Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 381



Only Krnovel

Episode 381. Painted Heaven (2)

God wanted them to die.

At Linde’s words, Gebel was momentarily speechless.

Rottenhammer looked around in shock at the shocking statement. No matter how small Linde’s words were, they resonated as a mental wave that could be heard by everyone around her. The paladins who had come to see her, who was once the leader of the paladin order but is now a death knight, looked shocked.

Gebel confirmed Linde’s words.

“Are you saying that the Light Code wanted Captain Linde to die?”

[To be exact, I read that intention. I knew long ago that the sect was pushing our Knights to the brink of death. No, not just us, but countless knights and priests. I was barely surviving because I couldn’t bear to sacrifice you all.]

Linde’s words were calm. Gebel looked like he couldn’t find the words. Isaac was the same.

Gebel has been tormented by the fact that he alone survived the day the Avalanche Knights were annihilated, and Baschul walks around with a sword in his mouth, guilt-ridden from sending his comrades to their deaths.

However, Linde said that he had already known about the church’s intentions.

“The Code of Light gave such a command?”

[You’ve been repeating the same thing, Gebel. I’ve had poor comprehension since I was young. To be precise, the Code of Light did not give orders. I simply analyzed the circumstances and situation and concluded that ‘they’re trying to kill us.’]

Linde still spoke calmly.

[The Holy Land of Lua is no longer a land of any strategic value. The Dawn Army continues to fail, and the cult only presents delusional strategies and goals. In fact, since the first Dawn Army, we have only increased the power and territory of the Undead Cult.]

“I can’t stand it. Isaac, must I continue listening to this apostate?”

Rottenhammer finally opened his mouth, as if he could no longer bear it. He was, after all, a member of the Church of the Light. He was not a fanatic, but he did not want the ‘apostate’ Linde to insult his faith. That was not healthy for the Isacrea Order either.

Isaac also thought he should get involved here.

“Wait a minute. Linde, is this the Code of Light? Not another Archangel?”

Linde’s blue eyes sparkled for a moment before she answered.

[Of course, if we are talking about the Code of Light, it must be the Lighthouse Keeper. The Code of Light makes His existence and His will known as a matter of course, just as the earth is solid and the sun rises. However, is there another being that can be called His mouth? If we see that the Lighthouse Keeper is still a celestial angel, then isn’t the Lighthouse Keeper’s will ultimately the will of the Code of Light?]

“… … Have you ever met a lighthouse keeper?”

[of course.]

Linde’s words conveyed neither emotion nor joy.

[The lighthouse keeper didn’t tell me to die. But that’s what kings do. Instead of telling me to die, they say, ‘Raise the prestige of the kingdom,’ and ‘Show your courage to the world.’]

“It is a metaphor for the sacrifice that is absolutely necessary! If we do not stand against these evil undead, who will stand against the coming night!”

Rottenhammer shouted indignantly. But Isaac saw the wavering look in Rottenhammer’s eyes. Linde faintly laughed at his words.

[Hahaha… … Hammer Master, you’re right. It might have been a necessary sacrifice.]

Linde continued speaking in a gloomy voice.

[It must have been a necessary sacrifice to the point where I had to betray my subordinates and send them to their deaths when they disobeyed my orders.]

It was a story about Baschul.

[Our Knights, who survived the 12th Dawn Army, were unilaterally massacred in each region. Vaclav, I can’t even imagine how much of a painful burden that poor thing is carrying because of my stubbornness.]

Rottenhammer clenched his teeth and said nothing. He also knew from his own experience how great the Avalanche Knights were. But the Avalanche Knights were slaughtered unilaterally in a strategically meaningless place.

Can we really say that that was a necessary sacrifice?

***

[Now, Hammermaster. Let’s say our deaths were a necessary sacrifice.]

Linde chuckled and spoke to Rottenhammer again.

Rottenhammer looked as if he didn’t want to hear any more, but there were many paladins under him here. They too couldn’t help but recall something from Linde’s end.

[But that ‘necessary sacrifice’ was the death of my Order of the Knights, and the opponent happened to be the Order of the Undead. Isn’t the intention clear?]

“what…….”

[The lighthouse keeper wanted me to apostatize.]

Gift. Isaac absentmindedly thought of that word.

The outlines of some ominous picture began to form in my mind.

[There may be people who turn their backs on God. Well, if they don’t like it, they may do so. Even the most devout people ask for forgiveness several times a day and act against God’s will.]

“… … .”

[But what should humans do if God turns his back on them? Should humans accept the act of turning away from God as God’s will, or should they beg God to accept them back? Isn’t the latter also an act of going against God’s will?]

It was something Rottenhammer had never imagined. It was common sense to him that God’s will would be just and right. It was as natural as the rising of the sun from the moment he was born.

[The lighthouse keeper told us to walk into the limb and die. Then we must die. If it is the order of the Undying Church that I die and then come back to life and turn my sword against the god I serve again, then so be it.]

Linde spoke in a tone that could not be said to be sarcastic or not.

Isaac realized what Linde said.

Linde was neither betrayed nor sacrificed.

“Then you guys… … .”

[I am not an apostate, I am a martyr.]

Linde said, slowly twisting her head.

[The lighthouse keeper ordered me and my knights to go into the shadows and serve the light. So why can’t I apostatize? That means killing his knights and priests is my only revenge and prayer.]

Isaac began to see the outline of the picture the lighthouse keeper was drawing.

Gebel said that in the past, many other knights besides the Avalanche Knights were sacrificed or died for no reason.

Baschul said that there were blind people in the leadership of the Church of the Light’s Law who were in league with the Undead Church, and that there was an illicit collusion.

Although Kalsen was ordained as an Archangel of the Light Code, he dedicated his Order of the Knights to the Undead Cult and sought to become a god by learning their knowledge.

Over the past 300 years, the Code of Light has raised the Dawn Army no fewer than 13 times. Millions of people have gone to the territory of the Undead Cult and given their lives.

The Code of Light is the one that had the most followers, and as a result, the one that ‘donated’ the most followers to the Immortal Church.

‘The Immortal Order is subordinate to the Code of Light.’

Isaac felt a surge of fear at this eerie concept.

‘The lighthouse keeper had no interest in the Holy Land of Lua in the first place.’

He is interested in the dawn army.

This dawn army itself is a huge play that is trying to push countless people to their deaths.

‘But for what?’

Why on earth are they pushing all these people to their deaths?

It was a question that seemed like it would never be solved, but when I thought about the results it would yield, the answer became simple.

As more people die, more people go to the afterlife.

But Urbansus is the sum total of the past.

It is also a common unconsciousness of humanity. It is a solid social concept that has been built up in common by our ancestors, our predecessors, and countless people.

The unconscious instinct engraved in us to protect children, respect adults, and help those in need.

It is difficult to escape from that unconsciousness while living in this world.

Let’s assume that Urbanus is clear water. That Urbanus cannot be changed by the will of one or two people. But what if hundreds or millions of lives were thrown into it?

What if they were all people filled with one dense will and emotion?

‘Urbansus will be colored with one emotional color.’

Unless some madman shows up to do something similar again, a huge chunk of unchanging memory will remain in Urbansus.

That is, you can dye Urbansus in any color you want.

The lighthouse keeper had been painting heaven with blood for 300 long years.

No, maybe this has been going on for a thousand years, ever since the lighthouse keeper was born.

At that moment, Isaac muttered as if he was groaning without realizing it.

“The Millennial Kingdom… … .”

***

“Isaac?”

Gebel, who had heard Isaac’s whispers, suddenly spoke.

“What do you mean, a millennial kingdom? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just heard such an amazing story.”

The concept of the millennial kingdom that the lighthouse keeper was trying to create was so vast and confusing that Isaac could not speak lightly. It was all just speculation as of now, and none of it was accurate. It was unclear ‘for what’ the most important lighthouse keeper was painting heaven.

Above all, it was dangerous to be too certain of the enemy’s intentions.

Isaac was startled to realize that he had suddenly thought of the lighthouse keeper as an ‘enemy’.

Up until now, I never thought of the lighthouse keeper as an enemy at any point. Even when I played with the hostile faith, the lighthouse keeper was someone I should not deal with.

However, it is true that the lighthouse keeper meaninglessly sacrificed countless lives to the Immortal Church.

‘Then, the nameless suicide of chaos that led to the birth of the Immortal Church… was it perhaps the lighthouse keeper’s intention?’

Isaac couldn’t shake off his suspicions, even though he thought it was too much. It was none other than the Lighthouse Keeper who helped the Undead Cult firmly establish itself in the world.

In that case, it was difficult to think that it was unrelated to the background of its birth.

Perhaps even the Immortal Emperor Beshek was ordered to ‘die’ like Linde.

Linde stared blankly at Isaac.

[Our new recruit is not only handsome, strong, and capable, but he also seems to be smart.]

“Do you know anything else?”

[Well, I have been trying to guess the lighthouse keeper’s thoughts since I died, but I have not figured it out. However, I do know that if the lighthouse keeper’s plan is right, this Dawn Army will be the last Dawn Army. I wonder what role our new recruit will play in this historical bookmark.]

Linde continued speaking quietly.

[Even if you feel like you’ve been used by the gods… …don’t give up.]

“… …Why?”

Although he had no intention of giving up, Isaac asked Linde why she insisted on saying something like that.

Linde responded to Isaac’s question as if she had been waiting for it.

[It’s the same reason I became undead. Because the lighthouse keeper promised a ‘millennium kingdom.’]

Then she giggled as if she was having so much fun. Isaac thought she was telling some kind of joke, but he soon realized what it meant.

The ‘millennial kingdom’ that the lighthouse keeper spoke of probably refers to the ‘kingdom that comes in the thousandth year’. There must be a reason as to why it is a thousand years.

That is, his books were created only for a thousand years.

If he could hold on and hold on, Isaac could write from the next page.

Because the world doesn’t end when the game ending scrolls up.