Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 268



Only Krnovel

Subject Here – Episode 268. The Will of Heaven is the Same on Earth (3)

“No, why are you blocking the road!”

“Do I look like an orc to you? Why won’t you listen to me when I tell you that I’m delivering supplies to the saints?”

“What on earth is the matter? Huh? Well, sir, please stop this and tell me what the matter is so I can show you more sincerity. Just tell me a little bit about what you know… .”

A village near Saint Lichtheim. Although not large in size, the village that served as a gateway for passing merchants, priests, and pilgrims was experiencing unprecedented chaos. The road that had been passable until yesterday was suddenly blocked by the Imperial Army.

The Imperial Army posted an official document stating, “The Orkan Discipline from the East has invaded and we have come to defend the city.” However, the people could not understand that the gates of the city were locked because of something that was happening in the far east.

Those barbarians, wouldn’t it be enough if the ‘civilized’ imperial army and the Church of Light’s Law joined forces and crushed them in one blow?

Because of this, people secretly whispered that something was going on in Lichtheim.

“Eight, stop it! I told you not to go in!”

The imperial officer shouted, shaking off the merchant’s hand that was trying to put gold coins in his hand. Throwing away the gold coins was difficult for the officer, but he really had nothing to say. If he had two gold coins, he would have made up a story for the merchant to hear, but the merchant believed that the officer was an honest soldier and did not offer it twice.

But those who could not give up even if they were stopped continued to scream.

Some people tried to sell food that would otherwise rot if not delivered to Lichtheim immediately, and wandering monks whose pilgrimage routes were blocked protested with red faces. Finally, an Imperial officer drew his sword and retreated.

“Be quiet and stand back! His Majesty the Emperor has led his troops because he knows that the city is under serious threat! Anyone entering Lichtheim now will be considered spies of the Red Grail!”

As the soldiers raised their spears fiercely, the crowd hesitated and dispersed. However, the soldiers’ faces did not look very good. They had come to defend the city, but no matter how I looked at it, I could not help but think that this was a siege.

Of course, the higher-ups will take care of it, but I was worried that I might be doing something that would be punishable by heaven.

***

And Isaac was watching the scene.

‘It’s the same here.’

From Soeur to here, near Lichtheim, I was able to quickly get there by Nel. This was thanks to flying for days and nights without stopping, but as I got closer to Lichtheim, Nel started to feel uncomfortable flying.

Just like Ultenheim, Lichtheim was surrounded by a great amount of sacred power from the myths and legends that had been piled up. In any case, Nel, who had the blood of the angels of Elril, had difficulty approaching. In the end, Isaac had to leave Nel waiting in the forest and move alone.

But every village I approached to try to get a horse was blocked by the Imperial Army. I thought about summoning the Phantom Steed, but it was clear that if I summoned that evil beast near the castle, it would melt away.

‘At this point, the Imperial Army has already surrounded Lichtheim. It would be best if Baltzemer just shows off his power and the sect surrenders on its own… ‘

Any further progress would lead to self-destruction for the empire.

The Dawn Army would be crushed by the Olkan discipline, let alone the others. Isaac wondered what the Emperor’s ultimate purpose was in taking such a risk.

At that moment, I heard the voices of people passing by muttering.

“Isn’t His Majesty the Emperor really trying to take the position of Pope?”

“Shh, this guy deserves to be punished. How can His Majesty the Emperor be so faithful to him?”

“No, but if even the saints are surrounded like this… … .”

“Hmm, well, His Majesty the Emperor is a saint. He might be better than that greedy, fat, bald Pope. He might also command the Dawn Army better.”

I don’t know about other places, but public opinion toward the Emperor seemed favorable. This is probably because most of the discontent is directed at the religious order due to the issue of the Dawn Army.

‘It is true that Emperor Baltsemer was a great man.’

Subject Here – In comparison, the Pope can be anyone if they are elected. To put it a bit vulgarly, it is a popularity vote among priests. Angels do not interfere with the power of the church as long as they obey orders, so there would be no opposition if the Emperor himself came forward to become the Pope.

No, rather, if you think about the grand national goal of occupying the Holy Land, the Pope-Emperor might be better than the Pope.

It’s not a strange concept.

As with Aethelred and Sahulhan Khan, the supreme leader of the Elil, Olkan Code, and the Undead Cult was the representative of the gods. Rather, it was an empire where the powers of heaven and earth were separated.

Isaac found this situation extremely confusing.

This was a scenario that did not exist in the game.

Of course, the Emperor is a great man and has accomplished many things, but he attacks the Pope and even controls his position? I have never seen anything like this.

‘… … Did my actions perhaps increase his ambition? He was originally an ambitious person.’

What would happen if the Emperor’s coup attempt succeeded and he became the Pope-Emperor?

It was a happy event for Isaac personally, but would it really end up being a happy event? It was hard to gauge, as it was a path that even he, who had won eight games, had never taken before.

‘Let’s think about it once we arrive at the castle. First, we need to find out what the Emperor is thinking.’

Isaac wondered how he could get past the soldiers, but soon realized that he didn’t need to worry.

He walked towards the soldiers in the middle of the street.

The Imperial officer frowned as he spotted the approaching figure, then realized that he looked unusual.

“I am Isaac Isaacrea. I have been summoned by His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Ah, ah, Isaac Isaaccrea? A Grail Knight? Are you a Grail Knight? Ha, but ah, there were instructions from the Marquis of Lyon not to let anyone through… … .”

“Does the order of the Marquis of Lyon take precedence over that of His Majesty the Emperor?”

The authority, attitude, and persuasiveness of the Nephilim were weighing on the officer. If I used the Eye of Chaos here, I would pee myself, but I didn’t want to go that far. The officer felt like he was going to faint, but he spoke with difficulty.

“Poem, something that can prove your identity… … .”

“station in life?”

Isaac held two swords in each hand and gently pulled them out of their scabbards.

“One is the key to Ruaddin, and the other is the holy sword Kachulain. I guess this will prove my identity.”

Because the Emperor had been so enthusiastic about promoting Isaac’s achievements, even the officers knew what Cachulain was.

But to the officer, the knife Isaac had shown had two meanings.

One is to literally prove Isaac’s identity.

Another thing was that if Isaac’s entrance was denied until the end, he might be able to see the sword of the Grail Knight who killed that angel being pulled out.

Although it was a rare experience, the Imperial Army officer made a rational decision.

I heard that the Grail Knight was the son-in-law of Duke Brandt, a close associate of the Emperor, and was also close friends with the Marquis of Lyon. At the same time, he was also a knight of the sect, so I decided that there would be no problem.

“Pass through.”

“Oh, and I need a horse too.”

“… … I’ll lend it to you.”

The Imperial officer was suspicious of the fact that the famous Grail Knight had come without a horse or attendant, but he had no confidence in asking questions. His courage had already been completely exhausted by the moment he asked Isaac for his identification.

Isaac smoothly borrowed the imperial horse and started riding straight towards the castle.

***

Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!

Tens of thousands of troops lined up, surrounding Lichtheim. In front of the main gate of Lichtheim, each corps came out one by one and began to march apart. The ten thousand soldiers walked as if they were one body, stomping their feet, then turned around at the general’s command, and walked again. Then, they simultaneously shouted in front of the gate of Lichtheim.

“Wow!!”

Subject Here – The shouts of ten thousand people could be heard throughout Lichtheim. After finishing the shouts, the legion returned to their original positions, and new legionnaires filled their places.

It was a traditional show of force, a demonstration to show that it was possible to mobilize such a large population, all of them well-armed and well-trained soldiers.

It was a performance that showed off the emperor’s power and strength.

In fact, these legions that the Emperor had brought were the elite of the elite among the imperial army. The generals were armed with absolute loyalty and there was no room for betrayal.

However, the soldiers had a completely different reason for their violent demonstration in the city. The evil and corrupt priests called the ‘Council of Watchmen’ had taken the Pope hostage, and because of them the empire was falling into ruin.

In the process, the Watchtower Council was portrayed as an evil group, almost on a cult level.

The monsters that appeared in the capital and in Luzberg were all the work of that watchman’s council.

Ultimately, the Imperial soldiers believed, or wanted to believe, that they were a sacred army sent to rescue the Pope.

Dietrich touched his face as he watched the Fifth Legion return with a shout. The gates of the castle were still firmly locked and silent.

“Will this work?”

Such a show of force would work against an already demoralized and poorly trained enemy. Dietrich knew that the Emperor did not want to see blood, but he thought it would be better to just storm in.

The emperor answered with a smile.

“Through.”

Baltzemer was confident.

“Most of the priests inside are desk-bound, never-before-seen wars. They cry out for war in their corners, but when war actually comes to their doorstep, they tremble in fear. Rather than blaming me, they would be thinking, ‘What on earth is the Pope doing, making the faithful imperial army come all the way here?’ It’s easier to blame one’s own side.”

What Baltzemer was after was internal division. Although it had come right up to Saint Lichtheim, it was too much of a burden to shed the blood of the knights and priests. The criticism of the people was criticism, and the religious order was ultimately the people that the emperor had to embrace.

The Marquis of Lyon spoke happily from the side.

“I can almost predict the reaction. ‘Shouldn’t we immediately call in an angel to punish that heretic? What is the Pope doing? What? Excommunicate Bishop Katyn from the priesthood? Wasn’t he a candidate for cardinal? Then the Emperor is making a reasonable demand, but our Pope is acting so foolishly that this whole situation has come to an end?’ Those guys are living in a shithole and don’t even know that their own asshole is smelling.”

“If only they would realize the problem this way, Lyon.”

The emperor stroked his horn and said:

“There must be some people of good will among them. I hope that the shouts of our soldiers will encourage them. My only request is that the election of the cardinal be held fairly.”

Of course, we all knew the hidden order behind it.

After that, he puts Juan forward as the Pope, and after a short reign, he ‘abdicates’ the papacy to the Emperor. In this way, all power on earth is finally placed in human hands.

But Dietrich couldn’t easily let go of his worries.

“What if the Pope, who is being driven to his knees, calls an angel and demands a divine judgment? He is a human being who would choose that over being dragged down.”

Since we cannot know the true intentions of the angels, the divine judgment is no different from gambling.

“Ha, let’s do that!”

Lyon said with a laugh.

The emperor also had no concerns about the divine judgment.

“The purpose of the Code of Light is the coming of the Millennial Kingdom. I am confident that I can do it better than the Pope. The Pope is only in a hurry. On the other hand, I, my horn, my destiny were born for conquest and war.”

Even when standing before an angel, Baltsemer was confident that he would be able to stand tall.

His fate was sealed at the time when his entire family was burned to death and he sprouted shining horns.

The fate of Baltsemer had already begun in the smoke and flames. Now that fate had only just reached its destination.

Squeak.

At the end of the seventh split march, the tightly shut gates of Lichtheim began to open. Inside, Bishop Juan, with a stern expression, and several paladins and priests stood.

A smile appeared on the emperor’s lips.