The bow of the Herald Clan, the Moon Horn Bow, was an incredibly powerful bow for its size, but that was because it was made from a complex combination of materials—and such composite bows were vulnerable to moisture.
Even the bow they had now had been fire-dried and waxed just yesterday, but still, it couldn't be called good.
"Don't draw the bow too much."
"Yes, sir!"
"Then, begin!"
Azadin, Ishmael, and Midiam all loosed their arrows at once.
The Nagas guarding the building entrance were startled and drew their weapons, but Azadin's arrow pierced one of their brains, and Ishmael's arrow lodged into another's eye.
However, Midiam's arrow bounced off after being deflected by a Naga's curved sword. The Naga struck in the eye let out a roar.
"Ambush!"
"Damn it…"
Not drawing the bow fully out of fear it would break had weakened the shot, causing this.
But just then—
Thwack!
A piece of wood shot into the Naga guard's mouth.
"Nice, nailed it."
Scott shrugged.
"Ah, crap, my trapezius is bulking up. I shouldn't get used to this."
"Well done, Scott. But… did you throw that?"
"No, I used magic. If I actually threw something like that, what if I built arm muscle? That's unacceptable."
"I-I see. So your concern about the trapezius wasn't because you threw the wood, but because you shrugged?"
"Exactly. Our race builds muscle too easily even from small things like this. Also, since I'm not human, I don't get good throwing velocity. Orcs have overdeveloped shoulder muscles, so their arms can't pull forward quickly when throwing."
"Well done."
Azadin praised Scott, then positioned Midiam and Ishmael near the entrance.
The two nocked arrows and aimed at the entrance, and sure enough, the Nagas weren't stupid—they didn't rush out through the narrow building entrance. Instead, they hurled chairs through the windows.
"What the hell are you?!"
"Daring to oppose us? You lowly creatures!"
Just then, Azadin loosed another arrow. It flew through the window, and a scream rang out.
"Gurk!"
"Dammit!"
"Is that… the Herald Clan member?!"
The Nagas, recognizing the curving trajectory of the arrow, realized Azadin's identity and were horrified.
But then—
—Kwaeegh!
—Kraaagh!
Nagas suddenly appeared on the road leading to the building.
"What the…?!"
"Enemies?!"
It was a Naga scouting party revealing themselves.
And there were many of them. Each group had at least six; with two groups, that made over twelve Nagas, and there were more inside the building.
On top of that—
"Krragh!"
A Naga struck by Azadin's arrow stood back up and yanked the arrow out to throw it aside. The arrow had clearly pierced through his brain, and yet he wasn't dead.
The same was true for the Naga hit by Ishmael's arrow and the one struck in the mouth by Scott's baton. The Nagas' regenerative power and vitality were truly incredible.
'Even if their brains are spilling out, they're still able to move for now? No way they survive this long, even for Nagas…'
Meanwhile, Shati felt her heart pounding at the unfolding situation.
'Wait. This might be my chance. But…'
She hesitated.
What if I betray them and Azadin still wins?
The Nagas had the numerical and military advantage right now, but Azadin had won in far worse situations—he had even defeated Count Kazel, hadn't he?
But if she actively helped Azadin's group now? That would be clear betrayal.
She had already betrayed the Nagas multiple times, but she still wanted to believe she had some excuse left to give.
Then it happened.
"Long live the Dryland Tribe!"
Azadin shouted and immediately loosed another arrow at the Nagas.
"…Long live the Dryland Tribe!"
Midiam and Ishmael, quick on the uptake, echoed Azadin and fired their arrows as well.
The Nagas responded with magic, but Midiam and Ishmael had enchanted their arrows with spells, and Zebeck joined in, unleashing judgment magic to strike them down. Despite their superior numbers, the Nagas began to fall behind in firepower.
—Thwack!
—Smack!
Everyone fired with full strength, risking their bows breaking due to moisture.
—Crack!
Eventually, Azadin's bow snapped mid-fight. He quickly pulled out another and strung it, but the supply of arrows they had brought was already gone.
"Damn you bastards!"
"You'll pay for this!"
And then, more Naga reinforcements arrived. These were the forces that had attacked with the intent of occupying the capital of a kingdom. Their numbers were formidable, and their organization impressive.
"We have to retreat."
Azadin darted into a nearby building.
"After him!"
"You bastards!"
A Naga rushed in pursuit, but the moment he entered the building—
Thud!
—he was sent tumbling down the stairs, bloodied.
"What the…?"
"W-wait a second?!"
In Coral Sahar's business district, the buildings were clustered tightly, allowing one to escape by going up to the rooftops. To prevent that, the Nagas had to come up through the stairs—
—Thud!
Another Naga who entered the stairs was sent flying back down, bloodied.
Azadin had stayed behind to handle the Nagas trying to enter from below, knocking them both down the staircase.
"Azadin!"
"Go on ahead!"
"Will you be okay?!"
"Of course! I'm fast on my feet. Go up to the rooftop and get back to the ship!"
With that, Azadin held his position on the narrow staircase.
Just then, a new Naga entered—one wielding a long spear. This Naga, instead of appearing as the usual hulking, muscular figure, had transformed into the shape of an elf.
Though he looked elven, his pupils had that distinct vertical slit, marking him as a Naga. He twirled his spear and beckoned at Azadin.
"Staying behind alone—you must be quite confident in your skills. If you stayed on your own, you must have some guts."
"And you're not in your Naga form but chose to appear as an elf. That's unusual. Doesn't the Naga form give you more weight and strength?"
"In a tight space like this, especially on stairs, having two legs gives better footing. Crawling with just a tail, you'd easily slip and fall. That what you were aiming for?"
This Naga had seen through Azadin's strategy and used elven form.
"Exactly!"
When Azadin feinted a forward rush, a wall of spear tips immediately rose in front of him.
As expected, this Naga had formidable spear skills.
Azadin tried to knock the spear aside with his sword, hoping to drive it into the wall or floor, but his opponent seemed to anticipate the move and avoided the deflection, aiming instead to exploit any opening.
Azadin and the Naga's spear and sword danced through the space without once clashing. They exchanged feints and set traps, but their reading of each other's moves was so evenly matched that their weapons never made contact.
After a brief exchange, both of them took a step back at the same time, as if by silent agreement.
"You've got skill. Are you the captain?"
"So do you. You're of the Herald Clan, right? Not from the Arael's Faction, but the Elder Council?"
"..."
"You don't have to answer. I'd guess the Elder Council side. If so, I think we can strike a good deal."
"A deal?"
A completely unexpected word came from the opponent's mouth. The Nagas had the advantage in both numbers and presence—yet they were the ones proposing a deal?
"That's right."
The elf-shaped Naga smiled as Azadin showed interest.
"Hm, go ahead then. I hope this isn't some pathetic offer like asking me to become your subordinate."
"Don't worry. It's nothing like that. Right now, we're under the command of a general from the Sea Snake Tribe. The problem is, those Sea Snake bastards are heretics."
"Heretics?"
"Yeah. More and more of them have started worshipping a god of the Nether instead of the Cobra Queen."
"..."
"They've actually encountered beings of the Nether in the deep sea and mutated. To the point that you can barely even call them our kin anymore. And those very bastards have allied with the Herald Clan to persuade our Mahaatma—that is, the chieftain. That alone pisses me off, but now a witch from the Herald Clan has truly weakened the light of the king's virtue, and their invasion of Coral Sahar has nearly succeeded. They're on the verge of complete victory. But this situation? It doesn't sit right with me."
"So?"
"I want you to leave the Water Snake Tribe alone and just hit the Sea Snake side. In exchange, I'll give you maps and intel."
"..."
"This is our map. Each tribe's assigned zones are marked here. It's in the Naga tongue, but I'll annotate it in Sahara for you. How about it?"
It was too good a deal to be a trap—but perhaps it was still one. And yet...
"Too good to refuse. Alright."
"I'm glad we can talk. I'll take out a pen—hope you don't mind?"
"Go ahead."
Azadin sheathed his sword as a sign he was willing to negotiate. The Naga also set his spear down, pulled a pen from his robes, dipped it in ink, and began annotating the map.
In that moment, Azadin asked,
"The Herald Clan members who showed up here—are they Dimia of the Flower and Zenith?"
"You know your stuff. They're said to be key members from the Arael's Faction."
"I am Azadin, 108th Herald of the Emperor. And you?"
"Raja Dehares, of the Water Snake Tribe."
Once finished, the Naga—Raja Dehares—tossed the map to Azadin.
"Raja means royalty, right?"
"More precisely, a vassal king. Equivalent to a count in your terms."
"A high rank, then."
"Anyway, go. Don't mention that I cooperated, and only fight the Sea Snake Tribe. If you enter our zone and engage with the Water Snake Tribe, I'll consider the deal broken."
"Understood."
Azadin took the map and started heading up the stairs, but then paused.
"Do you know how they managed to extinguish the light of the king's virtue? Even a clue."
"All I know is they conducted some kind of ritual at the lighthouse. Fortunately, the lighthouse lies within Sea Snake territory."
"You're telling me to investigate it myself, huh?"
"Exactly."
"Any chance I can resupply arrows somewhere?"
"We and the Sea Snake Tribe requisitioned a few armories. There should be arrows left. I've marked the areas under focused patrol on the map, so they'll be easy to find. Also…"
Raja Dehares removed a bracelet from his wrist and tossed it to Azadin.
"If you run into our tribe nearby, show them this. If you're caught by the Sea Snakes, just say you stole it. And if they do catch you and don't want to be eaten alive, you're better off killing yourself."
"You're worried I'll crack under torture and talk about you?"
"It's honest advice. I don't like eating humans. It's uncouth."
"But I thought I saw your people catching humans earlier?"
"Humans who invaded our zone can't be helped. Coral Sahar's royal palace keeps sending out couriers to summon outside reinforcements. That's something I can't allow either."
"They looked like ordinary locals to me. In the spirit of our deal, can't you let them escape?"
"What? You little… do you even understand what that bracelet I gave you means? I've already made plenty of concessions…"
"I'm not going to sell it. I'll return it when the time's right. And anyway, if we're taking a risky gamble, shouldn't we raise the odds of success even a little?"
"How does letting those humans live raise the odds of success?"
"Because I go with my gut. When they live, I feel good, my abilities improve. Even my fatigue fades."
"Ha. Hahaha…"
Raja Dehares burst out laughing at Azadin's nonsense.
"You're a funny one. Alright. I'll try not to harm the humans too much. But just for today. If I don't hear anything amusing from you by the end of the day, I'll start killing people again."
"A one-day grace period? That's plenty. Thanks."
Having made his deal with Raja Dehares, Azadin turned and headed up the building.