Night of the Soulless Heathens – 21



#21. Atra Follower 3

“Are you talking about the mercenaries you mentioned?”

Derek frowned.

“It seems like they’re trying to take over the entire town and plunder everyone who comes and goes. That means….”

They don’t know who stole their bone wands so they’re clearly planning to take over the post town and investigate all the passersby.

“They aren’t that many but they managed to break through the gate easily. Was it a surprise attack? Or… did the blood of the new king awaken in the count’s illegitimate child?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Then it must be the Kurt Cult. They must have attacked this village because they had a good chance of winning. In that case it would be better to run away now.”

Derek assessed the situation calmly.

As expected the former messenger although he was defeated by Arael and had to retire had excellent judgment skills.

“Then I will act separately.”

“No. Before that… hand me a copy of the New King’s Book.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Do you think I’m going to ask you to take credit for my work?”

“huh.”

“….”

“Well that’s also true but if you take a copy of the New King’s Book Derek won’t you become a target for those guys’ tracking magic?”

“No problem.”

“There’s no problem… Are you going to fight? The merchants in the Korasaru Bobusang Guild are spreading the Yiseon Palace. If such rumors spread the merchant guild that we worked so hard to raise will be ruined.”

Their current caravan includes Derek a former messenger and two others who have fully completed the clan’s training as well as others who are usually skilled enough to be guards for a regular company.

However the ‘Korasar Traders’ Guild’ is just an ordinary merchant guild. There is no reason to show off its fighting prowess in a crowded place.

Moreover it would be a loss if it were shown that it was related to the Herald Clan. I cannot afford to lose this guild that I have worked so hard to establish roots in the Kingdom of Korasa.

“You bastard.”

Derek was furious at Azadin’s words because Azadin’s point was correct.

If you hand over a copy of the New King’s Book there is a high possibility that the Korasaru Peddler Guild will have to fight you directly and in the process the Guild’s true identity may be revealed.

“Don’t worry too much I’ll just act as bait.”

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Azadin said this and got down among the servants walking along the stalls.

“I need some new clothes since I just dropped off my laundry. I’ll take them from the store. Is that okay?”

While Azadin was gathering his equipment Midiam and Ismail brought in a freshly shod goat.

“What happened? I was resting well.”

“You guys get some food from the table inside the tent.”

Azadin pointed inside the tent where he had just been eating with Derek.

“Food in this situation?”

“There are so many people starving in the world. We shouldn’t take food lightly. Let’s take it with us.”

As Azadin spoke two armed men approached the caravan’s carriage.

“Everyone calm down! I will not tolerate you leaving the village!”

“Everyone calm down nothing will happen if you just stay still.”

The speech is fine but he speaks while holding a hammer and a longsword in his hand. There are two of them.

‘No they are recruiting people like this here?’

Azadin knew the number of members of the entire mercenary band led by Tarki.

I recruited a few young men from the village to increase my force but it only amounted to about 20 men. They must be busy trying to subdue the gate and the post station so it is strange to send troops to subdue the caravan.

And there are only two of them?

Indeed it was not only the Corasar merchants’ guild but also other merchants who protested.

“Hey! Take care of it.”

“Okay.”

The other merchants’ guards surrounded these mercenaries.

“Did you think merchants would just want to avoid conflict? Don’t make me laugh.”

“You guys are the mercenaries who crossed the gate right? You can kill them anyway!”

The merchant’s guards charged the mercenaries.

Five beats two.

The outcome was thought to be obvious but something unexpected happened.

-Pfft!

The bodies of the rushing guards were blown away with a dull thud.

The mercenaries simply swung their weapons but the moment their weapons collided the steel bent and the recoil sent the guards flying away.

“Oh no.”

“No weapon can withstand this power.”

They threw away their broken maces and swords grabbed new weapons from the fallen merchant guards and began attacking the remaining guards.

“Hey wait a minute!”

“I surrender!”

“Eww!”

They attacked the guards who surrendered and begged for mercy without mercy killing five of them in an instant.

“Eek?!”

“Oh my God!”

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When the merchants who had stepped forward without thinking were startled they got up with a smile.

“Don’t worry. We’re not trying to kill merchants.”

“Yeah. But… um.”

“uh.”

The mercenaries who had been talking stopped talking and stood there blankly. Their eyes lost focus and vacantly wandered through the air. Then their eyes turned to the fallen corpse.

“what?”

“…I’m hungry.”

They lay down on the ground and crawled like animals on all fours approaching the corpse they had just created.

and….

-Ugh!

He started to gnaw at the corpse.

“Gyaaaah!”

The screams of the women of the merchant group were heard.

*********

Screams began to erupt from all over the post town.

The mercenaries who had spiders grafted onto their bodies gained terrifying strength and were able to slaughter other soldiers in an instant but they all suddenly became overcome by a strange hunger and began to eat people.

At first they would rush to the corpse and just nibble at the soft flesh but when they ate like that their eating speed couldn’t keep up with their appetite.

There are so many pieces of meat the human mouth is not suited to eating them all in a short period of time.

The moment they thought that something strange happened to their bodies. First two additional legs with sharp claws appeared. New long exoskeleton legs appeared on their backs tearing the corpses apart for easy eating.

Their jaws were split vertically opening wider and filling them with sharp teeth to chew and swallow meat more quickly.

And then a greater hunger came to them.

“meat….”

“More meat!”

As they looked back at their faces longing for meat countless swarms of spiders were soon replacing their eyeballs.

*********

“Eek…..”

The merchants were terrified when they saw a human being transform into such a thing right before their eyes.

The two mercenaries had soon transformed into hideous monsters intent on feasting on the corpses they had killed.

“Write briefly.”

Azadin who was watching this picked up a javelin that was on display in the store and threw it.

-puck!

It pierces the spine of one of the mercenaries who was eating a corpse on the floor. The shock to the nervous system would have been enough to kill a normal person instantly.

But the mercenary did not die.

“what?”

It was just a dull reaction that made it seem like it would hurt more than a thorn in my toe.

As the mercenary pulled out the spear embedded in his body countless small spiders swarmed around and filled the wound.

“Who are you?”

The mercenaries who were preoccupied with the corpse did not see Azadin throwing his javelin. No even if they had looked back they would not have seen Azadin.

As soon as Azadin threw his javelin he immediately turned behind the carriages and disappeared.

“Hey that’s the retinue of Atra the Spider Queen of the Kurt Tribe.”

Derek warned as Azadin moved around behind the carriage.

“I know because it looks like a spider. You stay still Derek. I’m going to pretend to be a helpless merchant.”

Azadin responded to Derek’s warning and moved between the carriages to bypass the mercenaries.

“Their bodies are already as good as corpses and their nervous systems are connected by small spiders using magic. Be careful Azadin. Even though you are a straggler you are still one of the 108 spirits of Aragatha.”

Your failure will be a disgrace to your clan.

Derek was saying that.

“Never mind!”

Azadin picked up a roll of cloth from a nearby merchant’s wagon climbed onto the wagon roof jumped down and unfurled the cloth mid-air landing on the two mercenaries. And…

“Ugh!”

He stomped on the ground with both feet and hit a long shot over the fabric.

First higher then lower.

-Pop!

There was a rapid succession of shots followed by a sound like gunpowder exploding.

The mercenaries are caught off guard by Azadin’s powerful attacks. Even though they are divided into spiders Azadin uses the cloth as a medium to expand his attacks from points to planes striking all spiders equally.

But this wasn’t enough.

-Whew!

New arms or rather spider legs sprouted from the mercenaries’ backs poking holes in the fabric and aiming for Azadin.

Azadin had no choice but to back away from the spider legs. But as soon as he did the mercenaries rose up tearing the cloth apart.

“It’s difficult.”

It was at that moment that Azadin muttered like that.

“Over here!”

Medium quickly pulled out the torch hanging on the carriage and threw it down.

At that moment the mercenaries screamed in pain from the heat of the fire. The small spiders inside their bodies are vulnerable to heat. The small insects can be cooked all over with just a small amount of heat.

‘I know but it’s not that easy to light a fire.’

In this caravan camp where merchant wagons form a wall a careless fire could result in disaster.

So while Azadin was hesitating Ismail brought several torches lit them and started throwing them.

“Kwaaaaak!”

“Ahhh! What is this!?”

The mercenaries tried to escape from the torch net in panic but Azadin kicked them back inside with his foot.

“Go inside and keep yourself warm.”

The spiders were startled by the heat and tried to escape by abandoning the bodies of the mercenaries which were their safe home and food but when they jumped out of the bodies it was even more hellish.

However if he hides inside the body he will dig into the flesh of the mercenaries who have not yet fully mutated causing them pain and causing a rejection reaction.

“What do you think? Can we use it too?”

Medium approached Azadin shrugging.

“It’s not over yet so be careful.”

Azadin said this and set fire to the torn cloth. Other merchants also brought things that could be burned and threw them down while they dug the ground with shovels and gathered sand to put out the fire so that the flames would not spread to the carriages and the goods.

In the end the two mercenaries were burned to death without much resistance.

“Ugh. What the heck is this?”

The merchants were horrified at the sight of the strange creatures still burning. The sight of spider legs sprouting from human bodies and burning in the fire was horrifying.

“By the way who are you? Huh?”

When the merchants turned to ask Azadin he had already disappeared.

“What what?”

“What strange people.”

*********

“How about my help? It was timely wasn’t it? You don’t need to thank me. I’m just….”

Azadin praised her as Medium followed him and grumbled.

“Well done. As expected we are fellow countrymen who met in a foreign land.”

“Oh there you go again. Can you stop accepting me as your disciple?”