Chapter 201. The Traitor of the Clan (3)
The boy had to abandon his dreams from childhood.
‘Our family has received a great favor from the Aether bloodline, therefore you must serve her faithfully.’
Though still young, Ishmael understood the hidden meaning of those words.
Do not put yourself first, but sacrifice and yield everything to Midiam.
Abandon your chance for self-realization, and sacrifice only for the benefit of the family.
Sadly, food too precious to give up always found its way into his mouth, and the petty tolerance and mercy bestowed by the Aether bloodline were real, so the boy broke his own dreams.
And so, he decided to admire the girl.
He knew.
The girl was beautiful and arrogant, and though she might glance at the boy who lowered himself and became her servant, she would never give him her heart.
After abandoning his dreams, it was unbearable unless he deceived himself.
But then this man, rejected by the entire clan, suddenly spoke of how beautiful the stars were...
Of longing for the Knights of Salvation, who served the angels that sacrificed themselves to protect humanity. Of duty and role as the emperor’s herald.
He spoke of aesthetics and justice.
He spoke of dreams unbroken.
Disgusting. Vile and hateful.
At a time when the clan was moving to seize and dominate everything, this revolting man dared to stand in their way.
Was he sane?
If you weighed such a man against the clan, there was no question where the scales would tilt. Any sane person would, of course, choose the clan.
And yet...
The boy let go.
This man, disgusting, annoying, truly detestable to the core—yet somehow the boy chose him instead of the clan.
In truth, he already knew.
The reason this man was so revolting, was because he was a mirror.
The clearer and purer the mirror, the uglier and more hateful the reflection of oneself it revealed.
That was why he was disgusting.
This man, who spoke of the dreams the boy had long since given up, and the clan, consumed with ambition to devour everything.
The boy’s scales leaned toward the man.
***
When Ishmael let go, Grimslawn’s cudgel once again began to dance, striking at Haldun’s group.
“Y-you bastard! Colluding with the enemy!”
Haldun, caught by Azadin, shouted, but Azadin easily tightened his grip around Haldun’s neck and knocked him unconscious in an instant.
“Time to sleep, little one.”
Haldun’s startled servants tried to rush in, but Azadin tossed the unconscious Haldun aside and charged at them.
It was as if a ferocious bear had leapt into a flock of sheep. A gale raged, and the servants were flung aside.
“U-unbelievable!”
“This is the dullard Azadin!?”
Haldun’s servants had been secretly confident that their skills were worthy of being proper heralds.
Thus they disdained Azadin, who was only fortunate enough to become Elder Kazas’s disciple and to have Aldis as his patron.
But Azadin was a monster beyond their expectations.
When they tried belatedly to flee, Ishmael and Midiam joined Azadin and blocked their retreat.
“Y-you traitors! Why….”
“Betrayal was the work of the elder council. The curse of service was not the emperor’s doing, but that of the elder council, of Chieftain Hatir.”
“Lies!”
“That’s the expected reaction. But since I’m not carrying proof around right now, let’s save the debate for later. For now, will you quietly surrender?”
Azadin steadily subdued Haldun’s servants.
In the end, Haldun and his men all lay sprawled on the ground.
“Astonishing. Azadin. Even when I saw you before, you were remarkable, but now you have gained even more incredible strength.”
Midiam admired Azadin, who so easily dealt with Haldun’s group. Originally, she had intended to help, but in the end, she and Ishmael only blocked their retreat—Azadin himself handled most of it.
“But you did not kill them.”
Ishmael clicked his tongue, looking at Haldun’s men groaning on the ground.
“If I kill them, there’s no turning back.”
“They tried to kill you. Isn’t this too arrogant? And from the clan’s point of view, you are a great criminal who pours cold water on the clan’s desires. As your father was, so will you be a target to be struck down at sight. Why would you….”
“If they become a threat, then there’s no choice. But if they are not, then until the very last moment, I want to delay killing as much as possible.”
In other words, Haldun’s men were not considered a threat.
Azadin summoned the Bruma soldiers and had them arrest the defeated group.
“Do not kill them.”
“Yes, Golden Lion!”
“Golden Lion?”
Ishmael found it strange, seeing the soldiers so fearful of Azadin.
Then, from Azadin’s pouch, a human voice was heard.
“Captain! Herald clansmen have appeared at the northern gate as well!”
A crow’s head, hardened with resin to prevent decay, was speaking with Scott’s voice.
“It seems the time has come to move.”
***
After subduing Haldun’s group, Azadin moved swiftly, seeking out and suppressing other herald clansmen.
Whether they underestimated the Bruma army too much, or whether the absence of Arael and her followers left too great a void, once again it was merely a young scion of a noble house and his experienced servant gathered to protect him.
Azadin subdued them far too easily.
Had they fled midway, one or two might have escaped, yet they all underestimated Azadin so completely that they never found the chance to run.
“I’m hardly one to talk, but really, everyone seems to take you so lightly.”
Midiam recalled her own shameful past as she watched those who mocked Azadin fall in vain. She too had once taken him lightly, fought a duel, and lost—becoming his attendant.
“Which works out in my favor. Ill repute is still reputation.”
Azadin felt no pain at those of lower rank recklessly charging at him; rather, he was glad for the ease of victory.
“So, Midiam. How many have gathered now?”
“You mean the clan? Over two hundred are currently holding the Bruma river estuary fortress. Reinforcements continue to arrive.”
“Over two hundred? They must have mobilized every available hand.”
From atop the storm-lashed walls, Azadin looked toward the Bruma river estuary. Despite the rain and wind obscuring vision, he could still see lights flickering at the distant fortress.
“It looks to be quite the strategic point.”
“When the clan resolves to take something, a small fortress like that falls easily. On the other hand, the Bruma army has no chance of reclaiming it.”
A fortress defended by two hundred herald clansmen would be impregnable. Moreover, it stood upon an island at the river’s mouth—already a difficult place to approach.
“And reinforcements on top of that. We must assume nearly all of the clan’s available forces are there.”
Azadin groaned under the weight of the numbers.
With the Arael faction having rebelled and withdrawn, for two hundred clansmen still to gather showed just how fervent the clan’s desire truly was.
To stand openly against such will… no matter how firmly Azadin had resolved himself, it was fearsome.
He was setting the entire clan as his enemy. Was he truly prepared for such a burden?
And yet, when Coral Sahar fell, how many innocent people had been slaughtered? When the Nagas devoured humans, when common folk were killed, how could he retreat?
Besides—
“The one commanding them is none other than Elder Kazas. He knows Bruma well.”
Ishmael mentioned Kazas’s name as though to torment Azadin.
“Then… we’ve been discovered already.”
Azadin muttered unconsciously at the news that Elder Kazas was commanding the clan.
***
Though the storm raged, Bruma held firm, its flood defenses long-prepared, and the deluge caused little harm.
The Nagas’ assault soon slackened. No matter how rigid their hierarchy, with such heavy casualties they could not press the attack endlessly.
When the fighting eased, the Golden King Manza-Zadek summoned those who had rendered great service, to reward them. Azadin was among them.
“Well done, Golden Lion. My eye has not failed me. You make my shoulders swell with pride. Therefore, I would grant you a reward. Is there something you desire?”
“Your Majesty. Forgive me, but as the battle still continues, I dare to decline any reward.”
The more favor Azadin received from Manza-Zadek, the more he felt the sting of hatred driven into him.
The king’s crows, Captain Karcen and his faction, were tolerable.
But the blood mages, the necromancers, the regular soldiers—these men shunned Azadin. To be seen in the king’s favor would only draw their resentment.
Yet Manza-Zadek insisted.
“To you, my rewards must seem unwelcome. If you defy your kin and take my gift, it will appear as though you betrayed them for profit. And the gaze of a mad king, whose whim might turn at any moment, is a burden as well.”
The Golden King had pierced Azadin’s heart.
“Therefore, I shall grant you a reward you cannot refuse.”
“What… do you mean?”
“The authority to pardon and to deliver salvation. Even a traitor of the highest order, if you persuade me they no longer pose a threat, then I will pardon them.”
“That is…”
Such authority was far too great for a mere vassal. The faces of other retainers hardened with hostility, wary of Azadin’s rise.
“Those you choose will have their lives spared, and means of survival provided. If you would preserve your clan, is this not the very authority you long for? Still you feign humility?”
Manza-Zadek understood Azadin perfectly.
He had turned his back on the clan for the sake of his convictions, not from a desire to slaughter them or make them his enemies.
Therefore, for the clan’s survival, this royal power of pardon was vital.
“I grant you, then, the right to pardon the herald clan. It is the fitting reward for your service—and it is also my command, my order to you. If the herald clan would be pardoned for the crime of challenging Yaegas’s throne, it will be only through you. If we win this war, then the lives of the herald clan will be placed in your hands. Thus, you will become their chieftain.”
The Golden King Manza-Zadek smiled as he said it.
“This, you cannot refuse. Accept it.”
“You are cruel, Your Majesty.”
“Others would crave such authority beyond endurance, Golden Lion. You have no greed. Now, withdraw and rest. For harsher days await you yet.”
“Yes…”
Azadin left the Golden King Manza-Zadek’s audience chamber.
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