Night of the Soulless Heathens – 203



#203. Fall 1

Even though Azadin and Karchen were away Manza-Zadek still had plenty of bodyguards.

The regular troops of Btuma guarded the castle in three shifts and the warriors of each region the Sellswords entrusted their new soldiers to the Golden King.

The persecuted sorcerers blood magicians and necromancers of the King’s Church flocked to the Golden King’s court and the Golden King accepted them as guests making his palace an impregnable fortress that no assassin could dare cross.

But those who invaded today were a different story.

*********

In front of Manja-Zadek who was guarding the throne with a heavy walrus-like body in the throne room of the King’s Palace a middle-aged man flew in like a bird and landed lightly.

Outside the window the wind and rain were howling but next to the man who had not been hit by a single drop of rain there were shadows in black masks holding long umbrellas and serving him.

The middle-aged man had gray hair that was tinged with gray and his eyes had a soft golden sheen.

“Who dares to enter the presence of the Golden King?!”

The guards guarding the king’s throne shouted at the sudden intrusion but instead of answering a waterfall of corpses and blood poured out from the windows.

The cold corpses were the guards who were guarding the palace. Surprisingly the messenger clan had killed most of the guards who were guarding the palace without a sound.

After the blood and corpses poured out like that about ten shadows descended on the throne room of the king.

Each of the black shadows wearing bird masks on their faces had a bow tied to their back indicating that they were a herald clan.

The first middle-aged man to get off declared.

“I am Hatir son of Emperor Yaeslat. I am the rightful heir to the Eight Thrones. I have come here to claim my rights.”

“political party?”

Manja-Zadek who was listening smiled bitterly.

“It is the teaching of the Church of the King that the Emperor is not the rightful owner of the throne. And isn’t it important to first prove that you are truly the Emperor’s child?”

“Are you insulting my birth now?”

“I guess we should start there. But yes. Let’s stop with the unnecessary insults. You are the Emperor’s son aren’t you?”

Manja-Zadek already knew Hathir’s true identity so he did not deny his lineage.

“But isn’t he an illegitimate child?”

“How dare you! You’re mocking me again.”

“No an illegitimate child is an illegitimate child. And isn’t true legitimacy determined when one sits on the throne anyway? Yes. The light of the royal flower.”

As he spoke Manza-Zadek pointed to his throne. Hathir’s eyes grew fierce.

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“So are you saying you’ll at least give me a chance to sit down?”

“If I can sit here and truly protect this world with the light of the King’s Flower I will gladly give up my throne.”

“your majesty!”

The vassals were terrified. The Yaegasu royal family never gave up the throne to anyone else fearing that if they placed him on the throne the light of the royal flower would truly acknowledge him as king.

When a rightful king sits on the throne the throne itself judges.

Even though this is the policy of the Yaegasu Gods the power structure of the human world is not like that. That is why until now no one who could harm the king’s authority has been allowed to come near the throne.

But is Manza-Zadek telling the author to sit down?

Of course that wasn’t the case.

“But a man who brings in these men and uses magic to summon the reapers of the Nether Storm cannot be a rightful king.”

Manza-Zadek picked up the scepter that stood next to the throne.

It was more like a rafter than a hall but to the fleshy overgrown Manza-Zadek it looked like an ordinary baton.

Manza-Zadek took a deep breath as he held the scepter with his thick forearms like elephant legs. His body swelled even more and veins began to show through his flesh.

“What do you plan to do with the throne?”

“It’s just about getting back the rights we deserve from being persecuted.”

“You have such a low spirituality. You don’t think at all about those who suffer because of your actions.”

“Have you ever thought about the suffering of our people?”

“At least I am. So didn’t someone who was under your command join my army?”

In fact wasn’t it because Manja-Zadek lifted the curse of service and promised a future that people like Karchen left the Herald Clan and became the Golden King’s Ravens?

But Hathir only laughed.

“Do you claim to be righteous as traitors to your own clan?”

“Everyone except the traitors would think the same way as you so it’s not worth arguing with them right?”

“Yes that’s right. Manza-Zadek. Give up your throne.”

“Are you going to have to step over my dead body?”

Manja-Zadek swung his scepter. The huge scepter tore through the wind with a terrifying force aiming for the leader Hatir.

But Hathir unleashed the Land Spider of Flowers Birds and Moon. The dizzying shadow illusions danced and deftly evaded all of Manza-Zadek’s attacks.

And as he clapped his hands at that moment black steel arrows flew towards Manza-Zadek from all directions. Surprisingly Hathir had not used his own hands but had ordered the messenger clan to attack.

“Ugh!”

Manja-Zadek swung his scepter to ward off the flying arrows and used divine magic to create a defensive wall…

-Snap!

The huge scepter as large as a rafter was broken by a single arrow. Black arrows flying in from all directions easily penetrated the defensive wall and pierced his body.

“Your Majesty!”

“How dare you!”

The guards drew their swords and stepped forward but none of them could withstand even a single blow from the swords of the messenger clan and fell.

“What a boring guy. To treat me the King of Yaegasu like this. Isn’t that too cool?”

Manza-Zadek sat down next to the throne without even pulling out the arrow embedded in his body.

If you pull out the arrow you will bleed to death.

Perhaps because there was so much flesh only a trickle of blood gushed out from the spot where the arrow had struck.

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However this arrow contains the Black Gangjeon curse so even if you leave it embedded in your body you will die soon.

Manza-Zadek burst into laughter as he felt his death approaching.

Surprisingly his mind was at peace now.

When I was trying so hard to preach the pleasures of the flesh to the ancestors of Yaegasu no matter how much my body was consumed by pleasure it was so painful that I couldn’t bear it…

There is nothing more refreshing than collapsing after doing everything you could and still not being able to do it.

“The arrows shot at your body are worth a thousand gold pieces even if they are just shot once. Since I focused so many arrows on your body I have done my best to show you my respect.”

As he spoke Hathir gathered his magical power in front of his chest and began to form ominous letters. They were dark letters made of the language of the Nether and just looking at them made the mind dizzy so no one dared look at them.

Manja-Zadek who had already put life and death aside clicked his tongue at the sight of the evil Nether glyphs.

“What did you do as the Emperor’s son…?”

Manza-Zadek was shocked but there was no one who could stop Hatir.

Hathir ascended the throne.

The throne of Bthuma was made of a huge ebony tree like a stage that could support an elephant so that Manza-Zadek could sit on it but when Hatir raised her hand with Nether script above her head and brought it down all the ebony trees shattered as if they had been hit with explosives revealing a quartz throne.

As the quartz throne is imbued with the power of the Nether language created by Hathir the throne begins to glow.

“ah….”

The light flickered. The light that the throne itself had was gradually consumed by darkness and fading away.

*********

The light of the Golden King Manja-Zadek’s royal flower was actually one of the most powerful among the kings.

It was thanks to the Golden King’s prestige that so many people were able to live in Btuma the heart of the Naga Empire.

But now that glory has faded.

Instead an evil Nether aura emanated from the quartz throne.

“Why on earth would you do something like this?”

Manja-Zadek had pure doubts about Hathir who had taken the throne and was corrupting it with evil powers.

“With your abilities and talents you could have rightfully taken the throne and made Bthuma yours. This place is endemic but… If you had simply taken it you would have gained greatly. Why destroy it? Were Bthuma’s wealth and glory not so valuable?”

Since Hatir has corrupted the throne with the magic of the Nether Bthuma will no longer be protected by the Light of the King’s Fire. This place already suffering from endemic diseases will soon become an uninhabitable land.

Why do you commit such destruction?

Then Hathir opened his mouth.

“At first I… I planned to establish a paradise on earth by granting favors when I took the throne. I was prepared to face even reverse discrimination. If I didn’t love and cherish the people of Hybris more than my own clan they wouldn’t accept me a native of Aragasa.”

“Yes. If the conqueror wants to unite with the conquered people he must provide them with a better environment than before and treat them so well that it feels like reverse discrimination.”

“That’s the problem.”

Hatir sat on the throne and crossed his legs.

“The population of Aragasa is too small. They are a race that arrived in this land with only five immigrant ships and their blood has already mixed with the locals so their hair skin and race have already been assimilated into the locals. If reverse discrimination is added to this for smooth rule wouldn’t all the Aragasa in this land be wiped out?”

“So you bound them with the curse of service?”

“Yes. Because restrictions breed unity. If I hadn’t imposed those restrictions everyone would have long ago abandoned the name of Aragasa abandoned their pride and mixed in with the Hybris and our people would have been wiped out.”

Hathir boldly confessed in front of the Heralds that he was the one who maintained the curse of service.

“Don’t you feel sorry for those who will be sacrificed because of your nationalism?”

“Because it’s something we do to survive. It’s a bit sad to eat cows and pigs but in the end they have to be slaughtered.”

Hathir answered without a moment’s hesitation as if he had already made up his mind.

Hearing those words Manja-Zadek gasped for breath with his wounded body. The power of the curse flowed through his blood vessels from the body where the Black Steel Sword was embedded. It was eating away at his nerves as if a deadly poison was burning his blood vessels.

But he got up.

“I guess you just can’t tolerate it.”

“Don’t do useless things Golden King. In fact I like you quite a bit. Among the Yaegasu God Kings you are the only one with a lot of sense. That’s why I want to send you off without any pain if possible but why are you urging me to die?”

“Yeah. At least… I have to buy some time.”

“Useless things…..”

Hathir laughed at Manza-Zadek and drew his dagger from above his throne.

At that moment a black arrow flew towards his temple. It was the Black Gangjeon that was aiming for the leader Hatir.

‘Ugh!? So this is why!’

Only then did Hatir realize why the battered Manza-Zadek had suddenly risen and challenged him but it was too late.