Chapter 263
Chapter 263
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Chadra's Overlord 1
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After Azadin seized control of Firegliff, the very first task he undertook was a thorough internal investigation.
This operation involved scrutinizing the Fireguards, regular guards, and laborers alike to root out any doppelgangers...
But before it could even begin, word had leaked, and the doppelgangers had already vanished.
Though they failed to catch any doppelgangers red-handed, the revelation that so many had infiltrated Firegliff sent shockwaves through the stronghold.
At the same time, Azadin launched efforts to reclaim the assets Sir Hexenmeyer had embezzled.
Hexenmeyer's illegitimate children and the interest groups clinging to them put up resistance, but with the doppelganger probe running parallel, no one dared openly defy the process.
In just one week, Azadin had full command over Firegliff's assets and personnel flows.
Using that authority, he began reallocating personnel.
He set to work transferring those who had been scraping by as lowly laborers in Firegliff with no real prospects to Vermilion Fortress.
He also organized additional patrols to repair and secure the roads, allowing supply convoys to move more frequently.
On top of that, he adjusted procurement prices to realistic levels, transforming Firegliff's subordinate towns from blindly exploited territories into competitive trading companies.
The soldiers and residents of Vermilion Fortress, naturally, welcomed it with open arms.
"Good heavens! I can't believe it!"
"They're actually sending people! I thought it was just empty talk!"
Azadin had promised the people of Vermilion Fortress that he would expand the stronghold into a livable place—not just a transit point—fostering commerce and allowing soldiers to live dignified lives.
He had allotted a generous timeline for it, never imagining such tangible results would come this swiftly—not even Azadin himself.
'I never expected to take Firegliff this quickly either. I figured half a year to play it safe.'
But then, saboteurs appeared before Azadin.
*********
Sir Brahm was a rare Hospitaller-Paladin on the Chadra Plateau, outranking even Investigation Captain Sir Pavel in seniority.
Upon arriving at Firegliff to assess the situation, he formally requested a meeting with Sir Pavel.
The meeting room selected was the former office of Sir Hexenmeyer—now dubbed the Firegliff Chapter Master's chamber. Sir Pavel arrived accompanied by Lady Izmira and Sir Azadin, his two squire knights.
"Greetings, Sir Pavel. It's been too long."
"Ah, Sir Brahm. You look well."
"Clean air and good food will do that. Haha. And who might these fine-looking pair be? Ah, you must be the much-talked-about Lady Izmira and Sir Azadin."
"You're too kind."
Lady Izmira replied, while Azadin silently eyed the dwarf standing behind Sir Brahm—the Smuggling King, Chasan.
"I've heard the investigation team's probe is already concluded... Sir Pavel. Don't you think Firegliff's administration should be handled by someone who truly knows the Chadra Plateau?"
"That's why I'm assisting Sir Pavel."
When Azadin spoke up, Sir Brahm clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Right, Sir Azadin of Vermilion Fortress. How long have you been in Chadra? A couple of months now?"
"Yes. Two months and ten days."
"That's hardly enough time to claim mastery over this ever-shifting land. This is a wild frontier teeming with legendary beasts, ferocious wild magic, and the foul blood of ancient gods. Everyone here survives in their own way, and outsiders who don't grasp the nuances can't just barge in and reshape things. That's why I'm proposing an advisory council to jointly manage Firegliff until a new Chapter Master is appointed."
It sounded reasonable enough on the surface.
But to Azadin, who had already claimed Firegliff, it was tantamount to demanding he surrender what was now in his grasp.
Moreover, the Smuggling King Chasan peddled contraband that violated the Knights' Order laws—growing and selling poppies and coca for profit.
Handing Firegliff—the vital link between Chadra Plateau and Arangi Kingdom—to such a man would spell disaster, plain as day.
"Things are running smoothly as is. Do we really need to form a council and waste the wisdom of our esteemed elders from each region? Even if we did, it would dissolve once a new Chapter Master is selected anyway."
"Haha, as if a new Chapter Master will be chosen that easily. The factions within the Order will bicker over promotions or purges. While that's dragging on, Firegliff will face all sorts of external pressures. Consider this my humble attempt to shield it. Don't render my loyalty in vain."
Sir Brahm, convinced no Chapter Master would be decided amid the Order's factional strife anytime soon, pressed repeatedly for the council's formation.
'Hmm. Truth be told, I've already achieved my goal of bolstering Vermilion Fortress with personnel, so I could just go along with it. But I draw the line at opening the gates for that drug-smuggling dwarf. Still, Sir Brahm's got a silver tongue. Probably that dwarf Chasan pulling the strings from behind, scripting the whole thing.'
Azadin pondered, gazing at Chasan manipulating things from behind Sir Brahm.
Then it happened.
Screams erupted suddenly from outside the window.
"Kyaaak!"
"Uwaaak!"
A flapping sound followed, and something landed on the office terrace.
It was a hippogriff—eagle's torso atop a horse's body—that had touched down on the terrace.
A man dismounted from its back.
"Hahaha! Starting without me? How rude! Rude!"
"S-Sir Selim."
Not just Sir Pavel, but even the eloquent Sir Brahm looked flustered moments ago.
Small wonder—the man's head and legs were those of an ox.
Chadra's Five Freaks, Hippogriff Rider Sir Selim, was astonishingly a minotaur.
'Whoa, Firegliff's buildings are sturdy. A hippogriff carrying a minotaur and it holds up?'
Azadin eyed Sir Selim while fretting over the structure's integrity. The minotaur thumped his chest as he strode forward, then plopped into a seat uninvited.
The wooden chair creaked pitifully in protest. It looked solid enough for dignitaries—easily supporting the weight of three humans—yet it groaned under the minotaur.
"Got guests and no hospitality? Bring some mash brew."
"Mash brew?"
When Azadin blinked in surprise, Sir Selim turned to him.
His expression said: *Why act shocked at trendy mash brew? Everyone loves it.*
"Ah, right... You pretty boy there must be that angel Izmira or whatever. And the woman next to you... Herald Clan Azadin?"
"I'm Azadin, Sir Selim. If I may—could you refrain from flying in from above? The building can't take it."
"Hah. Damn. A soulless blasphemer worming into the Salvation Knights? The Order must be desperate for recruits. Sure, they accept anyone with faith in the Three Virtues regardless of prejudice, but the Herald Clan? No way. A holy knight should embody a noble bloodline that sets an example, universal virtues, and unwavering loyalty! Taking in shady types like this."
"......"
Azadin was momentarily speechless.
*He's a minotaur lecturing on bloodlines? Is being Herald Clan worse than minotaur? Bigger disqualification for a holy knight? Or is entertaining that thought racism itself? Damn. I prided myself on open-mindedness, but resisting the urge to call him out as a minotaur is tough.*
Azadin mulled it over seriously.
"Anyway, pretty boy! I'm against you calling the shots in Firegliff! Flew here to object. Be grateful!"
"It's not me—Investigation Captain Sir Pavel who..."
"Hmph. Think my eyes are peepholes? It's obvious you've seized real power. What nefarious schemes are you plotting with it?"
"......"
Azadin was thrown by Sir Selim's distrustful antagonism...
*Huh. I kinda like this guy.*
Yet it oddly appealed to him.
Unlike that drug-smuggling dwarf, this one was—shockingly—a true holy knight loyal to the Order, one of the few.
Which was precisely why he distrusted Azadin.
*This vibe means the other Chadra Five Freaks will show up too.*
Sure enough, the hippogriff on the terrace suddenly went berserk.
Glancing outside, a blue-beaked goshawk soared in, sending the hippogriff into a frenzy.
The goshawk dodged the hippogriff's strikes, then glowed and transformed into a massive white-maned mare.
Spotting the mare, the hippogriff grew even more agitated, wheeling around—only for the mare to deliver a powerful rear kick that smashed into it.
"Hey! You!"
As the hippogriff shrieked, its rider Sir Selim flew into a rage.
The mare glowed once more, shifting into a tattooed female elf. Haggard eyes, diminutive for an elf, gaunt frame—she looked utterly drained, as if sleepless for days.
Pristine as a spotless steed in mare form, the discrepancy was stark post-transformation: still a beauty, but weary and irritable.
Clutching her loose garments, she walked over and took a seat at the table.
"Selim. Your rutting hippogriff nearly got me killed."
"You flew in first while it was already here! Problem solved if you'd used the door like a civilized person! No need to kick my sweetie! You wicked elf!"
"Death is just nature's cycle."
"What? If anything happens to my sweetie, you're dead by my hand! That's nature's cycle too!"
"I was going to heal it, but with that attitude..."
"...No, you're healing what you broke anyway. My sweetie got spooked!"
That's when Smuggling King Chasan grumbled.
"Sir Selim's a knight, fine. But you, Sedrin—you're no knight. What's your excuse for being here?"
"I'm the Black Soil Forest warden appointed by Hexenmeyer himself. With him purged, of course I come. And don't hide behind Brahm—own up to it yourself. We all know about the Chadra Five Freaks' notoriety anyway."
*Don't.*
Azadin thought, but kept it to himself.