A whistle sounded in the distance. The guards of Count Lantarik's barracks blew their whistles, and commotion began to stir in the camp.
Someone had launched an attack on the count's camp.
"Ugh?! What? Don't tell me this is your doing?"
Yaravin, startled by the scene, questioned Azadin.
"Stay calm! Whether this is his doing or not, we deal with it now!"
Nefti, undistracted, pointed her sword at Azadin.
"That's going to be difficult."
Azadin drew his sword. However, Nefti had already noted the scent of blood clinging to him, the way his lips twisted as he endured pain.
This man was injured, and his bravado was nothing more than a bluff! Even if he weren't injured, there was no reason for her to lose!
"I don't want to kill Arael's younger brother either, but it can't be helped."
With lightning speed, Nefti thrust at Azadin's throat. Azadin stepped back, attempting to deflect it with his blade.
He was confident in his physical strength, knowing he had the advantage over a woman like Nefti. But at that moment, she switched to a wrist stab.
She baited the deflection and went for the wrist!
Azadin had no choice but to retreat another step, and in that instant, Nefti threw a dagger with her left hand.
—Kang!
The daggers clashed in midair. Azadin, also retreating, had thrown a dagger of his own. They really were both members of the Herald Clan, acting in the same manner. But Nefti confirmed her suspicion.
'For a man, his strength is lacking. His injury must be severe.'
Seeing the daggers knock each other away, it was clear Azadin's strength wasn't what it should be. Nefti circled to his flank and unleashed a series of rapid thrusts.
—Papak!
Azadin had anticipated battle and was wearing chainmail. The blade scraped against the rings, snapping links that scattered over the fortress wall.
"Azadin!"
Midiam tried to assist, but Yaravin blocked her path. As Zebeck drew his sword, Yaravin swung his war sickle—a large, forward-curving hook—to strike at his neck.
—Kak!
Zebeck's sword and Yaravin's sickle clashed.
"Not bad, Holy Knight!"
Yaravin unleashed a flurry of powerful attacks, pressing Zebeck back.
"Wh-what do I do?"
Midiam nocked an arrow, but she couldn't shoot. The duel between Azadin and Nefti was so fast and intense that even a master archer wouldn't dare fire. However...
'Huh?'
Azadin was approaching Yaravin from behind.
"Ah!"
Nefti lunged at Azadin's back, but he was faster. Another dagger came flying at her. Azadin had turned and thrown it behind him.
Nefti instinctively deflected it with her sword, but—
"Urgh?!"
With a thunderous impact, she was forced backward. A crack ran through her blade, and her hand trembled. This was a far heavier strike than before.
If she hadn't turned her head quickly, Azadin's dagger would have shattered her sword and pierced her skull.
'What the hell? An injured man has this much power?'
What happened next was even more shocking.
"Lighter than expected."
Azadin easily lifted Yaravin and hurled him off the watchtower.
"...?!"
Yaravin wasn't as massive as Kahsan, but he was still a large man. Herald Clan warriors trained relentlessly to develop incredible strength, but Azadin tossed Yaravin as if he were a mere pebble.
"...?!"
Zebeck, Midiam, and Ishmael were all equally stunned.
They knew Azadin had been injured. Yet, he moved as if his wounds had completely vanished.
"Well, that should put them in a tough spot. Ishmael!"
"Yes."
"Take care of the scouting spirits circling overhead."
"Understood."
Ishmael had been swayed by Arael's faction. Coming from a servant family of the House Aether, he couldn't help but be drawn to Arael's ideals of a new order. Servant families were bound by tradition to devote their lives to the noble houses they served.
Even if they possessed the ability to become a herald, they were expected to sacrifice their own evaluation scores if a noble child from their household was in the same class. Even if they developed feelings for someone they served, they couldn't even dream of pursuing them.
If a herald achieved exceptional success, they might be adopted into a noble family or marry a lesser noble's child. But such cases were rare, and most servants remained just that—servants.
So even though Ishmael was currently serving Midiam, his future prospects weren't promising.
Though he had reached the rank of servant, the entire Aragasa Clan was in turmoil due to Arael's rebellion. Thus, he had been weighing his options, considering both Nefti' group and Azadin's side. But now, Azadin had won.
'I was waiting to see which side would prevail, but I didn't expect this man to win. Still, this is incredible. How is he so overwhelming despite his injuries?'
With a doubtful gaze, Ishmael loosed an enchanted arrow at the scouting unit circling overhead.
"Well then, Nefti."
As Zebeck and Azadin closed in, Nefti realized she had no chance of winning. She had underestimated Azadin far too much. More than anything, his movements were fluid, with no sign of injury.
At first, he had acted like a wounded man in their duel. But at some point, he had stopped feigning weakness and revealed his true strength.
"Tch! I was fooled! Just you wait!"
Nefti threw herself off the fortress wall, using her sword and hook to scrape against it, slowing her descent before landing gracefully on the ground. Zebeck widened his eyes at the sight.
"That's incredible. How did she jump from that height?"
For an ordinary person, such a fall would have been fatal. But then, Azadin grabbed Zebeck's cloak and pulled him back.
—Shwaak!
An arrow shot up from below, aiming for Zebeck's exposed head. The other Herald Clan members waiting below had anticipated that someone would peek over the edge.
The fact that they predicted it and fired the arrow was impressive. But the fact that Azadin foresaw their tactics and pulled Zebeck back was just as astonishing.
"Thank you. That was chilling. But what about your injuries? Are you alright?"
"Well, that's…"
At that moment, the trapdoor beneath the fortress wall opened, and a head popped out. It was Shati, an agent the Nagas had infiltrated into Salasma.
"Hey, warm-blooded one! An undead army has appeared behind the count! It looks like they're after the Book of the Divine King! Shouldn't we be running?"
"Oh? They arrived faster than expected."
Azadin approached Shati.
"How's your body, warm-blooded one? I wonder if the Cobra Queen's magic worked well."
"Thanks to it."
"Huh?"
Zebeck, listening, was taken aback.
"Don't tell me… You received magic from the Kurt Divine Clan?"
"Yes."
"But how…?"
"It's a long story, but to put it simply, this Naga woman had no choice but to cooperate with me, and among the magic of the Kurt Divine Clan, green mana enhances the body's metabolism. An injury that would take a month to heal can be reduced to about a week."
"Then your body isn't in perfect condition."
"No. And since it's magic designed for a Naga's body, it doesn't quite suit me. But it was enough to deceive Nefti."
"Then what's attacking the count's army right now?"
"That's because the Book of the Divine King's seal was broken."
"What?"
"If you carry the Book of the Divine King around as it is, those pesky bugs who use tracking magic will come after you…"
Zebeck was aware of that. He had seen Zekt use magic to track a copy of the Book of the Divine King. But wasn't Azadin avoiding being tracked by using the Wraith Knights instead?
"I broke the seal because I figured Count Lantarik wouldn't cooperate otherwise."
In other words, Azadin had deliberately broken the seal on the Book of the Divine King to escape the encirclement by Count Lantarik.
"That's reckless beyond belief…"
To do something like this while being pursued by Zekt? Wasn't this far too bold? But there was still more to be surprised about.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
"Begin what?"
Zebeck was appalled that Azadin wanted to do something more in this situation.
***
"Damn it, I let my guard down, thinking he was injured."
As Nefti grumbled, Kahsan smiled.
"If you let your guard down and lost to one of us Aragasa, isn't that a compliment to your opponent?"
Kahsan had also been deceived by Azadin's infamous reputation and ended up being thrown aside. Seeing others suffer the same fate actually pleased him.
"This isn't something to laugh about. Let's return to the count's forces. But what's going on over there?"
As Nefti took a step forward, the sound of metal suddenly echoed behind them.
—Creak, creak…
The fortress gate was opening, and horses, Kerim mountain goats, and Azadin's group were emerging.
"What the hell? What do you think you're doing, Azadin?"
"What else?"
Azadin answered Nefti' question.
"I'm rescuing the people the count is holding and escaping."
"What?!"
Nefti reached for her bow. But people were coming out of the fortress, and Azadin, Zebeck, and Azadin's servants were all together, making them a formidable force. More than that, Azadin's demeanor lacked hostility.
"So, how about we call a temporary truce? It's not much of a compensation, but I'll give you a copy of the Book of the Divine King."
"...?!"
"You have a copy of the Book of the Divine King?"
"Yes."
Azadin took out the Book of the Divine King. Though it was made of ordinary paper, it emitted a faint magic glow, radiating an endless sense of power.
"This is…"
"It's real!"
Nefti and Kahsan gasped.
"Well? Will you accept the truce, or do you want to fight?"
"..."
From Nefti' perspective, there was no guarantee of victory in a fight against Azadin's group in this situation.
'And this bastard is Arael's younger brother.'
If she killed Azadin, she would have to bear the burden of having slain Arael's blood relative. A fight with no guaranteed victory, against an opponent she gained nothing from defeating, was now offering a Book of the Divine King as a gift in exchange for peace. Refusing would be absurd.
"…Fine. I accept the truce. But if the count has objections, I can't say what will happen then."
"Alright, take it."
Azadin readily handed over the copy of the Book of the Divine King. Midiam and Ishmael, watching, clicked their tongues.
'Handing over a copy of the Book of the Divine King…'
'This is reckless. If the clan elders or chief find out, they'll see it as treasonous cooperation with rebels.'
Ishmael had been swayed by Arael's faction, but even he knew how dangerous and irresponsible Azadin's actions were. If this became known later, he would surely be condemned as a traitor.
After all, wasn't he already dismissed as a Herald under suspicion of colluding with Arael? And now he was giving away a Book of the Divine King?
'Even if this is a trap, isn't this too much? His guts are unbelievable.'
Just when Ishmael thought he had grown accustomed to Azadin, the man surprised him yet again.