Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: The Whereabouts of the Angel's Blood 7
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In this situation, taking Giacomo to the knight order would be tantamount to killing him—Izmirah agreed with that much.
The problem was whether they could trust Azadin.
Izmirah stared straight at Azadin.
Their eyes met, and Azadin smirked.
It was a laugh that seemed to mock the knight order's sloppiness, yet even that mockery was so charming that Izmirah unwittingly averted her gaze.
‘…Why does he feel so trustworthy?’
There was no reason to trust him, yet she did.
Meanwhile, Giacomo's tongue kept multiplying and starting to rampage.
It had now grown to the size of a small dog.
“Camilla! Kuntachi!”
“Yeah!”
“You called?”
“Get Giacomo out of here. Somewhere the people outside can't see.”
“That's a tall order.”
“I think you can handle it, Camilla.”
“When I say it's difficult, I mean it would be for anyone but me. Just make that clear, and give me some compensation later.”
“Got it.”
At Azadin's words, Camilla handed the alchemist Giacomo off to Kuntachi, grabbed some rope, and dashed outside.
“Come with me, sis!”
“Hey! It's a stealth op—keep it quiet!”
Camilla and Kuntachi disappeared with the alchemist Giacomo.
*********
“Well then…”
“What's this? No big deal?”
Azadin reverted Aurelia Dun to its longsword form and turned to Giacomo's rampaging tongue.
A long tentacle shot out from Giacomo's tongue, attacking Azadin.
Azadin swung Aurelia Dun, slicing off the tentacle, but its toxic slime splattered toward his eyes.
“Hmph.”
Azadin turned his head to dodge, lit Aurelia Dun aflame, and shredded the tentacle anew.
To Azadin, who had faced all manner of monsters, this was no match.
‘Similar to Jett's tentacles. But weaker.’
The severed tentacles shrank slightly from their original size but left clear remnants behind.
“Good. That's enough!”
Azadin cleaved Giacomo's tongue vertically in two.
The tongue, now the size of a calf, burned in flames and collapsed.
“Bold as brass, aren't you, Azadin? What if I had refused to join your little scheme? What then?”
Izmirah had decided to trust Azadin, but she still seemed uneasy about unauthorized use of the knight order's secrets.
“Then Giacomo's poor daughter would suffer and die, Giacomo would die in vain, and the ones who tried to kidnap you, Lady Izmirah, using him would gain momentum to oust me.”
“…….”
“You know it too, don't you? Why they sent an investigation leader without clearance? This was a trap to hand you over to the enemy from the start. Sir Pavel lacks the competence to lead an investigation team. The others probably do too.”
“Insulting one's elders goes against knight order etiquette… but it's undeniable that Sir Pavel's abilities fall short for this mission. And though you're breaking minor rules, I see that only you, Sir Azadin, can navigate the threats facing the knight order. Sir Azadin, I'll cooperate with you.”
Izmirah pledged to work with Azadin.
*********
The Relief Knights' official communication channel used an ancient mirror-based information transfer spell held by the bishops.
But Fireglyph was a non-bishopric, so they reported upward via the blood letter transmission method used by common blood sorcerers.
“Ugh… hurry it up. This thing bleeds a lot.”
Bernard coughed in refusal, and since such spells were meant to be cast by specialists, Fireglyph's certified blood sorcerer was preparing the transmission. He was an old man trembling over a basin for blood with his knife in hand.
“True, an old body doesn't have much blood to spare.”
“So condense the message as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
Azadin glanced at Sir Pavel, whose lip was pursed in distaste at relying on heretical magic.
“This investigation is all your achievement anyway, Sir Azadin. You do the report.”
“Ahaha.”
Azadin laughed to mask his embarrassment.
Even if Pavel lacked talent, as investigation leader, he should be the one reporting. If Azadin did it, they'd think Pavel was dead.
‘Some probably hope he is.’
But given Pavel's temperament and administrative skills, making him use blood magic transmission would kill the blood sorcerer from blood loss.
“Giacomo secured. Culprit: Sir Hexenmeyer. Investigation Leader Pavel. Send it like that.”
“Got it.”
The blood sorcerer sliced his own hand, mixed the blood into the basin, and used it to write a blood letter on the paper atop the magic circle.
The same words would appear at the recipient's end for the report.
“Hey, so who's running Fireglyph in the meantime? The captain?”
When Camilla asked curiously, Fireguard's Yan and Tambi panicked and replied.
“W-well, normally, if there's no chapter master, the Fireguard acts as interim governor here.”
“But the Fireguard captain, Sir Timothy, was arrested as an accomplice.”
“Yeah. So probably the investigation leader will have to appoint an interim…”
The two Fireguard knights glanced at Sir Pavel.
At his advanced age, barely a regular knight at Hospitaller grade, this man was either utterly talentless or had joined the knight order far too late.
Either way, he lacked the qualities to govern Fireglyph. He fell short in rank and experience compared to the knights who would come from Chadra Plateau.
Yet the man himself seemed pleased at the thought of ruling this massive city.
“Hahaha. Though my talents are meager, I'll throw myself body and soul into this great task.”
At Pavel's words, the Fireguards stammered in confusion.
“That's fine and all, but…”
“Do you happen to know of the Chadra Five?”
The Fireguards asked in hushed tones, as if recounting an old tale to scare children.
They shuddered at the mere mention of the Chadra Five.
Just speaking the name conjured unbearable images. But Azadin was indifferent.
“Nope. I learned about key figures and heroes across the continent during herald training, but first I've heard of them.”
‘What's with these country bumpkins hyping up their local legends? No shame?’
It seemed to say.
“They're the five prisoners exiled to Chadra Plateau who built their own independent forces. Despite their grave crimes, the knight order couldn't execute them due to their exceptional talents and had to imprison them instead.”
“Who are they?”
“Death Knight Sir Sok. Wild Druid Sedrin, half-vampire Niseld. Smuggling King Chasan, hippogriff rider Sir Selim.”
“Ah.”
Azadin was impressed.
“Never heard of any of them.”
Yet from their epithets, they didn't sound like pushovers.
If Azadin governed Fireglyph bypassing them, would they sit idly by?
Conversely, if Azadin left Fireglyph to Pavel and returned to Vermilion?
‘Given Pavel and Izmirah's capabilities, it'd be insufficient.’
In the end, Azadin ruling Fireglyph was the most realistic best choice.
‘If I leave it to Pavel, it'll end up on me anyway.’
*********
Smuggling King Chasan was the head of a dwarf crime syndicate who formed 'Dwarven Arrow,' a massive drug smuggling network spanning Banreung and Arangi.
Banreung, fearing the organization would splinter and grow further after his capture, handed him to the Relief Knights. The knights, unsure how to deal with him, exiled him to Chadra Plateau to weaken the group.
Afterward, 'Dwarven Arrow' installed a new boss in Chasan's place and continued operations, but Chasan formed a new organization even in Chadra Plateau, creating independent smuggling routes, manufacturing products directly in Fireglyph, and amassing vast wealth.
As the Chadra Five with the best intelligence network, he was the first to hear rumors that Fireglyph's chapter master Sir Hexenmeyer, his guards, and Fireguard captain Sir Timothy had fallen.
“The emperor's herald Azadin, huh. The knight order's sent another odd one to Chadra Plateau.”
Chasan was a dwarf covered in blue tattoos extending to his face, a grotesque sight.
These were magic tattoos proving he was a dwarf sorcerer.
Designed to better wield innate magical power, the tattoos glowed and emanated mana according to his emotions.
“What should we do, boss?”
Smuggling King Chasan's base was the southeast rock walls. The overseer here was Relief Knights' knight Sir Brahma.
An elderly Hospitaller-Paladin, he held the third-highest position among Chadra Plateau knights after Hexenmeyer and Timothy. As a holy knight, his experience was even longer.
Yet Sir Brahma was calling the prisoner he was supposed to manage 'boss' with a fawning smile.
“Brahma, you're the most seasoned holy knight here, aren't you? No, even cold water has hierarchy. We can't let some fresh herald who's just joined the order swallow Fireglyph whole. Propose a division of rule or joint governance—sharing such a juicy territory would be tough even for a newbie.”
“I'm not the most experienced holy knight. Sir Sok outranked me.”
Death Knight Sir Sok. Obsessed with necromancy research, he'd broken precepts and was now a prisoner, not a holy knight. But like Chasan, he effectively ruled as a de facto lord.
“That guy's a prisoner. It's not his holy knight credentials that matter—it's his puppet's, right?”
“Y-yes, that's true. Brilliant insight as always, boss. But if we propose joint rule, won't the others jump in too?”
“Of course we move first and set the table. We decide who gets the best cuts, and the others join our game. No one can eat all of Fireglyph alone—it'd give you indigestion. That herald won't think he can monopolize it either. Gather the boys. Time to do business.”
“Understood.”
Sir Brahma immediately prepared to depart for Fireglyph.