Night of the Soulless Heathens – 413



#413. Tempest 2

Although the continent of Hybris denies the existence of the Emperor the calendar compiled by the Emperor is still used.

The new year will soon begin according to the imperial calendar.

From the beginning of the new year a snowstorm poured down from the sea in Banreung.

The retinue summoned by Azadin waited for the king to appear watching the snow pouring down outside the windows of the mountain’s heart castle.

By order of the king sugar was given as a gift to his vassals to celebrate the New Year at the end of the year.

And Azadin appeared from his dwelling.

“So did you all receive your gifts? I’m sorry that I have nothing to give you after all the hardships you’ve gone through.”

“I am sorry to hear that.”

“In times of tribulation this is all I could ask for. Rather I am worried that it may be too much.”

“Uh um. Uh uh.”

“If you can’t say anything then don’t say it.”

Azadin calmed down Selim who unlike the other vassals was not able to speak smoothly and looked around at his vassals.

“Okay then let’s sort out the situation going forward. It’s going to be a busy start to the new year.”

Currently Azadin’s Banreung Kingdom is connected to the Knights of Salvation through the Arangi Kingdom either by land or sea.

The Merciful Sect of the Salvation Knights has been supporting Azadin in both material and spiritual ways but without their help there is a possibility that he will become isolated in the future.

Even if that weren’t the case it would be a problem if those strange alien-type reapers abused their miracles.

There is some doubt as to whether it is true that Azadin was chosen by the angels and spirits of Yaegas.

‘I didn’t say anything in the first place because I thought it might happen.’

Even when Azadin was chosen by the angels and the spirits of Yaegas he did not speak openly about their choice or revelation.

Because he knew how ridiculous it would be for a member of the herald clan to claim to have been chosen by angels or spirits.

Those who claim to be chosen by angels or gods can be found anywhere there is a permanent market.

“So this is the situation. If you have any opinions please speak your mind.”

“If Lord Triodana claims to have received a miracle then it is highly likely that he was the one who caused trouble in Bissen. In order to do something about the knights from the King’s Church in Bissen he would have to be someone with influence over the King’s Church like him or Bukje.”

Jecht Sir looked secretly towards Karna Sir while wearing the hemp insignia symbolizing his status as a Knight of Atonement over his armor.

Unlike the Northern Emperor who had to go through his subordinates to carry out practical work because he was far away Triodana was located in the Wisdom Order of the Knights of the Rescue Corps and was carrying out practical work directly.

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A key member of the Wisdom Order that performs the Celestial Reincarnation Ritual while also having connections with the Church of the King of the Northern Qi.

As of now Triodana was the most powerful person who could reincarnate the knights from the King’s Church into Celestials.

But what about Karna? That’s what Jecht was saying.

‘This author really has a bad personality. He still hasn’t come to his senses even after being turned into a knight of atonement and wearing a sack of rice.’

Karna smiled bitterly as he looked at Jecht who was openly suspicious and hostile towards him.

Jibek spoke up.

“First we must subdue Bisen and stabilize the rear and then organize the Rescue Knights. If the rear is not stabilized we never know when or what will happen to us.”

“But it must have been Lord Triodana who planned the rebellion of Visen. Will Lord Triodana stay still while we attack Visen? It would be better to destroy the enemy’s main force.”

Lord Karna insisted on defeating Triodana first.

Karna and Triodana looked like twins and were close even before becoming Celestials which may be why he wanted to deal with Triodana as soon as possible.

“It’s a long way to St. Mallory’s and we have to pass through the Kingdom of Arangi. I think it would be better to attack Vissen first.”

Bernard also suggested that they sort out Bissen first.

“If it is to subdue Bisen then please order me to go on an expedition.”

Lord Jecht now a heretic inquisitor and a knight of atonement volunteered to go on an expedition when the conversation turned to the subjugation of Visen.

It seemed like he wanted to repay Visen for the hardships he suffered.

However the Azadin clique had a jinx that they would lose any battle that was not their own due to the previous defeat in Bissen.

In fact the only person in the Azadin warlords who is qualified to be a commander-in-chief is Jecht Xibek Karna who was trained as a knight.

Werewolf Legion and Dwarf Kalan have a wealth of field experience but their experience is limited to that of infantry mercenary captains and they lack the capabilities to assume overall command of siege warfare or cavalry warfare.

Aside from King Azadin and the alcoholic Lord Astarte the most capable commander is Jecht who returned from defeat at Vissen.

Azadin’s forces must ultimately be ruled by Azadin himself. Splitting up the troops and deploying them can be fine for small-scale bandit or goblin suppression but it is impossible to conduct proper military operations.

“I will personally take charge of the subjugation of Bisen. In the meantime the person who will guard Banreung is….”

The problem was also the person who would leave it behind.

‘Sir Jibek has some practical skills and Karna is also quick-witted. However regardless of my belief other people still regard Lord Karna as suspicious. If I leave the throne to Karna there will definitely be complaints among the other vassals.’

But that doesn’t mean we can leave it to Zect or Astarte.

The other vassals’ ability to defend and operate the castle smoothly is questionable.

“I’ll be there Scott. How many wagons do you have to transport supplies?”

Then Scott who had been specially permitted to lie down before the king raised his hand.

The doll next to Scott spoke instead.

“There are plenty of wagons sir. Most of them are in good condition according to the ledger but about half of them need repairs now.”

“….”

The other vassals around him were dumbfounded. Not only was he lying down in front of the king but he was also answering on his behalf using such an unholy tool.

Scott an orc wizard used to eat three or four times as much as other people.

In a time of famine such overeating is absolutely not a virtue. No matter how capable a wizard Scott is the orcs are a different race and his words and actions tend to make him enemies so there seems to be a lot of noise around him.

This is the solution Scott proposed to address the noise.

Even when he speaks he uses a doll and he spends most of the day lying down.

Thanks to this the amount of food consumed was reduced to about 1.5 times that of an average person but it was strange and against etiquette.

And since there were many former paladins under Azadin the sight of them using necromancy without hesitation caused many people to frown.

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But Scott’s point was sharp and accurate.

“It exists on paper but it needs a lot of maintenance right?”

“Yes sir. They are all the same cart on paper but if a wheel falls off or an axle breaks they are still considered carts. Also there is a serious shortage of wood these days. The weather is getting colder so there are more people trying to repair buildings and there are more people burning good wood for firewood.”

“Then let us lend you the cart. We will exchange the cart that Vandyke Trading Company has for the damaged cart. In return please give us the logging rights to cut down the forest near the Naisandokar Road.”

To our surprise Zion Etar offered to trade the wagon.

It was an outrage to demand logging rights in exchange for a cart but it was a different story if the area where the logging was to take place was the Naisandhokar region.

The road to Naisandokhar was dark due to the overgrowth of trees which led to frequent attacks by monsters wild beasts and goblins.

Asking for logging rights in an area that already needed logging was tantamount to saying they would take responsibility for the logging themselves.

‘If the Heralds come forward there will be no problem. Is it because Zion Etar is trying to score points?’

Azadin accepted Zion Etar’s offer. With the wagon problem solved the supply plan to subdue Visen also proceeded at a rapid pace.

*********

Midiam declared that he would follow Azadin wherever he went.

“You’re not planning on locking me up somewhere safe are you?”

“You’re not the kind of girl who would stay still even if you locked her up. I already received an offer from Sion Etar.”

“Yes? To your brother? What kind of suggestion?”

“I was thinking of forming an archer corps made up of Aragasa.”

Azadin accepted into his barracks the servants of the Etar bloodline chosen by Sion Etar.

The number is 10. Although they were not able to become messengers the servants who assisted the messengers also had abilities no less than those of the messengers.

In particular his archery skills are superior to those of others. Therefore it would be a waste to assign him to a regular archery unit.

“And I will give you Ismail and Indim Seraph as your entourage. Indim Seraph will be the guest. That means he can leave whenever he wants.”

“Wow. That must be quite a lot of power. Depending on how you use it.”

“Well that’s right. Then shall we go together to subdue Vissen? Even though she is the future queen in this situation in Fimbulbert you have to pay for the food.”

“Of course. I am also an Aragasa.”

But then Seraph asked Azadin a question.

“King Azadin are you okay?”

“what?”

“No Ismail over there….”

“I was assigned here because I wanted to.”

Azadin also knew that Ismail was in love with Midiam.

From the beginning Ismail was like a stepbrother to Midiam and these two were bound to have a strong bond.

However Ismail volunteered to Azadin that he would continue to guard Midiam.

*********

When it was decided that the arranged marriage with Midiam would not be political Ismail came to see Azadin alone.

“What’s going on? You’re not suggesting that we duel over Medium are you?”

“Of course. I know my place. I am a long-time slave of the Etar bloodline so I even love the chains around my neck.”

“Oh my. For someone so young to be so tight-lipped… No no. Okay. Tell me.”

“I would like to continue to serve you Lady Midiam. If necessary I will castrate myself and serve you. Or as the king used to punish the wicked you can castrate me yourself. If a sane man is hanging around serving the queen it could create bad rumors.”

“Stop it. You little brat. Why are you so impatient? There’s no way I would want that. The Jeonryeong clan is already short on descendants so why would you use a valuable person as a eunuch?”

“Then…..”

“I know how much you care about Midiam Ismail. No one can protect her better than you. I will ask you to do so.”

Azadin took pity on Ismail who had come to him with the absurd offer to become a eunuch.

It must be so stressful that he would suggest castration himself.

Ismail is a being entangled with secret resentment towards the Etar clan who treat him like a servant and love and hatred for his admirer Midiam.

Although he had the ability to become a messenger he had hidden his teeth and lived for the sake of Medium so it was impossible for him to leave Medium and try to live a new life for himself.

It will take a long time for that to become possible.

‘I don’t have much time.’

Azadin smiled bitterly reassured Ismail and sent him away.