Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 164



Only Krnovel

Episode 164 There is a voice calling me to open my eyes (1)

Although he was cursed with ominous implications, it was true that he had shamed and driven out the witch who had been a nuisance in the outskirts for a long time. The witch will not be seen for at least three years.

The knights tried to hold a large banquet to celebrate this victory, but Isaac sternly refused.

“It’s not a complete victory, it’s just a kick out. Isn’t this what the Knights of Elil have achieved before? “Celebrating victory over something like this is not only shameful, it can make us negligent in the face of our real enemy.”

Isaac’s answer put the Elil Knights to shame and at the same time praised the nobility of the Holy Grail Knights once again. However, Isaac allowed a small drinking party to commemorate and comfort the casualties that occurred during the battle.

With small drinking parties taking place here and there, villagers carried food and alcohol here and there. The village chief approached Isaac, who was quietly watching the scene.

“Thank you so much, Holy Grail Knight. How should I greet you… … “It would be nice to have something to give, but we don’t have anything to give because it’s a poor village.”

“There is nothing to worry about.”

Isaac did not give this answer to be praised. He really hated throwing banquets. If it were Aldeon Castle, he would have received it to save Ethel Red’s face, but this was a poor village. I knew that if a large banquet was held in a place like this, the village warehouse would be destroyed.

That’s why the village chief was also thankful to Isaac. He must have been more desperate for food to last until the harvest than catching a witch.

The village chief squeezed Isaac’s hand and expressed his gratitude several times.

‘It’s not for nothing that border residents fall for ancient gods or witches.’

The Gertonian Empire also has a lot of exploitation of the poor and serfs, but Elil is even more barbaric than that. This is because of the trend of viewing farming as menial even though people eat the wheat they cultivate.

On the other hand, those on the outskirts who serve Hecatli can safely obtain animals and forest products by sacrificing newborn babies or holding bizarre feasts. They even cured the sick (often from plagues spread by witches) or sometimes granted wishes, although they were capricious.

But what to pray to Elil?

To the god of war who tells you to get what you want with your own hands?

‘It’s no wonder Ethelred fell in love with knights.’

When playing games, Isaac liked the Elil faith.

I liked being able to become stronger easily, and there were times when I liked the simple and exciting way.

However, in reality, the Elil faith was nothing more than a warrior cult for the minority class. A strong military may feel cool and reassuring, but in reality, it is a group that cannot produce resources and only consumes them.

The Code of Light is better. They may be hypocritical, but at least they are looking out for the good of the group.

“Oh, if you go to the forest, there will be many dead animals. “These are animals you can eat, so collect them and use them as food.”

“yes? Ha, but the knights are animals infected with the witch’s plague, so you shouldn’t touch them carelessly… … .”

“it’s okay. “I checked, so don’t worry.”

They were the ones that had Hecatli pick out only the good ones. Those infected with the plague went into deep caves and rotted away, so the disease would not spread. The village chief, who was able to believe what the Holy Grail Knight said even when the sun rose in the west, expressed his gratitude several times again and then returned.

“Holy Grail Knight! “I happened to be here.”

At that time, Ethelred came as if she was changing shifts. His face was red, as if he couldn’t avoid his drinking, but he didn’t seem to be very drunk.

“I didn’t seem to like a noisy atmosphere, so I told you to find a quiet place to stay. “If it’s okay, I’ll guide you.”

“thank you. But before we go in, I’d like to take a short walk.”

Ethelred looked dazed by the sudden suggestion of conversation, but nodded.

“okay. “I also had something to tell you.”

***

“I want you to tell me about Lyanna Georg.”

Isaac asked about the next enemy he would face, Lyanna Georg. He also heard about it from other drivers, but the reactions were polar opposites. A sword master who deserves respect, but at the same time a traitor who must be struck down.

Isaac also had some knowledge through the game, but he only knew how strong she was and what abilities she used.

Isaac wanted to ‘understand’ the history and relationships of the enemy he would face.

‘Ethelred would speak more neutrally.’

As the wind blew, the grass in the field swayed gently. Ethelred walked slowly, staring at the field with drunken, dazed eyes.

“Lyanna Georg… … I should talk about the Geokr family first. The Georg family is a famous martial arts family. Her father, Pius Georg, was also a sword master, and so was her great-grandfather. They claim that if you go back through the generations, they are a family that crossed the sea with Elil, but no one knows the truth.”

‘Well, all the prosperous families in the Elil Kingdom claim that their ancestors came to this land with Elil… … If it were a place like Greece, they would have claimed to have mixed blood with the gods.’

However, the fact that they mixed blood with Elil, who became an angel in a living body, means that their children are Nephilim. Since the Nephilim were treated as a sin, even if it was true, they had no choice but to hide it. Therefore, the best argument was that he was comrade-in-arms with Elil.

“But it is true that the Georg family is an old family. Since that family’s swordsmanship has a long history, Elil may have really chosen him as a comrade in arms. Also, because of our long history, we don’t have many relationships.”

The fact that a person who is good at using a sword lives a long time means that he has many friends and enemies. In particular, there is a high probability that there will be many enemies.

Isaac seemed to understand why the Georg family was so respected but never became a royal family.

“There are many people who respect Lyanna Georg. But there are just as many people in the Georg family who grind their teeth. Even during the Salt Ain massacre, my goodness, may Elil take care of those fishermen. Even though it was something the previous king ordered, it was crazy. “They say Pius Georg was cursed to death because of that.”

“It seems like an important story, but could you tell me more about it?”

“hmm.”

Ethelred cleared her throat and spoke with a gloomy face.

“The Georg family was originally our family… … He contributed greatly to the Aldeon family becoming king. Aldeon is the king of the Kingdom of Elil, but the noble task of protecting the Holy Land is entrusted to the Georg family. Instead, due to the nature of being a guardian of the sacred place, he gave up his autonomy and power.”

Since its founding, the Kingdom of Elil has changed dynasties several times under the principle that the strong own everything. The current dynasty, the Aldeon family, was nothing more than a usurper family in the past.

On the other hand, Elion, the sacred place where Elil’s body was enshrined, has been consistently revered for hundreds of years. The Georg family has been protecting the land for a long time. While being granted the level of autonomy and power of another kingdom within the Kingdom of Elil.

“But my father, King Alfred, doesn’t seem to like that. Well, I guess that’s because he was so filled with suspicion and madness that he killed all his friends and his mother’s family. “How did the Georg family look in his eyes?”

Ethelred poured out insults against her father, perhaps because she was drunk or because she was pretending to be drunk.

“… … So, did you try to purge the Georg family as well?”

“no. The late king was a madman, but he was not stupid. “If you attack the Georg family, which has a long history and contributed to founding the country, for no reason, other nobles will be very upset.”

Ethelred sighed and muttered.

“So he decided to tarnish the name of the Georg family.”

Suddenly, Ethelred turned her head. It was in the west, where the moon was waning. There was a forest where he ran around during the day, witch-hunting, but he was looking much farther than that. An island where the sea breeze blows.

“There is an island called Salt Ain. Many Salt Council believers live there. They say that when the Salt Council was driven out of the desert, many came back and settled there. It is said that there are even people who came and lived here before Elil. “The late king thought that was a good excuse.”

“… … .”

“Although the Margrave of Saltain had many Salt Council believers as residents, he was a loyal believer of Elil. “He was horrified when the order to ‘suppress heretics’ came to his island and desperately defended them.”

Although they are of a different faith, they pay taxes well and feed most of the island. Even on the mainland of Elil, they receive seafood, salt, and supplies from the Salt Council believers. It’s stupid to drive them out. And even if you are a pagan, it is a sin to unilaterally harm the weak like this… … .

“Of course, the late king had no intention of listening. You regarded the defense of the Margrave of Saltain as ‘treason’ and ordered Pius Georg to subdue him. If Bio had ignored it at the time, the situation might not have gotten to this point. But Pius Georg obeyed the order. Because he is a knight. And the head of the Aldeon family is the King of Knights.”

Ethelred gritted her teeth as she said that.

“And Pius Georg did his job very well. Salt Ain burned, and about 500 ships burned. Hundreds of residents were massacred. For the reason that even those who were not followers of the Salt Council tried to protect and hide them. But hell didn’t end there.”

“If it’s not the end… … .”

“Belatedly, the Margrave of Salt Ain surrendered, but the late King banned the building of ships in Salt Ain and issued a blockade order. I also entrusted that to Pius Georg. Salt Ain’s territory is large, but most of the land is stone islands and the salty winds make the land barren. But fishing was banned.”

Ethelred muttered darkly.

“Subjugation? It wasn’t a massacre. “The massacre began from then on.”

During the three-year blockade, at least tens of thousands of residents died of starvation or other indirect causes. Because of the blockade, this terrible news was not known to the Kingdom of Elil, but it became known only after the blockade was lifted three years later and Pius Georg returned to his territory.

And immediately criticism poured in towards the Georg family. It was an accusation that Pius Georg committed the massacre due to his arrogance as the guardian of the Holy Land and his insanity.

Of course, it was a rumor spread by the Aldeon family. Other families and fiefdoms that had a grudge against Salt Ain for similar reasons also agreed with the rumor. There was also some degree of jealousy and envy mixed in.

Pius Georg later went missing and was found dead from starvation on a cliff by the sea one day. Afterwards, her eldest daughter, Lyanna Georg, who had been wandering and accompanying her for a long time, was promoted by her clan and inherited her domain.

“Only then did the late king draw his sword. “The Georg family is no longer qualified to be the guardian of the Holy Land, so now the King of Elil is also the guardian of the Holy Land.”

But Lyanna refused.

Instead, she gathered knights still loyal to the Georg family, loyal friends, or newly formed allies and declared war on Aldeon. At the same time, the Margrave of Saltaine vomited blood and declared independence from the Kingdom of Elil, and the witches Hecatli Sisters, who had read about the division of the Kingdom of Elil, began to act.

“The division that the late king tried so hard to avoid has come in a more terrible form. At least four, in fact, if you look inside, there may be more. “Now this country is nothing but rags patched with the faith of Elil.”

***

Afterwards, a terrible civil war broke out in the Kingdom of Elil, but it entered a lull when the late King Alfred Aldeon died of high blood pressure four years ago.

Although Ethelred’s accession to the throne brought peace to the kingdom, it was considered an unstable peace due to her weakness compared to the previous king. However, Isaac knew that it was not weakness, but antipathy toward the system that was driving the Kingdom of Elil to destruction.

Ethelred looked back at Isaac with wet eyes and muttered.

“Now do you know what I wanted to say? You did a really great job today. He took over what the country had been unable to do, and also predicted that change would come to this country. “Just as I dreamed.”

“your majesty.”

“You are the hope that I have finally found. The knights probably respect you more than I do. But it doesn’t matter if you bring change to this country anyway. “But if you leave me, I don’t know what to do with this torn country.”

Ethelred wants to change the system established by Elil and refined by Elil’s followers for hundreds of years. That’s never easy. Especially in situations where warlike blades are swarming around.

Ethelred was safe because her predecessor, a tyrant, nipped the problem in the bud, but in fact, her position was more precarious than ever.

It’s easy if you simply become king. Because you just have to become the strongest in this country.

But Ethelred wanted to destroy the system itself.

It was a more difficult path.

Isaac felt irony in that sight. That was the feeling he felt when he saw beings of the same kind as himself.

Ethelred was in fact a two-eyed person thrown into a one-eyed world. The sense of disconnect that Isaac, a modern man who has fallen into a different world, feels every time is not much different from what Ethelred feels.

However, Isaac could not help but say pitiful words to Ethelred.

“Be the king of knights. your majesty.”

To destroy what you hate, you must become what you hate.

This is what Isaac felt as he faced this world full of absurdity.