Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Rookie Holy Knight Azadin 2
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Ordinary reservoirs teemed with bugs and mud, but one made by filling a pit with sand and gravel could store a substantial amount of rainwater without fear of contamination.
Of course, it cost far more to build than a standard reservoir, but for a place like the cinnabar mine, it was a worthwhile investment to secure a clean water source.
‘Impressive. He’s on a whole different level from the previous squad leaders. So this is an Emperor’s Herald?’
The soldiers who had come to pick a fight were astonished by Azadin’s competence. But then an unexpected problem arose.
“This woman’s a soldier? Heh! You’re kidding, right?!”
The soldiers had spotted Camilla.
Even in big cities, female cell swords weren’t all that rare. With plenty of female assassins, fighters, and sorceresses around, everyone was used to women in combat roles.
But things were different in a backwater like this.
“Wow, she’s a looker. What’s that sword on your hip, miss? It’s too big to be a kitchen knife.”
“Hey, how much for a long night?”
The soldiers immediately started harassing Camilla. She clicked her tongue in response.
“Hey. You lot. You think about what’s coming next before flashing your teeth?”
“Oh ho? Even your angry face is cute.”
Azadin glanced at the squad leaders as he watched. They were leaving the situation alone, curious to see how he’d handle it.
‘This is tricky.’
If Azadin, as squad leader, stepped in personally every time something like this happened, he’d gradually lose control. Meddling in every petty squabble among the soldiers would only make them resent him more.
In cases like this, reliable mid-level officers were supposed to smooth things over—but the problem was that Azadin’s adjutant, McDougal, didn’t think much of him either.
“Cut it out. She’s an excellent scout. Insult her needlessly, and I won’t let it slide.”
The soldiers snickered at Azadin’s words.
“Sure thing. Got it. We’ll think of her as the squad leader’s girl.”
As they waggled their pinkies and laughed, Kuntachi strode forward. He scratched his head vigorously and asked his sister.
“Sis. What’re these guys saying? They’re not messing with you, are they?”
“Don’t kill them.”
“So they were messing with you?! You bastards!”
In that instant, Kuntachi charged and swung at the soldier who’d just been laughing. The startled soldier raised his arm to block, but Kuntachi’s fist smashed through it and into his face.
“Gurk!”
The soldier flew into the air before tumbling across the ground.
“You little—!”
His comrades reached for their weapons, but at that moment, a sharp crack rang out as stones hit their sword hilts. Azadin had thrown them, striking their weapons.
The impact reverberated through their hips and made their guts ache with force, shocking everyone.
“Everyone, stop. Draw blades on each other, and I’ll execute you on the spot. Kuntachi, calm down.”
“Ughhh. Azadin. I’m calm. Calm. Don’t hit me.”
Kuntachi raised his hands to cover his face, acting terrified.
‘People will think I beat you all the time.’
Azadin was flustered by Kuntachi’s over-the-top fear, but it was highly effective intimidation for the onlookers.
That hulking brute feared Azadin. It proved he wasn’t someone to take lightly.
“Camilla. You shouldn’t egg on your brother instead of reining him in.”
“I did rein him in. I told him not to kill them. That’s plenty.”
“You should’ve defended them, said you weren’t messing around.”
“You can’t lie to Kuntachi about stuff like that. The kid’s not bright—if you feed him lies in situations like this, he’ll stop trusting his instincts. Our mom did that, lying whatever was convenient and denying his gut feelings until she ruined him. You want me doing that to him?”
“That’s a fair point. Understood.”
Azadin nodded, acknowledging her excuse had merit.
“Then the rest of you soldiers…”
“Ptoo!”
The soldier punched by Kuntachi spat out blood. Teeth scattered across the ground—three broken.
“What the hell, Squad Leader?! That guy hit me! And you’re taking his side?!”
“Kuntachi’s got a condition like that. I warned you. You brought it on yourself, soldier.”
“Ugh. You soulless heretic bastard!”
Enraged, the soldier with the missing teeth drew his dagger and lunged at Azadin. But in that moment, Bernard chanted a spell.
“Eup!”
The charging soldier clamped his hand over his own mouth.
Blood from the wound inside morphed into a spider shape, its legs tearing through his cheek.
Liquid blood acted like iron spikes, ripping his mouth apart entirely.
“Gaaahk!”
“Eek!?”
The soldiers recoiled in horror at the gruesome sight.
Then a golden flame meteor sliced through the soldier’s mouth. Azadin had swung Aurelia Dune, perfectly severing only the blood spider.
“Bernard. What was that?”
“Heh heh. You seem too kind-hearted, Squad Leader Azadin, so I overstepped. Cough cough. Punish me. I’ll take it gladly.”
“Hm. You okay?”
Azadin examined the soldier who’d been punched by Kuntachi and had his cheek shredded by Bernard.
It was horrific—his cheek completely gone—but Azadin unwound a bandage and wrapped his face without flinching.
“It’s superficial.”
“?!”
“What?!”
The other soldiers were appalled by Azadin’s nonchalance.
“Bernard. For overstepping, you’re confined to quarters for a week. Take care of this guy in the meantime.”
“Understood. Heh heh. Captain Azadin is generous. Treating trash like this.”
“I’m generous by nature.”
“…….”
The watching soldiers now knew bone-deep that Azadin, Camilla, and Bernard were no pushovers.
Bernard had probably jumped in on purpose, seizing a chance to assert dominance and avoid being underestimated.
For a frail guy like him, it was necessary to overhype his abilities to earn respect from the soldiers.
‘Damn it. Every subordinate I’ve got is a problem child.’
Azadin sensed his path ahead wouldn’t be smooth and clicked his tongue.
“So, shall we wrap up the welcome? Anything else you’ve prepared? If so, bring it out now.”
Azadin scanned the soldiers.
The Vermilion Fortress soldiers had originally planned to haze the new squad leader and seize control, but Azadin’s group had blown past their expectations with raw force.
They stood dumbfounded like bees with honeyed mouths, eyes darting only to their real leaders, Legion and Kallan.
“Looks like nothing. Dismissed for today. Scatter.”
Azadin ordered the soldiers to disperse.
From the moment they’d heard successive previous squad leaders had been murdered, the knight order had suspected the fortress soldiers.
Officers getting fragged by subordinates wasn’t rare in remote outposts like this.
That’s why the knights had sent Azadin—expendable manpower who could die anytime.
But the soldiers picking fights to test him suggested they weren’t all in cahoots to kill the squad leader.
‘If they’d decided to kill me from the start, no need to stir trouble. Easier to slit throats in sleep or poison food.’
There had to be a reason for their provocation.
‘Probably testing if I’m reasonable or weak enough to manipulate. Or maybe that’s just their nature—picking fights without thought.’
Legion and Kallan, the two squad leaders, didn’t seem like empty-headed types. Komec looked a bit dim, but the real soldier bosses were Legion and Kallan.
‘First, I need to check inventory.’
Azadin called McDougal.
“We need to assess the fortress supplies. Bring the ledgers.”
“This one’s blank for the last half year?”
“Doesn’t matter. I want to see intake and outflow from when the fortress ran properly. Know monthly volumes, and we can roughly gauge the half-year gap.”
“But… hm. Impressive.”
McDougal was genuinely impressed by Azadin.
“What?”
“These guys look like they’re plotting to screw the captain right now. This place is a tiger’s jaws. They could poison food or raid at night. Ordering inventory now is basically accusing them outright, right?”
“Scared, so sweep it under the rug?”
“That’s what most would do.”
“And I’m not most.”
“But I am. I don’t wanna piss off those soldiers. Plus, this is basically prison. Worse than prison in some ways—no set sentence here. Sob sob. Thinking about it makes me tear up again. I miss Lady Izmira. Oh, my fate. Stuck here forever now…”
Azadin snapped at McDougal’s whining.
“I’ll get you out before forever. Now work.”
“Really? Possible? See Lady Izmira again? Live happily ever after with her?”
“The last part? Doubt it.”
Azadin sighed at McDougal, the sentence clerk lost in fantasy.
*********
Azadin and McDougal conducted the inventory check.
The fortress armory should’ve been stocked with weapons, but it was empty. Cinnabar mine output had plummeted too.
Embezzlement was obvious to anyone.
And it wasn’t just soldiers—mine workers and villagers were all in on it.
That explained the fierce resistance when Azadin and McDougal started investigating.
“No squad leader for ages, so operations stalled. Why blame us?”
“Ah, come on. This warehouse isn’t used anymore. Huh? Where’s the other one? Oh, the last squad leader moved it secretly then croaked.”
They threw up absurd excuses and obstructions to sabotage the probe.
Circumstantial evidence screamed embezzlement, but hard proof was elusive.
They could execute everyone on that alone, but with villagers and workers already hostile and support shaky, mass executions would shatter morale—obvious as day.
And Azadin truly didn’t want to kill them.
In the end, he needed to win over the soldiers’ real leaders: the squad leaders.