Night of the Soulless Heathens – 345



#345. Erantry Quest 1

Griselda continued to send her men to retrieve Ashajit’s eyes that had been stolen by Azadin.

However things are not going well because the vampires are afraid of Aurelia Dawn. No vampire wants to burn to death in Aurelia Dawn’s fire.

Even Griselda did not come in person because she too was afraid of Aurelia Dunn.

But this was also a headache for Azadin.

An enemy who knows fear is much more difficult to defeat than one who is recklessly brave.

Azadin had no choice but to stay at the Sandokar Gate to block the vampires that might rush in at any moment.

And I had to focus my energy on dealing with the refugees and monsters that kept coming to the Sandokar Gate.

*********

Edir was originally a servant of Bthuma.

However on the day the Kingdom of Btuma fell he fled to Banling with his family to escape the vicious attacks of the incoming Nagas and the Heralds and had to live a difficult life.

Although he could find work anywhere thanks to his martial arts skills the life of a refugee was still difficult.

Living in a refugee camp without a home forced to resort to crime to support his wife and children he was forced to flee once again on the day when even the Banrung Kingdom collapsed.

But where should we go?

Arangi Kingdom?

It was a well-known fact to the whole world that the Arangians were harsh towards refugees and beggars.

At that time a rumor began to spread among the Btuma refugees.

“Sir Azadin the rescuer has formed a force in the regions of Sandokar and Naisandokar and it is said to be a place of abundance and safety.”

“Salvation Knight Azadin? But isn’t he a messenger?”

The rumor about Azadin who was a messenger and a rescue knight was already widely known throughout the world.

Azadin’s reputation is not bad. I heard that he has united the heroes of the Chadra Plateau into one great force has eliminated bandits and monsters to keep people safe and has paved the way to greatly assist in the trade.

Paving roads and suppressing bandits were things that only great lords would do. Once a road was paved and maintained it was no different from saying that the place was a good place to live.

However Edir who had the atrocities of the heralds who invaded Bthuma etched into his retina could not acknowledge them no matter how good their reputation was.

Taking refuge in a land ruled by the Herald Clan? Not even worth considering.

Edir decided to lead his family and flee south towards the Kingdom of Arangi.

But when Fimbulbert started problems arose.

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Even though it was fall it was snowing and food prices were skyrocketing.

This was a problem but an even bigger problem was that monsters began to appear from the sea.

“It is said that the gods that sank in Netherstrom turned sea creatures into monsters and invaded the surface.”

“Oh my. This guy is going to be in big trouble…”

The clergy of the King’s Church were hovering among the refugees taking care to ensure that the people were not deceived by false rumors.

From the refugees’ perspective they are a nuisance who only meddle without doing anything but without them it would be difficult to distinguish between a group of refugees and a group of bandits… So everyone stopped spreading and re-spreading ominous rumors following the priest’s words.

But that night the priest came to see Edir.

“What is it Your Majesty?”

“Edir are you of the servant class?”

“Yes. Embarrassingly…”

“This is Gidit a member of the Sellsword Guild. Would you like to be the leader of the refugee party’s scouts together with Gidit?”

“But I have to take care of my family. I have a grown daughter…”

Edir who had a daughter and a wife did not want to be separated from his family. Despite his initial refusal the priest wanted Edir to take on the role of scout.

“Just as evil monsters and cultists are coming out of Banreung… monsters are also coming out from the sea. We need someone who knows how to use a sword.”

“That means….”

“Please. Don’t worry. I will ensure the safety of your family. I will keep you by my side and protect you.”

“If that’s the case.”

At the priest’s earnest request Edir took the lead roughly armed with Gidit and other village vigilantes.

*********

“It’s getting colder. The sea breeze is especially chilly. Oh my. This area doesn’t get much snow even in the winter.”

“You scouts keep quiet.”

“No but if I don’t open my mouth I think I’ll freeze to death. I’m so hungry…”

“That’s nonsense.”

The scouts including Edir and Giddith were chattering away in hunger and fear. It wasn’t a very good thing but it was better because wild beasts and goblins would run away when people were making noise.

Any monsters beyond that level would be beyond their ability to handle anyway.

“hmm?”

“The smell of blood….”

The pungent smell of blood wafts on the wind.

The scouts who had been chattering like market street vendors all shut their mouths tightly.

They soon arrived at a fishing village where a man was impaled on a pole for drying nets clearly showing signs of having been eaten by an animal and unprocessed fish were strewn about.

“Oh my god…..”

“The world is going to hell. What kind of villains are….”

“No this is not the work of a human being. Once the search is over and it is deemed safe we will call the priest.”

Edir calmly surveyed the threats around the fishing village and decided to call for priests and refugees.

When the priest and the group of refugees were called in the priest saw the tragedy of the village and gave orders to the refugees.

“The fish here are polluted so don’t touch them. You’d better leave this place as soon as possible!”

But that night… a commotion began among the refugees.

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People who could not stand the hunger and secretly ate fish from the fishing village began complaining of stomach pains.

And after a while people among the refugees began to mutate.

“Save me!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“help!”

Refugees who cry out for help attack nearby humans. The strange scales that grow on their bodies have become armor and the barnacles on their hands and feet have become sharp spikes.

When an excited refugee struck someone with his barnacled hands skin was torn off and bones were broken.

Edir and Gidit who had been waiting after hearing the priest’s instructions led the soldiers to fight against the mutants that had become Nether monsters. Half of the vigilantes who could hardly be called proper soldiers died in the process.

“Oh… my goodness. Yaegasu God Kings!”

The priest cried out as he saw people turning into monsters just from eating a few fish.

And the next morning as the refugees prepared to leave they discovered several wealthy landowners dead from drinking poisoned wine.

It is not known whether they committed suicide by drinking poison because they could not handle the coming world of madness or whether they were cunningly poisoned by those who were after their supplies but neither the priest Edir nor Gidit had the capacity to investigate.

Exhausted beyond measure they held a brief funeral retrieved their belongings and moved on.

“Let’s head towards Sandokar. The coast is dangerous madness is coming from the sea.”

The priest of the King’s Church hated the kingslayer Azadin more than anyone else but he was the first to speak out about heading to Sandokar where Azadin ruled.

They turned away fearing the abyssal monsters rising from the sea.

It was inevitable for the refugee group which consisted of more civilians than combatants to return safely.

But as they headed to Sandokkar they encountered more refugees than themselves.

They’re not the only ones.

People from all over the world were fleeing abandoning their homes.

Even if they are a rescue team would they be able to accept this many refugees?

Suddenly fear came over me. If I were to be kicked out after coming all this way and not be accepted I would starve to death on the street.

“If that damned messenger clan Azadin or whatever chases us out let’s kill them!”

Among the refugees those who were strong and capable shouted out loud.

They also have weapons and many men so they can take over the Sandokar Gate and pillage their lands! That was the bluff.

‘How could that be possible?’

The arrows fired by the heralds were completely different from those fired by ordinary archers and could kill even armored knights instantly. The poorly armed thugs could only prey on peasants but they would have a hard time dealing with even well-armed soldiers. What kind of plunder is this?

Edir who watched the scene felt sorry for the people’s pretense but did not raise an objection.

*********

Even though it’s early fall it’s snowing in the southern regions. Normally at this time of year I wouldn’t be able to sleep due to the heat and mosquitoes let alone the snow but the wind is so cold that I feel like I’m freezing to death.

Walking through the cold wind and on the snow-covered road not only did they lose all their energy but their hunger sucked them into the ground like a swamp.

Those who had eaten something such as a few pieces of bread or dried corn cakes were able to get back up but those who had not eaten were left exhausted and lying on the ground waiting for death.

Eventually stragglers began to appear among the starving refugees.

The priest felt sorry for such people but he could not save them.

But then a group of armed men appeared in front of the road.

They were cavalrymen and soldiers carrying the flag of the Rescue Knights.

“We are the protectors of Sandokar and the men of Lord Azadin the captain of Vermillion. We are moving to restore order on this road so get out of the way!”

The soldiers spoke like this approached found the fallen people and helped them up.

I didn’t like their meddlesome attitude but when they took out some dried rice cakes from their backpacks and broke them open everyone’s eyes widened.

‘Are you sure you’re not going to give me that?’

Everyone looked at the soldiers with anticipation. Normally it wouldn’t be anything special but now that they’ve been starving for a long time everyone’s mouths are watering.

But the soldier puts the dried rice cake in his mouth and chews it.

‘Is this guy kidding us?!

Edir was annoyed by the soldier’s attitude but after a while he realized that they were mistaken.

The soldier spat out the rice cake he was chewing in his mouth into his hand and fed it to the fallen refugee.

It was so hard that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to eat it if I just fed it to him so I chewed it once in my mouth.

Although it cannot be said to be hygienic the conditions were not good and it was not possible to discuss a hygienic environment.

The person who had fallen ate the rice cake and gradually regained his strength.

“Our leader Lord Azadin reveres the virtues of the Trinity and by his command I will protect you. Follow the path in order!”

The soldier said this and broke the dried rice cakes into pieces and distributed them to the children nearby who looked obviously hungry.

“….”

“That’s amazing.”

The priest and Edir exchanged glances and shared a feeling of sympathy.

The Herald Clan reveres the virtues of the Trinity?