Episode 99

From afar, the sound of a whistle echoed. The sentries in Count Lantarique’s camp blew their whistles, and commotion erupted within the camp.

Someone had launched an attack on the Count’s camp.

“W-what?! Is that your doing?”

Yarabin was startled by the sight and questioned Azadine.

“Stay calm! Whether it’s his doing or not, we deal with this now!”

Nefti didn’t allow herself to be distracted and pointed her sword at Azadine.

“That might be difficult.”

Azadine drew his sword. However, Nefti had noticed the smell of blood and the pain visible on his tightly drawn lips when she first saw him.

This man was injured, and his confident words were nothing but bravado! Even if he weren’t injured, there was no way she would lose to him!

“I don’t want to kill Lord Arael’s brother, but it seems I have no choice.”

Nefti lunged at Azadine’s throat with lightning speed. Azadine retreated and raised his sword to parry.

He acted with confidence, believing his strength surpassed Nefti’s, a woman’s. But in that instant, Nefti switched her strike to a stab at his wrist.

She had baited his parry to strike his wrist instead!

Azadine was forced to retreat another step, and at that moment, Nefti threw a dagger with her left hand.

— Clang!

In mid-air, her dagger collided with another dagger. Azadine, retreating, had thrown a dagger of his own. Both of them demonstrated their skill as members of the Messenger Clan, but Nefti confirmed her suspicion.

‘What a weakling for a man. His injury must be serious.’

Seeing how their daggers bounced off each other, it was clear Azadine lacked power. Nefti circled around him, launching a series of rapid thrusts.

— Clink, clink!

Azadine, anticipating a fight, had donned chainmail under his cloak. As her blade scraped against the mail, broken links scattered across the fortress wall.

“Azadine!”

Mediam tried to intervene, but Yarabin blocked her path. When Zebec drew his sword, Yarabin swung his sickle—a large, forward-curving hook—aiming for his neck.

— Clash!

Zebec’s sword and Yarabin’s sickle locked together.

“Impressive, holy knight!”

Yarabin unleashed a flurry of attacks, driving Zebec back.

“What… what should I do?”

Mediam nocked an arrow on her bow but hesitated. The duel between Azadine and Nefti was so fast and intense that even a sharpshooter would hesitate to fire. However…

‘Huh?’

Azadine was closing in on Yarabin from behind.

“Ah!”

Nefti thrust her sword toward Azadine’s back, but Azadine was quicker. He turned, throwing another dagger backward toward Nefti.

Nefti instinctively deflected the dagger with her sword, but—

“Ugh?!”

With a loud crash, Nefti staggered back. Her sword cracked, and her hand trembled. The blow had been far heavier than anything she had experienced earlier.

If Nefti hadn’t turned her head quickly, the dagger would have struck her blade and pierced her skull.

‘What’s going on? How can an injured man have such strength?’

The next moment was even more shocking.

“Surprisingly light.”

Azadine effortlessly grabbed Yarabin and threw him out of the watchtower.

“…?!”

Yarabin, though not as large as Kahsan, was still a sizable man. Even for a Messenger who had trained rigorously, tossing him like a pebble was astounding.

“…?!”

Zebec, Mediam, and Ismail were equally stunned.

They had all seen Azadine injured earlier, yet now he moved with ease, as if his wounds had vanished.

“Well, this should throw them into disarray. Ismail!”

“Yes.”

“Take care of the reconnaissance team circling above.”

“Understood.”

Ismail, though swayed by the promises of Arael’s faction, was still loyal to Azadine. As a servant from the Ethar family, he felt a pull toward Arael’s vision of a new order. Being born into servitude meant dedicating one’s life to the family they served.

Even if one had the ability to become a Messenger, the tradition dictated that points be awarded to the scion of the family they served. Romantic feelings, should they arise, were also out of reach, a dream too far.

Exceptional success as a Messenger might lead to adoption into the family or marriage into a lower-ranking noble house, but that was a rare fortune. For most, servitude remained their lifelong reality.

Even though Ismail had attained the rank of attendant, Arael’s rebellion had shaken the entire Aragasa clan, leaving him torn between Nefti’s group and Azadine. But Azadine had triumphed.

‘I planned to observe and side with the winner, but I didn’t expect him to win. How is he so overwhelming despite his injury?’

With suspicion in his eyes, Ismail fired a magically charged arrow at the reconnaissance team hovering above.

“Well then, Nefti.”

As Zebec and Azadine approached, Nefti realized she had no chance of victory. She had underestimated Azadine from the start. His movements were fluid, showing no trace of injury.

At first, he had feigned weakness during their duel, but now he had revealed his true strength.

“Tch! I was deceived! This isn’t over!”

Nefti threw herself off the fortress wall. She used her sword and sickle to scrape against the wall, slowing her descent, and landed gracefully on the ground. Zebec, watching in astonishment, widened his eyes.

“Amazing. How could she survive a fall from that height?”

For an ordinary person, it would have been a fatal drop. But just as Zebec leaned over the wall to watch, Azadine grabbed his cloak.

— Thwack!

An arrow shot past where Zebec’s head had been. Messengers stationed below had anticipated that Zebec would lean over to check on Nefti and had fired.

The Messengers who had predicted their kin’s battle patterns and fired arrows were remarkable, but so was Azadine, who had foreseen this and pulled Zebec out of harm’s way.

“Thank you. That was a close call. But what about your injury? Are you alright?”

“Well, that’s…”

At that moment, a trapdoor beneath the fortress wall opened, and a head popped out. It was Shati, one of the Naga agents who had infiltrated Salasma.

“Hey, warm-blood! An undead army just showed up behind the Count’s forces! They seem to be after the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth. Shouldn’t we be running?”

“Is that so? They’re faster than I expected.”

Azadine approached Shati.

“Are you feeling alright, warm-blood? I wonder if the Cobra Queen’s magic worked well for you.”

“Thanks to her.”

“Huh?”

Zebec, overhearing this, was visibly shocked.

“Wait, you received magic from the Kurt God Tribe?”

“Yes.”

“But how is that even possible…?”

“It’s a long story, but to put it simply, this Naga woman had no choice but to cooperate with me. The green magic of the Kurt God Tribe accelerates the body’s metabolism. An injury that would normally take a month to heal can be reduced to about a week.”

“Then your body isn’t fully healed yet.”

“No, it’s not. Besides, the magic was designed for the Naga’s physiology, so it doesn’t work perfectly for me. But it’s enough to fool Nefti.”

“What about the attack on the Count’s forces?”

“That’s because I unsealed the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.”

“What?”

“If you just carry it around sealed, tracking spells attract pests to follow you…”

Zebec nodded in understanding. He had seen Ject use magic to track copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth before. But wasn’t it Azadine who had eluded such tracking, forcing Ject to send the Wraith Knights instead?

“I unsealed it because it seemed like the Count wouldn’t listen.”

In other words, Azadine had deliberately unsealed the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth to break free from the siege by Count Lantarique.

“What a reckless move…”

To do such a thing while being pursued by Ject? It was far too bold. But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“Well then, shall we?”

“Shall we… what?”

Zebec was alarmed at what Azadine could possibly plan next.

“Damn it, I let my guard down because I thought he was injured.”

As Nefti grumbled, Kahsan chuckled.

“When we Aragasa say we lost because we underestimated someone, isn’t that a compliment to them?”

Kahsan, too, had underestimated Azadine because of his reputation and had been thrown aside as a result. Seeing others experience the same fate gave him some satisfaction.

“This isn’t something to laugh about. Let’s return to the Count’s forces. What’s going on over there now?”

As Nefti started walking forward, a metallic sound rang out behind them.

— Creak, creak…

The fortress gate opened, and out came horses, Kerim mountain goats, and Azadine’s group.

“What’s this? What are you doing, Azadine?”

“What else?”

Azadine responded to Nefti’s confusion.

“We’re rescuing the villagers the Count has captured and making our escape.”

“What?!”

Nefti grabbed her bow, but as people poured out of the fortress alongside Azadine, Zebec, and Azadine’s attendants, she realized the situation was not in her favor. On top of that, Azadine’s attitude lacked any hostility.

“So, how about a temporary truce? In return, I’ll give you a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.”

“…?!”

“You have a copy?”

“Yes.”

Azadine pulled out the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth. It appeared as an ordinary sheet of paper but emitted a faint magical glow and an overwhelming sense of power.

“This is…”

“It’s real!”

Nefti and Kahsan gasped.

“What will it be? Will you accept the truce, or will you fight?”

“…”

For Nefti, there was no guarantee they could defeat Azadine’s group in this situation.

‘And besides, this man is Arael’s brother.’

Killing Azadine would mean bearing the burden of having killed Arael’s blood relative. Facing an uncertain outcome against an opponent who offered a gift like the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth to secure peace made refusing the offer seem foolish.

“Fine. We’ll accept the truce. But if the Count has an issue, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

“Alright, then take it.”

Azadine readily handed over the copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth. Watching this, Mediam and Ismail clicked their tongues.

“He’s giving away a copy…”

“What recklessness. If the elders or clan leaders hear of this, they’ll accuse him of treason for trading with rebels.”

Though Ismail had been swayed by Arael’s faction, he understood the risk and irresponsibility of Azadine’s actions. If this became known, Azadine would have no defense against accusations of treason.

In fact, wasn’t Azadine already dismissed from his position as a Messenger because of suspicions of collaboration with Arael? And now he was handing over a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth?

‘Even if this is a trap, isn’t this going too far? His nerve is unbelievable.’

Ismail thought he had grown accustomed to Azadine, but this man never ceased to amaze him.