahar was immediately submerged by the storm and was left unconscious but Btuma was not submerged well as the water receded quickly.

Even though the Nagas entered through the waterway the Btuma army which had already seen through the waterway responded with concentrated attacks.

Sea Serpent Tribe warriors many times larger than normal humans jumped out of the waterway but they were shoved and torn apart by war elephants and the resulting corpses were immediately turned into corpse soldiers by the shamans of the Bthuma army and sent back to the Nagas.

Nagas also actively used necromancy but since they had to attack upwards they could only take unilateral damage.

*********

“…That’s what they say.”

Joan a blood mage who was a member of the royal guard received reports of the battle situation through the cypress crow she carried on her shoulder and relayed them to Azadin.

Azadin and his party were waiting to take shelter from the wind and rain under a stone statue decorating the roof of the royal castle.

“Why is Btuma’s army fighting so well?”

“So you’re saying that you’ve won every battle under the Golden King? Isn’t that great Commander?”

While Shati was troubled by the propaganda of the Bthuma army Scott was delighted as if it were his own business.

“I knew from the beginning that you would be a good fighter. Your skills in introducing the city and setting up a defensive posture were no ordinary skill.”

Azadin was confused. The fact that the Bthuma army was fighting well also meant that the time for the Heralds to intervene was quicker.

But is he really ready to fight his clan? Azadin was not sure of his own determination.

By the looks of it both Aldis and Kazas were taking part in this horrific massacre.

He wanted to believe that it couldn’t be true given what he knew about their personalities but Kazas couldn’t be sure that Azadin who was once called the Demon King and served the Naga Empire knew everything about him.

And that would be the same for Aldis.

“How about taking this opportunity to be commissioned as Manza-Zadek and settle down here? Everyone seems to be living happily. How long are you going to wander around? The king likes you. And it looks like the position you’ve been given is quite high.”

The Shati seemed pleased with the promise of satisfactory compensation and status from Manza-Zadek.

Serving as a servant under a wealthy and kind-hearted king would surely be the happy and stable life that everyone longs for. It was within reach.

however….

“Why? You don’t seem to be in a good mood. You asked me to betray my own people but it hurts my feelings to betray my own people?”

“that is….”

“It’s strange. You were discriminated against by your own people. You weren’t treated very well so why is it so heartbreaking to betray your own people?”

Shati was complaining to Azadin. At that moment Joan the blood mage assigned to Azadin by the bodyguard was startled.

“Oh no!”

“What’s the big deal?”

“They say that an assassin has infiltrated the eastern sewer defense stronghold. He is a man of considerable skill probably a member of the Herald Clan. They are requesting assistance.”

“Hmm.”

It was time for Azadin to begin the fight against his people whether he was ready or not.

*********

The Nagas had infiltrated through the narrow sewer behind the eastern gate of the Btuma Castle but were instead hit by frost.

A narrow passage just wide enough for one person to pass happened to be open and the Nagas entered through it but the soldiers waiting above responded with spears.

It was an obvious trap.

But the bloodthirsty Nagas wanted to somehow squeeze through this small gap and claim credit.

So I put in a mummy troop that had been embalmed and strengthened with the necromancer’s necromance. While the mummies were blocking the spears and swords with their bodies the Nagas kept moving in and succeeded in projecting a group of troops.

But the situation changed again when the Dongmun Guard led by war elephants arrived.

“So it’s our turn.”

“I didn’t want to worry about those bloody guys so this is a good thing.”

Due to internal strife within the herald clan many heralds were separated. As a result the new heralds were hungry for achievements.

Khaldun a descendant of Aman one of the five great clans of Aragasa came to make a joke.

“So what do you think Midiam Etar? The Etar bloodlines wouldn’t be trying to eat all of Bthuma would they?”