Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Quartz Throne 2
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When he had ambushed Azadin, Sir Aldolf had been confident in his own skills and certain of victory.
But now he was afraid. Fear was shrinking him, making him search for excuses not to move.
Even though staying huddled like that was a straight path to death, his terror was pushing him toward it anyway.
It was irrational behavior, but that was instinct.
Sir Aldolf had curled up in despair, using his knightly honor as an excuse.
"Ah, what a pain."
Azadin vaguely sensed Sir Aldolf's state and casually picked up the Azure Steel longsword from his hand.
"What should we do? Nefti?"
"Kill him."
"Hmm. It's a shame to kill him just because he's scared, but no choice."
Kahsan regretfully drew his bow. But that was when it happened.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Oh no..."
The knights and soldiers approaching the inner courtyard spotted the situation.
"Damn!"
There were too many of them. If there had been just a few, they could have killed them and continued, but this was a full platoon plus knights—too many to take out at once.
Above all, to easily subdue Azadin, they needed to use the Black River Arrows, but with this many troops around, it would be hard to focus them all on Azadin.
"Retreat!"
Sion gave up on eliminating Azadin and pulled back.
"You! You bastards!"
"Hey! Stop!"
"Drop your weapons!"
They charged at Nefti, Sion, and Kahsan, but arrows flew toward them.
"Tch!"
Azadin leaped in and deflected the arrows, but he couldn't protect everyone. As a few soldiers fell to the arrows, the rest hesitated in their pursuit, and Sion's group swiftly escaped in the gap.
"Ugh."
"Hey! You Herald bastard!"
Even though Azadin had deflected arrows to save their soldiers, the knights picked a fight with him. At that moment, Sir Aldolf stood up.
"Stop! Don't you see he was trying to save you?!"
"Sir Aldolf? But..."
"Enough! He's not the enemy!"
Aldolf defended Azadin and extended his hand.
"Hmm. Yeah. A handshake."
When Azadin shook his hand, Sir Aldolf shook his head.
"Ah, right. The Azure River Sword."
Azadin returned the Azure Steel longsword to Sir Aldolf.
"Herald. What's your name?"
"Emperor's Herald, 108th Herald, Azadin."
"I won't forget that you helped me today. But I'd appreciate it if you kept what you learned today secret."
"Which part? Nefti? Or Kahsan?"
"......"
"Both, huh? Don't worry. I keep my mouth shut."
"P-please. Keep it secret, I beg you..."
Aldolf shuddered as he recalled Kahsan.
*********
"I don't know what trick you pulled, but Aldolf's gone quiet."
Ansetus IV was impressed with Azadin.
"And you handled the poisoned rations issue too?"
"I couldn't fully handle it."
"No. You went above and beyond what I even asked for. You even clashed with the Heralds? Is that true?"
"It was less a clash and more..."
Azadin pulled out the Black River Arrows and gave a wry smile.
"Black River Arrows, huh."
"You know about them?"
"Arrows made from Black River material that can store powerful magic, right? They're sharp and heavy even without it, but packed with immense curses and magical power. I've heard stories, but seeing them up close... they're more like iron spears than arrows."
"Yes. They shot them at me without holding back. Thanks to that, I took wounds. If I don't treat them, I might die the next time we meet."
As Azadin subtly highlighted his own sacrifice and dedication, Ansetus IV smiled.
"Interesting. So even Heralds aren't all the same."
"Of course not. That's true everywhere, isn't it?"
"If you were trading Black River Arrows, it must mean you really went all out to kill each other. Or maybe they think your reputation is too high to take down with just those?"
Ansetus IV's words carried a sharp edge.
He was still asking if they hadn't just pretended to fight as fellow Heralds to get close.
"I'm the 108th Herald. The lowest rank."
Azadin played innocent in his response. Normally, a 108th Herald surviving against higher-ranked Heralds—especially while using Black River Arrows—would be impossible.
So we're not in cahoots. That's what Azadin was saying.
Ansetus IV laughed off Azadin's cheekiness and turned serious.
"There's an underground passage leading to the throne in Coral Sahar."
"An underground passage?"
"It's a secret passage in the castle and a way to access the foundation where the throne is rooted in the earth. But right now, with all this rain, it's flooded."
"Ah."
"They might have done something there before the rains started. But honestly, I didn't think of it before. Even without that, the King's Radiance was definitely weakening. I just thought it meant I wasn't fit to be king."
"......"
"The throne of Yaegas is quite the curse. The King's Radiance protects the world only when a rightful king sits upon it. When it weakens, it's like saying you're unqualified. It's terrifying, pathetic, and makes me hate myself."
"Even so, you must protect it. The new king of Yaegas has no right to despair."
"Kukuku. No right to despair, huh. You're right. I never thought I'd hear that from a Herald."
Ansetus IV unclasped one of his necklaces and handed it to Azadin.
"What's this?"
"A necklace for underwater breathing. It's a magic tool that accumulates mana from the wearer's life force on its own. You'll need it, being a Herald."
"It allows underwater breathing? How long does it last?"
"In my case, wearing it for a day let me use it for about a minute the next day."
"Just one minute?"
"I've worn it for a year in daily life, so it should last at least 200 minutes now."
"I see. Why 200 minutes?"
"I took it off at night."
"Ah, got it."
Azadin took the necklace and tried it on.
"It's a gift, so just keep it. You'll need it as a Herald."
Ansetus IV repeated himself emphatically.
There was no underwater breathing spell in the Heralds' grimoire, Wind, Flower, Bird, Moon. He was stressing that he knew this.
"Thank you."
Azadin thanked Ansetus IV and left the room.
*********
"Chief!"
As he exited the inner castle, an unexpected figure called out to Azadin.
The orc Scott MacGreen and the naga Shati were waiting for him.
"Sir Gibek?"
"Sir Gibek is over there."
Sir Gibek, who had been sitting dazedly, stood up when he saw Azadin.
"Good. You're safe. But how did you find me?"
"Finding you was easy. Word's spreading like wildfire in the castle about the bold Herald causing a stir."
"How'd you survive? Did Sion Etar let you go?"
As Azadin spoke, he extended his injured arm—the one hurt deflecting the Heralds' Black River Arrows—to Shati.
"No, how shameless can you get?"
"Please."
"Sigh."
Shati grumbled as she began treating Azadin's wound. In the meantime, Scott started recounting what had happened.
"The Herald who came with us on the ship—the one who puked his guts out—showed up with his subordinates and ambushed us. I was the first to get knocked out..."
"Then me. That little brat Ismail hit my neck so hard I nearly snapped it and passed out."
From Shati's account, it seemed Midiam and Ismail hadn't been able to resist Sion, a senior in the Etar Bloodline.
"What about Sir Gibek?"
"Well... shamefully, I surrendered. They took hostages, so I couldn't even fight."
"No, you did well. No need to spill blood needlessly. So where were you held?"
"In the castle prison here."
"In Coral Sahar Royal Castle?"
"Yeah. Quite a few Heralds had infiltrated. It was very organized."
Of course... Right in the capital Coral Sahar was the headquarters of the Korasar Merchant Guild. Heralds had always come and gone freely here.
"How'd you escape?"
"Midiam let us go."
"Ah, so not on your own?"
"That's how it was."
Gibek was still ashamed.
"No need to be embarrassed. Getting captured or killed in battle is routine."
Azadin consoled the ashamed Gibek and turned to Scott. To hear the full story properly, he'd have to rely on him.
"He said he couldn't betray his Etar Bloodline, but told us to help you."
"Hmph. The traitor!"
Shati belittled Midiam's choice.
'No, you can't say that.'
It was absurd hearing Shati—who had become a traitor to her own naga clan—call Midiam or Ismail traitors. Since when were they Azadin's group to begin with, talking about betrayal?
"Still, if we'd stayed captured, we'd be dead. Be grateful he let us go."
Surprisingly, Scott held no grudges.
'No, not surprisingly—this guy's just weirdly free of resentment.'
Azadin admired Scott's straightforward lack of bitterness.
"Good to have you back alive."
He said it casually about Midiam letting them go, but Azadin could guess the anguish she must have felt.
With the Heralds' Arael Tribe now aligned with the Etar Bloodline, Midiam couldn't reject or betray them as one of Etar. Yet she had released Azadin's comrades out of loyalty to him.
"Azadin. What about your servant Midiam? Won't she be in huge trouble? They'll find out soon that she let us go."
Gibek was anxious about burdening a girl like Midiam.
It wasn't surprising for a proper holy knight to feel shaken after surviving thanks to the sacrifice of Midiam, whom he had always opposed.
"Well, she's Etar's heir, so they won't harm her just for letting you go. But I need to shake things up fast. Keep them too busy fighting among themselves to notice stuff like that."
"Understood. We'll cooperate fully."
"Good. Then let me tell you what I've learned while we were apart."
First, Azadin shared all the facts he had uncovered since separating from them.
The Heralds' Arael Tribe was weakening the King's Radiance through some method, allying with the nagas to target Coral Sahar's throne.
Once the nagas fully conquered Coral Sahar, the Heralds would emerge, claim the throne, use its power to repel the nagas.
Then, use the throne's New King Formation Scroll to lift the servitude curse binding the Heralds.
Hearing this plan, Gibek clicked his tongue.
"What a story. From a holy knight of the King's Church, I couldn't even imagine it."
"The problem is, a lot of people believe it's possible and have jumped into this gamble. Arael must have shown them something."
"Ah, don't misunderstand. I'm just realizing how much of a frog in a well I was, and it's devastating."
Gibek was angry at himself.
Due to the holy knight's code, he had reluctantly overlooked the abuses of Count Salasma's son, Young Lord Kozel.
But the world was changing too fast now; he couldn't remain bound by the King's Church rules.
Even in this situation, the holy knight's code engraved deep in his soul from childhood still held Gibek captive.