Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 266



Only Krnovel

Subject Here – Episode 266. The Will of Heaven is the Same on Earth (1)

Isaac’s first thought was, ‘Is the Olkan discipline a little late in getting news?’

The reason why ‘Nameless Chaos’ has no name is because it killed all those who knew its name, and brought its own faith to ruin.

The Light Code’s attack was nothing more than a suicide. And if you knew what had happened to the being who knew that name, it didn’t seem like it would be particularly good to know.

“I may be presumptuous, but Your Majesty.”

Isaac spoke carefully, hoping he didn’t sound like a swindler.

“Everyone who knows that name is dead. It is doubtful whether we will be able to find it even if we search the entire empire, and even if we do find it, would it be okay for that name to be known to the Olkan Code?”

[Don’t talk nonsense, Grail Knight.]

The man who lived said with a laugh.

[The lighthouse keeper would never have carelessly erased such valuable knowledge. Would you simply erase a name that could kill someone just by telling them its name and forget its existence?]

‘No, why are you making a fuss and treating someone else’s name as a murder weapon? It’s ridiculous.’

Isaac grumbled internally, but honestly, he felt like he would have written something like that a few times himself.

[And it is none of your business to know how to handle knowledge. Allah simply said that no information or knowledge should be confined to anyone, even if it is knowledge that will bring about a fatal future.]

Isaac had a hard time respecting whatever this copyleft plunderer, who didn’t even know what copyright was, thought, but who might come at any moment with an army of ten million men.

No matter how much Isaac rolls and thrashes, he can’t kill ten million people.

What if I get crushed to death by that corpse?

‘And in the meantime, it seems like the Empire or the Church won’t help.’

Isaac’s head grew cold.

Okay. If you don’t help, Isaac will just find his own way to survive.

Isaac has no particular patriotism or religious beliefs. He is willing to sell out both his God and his country to protect his people.

“I will do that.”

Isaac looked straight at the living being and said.

“I will go to Lichtheim myself and bring back the nameless chaos. Please postpone the great plunder until then.”

Mansengja looked down at Isaac quietly, as if trying to figure out Isaac’s intentions.

Finally, she realized that Isaac was sincere and leaned down.

[I know what you’re talking about.]

I know. If I’m not careful, I could turn the Light Code into an enemy.

But if Isaac is alone in his fight against the Olkan Discipline, and they don’t help him, the Code of Light isn’t even his ally in the first place.

Even if I help, I’ll probably get crushed to death by the orcs before that.

Even if he fails, Isaac will have done his job by buying at least some time against an army of ten million.

“I will try to see you as soon as possible.”

[Okay. Instead, I will take the money as a deposit.]

The sea as expected from the beginning.

The Olkan discipline would also need time to recover from this crushing victory. The army had suffered a crushing defeat, and the Angels had barely managed to take over the city after negotiations, so their momentum was bound to be dampened.

Thus the alliance between the Knight of the Holy Grail and the angel was formed.

***

‘You damn emperor, you didn’t even send a single soldier? You pretended to love me so much?’

Isaac grumbled inwardly as he returned to Soerl.

My expectations for the Pope were rock bottom, but honestly, I had high expectations for the Emperor. All relationships require give and take.

If the Emperor had shown sincerity in sending imperial troops to block the Olkan Discipline, Isaac would have done crazy things to help preserve his empire, thinking that since the Emperor helped protect his lands, it was right for him to protect his empire as well.

Subject Here – But no one came.

Just a handful of soldiers that Isaac had gathered through personal connections.

When Isaac returned to Soerl in a state of confusion, he was greeted with disconcerting news.

“The sect has ordered the continuation of the Dawn Army, and the Imperial Army has gone on a campaign to defend the Holy City of Lichtheim?”

“Yes. A messenger from the Marquis of Lyon sent a letter.”

The messenger who brought the letter from the Marquis of Lyon glared at Gebel with a somewhat dissatisfied look before handing the letter, whose seal had already been broken, to Isaac.

It seemed as if Gebel was trying to make a point of seeing the letter before Isaac. However, Isaac had already given Gebel full authority to do whatever it took to defend Soer.

I had no intention of getting angry at Gebel for seeing the letter first.

Rather, I think it was thanks to this that we were able to quickly exchange opinions on the contents of the letter.

Isaac let out a long sigh and congratulated the messenger who had come all this way, gave him a proper reward, and sent him away. He saw the square filled with corpses, blood, and ash. He didn’t know how many years it would take for Soer to return to his former self.

The Olkan Discipline also shed a lot of blood, but the Empire also lost the great city of Soer. It was hard to estimate how many people would starve and lose their livelihoods because of this. Without Isaac, the damage would have been exponentially greater, but in the end, it was a victory that left only wounds on both sides.

In the meantime, are you going to defend the saints?

Isaac thought back to the letter from the Marquis de Lyon.

‘Thank you for your quick report. We are also closely monitoring the movements of the Orkan Discipline. We were planning to send reinforcements as soon as possible, but the Pope’s order to continue the Dawn Army has caused us to change our strategy. His Majesty the Emperor has considered the Orkan Discipline’s invasion to be serious and has moved to defend the city. When we are sure that the Empire’s rear is solidified, we will send reinforcements right away.’

“What do you think?”

“It is a letter from the Marquis of Lyon, but it must be seen as representing the Emperor’s will. The Emperor is not a fool. Rather, he is a man of wisdom. He must have immediately realized that the invasion of the Olkan Discipline was a great plunder. Since the country is in turmoil because of the Dawn Army, the country will also look for an opening.”

“That’s right. But sending the Imperial Army to protect Lichtheim in the midst of all this… … is not like an emperor.”

I had to read the context hidden between the letters.

The Emperor is never one to be polite to the Church. He turns the Imperial Army to the rear to protect the Pope while the Empire is under attack?

That’s ridiculous.

“If the Emperor was wise, he would have sent the Imperial Army to Soeru. But… … It seems that he had a different opinion with the religious order.”

Isaac tried to imagine what kind of conversation might have been going on.

‘Cult: What is the Olkan Discipline? If we just occupy the Holy Land, the Millennium Kingdom will come? When the Millennium Kingdom comes, no matter how much the worldly empires are destroyed, there will be eternal rewards and the gates of heaven will open. When that time comes, we will throw the barbarians into the fire pit and judge them!’

‘Emperor: What the heck is a Millennium Kingdom, you fucking idiots! If the Empire is razed, the rear supply will be cut off, and supplies won’t be available, so do you think we’ll be able to occupy the Holy Land? Do you think the morale of the soldiers will be intact? If the Empire is emptied, even Ultenheim and Lichtheim will be wiped out?’

Even if the emperor had argued, the religious community would have just thrown a tantrum, saying, “What the hell is going on?”

Isaac himself is not interpreting the Code of Light in this way because he has regrets about it. The actions of the sect are really no different from this.

But as a gamer, I could understand the church’s position.

‘… … If I were the Pope, I might play like the sect now.’

In any case, the victory conditions are to occupy the Holy Land and proclaim the coming of the Millennium Kingdom. Isaac doesn’t care whether the empire is destroyed or not. In any case, the faith that satisfies the victory conditions monopolizes everything.

From that perspective, the emperor who was obsessed with the world might have seemed pitiful.

But the Emperor, Isaac, and even the Pope are people who live on this earth. They are not beings who can look down on us from the sky and act like gamers.

If there are beings who can do that… … .

Isaac looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

‘The angels must have given instructions. Ignore the Olkan rules.’

“The emperor must have been furious at the sect’s instructions. He probably didn’t look kindly on the sect that was stealing troops and supplies instead of protecting his empire.”

Isaac agreed with Gebel’s words.

However, the Emperor decided that the policy of such a sect was to ‘defend the saints from foreign invasion.’ Isaac remembered what was happening in Lichtheim.

The next cardinal election.

Subject Here – An election is currently taking place in the Holy See to choose a cardinal to fill the vacancy left by Camille, who was killed by Isaac.

***

Isaac and Gebel moved to a secluded castle wall. Of course, most of the castle wall of Soer was made of piles of stones, so it felt like they were just walking on a hill. However, they didn’t worry about anyone listening.

Isaac opened his mouth after confirming that there was no one around.

“I guess it’s not defense.”

“Yes. It’s an attack.”

Bishops were called from all over the place for the election of cardinals. The Emperor personally dispatched the Imperial Army to Lichtheim to protect this ‘severe position’ from the crisis of the great depredation of the Olkan Discipline.

In other words, it was a show of force by the Emperor to elect the ‘correct’ cardinal.

The reason I chose the word ‘protect’ was because I was concerned that the letter might fall into the wrong hands.

The defense of the saints is a kind of attempted religious coup.

As the empire was in a precarious situation, the emperor could not help but feel a stronger temptation to make a ‘national decision’.

“But the Pope is the Pope. Considering his authority and divine punishment, no matter how strong the loyalty of the Imperial Army may be, I don’t think they would dare point their swords at the Holy See.”

Loyalty and faith are two different things.

Sometimes the two are used interchangeably, but if loyalty is the goal of life, faith is the root, foundation, and philosophy of life. A person who dares to deny his own foundation is an extraordinary person in and of himself.

“Instead of attacking rashly, they will use a show of force. In the hope that the priests will rebel against the Pope ‘instead.’”

“But the church isn’t incompetent either. They won’t just let it happen.”

Gebel said worriedly.

As with any group, there are good and bad, competent and incompetent people in the church. The Pope was not just chosen because he was a good person. If he were to call an angel and excommunicate the emperor, everyone would immediately turn away from him.

Even the emperor was worried about that and couldn’t speak out against it.

The question is, ‘Will the angel really take the Pope’s side?’

Even Isaac had a hard time being certain of this.

The emperor is a saint.

It is evidence that God’s miracles have been bestowed upon mankind.

Compared to him, the Pope is nothing more than a mere human being, who is put forward as a representative by the priests. The angels do not raise any objections to this representation, but if they ask for a fair trial, it is a different story.

‘If for some reason there is a difference of opinion among the angels, or if a new promise has been made… … .’

If the Emperor’s Eucharist is truly from God, then this action may also be due to some kind of revelation. Then, calling upon an angel would be the Pope digging his own grave. The fact that the Emperor has come this far may itself show that he has been acknowledged by the angels.

‘In the end, is it really necessary to solve this problem with just earthly power?’

But that means the Knights Templar and the Imperial Army are fighting.

Now, the dawn army is right in front of us, and outside, the All-Khan discipline is encroaching.

Unless one of them backs down, they will both perish. If they go all the way… … .

The one who has no choice but to act rationally is the emperor.

“I have to go to Lichtheim.”

As Isaac spoke, as if declaring something, Gebel looked surprised.

“To Lichtheim now? That place could soon become a battlefield. It’s not an ordinary battlefield. If we’re not careful, it could become a battlefield filled with angels and miracles.”

“I had to go to Lichtheim anyway. Mr. Gebel, please gather the Soer residents and soldiers together with Captain Rottenhammer and return to Isacrea territory. We have finished negotiations with the Olkan Discipline, so they will not invade for the time being.”

Isaac looked around Soer. The troops defending Soer were focused on driving away the orcs rather than killing them all. The enemy’s training and numbers were so high that there was a high risk of being counterattacked if they pushed too hard.

If you organize and attack again, I have no choice but to give you up. I also made a promise with Manseongja.

“I’ll go and persuade the Emperor or the Pope to send reinforcements. That’s why I bought time. If we’re going to defend, Isaacrea, with its rugged terrain, would be better than Soer.”

Then Isaac had another strange thought.

‘If even Lichtheim becomes a battlefield… … it will be easier to secretly raid the censorship office.’