Episode 86

“Hmm, do you know me?”

Sir Ject smiled as he responded. At that moment, a chilling aura emanated from him. Though his face held a smile, he was clearly displeased with the thief before him.

Even the Holy Knights accompanying Ject, as well as the Thief King Donear—meeting Ject for the first time—could sense his mood. Donear hurriedly spoke.

“I am Donear, an operative for Count Lantarique. I am not a mere thief, but rather engaged in covert operations under his orders.”

“Oh….”

“I have seen the Messenger you are looking for with my own eyes.”

“Is that so? Excellent. Lead the way, please.”

Sir Ject was still smiling.

‘Good, I’m alive… for now.’

Donear felt relief as the suffocating pressure from Ject disappeared. Just moments ago, Ject had considered killing him simply for laying eyes on him.

But if Donear was indeed an operative for Count Lantarique? Killing him would undoubtedly give the Count leverage to cause trouble. News of bandits being eradicated would surely spread.

“Lead the way quickly, please.”

“Ah, yes. But this….”

Donear wobbled to his feet, blood trickling from his thigh.

“Oh, you’re injured. Hmm. I should help with that.”

Sir Ject smiled as he spoke.

“Oh, thank you—ugh?!”

Donear gasped in horror. From Sir Ject’s hand emerged a wriggling, blood-red worm—or rather, something closer to a small venomous snake.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing. This will heal your wound and give you strength.”

“A-ah….”

The blood-red snake burrowed into Donear’s thigh. Holy Knight Zebec, witnessing the scene, frowned.

“Arghhhhh!”

Donear’s piercing scream tore through the air.

Shati, the Naga operative, was locked in an underground prison, her neck bound by a collar. Before the bandits left, they had secured her with a blade at her throat.

‘I can’t move an inch. Why is this thing so sturdy?’

Though Nagas were physically stronger than humans, using her strength with the blade collar on her neck would only result in tearing her own throat. Just then, footsteps echoed through the prison.

“Hey, is this okay? The boss values these slaves.”

“That’s why we’ll just mess with them while he’s gone.”

“What if they report us to the boss?”

“They’re all going to be disposed of this week anyway.”

It seemed the bandits had come to indulge their desires while their leader was absent. But they mentioned “disposing of them this week”?

At that moment, a commotion arose among the bandits. Another set of footsteps descended into the prison.

The intruder into Donear’s underground prison was none other than his court jester, Sir Brand.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Isn’t that the old geezer? What’s he doing here…?”

The bandits mocked him until they noticed the elderly man holding a crowbar. Their expressions quickly changed.

“Hey, old man, put that down.”

“No, it is you who should lay down your weapons.”

“What?”

The next moment, the bandits realized they had fallen into a trap. The narrow underground corridor left no room for escape, and the old man’s outfit—a mockery of armor adorned with brass utensils—suddenly seemed formidable.

“No way!”

The bandits reached for their swords, but the old man’s crowbar swung faster through the air.

‘What’s happening out there?’

Shati listened to the commotion from her cell. Her imagination ran wild with the limited information, most of it leading to unpleasant conclusions.

Given her current situation, any optimistic scenario was likely wishful thinking. Her mission had failed, her comrades were dead, and a collar bound her neck. Just then, the door opened.

“Come out, young lady.”

The clownish old man with a brass washbasin for a helmet unlocked her cell. Behind him stood other women, some as bewildered as she was, others clearly understanding the situation.

‘A planned revolt. Some of them were well-prepared. The ones clueless about it must be newcomers.’

Shati quickly grasped the situation and stepped out of her cell. Among the composed women, a leader emerged—a woman dressed in rags barely worthy of the name “clothing.” She pulled out a key and unlocked the collar around Shati’s neck.

“Well then, let’s escape. Gather food, supplies, clothing, and shoes. Once that’s done, we’ll set this place on fire.”

“Where will we escape to?”

“We’ll head toward Count Lantarique’s domain. If we follow the water westward, we’ll reach his lands.”

“A straight path, then. But I don’t think we have any other choice. Oh, by the way, do you have my belongings? There’s something very important in them….”

“Are you looking for this?”

The woman in rags held up Shati’s briefcase.

“Ah!”

“I’ll keep this for now.”

She spoke and picked up a small sword from one of the slain bandits.

“……”

Drawing the blade slightly before sheathing it, her practiced motions indicated familiarity with weapons.

“I overheard the bandits say you’re a Naga. Is that true?”

The woman’s sharp gaze bore into Shati. Judging by her stance and demeanor, she was no ordinary individual.

“Yes, I am. I am a trusted aide to the great Cobra Queen, Debyslin. However, the bandits stole something critical from me. If we don’t seal it again….”

“If you don’t seal it, what happens?”

Shati had unsealed the copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth when she was captured by the bandits, deliberately triggering its tracking spell. However, unless the seal was restored, they would eventually be tracked.

‘But if I ask for it now, I’ll have to fight them.’

Shati carefully chose her words as she noticed the woman eyeing her warily.

“For now, if you cooperate with us, I will return it to you later. Until then, I will keep it safe.”

The runaway slave woman, aware of Shati’s interest in the bag, held onto it as leverage to keep her in check.

“Let’s go.”

The elderly man with the crowbar took the lead. The women gathered the necessary items from the bandit’s lair and set it ablaze.

‘Is this really necessary? Wouldn’t this just draw the bandits here?’

Shati wondered but soon understood why the fire was set.

The route from the bandit’s hideout to Count Lantarique’s territory led through a treacherous gorge spanned by a suspension bridge made of wood and ropes.

It wasn’t an ordinary makeshift bridge; the ropes were as thick as a man’s arm, reinforced with wire. Cutting it with a blade would only bend or break the blade.

The old man with the brass washbasin helmet poured oil on the bridge and set it aflame, destroying the bridge. If they had intended to escape silently, they could have left it intact. But since they planned to cut the bridge anyway, they didn’t fear the smoke drawing attention.

While they burned the bridge, a group arrived at the bandit’s hideout. It was Azadine and his companions, leading three Kerim goats.

“Greetings, everyone.”

“Ugh, it’s… it’s him….”

Shati frowned as she spotted Azadine, who had tracked her this far.

“We’ve come to capture that woman who is holding something important to us. We would greatly appreciate it if you handed her over.”

“Hah, unbelievable! That’s not even yours to begin with!”

“It is ours! It belongs to our Aragasa!”

Unable to hold back, Mediam shouted, drawing puzzled looks from the group.

“Aragasa? What’s that?”

“It’s the Messenger Clan!”

Shati revealed Azadine’s group’s identity as the Messenger Clan.

“So, at least you’re not allies of the bandits.”

Sir Brand felt reassured upon hearing that Azadine’s group were Messengers.

“The bridge is already destroyed, so they’ll probably just try shooting arrows, right? It’s dangerous, but the distance is considerable, and they’re civilians…. Huh?”

At that moment, Azadine’s group mounted their Kerim goats and began descending the steep path. They soon scaled the cliffs effortlessly. The goats, much better suited for rough terrain than horses, climbed the impossible cliff as if it were flat ground.

“What!”

Shati was stunned to see Azadine’s group rushing toward her, ascending the rugged cliff with ease. Their feat lent credibility to the widespread rumors about the Messenger Clan’s extraordinary abilities.

However, Sir Brand, the elderly man with the brass washbasin helmet, pointed his crowbar at Azadine.

“Stop right there!”

“Haha, what’s with this old man? Why is he wearing a washbasin on his head?”

Mediam chuckled and reached for her sword while still on the goat, but Azadine raised his hand to stop her and came to a halt himself.

“Huh?”

“We are not here to harm you. We only wish to retrieve the item she has stolen from us.”

“I understand that you are not allied with the bandits, but if you attempt to take something from a woman in distress by force, I will not forgive you.”

“Why? You don’t seem to have a deep connection with her, so why trust her to this extent?”

Azadine was genuinely curious. This group of elderly and runaway slaves was far from being in a comfortable situation.

“Do you really need to keep a suspicious Naga woman in your group?”

“We are only weak and elderly. Among us are pregnant women. If we start abandoning people just because we don’t ‘need’ them, we’ll all end up scattered.”

The old man pointed his crowbar at Azadine.

“So, rather than abandoning someone here for safety, I would rather fight and die. Even if she’s a thief, as you claim, I won’t step aside right now.”

“Haha, you’re being stubborn. You know it’s foolish, yet you insist on protecting her?”

“Because my knees are trembling as if they’re about to give out. If I don’t stand firm and resist, I’m afraid I’ll grovel in fear before evil again.”

“To avoid being cowardly, you’re resorting to stubbornness? Fine.”

Azadine jumped off his Kerim goat and landed gracefully.

Was he going to fight?

Everyone took a step back in fear, but Azadine stood where he landed and bowed politely.

“It is the mission of the Emperor’s messenger to answer the voices of the people. I will help you.”

“Are you serious?”

This time, the old man was taken aback. Behind him, Ismail grumbled.

“We don’t even have gold coins, and yet….”

“Wait a moment!”

The Naga woman, Shati, protested. Hearing Azadine’s words, she realized he intended to join the runaway slaves.

“It’s obviously a lie! That Messenger Clan is just using sweet words to manipulate you because they’re after my belongings!”

Ironically, it was Shati who seemed flustered and started babbling nonsensically. Azadine, noticing her mistake, began pressing her subtly.