Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 279



Only Krnovel

Episode 279. From the Abyss Again (4)

Baltzemer straightened his back.

The empire was now out of his hands. He could still serve as a balance beam to some extent, but now that he had lost his horn, it was purely up to Baltzemer to rise again.

“Then you have been given the mission to block the eastern part of the empire. Please take good care of it.”

Isaac snickered at Baltzemer’s tone, as if he still owned the empire. This ambitious power-madman was not likely to simply be consumed as a weight on the scales and disappear.

“Of course I have to block the Olkan rule. But it’s just an obstacle I have to get past.”

“Obstacles? Is there a more important goal?”

Isaac gazed at the rising dawn in the east.

“We must reclaim the Holy Land.”

Baltzemer’s expression became trembling at Isaac’s answer. It was as if he was saying, “Are you also a helpless knight of the Light Code?”

To him, who lost everything because of his faith, the Holy Land and the Dawn Army may seem like bitter enemies.

But even though he was held back and his motivation was distorted, Isaac’s goal did not change at all.

His goal remains the reclamation of the Holy Land.

If the Light’s Code were to go crazy and take over the Holy Land, Isaac would twist it once.

“Take care of yourself. If you are ever sad because you are a Barbary, there is a faith in Barbary that gives without any discrimination, so come and listen.”

“Is there such a thing in the empire?”

“Because it’s the latest trend. If you’re interested, I can introduce you to someone.”

“I don’t know if I can have faith again. But I get it.”

***

“The emperor has escaped?”

The next day, around lunchtime, Pope Horma Khmuel, who was informed of Waldzemer’s escape, asked in disbelief what he had heard.

It was hard to believe that Waldsemer, who had been imprisoned underground in Lichtheim, had escaped, and it was also hard to believe that it was only reported around lunchtime.

“Wasn’t it guarded by the Knights of the Golden Lion? Who did this?”

“According to Dera Heman’s report, Ashtooth, the angel of Ellil, appeared and then disappeared after being injured. However, it is unknown whether Ashtooth committed another act of tyranny or whether it was really Ellil’s intervention.”

It would be terrible if even Eliel were to be turned into an enemy in the midst of all this. To be honest, I wanted to believe that the Pope was acting arbitrarily, as he always does.

“The angels will take care of it. If the Emperor escaped from the middle of Lichtheim, isn’t this also part of the grand plan?”

The Pope answered with some sarcasm.

“It is not the Emperor, but the apostate Baltsemer, Your Holiness the Pope.”

Cardinal Rohen Otter emphasized with patience.

With the appearance of the lighthouse keeper, Lohen showed that the true power of the church was held by the Council of Watchmen, not the Pope, but still showed courtesy to the Pope. The Pope knew that he was nothing more than a pawn, but there was nothing he could do about it.

His reaction to Baltsemer’s escape was also calm.

“Okay, I understand.”

“… … Is that all?”

“Isn’t he already excommunicated? Now I don’t know why he let a nobody escape. Deal with it as you see fit. Wasn’t that what you were planning anyway?”

At the Pope’s sarcasm, Rohen quietly nodded and stepped back. In fact, he had already sent a search party and sent out official documents to the nobles in each region informing them that the Emperor had been excommunicated. The Pope was merely listening to the after-death report after everything had already been processed.

‘It may have been the Watchers’ Council that released Baltzemer in the first place. He must have been guarded by Dera Heman, so how could he have escaped so easily?’

The Pope thought so, but he had no way of knowing the truth, since all proceedings were being carried out through the hands of the Council of Watchmen.

Rohen said in passing just before he left the conference room and closed the door.

“Oh, and the cardinal elections took place this morning. Fortunately, Bishop Amila Ende was elected. Congratulations.”

Amilla Ender was another priest of the Watchtower Council recommended by Cardinal Rohen. In the first place, the lighthouse keeper appeared above her head and burned the rival bishop, so she never thought that someone else would be chosen.

Now, two of the cardinals are from the Watchtower. Although he himself became the Pope with the support of the Watchtower, the situation is now irreversible.

Cardinal Juan was locked in his room, shivering because he had defied the Pope and opened the Holy Door. But the Pope had no intention of punishing him.

More than half of the priests in Lichtheim had been dissatisfied with him from the beginning. It was impossible to punish all of them, and there was no reason for them to rebel when they had confirmed where the angel’s will lay. The authority of the Pope was higher than ever.

But the Pope also felt like trembling in his room.

Horma waved Rohen away as if he was annoyed. Rohen closed the door without saying a word.

‘The emperor who ran away.’

The Pope stared across the terrace with blurry eyes. Somewhere beyond that plain, the Emperor, who had lost both power and horns, must be fleeing. He could not tell where he would be fleeing. To the Brandt Estate, which had lost its duke? To the Kingdom of Elril, since there were suspicions that he was receiving help from Elril? Or perhaps he would be fleeing to the Black Empire. Many powerful people tended to become undead out of revenge and anger.

But no matter which path he chose, he had a feeling that if he ever returned to Lichtheim again, it would be even more dangerous and fearsome than before.

‘Whatever you choose, Baltsemer, you must survive.’

Horma thought so absentmindedly, then was surprised by his own feelings.

He was cheering for the emperor.

It was a man who had been abandoned by God and fallen into the abyss, hoping to rise again. When the Pope realized his own feelings, he felt his heart pounding.

It was a childish thought, imagining a bad prank,

If he could finally see him burning down Lichtheim and trampling on Cardinal Rohen’s head, he would be able to laugh even in the midst of the fire.

***

Excommunication of Emperor Baltsemer.

This news spread rapidly through the sect’s messengers and priests in cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. The shock received by ordinary citizens, nobles, and pagans was considerable. Emperor Baltsemer was a popular emperor, and he even had the Eucharist, a sign of being chosen by God. How could he be excommunicated?

However, countless people who had been stuck around Lichtheim due to the Imperial Army’s blockade became witnesses. All the witnesses gave a common testimony. The lighthouse keeper appeared after 300 years, and the Emperor was excommunicated while everyone was blinded and in soot-filled pain. The Emperor lost his horns and was dragged away like a slave by his subordinates.

People were shocked by the consistent testimony.

And he muttered the old adage:

‘The most painful apostasy is one from the most faithful believer.’

The nobles were the most shocked.

Most of the central nobles knew that the Emperor’s military campaign to ‘defend’ Lichtheim was actually an ‘attack’. Delia Lyon was the head of the House of Peers, which was the gathering of the central nobles. The same goes for Dietrich Brandt.

They secretly supported and supported the emperor, who was secretly coveting the power and wealth of the religious order. However, they did not know that they would suffer such a crushing defeat, and they worried about the aftermath that would come. Some quick-moving people quickly donated huge amounts of wealth to nearby churches to check the situation, and nobles who did not have enough wealth quickly sent their children to monasteries or churches to gain support.

As the situation unfolded, even the common people who had been indifferent, saying, “It’s just a power struggle among the higher-ups,” began to feel the change.

The empire was now entering a completely different era than before.

The empire is now ruled by the church. The pope is the emperor, and the priests are the first class in name and reality, ruling over the faithful. All governmental actions that move the empire will be carried out through the church, and the nobles will be mere limbs.

In order to survive in this new era, people donated vast amounts of land and property to the sect. The storm eventually began to sweep across the center and into the north.

The Emperor, the first in command of the Empire, had passed away, and the second in command, Duke Brandt, had died. However, the Brandt family’s power was still intact, so people were watching closely to see if they would show some kind of reaction.

But the Brandt Dukes did not show any significant reaction to Duke Dietrich’s death. Duchess Priya did not declare revenge or submit to the cult. She simply remained silent, repeating her fundamental position that she had been a faithful follower of the Code of Light and would continue to be so.

The religious order also did not want to fight a useless war against the impregnable Roosevelt.

However, in order to buy peace, money had to be paid. Under the pretext of ‘donation of the Dawn Army’, the Brandt Dukes had to naturally give up a significant amount of territory and property as if they were being taken away. However, there were a few people who were dissatisfied with this unreasonable exploitation, and they were gathering around the Brandt Dukes.

The Brandt Dukes also bowed to the authority of the church on the surface, so the Church of the Code of Light had completely reined in the beast called the Empire. Now, there was no way for anyone to oppose the church. The church, although it was uncomfortable with the Brandt Dukes, was convinced that they had no power to put up a serious resistance, so it turned its power to the Dawn Army.

The important thing is the Holy Land. The Dawn Army of Siero is recruiting people more aggressively than before, and the cult is pouring huge resources into the Dawn Army. And the madness of the cultists who consider the angels as if they are their backers is beginning to stain the empire.

In that madness, the Empire turned all its swords toward the east.

And the sound of deadly hooves aimed at the empire was also approaching from the east.

***

Phew.

As Nel flapped her wings and landed on the outskirts of the Isacrea Monastery, a dust storm rose. In the Isacrea Territory, located in the northern part of the empire, it was already late autumn and leaves were flying.

Isaac looked at Youngji’s condition with a tired expression as he returned after a long time.

“Holy Grail Knight! Are you here?!”

“Um, this is… … what does it look like?”

Jacquelet, who had been waiting for Isaac to come, approached him with an expression on her face that looked like she was about to cry. It seemed that she was under a lot of stress rather than being happy to see him.

The Isaacrea estate looked prosperous at first glance, but upon closer inspection it was a mess.

“There are refugees from Soer, as well as people from further afield, fleeing the plunder of the Olkan Discipline. And there are those fleeing the tyranny of the religious order. I thought I only had to prepare for the east, but they are coming from all over the place.”

While Isaac was away, the population of the Isacre territory seemed to have nearly tripled. It was a number that could not help but cause problems. It was obvious how much trouble she, the captain of the guard, had to endure.

“You’ve worked hard. But don’t worry, I won’t be going out for a while.”

Jacquelet’s expression brightened slightly at Isaac’s words. Depending on whether he was present or not, the atmosphere of the estate changed completely.

After the Emperor’s excommunication, Isaac was busy trying to recover the assets that Baltsemer had left behind. It wasn’t just gold and silver, but connections, information, secret agreements, and so on. It was a task that had to be done inconspicuously, and it wasn’t simple or easy. However, thanks to the information that Baltsemer had provided, he was able to recover a considerable amount of assets.

And among those assets were also talented individuals. Isaac persuaded those who feared the sect’s retaliation to stay in Isacrea territory. Thanks to this, many of the Emperor’s knights who had escaped remained in Isacrea territory while hiding their identities.

To be honest, if you just gather people like this, there could be problems. But Isaac was in a position where he had to confront the Olkan discipline right away. So, no matter what, he needed people first.

Fortunately, Mansengja kept his promise and did not invade Isacrea territory, and in the meantime, Isaac was able to hastily build Isacrea territory to the level of a fortress city. It was not particularly difficult, as the terrain was rugged and rebellion had been anticipated from the beginning.

‘If Khan himself came, this would be no different from a sand castle… … .’

Since I couldn’t keep my promise to Manseongja, a fight is unavoidable.

Isaac could not fight and win against the entire Olkan Discipline, but he was confident that he could at least drag it into the swamp. If help from the Order of the Light’s Code came later, that would be a long shot, but that seemed unlikely.

“Oh, Holy Grail Knight. A messenger from the church came to see you.”

“Messenger? What’s the matter?”

Jacquelet’s subsequent words did not disappoint Isaac’s expectations.

“He ordered us to donate the supplies and soldiers needed for the Dawn Army’s expedition. He also ordered the Holy Grail Knights to personally join the Dawn Army.”