Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Reader Route 3
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Elder Sevari warned Azadin.
“Arael… is no ordinary foe. I don’t want the man who beat me throwing his life away on something so reckless. Isn’t there any way you two can reconcile? It doesn’t seem like this is about loyalty to the Senate.”
“…….”
“Of course, I understand. You’re doing this out of your own pride and philosophy. But here’s one thing you learn after living a long life: there’s no need to stake your life on philosophy or ideology. Just living by your instincts isn’t something to be condemned.”
“That’s exactly why I’ll stop you from toying with the ancient gods of the Nether.”
“Even though the entire Aragasa craves it? If you do that, you won’t have a place anywhere. As you can see from me being here, even the Senate will eventually acknowledge the Arael tribe. They’re at the stage where an agreement can be reached if the Arael tribe just acknowledges the Five Great Bloodlines’ vested interests to some extent. Even so?”
Sevari was genuinely concerned for Azadin, surprisingly enough. Otherwise, why would he share such information?
Despite Arael’s rebellion, the Senate would acknowledge it. In other words, resisting Arael’s vision was tantamount to resisting the entire Aragasa.
That was the warning he was giving Azadin.
“Thank you for your concern first off.”
Azadin expressed his gratitude to Sevari.
“No need. Since you defeated me, my honor now rests on your shoulders.”
“I doubt you’d share such valuable information just for that reason.”
“I once dreamed of fusion with the Hybris folk too. Because our bloodline carries the emperor’s blood, after all. I thought we could fully integrate with them.”
“…….”
Even the elder who seemed like a stubborn old man with no ear for reason had been an idealistic youth in his younger days. The Aragasa’s hatred for the Hybris folk ran so deep that it clouded even the sharpest minds with a fog of resentment.
“I worry that the entire Aragasa will turn against you.”
“Does that mean no one has a conscience?”
“Haha. You really do take after Aldis. They say he raised you with great care. Well, I’m the loser here, so do as you please.”
“Understood.”
By then, Azadin had arrived at Koral Sahar Royal Castle.
The outer castle, with its lowlands flooded and gates submerged beyond human height, had already fallen to the nagas, and the humans inside had retreated to the inner castles.
Countless naga corpses floated on the water’s surface, showing they’d suffered heavy losses too, but it was obvious Koral Sahar was on the brink of collapse.
“So, what now?”
“I’ll infiltrate the castle and seek an audience with King Korasar. On top of that, the Aragasa from Arael are probably conducting sabotage operations right now, so I’ll have to deal with them.”
“And what about me?”
“I’ll set you free. I can’t scale the walls with you in tow.”
“Is that wise? If you release me, I lose my value as a hostage…”
“If you value honor, then keep them from harming my comrades.”
“That’s all you’re asking of me?”
“Yes.”
With that, Azadin truly released Elder Sevari.
“You’re an unpredictable one.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Azadin said as much and left the elder behind, dashing toward the walls alone.
The sea serpent nagas panicked, but Azadin shouted that he was of the Herald Clan and leaped into the air, scaling the water-slicked walls before vaulting easily over into the interior.
*********
Koral Sahar Castle embodied the pinnacle of contemporary fortification techniques, boasting tremendous defensive capabilities.
Built atop coastal cliffs to overlook the Kora River delta region, approaching from the sea was next to impossible.
From the land side, attackers faced a nightmarish triple-wall system. Normally, drawbridges allowed movement atop the walls, but remove them, and the walls curved around below in a spiral, turning any assault into hell for the attackers.
However, relentless rains had weakened the castle’s foundations in places, and Aragasa operatives who traversed the walls like flat ground had infiltrated, easily forcing the gates open.
Then the naga army, freely navigating water and land, poured in, and they lost the outer first wall far too easily.
Two inner castles remained, but Herald Clan operatives attacked day and night, loosing arrows before fleeing, piling exhaustion to the limit on the defenders.
And as fatigue mounted, problems began to arise.
“Uwaaaah!”
“I-it’s coming!”
Exhausted soldiers clawed at their own faces, drawing blood.
Those who slept dreamed nightmares of madness.
And when such people were posted as sentries atop the walls, every one of them hallucinated a massive sea monster glaring down at them from the ocean.
“N-no, I hate it!”
“The Nether god is coming!”
“Save me!”
Those gripped by madness rampaged in delirium, and other soldiers had to be pulled in to restrain them, adding to everyone’s fatigue.
“This is driving me insane. Not that I should say that in front of you lunatics, but I’d rather go mad myself!”
“Damn it. And sometimes… when lightning strikes, I see a giant’s shadow over the sea.”
“Don’t look. It’s just your mind weakening. Hold on a bit longer. Reinforcements will come for sure. We sent couriers to request them, and with all the traders who pass through normally, they’re bound to arrive.”
Just then, a strange young man appeared atop the inner castle walls.
“Huh?”
“Reinforcements?! Are those reinforcements?!”
Amid the harsh conditions that had driven their minds to the breaking point, the soldiers latched onto the sudden arrival as saviors.
They’d already lost the outer castle to repeated Herald Clan infiltration attacks, so normally anyone scaling the walls would scream “Herald Clan.” But they were chanting for reinforcements, desperate to believe.
“Reinforcements my ass! It’s the Herald Clan!”
Meanwhile, the squad leader, who still clung to his sanity, identified the climber as Herald Clan. He thought it was a helmet at first, but no—it was a mask.
“He’s wearing a mask on his face! Among the Herald Clan, this one’s the real deal!”
“Wait.”
At that moment, the young man atop the walls raised a hand.
“I’m not here to fight. I came to talk.”
“What? You’re not Herald Clan?”
“I am Herald Clan. But I want an audience with King Korasar.”
“D-don’t make me laugh.”
The Herald Clan were the finest assassins. No one would grant an audience to one of them.
“Drop your weapons! Disarm and…”
But the Herald Clan youth ignored the order to disarm entirely and suddenly sat right there on the spot.
“Huh? Y-you bastard!”
“What the hell!?”
They were thrown off by the young man’s unexpected action.
Ignoring whether they aimed weapons at him or not, the youth pointed to his mask.
“You don’t look like a knight—sergeant, right? You don’t have the authority to make me disarm. Tell your superiors. I’ll wait here till then. Hurry up.”
“N-no! You little shit!”
The squad leader fumed at the one ignoring his disarmament order, but when the Herald flicked his fingers, rainwater sprayed from the air in a blast of razor-sharp wind that slammed into him.
“Urk!?”
“It was tough getting here too. Let me rest.”
With that, the Herald Clan youth pulled rations from his pouch and started eating.
“Huh.”
Eating in front of an enemy signaled no intent to fight. The soldiers already hated fighting, and seeing him chow down right there sapped their tension.
“Call more men to watch him and go.”
“…And you? What do we even say?”
“I’m 108th Herald Azadin of the emperor. I’m with the faction hostile to the Arael tribe attacking you.”
“…….”
“The Herald Clan isn’t monolithic. We have our own power struggles inside. Get what I mean?”
“A-alright, got it.”
Hearing the Herald Clan youth out, they posted soldiers to watch him and withdrew.
*********
‘Good. They’re listening. Probably fought Herald Clan before?’
Azadin knew full well the sergeant feared him.
Sergeants and knights had endured Herald Clan assassination ops during the outer castle’s fall, learning their combat prowess firsthand. So they trembled at the sight of him.
On top of that, the strengthening Nether power had worsened the soldiers’ conditions.
In a state like this, they’d avoid fighting if possible. No way they’d rush him when he wasn’t attacking first.
The disarmament demand was just bluff anyway.
“But their condition really is dire.”
While eating rations, Azadin spotted a soldier staring at him—a boy who looked too young, sucking his thumb while wearing an ill-fitting helmet.
“Want some?”
“…Yeah.”
Azadin offered rations, and the boy snatched them, shoving them into his mouth greedily. Other soldiers rushed over, begging for some too, leaving Azadin flustered.
‘What if I’d laced it with poison? Did supplies get cut off or something?’
Whether poisoned or not, if they were this desperate…. Supplies were severed, food running low.
Impossible.
Even if royal castles rarely faced sieges, they stockpiled at least a year’s worth. The siege hadn’t even lasted that long—food couldn’t be gone already.
“We’ve got food, but no fuel left.”
“Ah.”
They couldn’t even light fires to cook.
Just then, a herald from Koral Sahar Castle approached Azadin.
“Audience granted. However… no large weapons.”
“Good.”
Azadin set down the naga curved sword slung on his back.
“The bow too…”
“Fine.”
Azadin also set down the iron bow—heavy, as it was originally a heavy crossbow component.
The castle herald and accompanying soldiers and knights took the iron bow Azadin handed over casually, only to drop it on the walls in shock at its weight. It clanged like thunder, echoing with a metallic boom.
The soldiers gawked in horror.
‘He climbed the walls carrying this?’
‘Is he a monster? Can human hands even draw that?’
Azadin had set down his main weapons, but he still had the Wendigo Dagger, the guard captain’s halberd head, throwing knives, and the like.
Fortunately, the castle herald and knights didn’t demand those.
“Then follow us.”
“Right.”
Guided by them, Azadin passed through the inner castle. Koral Sahar had multiple walls, with one more inner keep remaining, and along the way, he saw many refugees.
‘Plague’s spreading.’
People who’d been submerged in filthy water suffered rotting skin diseases, and with the ground flooded and nowhere to flee, those afflicted shared quarters with others, spreading what wasn’t even a true plague but a skin condition from person to person.