Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 348



Only Krnovel

Episode 348. Salt Desert (1)

Hot sun. Tropical sea. White sandy beach. Rolling waves.

It’s a wonderful list of words that seem like they would come out of a dream, but in reality, these words need a little more explanation.

A cursed sun hot enough to evaporate the sea. A little further south, you come across the southern seas teeming with monsters that are hard to guess their identity. Pure white sand, no, salt grains that absorb all moisture. Monstrous waves that crash down as if ready to bite you if you go just a little bit off the coast.

These are sentences that are suitable for describing the salt desert. In terms of game difficulty, a five-star level land where you take dot damage just by standing still unfolded before your eyes.

“I want to say it looks like it’s snowing… but it’s not like that.”

“I came from the north and was used to snowy scenery,” said Rihanna, trembling.

Isaac also thought of the Uyuni salt flats when he heard the word ‘salt desert’ and imagined a landscape of pure white salt grains, but the scenery before his eyes was a little different.

The salt desert, which had not received a single drop of rain for nearly a thousand years and had only been burned by the sun, had a somewhat dirty, sloppy color. If there had been no white at all, it would have been different, but the spots of white left behind made it look even dirtier. The popularly known Uyuni Desert landscape is also only a temporary landscape that can be seen during the rainy season.

“It’s probably because of the yellow dust blowing in from the desert in the south.”

Rihanna kicked the salt floor on the ground. It was solid, but seemed to be cracking slightly.

“It’s pretty hard, so it should be good for horses to run on. But what if the weather is so bad that you can’t even go a little off the coast?”

As Lyanna had said, most of the Isacrea Dawn Army was gathered on the beach. The coast, which had not dried out even under the lighthouse keeper’s curse, was relatively less hot, and more than anything, the cold air emanating from the ghost ship itself made it bearable.

Meanwhile, some soldiers tried to sneak salt into their pockets. Seeing the expensive salt strewn about like trash, it was hard not to be greedy. I had the knights throw it away, but I couldn’t stop them all.

“You’ll sweat a lot when you cross the desert. Don’t you think you’ll need some salt?”

There may not be a concept of electrolytes, but people in this world also had the common sense that ‘if you sweat a lot, you should eat salt.’

But Isaac shook his head.

“It’s heavy, it corrodes your gear, and it also sucks out any moisture you might need. Oh, right. You’d better tell your men that if they steal the salt from the lighthouse keeper, they’ll dry up like a mummy. Tell them that.”

Lyanna ordered her knights to do so. Only then did the soldiers panic and start pouring salt all over them.

In this world, superstition is better than rational persuasion.

***

Flutter. A giant dragon landed on a hill above the beach, kicking up a gust of dust.

It was Nell and Hesabel.

Both of them looked tired, but Hesabel looked especially tired. She had wrapped all kinds of cloth around her body, and only her eyes were visible, and her fatigue was conveyed through her eyes alone. Mirmia’s cursed sun was extremely harmful to Hesabel, who was already vulnerable to sunlight.

“how is it?”

“… … As you said, there is no oasis or even a puddle of water around here.”

Hesabel reported in a tired voice.

“But I think we can get to Mirmia in a day or two. Half a day on horseback? If word doesn’t spread by then.”

The salt desert itself isn’t that big. What Hesabel said was based on the unit’s movement speed, but if you go alone, you can get there in a day.

Isaac nodded.

“We have to get there within a day, no matter what. If it takes two days, it will take longer because of the heatstroke patients. Even if it spreads, it is better to get to Mirmia and spread it.”

Hesabel tilted his head at Isaac’s words.

“I checked Mirmia’s location from a distance. The cursed sun is right above her. Wouldn’t it be better to avoid it by following the coast?”

“The most livable place in the salt desert is Mirmia.”

Everyone present looked at Isaac’s assertion with puzzled eyes. They thought of Mirmia as just a city they were passing through. The ruins, now uninhabited, did not seem to have any strategic value.

“Mirmia is a city that the lighthouse keeper left behind as an ‘example.’ The people living there had to see with their own eyes how their hometown was being destroyed and withered away. If they had wanted to kill everyone, wouldn’t it have been enough to just let the sun shine on Mirmia?”

In fact, Isaac saw Mirmia dying a thousand years ago by Amundalas. It was a ruined city, but there were still people living there. Of course, it was a place that was ‘relatively’ tolerable, but it was still a terrible environment that was difficult to stay in for a long time.

“Even though it’s a ruin, it’s not that people live there, and since there are no changes in weather or temperature, the buildings are still quite intact. There’s probably a well left. It’s the only place in the salt desert where the army can rest for a while… … Why do you think that?”

“… … Have you ever been to Mirmia?”

Hesabel, of course, as well as Lyanna, Ethelred, Tukhalin, and Rottenhammer, were all looking on in surprise at Isaac’s fluent words.

Isaac thought for a moment, then mixed truth and lies.

“When the Drowned King dragged me to Urbansus, the angel of the Salt Council showed me the landscape of Mirmia, asking for my help.”

“Oh… … .”

Of course, it was a scene from a thousand years ago. People quietly admired the lie that was plausible but had no basis for denial. Isaac continued speaking before they could ask more questions.

“Anyway, once we get off the coast, the key is to get to Mirmia as quickly as possible. The sun never sets on this damn land, so we can’t wait until night. Hesabel, weren’t there any monsters along the way?”

“Huh? Oh, well. There were some wild animals or something, but they didn’t look that dangerous.”

“It’s a monster from the outside world. Don’t underestimate it just because it looks weak.”

“What is an external view?”

The people gathered exchanged worried glances. They were all heroes worthy of being named after their respective faiths, so they were not shaken by one or two monsters. However, even these people were concerned by the monsters of the apocryphal scriptures.

Isaac explained that he thought it was a problem to worry too much.

“Even though they are external, they are already weakened since they have entered the border. Furthermore, the heat and salt of this crazy sun are fatal not only to humans but also to monsters. Just be careful not to harm the soldiers.”

“Hmm, then Elril will take the lead.”

Ethelred stepped forward first. Isaac was delighted, as he had been planning to ask for this anyway.

“Would you please do that?”

“Of course. This salt desert looks like a good place for horses to run. I’ve never seen the monster from the outside world, but I’ve seen its skull in the castle dungeon.”

“I’ve dealt with it before. I don’t think it’ll be the same, but… … .”

Rihanna took the words.

Unlike the Gertonian Empire, which was the center of the Code of Light, those on the outskirts had a taste of the apocryphal existences. However, this was not the mission that Isaac wanted to entrust to them.

“If we proceed while cleaning up the monsters of the outside world, word will spread first. First, arrive at Mirmia as quickly as possible and prepare for the camp of the follow-up force. So that we can nurse the patients when the Dawn Army arrives. Just find a well and find a usable building.”

They are more like a vanguard than a vanguard. Ethelred seemed bewildered by the different role he had expected, but their role is the most important. The sun that defeated the 7th Dawn Army is the biggest enemy, rather than a few monsters.

“I would like you, Tukhalin, to clear the way by clearing out the monsters together with the furnace priests. Since you can even withstand the heat of molten iron, I think this will be easy for you.”

Tukhalin smiled. The salt flats are nothing more than flat plains without any curves, so the only obstacles are monsters from the outside world. Without them, we could go faster.

“This is lukewarm.”

“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Commander-in-Chief, what should we do then?”

Then Rottenhammer stepped forward and spoke. Isaac had already thought about what to do with these Light’s Codex paladins who were now forced to confront the miracle left behind by the lighthouse keeper.

“I have thought about the most important role.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Please pray that I can cross the desert safely.”

***

“Angela.”

Half a day after Elril set out as the vanguard, the Isacrea Dawn Army also began to move.

Isaac spoke to the youngest girl in the Dawn Army, who was escorted by the Knights of Isacrea before moving. Angela, as usual, was silent and emotionless, but it was clear that the heat of the desert this time would not be easy for her either.

“I still don’t know if it was right to bring you here. But since I brought you here, I guess we should go forward.”

Angela didn’t answer, but she seemed to nod faintly. I still don’t know exactly what knowledge she has, but if she had it, it would make it much easier to recover the Holy Land Lua.

But Isaac wanted to focus on lifting the curse that had bound Angela’s mind and making her sane, rather than on that goal. So he ended up restoring the Holy Land of Lua as well.

“It might be hard, but just hold on a little longer. Okay?”

This time, I nodded firmly.

Next, Isaac headed to the people who remained on the coast.

Since the Salt Council’s ships could not be towed, Isaac entrusted Horace’s skull to Yenkos. Yenkos was at a loss as to what to do with the skull of his old hero, but he seemed quite excited at the prospect of being able to command his legendary fleet of Orcas.

“This is not a place where you can stay for long in many ways, so you can go back to Odrif Port and wait.”

“Well, I would like to tell you that I will wait here at least for you… … but the salinity here is so high that you can’t even catch fish. I will arrange a ferry and visit periodically.”

Isaac nodded. Since they crossed the sea, they are the only line of retreat and supply. Just having a contact ship stationed there is enough security.

If necessary, you can summon them with the Salt Council’s sacred relics given by Amundalas.

But Isaac knew why they were so loyal. Unlike the other captains, some of the Salt Council had come ashore to join the Isacrea Dawn Force.

It was Aidan and a few of his crew.

He said with an awkward smile.

“I am a captain now, but I am also an archaeologist. I cannot miss the opportunity to visit Mirmia.”

Isaac knew what they expected, and he felt a little sorry for them.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to break the salt flats and bring in seawater right now. It seems like it will be a little late to expect it. Of course, I will find a way.”

It was a lie. Isaac knew it well. He had seen the ending with the Salt Council. But now, he did not have the necessary supplies, and it was likely to be an obstacle to the recovery of the Holy Land.

Sorry to the Salt Council, but the future they desire will only come after the Holy Land is reclaimed.

Aidan nodded.

“It’s okay. I didn’t think it would be resolved immediately upon arriving in Mirmia.”

Yenko also said with a smile.

“I was worried that the Grail Knight would say, ‘It’s actually easy.’ I’ve never seen anything that was easy, even though the Grail Knight said so.”

“……I?”

“Whether it was during the Drowned King’s reign, or in the Ellil Kingdom, or when we fought against Dera Heman in Odrif, or most recently in the Nightmare Straits… … Didn’t you struggle quite a bit despite confidently saying that ‘it can be done easily’?”

Isaac looked at them blankly for a moment.

That’s right. There were times when he almost died and overcame it through coincidence and luck. Only then did Isaac realize that his standard for ‘easy’ was different from others.

The moment an angel stands in the way of your purpose, anything goes from possible to impossible.

This is common sense in this world. But Isaac knew a way to make it work ‘even if angels intervene’. Even if he had to narrowly avoid death several times in the process.

There are countless cases where you can’t succeed even after death, so if you were able to achieve your goal while alive despite being blocked by an angel, isn’t that ‘simple’ enough?

‘Well, maybe it’s because the weight of life is different.’

Isaac lives in this world with a sense of gaming.

Of course, life is precious, but it is different from people who were born and raised in this world. After all, for Isaac, the game is already over even if he has only 1 HP left.

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen this time.”

Isaac answered confidently.

Then, for some reason, Aidan and Yenkos’ expressions darkened.