Night of the Soulless Heathens – 474



#475. Guardian of the World 1

When Azadin threatened the elves the elves immediately reported to Aragatha in the north to deal with him.

Azadin rather welcomed the actions of such elves.

“I would also like to persuade the Northern Aragats so making space with them is welcome.”

“Are you talking about persuasion?”

The elves laughed at Azadin’s attitude and informed the northern Aragatha of Azadin’s arrival.

The agents of Northern Aragasa were naturally delighted.

“King Azadin is here?”

“Oh really. Are you in your right mind? Have you lost your mind after all these years of success? The king himself is marching into the middle of enemy territory. He came to find out where the grave is?”

“You said you would persuade us? Actually I have come out with King Azadin’s permission.”

Northern Aragasa’s expression crumpled as she heard the elves’ words.

‘These elf guys are so sane they’re just so stupid.’

‘I can’t help it since I’m only focused on magic research. When I actually got to know him he was quite large but he was like a paper tiger.’

‘Well in front of us most people are just paper tigers.’

The northern Aragats secretly laughed at the elves who had so easily given in to Azadin’s words.

Just like their fellow heralds the Elves had a high level of pride and they even looked down on the Elves who were notorious throughout the continent as slave traders and elites of Assander.

Azadin’s threats and persuasion(?) were also taken lightly by everyone.

“Anyway it worked out well. It would be a great achievement to take him down.”

However there were some cautious ones among them who called attention to this.

“How about we just notify His Majesty and mobilize our troops? If King Azadin had any intentions he wouldn’t have come to the enemy camp without warning. He must have some talent for hiding it.”

“Are you crazy? Do you want to share the opportunity to accomplish such a great feat?”

“But I don’t know what hidden secret the enemy has….”

“What kind of dragon-slaying talent do you have? Unless it’s some ridiculous story about King Azadin being transformed into a human by the dragon Asahdin it’s impossible to get out of here alive with just a few people. Or is there another way?”

“But even if that’s not the case shouldn’t we report it to Your Majesty?”

“Oh you are talking nonsense. Then His Majesty would be disappointed. He wants us to act as competent assassins and spies. He doesn’t want us to confess everything but sometimes he wants us to take the initiative and resolve the case on our own to make things easier.”

“Yes yes. He’s the one who rules the entire continent so how much work would he have? We have to take care of it ourselves.”

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The northern Aragats who had begun to desire achievements had no intention of giving up the Azadin which was like rice cake in their mouths without even chewing it.

So they gathered their forces and called Azadin to the fortress of Inali south of Assander which Cohen had granted them as a fief.

*********

Azadin’s party was quickly passing through the kingdom of Assander using a speedboat prepared by the elves.

King Cohen of Assander guards the gates with a mighty force watching those passing through but the elves pass through them with ease.

The fierce wind from the north drives the ship forward at high speed down the river.

If the sailors had made even the slightest mistake the ship would have crashed into the riverbank and been destroyed but the sailors hired by the elves were all exceptionally skilled and they skillfully adjusted the rudder and increased the speed even in this narrow river.

Azadin stood on the deck of the ship watching the scenery of Assander passing by.

“Your Majesty. This is a bit much.”

Since saving her father and killing her mother who was her enemy Niselda has been loyal to Azadin to the point that she would die a hundred times for him without any regrets.

But even though she was like that at this moment she couldn’t trust Azadin.

The king walks into the middle of enemy territory. Are you in your right mind?

“what?”

“that is….”

At that time Zibek asked on Niselda’s behalf.

“Your Majesty. If something happens my colleagues and I will risk our lives to assist you but I must say something. Are you out of your mind?”

“Why? It was as expected. The elves and the northern Aragats are inherently spies. Before informing the Northern Emperor they all arbitrarily decided to hide us and instead they did everything they could to transport us. If we had tried to move on our own you can see how difficult it would have been if we had just tried to do so by ourselves just by looking at the path we are taking.”

“So how are you going to persuade them? Persuade them? Do you think the elves have been persuaded now? Their eyes are not normal.”

“Perhaps it’s because cannibalism still exists. Desire is something that is difficult to control.”

“Then is it fortunate? No that’s not fortunate either but anyway the elves are acting like this because they would lose a lot of blood if they killed His Majesty directly and the Northern Emperor has other ulterior motives besides the rewards he gives. On the other hand the Northern Aragatha is an organization that enjoys receiving from the Northern Emperor so they will definitely attack His Majesty.”

“Oh Lord Zibek. That’s a good insight.”

Azadin praised Xibek. Xibek saw through the reason why the elves did not compete for the honor and instead left it to the northern Aragatha and why the northern Aragatha would never leave it to them and would take it into their own hands.

Is it because he was trained as a heretic inquisitor even though he was rotten?

Zion Etar’s new wife Damil Etar also nodded.

“Your Majesty. I told you in advance that this matter would have more harm than good. However Your Majesty said that he was confident that he could persuade you and I thought that Your Majesty the great king of the South who had accomplished great feats had a divine plan that a mere mortal like me could not dare to imagine so I guided you here…”

Anything more than this is dangerous that’s what she was saying.

Although her marriage with Sion Etar was a political one almost a marriage of predation she was more loyal to her marital duties than to her own tribe.

Even to her Azadin looked like a summer moth jumping into a flame.

“Are you feeling better? I think you still vomit blood occasionally these days.”

Zion Etar was worried about Azadin’s body.

Azadin’s physical condition is definitely not normal. He is slowly dying.

It’s suicidal to force a march in this weather with a body like that but I’m worried beyond words because I’m crawling into the heart of the enemy’s territory.

Could it be that Azadin is despairing over his own physical condition and is trying to commit a fiery suicide?

I began to worry that he might have lost his sense of reason because of his illness.

At that time I was able to arrive at the land of Aragasa in the north.

“We have arrived.”

“That’s fast. Isn’t that amazing?”

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“Because I made the slaves take turns driving the boat.”

The elves continued to force the march replacing the tired sailors.

The sailors were constantly changing and pushing the boat against the current. They were going against the current faster than horses.

This was also due to the strong winds from the north.

Inalli Fortress was waiting for Azadin and his party in the middle of the howling wind.

*********

Northern Aragatha welcomed Azadin.

Although Azadin was the biggest headache for their lord the Northern Emperor from the perspective of the Northern Aragasa Azadin was a good monarch who treated their young people’s favorite Prince Kalintz well and he was also their relative.

Whenever Azadin made his name known in the south people criticized the heralds’ audacity but they were also amazed by their abilities endless martial arts and ingenious tricks.

It was the pride of the Aragasas.

In this situation even though he was the enemy they liked Azadin.

“Thank you for coming such a long way. First I’ve prepared food a bath and a place to sleep. How about you get some rest first and then we can talk?”

The northern Aragats prepared to welcome Azadin.

Although he was an opponent who would become their vassal they would treat Azadin as a hero and king who had established their pride as a fellow countryman. It was done in that sense but Azadin refused their kindness.

“No it’s not a long story so let’s get started.”

“Yes? But…..”

“I’d like to talk to you guys in charge everyone. It won’t take long anyway. Knuckle…..”

Azadin said and coughed. The shock of the cough caused a nosebleed.

The servant of Northern Aragatha who saw this sight felt pity for Azadin.

‘At first he said that he was trying to persuade us by being forceful towards the elves.’

‘But the rumors are true. King Azadin’s body is not normal.’

‘He coughed up blood in front of the elves so perhaps he knew he didn’t have much time left and wanted to entrust his body to our clan?’

‘Although he created a great kingdom in the south in the end King Azadin could only trust his own people.’

There was a story going around that Azadin who was in the northern Aragatha felt something was wrong with his body and came to them to entrust his body to them.

So now the northern Aragasa were divided into the older ones who wanted to offer Azadin up to the Northern Qi and gain merit and the more ambitious young ones who wanted to completely accept Azadin as their own tribe and preserve at least a minimum of honor and a debate was in full swing.

No one could have guessed that Azadin had really come to persuade them.

*********

The three people of Northern Aragatha are Harlan a middle-aged man with a short stature; Kista a half-elf woman with half Northern Aragatha blood; and Aliya a tall and handsome man. These three people are the most powerful people of Northern Aragatha and hold the positions of tribal elders.

At first when Azadin told them that he was coming to them they were filled with a sense of triumph but after hearing from the elves that Azadin’s body was not normal they began to sympathize with Azadin.

“I didn’t know things would turn out like this. What should I do when we meet?”

Harlan looked around at his fellow colleagues and asked.

Kista clicked his tongue.

“There’s no way a sick person would ask us to fight. Perhaps he’s asking us to mediate in order to save his subordinates.”

“If you really want to have negotiating power it would be more advantageous to maintain power and negotiate directly with the Northern Qi. Why is that?”

The other elders wondered.

If Azadin wants to be competitive he has to continue to lead his forces and fight against the Northern Qi and then he can make demands at the negotiating table right?

Why did you give up that competition and come into the middle of enemy territory?

“If things continue like that the people will die. King Azadin is said to be working hard to find some use for even the useless refugees.”

Aliya the leader of the three the most powerful person in the Northern Aragasa and the de facto next chieftain said so with moist eyes.

“If only he had been healthy he could have taken over the world. No matter how much the disease eats him up he gave it all up to save his people and his subordinates. He is truly a man of great courage. I am impressed.”

“He is certainly a virtuous man. But in these troubled times virtue alone is not enough to win.”

“Still I want to leave behind that person’s descendants somehow.”

The door flew open as the northern Aragatsas were predicting Azadin’s intentions.