Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Black Magic Disaster 6
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Midiam, a member of the Etar clan—Aragasa's noble house—held no fondness for the Hubris folk.
But she agreed with Azadin's words.
Protecting the people is a beautiful thing.
Even if they are the masses who harbor enmity toward Aragasa, shielding the powerless is the very model for a warrior noble.
Even if one isn't a warrior noble...
As a human, that's simply right.
'No one has ever taught me anything like that until now.'
No one had ever spoken of virtues or aesthetics beyond Aragasa's perspective, so in truth, Midiam already respected Azadin to some degree.
What if Azadin possessed the eloquence and means to embellish that philosophy?
Her respect would only grow deeper.
"Enough of that, miss."
Ismail grumbled.
"There's no need to strain yourself saving and forgiving someone like him. We should kill him. We don't know what might happen if we leave the one who unleashed this black magic disaster alive. And respect...? "
Ismail was going mad with jealousy.
Respect from Midiam?
Midiam showed no interest in anyone her age, or even in her elders.
He couldn't understand why she was showing such attention to this eyeless traitor's bloodline, the cursed Azadin, or why Azadin seemed so annoyed by Midiam.
If he could just receive that level of attention from her, Ismail would sell his very soul!
"Whether you respect me or not is irrelevant. I'll just do what I can."
"So you'll keep hiding our identities? Should we hold back from shooting our bows? Act like helpless Hubris children and play the part of baggage?"
"That's not it."
Azadin pulled something out from the warehouse.
"Let's use these."
What Azadin brought out were hunting bows used by the villagers.
Compared to the Herald clan's moon-horn bows, they had weaker draw strength—perfectly suitable weapons for boys and girls of thirteen.
"Hmm, these?"
"Yeah. Let's prepare."
"Prepare for what?"
"Obviously, a defensive battle. It'd be stupid for us to venture into the forest or swamp, so we'll lure the enemy here."
Azadin said this and began preparing to light a fire.
"We'll need a lot of arrows. What we have from the villagers' arrows and our own stock might not be enough. So, shall we wax the bows for once and make some arrows?"
"Ugh. I hate making arrows."
Midiam complained.
"Hmm, but it's about time to wax your moon-horn bows too, right? If you don't maintain them steadily, they explode?"
The Herald clan's bows were smaller than others yet incredibly powerful.
But their maintenance was equally demanding.
At minimum, they needed waxing once a week, or the bow would dry out and snap explosively.
Azadin lit the fire and sat down, pulling out supplies.
Materials for making arrows: thread and feathers, plus wood procured from the sawmill that he began shaping.
Using a hand axe sharpened enough to shave with, he split the wood into shafts, then roasted them over the fire to dry out any remaining moisture and sap.
"Get ready."
"Yes."
The attendant Ismail combed the fur of the Kerim mountain goats they'd brought, using an oil comb.
This was to collect the sebum and wax esters from the goat fur.
When the collected material was shaken out onto an iron plate, fleas, lice, and dust fell away with it. Azadin rolled fire-charred wood over it to crush and kill the fleas and lice, then evenly applied the wax esters to the shafts, charring and refining them over the fire.
This was how the shafts were made.
"Next."
Azadin handed the finished shafts to Midiam.
She split the nock ends thin, inserted feathers, bound them with thread, and tried to fit on nocks made from animal or fish bones.
"No nocks. Finish with thread. We have to conserve."
"But then the arrows..."
"These are green wood shafts anyway—they'll warp and dry out over time. We'll use iron coin tips too. We'll pour them all out in this defense. Since we'll shoot them before they warp, slightly better quality than goblin arrows is enough."
Iron coin tips referred to the iron coins used as currency.
Among the Octarchy's hard currency, these elm-leaf iron coins—poured from molten iron—could double as arrows.
They were said to have been designed for use as arrows in war or emergencies, but from the perspective of actual archers, it was absurd armchair theory.
Iron coins meant for spending were impure scrap iron.
Arrowheads crudely mimicking their shape had poor penetration.
Fine against unarmored foes, but against the armored, the tips would shatter and prove useless.
Moreover, most elm-leaf coins wore down and bent in circulation, so only sturdy, high-quality ones had to be specially selected for arrowheads.
"I've finished combing the goats."
Ismail completed gathering the needed wax esters and hurried over to Midiam.
"Then you attach the tips."
Azadin had Ismail fit the arrowheads.
As members of the famed archer Herald clan, all three were practiced at arrow-making, producing in moments enough arrows to fill their quivers and more.
Once the arrows were done, Azadin applied the leftover wax esters to the moon-horn bows.
"Good. Now then."
Azadin fitted a halberd head onto a trimmed wooden shaft.
The guard captain's halberd head, covered with a nock and coated in spare wax, slowly roasted over the fire to let the wax soak in evenly.
*********
While Azadin, Ismail, and Midiam made arrows and maintained their bows, the rest of the group gathered village timber, furniture, and more to reinforce the barricades.
It was impossible to defend the entire sawmill village perimeter, so they designated houses, warehouses, and buildings as defensive lines, moving obstacles to block easy entry through windows.
"They don't seem like simple pilgrims."
Kaka marveled as he dragged furniture into position per Azadin's defensive plan.
No matter which direction the enemy attacked from, houses, warehouses, and existing buildings could be maximally utilized, with furniture and trash piles laid out accordingly.
"What kind of person is he, anyway? Is he on pilgrimage for some great sin from his past?"
"I don't really know."
That was all Tarki could say. He couldn't very well reveal that he was an emperor's herald.
"I'm sorry. I should be the one in command."
Meiya, Salasma's chief adjutant and a holy knight, felt ashamed for failing to properly lead.
At that moment, movement stirred in the forest.
-Uwoong?
It was the wyvern's cry.
Then, merchants emerged from the fog at the sawmill's south entrance.
"Grrr."
"Kruu."
The merchants and their guards had already become undead.
The group that had left via the south road had been ambushed and slaughtered by the monsters, returning as undead.
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"Fast."
Azadin clicked his tongue at how much sooner than expected the merchant caravan had been wiped out.
The merchants aside, the accompanying mercenaries and adventurers shouldn't have been pushovers.
"Alright, everyone—combat formation!"
Azadin handed spears to Tarki, Kaka, the Chiko siblings, and holy knight Meiya, placing them up front.
He himself took a bow and positioned inside the warehouse building.
The undead made from the merchants and adventurers' corpses entered through the village entrance barricade.
Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed from the sky.
[Ahahaha. You lot are pretty entertaining?]
Surprisingly, the wyvern spoke in a young woman's voice.
Likely, the sorcerer behind this was borrowing the wyvern's body to convey her words.
'If you can control undead or other creatures anyway, it's convenient to possess something that flies like a wyvern. Secures vision and easy movement.'
Azadin had known from the start that the wyvern was the woman's possessed vessel.
With the vessel nearby, he addressed it.
"Are you the Herald clan member who wiped out this village?"
When Azadin asked, the voice sounded puzzled.
[What? How did you know that?]
"The merchants told us."
[That's right. Those bastards made me a slave and trampled everything of mine! Just because I inherited Herald clan blood! They treated me like a soulless stone!]
"Are you alive?"
[Of course I'm alive!]
Though she said that, most wraiths claimed the same, so he couldn't take it at face value.
"How did you gain this power?"
[Why should I tell you? If you're so curious, become one of my undead. Then you'll learn whether you like it or not!]
"Even though we're unrelated to those who abused you, you'll still treat us as enemies?"
[Shut up! If you alone have souls while I'm some soulless roadside pebble, then crushing your souls will be my mission! You fine Hubris folk! I'll dye your souls in agony!]
It seemed this sorcerer planned to vent her grudge against being enslaved and abused for her Herald clan blood on all Hubris folk.
As a fellow Herald clansman, Azadin felt deeply wronged.
With the situation like this, Midiam whispered to Azadin.
"If we reveal we're Herald clan, couldn't we persuade her?"
"Then what about that holy knight?"
"We'd have to kill her, obviously."
"And Tarki's half-brothers?"
"No choice then, is there?"
"Ah, Midiam."
Azadin sighed.
"You can't think of human lives so lightly. Even if she's a holy knight of the King's Church."
"Oh, my god. Are you serious?"
Ismail, who had overheard, was aghast.
"Then do you have some clever solution?"
"Well, she's the one saying the strong take all..."
Azadin shrugged.
"So we just have to show her who's strongest."
The corpses of adventurers and merchants approached from the sawmill village entrance toward the warehouse.
Azadin picked up an arrow and nocked it.
"Isn't it too far? Shouldn't we draw them in closer before shooting...?"
Meiya suggested luring them further before firing, but Azadin replied.
"I'd like to, but there are too many. For us, space is the barricade. If they take our space, the barricade shrinks too."
In other words, shoot from afar to secure as much space as possible.
Azadin said this and loosed the arrow.
-Swaeek!
The arrow flew with a sonic boom tearing the air.
-Thud!
It struck an adventurer's head squarely; the jawbone shattered, the arrow piercing inside the helmet and sending it flying.
The gruesome sound was a bonus.