Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: Chadra's Conqueror 5
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When news arrived of the rebellion at the Southeast Rock Fortress, Lord Brahm apologized to Azadin.
"I'm sorry. It's because I lack any real influence. And on top of that, look at the state of my body."
Ever since breaking ties with Chasan, he had sworn off narcotics and was now suffering withdrawal symptoms. He had stripped off his armor and wrapped himself in a blanket before joining Azadin's expeditionary force.
Even if it meant lying in the corner of a supply wagon carrying goods, he was determined to take part in the subjugation.
"Still, I want to come along. The Southeast Rock Fortress was originally my assigned post, after all. Any information I have, or even my hollow title—whatever it is, it'll be useful to you."
Azadin permitted his company.
"Of course. Lord Brahm. We welcome you. Shall we be off, then?"
Azadin assembled a subjugation unit consisting of half-elf squad leader Rijon and his ten squad members, four Fireguards, half-orc Kuntachi, bandit woman Camilla, alchemist Jacomo, and blood mage Bernard.
The expeditionary force set out for the Southeast Rock Fortress, bringing along Chasan, who was bound in black iron chains.
Since Jacomo was officially listed as dead, he had shaved his head completely and donned a helmet to conceal his identity.
His tongue hadn't fully healed yet, so he had to write to communicate, but even on the march, he hung a wooden slate around his neck and dipped a quill feather in water to scribble messages.
'So, the ones we're up against are those Dwarven Arrow bastards? They're the ones who kidnapped my daughter. To me, they're blood enemies.'
"Be careful. There are Fireguards around."
Azadin watched the four Fireguards warily.
His other subordinates might understand if he explained that he'd rescued and smuggled out Jacomo, but those Fireguards were men who would pledge loyalty to the next Chapter Master.
If they learned Azadin had saved and spirited away Jacomo—a wanted man of the Knight Order—they'd never let it slide.
'It'll be fine since we're not talking out loud. And those idiots probably can't read anyway?'
"Better safe than sorry."
'Got it.'
Jacomo stuck close to Azadin's side, writing so small that only he could see.
'Ah, this guy really talks a lot.'
Azadin sighed as he watched Jacomo persistently try to communicate with him in writing.
"Why did you kill the Knight Order's geological survey team?"
'I did kill them, but I wasn't the one who did it.'
"What do you mean?"
'They were suffering from mutations. The same stigma I'd been branded with. I had to kill them before they mutated fully. Otherwise, monsters would have burst out of their bodies and killed me.'
"Then who branded you with the stigma?"
'I don't know for sure. The one who branded me was a priest from the Salvation Knights.'
"A priest?"
'Yeah. Not a holy knight—a priest. But he had a huge hood covering his head, so I couldn't see his face.'
"What did they order you to do? What exactly did they want from you?"
'They demanded the angel's blood I'd smuggled out of the Knight Order in secret. But I'd already turned the angel's blood into that drug...'
Jacomo hurriedly wiped the slate clean with a rag, erasing the water-written words.
"Where did you get the angel's blood?"
'I stole it from the Wisdom Church's alchemy workshop.'
"It was in the alchemy workshop?"
'Yeah. A massive quantity, too. It's normally used in Seramite forging.'
In other words, Jacomo had participated in Seramite production, siphoned off the angel's blood during that time, then joined the geological survey team—only to be attacked by the mysterious priest, branded with the stigma, and placed under mind control. That was the sequence of events.
"A massive stockpile of angel's blood... So they're not using it to make Celestials, then."
'I don't know the recipe for Celestials.'
"Anything else you noticed? Some secret you picked up while working there?"
'I don't know much, but the angel's blood seems to be harvested from raw Malory and Saint Malory.'
"Hm? Those are cities, aren't they?"
'I don't know the details. But such a heavily guarded substance was only moved within Saint Malory itself, day or night—never transported elsewhere. So I figure it must originate there.'
"What do you know about the Celestials?"
'That there are quite a few of them. But Celestial research wasn't my department. It's a secret known only to the high-ranking officials of the Wisdom Church. I was just one of the alchemy slaves at Banreung Academy who could barely be called a student. Nothing like the prodigy Bernard.'
"Who is Bernard, anyway?"
"Ahem. *Cough cough*..."
Bernard cleared his throat at the mention of his name, which turned into a real coughing fit.
'The dwarves treasured him greatly. Though, to be fair, anyone who's not a dwarf at Banreung Academy is just slave labor.'
If Jacomo was telling the truth, Banreung Academy sounded like a hellish place.
*********
After two days of marching, the group arrived at the Southeast Rock Fortress.
The fortress had already braced for battle, barricading the gates and assuming a solid defensive posture.
The trenches outside the walls, reinforced with logs and sandbags, looked far from ordinary.
Spotting Azadin's group approaching, the dwarf sorcerers who had locked the gates began broadcasting their demands via amplification magic.
"You've come, Herald Clan!"
"Release Chasan!"
"And grant us freedom of trade!"
"Otherwise, the Salvation Knights' supply trains will meet nothing but corpses!"
"Burn it."
"Yeah, burn it... Huh?"
Everyone was stunned.
As alchemist Jacomo flung his arms wide, his robes billowed, revealing the leather pouch at his waist.
He pulled out a glass vial from within.
"Krahahahaha!"
Alchemist's fire.
The ace flamethrower used by alchemists.
When Jacomo infused it with blood magic, the alchemical solution turned into watery projectiles that struck coca fields everywhere, erupting into pillars of flame.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, the flames began devouring the poppy and coca fields.
Jacomo, drunk on the joy of vengeance against the dwarves, was out of his mind.
"Burn! Burn it all to ash!"
Even with his mangled tongue, he cackled wildly, igniting fires and hurling curses and obscenities.
"That crazy bastard! I knew it! Hey! Brahm! You just gonna watch this? Do you know how much that's worth? How much blood and sweat went into growing all that?"
Lord Brahm was a narcotics addict.
After arriving on the Chadra Plateau, haunted by visions of doom, he had submitted to Chasan's violence and escaped into drugs, becoming Chasan's loyal dog.
From the perspective of such a severe addict, watching the plantation burn was like tossing gold away—utterly intolerable.
Yet Brahm stated firmly to Azadin,
"Burn it, Lord Azadin. I shall obey your will."
"You... you worthless shit. You think you can quit now just 'cause you're riding high? Give it a little time, and you'll be begging for drugs like a dog again! They all do!"
Chasan watched in fury as the alchemist's fire consumed his drug plantation. If they put it out quickly, they might limit the damage—but that would require his men to open the gates and rush out.
There were addicts among the smuggling organization's members too, and for them, seeing the raw fields burn would be agony.
Sure enough...
"The gates are opening!"
Bandit woman Camilla warned.
Drug addicts unable to bear watching the plantation burn had flung open the fortress gates and charged out.
Among them were the dwarf sorcerers leading the rebellion. Clad in ornate dwarven armor, they rode out boldly on tusked wild boars—wolfschwines.
"Hey! You bastards! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Do you have any idea how valuable this is?!"
"Get out there and put it out now!"
The dwarf sorcerers bellowed at their human underlings, ordering them to drive off the enemy and extinguish the fields.
"But Vice Boss, they say the Herald Clan's an archery master. Won't we get shot if we open the gates?"
"The alchemist's setting fires! That powder or whatever—his flames—are terrifying..."
"Have no fear! Our magic will shield us—no arrows or fire will touch you!"
But even as those words left his mouth, an arrow struck that dwarf sorcerer's helmet.
A barrier of force formed around the dwarf sorcerers' bodies.
Yet the incoming arrow shredded the force barrier effortlessly, turning into a blue comet that smashed the dwarf sorcerer's helmet.
"Grk!"
The helmet flew off, blood spraying.
Incredibly, the arrow had pierced the dwarf sorcerers' barrier and deformed the helmet—a devastating strike.
The dwarf sorcerer tumbled to the ground, trampled by his following comrades.
"Grohk!"
"Damn it! Curses! It's Arrasteel!"
The dwarf sorcerers realized Arrasteel arrows were incoming and panicked.
Weapons forged from Arrasteel specialized in destroying armor, making arrows fired from them lethal.
More piercing blue Arrasteel arrows flew at the dwarf sorcerers.
The startled sorcerers layered force barriers desperately to block them.
But two arrows arrived simultaneously, shattering the barriers and striking before new ones could form—an ambush.
It was the Herald Clan's signature technique: Flying Swallow Archery.
"Argh!"
The dwarf sorcerers couldn't withstand Azadin's arrows and all fell from their mounts.
"No point hoarding expensive arrows—better to use 'em quick. All right. Rijon, Kuntachi—charge."
Confirming the enemy's commanders had fallen, Azadin ordered Rijon and Kuntachi to lead the assault.
"Yes, Boss!"
"Uwaaagh!"
As Rijon transformed into a werewolf and charged, the morale of the Southeast Rock Fortress soldiers plummeted.
"Uwaa! We surrender!"
"We're Lord Brahm's men! The dwarves forced us!"
Lord Brahm's subordinates surrendered immediately, and the other criminals didn't dare face the werewolf Rijon.
In the end, the battle concluded in moments.
Azadin had captured the Southeast Rock Fortress in a single clash.
*********
"Damn it. If you're gonna win, at least put out the fire? It's your property now, isn't it?"
Chasan raged at the sight of his burning plantation.
"I planned to burn it anyway. The rebellion made it even easier."
From Azadin's perspective, he intended to torch the drug plantation regardless—this worked out perfectly.
If the smugglers had surrendered peacefully and he'd burned it afterward, the backlash would have been massive.
"What are we supposed to live on now? You think farming anything else makes enough? Guys farming here stay poor forever! Got any plan for the revenue drop?"
Chasan vented his grievances at Azadin for destroying the foundation he'd built.
"I'm not saying I buy that dwarf's bullshit, but what's the plan now, Boss?"
Camilla asked Azadin.
"You sound dissatisfied."
"Telling smuggling goons to go straight now is bullshit. And they're addicts. Cut 'em off, and they'll flip out again. Poppies and cannabis grow anywhere anyway—relapsing's easy."
Camilla pressed. Azadin's reply was curt.
"That's for the next Chapter Master to figure out. I'm just interim. This place is wrapped up—shall we move on to conquer the next one?"
"Huh? What? You're serious?"
Camilla couldn't fathom what scheme Azadin was cooking up.