Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 328



Only Krnovel

Episode 328. Eyes and Sword (1)

The representatives of the Isacrea Dawn Army gathered in an instant inside the barracks. They were already tense from the news of the Inquisitor’s visit. In the meantime, everyone looked visibly surprised, perhaps because they had already heard the rumor that Isaac had beaten the Inquisitor.

But there was an indelible atmosphere within it, and that was ‘cheerfulness.’

This was especially true for the knights from the Code of Light. Among them, Rottenhammer was laughing so hard that his mouth was about to split.

“As expected, he is our commander in chief!”

Rottenhammer looked both surprised and delighted at the news that the Inquisitor had been taken down.

Isaac felt bewildered by the sight of him being happier than Elil or the world’s hearth, but he could understand.

Unlike Elril and the Braziers of the World, who had been cut off from the heretic inquisitors because they were fed up with them, the priests and paladins of the Code of Light had been suffering until recently. This was especially true for those who had joined the Isacrea Dawn Army out of disappointment with the sect.

But fun was fun, and reality was reality. Rottenhammer knew as much about the disaster they would bring as he was sick of the Inquisitors.

“Yeah. I’m glad I got to beat up those crazy crows, but I don’t know what to do next. Isaac, you beat them up because you had a plan, right?”

“doesn’t exist.”

Isaac answered calmly.

Rottenhammer laughed again, thinking it was a joke, but when Isaac didn’t say anything else, he closed his mouth. Soon his eyes turned ferocious.

“Really? Then should we go after them and kill them right now? They probably haven’t gotten far yet.”

Isaac doubted whether that was something a faithful Light’s Codex Paladin would say. When did he become so tainted?

Isaac shook his head.

“The conversation has already been relayed through the crows. And whether we kill them or not, they have already sent someone to restrain the Isacrea Dawn Army.”

“Who will be in check?”

“It’s Dera Heman.”

The barracks were enveloped in silence.

The fame of Dera Heman is not widely known outside of the city. This is because their main mission was to defend the city, and they did not engage in much external activity.

However, since everyone gathered here was a leader in their respective fields, they knew to some extent what kind of person Dera Heman was.

Tukhalin asked as if confirming.

“If it’s Dera Heman, isn’t he like a bodyguard of the Pope? Why is someone like that coming here?”

“To be exact, I am the one in charge of defending Saint Lichtheim. Since the Pope has moved because of the Dawn Army, the mission may have changed a little.”

The fact that the Pope’s bodyguard was coming was a sign of how serious a threat the Pope considered the Isacrea Dawn Army.

In other words, whether Isaac beat up Saltna or not, the result would have been the same. And if he had to choose between the two, Isaac would still have chosen to beat up Saltna.

“Then what should we do? Should we face the Golden Lion Knights?”

Rottenhammer said in a serious tone.

It was usually not a serious matter. Taking on the Knights of the Golden Lion was a different matter from beating up an Inquisitor. Of course, the fact that the Pope’s bull had been thrown into the ground was also a problem, but no one brought it up.

“No matter what, I will be with the Black Grail Knights of Elril. We have believed in and followed the Grail Knights, not the Church of the Light’s Code. Even if the Pope sends an angel rather than a representative, that fact will not change.”

Ethelred spoke first in a solemn tone. His age and youthful appearance made his solemnity somewhat less serious, but the weight of his words was by no means light. Following this, Lyanna and the other knights nodded silently.

“Is it okay to fight against the Code of Light?”

When Tukhalin asked with a sly smile, Ethelred smiled back.

“Don’t you know, Elder? Elil has shed more blood among the followers of the Code of Light than any other faith.”

The opponent was not very important to them, who had come to seek the honor of the battlefield anyway. Rather, hundreds of years ago, they had waged great wars against numerous other faiths.

Tukhalin burst into laughter at Ethelred’s answer. He too slammed the hammer down in front of his feet with a loud thud as he spoke.

“Good. The heat in my heart can’t be worse than Elril’s. Even if they’re the Knights of the Golden Lion, they’re just a handful. Let’s crush their heads and go our separate ways!”

The two pagans made an easy decision anyway. Since their home country was across the sea anyway, there wouldn’t be any immediate problems.

The problem was that the main force was the Knights of Isacrea, which was within the sphere of influence of the Code of Light. Rottenhammer hesitated to answer, as they could easily become apostates if they were not careful.

But Isaac understood Rottenhammer’s feelings enough just by the fact that he hesitated to answer. It was a harsh ordeal to shake the heart of this faithful believer. And Isaac had no intention of making them fight the Code of Light anyway.

“I appreciate your kindness, but I have no intention of waging war against the Code of Light.”

“what?”

Rottenhammer asked in surprise.

“What do you mean? So you plan on surrendering?”

“The enemy we must fight is still clear: the Holy Land of Lua, and the Immortal Cult there.”

Isaac did not forget this premise. The Holy Land of Lua must be recaptured. This was necessary to rule out the intervention of none other than angels.

For a very extreme example, even if Isaac were to destroy the Order of the Code of Light, usurp the throne of the Emperor, and then decapitate the Pope, the Lighthouse Keeper would not interfere with him as long as he maintained his goal of taking over the Holy Land of Lua.

This is because the victory condition of the Code of Light is focused solely on capturing the Holy Land, Lua.

Isaac had concluded that the will of the church was more focused on restraining Isaac and doing whatever he wanted now than the angels. And reclaiming the Holy Land of Lua was also Isaac’s goal.

“If you want to occupy the Holy Land, you must not fight against your own side.”

“… … Of course. But aren’t they not leaving us alone?”

“Then what are you going to do? If you are thinking of surrendering, then you will be the first to be disobeyed since the dawn of the army.”

Rottenhammer and Tukhalin spoke hastily. Isaac was grateful for their consideration, but if the Isacrea Dawn Army was not to be involved in this problem, Isaac had to solve it himself.

Isaac turned his gaze across the sea, mentioning the story Saltnaga had told him.

“I heard there was a monastery there where the Milishar Knights of Karlsen Milter used to stay. And there was a historic duel there.”

People’s eyes followed Isaac’s gaze.

Above the sea where the foam of the waves crashed, a small old fortress towered over him. This desolate monastery was the stage that Isaac had set his sights on this time.

“I will challenge Dera Heman to a duel.”

***

The Elil Knights readily agreed with Isaac’s method, but Tukhalin and Rottenhammer looked at him as if they were wondering what he was talking about. However, Isaac did not say this without thinking.

He was confident that Dera Heman would accept the duel.

Isaac was walking along the outer walls of Odrif. Far below the walls, the blue waves of the South Sea rippled.

Even in winter, Odreif, which is quite warm, was used as a resort. However, the Milichard Monastery seen in the distance seemed to be a world away from the southern sea, standing like a tombstone against the desolate waves.

“Do you think the Golden Lion will accept the duel?”

Gebel asked as he walked with Isaac.

The Golden Lion was one of Dera Heman’s nicknames. It was because he always wore a golden lion mask. Isaac even remembered that when he broke into the Lichtheim Secret Archives, Dera Heman showed up in his pajamas, but he only showed up wearing a mask.

“I accept it. I definitely will.”

“The Code of Light is neither as fair nor as sacred to dueling as Elril. Why is that?”

“First of all, there are two reasons.”

Isaac looked at Gebel and raised his finger.

“One is that the Light’s Law Church will also be reluctant to give the appearance of ‘forcible execution.’ The Dawn Army is already in a precarious state, and if it appears that they are forcibly taking me away and replacing me, not only will the Isacrea Dawn Army disintegrate, but it could also create another front behind them.”

Neither Isaac nor the Order want the Isacrea Dawn Army to fight the Light Code, so I was confident they would accept the mediation proposal of a duel.

“That sounds good. What about the second one?”

“It’s Dera Heman’s personal pride. Dera Heman must be very concerned about me.”

“You care? Why? I can’t believe that a fanatic with no humanity would care about anyone in particular.”

Isaac turned his gaze and gazed across the sea at the Milishar Monastery.

Thinking of the knights who stayed there.

“Because I am comparable to Carlsen Milter.”

Isaac knew the result of the fight between Carlsen Milter and De La Hemann. It was an undisclosed history, but Carlsen Milter won. And it was a landslide victory.

If the results had been somewhat equal, the church was embarrassed by the almost one-sided results.

Ultimately, the results were kept a secret, as the illusion of the strongest knight within the Code of Light guarding Lichtheim had to be preserved.

Above all, while Carlsen was born into a poor family and was a swordsman in a remote monastery, Dera was born into a great family and was a knight raised with great care by the order.

‘But this fact remained a deep wound to Dera Heman’s pride.’

Carlsen didn’t care that the results were hidden, because it was just one of many victories for him. On the other hand, Dera sharpened his sword, hoping for a chance to make a comeback, but that opportunity was lost forever when Carlsen turned apostate and disappeared.

Just because you can’t speak doesn’t mean you don’t get hurt.

That’s why Isaac believed that Dera Heman would definitely duel him.

As Soltna said, Isaac was known within the church as the ‘new Karlsen Milter’.

When Isaac told him this fact calmly, Gebel just looked at him without saying a word.

“… … How do you know that? You said it was a secret of the church?”

“It’s just a guess. If Dera Heman had won, would you have hidden the results?”

Isaac lied shamelessly.

Gebel didn’t seem completely convinced, but this wasn’t the first time Isaac had been unsure. Gebel changed his mind and moved on to more important matters.

“Okay. I see you’re not just saying that without any basis. Now let’s get to the important part. Are you confident that you can defeat Dera Heman?”

“… … .”

Actually, this was the problem.

As in Lichtheim, Isaac was still reluctant to duel with Dera Heman. The compatibility was too bad. In fact, Dera Heman’s abilities in this world were fraudulent.

‘Divine absorption.’

While Isaac’s tentacles physically prey, Dera Heman simply consumes the surrounding divine powers by breathing and uses them as his own. This is also why he is able to maintain his human form without becoming overloaded even when he is covered in various blessings.

The problem is that if Isaac were to use even a little of his nameless chaos powers, they too would be preyed upon.

There would have been no problem for Carlsen, who was a knight of the same Light Code, but Isaac’s situation was completely different.

In other words, Isaac had to face the strongest knight in the Codex of Light, who was blessed with all sorts of miracles and blessings, purely on his own skills.

Isaac’s eyes darkened as he imagined the scene.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to try.”

When did he ever jump in because he had a chance? If Carlsen won, he could win too.

‘And this is the only way to convince the Inquisitors of whatever nonsense they babble about in the Church.’

Defeat Dera Heman in a duel.

What’s wrong with a stronger and more commanding person continuing to lead? If he gets in trouble, send someone else to take his place. But is there anyone stronger than Derra Heman? Unless you’re planning on sending an angel.

Isaac thought about it for a while and then stopped.

I don’t think they would go that far, but it’s not impossible. There are also terrifying examples like the Sword of May.

‘… … I think it would be a good idea to get some insurance, right?’