Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 291



Only Krnovel

Episode 291. The Whisper of the Brazier (3)

A holy place is an area that has a deep connection with gods or angels and holds deep sacredness.

Elyon, which became the tomb of Elril, the region believed to be the birthplace of a new sun in the future, Lichtheim, where the lighthouse keeper’s body still burns, Mirmia, where the god of the Salt Council is buried… … There are many holy places, and each holy place has a different level of importance and value.

But when we say ‘holy land’ without a specific place name, everyone thinks of one place.

Lua, the holy land where countless faiths originated and where the bones of saints and angels are buried.

A cold desert city now an impregnable fortress for the dead.

A land that all believers in the Law of Light, as well as those interested in theology or history, want to go to, but no one can reach it alive.

Isaac was saying that he would go to the throne where the living god, the immortal emperor Beshek, reigned.

After a brief silence, Tukhalin let out a loud tsk as if he was displeased.

“I was wondering what you were talking about, and it turns out you were seriously talking crazy.”

He picked up the hammer with an indignant look on his face as if he was going to leave at any moment.

“I thought a sane knight had finally appeared in the Code of Light, but you’re a fanatic who says you’re part of the Dawn Army? Take over the Holy Land, establish order, and bring about the Millennium Kingdom? Ha, even if that’s true, why on earth do I have to clean up the lighthouse?”

But Ethelred nodded calmly.

“I will accompany you. That is why our knights crossed the sea in the first place.”

“Oh, right.”

Tukhalin clicked his tongue again as if he was dumbfounded. Ethelred continued speaking without being discouraged.

“The great war has already begun. Ellil wants his servants to regain honor and glory on this battlefield. If we can raise Ellil’s flag high and raise his glory in the frozen desert, there is nothing more joyful than that.”

Ethelred smiled, touching the corner of her mouth.

“What could be more exhilarating than if the knights of Elril could set foot on the Holy Land of Lua before the Code of Light? The Kingdom of Elril will not refuse this battlefield.”

It was as expected. It was not the great war of conquest that Elril had dreamed of, but now that the last of the world’s furnaces had set foot on the continent, all faiths had entered the war. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the greatest war in hundreds of years.

The Code of Light fights for the reclamation of the Holy Land, Elril for honor and glory, the Council of Salt for the revival of their god, the Golden Idol Clan smells money, the Olkan Discipline seeks the great plunder, the Red Grail seeks a way to survive this strife, and the Undying Cult, as always, for eternal life.

However, what was still ambiguous was the world’s furnace.

From Tukhalin’s perspective, there was no reason to sacrifice the lives of his compatriots and believers in a faraway land across the sea. However, standing still and saying, “There is no reason to fight,” means that at this moment when everyone is pursuing change, he alone will not change in his position.

“Are you okay, Tukhalin?”

“what?”

“No matter what you say, the Lighthouse Keeper has turned the Empire into a Holy Empire, even breaking the Treaty of Licht. It is even said that this is the largest Dawn Army since the First Dawn Army. The Olkan Discipline has risked their faith to wage a great plunder, and the other faiths are slowly changing as well. For the ‘next time’.”

Tukhalin’s face twitched.

He was aware that each faith was undergoing upheaval and was running towards its own goals. It was a change that could be seen even on the islands of hermits who had cut themselves off from the world.

“Are you going to be the only ones who remain cold while everyone else is changing so passionately?”

“This guy… … .”

Contrary to its boring image, the world’s furnace aims for change and future values.

The most important doctrine shows this: ‘The Code of Light has entered the furnace of the world, the Code of Light that exists now is a fiction, and the Code of Light that is yet to be born will bring about a new order.’

“Until now, you have been waiting for the birth of the Light Code by warming yourself with conversation. But isn’t it time you realized that waiting indefinitely is meaningless?”

That is why extremists like Wolsten, who say, “We should not wait for the rebirth of God, but create God ourselves,” appear.

And Isaac, who had seen the ending of the world’s furnace, knew that Wolsten’s words were right.

The declaration of victory in the world’s furnace is when a player who has become stronger throws himself into the furnace and awakens the flesh of God. The appearance of a savior who will break the shell of the imperfect world and reestablish a new order.

The furnace craftsmen are the mothers, midwives, and caregivers of this mere fetus of the gods.

“How arrogant of you to talk, young one!”

Tukhalin finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and got angry. Isaac didn’t answer and just stared at him calmly.

“Do you think that the craftsmen of the hearth can sit still and enjoy the warmth of the hearth? While you primitive and barbaric men were scurrying about with your swords, we awakened to the secrets of the world and the divine! When God himself came out of the egg, we wanted to put a ring on his finger!”

Isaac also knows this of course. The technological prowess of the world’s furnaces is so ridiculous that it borders on over-technology even by modern standards. However, the leak of that technology is strictly prohibited, so Tukhalin couldn’t bring it out.

Because that technology is meant to be a weapon and tool that only God can wield.

“Will your baby be born healthy just by buying a few pretty baby clothes? These are times of upheaval. If you do nothing, you will see the false light codes of law forever imposing their order.”

Ethelred looked startled at Isaac’s harsh words. It was an unbelievable tone of speech from a knight of the Code of Light, even if it was meant to be provocative. However, Tukhalin was more angry at the meaning of Isaac’s words than at the words alone.

He suddenly became angry, lifted the hammer, and brought it down in front of Isaac’s nose.

Krrrrrr, bang!

A few dozen paces behind Isaac, a thunderous roar and a bolt of lightning shot out. The lightning struck the sky, spreading out in a wide area before fading away.

Isaac stared at Tukhalin without moving.

The two stared at each other for a while, and then Tukhalin turned away first.

Ethelred felt impatient as she watched Tukhalin disappear into the forest.

“… … Teacher. I trust your abilities, but don’t you think I’m being too provocative? I’m worried that Tukhalin will lead the army back to the Svanbar Archipelago.”

“I won’t go back.”

Isaac said with confidence.

“A proud warrior like Tukhalin would never push his work to others. Rather, if you had gently coaxed him, he would have gone back thinking, ‘What is this swindler talking about?’”

***

If Tukhalin had heard that, he would have been indignant and struck the hammer again, but Isaac’s words were actually true.

He felt himself wavering at Isaac’s words as he strode roughly down the hillside.

‘That damn knight.’

Tukhalin was an old dwarf. He was a devout man, and he had no doubt that he would see the world’s shell break during his lifetime. However, after hearing Isaac’s words, he realized that although he had been waiting for the birth of a god, he had never imagined the birth of a god.

Even considering the lifespan of a dwarf, he was quite old. The chances of him witnessing the birth of a god were becoming increasingly slim.

Yet whenever some radicals began to babble about waking up God, or at least creating Him, he did not hesitate to swing his hammer.

The world is an egg, and under that eggshell grows a god.

‘Don’t you know what happens to a bird when you force its eggshell off?’

The mother bird’s job is to keep her eggs warm and take good care of them. Anything more than that is presumptuous and not desirable for the god who will be reborn.

However, Tukhalin couldn’t help but be shaken by Isaac’s words.

Everything must be heated, beaten, and cooled. All birth takes place in change.

Would God be an exception?

Luaddin became the first Archangel after being burned at the stake, a common lighthouse keeper. Elil became a god after rebelling, and the Thundersmith became the Archangel of the World’s Hearth after burning himself with lightning and engraving his divine name on iron plates.

‘God won’t suddenly wake up one day without warning and cry ‘Ahhhh’.’

Tukhalin’s lips twitched as he imagined such a thing, but he immediately hardened his expression like a strict brazier craftsman.

Suddenly, Tukhalin stopped.

He sighed deeply, sat down on the floor, and began to gather the dirt and gravel around him. As the leaves piled up inside the concave bowl, a very simple fire pit was completed. When Tukhalin rubbed his fingers on it, flames began to rise.

It was a simple altar.

‘It’s not something I can decide on my own in the first place. The job I was given by the Thunder Master was to receive a sufficient blood price for the technology I stole by breaking the Olkan Discipline. If I wanted to do anything else, I’d have to get permission again.’

Tukhalin looked into the small, burning flame.

And then he quietly listened to the brazier whispering.

***

As time passed, the world’s furnace did not come to crush Isaac’s head or throw him to the island. In any case, Isaac was relieved because it meant that he was worried.

Honestly, Isaac also knew that the suggestion of ‘Since we’re here, why don’t we conquer the Holy Land together?’ to the dwarves who had come across the sea because of the Olkan Discipline would be absurd.

If they have to do something, they can just find their own way, so there’s no reason to go with Isaac.

“Your Majesty Aethelred, if you go on an expedition to the Holy Land, you will be away from the kingdom for a long time. Is that okay?”

Ethelred looked embarrassed at Isaac’s words.

“General Mors Gideon was already worried about that. But the kingdom is more solidly united than ever since the days of Elril. The witch Hecatli has long been hidden in the swamp thanks to the Grail Knights, the Georg family is cooperative, and Lady Rosalind has even lent us a ship for this expedition.”

From Ellil’s perspective, it was truly the first peaceful mood in hundreds of years. Furthermore, the person who brought this about was the young king who had personally traveled to Urbansus and met Ellil face to face, so his support and loyalty towards Ethelred could not help but be solid.

But Ethelred looked at Isaac with a worried expression.

“Actually, I was more worried about the Gertonia Empire, or rather, the Holy Empire, than the Kingdom of Elril. The expeditionary force was originally going to go through Luzberg and go to Ultenheim. Since it would be a foreign army coming in, I thought that would be a good idea. But right before we left, I heard that Emperor Baltsemer had been excommunicated.”

“… … .”

Hearing Ethelred’s words, Isaac wondered who was worried about whom.

Was he in a position to worry about the Kingdom of Elril?

The Gertonia Empire was now in chaos, even more so than the civil war in the Kingdom of Elril.

As the emperor was driven out, many systems were broken, and as the power of the priests grew stronger, the power of the nobles weakened. The priests even tried to take care of the work of the administrative officials who had awkwardly run away, but it was impossible to see that any system was functioning properly except for the Dawn Army.

‘I reflect on my past arrogant attitude of calling the Kingdom of Elril pitiful… … .’

I laughed at the neighboring kingdom for being on the verge of collapse, but it turns out it was our country. I’m crying.

But it was a blessing in disguise for Isaac, as it meant that tens of thousands of foreign troops could cross the border without any problems.

After all, there is no reason to be wary of the Elril knights or dwarven craftsmen when you can ignore the orc bandits who are coming to pillage the empire. You might as well treat them like angels (who don’t mess around).

Kang, Kang. It was when Isaac and Ethelred re-entered the monastery.

The sound of iron being struck for the first time in a long while was heard from the blacksmith shop on one side of the monastery. Thinking that it was Wolsten working, I approached, but saw Tukhalin working in front of the anvil.

Wolsten watched the work humbly from the side.

Tukhalin struck someone’s sword without hesitation with his old body.

There was no need to heat it in a furnace, but with just Tukhalin’s hammer, it turned a dark red and changed its shape like clay. Even when Isaac arrived, he worked without even giving him a glance, and finally, as if he was satisfied with the shape, he gripped the hot sword tightly in his hand and ran it through.

Thud. As the impurities mixed in along the hand, the sword quickly cooled and regained its perfect form.

To be honest, even Isaac, who had no discerning eye for swords, thought it was an excellent sword.

Tukhalin carelessly thrust his sword into the floor. Looking back, he saw that there were already dozens of similar swords stuck next to it.

Only then did Tukhalin open his mouth and look at Isaac.

“I have something to ask you about the items in your territory. I’ll tell you later whether you will participate in the war.”

[Serial] The Knight of the Dead God