The Island Of The Naga (4)

Dehashuram felt a subtle irritation at Azadine’s veiled barbs, but he was a man who, despite being a Nagaraja, could imitate a merchant quite convincingly.

‘Proud like a true hero. Yes, a man should have at least this much pride.’

With the composure of the strong, Dehashuram laughed off Azadine’s remarks.

“Regardless, you’ve achieved something remarkable. Even if the public doesn’t know, if you explain what you’ve done to the Messenger Clan, they’ll understand that you have the skills and status to deserve recognition. Why didn’t you do that?”

“Because… it’s my pride.”

“Pride?”

“I don’t want to bow my head and beg affection from a clan that won’t accept me. I don’t want to prove myself by showing them all I’ve accomplished. More than anything, I don’t agree with what our clan is doing right now. To gain their recognition, I’d have to help them and act the way they do, right? But that’s something I just can’t accept.”

“What exactly is it that you can’t accept?”

“The unnecessary escalation of slaughter. The act of massacring people who aren’t even enemies, just civilians.”

“Neither the Messenger Clan’s Council of Elders nor the Arael faction would consider that slaughter unnecessary. I don’t either. Those who serve the King’s Church will never accept you taking the throne. So what’s wrong with preemptively killing them to weaken their power?”

“Still, I think it’s unnecessary. Even if someone is irredeemably evil, killing should be considered carefully. I don’t want to slaughter people en masse just because of differing views—people like farmers, merchants, or fishermen who know nothing.”

“Then you mean to say you’ve headed to Vthuma not as a member of the Council or the Arael faction, but simply to stop their invasion, to warn them? Using your status as a Blue Turban Party priest to organize them and block our Naga as effectively as possible?”

“Exactly.”

With that, Azadine drew the Azure Steel longsword strapped to his back. The blade gave off a chilling wail.

“Surely you’re not thinking of cutting your way through all these Naga to escape? Haha.”

“It’s not a matter of whether I can. It’s whether I must.”

“I invited you here. Since your arrival, I’ve treated you with full courtesy, disarmed no weapons, and put no drugs in your food. We’ve honored the customs of hospitality. And now you mean to break that?”

Dehashuram smiled as he looked at Azadine.

His bodyguards, on alert, drew their weapons and hissed at Azadine, but Azadine was confident he could sever Dehashuram’s neck far faster than any of them could move.

However, the fact that Dehashuram had observed the customs of hospitality in good faith was the real problem.

Killing someone who had shown genuine hospitality? Azadine, who had resolved to head to Vthuma to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, couldn’t possibly commit such a disgraceful act.

But attacking Dehashuram and the Naga here would directly align with Azadine’s goal of stopping the massacre in Vthuma.

Should he break the custom of hospitality and strike Dehashuram to protect Vthuma?

Or should he uphold the custom?

Azadine let out a long sigh and looked at Dehashuram.

“Dehashuram. Is there something else you want? If so, let’s make a deal. I can’t stand dragging this out, using hospitality as an excuse to prolong my life. I want to reach Vthuma as soon as possible.”

“Surely you don’t think I’d engage in some kind of deal with a fish that’s already in my net?”

“If what you want is more than just conversation, then there’s surely something to bargain for.”

Yet even Azadine wasn’t certain. From what he had observed, Dehashuram was a curious man—no, Naga.

If Azadine’s logic was correct, then Dehashuram surely wanted more from him than just a recounting of the past.

‘Normally, I’d bluff a bit first…’

Azadine could feel sweat collecting in the hand that held his Azure Steel longsword, Parangi.

‘It just feels wrong to kill a host who treated me with such sincerity.’

In other words, he was already resolved to sever Dehashuram’s head if necessary.

Then, Dehashuram opened his mouth.

“If that’s what you think, then you’ve read me well. Hoo-hoo. As it happens, I do have a deal for you.”

“Ah. That’s a relief.”

“Isn’t it? I think so too.”

Dehashuram gave a meaningful smile.

‘I’m just glad I don’t have to cut off your head.’

That’s what Azadine thought, but he had no intention of saying it out loud and ruining the mood.

The Naga were originally proud of having served Debyslin, the Cobra Queen of the Kurt God Clan, and fighting the wicked ancient gods of the Nether who once threatened the Hubris Continent.

However, the faith in the Nether was now spreading among the Naga themselves.

Those most susceptible were the Sea Serpent Nagas, who were already influenced by the deep sea. Once blessed by the Nether, the already large and powerful Sea Serpent Nagas became utterly feral, leaving the other Naga clans helpless to resist them.

Naturally, the rest of the Naga were deeply dissatisfied with the situation. They had always taken pride in preserving civilization by fighting the Nether.

And now they had to admit that their own kin, corrupted by the emissaries of the Nether, were too powerful to stop?

“So we try to get the Sea Serpent Nagas to fight the Hubris humans or the Messenger Clan as much as possible, to reduce their numbers. It’s not pleasant from the human perspective, but for us, there’s nothing to lose.”

“Isn’t that a bit too blatant? Don’t the Sea Serpent Nagas complain?”

“Those who’ve become thralls of the Nether are quite dull-witted. Deceiving them with sweet words isn’t hard. But…”

“But?”

“Since they’ve become beasts without reason, they constantly force their demands on us, rudely and stupidly. They don’t listen. Just recently, I told them not to touch my servant, but they still kidnapped our gardener’s son.”

“…….”

“Gardener.”

“Ah, yes.”

A middle-aged man came forward holding a small shoe and a dog leash.

“My boy went out looking for his missing dog and… ended up being taken by the Nagas.”

“You want me to rescue him—or avenge him if he’s dead?”

“Yes. Please. If you succeed, I’ll officially claim you escaped. I’ll even provide a small boat. I’ll teach Shati a water current control spell so she can steer the boat. That should let you escape.”

“And if I fail and get caught?”

“Then I’ll deny everything. You’ll be treated as a rogue who tried to exploit our hospitality for espionage and assassination, your honor ruined, and you’ll be executed. That’s just how it is.”

“Hmm. Got it. I’ll try.”

Azadine decided to accept Dehashuram’s request.

“A-Are you sure about this, Priest Azadine? There are so many Naga.”

Jiswa was flustered. No matter how you looked at it, Dehashuram’s request was absurd.

The Naga encampment contained at least hundreds of Sea Serpent Nagas, and these creatures had incredible senses and combat ability.

To sneak into their camp and find the gardener’s child—or avenge him? No matter how skilled Azadine or Scott were, it was not something such a small group could possibly pull off.

“It’s not too difficult, so don’t worry, Jiswa. More importantly, you focus on preparing the supplies.”

“Supplies?”

“If we’re going to escape by boat and reach Vthuma from here, we’ll need food and water. Pack them carefully into a bag for us.”

“…Oh. Okay?”

That meant Azadine didn’t plan to bring Jiswa on the infiltration mission near the Naga camp. He was just to stay behind and pack supplies.

Jiswa was taken aback by Azadine’s confident attitude, as if he had already succeeded.

“Are you really sure? I mean, I’m relieved not to go anywhere dangerous, but if I stay, that leaves just you and Scott.”

“Do you want to fight, Jiswa? Feel like showing off your bravery?”

“N-No, that’s not it. I am a blood sorcerer, but I’m not that advanced…”

Jiswa looked embarrassed.

“Too many people will just draw more attention. For infiltration, smaller groups are better. Shall we begin, Scott?”

“Yeah, boss. I’ve rested, so my mana’s recovered. I’m ready any time. Just… I need a corpse to start.”

“I’ll get you one soon enough.”

Azadine said that as he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting.

Jiswa warned Azadine.

“Sea Serpent Nagas can still see well even after sunset. They live in the deep sea where light barely reaches, and everything that flows in their bodies—whether skin mucus or blood—is poisonous to humans…”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Azadine said that and bid a brief farewell to Jiswa.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Parting from Jiswa, Azadine and Scott moved through the darkness toward the Sea Serpent Nagas’ encampment.

“Voice of the Emperor.”

[You’re looking for the human boy and the dog, I take it?]

“You heard, huh. What do you think?”

[I’ll search for them.]

A moment later, the Voice of the Emperor responded.

[…I found them. But they’re dead. Not in any state to be shown to their parents.]

“Which tent?”

[From the ridge where you are, go down. It’s the fourth tent. Both the child and the dog were eaten.]

“Then that’s a death sentence.”

Azadine approached the Sea Serpent Nagas’ tent.

“Uh, boss—if we’re infiltrating, I can’t follow you.”

Scott called out as he trailed behind Azadine.

Azadine, being agile, could probably make it to the fourth tent without being noticed by the Nagas—but Scott couldn’t.

That was what he meant, but Azadine looked puzzled.

“What are you talking about? We’ll kill all the way from the nearest tent to the fourth.”

“Huh?”

“You think the kid and dog just walked up to the fourth tent? They were kidnapped at the first tent and butchered at the fourth. That means everyone along the way is an accomplice.”

“Ah. So you’re saying they’re all guilty. Got it, boss. But… did I hear that right? We’re killing all of them?”

As Scott raised that question, Azadine drew the bow of Grimslone and, for the first time in a while, strung the x-tan bowstring and fired a stone.

The x-tan bowstring was crafted with two main strings and a leather loop between them, allowing it to fire stones. The stones it launched had devastating power. But would it work against Sea Serpent Nagas with their thick scales, tough hide, and toxic mucus?

Scott got his answer immediately.

Whump!

With a terrifying sound, the Naga’s head was torn off completely.