Night of the Soulless Heathens – 53



#53. Darkness of Salasma 1

Azadin was annoyed by the local leader’s words and actions.

He didn’t like the way they took pride in their clan and just prioritized the business of the guild over the work of the messenger. He didn’t like the way they were now talking about the fact that they excluded him as the messenger and handled things independently without informing him as if it were some kind of favor.

Aldis asked me to tell her by looking at her face. Isn’t that the attitude? But Azadin is not the type of person to understand that I’m losing my temper and I needed his information anyway.

“Tarkhi who you are carrying around… is one of the most powerful heirs now that Prince Kozel has lost his inheritance rights but I wonder if the inheritance rights will be meaningful now. How about killing him to hide the fact that the Korasaru Peddler Guild is Aragasa?”

“He is the petitioner of gold coins.”

“Even if he is a petitioner he might betray us.”

“Do you doubt the Emperor’s voice? The gold petitioner could never betray Aragasa. If he could he would have used the Emperor’s gold confiscated from the King’s Church to set a trap for us.”

The Gold Petition is not something that can be used simply by having gold. The petitioner must truly and fervently desire it in order for the Gold Petition to be activated and in return a portion of their soul becomes a resource that sustains the Emperor’s voice.

“I do not doubt the Emperor’s voice. Even if Tarki is a poor character he would not dare to directly oppose us. However wouldn’t it be possible for him to reveal the identity of the Guild through his own mistakes? Even if he does not intend to betray he could still cause trouble through his own incompetence.”

“I understand your concerns. If necessary we will eliminate him. However it does not seem to be the case now. First we need to find out where he obtained the gold and where he hired the mercenaries.”

“Okay… Okay. I’ll leave it to you. But keep in mind that if something goes wrong it’s your responsibility.”

The regional leader spoke in a tone that if information was leaked because of Tarki Azadin would be held responsible.

‘This old fart is real.’

I was secretly annoyed but I held it in. Even if I got angry the other person wouldn’t understand why Azadin was angry so what’s the point of talking about it?

“Okay thank you again for arranging the carriage.”

Azadin greeted the local leader and left. They had made some concessions to each other and restored their relationship but they were still fundamentally incompatible.

Azadin decided to leave quickly thinking that staying together would only make their relationship worse.

*********

Prince Kozel was castrated and lost his right to inherit.

The rumor was spreading quickly. At first it was just a rumor that something had happened to Kozel but it gradually became more detailed and now it was certain.

While Kozel and his men were pillaging the village in search of the New King’s Book they encountered the Jeonryeong Clan and were castrated.

Such rumors were circulating among the refugees.

“You were castrated by the messenger clan?”

“They said his eyes were also wide open.”

“Then I guess I won’t be able to install it anymore. How nice.”

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“Oh my. This guy is going to be in big trouble. What if someone hears him?”

“Hey isn’t Salasma starting to get dangerous? They say the river is about to dry up?”

As Tarki rode along the road he could hear the chatter between the people passing by carrying loads on their backs.

“Hmm the messenger clan.”

Tarki glanced at the carriage following behind. The carriage of the Korasaar Peddler Guild was following slowly behind. Azadin would be sleeping inside that carriage.

‘Didn’t that guy hurt Kozel? Should I ask him? No but I’m scared if he gets angry and asks something unnecessary?’

Tarki was originally a child of a noble family and was arrogant. However after meeting Azadin he learned that the world is wide and there are many strong people.

Honestly it’s scary. My fear has grown even more since I found out that the Korasarr Bobusang Guild is made up of messengers.

I thought they were just some worthless beggarly merchants but they’re actually a group of assassins? If that’s true I wonder where and how many messenger clans there are in the world.

‘You shouldn’t mess around. You never know when you might die without anyone knowing.’

Tarki moved forward recognizing reality.

*********

“They’re all here. In Salasmae.”

Medium shook Azadin awake.

“Oh I see. The Emperor’s voice disappeared when he was dismissed.”

Azadin stretched and stood up. The Emperor’s voice not only prevented the messenger from being ambushed by others but also informed him of the time and current location.

“It’s uncomfortable when it’s there and then gone. How long did I sleep?”

“About two hours? It’s not that far.”

It was not far from the Salasma Gate where Azadin and his party had camped. Azadin got down from the carriage and spoke to Tarki.

“Let’s go see your mother. We need to find out where she got the gold and why she hired those mercenaries.”

“Yes this way.”

Tarki led the way to the hill where his mother’s house was. Azadin followed Tarki and began to climb the hill.

As I climbed the hill the entire Salasma area came into view. Refugees were camped out in every open space including the square near the gate and the market square in front of the village. And the reason they came here became clear at a glance.

“The river water has gone down a lot.”

The flow of the Kora River which runs through Korasar has decreased significantly. It has decreased so much that the docks used for unloading water have lost their function and are now far from the water surface exposing the riverbed.

The highlands where nobles wealthy merchants and professionals such as judges and clerks lived were full of beggars.

“Oh sir please give me just one penny.”

“Children are starving to death.”

While there were such beggars there were also those who held large flags and passionately shouted for the end of the world.

“The age of Jupiter is coming soon! When Jupiter enters the ecliptic the demons who have sunk beneath the Netherstrom will awaken and the end will come! Repent! Keep the three virtues and give to the poor!”

It’s a dizzying mess with beggars and doomsday theorists. Medium didn’t hide his displeasure at the sight of the man talking about doomsday.

“What a piece of trash you are.”

“what?”

Azadin wondered.

“That person didn’t really receive a revelation of the end times. He just wants the world to end because he has nothing and the future is uncertain. But he thinks he’ll get cursed if he just says the world will end so he uses prophecy and revelation as an excuse. He’s a very helpless and rotten person.”

“Hmm. You are too hard on people. Everyone has their moments of weakness and foolishness and if you don’t forgive human weakness nothing will start.”

“Oh really? Then why don’t you try forgiving Arael first?”

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“….”

Azadin was speechless.

“Oh I just had a thought. Humans are imperfect after all. I guess it wouldn’t be bad to hate someone.”

“Why did the words suddenly change 180 degrees?”

“No that’s not it. Arael didn’t even ask for my forgiveness so isn’t it funny that you’re saying you’re forgiving her?”

“Right? Well it’s true that humans are imperfect just like you said.”

Medium said so and laughed.

“I will forgive you for your mistakes. Thank you right?”

“Why are you acting like you’ve forgiven me already when you haven’t even forgiven me yet?”

*********

Azadin and his party barely made their way through the crowd and arrived at the mansion where Tarki’s mother was. But…

The front of the mansion was blocked off with a large board and armed soldiers were guarding it. No it wasn’t just this mansion. All the mansions nearby had their entrances blocked off with boards and pharmacists and priests were coming and going. It was as if an epidemic had spread.

“Huh? What is it? Hey! What’s going on here?”

A bewildered Tarki approached the soldier blocking the mansion.

“Sir Tarki!?”

“That that…..”

“My mother is missing.”

“what?”

Tarki was astonished.

“Oh my mother is missing. What should I do?”

As Tarki fidgeted Medium nodded.

“Perhaps your mother started over in search of a new life despairing over her foolish son who could not leave her embrace.”

“Stop it Medium. Don’t provoke the already excited guy too much.”

“But isn’t it true that you can’t leave your mother’s embrace?”

“….”

Tarki who would normally be quiet was so flustered that he couldn’t say anything back.

“What happened to the children you sent to your mother? Are they safe until then?”

Azadin rescued the children from the baker who was abusing and killing them and sent them to Baroness Nort on behalf of the Corasar Peddler’s Guild. I wonder where those children are now.

“Let me ask the servants first.”

Tarki asked the servants around him.

“I sent him to the trading company and am receiving training as a servant.”

“Really? Then… I have to save Baroness Nort no matter what.”

Azadin was a man of strong will. If Baroness Nort had taken in the children Azadin would do anything to save her.

“Okay calm down. Let’s go inside and investigate.”

“Oh inside?”

“Okay. Tell the soldiers that we’ll look into it.”

When Azadin made his request Tarki approached the soldiers.

“Hey I’ll investigate it myself. With my crew!”

“Are you okay?”

“It’s okay! Get out of the way!”

When Tarki cried out the soldiers opened the door.

*********

When Azadin and Tarki entered the mansion they saw that it was neat and tidy and the first floor hall had a training ground set up for swordsmanship training.

“What is this?”

“Because my mother liked to train in swordsmanship. In my case I learned swordsmanship from my mother.”

“okay?”

Learning swordsmanship was not a particularly unusual hobby among noblewomen. Since noblemen with many children often sent their children to the king’s church or the Knights Templar instead of leaving them until they were married women also tended to take an interest in swordsmanship training.

In other words the Baroness must have been able to use a sword. If so there should have been signs of resistance when she was captured or attacked but such signs were not easily visible.

Was it because the skill gap was so big that he was able to subdue her without shedding any blood? Or was it because he quietly attacked her while she was sleeping and she didn’t even wake up?

Azadin looked at the training grounds and observed the traces around them.

“Ismail! Medium! You guys should look for it too.”

They dispersed and looked around.