Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: The Clan's Traitor 3
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The boy had been forced to abandon his dreams since childhood.
‘Our house owes a tremendous debt to the Etar bloodline, so you shall serve her.’
Though he was still young, Ismail understood the hidden meaning behind those words.
Don’t put yourself first—sacrifice and yield everything for Midiam’s sake.
Give up any chance at self-fulfillment and devote yourself solely to the family’s benefit.
Sadly, the feed that was too precious to relinquish was always in his mouth, and the hollow tolerance and grace bestowed by the Etar bloodline were real enough that the boy shattered his own dreams.
So he decided to adore the girl.
He knew.
The girl was beautiful and arrogant—she might glance at the boy who had lowered himself to servant, but she would never give him her heart.
If he didn’t deceive himself while forsaking his dreams, the days would have been unbearable.
Yet this man, rejected by the entire clan, suddenly spoke of how beautiful the stars were...
Or how he admired the Order of Salvation Knights, who served the angels that sacrificed themselves to protect humanity. Or his mission and role as the emperor’s herald.
He spoke of aesthetics and justice.
He spoke of dreams unbroken.
It was revolting. Ugly and hateful.
At a time when the clan moved to seize and dominate everything, this repulsive man dared to stand in their way.
Are you sane?
If you put this man and the clan on the scales, there was no question which way they’d tip. Any sane person would choose the clan.
And yet...
The boy let go.
This man was utterly repulsive, infuriating, and made his skin crawl with hatred—and yet, for some reason, the boy chose him over the clan.
In truth, he had known all along.
The reason this man repulsed him was that he was a mirror.
The clearer and more vivid the mirror, the uglier and more hateful the reflection of himself upon it.
That was why he was repulsive.
This man spoke of dreams the boy had long abandoned, while the clan burned with ambition to devour everything.
The boy’s scales tipped toward the man.
*********
As Ismail let go, Grimsrowne’s club began to dance once more, assaulting Haldoon’s gang.
“Y-You bastard! Colluding with the enemy!”
Haldoon, who had been seized by Azadin, bellowed, but Azadin simply throttled his neck and knocked him out in an instant.
“Time to sleep, little one.”
Haldoon’s startled servants lunged at him, but Azadin tossed the unconscious Haldoon aside and charged them.
It was as if a ferocious bear had plunged into a pen of sheep. A gale whipped through, sending the servants flying.
“N-No way!”
“Is this really the dullard Azadin!?”
Haldoon’s servants had quietly prided themselves on possessing skills rivaling those of formal heralds.
That was why they dismissed Azadin—fortunate disciple of Elder Kazas or not, with Aldis as his patron—as beneath them, unless he was some renowned herald.
But Azadin was a monster beyond their expectations.
They tried to flee too late, only for Ismail and Midiam to join Azadin and block their escape.
“T-Traitors! Why...”
“The betrayal came from the council. The curse of servitude wasn’t the emperor’s doing—it was the council’s, and Chief Hatir’s.”
“Lies!”
“That’s the reaction I’d expect. But since I’m not carrying proof right now, let’s debate later. How about surrendering quietly?”
Azadin subdued Haldoon’s servants one by one.
In the end, Haldoon and all his servants lay sprawled on the ground.
“Impressive, Azadin. You were already formidable last time, but your skills have grown even more astonishing.”
Midiam marveled at how effortlessly Azadin dispatched Haldoon’s gang. She had intended to join in herself, but she and Ismail had only blocked their retreat—Azadin handled nearly everything alone.
“And you didn’t kill them.”
Ismail clicked his tongue at the groaning pile of Haldoon’s crew.
“If I kill them, there’s no going back.”
“They’re trying to kill you. Isn’t that arrogant? From the clan’s perspective, you’re a traitor who’s dashed their dearest hopes—just like your father. The moment you’re spotted, they’ll execute you on sight. Why hold back...”
“If they become a threat, I’ll have no choice. But if they’re not, I’d like to put off killing as long as possible, until the very last resort.”
In other words, Haldoon’s gang posed no threat.
Azadin summoned Btuma soldiers to arrest the fallen group.
“Don’t kill them.”
“Yes, Golden Lion!”
“Golden Lion?”
Ismail found it odd how the soldiers feared Azadin.
Just then, a human voice emerged from Azadin’s pocket.
“Captain! Heralds from the clan have shown up at the north gate too!”
It was a crow’s head, preserved with wax to prevent decay, relaying Scott’s words.
“Looks like it’s time to move.”
*********
After subduing Haldoon’s group, Azadin swiftly tracked down and neutralized other herald clan members.
Whether the clan underestimated Btuma’s forces too much, or whether Arael and her followers’ absence left too great a void, these groups consisted of young scions from prestigious houses and their seasoned servants meant to protect them.
Azadin overpowered them with ridiculous ease.
Had any tried to flee mid-battle, one or two might have escaped, but they all grew complacent upon seeing Azadin and never got the chance.
“I’m hardly one to talk, but they really do all underestimate you.”
Midiam recalled her own shameful past as she watched them fall—hadn’t she once dismissed Azadin, challenged him to a duel, lost, and ended up as his attendant?
“Thanks to that, I’m grateful. Infamy is fame too.”
Azadin took no offense at lower-ranked heralds charging him recklessly; he was glad it made his victories easy.
“So, Midiam—how many are gathered now?”
“The clan? Over two hundred are holding the estuary fortress on the Btuma River. And reinforcements keep arriving.”
“Over two hundred? They must’ve brought everyone they could muster.”
Azadin gazed toward the Btuma River estuary from the battlements amid the raging storm. Visibility was poor in the wind and rain, but he could make out lights flickering at the distant fortress.
“It’s a prime strategic point.”
“If the clan’s serious, they’ll snatch a small fort like that easily. Conversely, Btuma’s army couldn’t retake it.”
A fortress guarded by over two hundred heralds would be impregnable. And it sat on an island at the river mouth—a nightmare to approach even without defenders.
“With reinforcements incoming too. That’s nearly the clan’s full strength.”
Azadin groaned under the weight of those numbers.
With Arael’s faction having rebelled and defected, gathering two hundred heralds meant the clan’s ambitions burned fiercer than ever.
To defy that collective will head-on... Even with Azadin’s resolve, it was daunting.
Turning the entire clan into enemies. Did Azadin truly have the stomach for it?
But when Koral Sahar fell, how many innocents were slaughtered? The thought of nagas devouring humans and citizens being butchered left no room for retreat.
And besides.
“The one commanding them is none other than Elder Kazas himself. Someone who knows Btuma all too well.”
Ismail mentioned Kazas’s name as if to torment Azadin.
“Then... we’ve been made already.”
Azadin muttered unconsciously at the news that Elder Kazas led the clan.
*********
Though the storm raged, Btuma’s well-prepared defenses weathered the downpour without issue.
The naga assault soon lost steam too. Even in their rigidly hierarchical society, they couldn’t sustain endless attacks amid such heavy losses.
With the nagas’ offensive at a lull, Golden King Manja-Zadek summoned his top contributors for commendation—including Azadin.
“Well done, Golden Lion. My judgment in choosing you remains unclouded. It swells my chest with pride. Now, I wish to reward you—what do you desire?”
“Your Majesty, forgive me, but with the battle ongoing, I dare not accept any reward.”
Azadin felt hatred piercing him in proportion to Manja-Zadek’s favor.
The Golden King’s crows and Guard Captain Karchen’s faction were tolerable enough.
But the blood mages, necromancers, and regular soldiers all shunned Azadin. Flaunting the king’s favor would only deepen their resentment.
Yet Manja-Zadek insisted on the reward.
“You probably find my gifts unappealing. Receiving honors from me after defying your kin would make it look like you betrayed them for personal gain. And the attention from a mad king who might snap at any moment must weigh on you.”
Manja-Zadek pierced straight to Azadin’s heart.
“So I shall grant you a reward you cannot refuse.”
“What... do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“The authority to forgive and redeem lives. Even a traitor—if you persuade them they pose no future threat to me—I shall pardon whomever you choose.”
“That’s...”
Far too much power for a mere vassal. The expressions of other vassals wary of Azadin’s rise darkened.
“You’ll spare the lives of those you select and provide for them. If you wish to preserve the clan, wouldn’t you desperately desire such authority? Or are you still feigning humility?”
Manja-Zadek understood Azadin’s position perfectly.
He had turned from the clan for his convictions, not out of enmity or a desire to kill them.
In that case, Manja-Zadek’s pardon power would be essential to the clan’s survival.
“I grant you the authority to pardon the herald clan. It’s fitting recompense for your devotion... and my mission, my command to you. The herald clan can only receive amnesty for challenging Yaegas’s throne through you. If we win this war, the lives of the entire herald clan will rest in the hands of the Golden Lion—you. Thus, you shall become their chief.”
Golden King Manja-Zadek smiled as he spoke.
“This brooks no refusal. Accept it.”
“You are cruel, Your Majesty.”
“Others would kill for such power, Golden Lion. You lack greed. Now withdraw and rest. Harsher days await you.”
“Yes...”
Azadin left the Golden King Manja-Zadek’s audience chamber.