[Vol. 8] Chapter 52: Evil Wings
A powerful magic attack hit the ground with a loud explosion. Along with the booming sound came angry shouts like “Who’s there!?” and “We’re under attack! Protect Her Holiness!” These sudden cries made the tribal chiefs and chieftains, who had just started to relax, instantly turn pale.
Tairnak quickly turned his head and glared at Tyrent, who looked just as confused. His eyes burned with anger, turning red as if filled with blood. With one hand, he lifted Tyrent, who was over two meters tall and the second-strongest warrior of the Behemoth tribe, off the ground like he was picking up a child!
“You idiot! Didn’t I tell you to move all unrelated troops away from this area, and only leave those who will follow orders without question!? Then why the hell is there fighting!!!??”
“C-Chief! I did exactly what you said! There shouldn’t be any—”
“Damn it… Could this be some kind of disaster we can’t escape from? Everyone, come with me!”
When Tairnak and his personal guards rushed from inside the fortress to the scene, they saw that the envoy from the Holy Empire had indeed been attacked. A fierce and chaotic battle was happening.
Several wagons carrying supplies and non-combat personnel had been blown apart by a sudden long-range attack. The animals pulling the wagons were badly wounded, lying weakly on the ground. Valuable goods and supplies were scattered everywhere. It was clear the attackers weren’t holding back at all.
When the great chieftain saw more than ten charred and lifeless bodies at the center of the explosion, likely members of the Holy Empire’s group got killed in the very first wave of the attack, his strong heart sank like a rock and turned cold.
It’s over. Everything is over. Even the last hope for his people...
“Chief, look over there! Isn’t that... the divine messenger?”
Following where Tyrent was pointing, Tairnak narrowed his eyes and quickly noticed a familiar figure flying through the air, flapping black wings. He was being attacked by two powerful angels from the Holy Empire. In that moment, Tairnak realized what was happening.
“It’s that bastard again...!”
The great chieftain was so angry his eyes almost popped out.
That young man with black wings was indeed one of the messengers under the Behemoth God, called Norris Crowfeather. He was supposed to deliver the god’s orders, similar to a divine messenger.
But unlike the other messengers, Tairnak actually knew this Norris very well.
In the buffer zone, there was an average-sized tribe called the Black Crow Tribe. Its members were half-human, half-raven, with black feathers on their backs. Although they weren’t especially powerful, they were extremely fast and could use both fire and dark magic. Their abilities made them a good match for the land-fighting Behemoth tribe, and the two groups had always gotten along well.
The Black Crow Tribe was small, with only tens of thousands of people. They were a vassal tribe of the Behemoths. Before Tairnak became the great chieftain and led his people to escape their homeland, he and Norris had been the sons of their respective tribal leaders. They grew up together and knew each other very well.
Unlike Tairnak, Norris didn’t become the next leader of his tribe. He had average talent and a quiet personality. Even after getting a lot of help, he still lost the position to someone else.
But everything changed when the God appeared and chose him, the once-failed successor, to become a divine messenger.
“Norris! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Who told you to attack these people!!!”
Sure enough, when Tairnak shouted furiously, his powerful voice full of authority, the black-winged young man, struggling in the air against the two angels, turned his head and, instead of feeling guilty, screamed back at the chieftain he once feared and respected!
“Shut up already! It was God who told me to attack! You got a problem with that?! His Divineness clearly ordered that every mortal passing through here must be offered as a sacrifice! And you, Tairnak, dared to let them go?! Are you tired of living!?”
“Hurry up and bring your army to capture these people! If HIs Divineness finds out and decides to punish someone, not a single one of you mortals here will be able to escape!!!”
Yep, that’s how it was.
After becoming a divine messenger, Norris received great power from the gods, far beyond what he had before. It was like a stock hitting rock bottom and then suddenly skyrocketing. He changed from a quiet guy to someone loud and arrogant, acting as if he were above everyone else, throwing his power around without any care. He was always bossing others around, and quickly became annoying to everyone.
Especially toward people he had known in the past. He seemed to target them on purpose, maybe to erase the memory of his weak and quiet old self.
Of all the divine messengers Tairnak had ever met, this former friend had become the most difficult to deal with.
“You...!”
Tairnak struggled to hold back the overwhelming rage burning inside him. He nearly lost control and almost jumped up to kick Norris right out of the sky. But instead, the Behemoth chieftain quickly scanned the battlefield to understand the situation.
Since becoming a divine messenger, Norris had gathered a small army made up of followers from different tribes. These people weren’t loyal because of friendship or respect. They followed him for personal gain. Still, because they were all fairly strong, his private army of a few hundred did have some real fighting power. Norris often traveled with them from tribe to tribe, using his job as a messenger to act important and show off.
Now, it was this group that was fighting with the Holy Empire’s group.
It seemed that Norris had just returned from being summoned by the gods and happened to run into the Holy Empire’s group, who was about to leave. Because he was so used to being arrogant and reckless, he didn’t even stop to think about who these people were or how strong they might be. He just wanted to show off to his god and enjoy the thrill of killing, so he attacked immediately.
The huge, burnt crater in the middle of the Holy Empire’s group clearly came from Norris’s fire-and-dark-magic spell. It must have been a sudden attack from the sky. The envoy wasn’t ready and took heavy losses right at the start.
But...
This guy was too full of himself. He completely forgot that no matter how powerful you are, there's always someone stronger. Although the gods' bestowal allowed him to transcend limits and become a mythical existence in a certain sense, this realm also has varying degrees of superiority and inferiority, and more importantly, [Wild] wasn’t the only god in the world.
The envoy from the Holy Empire might look small, only a few hundred people, but most of them were the very best of the best, elite holy knights, top priests, rising stars on the world stage of Sainz. And on top of that, there was the Judgment Saintess and two angels. Their strength was easily greater than that of a divine messenger.
If Norris had planned a proper ambush with other divine messengers and had a full army ready, maybe he could have won. But from the looks of it... this idiot was acting alone.
No wonder he was now shouting about “God’s orders” and trying to force Tairnak’s army to help him. He clearly realized, after the fight started, that he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
Tch... What an idiot. Can someone just let this guy die already?