Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 183



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Episode 183 Battle of Elion (2)

Since the final negotiations ended in failure, all that remained was war.

No one thought the negotiations would succeed, and no one was disappointed because they thought it was just a formality. Except Ethelred, of course.

However, the king who is responsible for leading the war should not be depressed.

“Let’s end the war as quickly as possible.”

Ethelred’s words were not empty, but meant to find a way to minimize damage to both sides. A short decisive battle was what Georg’s rebels also wanted. You might think of the results completely differently.

However, siege warfare is the worst because it involves a short-term decisive battle. Normally, a siege war requires three times more troops on the attacking side than on the defensive side. The only way to attack it is to build a mountain with corpses.

But fortunately, the Elil believers had their own traditional and reasonable strategy.

“A duel?”

“exactly.”

The siege method proposed by Mors was ‘duel’.

The idea is that one representative from each county will come out every day and compete to see who is best.

The loser embraces humiliation and hurt, and the winner has glory and honor. It was a way to kill two birds with one stone by destroying the enemy’s morale and eliminating talented people! Even when great swordsmen took part in a duel, there were cases where victory or defeat was determined solely by the result.

‘It’s possible because it’s the Kingdom of Elil.’

It may sound crazy to the ears of people who are not Elil believers, but this is the Elil Kingdom. Ignoring or refusing a duel would in itself destroy the morale of the soldiers. A duel was acceptable, but there was an important premise at stake in this strategy.

Our team must win.

“hmm. I heard that the average skill of Georg’s knights is high. Are there many knights who can give us that much victory?”

“To put it bluntly, it’s not that bad.”

Isaac was relieved to learn that Morse, although he made strange noises, had no illusions about his allies. A general who knows that troops are precious is a good general.

However, the Heald siblings looked hurt by the truly cold remark. Especially Raina.

“Excuse me. General Morse! As a senior knight representative, this is an unacceptable remark! “I will go to the duel as your representative today!”

“Sit down, Raina. “You can’t do that.”

Morse’s words only further hurt her pride. Just before Reyna turned into a boar with hair, Morse said something truly unexpected.

“This duel must be won. But you should never win fair and square; it would be better to use dirty tricks. Then you have to humiliate and shame the other person. “Can you do it?”

Raina looked speechless.

Must win? Regardless of whether it was possible or impossible, Raina believed that she could do it. But what else? How can she beat and humiliate an opponent who fought fairly by using despicable means? She gave in a hundred times, and if she won in a mean way, she deserved to praise her opponent’s courage and sincerity.

Then Isaac opened his mouth.

“You mean I have to get out.”

Morse nodded.

Elil knights cannot do this. Because this is a noble duel. But Isaac can do it. He is a believer in the Code of Light who tries to win even if it means using dirty tricks.

Isaac decided to add explanations for the articles he did not yet understand.

“If you use mean methods and humiliate your duel opponent, your enemies will be enraged rather than demoralized. If this happens a few times, people will immediately clamor to go out and compete rather than staying in the castle. Unless the commander is a fool, there is no reason to abandon the castle and engage the enemy… … .”

This is the Kingdom of Elil.

A country of people who are corpses without their pride, and who become corpses because of their pride.

Morse was saying that the only person in this country who could put aside his pride and fight was Isaac.

Above all, it’s not that the Aldeon Knight can’t do it, but it’s something he shouldn’t do. A dirty fight not only affects the morale of the enemy but also the allies. But Isaac is a pagan and a foreigner. It was a good excuse to avoid the shame of Aldeon’s army.

Isaac was surprised that Morse came up with this strategy. It was an impossible strategy unless the Elil believers were objectified to some extent as fame-crazed idiots.

“It seems to contain a discriminatory view toward people of slightly different faiths.”

Isaac said slightly in protest.

Are all Elil believers just and noble, while all Code of Light believers are mean and pragmatists who will use any means possible? Isaac was not even a true believer in the Code of Light.

This operation would ultimately ruin Isaac’s reputation.

Morse said, looking at Isaac.

“Can’t you?”

“Of course you can.”

And Isaac was a pragmatist who could be as mean as he wanted. It was better for him to be criticized for being a bit dishonest than for his precious troops to crash into the castle wall and have their heads broken.

However, Isaac knew a more practical method.

“But I think there’s someone better than me.”

***

Isaac looked at the great warrior standing in front of Elion Fortress.

He was the one who came forward after Isaac’s nomination, threats, or pleading. The man who took on the great warrior kept adjusting his armor to see if it was getting in his way, but he did not take it off. This was also thanks to Isaac’s threats and pleas.

The great warrior did not shout or provoke in front of Elion Fortress, but everyone knew very well what he meant. It was also a ritual often performed before a major battle.

Even though it came within range of the arrow, no shouts were heard to provoke the Daejeonsa or order an attack. Isaac wasn’t worried either. Because that’s a mean thing to do.

Georg’s knights became nervous as they realized that the great warrior would soon challenge them to a duel.

Feeling that everyone’s eyes were on him, the great warrior cleared his throat. As Isaac said, half-pleading, half-threatening, it was a time when ‘food money’ was needed.

“Georg’s wolves. What are you doing stuck in that cave? “It looks like they’re busy messing around with each other, right?”

A woman’s sonorous voice caused a stir above Elyon Castle. It was an absurd provocation that did not suit her voice. The soldiers were taken aback by the unexpected provocation, but soon let out their anger. However, the Great Master casually spat out various insults towards them.

Amidst countless curses and noises, the voice of the great warrior was pierced in people’s ears even though it belonged to only one person.

“What is the Georg clan? Now that I think about it, I heard that they are a family of dog genealogy that does not hesitate to engage in incest to protect their bloodline. Is it true? “Who is Lyanna Georg’s partner?”

“You little pig! “Open the door!”

The provocation worked surprisingly easily. There was not even a sign of stopping them from beyond the castle walls. Soon the castle gate opened, and a heavily armed knight jumped out of it.

Isaac thought as he looked at that.

‘If the Elil people were on the continent instead of the island, they would have gone extinct a long time ago.’

Doo doo doo doo! The knight quickly approached Daejeon Temple and shouted, suppressing his anger.

“I am Beoul Georg, a member of the Georg clan, guardians of the Holy Land, son of Bilon Georg, troll slayer, and flag collector! Who the hell are you!”

Isaac felt a sense of déjà vu at the long title.

Sometimes, I am thrilled by the fact that just one word can have more resonance and meaning than such fancy rhetoric.

“okay. “I am Julrich.”

“Julich? This is my first time hearing this name… … .”

The knight, identified as Beoul, looked at her curiously.

At that moment, the horse on which Julich was riding rushed in. Beoul was frightened by the sight of Julich approaching in an instant and raised his sword, but what greeted him was not Julich’s blade, but the large horse’s hoof.

bang. The horse immediately threw Beoul off the horse and trampled him.

Crack. Blood flowed from the badly dented helmet. The startled horse jumped up and started running, dragging Beoul, whose feet were tangled in the saddle. However, he could not escape the siege and only spun around in the mud in front of the fortress. Until then, Beoul had no choice but to be dragged around helplessly.

Julrich, who stepped on his opponent without even pulling out his sword, looked back at Elion Fortress.

He then threw the helmet he was wearing on his head to the floor as if he was annoyed.

“It would be nice if the next one could at least draw a sword. From now on, I will take off one piece of armor every time I defeat one person. “I hope I don’t end up in a situation where I fight naked.”

***

Half a day ago.

“duel? “Why should I do that?”

“I heard that the Sword of May has a mission for me. So, wouldn’t it be possible for you to help us a little bit in the meantime?”

“okay. yes. But why? “I am not the Sword of May, so this story has nothing to do with me.”

“… … I guess so. But right now, Master Julich is depleting Aldeon’s army of food. “I am a believer in the Code of Light, so you can understand me accepting donations, but is it okay to take food from Elil believers without compensation?”

Julich looked at Isaac while chewing a biscuit that had become mushy from moisture. She was assessing whether or not what Isaac was saying was reasonable.

Of course, the sword of May, which is an angel, can unilaterally demand something from its followers. But what about Elil believers? Elil’s followers have no reason to care for her or donate to her.

In that case, Julich spoke confidently.

“Then this is what I fairly stole from the Elil believers.”

“… … Instead of looting, how about just paying for your food with sincerity? Do you know about the concept of price? “Money or something.”

“Of course you know about money. I don’t have it, but I think that guy passing by has one. Should I bring it?”

Isaac spoke quickly before Julich knocked down a passing nobleman and snatched his money bag.

“Wouldn’t it be better to pay the price through a duel instead? “This is an opportunity to beat down and humiliate the Elil believers who dared betray the Code of Light, and even pay off their debt.”

In fact, if you look at it, the reason why Julich, a civilian, was able to casually enter the military camp and collect military supplies was because of the justification of being ‘Isaac’s companion.’ No one suspected her identity, but she would be freaked out if they found out.

So Isaac’s words about having to pay for food sounded reasonable at first glance.

‘It’s funny to ask an angel to just take down a few knights.’

With the Sword of May, it would be possible to destroy that castle wall and leave nothing above the waist of the creatures inside it. But Isaac didn’t want to go that far.

Then, an angel will definitely, unconditionally, without exception appear from Elil. Then, a similar disaster will occur in Aldeon County.

This was the reason why angels rarely intervened in conflicts on earth unless there was a great war. Especially in a civil war, there is no guarantee that the angels will take their side.

What Isaac needed was Julrich’s ‘adequate level of skill’ and anonymity. Since no one knew who Jülich was, it was good to throw him into a fight that had no honor or pride. It would be nice if Julrich defeated Lyanna, but by then, they would also notice something strange.

Julrich sipped the low-quality wine that soldiers drink and ate the grilled salmon that the cook had caught today. After filling her stomach, she seemed to think for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“I know what you mean. “It seems like you feel uncomfortable being loved, but you don’t like being hated, right?”

“yes?”

“good. i get it. Your mission is not far away, so I will accept it as if I am paying for it in advance. “Dealing with other faiths must be fair.”

Julrich said while gazing at the holy land of Elion reflected beyond the lake.

***

Before he knew it, Julrich had defeated the fifth knight. This time, one pair of gloves fell to the floor. Now she was wearing only a quilted garment underneath her armor. She knew that she was doing it to humiliate Georg-kun by saying, ‘You guys don’t even need armor,’ but she was suspicious that she was actually just making an excuse because she felt uncomfortable wearing armor.

‘I really wouldn’t fight naked.’

I was planning to stop him before he really got naked, if possible, but I thought Georg would either run out or refuse to fight before he saw that happen.

If it’s the former, it’s what you want, but if it’s the latter, your morale will hit rock bottom.

As Georg’s soldiers picked up the fallen knight and dragged him inside, the door opened and another knight appeared. Even though his helmet was pressed down, I immediately recognized who it was when I saw his familiar armor.

‘Lyanna?’

The commander-in-chief jumps into a duel? Jülich adjusted the sword he was holding.

It would be great if she defeated Lyanna, but by then, the angels of Elil might also realize what an indignity their best paladin is going through.

The moment Isaac was about to call Julich back, an unexpected sound was heard from the fog.

It was the sound of a cat crying.