Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 375



Only Krnovel

Episode 375. Eternal Pale (1)

Isaac could have captured Linde, or just crushed her.

The reason I sent her away instead was because Linde showed a willingness to talk.

Isaac had not originally come here to crush the Avalanche Knights. This was an extremely personal expedition to avenge and settle the grudge against Gebel, and he had no intention of sanctifying Linde until he found out the truth about the incident.

‘We still don’t know if the Avalanche Knights are victims or apostates.’

Gebel said that the Avalanche Knights had been betrayed, and Baschul said that they had been sacrificed on the orders of the angel. However, Commander Linde, whom Isaac had met, was openly hostile to Gebel and the Dawn Army.

Because of this, Isaac’s eyes were opened to new possibilities.

‘What if Captain Linde led the entire Avalanche Knights down the path of apostasy?’

The reason Isaac thought of this possibility was because of Carlsen.

Carlsen also converted all of his knights to the Immortal Cult. It would not be strange to think of it as insurance in case he himself failed to become a god and take the nameless seat of chaos.

Linde may also have chosen to apostatize early on rather than let her own knights be sacrificed innocently.

So from here on out, it’s not just Gebel’s problem.

This may provide a clue to deduce the inner workings and purpose of the Angels of Light.

‘… … Either way, we’ll have to talk to each other directly to find out the truth.’

Isaac looked at Linde and the Avalanche Knights who had reappeared, thinking. Linde’s armor was still roughly destroyed, but her bones seemed to have healed completely and were in good condition.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking beyond her blue eyes.

“Captain Linde hated the Death Knights.”

Gebel spoke next to Isaac.

“I said that Death Knights are really dirty things. It’s not because they don’t die easily or because they’re strong… … They have to be killed three times.”

“Three times?”

I wondered what it meant to say that you have to kill three times, if not just die at all.

“Once when you die, once when you come back from the dead, and once when you try to kill yourself even after coming back.”

Not being able to kill or not killing means not even considering it. It was a bold statement in many ways, but I could imagine the pain she must have suffered.

Linde is an old leader of the Knights Templar. She must have seen countless of her comrades leave her side and turn to the Undead Order. Whenever she saw them, Linde must have been forced to kill them in her heart.

Once by remembering them, once by the fact that his old comrades had not been able to rest in peace, and once more by completely letting them go, knowing that those who had been his comrades were now trying to kill him.

Even if it is just a coworker, losing someone close to you is said to leave a deep psychological scar. What if the deceased was a comrade, colleague, senior, teacher, or successor?

Every time, Linde must have had to kill a part of her heart.

And then she came back as a death knight.

It is still unknown what made her turn away.

“Is that the case with Gebel too?”

Isaac looked at Gebel and asked, could he also kill Linde three times?

Linde’s saying ‘kill three times’ means that he is prepared to kill the opponent no matter what he looks like or what he says.

Does Gebel have that kind of determination?

Right in front of him are Gebel’s comrades. All of the Avalanche Knights, except for Gebel and Baschman, are lined up and looking down as if they are waiting for him. The reason why none of the Avalanche Knights escaped and all died may be because they all decided to die in the same place rather than return alive alone.

The Knights are like family. It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of desires Gebel had.

Isaac felt a question forming in his mouth.

‘Gebel, do you have any blue rose petals?’

Isaac couldn’t ask questions. The Avalanche Knights had begun to move.

Instead of asking a question, Isaac shouted loudly.

“Prepare for battle!”

***

‘I guess you don’t plan on talking.’

Isaac clicked his tongue as the Avalanche Knights began to run quickly down the hill. They clearly seemed willing to talk, but was it an illusion? Did they know that Isaac was quite skilled?

No, if that’s the case, combat is an option that should be avoided.

The most ideal way would be to isolate Isaac by persuading him or Rottenhammer, or by provoking a conflict with words that shake his faith.

‘It’s not just anyone else, it’s someone I’ve spent a long time with, so it’s quite possible.’

In fact, this is one of the strategies that the Immortal Church often uses. When a dead acquaintance returns and whispers, “Your faith is wrong, and if you become an undead, you can be free from eternal suffering,” humans who are shaken by mental and physical conflicts are easily deceived.

Even the paladins and priests were tempted, let alone the common soldiers. In fact, one of the reasons why the deeper the Dawn Army delved into the area, the more difficult it became was because of this temptation of the dead.

But instead of that option, Linde went on the attack.

“Power on standby!”

Rottenhammer shouted loudly.

The Avalanche Knights are smaller in number than this side, but they have more Death Knights. They must have come in a hurry, so they didn’t have any regular infantry at all. That means they lack countermeasures and are vulnerable to defense, but they are also light and mobile.

“Open the window!”

As the Avalanche Knights approached, Rottenhammer gave a loud command. Traditionally, the most effective means of stopping cavalry was the long spear. That is, on a normal horse. However, the opponents were Death Knights on Phantom Steeds.

Just before they became spears, the Phantom Steeds all flew into the sky. The flying ghost horses instantly cast dark shadows over the heads of the Isacrea Knights. The Death Knights who flew over their heads began to throw their spears downwards. Several soldiers fell down after being hit by the spears.

However, Rottenhammer was also a seasoned paladin who had fought in the Dawn Army.

“I offer up my prayers to you with flames!”

Hook, the swords of the knights all flared up and aimed at the sky. The heat of the flames radiated towards the sky. The Phantom Steeds groaned strangely and writhed in the heat that was enhanced by divine power. Some even lost their power and fell.

The Avalanche Knights gave up the air battle and split into two, splitting into left and right rear lines. Isaac thought that this was actually what the Avalanche Knights had intended. It was difficult to break through the defensively positioned Knights. Instead, they would disrupt the overhead lines and then break through to attack the less well-defended flanks and rear lines.

It was a flashy method that was possible only because it was the Immortal Sect. It was obvious that the battle was about to begin in earnest.

As expected, the Avalanche Knights immediately turned around and attempted to charge as soon as they landed.

“Tear it apart!”

But Rottenhammer had already quickly regrouped and was preparing to fight back. But now, command was of little consequence.

A fierce fight began, with both sides tearing each other apart.

***

The common soldiers, who were of little use against Death Knights, fell back for the time being.

This is the fight of the Paladins. There is not much that ordinary humans can do in the face of those who fight with the power of the gods. Instead, the soldiers have the important duty of preventing the undead from becoming undead when either side dies.

“This damn son of a bitch!”

Ian, a knight of the Isacrea Knights, swore at the Death Knight swinging his sword at him.

This was his first time fighting a Death Knight. The swordsmanship of the Knights of Isacrea, or rather the original Knights of Brient, was aimed at delicate and precise attacks. They taught to strike the ‘precise part’ according to the principle that a drop of water that fell ten thousand times can pierce a rock.

It may seem like an odd approach for Rottenhammer, who carries a huge hammer, but Rottenhammer actually has the accuracy to destroy the weak point of anything with a single blow. Otherwise, his stamina wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Ian had just dug deep into the inside of Death Knight’s skull with an exquisite attack. He even felt the inside of his skull cracking. However, Death Knight hesitated for a moment, and instead pushed his head in and swung his sword at Ian.

Thanks to that, Ian had no choice but to drop his sword. Just as he was barely able to avoid the Death Knight’s attack, a large hammer struck the Death Knight’s chest. The Death Knight, whose armor had been dented and shaking, fell down helplessly.

“Get up!”

Rottenhammer grabbed Ian by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up. Ian frantically pulled his sword out of the fallen Death Knight’s skull.

“Their weak points are their necks and spines! If their heads fall off, they won’t be able to properly control the rest of their body! You can’t fight them like you would a normal human!”

“Yes, yes!”

Ian started to fight as instructed in a hurry. He felt that it was much easier to deal with them than before. The secret of the advanced swordsmanship he had learned was that it was easy to ‘precisely’ target the spine and cervical vertebrae. He would penetrate the slightest gap, and if there was no gap, he would repeatedly stab the same spot several times until he finally created an opening.

Paladins who had come to a similar realization began to overwhelm the Death Knights of the Avalanche Paladins.

However, the true strength of the Avalanche Knights was revealed belatedly. As soon as the formation was formed, the Avalanche Knights, who seemed to be being pushed back, suddenly burst out with a loud noise that was deafening to the ears and surged forward like a strong wave.

The formation of the Isacrea Knights collapsed as the Avalanche Knights, who were at a disadvantage in individual battles, all rushed forward at once like a landslide.

“This dog… … !”

Several of the knights who had been in the breach were instantly stabbed by spears and fell. Rottenhammer charged forward with a roar, but it seemed as if there was nothing he could do to stop the Avalanche knights who were pushing forward like a single tank.

Just when it seemed as if the battle line would collapse at any moment, the flow of the landslide was momentarily disrupted.

Something foreign had intervened in the flow and interrupted it. It looked like a single tree blocking a landslide, but it was enough to dampen the momentum for a moment.

[Gebel!]

One of the Death Knights roared and swung his sword at Gebel. Gebel calmly blocked the blow, then blocked another attack that followed.

Gebel was the chief knight who led the charge of the Avalanche Knights. He knew exactly where the weak point of this group charge was. When Gebel blocked it with exquisite timing, the flow of the Avalanche Knights was broken and the flow slowed down.

Just by crossing swords, Gebel could tell who his opponent was and where his weaknesses were. It was as if he had returned to his past days as an Avalanche Knight.

[It’s me, Gebel! Why are you blocking our way!]

Brother Dele, kill the hatred. It is more important to breathe in sync with your comrades than to kill your opponents well.

[Brother Gebel, are you also one of those dogs of the blind? Don’t you know that we have been abandoned by someone!]

The sword, you said the bottom was weak. You still haven’t fixed it. Still, you tried.

Gebel didn’t answer a word. He also didn’t know why he was standing here and blocking them. To be honest, it was just inertia that he was still standing here and blocking them. If he had confronted Linde alone, he couldn’t be sure what choice he would have made.

Still, he swung his sword.

As the undead were killed, it was Gebel who was dying.

I was surprised that there were still places left to be wounded in a heart that I thought was already worn out.

At that moment, someone rubbed shoulders with Gebel.

It was Isaac.

“Avalanche Knights’ swordsmanship is a swordsmanship that is meant to be used in groups?”

“……yes.”

Gebel managed to answer.

“Then let’s show off our skills properly.”

Isaac held Kachulain and synchronized his movements with Gebel.

Gebel recognized that Isaac’s sword was an exact replica of himself. No, it was more than that.

Isaac cut down the Death Knights without hesitation, and Gebel was overwhelmed just by being his assistant. Isaac’s sword was guiding Gebel to new heights without hesitation, as if it had been breathing in sync with him for decades.

Isaac was ‘teaching’ Gebel.

Gebel felt a sense of wonder at the fact that he still had more to learn, and that none other than Isaac was guiding him into that realm.

‘I taught this child?’

What happened in the years since you left the monastery?

Isaac was displaying a transcendental state that even Gebel had never seen before. But it was not unfamiliar. Between the slashing, swinging, and stabbing attacks, there were traces of the Avalanche Knights that Gebel had seen all his life.

Isaac will be remembered as a hero for generations to come.

Gebel had no doubt about that fact. And he also realized that the Avalanche Knights would remain with that name.

Not a group of apostates, but rather seniors and teachers who taught heroes.

In the face of this wondrous future and possibility, it suddenly occurred to Gebel that his resentment and regrets were nothing more than trivial matters.