Night of the Soulless Heathens – 272



#272.Ceramite 2

The news that Azaddin had defeated Selim and taken control of the Chadra spring soon spread throughout Chadra.

After defeating Chashan and Selim and joining Sedrin as an ally Azadin absorbed the power of the three Chadra Oguls and became the undisputed ruler of Chadra.

Now even without Azadin taking the initiative the other knights of the Chadra Plateau who were called minor lords were the first to submit to Azadin.

It was only obedience to the Chapter Master of Fireglyph but for now that was enough.

Now all that remained were the undead knight Sir Sok and the half-vampire Niselda.

*********

“Well then Sir Azadin! Since I have decided to join you let us experience this together.”

Selim called his hippogriff.

Two hippogriffs flew in.

“Do you want to ride this?”

“Right. While we’re at it let’s go check out the Biar Swamp.”

“If you mean the Biar Swamp then you mean Lord Sok’s domain?”

“Let’s fly into the sky and do some reconnaissance. What do you think? Sir Azadin. If you fly into the sky you’ll see how funny and elegant a creature the hippogriff is.”

Perhaps Selim having pledged allegiance to Azadin wanted to make him aware of the need for the beauty of the hippogriff.

“Just for reconnaissance… Okay. Let’s try it.”

Azadin complied with Selim’s wishes and rode on the hippogriff.

“and!”

As Azadin climbed onto the hippogriff the hippogriff flew into the sky. Even for Azadin it was his first time flying in the sky like this so he couldn’t help but be amazed.

“How is it? Isn’t it wonderful?! Sir Azadin! With Cedrin’s help we can now enjoy the hippogriff to our heart’s content…”

Sir Selim insisted that Azadin continue to raise the hippogriff but Azadin refused.

“Let’s leave that story for now and go to the Biar Swamp!”

“Okay follow me!”

Selim also climbed onto the hippogriff and took the lead and began to fly.

*********

The Biar Swamp is a swampy area located west of the Chadra Springs and south of the Black Forest Sedrin’s territory. It is a gloomy area with swamps wetlands and rugged mountain ranges.

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As he flew near it he felt a terrible black magic that was so strong it touched Azadin’s skin.

“Hmm.”

Azadin tried to scout the surroundings with Arael’s voice but Arael’s voice caused confusion.

The black magic here is so strong that it breaks the mental connection with Arael’s voice.

“I can’t use Arael’s voice here. It’s amazing…..”

Azadin looked down from the sky over the Biar Swamp and was bewildered by the powerful force emanating from the swamp.

The only time this level of concentrated magic materialized was when the Nagas attacked Coral Sahar or Bthuma or when the Wendigo began to materialize.

A place where the same state as before the Nether’s reaper descends is maintained all the time.

“The undead live in a place like this. Now I see why everyone fears Lord Sok. Huh?”

It was when Azadin looked around and stuck out his tongue.

Sir Sok’s hippogriff suddenly staggers.

A black shadow appeared from the sky and began to attack the hippogriff.

“Ah. That’s…..”

Azadin pulled out Aurelia Dunn and watched the scene.

Surprisingly Lord Sok had released undead ghost monsters called Shadow Wings into the skies above his domain to guard the skies.

The Shadow Wings were each as big as a large eagle so they wouldn’t pose much of a threat to the hippogriff but the problem was Selim’s hippogriff.

Selim was so heavy that the hippogriff began to lose his balance.

If I were just flying in a straight line I could fly while conserving as much energy as possible but when a black shadow moved back and forth before my eyes I started to lose my balance.

“Eww!”

Selim begins to sink lower and lower and falls.

“…Damn. Why did I know it would be like this?”

Azadin also reluctantly followed Selim and began to descend into the Biar Swamp.

*********

“Ugh.”

“Eww!”

The undead were groaning in pain as they lifted their shovels and began cutting through the tar-like layer of the swamp.

The milky thick fog of the Biar Marsh was the domain of Lord Sok and also the largest producer of tar sands.

After mining the bitumen they pile up the bitumen themselves on carts.

Then when his arm breaks and he falls the undead wraps his own arm with a bandage wraps up the broken arm and goes back to work.

It was a typical scene in the Viar Swamp the domain of the undead knight Sir Sok.

“Ugh. This is terrible.”

Azadin groaned at the sight.

Selim asked Azadin as he sent the hippogriff he had been riding into the sky.

“What is it Sir Azadin?”

“No I just thought the Knights Templar allowed something like this.”

Azadin also used the undead to collect cinnabar but it was a kind of automatic machine that did not capture the soul and only used the physical memories.

But here the undead feel a definite soul bondage.

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If you have a soul you can interpret commands and be flexible in the tasks given to you but that also torments the soul which should be at rest.

This is a terrible sorcery that exploits a being even beyond death.

And yet Sok is considered a member of the Rescue Knights.

“You unexpectedly entered Lord Sok’s territory. What happened to our pretty one?”

“Because it’s heavy. What.”

“I said you usually fly well.”

“This isn’t a regular flight is it?”

Azadin said this and looked around cautiously.

There are many undead visible but most of them are busy with their assigned tasks so no one reacts to Azadin and Selim.

As the notoriety of Sir Sok was high he was left defenseless against those who approached him from above.

“Once the hippogriff recovers its health let’s escape. Sir Selim. Now is not the time to come.”

“I see. That’s really weird.”

Selim still seemed confused as to why the hippogriff could not stand up to him.

But then a carriage was seen approaching Azadin and his party.

The coachman of the carriage was a translucent ghost and the horses were also ghost horses with spirits attached to their bones.

A noblewoman emerged from the carriage an elven woman with the tattoo of a wild druid on her body.

Unlike other undead she retains her original form from when she was alive but the aura flowing from her makes it clear that she is a dead being.

“Welcome Sir Azadin. Sir Selim. The master awaits you.”

“Are you Sedrin’s sister?”

“Yes. My name is Dahlia. Hehe. Did Sedrin ask how I was?”

“I did ask how you were doing. By the way this place is truly amazing.”

“I am deeply moved that you as the Emperor’s messenger have spoken such words after visiting the golden city of Bthumana and the beautiful Coral Sahar. Come please board the carriage. Can we talk as we go?”

“I came riding a hippogriff so can’t I just fly away?”

“Haha. Then why did you get off in the middle?”

“I’m going to take a break.”

“Then shall we rest in our carriage and talk?”

Dahlia continued to recommend Azadine.

It seemed as though he was determined to drag Azadin into the mansion.

‘Hmm. I should have prepared a bit more.’

Azadin regretted flying in on the hippogriff with Sir Selim without any special preparation.

At least to deal with a strong opponent I should have made a deal with Van Dyke Trading Company and gotten a few rounds of Heukgangjeon.

Currently Azadin has only five arrows from the Cheonggangjeon and five regular arrows inserted into his quiver.

“What should we do Sir Azadin?”

Selim asked Azadin whether he should ride in the carriage or not.

“I’m a little unprepared but it’s a waste of time. Let’s go.”

Azadin hesitated for a moment and then decided to get on the carriage.

*********

The carriage pulled by the ghost horse was as quiet as if it was floating above the ground.

In fact the carriage lifted slightly off the ground and traveled comfortably regardless of the uneven terrain. If this were possible not only in this territory but also elsewhere it would be a true revolution in transportation.

“Hmm. You are handsome Sir Azadin. I have heard of you but you are more… attractive than I imagined. I think Sedrin would really like you.”

Dahlia the elven woman who was Lord Sok’s servant spoke thus and smacked her lips.

A pale face with a particularly red tongue and sharp teeth beneath it that have mutated since death are visible.

Even without that she is an elf with cannibalistic habits. Dahlia who died and became an undead hides her true colors with her beautiful appearance from her life but underneath that layer there is a monster that craves human flesh.

Azadin frowned at the sight of the monster’s true nature being revealed so clearly.

“Cedrin likes it. How long has it been since you lost her? How can you say so clearly about her tastes?”

“Oh of course. That kid has the same tastes as me. And right now I… Hehe. I don’t know if this is rude but I feel a strong desire for you.”

“So are you satisfied working under Sir Sok?”

“Is that me? Of course I am satisfied. Those who say that death is peace are only those who have not yet experienced death. When you actually die you want to kick away that peace no matter what.”

“Well I guess the workers there might think differently now?”

Azadin pointed to workers carrying iron ore on the roadside.

Undead laborers are struggling to carry iron ore panting and suffering. Even though they are already dead and have no need to breathe they are panting and complaining of suffering just as they remember when they were alive.

“Isn’t there a need to capture the souls of simple workers?”

“But if you don’t capture the soul you can’t do complicated things. You’ll just be repeating simple tasks but managing a territory requires even more creativity. And… ah.”

Azadin ignored Dahlia’s words and looked out the carriage window.

Outside the window several blast furnaces were belching smoke.

At first glance there are eight of them. These are not simple blacksmith shops but crucibles for producing pure iron.

“Iron ore is also available.”

“Yes there are mines. The Salvage Knights have no choice but to rely on Sir Sok for the mines and the bitumen coal they use to make steel.”

“….”

Azadin could tell because they were mining cinnabar using the undead.

If Lord Sok were to use the undead to mine iron ore and refine it himself to create iron products such as weapons and tools the economic impact would be beyond imagination.

It must be reaping profits no less than those of the Southeast Rock Fortress in Chashan where drugs were made and sold.

Moreover looking at the number of these undead it would not be an exaggeration to say that Lord Sok is the strongest in Chadra.