Fair Trade (1)

The bows of the Messenger Clan, the Moon Horn Bows, were immensely powerful for their size. However, this was because they were made from composite materials, which made them vulnerable to moisture.

Even though today’s bows had been baked over fire and coated with wax yesterday, they still could not be considered in perfect condition.

“Don’t draw the bow too much.”

“Yes!”

“Then, begin!”

Azadine, Ismail, and Mediam loosed their arrows simultaneously.

The Nagas guarding the entrance of the building were startled and grabbed their weapons, but Azadine’s arrow pierced straight through one’s skull, while Ismail’s arrow embedded itself in another Naga’s eye.

However, Mediam’s arrow was deflected by the curved sword of a Naga. The Naga that had been struck in the eye let out a scream.

“Attackers!”

“Damn….”

Since they had not drawn the bows fully out of fear of them breaking, their shots lacked power, leading to this outcome.

At that moment….

–Thud!

A piece of wood suddenly shot into the mouth of one of the Naga sentries.

“Alright, that worked.”

Scott shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah, damn, my trapezius is growing. I need to stop this habit.”

“Well done, Scott. But did you just throw that?”

“No, I used magic. If I had thrown it, I’d end up with more muscle on my arms. And that’s the last thing I want.”

“Oh, I see. So, you’re worried about your trapezius because you shrugged, not because you threw something?”

“Exactly. Our kind gains muscle too easily, even from the smallest movements. And since I’m not human, my throwing speed isn’t great either. Orcs develop too much shoulder muscle, making it hard to throw things quickly.”

“Good job, then.”

Azadine praised Scott and positioned Mediam and Ismail near the entrance.

As the two nocked their arrows and aimed at the entrance, the Nagas, proving they weren’t fools, refrained from rushing through the narrow doorway. Instead, they hurled chairs through the windows.

“What the hell? Who are you guys?!”

“You dare challenge us? You inferior creatures!”

Azadine loosed an arrow. It shot through the window, followed by a scream.

“Guaaah!”

“Damn it!”

“The Messenger Clan?!”

The Nagas, seeing the arrows curve through the air, realized Azadine’s identity and were horrified.

However….

–Kuweeehk!

–Kak!

Suddenly, more Nagas appeared along the path leading to the building.

“What’s this?!”

“Are they enemies?!”

A Naga scouting party had arrived.

And there were a lot of them. Even one group had at least six, and since there were two groups, there were more than twelve. More Nagas were also inside the building.

On top of that….

“Kreeehk!”

The Naga struck by Azadine’s arrow stood up and yanked the arrow out before throwing it aside. Even though the arrow had clearly pierced through its skull, it hadn’t died.

Similarly, the Naga hit by Ismail’s arrow and Scott’s wooden projectile also got back up. Their regenerative abilities and vitality were truly remarkable.

‘Its brain is leaking out. No matter how strong a Naga is, it shouldn’t survive that. But it can still move for now.’

Meanwhile, Shati felt her heart pounding at the sight.

‘Oh. This seems like the perfect opportunity. But….’

She hesitated.

What if she betrayed them, but Azadine still won? The Nagas had the advantage in both numbers and forces, but Azadine had survived far worse. Hadn’t he even defeated Count Casel?

But if she actively helped Azadine and his group now, that would be an undeniable betrayal.

Although she had already betrayed the Nagas multiple times, she still wanted to believe she had room to justify herself.

At that moment….

“For the Dryland Tribe!”

Azadine shouted and immediately loosed another arrow at the Nagas.

“…For the Dryland Tribe!”

Mediam and Ismail quickly caught on and mimicked him, firing their arrows as well.

The Nagas retaliated with magic, but Mediam and Ismail enchanted their arrows with spells, and Sir Zebec unleashed a spell of judgment, overwhelming the larger Naga forces.

–Thud!

–Thwack!

Despite the risk of their bows snapping due to moisture, they fired with full force.

–Crack!

In the end, Azadine’s bow broke mid-battle. He pulled out another bow and strung it, but he had already used up all the arrows he had brought.

“Keek! These bastards!”

“You dare?!”

Just then, more Naga reinforcements arrived. These were the ones who had launched the assault on a kingdom’s capital. Their numbers were substantial, and their coordination was exceptional.

“We need to retreat.”

Azadine entered a nearby building.

“Chase them!”

“Those bastards!”

A Naga rushed in after Azadine, but the moment it entered the building….

–Thwack!

A bloodied Naga tumbled down the stairs.

“Huh?”

“W-Wait?!”

In the business district of Coral Sahar, the buildings were packed closely together, allowing for an escape by heading upstairs. To prevent that, the enemy needed to be stopped from entering the stairs….

–Thwack!

Another Naga who attempted to enter the stairs was struck and sent tumbling down, bloodied.

Azadine had stayed behind to handle the Nagas trying to ascend and had knocked two of them back down.

“Azadine!”

“Go on ahead!”

“Are you sure?!”

“Of course! I’m fast on my feet. Head to the rooftop and return to the ship!”

Saying this, Azadine held his position in the narrow stairwell.

Just then, a Naga entered wielding a long spear. Unlike the usual bulky, physically strong Naga form, this one had taken the shape of an Elf.

Though in the form of an Elf, his vertical slit pupils revealed his true nature. The man casually twirled his spear and beckoned Azadine with his hand.

“Staying behind alone… You must be quite confident in your skills. If you stayed willingly, you must be a bold one.”

“You’re in an Elf’s form instead of a Naga’s? That’s unusual. Doesn’t your Naga form have more weight and strength?”

“In confined spaces, especially on stairs, it’s easier to maintain balance with two legs. If I crawled around on my tail, I’d likely slip and fall. Is that what you were hoping for?”

The Naga had seen through Azadine’s intentions and entered in Elf form.

“In that case—!”

As Azadine feinted a forward movement, a barrier of spear blades appeared before him.

As expected, this Naga was highly skilled with the spear.

Azadine tried to deflect the spear with his sword, aiming to pin it against the wall or floor, but the opponent anticipated this and avoided the parry, trying to exploit the opening it created.

Azadine and the Naga dueled, their weapons never actually clashing but rather slicing through the air like a deadly dance. Both feinted and laid traps, but their foresight was evenly matched, preventing any direct confrontation.

After a brief exchange, both instinctively took a step back.

“Impressive. Are you the leader?”

“You too. A Messenger Clan member, right? Not from Arael’s faction but the Council’s side?”

“……”

“You don’t have to answer. I’ll assume you’re from the Council. If that’s the case, I think we can make a good deal.”

“A deal?”

The unexpected word caught Azadine off guard. The Nagas had the numbers and the advantage—why would they offer to negotiate first?

“Yes.”

Seeing Azadine’s interest, the Elf-shaped Naga smiled.

“Hm. Let’s hear it, then. I hope it’s not something dull, like asking me to serve under you.”

“Relax. It’s nothing like that. Right now, we are under the command of the Sea Serpent Tribe’s general. The problem is, those Sea Serpent Tribe bastards are heretics.”

“Heretics?”

“Yes. Instead of serving the Cobra Queen, many of them now worship the gods of the Nether.”

“……”

“They’ve actually encountered Nether entities in the deep sea and have been transformed. They’re no longer truly our kin. And yet, they’ve allied with the Messenger Clan and convinced our Mahaatma—that is, our chieftain—to join them. This alone enrages me, but what’s worse is that the Messenger Clan’s witch has truly weakened the Light of the Crown, allowing them to invade Coral Sahar successfully. They are on the verge of complete victory, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“So?”

“I want you to attack only the Sea Serpent Tribe and leave our Water Snake Tribe alone. In exchange, I’ll provide maps and information.”

“……”

“This is our map. It shows the divided zones for each tribe. It’s written in Naga script, but I’ll annotate it in Saharan for you. What do you think?”

Azadine wasn’t sure if this was a trap, but the deal seemed too good to be deceitful.

“The offer’s too good to refuse. Alright.”

“I’m glad we can talk this through. I’ll take out a pen—is that alright?”

“Go ahead.”

Azadine, signaling his willingness to negotiate, sheathed his sword. The Naga set down his spear, pulled out a pen, dipped it in ink, and began marking the map.

As he worked, Azadine asked,

“The Messenger Clan members here… Are they Dimia of the Flower and Janis?”

“You know them well. I hear they’re key officers under Arael’s faction.”

“I am Azadine, the 108th Messenger of the Emperor. And you?”

“I am Raja Dehares of the Water Snake Tribe.”

Finishing the annotations, Raja Dehares tossed the map to Azadine.

“Raja… That means royalty, doesn’t it?”

“More precisely, I am a vassal king. You could compare me to a count in your system.”

“A high rank, then.”

“In any case, go. Don’t let it slip that I helped you, and only fight the Sea Serpent Tribe. If you enter our territory and attack us, consider the deal broken.”

“Understood.”

Azadine took the map and was about to ascend the stairs when he paused.

“Do you know how they weakened the Light of the Crown? Any clues?”

“All I know is that some kind of ritual was performed at the lighthouse. Fortunately for you, the lighthouse is in the Sea Serpent Tribe’s territory.”

“So I should investigate it myself?”

“Exactly.”

“Any place where I can resupply arrows?”

“There are a few armories that both our tribe and the Sea Serpent Tribe requisitioned. There should be some arrows left. I’ve marked their heavy-patrol zones on the map, so they should be easy to find. Also….”

Raja Dehares removed a bracelet from his wrist and tossed it to Azadine.

“If you run into our tribe, show them this. If you get caught by the Sea Serpent Tribe, just claim you stole it. If they capture you alive, you’d be better off killing yourself.”

“You’re afraid I’d break and expose you under torture?”

“Just a friendly warning. I don’t particularly enjoy eating humans. It’s a tasteless act.”

“But earlier, it looked like you were capturing humans.”

“I had no choice. The humans invading our zone are trying to send dispatches from Coral Sahar to call for reinforcements. I can’t allow that.”

“They seemed to be just residents. As a gesture of goodwill, would you let them go?”

“What? Do you even know the value of the bracelet I gave you? I’ve already made plenty of concessions….”

“You’ll sell them off anyway, won’t you? I’ll return it when the time comes. Besides, when making high-stakes gambles, wouldn’t it be better to improve your chances?”

“How does sparing these humans improve my chances?”

“I’m the impulsive type. If they live, I’ll feel better, which will boost my abilities. It’ll also ease my fatigue.”

“Hah. Hahaha.”

Raja Dehares burst into laughter at Azadine’s ridiculous logic.

“You’re an amusing one. Fine. I’ll try to minimize harm to the humans. But only for today. If you don’t bring me some interesting news by the end of the day, I’ll start killing them again.”

“A one-day truce? That’s more than enough. Thanks.”

Having secured the deal, Azadine turned and headed to the rooftop.