Night of the Soulless Heathens – 421



#421. Southern King 2

“You said you wanted the warm lands of the south? I will give it to you. I will make this Bissen province my Baekryeong and appoint you as the Count of this place.”

“Are you saying that you will give me the land to destroy?”

Agilea the master of the Telvarin Guild seemed perplexed.

Didn’t you know that Azadin would so stubbornly refuse to marry the elves?

“Yes. It’s a land with a mine and a steel mill. Although we’re withdrawing because of Fimbulbert its value is by no means low. We need to help you not only by borrowing five ships but also in the future.”

In fact putting forward Bissen was a very radical proposal even for Azadin.

Iron ore and iron products from the Bisen Province accounted for half of the royal income of the Banling Kingdom.

Even if it is difficult to run Vissen right now it is a land that should never be handed over to someone else when thinking about the future. Of course Azadin’s top priority was to survive in Fimbulbert right now…

It was an item that a normal king would never put up for sale.

However Aguilera’s reaction was lukewarm.

She doesn’t show her affection… or rather it’s probably because her story about wanting a warm southern land doesn’t mesh with Azadin’s methods.

The merchants like vested interests and do not like to be nobles who directly manage their territories.

Concessions such as mining rights or exclusive rights are sure to make money in any situation.

Even if war or chaos occurs and their authority is temporarily suspended they are quickly restored later and make a lot of money when the economy grows.

On the other hand directly managing a territory means shouldering a corresponding amount of responsibility for the territory.

If someone invaded their territory and started a war the Telvarin Guild would have to empty its own pockets to deal with such threats and hire expensive mercenaries and adventurers to deal with and mediate various problems and disputes that arose in the territory.

However since giving Visen territory also meant giving Visen mining rights it was still tempting for the Telvarin Guild even though they knew it was a poisoned chalice.

“Hmm. You’re really taking the easy way out. I think it would be better to just get married. I understand. It doesn’t seem like a bad deal considering what happens after Fimbulbert ends.”

“Good. That’s good. Then prepare a boat and evacuate the people to Banreung yourself. I will return to Banreung with a small group right away.”

“yes?”

Aguilera couldn’t believe her ears.

“Delegate the evacuation work here to the Telbarin Guild. Evacuate the people.”

“Just a moment Your Majesty. Right now I mean…”

We will entrust the civilian recruits to the Telvarin Guild famous for its slave trade. Is that what you mean? Agilya checked again.

“Why? Surely you’re not planning to kill and massacre the residents here right now?”

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“That’s not it.”

“Okay then. I look forward to your performance.”

Azadin entrusted the Telvarin Guild with the evacuation of the inhabitants from the province of Vissen and he himself decided to set out first with his closest aides.

The elves were definitely up to something and it was clear that they were involved in the assassination of the King of Arangi. However it was also clear that they would be helpful in saving the civilians.

*********

When Azadin returned to Banling he found that the report sent by Seraph and Indim had arrived in Banling.

Camilla and the werewolves murdered Count Ivchek and attacked Sandokar with an army of werewolves intending to annihilate them all.

The initial report said there were about 100 werewolves but Indim and Seraph estimated there were about 70.

Still with 70 werewolves it could be said that they were more than enough force to conquer a kingdom.

In other words Camilla’s rebellion was a terrible threat that would sweep through the County of Sandocar.

But then Lord Sok’s Fimbul Horde showed up and began to aid Sandokar.

Camilla’s werewolves faced Lord Sok’s Fimbul Horde with terrifying force using their wild magic to summon spirits.

The Shade Hags also fought against the Fimbul Horde speaking out for themselves.

However the Fimbul Horde also charged forward without fear even when the bodies of the undead were broken and their spirits were crushed and eventually won against Camilla despite great sacrifices and Camilla and her brother Countach fled wounded having lost their werewolf force.

Seraph and Indim continued to pursue Camilla but reports came in that Camilla’s movements had gone deep into the uninhabited forests of Naisandhokar making further pursuit difficult and forcing them to return.

As the County of Sandokar began to process the war on its own it requested that Count Ivechek’s eldest son Sevron inherit the castle troops and supplies of Sandokar in its entirety and that Azadin be allowed to succeed to the throne.

“So it seems that Camilla’s sudden betrayal wasn’t that big of a blow. Thanks to Lord Sok…”

Azadin frowned when he heard of Lord Sok’s exploits.

Sir Sok is in league with Azadin but he is a mad necromancer who deals with the undead and insists that humans must be turned into undead in order to defeat Fimbulbert.

‘To be honest I thought he would be the first to betray me.’

Azadin has the Wendigo dagger that Lord Sok wants but has not given it to him.

So if Lord Sok reveals his true colors wouldn’t he try to take away the Wendigo’s dagger?

As I was thinking about that out of the blue Camilla attacked and killed Count Ivechek trying to cut off Sandokar. What a strange world.

“Yes. Thanks to Lord Sok we were able to minimize the damage. Of course Lord Sok’s army arrived four days after Sandokar had fought Camilla on his own so many people died in Sandokar…”

Jibek who had been managing Banreung while Azadin was away trailed off.

Even now many refugees are flocking into the land of Azadin.

Thanks to this it was not difficult to absorb refugees from various places and replenish the soldiers.

No rather as soldiers died operations became easier.

Because there are fewer mouths to eat.

Although a huge number of people died in Sandokkar the practical benefit of having fewer mouths to speak of outweighs the sadness.

Although it shouldn’t be like that Jibek who had been temporarily in charge of Banreung from Azadin could feel the wrinkles around his eyes that had disappeared recently deepening again.

‘Is King Azadin suffering like this without showing it?’

We do not reject refugees but accept them and create jobs for them.

It’s easier said than done. It’s not something you can do with a clear mind.

Just looking at the amount of grain distributed to refugee soldiers each week is enough to make your hands and feet tremble.

Even though Zibek briefly held him as the acting king the number of people dying is increasing but Azadin shows no sign of pain and endures this terrible operation with only his faith.

“Is the personnel movement of the clergy going well?”

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Azadin left the Banreung in the care of Jibek and gave him a task to complete.

It is a change of clergy in the King’s Church.

It was entrusted to Xibek to replace the clergy of the parish with those who recognized Azadin’s New Testament and to confiscate the food they had accumulated through private means.

As he was originally a knight of the devout King’s Church he knew the customs of the Church well.

“Yes we were able to requisition quite a lot of food. However since we do not have a warehouse we are storing it in monasteries and church buildings. However we have at least changed the owner’s name on the ledger to the name of the kingdom.”

In addition to changing the clergy of the church into New Testament clergy he could also reap the benefits. Thanks to this strategy of killing two birds with one stone the believers and clergy of the existing king’s church were resentful of Azadin…

Once the church revealed its private wealth the people had no choice but to support Azadin.

Since hoarding was a matter of life and death for the residents who had to buy food in the city to survive the fact that the priests were involved in hoarding provided Azadin with a good excuse to punish them.

“Okay. This is a little bit easier. But did you do the actual research? Even if the church built a warehouse and stored it there wouldn’t rats and vermin eat it?”

“We did some research. Surprisingly rats aren’t that big of a problem. There’s this thing.”

Zibek showed the wire rope.

“that?”

“It’s a rat trap. It’s a dwarven invention.”

It was a device that had a spring attached to a wire so when released the trap would wind up right away. People used to catch mice by sticking it into drains or between furniture and operating it.

People who were malnourished volunteered to hunt rats causing the rat population to dry up.

“Why would she betray me at this time? Scott. What do you think?”

Azadin sought advice from the wizard Scott.

But Scott’s condition is strange.

“Ouch. Ugh.”

“…….”

Scott was asleep in his sleeping bag right in front of the king. He was licking his lips wondering what he was dreaming about.

“Scott.”

“Huh?! Ah. Captain. You’re here?”

“I said hello a little while ago. What are you doing now?”

“Ah. I was trying to minimize calorie consumption so….”

“……”

As the orcs ate more food than others Scott’s reputation was also getting worse.

He was an orc with a bad reputation for being a show-off.

Under Fimbulbert orcs like Scott were often resented by the people as food-guzzlers. Other orcs like Scott who were not wizards also had jobs such as bankers and moneylenders and thus had a bad reputation among the people.

There was a rampant band of robbers who preyed on orcs stealing their property and even taking their lives.

“A member of the witch’s guild knows the witch’s guild well. Captain. I’ve secured a midwife nearby.”

“A midwife?”

“You’re a location doctor. Compared to me you use crude magic but even so Wild Magic often produces strange results where you get more output than you put in. It’s probably a result of sacrificing spirits or living beings…”

“So what did the midwife say? Let me get to the point.”

“This midwife speaks to the hags every night through the hearth of her hut. They say the hags whisper to her as she learns magic and how to heal children. If she kills King Azadin this harsh winter will end and the great old spirits will reward her with a reward she can scarcely imagine.”

“…….”

In other words it is no different from saying that the Wild Magic Forces have also declared Azadin a public figure.

Azadin smiled bitterly.

“That’s too much.”

Those who have seen visions of destruction and followers of wild magic have also defined Azadin as an enemy. And according to the Telbarin Guild even in the Kurt Pantheon… everyone has defined Azadin as an enemy.

“If you have common sense you will realize that the general is the real king.”

“That would be nice though.”

Azadin had an ominous feeling.