Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Fair Trade 1
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The Heralds' bow, the Moon Antler Bow, was an incredibly powerful strongbow despite its size, thanks to its composite materials. However, such composite bows were vulnerable to moisture.
The current bow had been roasted over a fire yesterday and coated with wax, but even so, it couldn't exactly be called ideal.
"Don't draw the bow back too far."
"Yes!"
"Then, begin!"
Azadin, Ismail, and Midiam loosed their arrows simultaneously.
The nagas guarding the building entrance startled and grabbed their weapons, but Azadin's arrow burrowed into one's skull, and Ismail's lodged in another's eye.
Midiam's arrow, however, clanged off a naga's curved sword and ricocheted away. The naga with the eye wound screamed.
"Intruders!"
"Damn..."
Fearing the bow might snap, he hadn't drawn it fully, and the arrow lacked the power as a result.
But then...
*Thwack!*
A chunk of wood flew into the mouth of the naga sentry.
"Nice, it worked."
Scott shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, damn, my traps are developing. I shouldn't let this become a habit."
"Good work, Scott. Was that a throw just now?"
"No, I used magic. If I threw it, my arm would bulk up with muscle."
"R-right. Good job. So you're worried about your traps from shrugging, not from tossing the timber?"
"Exactly. Just this much is enough to give our kind excessive muscle. And since we're not humans, our throwing speed isn't great either. Ogres have such overdeveloped shoulder muscles that their arms don't snap forward properly when they throw."
"Well done."
Azadin praised Scott and first positioned Midiam and Ismail near the entrance.
As the two nocked arrows and aimed at the entrance, the nagas proved they weren't fools; instead of charging out the narrow doorway, they hurled chairs through the windows.
"What are you lot?!"
"You dare defy us, you lowly scum!"
Azadin fired an arrow at that moment. It streaked through the window, followed by a scream.
"Kwaaak!"
"Son of a—!"
"Heralds?!"
Spotting the curving arrow's trajectory, the nagas realized Azadin's identity and recoiled in shock.
But...
*Kwaaak!*
*Kak!*
Suddenly, nagas appeared at the approach to this building.
"What the—? What's that?!"
"Enemies?!"
It was a naga scouting party.
And there were a lot of them. At least six in the first group, over twelve with the second, plus more inside the building.
Moreover...
"Kwek!"
The naga struck by Azadin's arrow rose, yanked out the shaft, and hurled it back. The arrow had clearly pierced its brain, yet it lived.
Naturally, the one hit by Ismail's arrow and Scott's timber in the mouth also staggered to its feet. The nagas' regenerative powers and vitality were truly formidable.
'Even with its brains leaking out, it won't die right away and can still move, huh.'
Meanwhile, Shati felt her heart pounding in this situation.
'Yeah. This feels like an opportunity. But...'
Shati hesitated for a moment.
What if she betrayed them and Azadin still won? The nagas had the numerical and force advantage now, but Azadin had triumphed in far more perilous spots. Hadn't he defeated Count Kazel himself?
But if she actively aided Azadin's group here? That would be outright betrayal.
She'd already betrayed the nagas multiple times, but she still wanted to believe she had some excuse.
Then it happened.
"Long live the Dry Land Tribe!"
Azadin shouted that and immediately fired at the nagas.
"...Long live the Dry Land Tribe!"
Midiam and Ismail were quick on the uptake and mimicked him, loosing their arrows.
The nagas countered with spells, but Midiam and Ismail enchanted their arrows with incantations, and Sir Zibek unleashed spells of judgment, putting the numerically superior nagas on the defensive.
*Thwack!*
*Thud!*
Risking their damp bows snapping, they drew hard and fired.
*Crack!*
In the end, Azadin's bow broke midway through. He pulled out a spare and strung it, but their arrows were already depleted.
"Kek! You bastards!"
"Well played!"
Yet the nagas received reinforcements. These were troops invading a kingdom's capital; their numbers were vast, and their organization superb.
"We'll have to retreat."
Azadin ducked into a nearby building.
"After him!"
"Those punks!"
The moment a naga pursued Azadin into the building...
*Thud!*
A bloodied naga tumbled down the stairs.
"Huh?"
"W-wait?!"
Coral Sahar's administrative district had buildings packed tightly together, allowing escape across rooftops. To block that, they had to enter the stairwell...
*Thump!*
Another naga entering the stairs came out bloodied and rolled down.
Azadin had stayed behind to handle the pursuers, sending two tumbling to the bottom.
"Azadin!"
"Go on ahead!"
"You okay?!"
"Of course! I'm fast on my feet—head to the roof first and back to the ship!"
Azadin held the narrow stairwell as he said that.
This time, a naga wielding a long spear entered. Instead of a sturdy, bulky naga form, it had shape-shifted into an elf.
Elf-like, but with vertically slit pupils unique to nagas, the man gripped his spear and beckoned Azadin.
"Staying back alone? Quite confident in your skills. Staying of your own volition means you've got some guts."
"You're using an elf form instead of naga? Interesting. Doesn't the naga form add more weight and strength?"
"In tight spaces, especially stairs, two legs are easier to balance on. Crawling on a tail alone risks slipping and falling. Is that what you're counting on?"
This naga knew Azadin's plan and had entered in elf form.
"You bet!"
Azadin feinted a lunge, only for a wall of spear tips to materialize before him.
As expected, this naga was highly skilled with the spear.
Azadin swept at the spear with his sword, trying to jam it into a wall or floor, but the opponent anticipated it, dodging the sweep and probing for openings.
Azadin's sword and the naga's spear danced through the air without clashing, slicing space itself. Their feints and traps matched perfectly—no weapons met.
After a brief exchange, they stepped back simultaneously, neither yielding.
"Impressive skill. Are you their leader?"
"You're no slouch. A Herald, right? Not Arael tribe—Council side?"
"..."
"No need to answer. I'll assume Council. If so, we might make a fine deal?"
"Deal?"
An unexpected word from the naga's lips. With their superior numbers and might, they were proposing a deal first?
"Indeed."
The elf-formed naga smiled as Azadin showed interest.
"Hmm. Let's hear it. I hope it's not some boring offer like joining you."
"Rest assured, nothing like that. We're currently under the Sea Serpent Tribe general's command. The problem is, those Sea Serpent bastards are heretics."
"Heretics?"
"Yes. More and more worship Nether gods instead of Cobra Queen."
"..."
"They've actually encountered Nether beings in the deep sea and mutated. They're no longer kin like us. Those heretics allied with your Heralds to convince our Mahatma—our chieftain. That's infuriating enough, but the Herald witch truly weakened King's Radiance, succeeding in invading Coral Sahar. Perfect victory is now within reach. I'm not thrilled with that."
"So?"
"You avoid our Water Serpent Tribe and hit only the Sea Serpents. In exchange, maps and intel."
"..."
"Here's our map. Divided by tribe sectors. Written in naga script, but I'll annotate in Saharic. Well?"
He couldn't spot any traps, and the terms were too good for one.
"Hard to refuse. Deal."
"Glad we see eye to eye. Mind if I grab my pen?"
"Hm."
Azadin sheathed his sword to signal agreement. The naga lowered his spear, pulled a pen from his pocket, dipped it in an ink vial, and began annotating the map.
Azadin asked amid this.
"The Heralds shown here—Flower's Dimia and Jenis?"
"You know them well. Said to be Arael tribe's core officers."
"I'm Azadin, 108th Herald of the Emperor. You?"
"Water Serpent Tribe's Raja Dehares."
Finishing the annotations, Naga Raja Dehares tossed the map to Azadin.
"Raja—royalty, right?"
"Precisely, a marquess. Equivalent to your count."
"High status."
"Anyway, go. Don't mention my cooperation—fight only Sea Serpents. Enter our sector and clash with Water Serpents, deal's off."
"Understood."
Azadin pocketed the map, climbed the stairs, then paused.
"Any idea how they extinguished King's Radiance? A clue even."
"I only know some ritual at the lighthouse. Fortunately, it's Sea Serpent territory."
"Meaning investigate yourself?"
"Correct."
"Any spots to resupply arrows?"
"We and the Sea Serpents requisitioned armories with leftover arrows. Marked as intensive patrol zones on the map—easy to find. And..."
Raja Dehares unclasped a bracelet from his wrist and tossed it to Azadin.
"Show this if you encounter our tribe nearby. If Sea Serpents catch you, claim you stole it. If captured, better suicide than being eaten alive."
"Worried I'll crack under torture and spill on you?"
"Pure advice. I don't much care for eating humans. Vulgar business."
"But earlier, seemed like you were catching humans?"
"Can't help intruders in our sector. Coral Sahar palace keeps sending couriers outward for reinforcements—that I can't allow."
"They seemed like locals. For our deal, let them flee?"
"What? You know what this bracelet I gave you is? How much have I already yielded..."
"Not selling it out. I'll return it when worn out. And in high-stakes gambles, every bit of success odds helps, right?"
"How does sparing humans boost your odds?"
"I'm moody. If they live, I'm in a good mood, skills sharpen, fatigue vanishes."
"Ha. Hahaha."
Raja Dehares burst out laughing at Azadin's nonsense.
"You're a fun one. Fine. I'll minimize harming humans—as much as possible. Today only. No fun news by end of day, and I'll slaughter these folk wholesale."
"A day's grace? Plenty. Thanks."
Azadin sealed the deal with Raja Dehares and headed rooftop-ward.