Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Entering Rantaric 2
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Azadin's group began administrative tasks at Birdsong Fortress alongside Guillaumevald.
Sir Brock and Lady Liz had a young child between them, but with Sir Brock surrendering his fief to become a priest, the boy's status had become precarious.
To address this, Guillaumevald agreed to serve as the boy's guardian and take over governance of Birdsong Fortress and its subordinate manors in the meantime.
They started receiving handover reports on the fortress's assets and internal affairs from the stewards and scribes. Fortunately, Guillaumevald was exceptionally skilled in accounting, so the work wrapped up quickly.
While Guillaumevald handled the fiefdom matters, Azadin rummaged through the lair of the Kurt divine race followers and the Kurt Pantheon alliance.
"It's the Naga Empire."
Shati insisted that the owner of this secret base was the Naga Empire.
"Hmm, if you say so."
Azadin searched through documents and letters, but anything in Naga script or thorn-dent runes was beyond his ability to read.
"Shati. Can you read it?"
"You think I'm going to translate that for you?! Even as your prisoner, my heart remains loyal to the Naga Empire!"
"Huh? What was that? Say it again."
As Midiam nocked an arrow on her bow, Shati flinched.
"Just once!"
"Good girl."
"But seriously, hard as it is to believe, most of it's useless junk. Looks like the higher-ups already abandoned this place and bailed."
Shati read through the documents as she spoke—they were mostly ledgers noting payments and sums. Even someone ignorant of Naga script could tell there were a lot of numbers scribbled in them.
"We got four copies of the Divine King Formation here, and you say no higher-ups stuck around? If they left those behind, there had to be someone important overseeing them."
"Do you have any idea how terrifying a Wendigo is? They're summoning a Nether emissary—no way they'd leave valuables behind. But its power is guaranteed, so they figured four Divine King Formations were worth the investment."
In other words, they believed it was more profitable to sacrifice four Divine King Formations to unleash a Wendigo and wreck the human world.
"What about you, Scott? Anything useful?"
"Nothing particularly noteworthy. All the command personnel already evacuated. Once the Salasma operation failed, they planned to abandon this base, but that Lady Liz or whatever suggested using the Wendigo altar, so the hardliners stayed behind and freed it."
"The top brass destroyed all the intel before leaving?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm. Is intel destruction ever that thorough? There must be something left if we look hard enough. You and Scott were originally on this side, right? Nothing you know?"
"Orcs are usually just mercenary contractors."
"I'm not high-ranking among the Nagas. I don't know anything. And I'm thrilled about that, so I can't teach you squat!"
Shati said this gleefully. But at that moment, Ismail pulled a book covered in black scales from among the Kurt Pantheon followers' corpses.
"Azadin. This..."
"Hmm. Now this looks promising."
"It might be a grimoire. Be careful."
"Yeah. Doesn't take an expert to see it's a grimoire."
Azadin prepared his obsidian razor and opened the book.
"It's a Nether tongue translation guide. Hmm. But..."
Azadin frowned as he examined it.
"A Nether tongue translation guide? Then..."
"Absolutely do not read too much at once. It corrupts the mind. Me, I've read plenty, so I'm fine. ...But this is a bit odd?"
Azadin felt puzzled as he stared at the book. He flipped through the pages repeatedly, absorbed as if being drawn into it, intensely focused on reading. It was like he was verifying fragments of knowledge he already possessed.
At first, the group just watched, thinking it was nothing. But as Azadin's behavior grew stranger, they started to panic.
"Wait! You can't read it for too long!"
Midiam tried to stop him, but Azadin peered inside the book as if entranced.
"Didn't you just say not to read too much at once?"
"My antimagic resistance is strong, so I'm good. More importantly, this is..."
"Hey! Stop him!"
Scott, in his wheelchair, gestured at Ismail to do something. But Ismail decided to observe what was happening.
After staring at the Nether tome for a while, blood began trickling from the gaps in Azadin's mask.
"Azadin!"
"Whoops, looked too long."
Azadin quickly removed his mask and sliced across the spot where his original eyes had been—now just the scar left by Arael—with the obsidian razor. The severed skin writhed and transformed into a dark red worm, squirming to life.
"Eek! What the hell is that?!"
Shati shrieked.
"Tch!"
Azadin crushed the worm underfoot.
"...When a being of this realm tries to comprehend the Nether tongue, it gets corrupted. Best to excise it from the skin or surface."
Scott swallowed hard as he said this.
"But Captain, your body shouldn't even be capable of using magic, so why are you so familiar with handling Nether tongue? And why were you reading it so intently?"
"......"
Azadin wiped the obsidian razor on his leather belt and closed the book without a word.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Ismail brought this, right? Where'd you find it?"
"Over there..."
Ismail pointed to a Naga corpse. Far larger than the others, adorned with jewelry and a massive curved sword—it was clearly a high-status Naga at a glance.
"Anything suspicious?"
"Yeah. This book contains lines researched by Kazas."
"What?"
"Why do the Nagas have the same results as what our Aragasa elders studied?"
"Well, anyone dabbling in magic studies the Nether tongue, right? No law saying your Herald Clan research can't be figured out by us Nagas. Probably got even more results than you guys."
"That'd be reassuring."
Azadin picked up the Naga Nether tome.
"You don't think there's someone in Aragasa colluding with the Kurt Pantheon?"
Ismail asked.
"Possible... no. No."
Azadin shook his head.
The researcher studying Nether tongue was Elder Kazas. If it had leaked, Kazas himself would have to be the source.
Moreover, Kazas wasn't originally Aragasa. He was an elf elder captured after challenging the Aragasa, forced to share knowledge as penance while imprisoned.
In other words, he was once an enemy of Aragasa... and elves were originally vassals to the Naga Empire.
'But if that's the case...'
It would mean Azadin's mentor, Kazas, was a traitor to Aragasa.
'No, the evidence is too thin. This alone proves nothing.'
Azadin thought this as he pocketed the Nether tome.
*********
Count Rantaric's castle was already fully under the control of Young Lord Adler and the vassals who had sworn loyalty to him. If Count Garnahair vanished for good like this, Adler planned to use the vassals to assassinate the eldest son Guillaumevald—or force him into the priesthood—so Adler could inherit the countship.
But then strange rumors began circulating. Guillaumevald had refused to join the king's church and was coming here to claim the County of Rantaric.
At first, everyone thought Guillaumevald had lost his mind.
Adler and Guillaumevald were ten years apart. But even when Adler was ten, Guillaumevald already lagged far behind in swordsmanship, magic, everything. A twenty-year-old knight losing to a ten-year-old boy in sparring? Guillaumevald was an utter fool, incomprehensible.
And now that fool was challenging for the countship without even his supporting vassals?
"What the hell? What about the Cell Sword Guild guys? Their job was to follow Guillaumevald, butter him up, and keep tabs, right?"
Young Lord Adler was a delicate, androgynous youth with part of his bangs turning silver—beautiful enough to be mistaken for a woman.
To those who favored Yaegas divine bloodlines, his pure lineage was irresistible just by looks alone. It was the result of Count Garnahair's obsessive bloodline management over generations.
He basked in Garnahair's excessive favoritism(?), and Adler took pride in it. After all, he'd been assured the Rantaric domain would be his.
But now Guillaumevald was challenging him?
"Well..."
"The Cell Sword Guild members are dead, my lord."
The vassals hesitated, as if they themselves found it unbelievable.
"What? Those guys? Why? Mass food poisoning?"
"They tried assassinating Sir Guillaumevald and got counterattacked."
"What...? That's a joke, right?"
Adler widened his eyes.
"Well, they say Sir Guillaumevald was hiding his claws all this time."
"No way that idiot had claws... Talk sense."
"But it seems to be true."
"There've been disturbing rumors lately. They say Sir Guillaumevald is the hero of Birdsong Fortress."
"Hero? Nothing fits that moron less. What nonsense?"
"Monsters appeared at Birdsong Fortress, everyone fled, but Sir Guillaumevald and his allies handled it."
"I knew the peasants were dumb, but you believe that crap?"
"But they say fog rolled in and terrifying beasts appeared."
"That's exactly why I don't believe it! I could beat Guillaumevald with one hand."
The vassals were bewildered by Adler's irritation. Normally, as the pampered youngest, he'd been humble and composed, monopolizing the count's love.
But the moment the count vanished, he started snapping at the vassals. Apparently, his prior demeanor was just an act to impress his father and retainers.
Fine, even an act was better than nothing for a future lord who at least minded his vassals. But snapping now, with a strong rival emerging, was a bad sign.
"Sir Guillaumevald has seized Birdsong Fortress, forced Sir Brock—who summoned the monsters—into the priesthood, and become guardian to Brock's son, Cedric."
"What? He took back the fief we granted a vassal?"
"Yes. And Sir Brock accepted it."
"That's weird. What's going on here?"
Unable to hold back, Adler turned to the man beside him. The man clicked his tongue.
"Looks like... our comrades are involved."
"Your comrades...?"
Adler frowned.
"You mean the Herald Clan?"
"Yes."
The Herald Clan youth standing beside Adler smiled and nodded.
"I really don't like you lot. Father's disappearance? Even with your so-called skilled ones attached, that happened. And now what? You're siding with Guillaumevald? Are you messing with our Rantaric domain right now?"
"No. As you know, our Arael branch is just a part of the Herald Clan. There are still ignorant old comrades scattered about who haven't accepted the gospel. We'll persuade them properly."
"You'd better. If you want to raid the emperor's treasure vault, that is."
Adler sneered, twirling a gold-embellished key on his finger.