Chapter 140
Chapter 140
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Fair Trade 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
On the rooftop of a building battered by howling winds and rain, Azadin's companions stood around awkwardly, unable to decide where to go as they waited for him. They had made it up to the roof, but had no idea which direction to head.
That was when Azadin climbed up the stairs.
“I told you to escape by ship, but here you are, waiting for me.”
“About time.”
Midiam greeted Azadin warmly.
“Yeah.”
“So, shall we head for the ship now?”
“No. Instead of fleeing by ship... I got some good intel.”
“Intel? What the hell happened?”
Ismail looked baffled.
At first, they had heard sounds of Azadin holding off the pursuing nagas from behind.
But then the noises suddenly stopped. Everyone had been worried, only for Azadin to stroll up looking perfectly fine.
“I ran into an interesting naga and struck a deal. He gave me this.”
When Azadin showed off the bracelet, Shati gasped in surprise.
“Tear of the Rajah?!”
“You know it?”
“It’s a bracelet symbolizing the rajah’s word. See that split jade embedded in it? You’d match it with the counterpart jade to move troops. Back in the day...”
“Like a command tablet. He gave me something huge.”
“Nowadays magic handles communication, so they’re obsolete. But it’s still a symbol of a rajah’s command. How’d you get it? Did you kill the rajah?”
“No. I made a deal with Rajah Dehales of the Water Snake Tribe. He’ll turn a blind eye if we only hit the Sea Snake Tribe.”
“...No way. Dehales?”
“You know him?”
“As if someone like me would know a rajah! Of course not.”
“Then why act like you do? Anyway, Dehales said he’d release the prisoners too.”
“Oh! Look at that!”
Midiam pointed down at the building below.
Sure enough, the Water Snake nagas were freeing the humans they had captured inside.
The people had even gathered food from within, and the nagas were letting them take it. The humans looked dazed, clutching biscuits or sacks of barley while nervously glancing at the nagas.
“What a generous guy. I’m starting to like this naga rajah.”
“You negotiated the prisoners’ release too?”
Midiam asked Azadin in astonishment.
“From what I could tell, that naga rajah wants us to screw over the Sea Snake Tribe instead of his Water Snake Tribe. So I said if he released the prisoners, I’d be more motivated. And he agreed. Naga or not, he’s a man of his word.”
“Th-that’s incredible.”
Midiam marveled at how Azadin had talked a naga into this. She wasn’t alone.
“No way.”
Shati couldn’t believe what was unfolding before her eyes.
“Anyway, this must be a big deal, right? Shati, you hold onto it.”
Azadin handed the so-called Tear of the Rajah bracelet to Shati.
“Huh? M-me?”
“Wouldn’t it suit you better than me?”
“Well, sure, but...”
“First things first, we need to head to the lighthouse. Or should we restock arrows beforehand?”
Azadin ducked under the eaves and unrolled the map he’d gotten from Dehales. The outer layer was waterproof fish skin, lined inside with oiled paper, making it thick and sturdy—letters only appeared when scratched with a pen.
This was practically leather, designed with serious waterproofing in mind.
‘The Water Snake Tribe must travel by water often, so they made it like this? Costs a pretty penny.’
The map was an operational chart showing each tribe’s territory, scout units, and patrol routes.
“With the Water Snake Tribe’s subtle cooperation marked on this map, we can move around without running into many enemies. Unexpected help. Guess even nagas have complicated politics?”
“Of course. Hmm.”
Shati stared enraptured at the Tear of the Rajah on her wrist.
“But stay sharp. Word is the Sea Snake Tribe’s ditched Cobra Queen for Nether gods. Mutations are happening, so expect monsters beyond what we’ve seen. Let’s gear up first. Firing the Moon Horn Bow with soaked underwear isn’t ideal. Ashwood longbow’s better.”
Azadin pointed to an armory in Sea Snake Tribe territory on the map.
“We’ll avoid Water Snake Tribe areas en route. Gotta show some respect to a naga rajah who’s gone this far.”
“But what if they let those people go now just to kill them later?”
Ismail distrusted the nagas, but Azadin shook his head.
“No... From what I saw, that naga rajah’s all about his honor. He won’t flip on his word that easily. Or do I say ‘naga rajah’ instead of ‘man’ here?”
“Of course! Nagas are a race that values honor!”
Shati chimed in eagerly.
“......”
“What?”
“Nothing. But when you say it, it loses a bit of punch.”
Azadin flashed Shati a wry smile.
*********
Either the naga rajah had a knack for relaying messages to his kin, or the Water Snake Tribe had gotten the memo—they deliberately slacked off and steered clear of Azadin’s group.
Thanks to that, the group easily passed through Water Snake territory and reached the Sea Snake Tribe’s zone.
“So that’s the Sea Snake Tribe.”
If Water Snake nagas had sleek scales, Sea Snake nagas looked like coral reef fish, covered in spines, bulkier and more menacing overall.
Thanks to the map detailing regular and irregular patrol routes, Azadin’s group slipped between buildings undetected and approached the nagas guarding the armory from behind.
But...
“Ugh. These are gonna mold.”
Scott grumbled while crunching on dried fruit.
“The moisture’s gonna make ’em moldy. Gotta eat ’em all.”
“......”
Dried fruit was among the pricier, better rations.
Sure, it was vulnerable to dampness, so Scott wasn’t wrong—but coming from the guy devouring nearly all of it himself, it grated.
“Hey, don’t give me that look. I’ll do my job. Walking without the wheelchair should show how much effort I’m putting in, right?”
Scott picked up a lumber scrap from the prison ruins and cast a spell on it.
He let it go, and it shot forward with ferocious momentum, striking the Sea Snake nagas.
“Kwek!”
“Krawk!”
“Nice!”
Azadin grabbed a rock and hurled it with devastating force, knocking a naga flat before charging. Zibek followed, thrusting his blade through a naga and twisting to rip open its ribcage.
Sea Snake nagas were tougher and stronger than Water Snakes, but knowing their patrol routes made ambushes easy.
“Good. Quick work.”
Zibek severed the neck of his downed naga and wiped his blade clean.
“Let’s check the armory.”
The armory had been ransacked by nagas and humans alike—little was left. But they found arrows, longbows, and hefty heavy crossbows the looters had overlooked.
“This’ll do.”
Azadin detached the steel prod from a heavy crossbow.
“No human can draw that...”
Zibek realized what Azadin had in mind and gaped.
Even veteran crossbowmen needed a stirrup and crank to slowly tension a heavy crossbow’s string.
Yet Azadin was pulling the prod back by hand?
“Hmm. Takes a ton of strength, but doable. Though the string’s too thick for trick shots.”
“......”
“We’ll stick to Ashwood longbows.”
Midiam and Ismail glanced at Azadin as they said it.
“Wonder if Brother Sion’s okay.”
“Yeah. We should let him know about the Water Snake deal. Can you reach him by magic?”
“Yes. I’ll send a Foresight Bird.”
“With a Foresight Bird?”
“Seeing how Brother Sion uses them gave me an idea, so I adapted it to my style.”
Midiam had only used Foresight Birds for scouting before, but after Sion’s Foresight Bird-cormorant spell, she’d tweaked it for herself.
“Foresight Bird-Gold-crowned Parakeet? Hmm... Drains a lot of mana. There?”
Midiam tested it at a distance.
“Aa, test. One two three four five six seven...”
Sure enough, the Foresight Bird’s artificial spirit mimicked her voice.
Azadin was quietly impressed.
“Not bad for a human. Oh, don’t get too thrilled—I’m only praising by human standards.”
Scott ‘praised’ Midiam on Azadin’s behalf.
“Huh?”
But Midiam looked puzzled.
“What?”
“Brother’s not showing up.”
“At the ship?”
“Yeah. Not nearby either. I tried calling...”
Making the Foresight Bird vocalize must strain even Midiam, linked to it spiritually.
Yet no response from Sion.
“That’s odd. Any naga corpses around?”
Azadin asked about bodies. If nagas had caught Sion, there’d be traces of a fight.
“No. No signs of combat.”
“Then he’s probably hiding. Hmm.”
“Wh-what do we do?”
“Sion’s ex-herald, Etrar bloodline. He won’t go down easy—he can handle himself. Priority’s checking the lighthouse. Problem is...”
Azadin checked the lighthouse on the map.
It was under tight Sea Snake naga guard.
“I could scale the walls solo and sneak past...”
But he couldn’t take Zibek, Scott, or Shati—who lacked wall-climbing skills.
“You all hold back here. I’ll go alone.”
“That’s dangerous.”
“No, more people just complicates it. Attach that Gold-crowned Parakeet to me instead. We’ll communicate through it. If things go south, I’ll bail—you open an escape route.”
“Fair enough.”
“But keeping the Gold-crowned Parakeet up long is tough for me.”
“There’s an easier way.”
Scott pulled a drowned rat corpse from a nearby warehouse.
“I can relay info between us way easier. Just need necromancy.”
“Necromancy...”
Zibek sighed.
“Do it. Do it.”
“Giving up?”
“I’ll atone as a Penitent Knight for this compromise. Hell, for me, just becoming one’s a blessing.”
Judicator Zekt wouldn’t let Zibek live. Until Zekt was dealt with, true Penitent Knighthood was out of reach.
“Fine. No complaints later.”
Scott cast necromancy on the dead rat. A massive eyeball swelled to fill its skull, and its tail stiffened like wire.
“Eww. Gross.”
Midiam stuck out her tongue at the sight.
“Nah, look closer—it’s kinda cute.”
Scott insisted, offering the rat pup to Azadin.
“We’ll link through this. Treat it nice.”
“How? Kiss it?”
“That’d be great.”
“......”
Azadin silently pocketed the necromanced rat.