Night of the Soulless Heathens – 459



#460. The Evil God’s Messenger 1

According to the seasonal calendar it should have been quite hot in Chitai which is located in the north with the warm sunlight shining down during the day.

Early autumn in the north is a time when the weather remains hot during the day even though a cold wind may blow at night.

But now a blizzard is coming in from the West Sea dumping snow inland.

Although the Chitaians are accustomed to the cold this blizzard was much colder and harsher than expected.

“Good. With a blizzard this strong even if he leads an unholy army that has sold its soul to the devil he won’t be able to advance any further! I wish the snow would just keep falling and starve the expeditionary force to death!”

Sebalhan the king of Chitai was commanding the construction of an earthen rampart to strengthen the defense of the city walls during this period.

They asked for reinforcements from the Northern Qi but could they really hold out until they received them?

That was the point.

This blizzard will slow down Azadin’s army’s offensive but it will also delay the reinforcements from the Northern Qi.

In the meantime we must somehow strengthen the weak couples.

Unable to overcome their impatience they were working on building a fortress when the weather got so cold that frostbite started occurring among the workers.

The ground was frozen so shovels and pickaxes would not work properly so asking the workers to dig up the frozen soil pack it down with stones and build earthen ramparts throughout the castle walls was no different from asking them to die.

But Sebalhan who was impatient ordered the supervisor to use the whip and urged the workers.

Even the supervisors who were hardly good at being human knew that whipping them in this weather would be tantamount to murder but Sebalhan made it a priority to somehow reinforce the walls before Azadin’s forces arrived.

An elf claiming to be an envoy from the Northern Qi Dynasty came to visit Sebalhan.

*********

He was an elf with intricate black tattoos all over his body.

The palace guards were puzzled by the sudden appearance of this elf.

If you are an envoy from the Northern Qi don’t you have the scale and etiquette befitting an envoy?

It’s hard to believe that he came alone and claimed to be the king’s envoy.

“I have already received word that reinforcements will be sent. And you are an envoy of the Northern Qi?”

“Yes. You heard the news of reinforcements through the King’s Church right? I am His Majesty Cohen Lionaire’s envoy to deliver news that cannot be delivered through the King’s Church. I hope you will understand that I have come alone on this long journey and cannot bring proper gifts.”

The elf said so and presented his identification. It was a genuine letter of appointment with the seal of the Northern Emperor.

The guards of Sebalhan still felt hesitant as they allowed the elf into the castle.

“So you are the envoy who comes when the Northern Emperor proposes something so dirty that it cannot be said in the King’s Church? Hmm. You dare to use the Northern Emperor’s name and tarnish his honor. Would it be upholding the Northern Emperor’s honor if I cut off your head?”

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Sebalhan said that to test the elf who called himself an envoy.

Sebalhan is a son born with power along with his mother’s umbilical cord.

Even though it was just acting as someone in power his attitude of looking down on the weak was so natural that he was confident that he could easily deceive people on the diplomatic stage.

Even the most arrogant of elves can’t keep their wits about them when faced with Sebalhan’s boast that he can kill them at any time.

But the elf only smiled despite Sebalhan’s provocation.

“You don’t have to go through all that trouble to confirm me. You can decide after hearing what I have to say. Haven’t you already confirmed that I’m not an assassin?”

After being presented with the appointment letter from the Northern Qi he also submitted to the humiliating search procedure of having his entire body stripped naked and examined.

This investigation which thoroughly examined the anus and genitals was not something that should be done to an envoy of a country and was intended to intimidate and discourage the other party.

Nevertheless he responded to the investigation and spoke in front of Sebalhan without any fear wearing the clothes given to him by Chitai.

“So what is the Northern Emperor proposing to me? If he is proposing it while avoiding the King’s Church it must be something unusual.”

“His Majesty the Cohen Lioness has promised reinforcements. But your Excellency knows that it is doubtful whether reinforcements will arrive in time.”

“Isn’t this weather stopping the expeditionary force?”

“The reinforcements have also stopped. Since the Chitai light cavalry has turned against King Azadin it won’t take long for the enemy’s army to reach Chungking. Isn’t that right?”

“So? What kind of help are you offering besides reinforcements?”

“The Northern Emperor asked me to convey this.”

The envoy pointed to the luggage that had been taken during the body search.

A servant of the palace dared to bring in a metal rod wrapped in cloth on a silver platter which was glowing as if it had been heated by fire and was changing color.

It was as if the heat radiating from the metal rod was heating the silver plate.

“What is this?”

“It’s a Nether Grimoire.”

“How dare this guy!”

The knights who had been listening reached out to the hilt of their swords.

The envoy was now advising King Sebalhan of Chitai to use the Nether Grimoire to tap into the forbidden power.

It was telling the Yaegas to fall but Sebalhan stopped the escorts.

“You think a mere book of grimoires like this can stop that evil? You you dare to advise me to learn the Nether’s magic right now?”

“How could I dare to do something that would tarnish Your Majesty’s honor? It is something I could not even dare to dream of. If I could I would take that book of magic throw away my soul and my worthless honor and fight against the evil Azadin by Your Majesty’s side. If you would only permit me I will take it.”

The elf was drooling as if it were a treasure trove of infinite power.

In fact he reached out for the Nether Grimoire and at that moment the tattoos on his body lit up with a red glow.

There was a burning smell. As the elf withdrew his hand in agony the light from the tattoo disappeared again and blood and pus oozed from the elf’s skin.

Perhaps the tattoo was a ban that prevented the elf from taking the Nether’s grimoire without permission.

“What about that tattoo?”

“It is engraved so that I cannot escape with this treasure. However if Your Majesty permits I may be released from this bond and learn the book of magic.”

Even though it must have been a terrible pain the elf craved the book more than the damage to his own body.

Seeing the elf coveting it so much I could tell that it was a great treasure in itself.

‘It must be a great treasure seeing that you are so restless and want it. If so I must have it even if I don’t learn it myself. There is no reason to refuse what the Northern Emperor has given me. However if you learn it to fight against King Azadin who should you have learn it?’

An elf who yearns for a book of grimoires despite the pain of burning flesh from hunger for power? That’s ridiculous.

Sebalhan doesn’t even know this guy’s name yet.

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Should I make it known to other vassals who know the name?

That is also impossible. If a single book of magic has the power to change the course of a battle wouldn’t he have no choice but to remain loyal to Sebalhan even after obtaining that power?

In the end no matter how I thought about it I had no choice but to learn this book of magic.

But would he the rightful heir to the Yaegas clan touch the corrupted power of the Nether?

*********

Although he had such worries Sebalhan ended up getting his hands on the magic book that day.

‘It’s the power of the Nether so it’s a bit creepy but I can’t give that powerful power to someone else. I’d rather destroy it but then how would I deal with Azadin’s army? Damn I feel like I’ve been fooled by a swindler and I have no choice.’

There was a way to hand it over to a trustworthy subordinate but now that the Chitai nomads have turned into enemies there is no such thing as a trustworthy subordinate.

Even among the nobles of the capital city of Chongqing there are those who are of nomadic tribes and even they may turn away at any time.

In the end after considering all the possible scenarios Sebalhan realized that it was most reasonable and right for him to learn this book of magic as soon as possible.

‘If you think about it even the Northern Emperor would face this dilemma. Do you think that giving me a little Nether magic wouldn’t be a threat? If so then he must already be a master of Nether magic.’

The reason why the Northern Emperor was able to hand over the Nether Grimoire to Sebalhan was probably because he was confident that he would not be overtaken even if he handed it over to Sebalhan.

However Sebalhan was also born into royalty and although he was trampled by the Azadin army Sebalhan had never been behind anyone in terms of talent.

I can’t help but be arrogant.

‘I will make you regret handing over the grimoire. You are not the only one who has studied Nether magic Cohen.’

Sebalhan knowing that the Northern Emperor intended to control him willingly accepted the Nether’s Grimoire that he had handed him and set out to pursue even greater power.

*********

The Azadin army was advancing slowly through the snowstorm.

Southerners called the nomads of Chitai “northerners” but when you look closely they did not live in such cold places. When it was cold they would pitch tents and survive inside with their livestock.

But Azadin made a sled and made it move slowly across the snow.

To our surprise a warm wall of light spread out in front of the sled blocking the blizzard and making the ride much easier.

In this way they approached and captured cities that were caught in a blizzard and were not prepared to respond.

The city’s lords were unable to dare to oppose Azadin when they saw him freely casting the magic of the New King’s Book and proving himself to be king.

In the North Azadin was known as a soulless assassin who simply usurped the throne by force but when they saw Azadin using the power of the Book of the New King they realized that the rumors were created to denigrate Azadin.

Of course there were some governors who did not open the gates and held out relying on the walls.

“We’ve come such a long way on an expedition so we’re sure we’ll be short on food and proper siege weapons! If we just stall for time like this the evil ones won’t be able to hold out!”

Those who had such a mindset had to watch with their eyes open as the messenger clan units flew over the castle walls and infiltrated easily opening the castle gates.

In the midst of a blizzard the royally protected messengers flew on hippogriffs or sneaked in under the cover of darkness easily opening the gates and taking over the castle.

Even in situations where other armies had difficulty maneuvering Azadin’s army gradually took over Chitai.

Before they knew it Azadin’s army was only a week away from Chitai’s capital Chongqing.