Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 429



Only Krnovel

Episode 429. Under the Beautiful Leather (4)

The immortal emperor loves humans.

That is why he would have tried to protect humanity even at the cost of denying his own faith.

Perhaps he is the only god among the gods who loves and trusts humans. However, he loves humanity and does not approve of living like animals or slaves.

Of course there are slaves, but only while they have flesh, and as time passes and they become ‘complete bodies’ they are given the opportunity to convert.

It could be said that it was much better than the serfs of the Barbary or Germanic empires.

Isaac saw this gentle side of the immortal emperor as a weakness.

[I believed in your humanity. I was sure you would deny this form and be angry.]

“You… … !”

The Immortal Emperor watched his world crumble in real time.

At this very moment, his divinity was collapsing.

Even Isaac questioned whether it was actually possible, but it was happening.

And the fact that it was ‘possible’ was known best by none other than the Immortal Emperor.

He has seen the end of more gods than any other god, ‘even though it has not yet happened’.

Beliefs are more easily extinguished and replaced by other things than we might think. How many deities have met their end so far?

And now the Immortal Emperor has made a statement that ‘genuinely’ contradicts his own rules.

If it had been just a passing remark or joke, it wouldn’t have mattered. The collapse of the divinity meant that the value and worldview of the immortal emperor himself had begun to collapse.

He is an immortal god, not a human god.

A pathological fear of nameless chaos and a love for humanity were destroying the immortal emperor.

Ironically, his humanity destroyed his divinity.

‘no.’

The Immortal Emperor quickly stopped thinking.

The more you worry or despair about the current situation, the faster the collapse will accelerate. Since the divinity has already collapsed, the downfall cannot be stopped.

So, what had to be done had to be done quickly.

Preventing that unclean beast from being released into the world.

To deal with the beast, the immortal emperor gave up his divinity. He rushed at Isaac with the heart of a hunter hunting wild beasts, not a god.

***

The main force of the Dawn Army did not completely collapse. The few surviving priests, the charred ones, and the glass-eyed fanatics among the fanatics, did not waver and took the lead in slaughtering the undead, regardless of whether the Immortal Emperor tore open the ship of heaven or not.

As soon as the walls of the Holy Land of Lua collapsed, they were the first to rush in, following the orders of the Burning Maiden.

The charred ones leaped over the perforated wall. The wall was still hot, melted by the burning virgin, but it was of no concern to them, who were already consumed by the heat of heaven.

“Monsters who reject Providence, the day of judgment has come! The gates of the Millennium Kingdom are opening!”

A charred one roared and rushed at the undead zealot.

Kkwadk! The sword, heated by the body heat of the charred one, easily shattered the cultist’s ribs and almost split them in two. However, the undead cultist burst into laughter and struck the charred one with his four arms.

[The blind beggars have come from far away to beg! I will make a place for them to beg in Ushaq!]

It was a high-class sarcasm that pointed out that most of the soldiers of the Dawn Army were poor, but they had long since ceased to care about such worldly values. The charred one pushed forward despite being hit, breaking the spine of the undead zealot.

The undead tried to resist in an organized manner as they had prepared, but the intervention of the angel made it all meaningless. The sudden rush of hot air burned the dense undead army in one breath. The burning maiden entered the Holy Land Lua and began a relentless purge.

[Burn the pagans!]

All around were pagans, and only the true believers, proven by their blessings, were not burned, so the burning virgin’s attacks were unstoppable.

It was literally a place where fire was used to separate the pagans from the true believers.

The hole created by the Burning Maiden was not the only one. The Elril Knights entered another place, and the Isacrea Dawn Army led by Tukhalin also entered another hole.

The Knights of Elril were also secretly uncomfortable, and they did not want to associate with the fanatics of the Code of Light and burn to death together.

The isolation of the world’s Furnace Church from the world was also due to friction with the Inquisitors.

The fact that the Kingdom of Elril cut off ties with the Empire of Gertonia was also due to the fact that the Angel of Honor, Jaetu, was burned at the stake by the Inquisitors while he was still alive, so it is best not to associate with those fanatics.

Boom! Crunch! Tukhalin advanced forward, slicing through the undead soldiers without hesitation. Perhaps because the angels on Elril and the Light Code were more threatening enemies, there weren’t many undead on his side.

‘Is this okay?’

Originally, Isaac had planned to strike first before the main force of the Dawn Army could occupy the Holy Land, Lua.

I had some doubts before, but now that I think about it, I wonder if it was even a possible plan. Anyway, looking at the current situation, it seems like it’s already gone down the drain.

The walls had already collapsed, and the Immortal Order was clearly in retreat. If the Immortal Emperor had stepped forward, there might have been a fight, but for some reason he remained silent.

‘Then the question is whether the Holy Land Lua will be taken over by the Code of Light or by Elril.’

Tukhalin brought to mind the age-old conflict between the Baekje kingdoms.

Before the birth of the Immortal Cult, the faith that killed the most followers of the Light Code was Elril. What would happen if Elril took over the Holy Land of Lua?

Eliel is a millennial kingdom and Nabal may not care. However, since his name is ‘Overlord’, he cannot help but have territorial desires.

Looking at the way he’s acting, it seems like after he kills the Immortal Cult, he might say to the Code of Light, ‘You’re next!’

And Tukhalin couldn’t figure out what would determine the master of the Holy Land of Lua. Should he plant a flag somewhere? Or would he be the victor who takes the head of the Immortal Emperor?

‘If not that or that, then where is the safe key?’

[Tukhalin.]

At that moment, Tukhalin heard the voice of the Thunder Master, which seemed to be beating loudly in his heart. It was rare for the Thunder Master to speak first. Tukhalin stopped fighting and listened to the voice of the angel with a reverent attitude.

“Master of Thunder, have you called?”

[‘Mistiltir’ is nearby. We must retrieve it.]

Tukhalin’s heart pounded wildly.

It was for a different reason than the Thunder Artisan.

Mistiltir. It was a sacred material used to awaken the ‘True Light Code’ that was said to be sleeping in the underground passage of the Svanvar Archipelago.

‘Isaac’s advice that believers in the world’s melting pot should follow the scene of the turbulent times was truly for the world’s melting pot!’

Tukhalin was inwardly impressed and hurriedly asked the Thunder Craftsman.

“Where is it?”

The Thunder Craftsman revealed his intuition instead of answering. Tukhalin instinctively raised his head and turned his gaze to the center of the Holy Land, Lua.

A giant pyramid. My heart was screaming that I had to go to that pyramid, which felt ominous just by looking at it.

***

Rottenhammer felt the dome collapse with a loud noise.

The dome, which had been pitch-black, now had holes here and there allowing light to seep in, and the aftermath of the battle and the angels’ intrusion had caused larger cracks to form. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before it would collapse.

“Leonora. Are you on the right track?”

Rottenhammer asked, looking frustrated.

They were already inside the pyramid at the center of the Holy Land, Lua.

The long and complicated corridors continued with numerous doors of unknown purpose. By the time they arrived here, the Isacrea Knights had been fighting without rest and were exhausted from the undead and darkness that could appear at any time.

Leonora frowned, putting a finger to her lips.

“Angela is concentrating. Be quiet.”

“Hmm.”

Rottenhammer stared at Angela, who was walking ahead, with anxious eyes. Originally, Angela was among the knights for protection. However, at some point, Leonora began to use her clever words to taunt the knights one by one, and naturally kept Angela by her side.

Leonora naturally led the way, as if she already knew how to handle a child well. Thanks to this, her movement speed was much faster, but Rottenhammer, who remembered Isaac’s orders, couldn’t help but feel uneasy about her.

‘Retrieve the Hand of Midas and destroy or steal it.’

Rottenhammer still doesn’t know what the ‘Hand of Midas’ is. However, since Isaac had secretly requested it, it was clearly an order with Leonora in mind. If so, he had to keep in mind the possibility of clashing with Leonora the moment he found the Hand of Midas.

‘The mercenaries are sixteen, and aside from the one named Sherlock, they don’t seem to be of very high level… … .’

He is no match for Rottenhammer and the Knights Templar. However, Rottenhammer deliberately kept Gebel by Angela’s side in case he took Angela hostage at the last minute.

Leonora was also wary of her opponents.

Merchants who carry a lot of gold and silver treasures are sensitive to betrayal and murder. The Golden Idol Merchant Group, which feels aversion to always having inefficient troops like an army, is therefore always skilled at maintaining asymmetrical power.

And the most cost-effective asymmetric power is information.

Leonora didn’t miss the sudden slowing down of Angela’s movements. She had already stopped walking countless times, but this time, Leonora’s intuition stirred.

Angela’s ‘value’ fluctuated dramatically.

Leonora had an intuition that could convert a person’s value into money. If Angela’s value had simply increased, she might have thought she had found some valuable relic or obtained some miracle. However, that alone did not guarantee that she had found the Hand of Midas.

Because the hand of Midas is priceless.

‘This is… … .’

And now, Angela’s price was going crazy. It looked like a golden wave that could buy a country, and at other times it looked like a few copper coins that could barely fill a beggar’s empty bowl.

Her values ​​were constantly changing and mixing, making her feel dizzy.

Something whose value changes drastically depending on the point of view. I had definitely discovered the Hand of Midas.

“Angela, what do you see?”

Leonora couldn’t hold back her strength and grabbed Angela’s wrist.

The next moment, Leonora almost lost consciousness.

‘What is this?’

Angela’s face was a vast void.

It was nothing, and it was everything.

Leonora screamed and tried to let go, but Angela grabbed her wrist instead.

The empty void opened its mouth, gasping.

“I knew you would betray me, Leonora.”

It was the voice of the immortal emperor.

Leonora was not surprised that the Immortal Emperor already knew, but she had no idea what trick he had played into Midas’ hands.

“Leonora, what is the matter!”

Rottenhammer hurried forward and Gebel thrust his sword. But they too were at a loss as to what to do other than hold their breath when they saw Angela suddenly transformed into something bizarre.

Angela, meanwhile, looked only at Leonora and spoke.

“You are a person who only pursues value. A person who values ​​people and can handle losses if the value does not match. I never liked you from the beginning.”

“Hey, let go of this!”

It was clear that the evil spirit that was delivering the message of the Immortal Emperor had possessed her. However, she could not figure out how to explain this phenomenon of the value changing drastically. Then, Angela suddenly muttered, tearing her empty face into a long strip.

“The Hand of Midas actually has no form. When someone with the Hand of Midas makes a wish at this pyramid, that person’s body becomes the Hand of Midas. In the distant past, it was a monkey in the marketplace, and most recently, it was a man named Midas, and then me, and finally this girl, Angela.”

The Immortal Emperor explained it kindly, as if he were giving an instruction manual.

“That is why I thought I should give you the Hand of Midas even more. You are the one who deserves to take on the disaster. Feel free to make a wish.”

The moment the evil spirit left, the void completely engulfed Angela.

In that emptiness, only a small hand remained, gripping Leonora’s hand tightly.

As if he would never let go until he made his wish.

Leonora gritted her teeth and shouted.

“Stop this shit right now!”

And it happened.

…. (continue)