Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 159



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Episode 159 Holy Grail Knight in Wonderland (4)

The expedition to catch the traitors was prepared step by step. First, because they had to go on a witch hunt using Isaac as bait, the presentation was ostensibly packaged as a ‘hunt to promote friendship.’ Except for a few leaders, the true purpose was not made known.

However, the rumors were created by secretly floating tension, excessive preparation, and naturally occurring anxiety. This expedition is to catch the witch Sister Hecatli and the traitor General Georg. Isaac neither stopped nor dismissed the rumor.

As soon as Isaac and his party finished preparing for the ‘hunt’, they left for the forest near Aldeon.

“As the Holy Grail Knight said, if they are caught and come out, there will be no difficulty. your majesty.”

Morse said while glaring at Isaac.

“The people here. “People who carry on Elil’s will are enough.”

It seems that the favor shown to him only lasted until he applauded. Isaac ignored it, but Ethelred didn’t like that look.

“General Mors Gideon. “Don’t you like the Holy Grail Knight?”

“The Grail Knight is a beautiful tradition of Elil. your majesty. “There is no way this foreigner could imitate honor and bravery just by calling himself false.”

“The Holy Grail Knight came with a ceremony of division. There have been many Holy Grail Knights so far, but no one has recovered the Holy Sword. “If you want to slander, ask Elil for the answer.”

‘Ask Elil for the answer’ means an Elil-style divine trial, or duel.

At the duel, Elil will tell you who is the answer. While it is the most common means of mediation, it is also a means of oppression.

Morse made eye contact with Isaac, but he didn’t look intimidated at all.

‘It looks like you think my rumors are exaggerated.’

He would be skilled enough to be a general in the Kingdom of Elil. But there was no reason or time for Isaac to join in on this childish argument.

“I am not foolish enough to ask questions carelessly in the sacred place of Elil.”

Although there was some sarcasm about whether the decision was fair, it was a self-deprecating statement. When Isaac first expressed humility, Morse did not provoke any further. Even though he clearly knew the king’s will, he was not foolish enough to be stubborn.

“Rather, please explain in more detail about Sister Hecatli and General Georg.”

First, it was necessary to check whether the information one knew matched reality. Although the settings were correct in the grand scheme of things, there were many cases where the detailed information was different. It was a discrepancy and error that arose when game characteristics and realistic feasibility intertwined.

Morse, who mainly dealt with them, opened his mouth.

“First, let me tell you about the three Hekatli sisters… … These are witches who have lived in this land for quite a long time. According to the story, Elil was worshiped even before the kingdom was founded, and it is said that she ruled this place by accepting her newborn baby as her sacrifice.”

“indeed.”

“After being defeated by Elil, it fled to the northwest swamp, but is still holding on by dominating the wild animals of Barbari. Even knights are reluctant to use them because they all have a bizarre appearance and use gruesome magic.”

“What kind of magic do you use?”

“They mainly use curses that summon strangely shaped monsters, curses that cause hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, and curses that make leeches or rats vomit, but the worst are curses that deform the body. “There are many colleagues suffering from this curse.”

Morse trembled and muttered.

In the Kingdom of Elil, which values ​​honorable battles, the existence of witches who use curses was a source of shame and anger.

Isaac nodded. It matched the information he knew.

Isaac knew of other beings who had something in common with the Hecatli sisters.

‘After all, he is an ancient god.’

The identity of the witch Hecatli sisters is probably an ancient god.

It is not an ancient god clumsily brought back to life by the Immortal Church, but a barbarian god who survived with traces of animal worship, witchcraft worship, and human sacrifice intact.

In the Gertonian Empire ruled by the Code of Light, the ancient gods were completely eliminated and only a few were able to take advantage of the opportunity for resurrection, but in this ‘periphery’, there were still living ancient gods.

The farther you get from the land ruled by the Code of Light, the more these beings become rampant. Even in distant frontiers, there are times when the descendants of chaos appear.

‘This is the first time I see a real living ancient god, not a recycled ancient god… … Still, it won’t be as strong as an angel.’

Isaac confirmed that the information about Hecatli was not much different from what he knew and moved on.

“What kind of person is Georg?”

“Lyanna Georg… … “I am a sword master, one of the few transcendents in this country.”

Morse muttered with a shocked expression.

“As you may know, those who go beyond the level of ordinary humans and can bestow miracles on objects within their reach are called sword masters. In the Code of Light, you could almost say that he is a combination of the Holy Knight Commander and the Bishop.”

“… … “I know what the location is.”

“Pio Georg, the previous lord Georg, was also a famous hero and a sword master. Lyanna Georg also inherited the talent and skills and became a sword master. That’s why there are quite a few people among the public who respect the Georg family.”

The Kingdom of Elil reveres power more than any other value and has a strong tendency to worship the strong.

In such a country, the existence of a transcendental being called the Sword Master was bound to become an object of worship. It goes without saying that the current king is a weak child.

Isaac remembered the fight that had taken place in the bar. If fights openly comparing kings and traitors take place even in the capital, it goes without saying in the provinces. The only legitimacy that Ethelred has is that it is a royal family that has been around for over 100 years, but if you trace its roots back, the Aldeon family is also a usurper family. The position was always in jeopardy.

In addition, Georg is currently occupying the sacred site of Elion, where Elil’s tomb is located. This was a huge violation of legitimacy.

‘Even if witches fly and crawl, Georg is a hundred times more dangerous.’

If Hecatli is a vicious local wild beast, Georg has the influence to overthrow a country. Georg cannot be defeated simply by pushing in his troops.

It could further divide the Kingdom of Elil.

***

Ethelred’s hunting expedition soon arrived near their destination, ‘Owl Forest’.

Tall trees suddenly grew on top of a mound overgrown with low grass. The streams in the furrows flowing between the mounds wet my ankles. Because the terrain was difficult to ride on horseback, the knights had to dismount and walk.

“Leave the horses at a nearby village and instruct them to hang the horseshoe on the door. “Even if you hear someone calling outside, don’t open it unless the fog clears.”

While Morse was giving instructions, Isaac looked at the terrain around the forest. Naturally, fog had already descended around the forest. It meant that witches were also in this forest.

Isaac thought as he played with the cleavage ceremony in his arms.

‘This seems to be quite desirable.’

As Isaac knows, the Hecatli sisters have a huge grudge against Elil. From their perspective, they deserved it because they were suddenly beaten up and kicked out of the land where they had lived well. She even said that the injuries she suffered back then gave her an ugly, twisted body.

There was also a rumor that it was the Hecatli sisters who persuaded the dancer to take out Elil’s heart because of this resentment. Of course, I don’t know if it’s authentic or not.

Anyway, since they were like that, it was natural that they didn’t want anything good for Elil.

Caw.

Isaac suddenly noticed a crow staring at him from a signpost.

The red eyes were scary.

It wasn’t just the milestone. Red eyes were flashing all over the village roofs, tree branches, and grass.

However, he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing anything right away.

Caw.

The moment the crow cried again, the birds hiding in the bushes flew up all at once. For a moment, the sky was dyed black. Only then did the knights look up at the sky in surprise.

Isaac thought as he watched the birds flying.

‘watch… … No, is it an invitation? It looks like he has no intention of coming out as expected.’

The reason he showed his presence so blatantly was probably to convey a message.

If you are a knight who knows honor, if you are a Grail knight who pursues glory, come get us.

It was not a funny provocation, but it was an invitation that could not be refused.

“You’re being watched by a witch.”

Ethelred whispered nervously. The birds were gone, but I could still feel their gaze. Even a rat swarming around or a bird passing by could be considered the witch’s eyes. Isaac said, crossing her arms.

“There is nothing to worry about. The increased surveillance means that they are also on edge. “I’ll probably never come out of the woods.”

“It’s not coming out? then… … .”

“it’s okay. Still, there is a way to catch it. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just set it on fire.”

Just kidding. If you set fire to the forest, the witch will run away, but you won’t be able to catch her.

“First of all, everyone will be tired today, so tell them to get some sleep. “The expedition starts tomorrow.”

***

The next day, Isaac headed to the Owl Forest with the knights.

Ethelred ordered the troops to be controlled from the outskirts. Not only would he not be in direct combat, he needed the opportunity to study the overall flow of troop operations.

Even in the Kingdom of Elil, the king must look at the big picture more than fighting with a sword.

Isaac and his moving troops were few in number. Only Hesabel and a couple of knights were brought along to serve as messengers, and the rest were instructed to slowly form a siege network from the outskirts of the forest.

Ethelred was anxious to add more guards, but Isaac refused.

“My role is bait. Witches may become reluctant if they see many brave knights of Elil. “If I am in danger, Your Majesty, please send reinforcements before it is too late.”

Ethelred looked impressed. At times like this, I thought the kid was just a kid.

‘Actually, it’s because it’s better to show off your skills when you don’t have eyes to see.’

It would be nice if the problem could be solved without taking out the tentacles, but since the opponent is a lively ancient god, there is no guarantee that it will be possible. In that case, it would be better if there were no witnesses. It would have been better not to have any guards at all, but that would have made it look more suspicious, so we only added a couple of guards.

However, for some reason, there was also a person who was not invited.

“When did you join, Julrich?”

At some point, Julrich casually joined the group of knights. Her hands were full of dried beef jerky and dry bread.

“You knew I was in your group.”

“No, I never said that… … .”

Isaac was dumbfounded, but he didn’t think it would be a bad idea for an angel to be involved in the expedition. Of course she would be reluctant to unleash her profane tentacles, but it was unlikely that she would be unaware of her own identity.

Because most angels recognized themselves as soon as they saw them.

“So, what is my mission?”

“Ask the Sword of May.”

Are you still pretending not to know? Or has it not passed some standard yet?

Isaac guessed that the reason Julrich still hadn’t told him about his mission was because he hadn’t passed a certain standard.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to follow me to a fighting position.

Isaac decided to ignore Julich for now and focus on the mission.

Hesabel followed, climbing a tree overhead, and Reina Hild and other Elil knights accompanied him. It was the most dangerous mission, but the people willingly volunteered to join.

‘By the way, how should I catch the witch?’

Witches attack enemies using summons or curses. It’s fortunate if you can even come across it, but most people end up exhausted from chasing its shadow. It is not for nothing that they escaped Elil’s hand and survived for hundreds of years.

Therefore, rather than catching the witches, Isaac’s first goal was to scare them and prevent them from leaving the base. If she finds out that the being they are targeting is a helpless being, she will quietly stay in her home base, the Witch’s Forest, just as she did when Elil was alive.

‘It may require more than just sword skills.’

Isaac asked Reyna.

“Have you ever gone on a witch hunt before?”

Reina was startled by Isaac’s question.

“Isaac, be careful. They say that if you talk about a witch in the forest, a witch will appear!”

“… … “Why are we here, Reyna?”

“I’m here to catch the witch!”