Night of the Soulless Heathens – 390



#390. Iron Mask 2

It seems that the Yaegasu Shinnosuke clan is indeed strong as they are still alive despite seeming to fill their bellies with alcohol rather than food.

Jecht looked at Astarte in such a pitiful state and ordered his subordinates to clean up after her while he questioned the priest on the side of the Rescue Knights.

“The King’s Church has declared his remarks as heresy and has declared them. The problem is that he belongs to the Knights Templar so even if our church designates him as a heretic it will be ineffective if the Knights Templar protect him right? If the Knights Templar are protecting him.”

“Actually the higher-ups have already summoned him to the inquiry committee.”

“You called me to the inquiry committee?”

Just a committee of inquiry?

I almost said that.

“We did our best. However King Arangi has declared war on him and is using that as an excuse to not attend the meeting.”

“….”

A field commander during a war is not required to attend a military council. This is a matter of course.

It seems unlikely that the Rescue Knights would have summoned Azadin to the council without knowing that…

‘You’re scared.’

The Rescue Knights were also afraid of the rising momentum of Count Azadin.

And if Count Azadin defeats King Arangi this time the council will be withdrawn as if it had never been held.

They held a meeting to see the king’s church’s reaction but since Azadin was cleverly defending himself they did what they could. They said that and left carrying the burden on their backs.

“If the Four Gates Council is not in effect will you just wait? Even though the rightful king of Aranggi is waging war against you?”

“Of course if either King Arangi or Count Azadin asks us to mediate this battle we will step forward and mediate. However the war between the king and the nobles is originally a matter for the king’s church to handle and the Knights Templar are to provide relief to the people who suffer during the conflict. Isn’t that our original role?”

“So even if Count Azadin spouts heretical nonsense we can punish him ourselves. That’s what it sounds like.”

“No no. We would like to actively help. However excommunicating someone as high as a count is not something I can decide on my own and since we are in the middle of a battle there is nothing I can do about it. It would be difficult to raise troops and support the Arangi Kingdom without even formally excommunicating them. Since the situation is not favorable we can only sit back and watch.”

In any case it was King Aranggi and the King’s Church that would be the ones to get angry not the Knights Templar. He was trying to convey that sentiment in the most refined way possible.

“Didn’t we actually help you? Coxhal is already Count Azadin’s territory. If you take the ship and it sinks….”

“ha?”

Zect’s eyebrows rose as he listened.

The remarks reached a level that was absolutely unbearable.

The Knights Templar said that they were helping the King’s Church by saying that they were helping them but it was an insulting remark that was close to a protest and could not be overlooked.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

But then….

Astadair’s hand which had finished vomiting grabbed Jecht’s shoulder.

“Sir Jecht. Seriously. We need their help. Shouldn’t they be helping us as much as they can?”

“…Ugh.”

Jecht groaned as he watched Astadair’s hand still reek of vomit touch his cloak.

He said this while wiping his hands with a joking tone.

“We’re going to go overland and hunt down those damned messenger tribes. I hope you’ll give us the supplies we need.”

“Oh you mean water? Yes of course as a proof of the king’s friendship with the church.”

“Thank you.”

Astarte skillfully ended the conversation between the two which could have easily turned into a fight over pride.

“Let’s rest today and leave by land as soon as the supplies are ready. How long do you think it will take?”

“It’s not that easy to prepare.”

“Really? Then I guess I have some free time during that time. I guess I can check out what the local liquor tastes like.”

“….”

You’re going to drink again after drinking so much? After throwing up just now?

But no one could spit on Astarte.

“Then I’ll be at the bar in the meantime Sir Jecht.”

“Understood Lord Astardair. Be careful. The end times are coming and heretics are lurking everywhere so you never know where something might pop up.”

“Haha. So if it puts an end to this sinful life that would be good too.”

“I think Lord Astarte will be the first to finish off that damned drink.”

Jecht frowned as he took off his cloak that Astarte had touched.

“That’s why I’m drinking it. I’ve suffered such humiliation that I can’t even look up to the sky so I should commit suicide. This alcohol is the poison I use to commit suicide. Hahaha.”

Astarte asked the Rescue Knights if there was a good bar nearby and walked over to get a drink.

*********

While Astadair was passing the time with a drink Jecht began to move busily.

He contacted the king’s church in the province of Bissen and began recruiting willing believers.

Of course most of them were simply refugees with no food and no job but if they were conscripted and raised to be soldiers they could greatly drain the supplies of the Rescue Knights who had promised to support them.

And by increasing the number of people like this they strike at the rear of Count Azadin.

If we attack Count Azadin from the north who is forming a front line with the Kingdom of Arangi to the south Azadin will be attacked from both the south and the north and his forces will be divided.

“We did promise to provide food but…”

The priest who had been dragged by Astarte and was drinking alcohol along with her was bewildered at the sight of Jecht’s army that had grown in a short period of time.

While he was away for two days Jecht had increased his force to 20 knights of the King’s Church and 100 refugee soldiers.

It turned out that five times more supplies were needed than anticipated.

“Would it be of any help to take them? They probably haven’t even been trained. If they just march to Coxhall half of the troops will melt away.”

Most of the refugees have no military experience. They are even illiterate so training them will be difficult.

It was a common-sense question that the troops would melt away even if they just marched let alone fought.

Didn’t you just force the number to increase to annoy the Rescue Knights and cause them harm?

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

But Jecht spoke as if he was laughing at the priest’s worries.

“All large seats facing left!”

Under Zect’s command all the refugees turned left in unison repeating Zect’s orders.

“no?”

The eyes of the priests of the Salvation Knights widened at their unexpected movements.

It’s incredibly fast considering that it was taught in just one day to peasants who can’t even tell the difference between their right and left hands.

No it was a sharp movement that even surpassed the elite soldiers.

“Halfway to the window!”

The refugees were carrying wooden spears instead of proper iron spears and under Zect’s command they held the spears and laid them aside for a moment securing half the distance between them.

“Come in window!”

The spears all point straight ahead their sharp teeth pointed straight ahead. Perfect.

The movements continued without any unnecessary frills making one wonder if there could be a more perfect unit.

“Put the spear up! Put the spear up one step!”

The refugee soldiers set up their spears then set them aside again and this time they dispersed in perfect unison ready to swing a single spear.

At this point the movements were such that they could be considered the best elite soldiers in the world.

‘That’s ridiculous. Wait a minute?’

The priest of the Order of the Salvation saw the fear clearly written on the faces of the refugees.

And I noticed that the veins on the necks of the five leaders were bulging as if they had grown an extra tendon and their eyes were bloodshot.

‘Did you cast a spell? Are you crazy?’

‘No matter how the end times approach you have thrown away even the bare minimum of decency? This beastly author!’

‘But what kind of sorcery did you use? How did you make those illiterate peasants like this in such a short period of time?’

The priest was horrified at what Jecht had done.

The inquisitors of the King’s Church are superior to any evil magician.

These are the ones who have studied heresy the most for the purpose of hunting down heretics and they originally had bloodlines close to demigods.

But until then there was a minimum level of decorum.

The inquisitors of the noble king’s church of demigod blood could not openly practice sorcery.

However Jecht uses sorcery as if it were a curse. I don’t know if it’s because the end of the world is near and Fimbulbert has come and taken off his mask or if Jecht is originally violent.

One thing is clear: this magic has tremendous power. Its effects are truly terrifying.

‘If we could instantly transform earthworm farmers into regular soldiers…’

‘How scary. Are there more people like this in the King’s Church?’

Although the King’s Church has recently lost a lot of face the King’s Church’s talents are absolutely unignorable. The Knights of the Salvation Order watched Jecht’s show of force with cold sweat dripping down their faces.

“It seems like you have some valuable opinions…”

Zect made this show of force and looked back at the priests of the Salvation Knights.

“I’ll be happy to listen. Please speak.”

“Oh no. That’s not it.”

“So what about supplies? How long will it take to prepare for the expedition? If it takes a long time I think we’ll continue to gather refugees in the meantime. If the numbers increase any further it’ll be difficult to maintain full discipline. You know these guys… right?”

“…….”

If you guys keep wasting time and making fun of me I don’t know what kind of accident will happen.

Jecht used Nether magic without hesitation and threatened the priests of the Order of the Salvation.

The longer it takes the more Zect’s forces will grow and the more people will be under the spell.

If these creatures who are already no different from monsters are stationed in large numbers in the city that too is burdensome.

“I will prepare it right away even tonight.”

“Yes? Is that possible? I’m worried that this might be too much for you.”

Zect was making a fuss.

‘You could have done it earlier but you were just wasting your time. I guess I’ll have to show you how to do it. Anyway I guess I’ll be able to push that arrogant messenger clan member into a corner.’

Azadin has been on a steady rise since becoming the Margrave of Naisandhokar but this time it won’t be easy.

Suddenly Zect realized that he was enjoying this situation.

“no way….”

Zect shook his head denying the feelings that had arisen within him.