Night of the Soulless Heathens – 443



#444. Manifestation of Darkness 7

“Well he must be feeling a bit uneasy because he lost a lot of high-ranking undead this time. And it’s true that I sent the undead on more dangerous missions.”

“No to have such a negative feeling about that….”

Why do necromancers originally learn necromancy?

It is to pass on tasks that are dangerous for humans to the undead.

Living human and dead undead. Shouldn’t the life of a living human be more precious?

However from the perspective of conscious undead their thoughts cannot help but be different.

However if Azadin were to treat the undead and humans equally it would be a fatal blow to his already flawed reputation as a king.

“I didn’t specifically intend to sacrifice the undead. The Wisdom Cult was just too powerful. But I usually brag a lot. They’ll probably think I sacrificed them on purpose and won’t be happy.”

“then….”

“But Lord Sok needs me now. Even though our feelings have been hurt and he knows that I will not accept the undead in the end he will not attack me. Because… right now is when I am most vulnerable and I do not want to risk my life by killing someone who would die if I left him alone right?”

“…….”

Surprisingly Azadin was using his own disease as one of his cards.

“Isn’t that just a guess? Can you risk your life on such uncertain grounds?”

“Oh Ismail. Of all the things I stake my life on it is the cheapest and lightest.”

“Isn’t your life yours alone Your Majesty?”

Ismail was angry at Azadin for speaking lightly of his own life. Even if this man were Midiam’s husband wouldn’t Midiam be sad if he died?

Azadin seemed to agree with that point.

“That’s right. That’s why I’m worried too. I thought of it as just a life of extra living and jumped into it but as I continued doing it I ended up becoming very attached to it. Wow…”

Azadin vomited blood again.

“your majesty….”

“Should I still move? I’ve become attached to it.”

Even though he was bleeding and not feeling well Azadin got up from his chair.

*********

The expeditionary force of the Wisdom Sect has not yet completely withdrawn.

They were already using the villages and cities under the Fireglyph as their bases having captured them and made them their forward bases.

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They were trying to reorganize for another attack while transferring troops to ships that had originally been gathered to carry supplies and food for Fireglyph.

But then their garrison was attacked.

The overseers who supervise the work The priests who manage the beings that can no longer be called human due to the encroachment of the Nether have lost their heads.

Even among the herald clan known as the New Kingslayers the top assassins infiltrated the camp and carried out assassinations.

Unfortunately for them Azadin had two men of the flower-bird-wind-moon Seraph and Indim under his command.

When the two most powerful men in the Herald Clan decided to stir up trouble in the camp the organization of the Knights of the Rescue Order of Wisdom which already had few junior officers and frontline commanders collapsed.

The Wisdom Order intoxicated by the power of the Nether and losing their sense of reason was executing its strategy with a very small number of commanders so simply breaking that small link would only add to the chaos.

Of course assassination is not a panacea.

Even if they are Seraphs and Indim they will not enter the enemy camp where powerful people are spread out.

However the current Wisdom Order has Nether monsters with illogical powers but no Templars or proper priests.

It was vulnerable to assassination and sabotage.

And so news from the rear was delivered to them in the confusion caused by the assassination of mid-level officials.

‘The Church of Courage and the Church of Mercy have risen again!’

When the Wisdom Order was corrupted by the power of the Nether the two orders were overpowered by the Wisdom Order’s power and most of the high priests and knights were wiped out.

However not all of them were caught and killed.

A significant number of the knights escaped from the castle and gathered their forces again to rise up in St. Mallory.

What is even more surprising is that behind these sects of courage and mercy there was support from King Azadin of Banling.

Although Banreung and Aranggi Coxhal were close to the Rescue Knights it would not have been easy and quick to move support troops to support the two sects.

In other words the story goes that King Azadin knew that the assassination would be successful the moment he sent the assassin to Fireglyph and so he dispatched reinforcements in advance.

While the Chitai offensive was in full swing Azadin abandoned the Chitai side and focused all his efforts on taking control of the Rescue Knights.

The Wisdom Sect was shocked when even their main base was shaken while the expedition was already in jeopardy.

Unable to attack Fireglyph any longer they had no choice but to turn their army around.

*********

St. Mallory’s Fort had high thick walls said to have been built by giants or angels rather than humans.

Normally it was a fortress that could not be sieged but it was also the largest trading port responsible for providing food for all of humanity.

In a place called a place where a thousand doors and ten thousand roads are connected the Yonggi Cult and the Charity Cult who had already been in the area as their sphere of influence easily entered and started an uprising.

They rescued their comrades who had been imprisoned in the prison of the corrupted Wisdom Sect and with the support of the Coast Guard and the Police Force who managed the docks of the civilians and the general soldiers they quickly took control of the eastern part of the city where the port was located.

As the battle situation became worse the Wisdom Cult could no longer hide their true colors and released the monsters of the Nether into the middle of the city in broad daylight.

Of course as the appearances of the Celestials became more and more corrupted it was impossible to hide their corruption but until then they had tried to hide it as much as possible while being mindful of people’s reactions but now they have thrown away even that minimal sense of dignity.

But the Order of Courage and Mercy was already prepared for it.

Armed with dwarven weapons and cannons from Banling and supported by priests from the Azadin army the Rescue Knights continued their offensive regardless of whether their opponents brought out monsters or something worse.

“This is amazing.”

The Telvarin Guild which was active in the Arangi Kingdom region joined this southern front.

The Telvarin Guild had distanced itself from Azadin in order to avoid being used against them due to its relationship with the Northern Qi but the Telvarin supervisor Erasmaya and the elven merchants under her command who were active in the Arangi Kingdom had joined the Azadin army and the Salvation Knights Alliance as military merchants.

They had complicated expressions on their faces as they watched the alliance between Azadin and the Knights of Salvation grow by leaps and bounds and realized that Azadin had realized what the Northern Emperor had dreamed of.

“It’s amazing that he’s taking such a risk by withdrawing troops and reinforcements from Naisandokhar. He’s really using a mercenary strategy that has no backing. But since that gamble paid off it’s a real deal.”

Erasmaya trembled at Azadin’s prowess.

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“So what happens now?”

A young elf who was a distant relative of Erasmaya asked.

“Even if we lose Naisandokhar it doesn’t matter if we gain control of Saint Mallory. Transporting food by land is originally very consuming. Since we will be able to transport food and supplies from the Chadra Plateau by water it will be easier and more convenient to complete the logistics network by taking the road.”

“The strategic value of Naisandhokar is disappearing. Is that it?”

“Yes. Of course since Naisandhokar is like King Azadin’s back door I can’t just leave him to get beaten up…”

The strategic importance of Naisandhokar has disappeared and it has become nothing more than a common back door.

That alone would be a great feat but Azadin would also have the unwavering support of the other two Orders of the Knights of Salvation giving him a justification.

To become the guardian of one of the great religions that divide the world into two.

“But isn’t that the story when we win this battle for St. Mallory? As it happens Azadin’s army has one of our former slaves.”

“You mean that Minotaur?”

“Yes. The imprint remains.”

The slave traders of the Telvarin Guild have studied the magic of bondage to enslave physically powerful races such as minotaurs since the days of the Naga Empire.

It was this magic that made them favored as overseers of slaves in the Naga Empire.

The Minotaur race was the slaves of the elves and Selim was one of those slaves who happened to escape from the Telvarin Guild.

“It’s useless. That guy doesn’t really have any influence on the operation.”

Erasmaya assessed it coolly.

Selim’s role in the Azadin army was that of a lineman in the heavy infantry corps the captain of the men-at-arms unit and the leader of the unit that served as the anvil among the hammers and hammers.

Although the Men-at-Arms led by Selim are an elite unit Azadin’s army also includes the Arangian Guard their superiors and the cavalry includes the Dwarven Musketeers as Celestial Fire Gunners so this is not a formation that will collapse just by picking off Selim alone.

Of course if we pull out Selim now it will have a negative impact on the battle situation but wouldn’t that be revealing too cheaply that the Telvarin Guild can exert influence over Selim at any time?

The rule is that hidden weapons should be taken out when they can inflict maximum damage.

“I just wish the Wisdom Sect had some power. Hmm?”

At that moment a cold snowflake fell on the bridge of Erasmaya’s nose.

“ah….”

The elves looked up at the sky and saw snow falling from the sky.

“Summer is over.”

The short Fimbulbert summer is over.

And above the clouds that were sprinkling snow a huge shadow revealed its majesty.

At that moment….

-Wow!

The whole city began to howl.

Red blood pours from the eyes of the stone statues carved throughout St. Mallory.

It was a gigantic leap signaling the end of the brief summer friendly period for humans.

That’s not all.

The city’s sewers were overflowing and the water was red and bloody. The sticky blood quickly reached the soldiers’ ankles blocking their feet and a bitterly cold wind blew freezing the soldiers’ blood-soaked feet.

-Tsk tsk!

Ice floes have appeared in the sea off St. Mallory which should normally be a warm and clear sea.

Usually ice floes are made up of fresh water with a higher freezing point than seawater that has frozen and floated down river mouths to the ocean but this ice was made up of frozen seawater that was swept into the city by waves.

Ice crashed into the bows of ships anchored in the harbor damaging them.

Ships that were unable to anchor at the dock in time hit icebergs and capsized or rocked and the sailors who fell into the sea died instantly.

“Oh really. Heaven is helping us.”

“Is this helpful?”

The young elf of the Telvarin Guild looked perplexed.

“If the beings of the Nether win this land will become hell. But…..”

“That’s why you don’t know politics yet. You’re immature. Think about it from the perspective of the Northern Qi or the clergy of the existing king’s church. If it were revealed that they were wrong and that the herald clan was the chosen one the authority of the church would fall to the ground and wouldn’t that be their downfall? On the other hand the Nether era and the Naga Empire’s rule were already sufferings that humanity experienced long ago. Despite that humanity did not perish.”

“Does that mean you would betray the one chosen by the angels?”

“Yes. That is exactly what humans are. Compared to the darkness of humans the gods of the Nether are rather pure. They are pure heteromorphic beings. The darkness of humans blocks the king of destiny chosen by the gods. This could be called a hymn to humans in another sense.”

The snowstorm was getting more intense signaling the end of the short summer.