Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-109

Boom! A heavy thunderous noise shook the ship. It was clear that the large piece of wood, which couldn’t possibly have been carved from a tree found at sea, was in fact a ship’s mast, now entangled in the hands of the sea monsters.

They swam swiftly through the water, aiming to ram this “battering ram” into the ship to sink it. On land, they might be at a disadvantage, but underwater, all they had to do was wait for the sailors to drown.

This collision seemed to have a significant impact, as some of the sailors staggered and fell to their knees, indicating part of the ship was already damaged.

“Deck officer!”

Without needing detailed instructions from Hyanis, the deck officer understood immediately and went below deck with a few sailors. They began repairing the ship and bailing out water. Then, in a rush, sailors brought up the prepared countermeasures against the sea monsters to the deck.

“Throw the net!”

The sailors threw the net in unison. The widely spread net entangled the sea monsters who were swiftly circling the ship, causing them to scatter in disarray. Watching the sea monsters struggle in the net, the sailors were gleefully laughing. However, their laughter didn’t last long.

“What, what?”

At some point, the sea monsters caught in the net stopped thrashing and biting each other. Instead, they began swimming in unison in one direction, even joining forces to drag the net along. The sailors holding the net screamed in pain as their hands were injured.

Hyanis urgently shouted.

The net was wrapped around the mast to prevent it from falling into the sea. However, as the sea monsters pulling grew stronger, the ship began to tilt and was dragged along. It wasn’t until a sailor hurriedly drew a knife and cut the net that the ship was able to right itself.

Only then did Hyanis realize the seriousness of the sea monsters’s attack.

He looked around. The surrounding waters were darkening.

Hundreds, no, thousands of sea monsters were surrounding their ship.

The sailors looked to one place, believing only a miracle could resolve this situation.

“Holy Grail Knight, please help us!”

***

‘Why are they asking me for help when they dragged me here?’

Isaac was bewildered by the sudden call for help, but since he was on the same ship, their fate was intertwined with his. However, Isaac didn’t have the means to instantly resolve the situation. That would be something Bishop Juan might be capable of, not him.

Hyanis seemed to have come to a similar conclusion as he quickly approached Bishop Juan.

“I’m sorry to ask, but could you perform a miracle to counter them?”

Bishop Juan, thinking along the same lines as Isaac, saw no other option but to help.

“These fools… can’t even handle a fish head and they think they can capture an angel?!”

“I have a plan to deal with the Drowned King. But it’s not suitable for mere sea monsters, nor is it in a state to be effective.”

Hyanis, anxious, urged Juan.

“I will apologize for the rudeness. Nonetheless, we need to survive to ensure you can either earn more money or at least keep what you have been paid.”

Juan glared at Hyanis with narrowed eyes. But for Juan, complaining further was pointless.

If the ship split in two, they would all be dragged into the abyss by the sea monsters before rescue could arrive. Everyone, even the young priests accompanying them, looked at Juan with desperate eyes, prompting him to grimace and head towards the railing.

Everyone awaited the miracle that the Bishop of the Codex of Light would perform to drive away the sea monsters. Followers of the Salt Council simultaneously despised and admired the Codex of Light for abandoning their god, expecting a powerful miracle from Juan.

Several miracles that could counter such swarm creatures came to Isaac’s mind. A bishop could theoretically boil the sea, turning the sea monsters into cooked shrimp.

However, as Juan stared into the water, he stepped back with a grim expression.

“Sir Isaacrea.”

“Bishop?”

“It’s your turn… Please handle this.”

Isaac was about to question Juan, but seeing Juan’s earnest expression, he realized Juan wasn’t in a state to answer such questions.

Regardless of whether he had ichthyophobia or was seasick, it didn’t matter.

Isaac passed Juan to a panicked young priest and approached Hyanis with large strides.

“Do you know of any miracle that could help in fighting in the water? Whether it’s walking on water or breathing underwater, anything from the Salt Council.”

“How could I…”

Hyanis looked at Isaac, surprised. Priests of the Salt Council were rare, with limited transmitted knowledge, often awakening to their powers by chance, akin to a divine calling.

Therefore, they closely guarded the identity of their priests.

“I guessed as much when you mentioned having a plan to confront the Drowned King. To face an angel, you’d need a relic or a miracle, and only a priest could properly wield such a thing.”

“Please keep this a secret. And yes, I can use the ‘Doctrine of Waves.’ It allows movement over water as long as you’re moving. But beware, you’ll sink if you stop.”

Hyanis grasped Isaac’s hands, murmuring a short prayer. As the prayer concluded, Isaac tasted saltiness in his mouth, a sign that the Salt Council’s miracle had permeated his body.

[The Nameless Chaos watches over you.]

As the miracle took effect, the Nameless Chaos seemed displeased.

‘What are you going to do, attach an octopus to my foot?’

Meanwhile, the sea monsters escaped the net, regrouping to equip their battering ram for another charge. Without a moment to test the miracle, Isaac jumped over the railing.

***

The moment his feet touched the water, Isaac felt an odd fluctuation. Hesitating to balance himself, his feet began to sink slowly.

‘I need to keep moving.’

As soon as he moved, Isaac’s body slid forward, the sensation of running on hard ground vastly different from the splashing of water underfoot. Isaac realized it was more advantageous to glide over the water, akin to skating.

The sea monsters, charging with the battering ram towards the ship, emitted a sharp, high-frequency noise upon seeing Isaac floating. They swiftly swam towards Isaac and the ship, intending to pierce both with the ram.

[You are facing multiple enemies alone.]

[The effect of the Noble Journey is enhanced.]

In that moment, Isaac drew the Luadin Key, slicing through the water’s surface.

Woosh!

As the heated Luadin Key touched the water, it generated a ferocious steam, cutting through the salt-hardened battering ram at an angle.

A sharp, indescribable scream erupted from the sea monsters. Used to the cold depths, their skin couldn’t tolerate even slightly higher temperatures. The heated Luadin Key, though only generating a bit of steam, was too hot for them to endure.

‘Would be nice if they just got scared and ran away.’

Isaac felt a tingling in his palms, pondering. Cutting directly through the solid ram might break his wrist, so he sliced off a corner and struck the following sea monsters. Fortunately, the enhanced Noble Journey effect allowed for a deeper cut than expected.

The cooked or sliced sea monsters floated up, but they seemed undeterred, diving deep with the severed ram, waiting for another chance.

It seemed they had realized Isaac couldn’t enter the water.

In the meantime, other sea monsters had attacked Isaac. However, it was not easy to capture Isaac, who kept sliding on the water’s surface. Without even needing to use his swordsmanship, Isaac simply ran with the Luadin Key dipped in the water, and the sea monsters screamed and fell away.

Among them, a few of considerable size gripped their tridents and attacked all at once as if they were prepared to risk their lives. Only then did Isaac properly wield his sword and use the Isaac Swordsmanship: Eight Branches.

Eight blades tore through the surface of the water.

Where the white steam passed, the mutilated bodies of the sea monsters poured out.

In fact, it would not have been possible to fight like this on a normal battlefield.

No matter how powerful Isaac was, if there were so many enemies, their sheer mass would be violent. On land, he would not have lasted long and would have died under a pile of bodies. But the bodies were sinking into the water, and Isaac was able to attack the enemies unilaterally from above.

***

As Isaac carried out a one-sided massacre, cheers and support burst from the sailors on the ship.

Hyanis was also surprised. He groaned towards Eidan.

“I heard about it from you, but I didn’t know it would be to this extent.”

“…Actually, I didn’t know it would be to this extent either.”

Eidan had never actually seen Isaac fight. He wasn’t there when the Prophet of Red Flesh was executed, and it was the same when the Immortal Order invaded; he was subtly out of place.

It was hard to say that the Living Armor fought properly. So when Eidan spoke of Isaac, he focused more on the achievements Isaac had made rather than the way he fought.

But the way Isaac was fighting now transcended all that Hyanis, who had seen all sorts of things, knew.

“It doesn’t make sense. Is he really a paladin who just turned twenty? The swordmasters of Elil would go crazy if they saw this Holy Grail Knight.”

“Is it that significant?”

“Of course. Do you know how hard it is to fight on a rocking ship? But this Holy Grail Knight is fighting continuously on the churning sea, and even in a place where you’d sink if you stopped moving. He’s even using advanced swordsmanship that wouldn’t activate unless he moved precisely.”

Hyanis muttered with excitement and amazement he could hardly hide.

“Besides the miracle of walking on water, he’s not using any other miracles, and he’s charging without hesitation towards unfamiliar enemies that pop out from under the water in an unfamiliar battlefield. Even with the key of Luadin, it doesn’t make sense logically. Doesn’t he have any fear?”

If Isaac harbored even a bit of fear and stopped moving, he would immediately sink into the sea. Or perhaps a sea monster that endured the heat and surfaced might grab his feet. But Isaac was relentlessly slashing the sea monsters.

However, even in such a struggle, his limits were gradually showing.

‘There’s no end.’

In fact, Isaac’s situation was not good.

His stamina was slowly reaching its limit. No matter how light the armor made by miracles, running to death while using swordsmanship would tire anyone out.

Eventually, at a moment when Isaac’s movements slowed, a huge splash erupted.

The sea rose almost vertically, flipping Isaac’s body in an instant. Along with the wave, something huge crashed down on Isaac, who had lost his balance.

It was a giant sea monster with sharp bristles.

Despite the miracle of walking on water, Isaac helplessly sank below the surface with the giant sea monsters.

Isaac saw sea monsters that resembled frogs. Even under the sea, he could see their saw-like fangs. The creature did not let go even though its hand was being pierced and cooked by the key of Luadin.

If you ask if it was a crisis, it wasn’t.

Isaac had been waiting for this situation.

‘This is worth preying upon.’

After confirming he was far enough from the surface, Isaac thrust his left hand into the chest of the sea monster.