Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 366



Only Krnovel

Episode 366. The Land Where Life and Death Collapse (3)

The Immortal Cult is the name of their faith, and the territory they occupy is called the Urdantu Empire.

However, since there are hardly any people living in this land called ‘Empire’, it is a meaningless name. It is questionable whether the land with an extremely low population density, almost like a no man’s land, can be called a territory. Even the undead were unfamiliar with the official name of the Urdantu Empire.

“Snow in the middle of the desert.”

Ethelred stared at the falling snowflakes in disbelief. The sky was full of dark clouds, so she thought it would rain, but she never expected it to snow.

The knights, including Rottenhammer and Gebel, who had already participated in the Dawn Army, did not seem surprised, but most of the knights of Elril were surprised.

“There are no warnings yet, but from now on, the undead army may appear at any time, so be careful.”

Tensed glances passed between the commanders.

However, the marching soldiers looked as if they would be happier in the cooler weather. After all, long-term strategies were something for the higher-ups to worry about, so the soldiers, who had to do as they were told, could not help but feel relieved by the cooler weather for the moment.

Among the soldiers, there were many from the northern part of the Gertonian Empire, so they were actually happy to see him.

But the soldiers’ speed and energy were not due to their mood. At some point, Ethelred realized that they were walking along a long, vast road stretching out into the middle of the desert. Along the road were long, broken columns.

“Here… … ?”

“These are the ruins of an old empire.”

Isaac answered Ethelred’s question.

“Until 300 years ago, this was the road used by the Code of Light. The Immortal Order will probably be using it after reorganizing it.”

Aethelred wondered how Isaac had managed to find the road buried in the sand in the vast desert and lead his army there. But the answer to this question, as always, was the reasonable reply, ‘Our Grail Knights are amazing.’

As we walked and walked along the road, another ancient ruin appeared. This time it was a town built with buildings of a slightly different style. There were traces of the surrounding colonnades being dug up and used as columns or foundations, but these were buildings of a completely different culture.

Then Rottenhammer approached the stone monument erected at the entrance to the village and muttered in disbelief.

“Huh, the Light Code prayer is engraved on it. This is where the Light Code territory used to be.”

“Then it would be a village at least 300 years old.”

Isaac answered calmly.

Rottenhammer muttered in disbelief.

“It’s a relic from the era of the Unified Empire when the power of the Code of Light was at its strongest. I can’t believe it even after seeing it.”

At that time, the Code of Light was so powerful that it occupied most of the continent’s territory, so much so that other faiths retreated to the outskirts in silence.

There were layers of absurdities beneath the surface, but such trivial things are not revealed in history.

The Dawn Army’s advance route usually starts from Bel Slap in the north, passes through the Gehenna prison fortress, continues to the holy city of Usak, and finally heads to the holy city of Lua. Most of the areas in between have been destroyed or rebuilt, making it difficult to find original remains, so it is rare to see such intact ruins.

The village was somewhat weathered, but it still looked healthy, perhaps because it was made of stone. However, the village, where no one lived, had an eerie atmosphere.

Isaac paused for a moment as he surveyed the town. His gaze was fixed on the patterns carved along the door frame.

The pattern resembled undulating tentacles.

‘Could it be… … this is where the believers who served the nameless chaos lived?’

Isaac recalled that at the time of the Unified Empire, nearly a third of the world’s population were followers of the nameless Chaos Cult. The majority of them were followers of the Code of Light.

The once powerful unified empire was shattered by the outbreak of the White Plague and the emergence of the Immortal Cult.

Isaac wondered if the locals had also died from the white sand during the white plague outbreak.

‘If that were the case… … .’

Isaac looked back at the desert with renewed eyes.

The share of nameless Chaos believers among the sands of this desert will by no means be small.

“Let’s just walk up to here today and take a rest here.”

Ethelred looked at Isaac’s sudden words with a puzzled look.

“Already?”

“Even if we walk further, we won’t find a better place to rest. Fortunately, this village is quite large and there is a wall surrounding it. It was probably built to guard against the monsters of the outside world, but it will also be effective against the undead. It would be even better if we could use it.”

Soldiers who had been marching with day and night reversed now need to move according to the changing climate.

Other commanders agreed with the reasonable opinion.

Isaac had other intentions.

‘I need to find out more about what happened during the White Plague before I get to the Holy Land.’

***

Why did the nameless chaos commit suicide?

It was a puzzle that Isaac still had not solved. If he knew why the nameless chaos had committed suicide, he would be able to prevent the same thing from happening again, and why it was now trying to inhabit his body and expand its power.

If you know the intention, you can prepare for it. The biggest reason Isaac had trouble with the nameless chaos was that ‘the intention was unknown.’

‘I know you’re trying hard for me, but… … .’

The Nameless Chaos doesn’t ask for anything. The missions that come down from time to time are only those that help Isaac survive or grow. Although it sometimes makes outrageous demands, it doesn’t punish him for failing to meet them.

Unlimited affection, without expecting anything in return.

There is no other way to explain it.

But what if the reason for such affection is merely a whim? What if the dice roll just happens to have a series of lucky numbers?

What if the god who killed his own followers and himself got tired of the toy called ‘Isaac’?

Isaac couldn’t help but consider that possibility.

Until he knows the intention, Isaac cannot be genuinely grateful for the nameless chaos’ consideration.

Because of this, I have tried to learn a little more about the nameless chaos, but it has not been easy. The Code of Light has been obsessively erasing and destroying the existence of chaos.

‘But here, in the territory of the Immortal Cult, it might be different… … Hmm?’

While Isaac was searching the house of a resident who had discovered the tentacle mark, he suddenly found something at the head of the bed.

It was an ordinary book of the Law of Light, but as soon as Isaac held it in his hand, it crumbled and fell apart. Then, a small trinket was found inside.

It was an ankh with a hideously distorted shape.

Isaac remembered seeing this.

‘From that Emperor-assailant priest of Roosevelt… … .’

It was a sacred object used to summon the Apocalypse Agent.

Although the Emperor himself confessed that the raid was a self-directed act, it was clear that this form of the Ankh was associated with the nameless chaos.

Isaac took the ankh in his hand and examined it closely.

Suddenly Isaac realized that the hole in the ankh’s head had a strangely different color, as if it were made of stained glass. When he looked into the ankh’s head, he saw a completely different scene.

An old man in yellow clothes was looking at Isaac.

He raised his hand and pointed at Isaac.

“betrayer.”

Suddenly, a hand shot out from inside the ankh and rushed towards Isaac as if trying to strangle his neck.

Isaac raised his hand on his sword in surprise. But the hand disappeared, and he felt a presence behind him. He turned around quickly and saw Aethelred standing there with a puzzled expression.

“Sir?”

Aethelred said in confusion as he saw Isaac holding a sword in his hand. At the same time, Lyanna, who had appeared from somewhere, glared at Isaac as if she was about to pull out Lumiad at any moment.

Isaac quickly removed his hand from the sword to quickly resolve this ridiculous misunderstanding.

Ethelred also moved quickly.

“Lianna, take your hands off the sword. The Grail Knight seems to be sensitive from fatigue.”

But Rihanna couldn’t let go.

Looking closely, her face was covered in cold sweat. Only after Aethelred grabbed her hand and pulled it away herself did Lyanna finally let out the breath she had been holding and stepped back hesitantly.

“… … I made a mistake, Holy Grail Knight. I was so shocked by the killing that I unconsciously put my hand on my sword.”

“No. It was my fault for touching the sword in front of Your Majesty. If the same thing happens again, you can do the same thing without hesitation.”

Isaac also apologized politely, but Lyanna nodded with a pale face. Isaac noticed Lyanna’s legs giving out and she was leaning against the wall, but he pretended not to hear. Then he reflected on his own attitude.

The moment he saw Lyanna holding a knife, Isaac quickly thought of several ways to slaughter her.

No amount of swordsmanship could stop Lyanna from striking Isaac.

Because Isaac had already become a being on a different level from her.

I think that maybe Rihanna just realized that fact and felt frustrated, or maybe even despair.

‘I guess I’ll have to go and apologize later.’

Isaac apologized to Ethelred again.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty… … but did you hear anything when you came in?”

Isaac had clearly heard the word ‘traitor’. It was too clear to have been a mishearing, but he couldn’t tell if it was a hallucination coming from inside the Ankh or a sound coming from somewhere else he couldn’t recognize.

Ethelred shook her head.

“I cleared my throat, knocked on the door, and even said, ‘Sir Isaac, please excuse me,’ but I don’t think you would have drawn your sword after hearing that. What did you hear?”

“… … It’s nothing. As I get closer to the Holy Land, I seem to be hallucinating.”

Isaac hid the ankh in his hand, trying to cover it up.

“But what’s the matter?”

“that is…….”

Ethelred muttered worriedly.

“Something unusual was found in my accommodation.”

***

“About 30 years ago, there was a female knight.”

Ethelred took her seat in Isaac’s quarters and began to speak cautiously.

“He was eccentric, but he had such great skills that he was nicknamed the strongest since Elril. He was also a knight cherished by the Lady of the Lake.”

Isaac nodded.

“But that knight thought that there was no point in bragging about being the strongest in the small island called the Kingdom of Elril. She crossed the sea and started to destroy any strong people she came across… … and ended up getting caught up in an absurd procession. It was the Dawn Army.”

It was only natural that the Sword Master, who was capable of destroying and destroying everything, would join the Dawn Army. All the strong would have gathered there.

But this knight’s actions were a bit more unique.

“This knight declared, ‘I will take back the Holy Land that even the Law of Light bastards could not reclaim with my own hands,’ and even changed her name to the name of the Holy Land. No one has seen her since then… …Until today.”

Ethelred sighed and pulled out a dagger. The plain white scabbard had the word ‘Lua’ engraved on it in rough letters.

Isaac also knows whose story it is. He also knows why Aethelred is bringing up the story of the famous Swordmaster.

AKA ‘Red Knife’ Rua Belin.

The name Red Sword was said to be the name she was given when she was destined to become an Archangel. However, she disappeared from the Dawn Army before becoming an Archangel, and no one has known her whereabouts since.

But today, the clue was discovered.

“This dagger is definitely the dagger of the Belin family. That means… … .”

Elril’s reason for going to war is ‘because God wants war.’

But this is a reason that only the priests can understand, and there is a more urgent reason for the nobles and knights who have provided troops and gold.

This is because it has been revealed that the Immortal Order has been steadily stealing the corpses of the Knights of Elril for a long time.

The most important thing to the Knights of Elil is not faith. If faith were the most important thing, Elil would not have become a god after beating the lighthouse keeper and apostatizing.

The most important thing to the Knights of Elril is honor.

‘To put it a little vulgarly, the knights of Elril hate to do anything that would make them lose their temper.’

It is impossible for them to remain silent while the corpses of their ancestors, teachers, seniors, and blood relatives are stolen. They must compromise with some realities, but the list of goals for the Knights of Elril’s participation in the war is still at the top of the list, with ‘recovering the remains of the lost ancestors’ being higher than recapturing the Holy Land of Lua.

And there was a high probability that those remains were currently running around somewhere in the territory of the Immortal Cult.

“We may have to fight that renowned senior sooner or later.”