Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 229



Only Krnovel

Episode 229. Gearing up chaos (1)

“You’re giving me a headache. Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

Even though Isaac threw the burden, Baschl would eventually send it down. After all, there aren’t many great writers who would dare touch the budget sent down by the Emperor’s own guard. And if it were the Emperor, he would increase the amount of wealth donated by Isaac even if it meant using his own personal funds.

“Is that all you want to know?”

“Hmm, is there anything going on around Ultenheim?”

“What’s going on? Other than arresting those lunatics who go around setting fires, saying that the Millennium Kingdom is approaching every day, and those lunatics who try to plunder the Golden Idol Caravan, saying that they’re pagans?”

“Isn’t that the very sect?”

At Isaac’s words, Baschul’s face hardened and he looked around hurriedly. He already knew that the guards had no ears to hear with their superhuman senses, but it was a reflexive action.

He glared at Isaac, his face distorted.

“If you know your life is precious, then be careful with what you say.”

“I’m asking because my life is at stake. Are you okay?”

The main job of the Imperial Guard is to detect and prevent treason or assassination plots.

He would have been sharpening his sword because of the work at Luzberg, so if there had been any change in the church, he would have noticed it right away.

Basch answered, squinting his eyes.

“They haven’t done anything yet. They’re pushing people as if the world will end when this dawn army ends. If they mobilize everyone who farms, sells, or makes clothes to the war, I don’t know what they’re going to do next.”

Just as the emperor is thinking of replacing the pope, I wondered if the pope was thinking of replacing the emperor, but there seems to be no sign of that yet. Well, it’s only the emperor who is racking his brain, but it’s not that difficult for the pope.

“If there was something serious enough to warrant concern in Ultenheim, the Imperial Guard would have been deployed a long time ago. Why?”

“Hmm, nothing.”

Basch sighed and nodded.

“Please be careful what you say. For Miss Isolde’s sake.”

Isaac nodded. Baschul returned to the palace to deal with his newly acquired burden.

‘Baschel really doesn’t know.’

In fact, Isaac had another intention behind visiting Baschl and entrusting him with such a troublesome task as utilizing donations. After the declaration of the Dawn Army, incidents also occurred around Ultenheim. If Baschl didn’t know, it seems that the signs of the incident had not yet been laid.

‘Then I guess we should take preventive measures now.’

***

The Germanian Empire is vast.

From mountainous regions covered in snow all year round, to plains where it is difficult to find a single tree, to deserts where even pieces of rock crumble and fall apart.

But the place that usually comes to mind when thinking of the ‘Empire’ is Ultenheim, a place with a lot of history intertwined with it.

Many empires and dynasties have risen and fallen under the name of the Code of Light, but the perception that whoever occupies Ultenheim is the ruler of the continent has not disappeared. Everything else is just a periphery. Even the Holy Land where Luaddin brought the Stone Tablets of Dawn cannot be considered the center of the empire.

Thanks to this, Ultenheim, with its many layers of history… …looks quaint from afar, but up close it’s a mess. That doesn’t change even if it’s the capital of a great empire.

“This is the old town. Be careful, the roads are dirty.”

Isaac nodded and followed the monk who was leading the way. The monk, dressed in shabby clothes, strode along the poorly paved, cracked, and puddled path.

Isaac was currently receiving a lot of attention in the capital and his face was widely known, so he was wearing the gray robes worn by monks. Even the beggars and poor people on the street paid no attention to the two men in their monk robes.

‘You really live in a deep place.’

Isaac looked around and thought. The buildings that had been built up over a long period of time had been added to over and over again, forming a crushed-down form like a stratum. The buildings were tall and long, leaning on each other, forming a maze of dark alleyways.

This place, which was naturally a dangerous and dirty environment, was the shadow of Ultenheim.

After it became impossible to improve without completely destroying it, hundreds of years ago, the ruler moved the center to the north of the river and created a new city where the current imperial palace is located. As a result, clean and good facilities flowed into the new city of ‘Gangbuk’, and dirty and unclean facilities flowed into the old city of ‘Gangnam’.

But it was here, in the old town, that the history and legends of the system were built.

And among them, there was a building of high status and tradition that had stood in its place for nearly a thousand years.

As we reached the heart of the old town, the building suddenly came into view.

Ultenheim Cathedral.

Like other buildings, it had been renovated and expanded countless times, and was in shambles, but the grandeur it had accumulated over time gave it authority in its own right.

After guiding him here, the monk bowed and disappeared somewhere else, as if telling Isaac to take care of the rest. Even Isaac, a Grail Knight, seemed unimpressed.

After all, it is the Ultenheim Cathedral that has stood firm through the appearance of the first Luaddin, the Elril schism, the brazier war, and the great migration of the Orcs. Compared to the countless great men and heroes who have left their mark here, a single Grail Knight was nothing.

Isaac entered the cathedral with a somewhat humble heart.

***

“Excuse me, it’s too heavy to carry, but could you please sign here… … .”

So when the monk appeared again as he was walking down the hallway and asked him to sign a Bible the size of his upper torso, Isaac couldn’t help but laugh.

The monk returned, delighted, as Isaac left his signature, which he had practiced so diligently.

“Brother Isaac.”

When he turned around, an old priestess suddenly appeared. Isaac could tell by the sash on her shoulder that she was the one who had called him.

“Cardinal Camille Sarea.”

One of only three cardinals among the countless priests of the Code of Light.

And he was the head of this tattered cathedral and the priest of the Code of Light who was in charge of the Ultenheim region.

But given the importance and position of Ultenheim, she actually played the role of a politician or diplomat more than a priest.

Isaac walked up to Camille as per the procedure, got down on one knee, and kissed her fingertips. Camille burst out laughing at his actions.

“Haha, please just call me Father Camille. It feels like a spring breeze is blowing when a handsome man like a Grail Knight calls my name.”

‘… … This woman?’

Of course, it was just a joke that old people always make. Isaac didn’t take it seriously. He had received even more flirtatious looks at the Brandt Duke’s banquet hall.

Isaac stood up and apologized first.

“I apologize. Due to circumstances, I had to meet His Majesty the Emperor first, so I was late in reporting to the sect. I… … .”

“Ah, it is all right. I have already heard the good news from Heaven that the Sword of May has returned. I have heard that the Sword of May is very pleased with the brother’s activities. Now that the Kingdom of Elril has also responded to the call of light, it is truly a blessed thing.”

‘Rather than responding to the call, it was just Calurien blocking Elril from destroying everything.’

Isaac thought so to himself, but nodded with a friendly smile.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Honestly, Isaac was a little worried. He didn’t think the Sword of May would clean his mouth clean, but he didn’t know, and on his way here, he cut off a priest’s head, and he didn’t even report to the sect after returning. He should have come quickly, even if it was just to recognize the subtle conflict between the emperor and the sect, but in the end, the sect came looking for him first.

Of course, the reason Isaac’s report was late was partly due to the psychology of ‘the angel who was in charge already knew all the details, so why bother telling the church?’ Fortunately, Cardinal Camille did not even mention that Isaac had cut off the priest’s head.

Camille continued to lavish praise, compliments, and compliments on Isaac (mostly related to his appearance) until she suddenly changed the subject just before she got bored.

“Come to think of it, Princess Brandt brought home an interesting child.”

Isaac, who had been repeating “yes, thank you” until now, was about to say “yes, yes” again without thinking, when he came to his senses. The “interesting child” that Cardinal Camille had mentioned was the child of a life insurance policyholder whom Isaac had brought home after decapitating a priest in Chirac.

You shouldn’t talk without coming to your senses.

Originally, he had planned to entrust her to Hesabel, but since even dogs and cows knew that she was the princess of Walaika, he felt awkward sending her to the church, so he had no choice but to entrust her to Isolde.

“I apologize for any disrespectful behavior that may have occurred during the process.”

“Haha, how irreverent. We are also concerned about the excessive behavior of some believers. We are constantly warning them, but it is not easy to control so many believers.”

‘For something like that, it was done quite passionately and systematically.’

“Hmm, I checked and they said that the spiritual mark of the Immortal Church remains. It must be a life insurance contract. Those Immortal Church guys are really crazy for forcing a child like this to sign a contract. They are so unnatural that they resort to such unreasonable practices.”

“I agree.”

This was Isaac’s honest impression.

“But the contract will be broken soon. Since Princess Brandt asked for it and she has no parents, I think it would be a good idea to raise her in our church. I heard that the Knight of the Holy Grail also grew up in a monastery?”

“Oh, yes. Indeed, hmm. What a blessed thing.”

Isaac nodded, answering hesitantly.

Taking in and raising orphans was one of the many major projects the church undertook. The Ultenheim Cathedral would not have been as impoverished as the monastery where Isaac grew up.

Isaac felt anew that Cardinal Camille was the right person to take on the role of Cardinal Ultenheim.

After lightening the mood with boring speeches, he suddenly tightened the tension by telling Isaac an uncomfortable story, and at the same time, he created an entity that could not help but tie Isaac up.

He had no hesitation in wielding the power and position of the religious order, which had accumulated a great deal of history, as if it were his own.

Of course, the child wasn’t that important to Isaac, but he didn’t want to do something so absurd as saving the child and then throwing it away.

“… … By the way, I know this may be inconvenient for a Grail Knight who has just returned from a difficult mission, but I have a favor to ask.”

Camille, who thought she had the leash down, finally brought up the main topic.

“I would like you to investigate the ominous incident that is taking place in Ultenheim.”

***

“Investigating the cemetery serial murders?”

In an alley in the old town, Isolde, who was walking with Isaac, asked him in disbelief about his new mission.

“No, do you entrust such a mission to a Grail Knight in the cathedral?”

“Originally, one of the main missions of the Holy Grail Knights was to destroy evil beings… … .”

In fact, it is the second most important mission after finding the holy relic.

But Isolde still looked like she didn’t understand.

“This smells a little bit… … .”

Originally a fan, Isolde became the head and sole member of a special investigation organization that did not even have a name yet, and she eagerly searched for corruption in the religious community.

Of course, she knew of so many corruptions that she didn’t need to look them up, but she had already filed that information in a document. What she needed right now was evidence that could be obtained right away. And the Ultenheim Cathedral was the obvious target.

“Do you know anything about the cemetery murders?”

“No, well. It’s just a common urban legend. The old town is full of scary rumors. But it’s nothing compared to the rumors of butchers selling human flesh or of human fingers often being found in pig dung piles… … .”

The ghost story that Isolde told is scary enough, but that’s something for the police to investigate, not the Grail Knights’ mission.

“All I know is that the underground cemetery near Ultenheim is much larger than previously thought, and that there are cultists who have been living there for a long time. They come out at night and kidnap people from the old city to perform evil rituals. It’s not much different from other ghost stories.”

It is nonsense that there are cults hiding in Ultenheim, not anywhere else. Especially if it is a cemetery, it is a place that the Church of the Light’s Code should be controlling morbidly, even if it is because of the Undead Cult. Even if there are, it is a problem that can be solved by leaving it to the Knights Templar, not Isaac.

But Isaac remembered something that had happened nearby around the time the Dawn Army exploded.

The incident begins when a monster emerges from the underground cemetery of Ultenheim and lays waste to the old town.