Night of the Soulless Heathens – 470



#471. Northern Qi and the Overlord 6

Let’s say that it was Garasan who did not appoint Azadin even though the king and nobles came to him and begged for him.

However the fact that the surrounding governors and prefects presented their seals on their own was a great shock to the Northern Qi.

The Northern Qi Dynasty had been investing in Qitai for a very long time.

In order to achieve his ambition securing a Chitai that could be reached by land was essential.

However the kings of Chitai never listened to him seriously instead trying to take advantage of the Northern Qi’s longing to get more from him.

Although the Northern Federation was created and Cohen the king of Assander became its leader even this empty honor was only obtained by spending a huge amount of money.

The kings of Chitai would not allow even a single inch of land to fall into the hands of the Northern Qi beyond their honor.

It’s a natural result for a king.

The Northern Qi had thought about attacking Chitai several times but just as Assander was an impregnable fortress Chitai’s Changgu Pass was also an impregnable fortress so if Assander were to attack the damage would inevitably be severe.

Although sea routes are open naval battles cost much more than land battles.

So the Northern Qi Dynasty was at a loss as to what to do with Chitai and was trying to somehow get them to their side when suddenly a guy with a much lower status than them appeared and took over Chitai.

I can’t help but feel frustrated.

“But with this the fate of the Azadin Army was decided.”

The Northern Emperor spoke confidently.

The Northern Qi sent a signal to Azadin saying “I cannot hold formal talks with you so let’s negotiate behind the scenes.” Azadin took this as an insult and began building ships in the Western Qing to subdue the Northern Qi.

Even in peacetime building ships training a fleet of ships and waging a naval battle takes a long time. It goes without saying that it is even more so in the midst of a disaster of famine and extreme cold.

With Sebalhan corrupted and Nether monsters continuously appearing behind Azadin’s forces building ships in Seocheong would be a waste of food supplies and manpower.

“It doesn’t matter if I get provoked or not. If I get provoked and go to war it will tarnish Azadin’s military glory and if I don’t get provoked and he follows my words and humbly comes to the King’s Church it will become clear who holds the power in the entire Hybris Continent. That’s what I did and the best outcome I could have hoped for has come out.”

For the Northern Qi Azadin’s anger and gathering of troops was the best option.

The Northern Qi were convinced that Azadin was destroying himself.

It’s heartbreaking that Azadin swallowed up Cheetah but that’s probably Azadin’s high point.

“In case he falls we will gather a fleet and send envoys to Karasar and Tarasar to strengthen their alliance.”

“All right.”

The subjects were reassured by the confident attitude of the Northern Qi.

Although he was anxious about the Azadin army that had quickly advanced north while taking control of Chitai King Beiji explained to his ministers why this was the path to Azadin’s self-destruction and put them at ease.

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Now they had only to reaffirm their alliance with Tarasar Karasar and prepare to exploit the weakening power of Azadin’s forces.

*********

Prince Kalintz who was seriously injured while protecting the Fireglyph against the rampaging Wisdom Cult and was no longer able to attend to state affairs became a priest of the Courage Cult and declared to the northern Aragatha agents who followed him that they would assist Azadin.

His subordinates who simply liked Prince Kalintz as an individual rather than the wishes of Northern Aragatsa or Northern Qi willingly defected to Azadin according to Prince Kalintz’s will.

They told Azadin about the paths that led to the secret ancient elven city of Assander.

The problem is that most of them are deployed to the south to fight the Nagas so no matter how fast they try they won’t be able to get there before the season changes.

Although Azadin was given directions through words documents and drawings it was not easy to travel through an area he was unfamiliar with using only such methods.

But in that situation Azadin got a great guide and that was…

*********

“Your Majesty is this okay?”

Jibek followed Azadin and asked him.

“Garasan and his disciples the Seonbi clan are quite capable. You can trust them and leave them to them.”

“He is someone who has just joined our military. What more so….”

Jibek said this and looked at the leader.

The underground of Asander which was a hot spring area was filled with the poison of sulfur.

And around it glowing mushrooms were growing with magical powers illuminating the surroundings.

It was the old elven city of Assander and the underground passage that could lead to Assander.

Azadin was not going by land but directly into the underground city of the old elves.

“Shh be quiet.”

The one at the forefront of this group was none other than Damil Etar.

She is the new wife of Zion Etar and one of the envoys sent by Aragatha to the North.

Azadin was using her as his guide to sneak in through the underpass of the old elven city of Assander avoiding the border defenses.

“You must be careful. This is a city of elves but it is also a magical realm where the magic of the ancient nether magic used by the elves remains intact. Look at those glowing mushrooms. All kinds of monsters are wandering around and even demons are said to be wandering around.”

“That’s what they say.”

Zion Etar followed his wife’s words with a pale face.

“But even though she is my wife wouldn’t you believe me right away?”

“Rather than believing it… If the Northern Aragatha side had predicted that I would use your wife as a guide and sneak into Assander through the old elven tunnel wouldn’t it be my fault if something happened then? If you could predict my actions to that extent it would be polite to let it happen.”

“That is true but I think it would be better not to say that it is polite to do so in front of other subjects.”

Then Damil Etar took out his bow.

The bowstring trembles as the veins in her arms stand out.

An arrow flew with a frightening sound and landed among the mushrooms in front of me. Then a large chunk of what was clearly a mushroom broke off and flapped around.

A giant insect camouflaged in protective color falls to the ground and writhes.

But then the bug that had fallen like that suddenly started rubbing its hind legs against its own body and making a terrible noise.

A tremendous roar spread out and insects began to move in all directions as if the sound-producing organs were attached to the legs.

“Oh no. We got caught by bugs.”

“What’s the big deal? Most of the time those bugs make a sound when they’re attacked at the end…”

“Yes. It’s a warning. Those bugs and their kind have fled. But their predators will show up.”

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Sure enough after a while the insects’ predators appeared. Surprisingly they were Nagas.

However these guys had mushrooms growing on their heads.

“They are the ones who attacked the elves in the past and got caught up in the elves’ self-destruction which ended up like this. And if you fight them too close you might get poisoned by their spores…”

“are you okay.”

Azadin said casually.

Azadin’s retainers Zibek and Niselda stepped forward. Niselda stomped her heels and kicked the ground and her figure shot out like a whirlwind leaving behind a mist.

Half-vampire Niselda’s sword struck the nagas and Jibek unleashed his divine magic to attack the approaching nagas.

In particular it was very effective that whenever Jibek’s divine magic exploded the divine power would blow away the mushrooms that were stuck on the heads of the Nagas.

The spores flew but Niselda the half-vampire who had turned into fog circled around Azadin and blocked the approaching spores.

Azadin also wielded the golden ceramite longsword Aurelia Dawn and swung it sending flames racing through the air burning the flying spores and exploding them in midair.

-Kwakwakwakwang!

A thunderous explosion that shook the earth continued.

And Azadin stepped forward brushing away the flying sparks.

“Back off mushrooms. We are only passing through for a moment. Instead of making sacrifices by going after the hard-to-eat nutrients eat the easy-to-eat nutrients and let us go!”

“No that makes sense…”

Zion Etar was dumbfounded as he watched Azadin speak to the mushrooms but then suddenly light began to shine from all the mushrooms in the underpass.

“uh?”

A naga with a mushroom planted on its head appeared before Azadin.

Naga opened his mouth his body looking strange as mushrooms sprouted from not only his head but also his entire body.

“We are the ones who exist at the end of all cycles on this earth. You too must be eaten by us and become a part of the cycle.”

“Do you think you have defeated us with this level of attack? We are still spread out in this underground passage and this is only a small loss of our own.”

“You must eventually enter the great cycle.”

The mushrooms were saying so.

At that moment when everyone was confused Azadin spoke.

“So if the cycle is so great and inescapable then you will enter it someday so why rush it now? If the cycle you are talking about is a great shackle then you will enter it someday and there is no reason for it to be today. Let it go. I don’t want to fight a pointless battle any longer.”

“….”

Was it because I was convinced by Azadin’s words?

The Nagas with mushrooms planted on their heads retreat.

“….”

“How did you know?”

“Not just those nagas but all the mushrooms here right now are part of some huge colony. I can tell right away because I have such unique eyes.”

Although Azadin had developed eyes he still had the same hyper-vision abilities as when he had no eyes. As a result Azadin could clearly see the back of his head and knew that these mushrooms were bound together by a special spiritual connection.

“I have heard of Your Majesty’s fame but it seems that the rumors do not match Your Majesty’s true nature.”

Damil Etar was impressed by how Azadin had managed to convince the mushroom colony to retreat.

“You’re talking nonsense. Well then let’s go out and meet the northern Aragasa and the elves.”

“….”

The faces of his subordinates who had been impressed by Azadin’s ability to persuade even the mushroom colony just a moment ago darkened once again.

“Why on earth would you go into the middle of enemy territory as a king?”

“Because that’s the only way I can persuade you.”

“yes?”

“If I don’t convince you I’ll have to kill you but I want to avoid that.”

“….”

Damil Etar who was seeing Azadin for the first time opened his mouth in bewilderment not knowing what to say.