Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-18

The carrion crow, feeling the intrusion of the parasite, flapped its wings in discomfort. However, the parasite numbed its senses, calming it down.

“Hmm?”

Gebel, hearing the flapping, looked up, but Isaac had already retracted the tentacle.

As the crow flew in a specific direction, Gebel adjusted his course.

“Isaac, this way!”

“Right!”

Isaac followed Gebel, already having a clear understanding of the surroundings and the path to take from the crow’s view. He paid special attention to the scene around the Inquisitor.

There was a chaotic scene with trees down and torn apart. Several wolves were lurking nearby.

‘Five, six… no, eight wolves? Quite a few.’

The wolves surrounded a person in a thick robe and armor – unmistakably an Inquisitor. Despite the distance, it was evident that the Inquisitor was weary, barely holding up against the imminent danger of becoming wolf prey. Isaac moved, adjusting his breathing to be ready to act upon arrival.

‘It doesn’t seem like he can fight much longer. I hope he still has some strength left…’

Then, Isaac sensed something odd.

‘But why is the area so devastated? It couldn’t have been the wolves… Is the Inquisitor that powerful?’

If so, he would have easily overpowered the wolves by now.

Then Isaac noticed something.

“Gebel, look out!”

Crash!

Something massive, mistaken for a boulder at first, lunged from the side of the path they were on. Gebel, caught off guard by the sudden attack, barely managed to react in time thanks to Isaac’s warning.

Bang!

Gebel’s sword flashed, and blood sprayed. The creature roared, shaking the winter night as snow fell from the trees.

“A bear? No, a monster?”

The attacker was a giant bear, but grotesquely large for a normal bear. Its immense size could easily demolish the monastery gates.

The fierce stench carried by the wind was alarming, far beyond the normal scent of a wild animal.

Isaac recalled a past encounter.

‘It smells like when I hunted the plague boar.’

Though hard to see in the dark, the bear’s silhouette was clearly abnormal. Its fur was patchy, and flesh seemed to be rotting away. The wounds inflicted by Gebel seemed insufficient to cause it much pain.

“Isaac!”

Gebel stood face-to-face with the plague-infested bear, shouting.

“Check on the Inquisitor!”

The bear bore injuries that looked to be from the Inquisitor, yet its ferocity was daunting.

But Isaac wasn’t worried about Gebel. Given Gebel’s demonstrated skill, it was only a matter of time. Considering the bear’s size, it might take a while.

Isaac ran towards the Inquisitor.

***

Growl, bark!

The wolf pack, overwhelmed by the iron scent of the Inquisitor, barked ferociously. They had been harassing the Inquisitor for hours, yet he had managed to take down four of their pack despite bleeding and fleeing.

But their prey was nearing its end. After relentless pursuit, the Inquisitor was almost dead. The alpha wolf thought it was just a matter of finishing the job.

Swish!

Until Isaac burst from the bushes and instantly thrust a knife into the leader’s throat.

Having observed the situation from above, Isaac aimed for the strongest-looking wolf for a surprise attack.

The leader wolf jumped in shock, but the knife plunged deep into its throat, silencing it.

The wolf didn’t go down easily, though.

Clang! The wolf’s fierce struggle snapped Isaac’s old, crude sword.

“Damn it…”

Isaac cursed, having plunged the blade too deep.

‘So tough. Is this really a wolf?’

He kicked the wolf’s corpse aside, relieved that the other wolves recoiled in surprise. Isaac hoped the rest would flee, seeing their alpha taken down.

Indeed, the wolves seemed demoralized. Isaac casually approached the Inquisitor while pretending the broken sword didn’t matter.

The Inquisitor looked at him as if unable to believe someone had appeared.

“Hey, got a spare sword? Just for a moment…”

“…An angel?”

Instead of lending a sword, the Inquisitor mumbled something absurd and collapsed.

Isaac looked down at the Inquisitor in disbelief.

‘A woman?’

Underneath the removed hood was a surprisingly young and stunningly beautiful woman. Though momentarily distracted, Isaac didn’t lose focus.

Her wounds seemed severe but not immediately life-threatening. It appeared she had been holding out with incredible endurance and collapsed once help arrived.

‘Well, this works out.’

Isaac took the sword from the Inquisitor’s hand. It was lighter, better balanced, and far superior to his old one.

Upon holding the sword, Isaac was startled by a sudden vision.

[Judgment Sword (Legendary)]

[A blessed sword of the Codex of Light. Causes burns when it touches anything unholy. This also applies to the wielder, but those worthy will find it immensely powerful.]

‘Is it okay for me to hold this?’

Isaac flinched at the warning about the sword burning the unholy, but his hand didn’t feel like burning. Instead, a warm strength flowed through him as he gripped it.

Still, he was wary of how it might react to his tentacles.

‘Alright, I’ll be careful with this…’

Isaac gripped the sword tightly and glared at the wolves.

The wolves, initially confident, seemed intimidated after losing their alpha. Isaac, short of breath, hoped they would just run away.

Then, a strange wind blew.

Isaac sensed the stench intensifying around them. The wolves’ eyes grew more ferocious, driven by a powerful hunger.

Bark, growl!

With ferocious barking, the group was confident in their numerical superiority and momentum. They believed the only prey in sight was the human before them.

Then, one of the wolves lunged forward. Simultaneously, Isaac repeated an action he had practiced for years.

The least movement for the most lethal impact.

The moment Isaac exhaled shortly, his blade pierced through the wolf’s chest.

Click.

The sword seemed to snag on a rib briefly, but, true to its reputation as a judgmental blade, it sliced through the bone and pierced the heart in an instant.

The smell of burning flesh was overpowering.

As the judgmental sword retracted from the wolf, glowing red, it seemed to have utilized its power.

However, wolves are adept at hunting in packs.

While the sword was engaged, two other wolves targeted Isaac’s legs and flank. Isaac, without armor, seemed like easier prey than even an inquisitor.

Then, Isaac’s sword moved strangely once again.

Swoosh, crunch, bang!

As the sword moved fluidly, the two wolves that had charged from either side were sliced and fell away. The delayed booming sound made Isaac’s ears ring.

[Avalanche Swordsmanship: Prelude (Advanced) – ???? Interpretation]

“Cough…”

A technique that attacks surrounding enemies at a speed breaking the sound barrier.

This was the ‘Prelude’ technique of Avalanche Swordsmanship that Gebel had demonstrated earlier that day.

Isaac had managed to replicate Gebel’s technique with just one viewing, without any practice.

Executing the technique was not difficult at all.

Practices from the last two years naturally blended into his movements, his body moving without a single error. It was so easy to use, it felt like activating a skill.

But the aftermath was not minor.

His palm veins seemed burst, bruised, and the back of his hand was red and burning. The pain throughout his body was also significant.

‘I can’t use this carelessly. There’s a big difference in power compared to when Gebel uses it.’

Isaac thought this as he surveyed the fallen wolves.

The ‘Prelude’ skill Isaac used had only managed to take down two wolves.

‘The sword wounds are a bit different too.’

They were wildly brutal, as if torn by teeth.

The wolf pack froze in shock at the sudden explosion. They did not flee but surrounded Isaac.

It seemed less like confidence in their numbers and more like being controlled by something.

The atmosphere suggested they would fight to the death, and Isaac braced himself.

‘No choice then.’

Of course, Isaac had no intention of a desperate fight. His breathing was already reaching its limit. He glanced at the inquisitor, who seemed to have lost consciousness completely.

Isaac leisurely extended his left hand to the side.

If there were no onlookers, there was no need to exert himself swinging the sword.

“Let’s see who preys on whom.”

Tentacles slowly unfurled from his hand like blooming crimson flowers. They extended almost 10 meters and thickened to the width of Isaac’s forearm.

Sway.

As the tentacles ominously swayed, the wolves sensed something more terrifying than the plague curse that had been agitating them.

Whirl, crunch!

Isaac’s tentacles swiftly grabbed the corpse of the wolf pack leader he had killed earlier. The tentacles quickly absorbed the corpse with their suckers and teeth.

The giant wolf’s body decomposed in about ten seconds, leaving only a few drops of blood.

The wolves instinctively wanted to flee, but it was too late.

Their feet, frozen in fear, held them captive.

Gulp.

Isaac burped quietly and muttered.

“I never thought I’d eat dog meat in this other world.”

***

Swish, crunch, crunch!

After taking down the last wolf, Isaac inserted a tentacle into its nape. The tentacle burrowed through the skin, rapidly sucking flesh and bone. The wolf was left as just a skin, which was then absorbed, leaving nothing behind.

[‘Plague Wolf’ consumed.]

[‘Dead God’s Intestine’ perk increases absorption efficiency.]

[Night vision improves.]

[Weakness tracking ability enhances.]

[Resistance to low-grade diseases increases.]

[The blessing continues until digestion.]

‘This amount should last a few days.’

Isaac had consumed a total of five wolves. The rest had realized they were prey and had fled.

This wasn’t his first wolf hunt, but it was his first time consuming so many at once.

The mass consumption quickly healed the minor wounds he had incurred using the Prelude skill. If he could freely feast like this, there would be less restraint in using advanced sword techniques.

‘Lucky the inquisitor passed out.’

If he had only used his sword, it would have taken longer and he might have been injured. But with the tentacles, he could easily overpower them. Annoying as they were, they proved to be reliable allies in dire situations.

Isaac once again examined the state of the inquisitor. Her breathing was irregular and shallow. It was clear that her condition would worsen if they didn’t hurry.

Thud, thump-thump.

Isaac turned his head towards the direction of the noise. It was where Gebel had been.

‘Are they still fighting?’

Isaac shared his vision with the crow again. The crow was flying low in the sky, surveying the surroundings.

Gebel was still fighting the giant bear. However, the bear was covered in blood, and one of its arms was severed, while Gebel seemed unharmed. The outcome of the fight was apparent, yet the giant bear still maintained its ferocity.

‘Gebel is incredible to be facing such a monster.’

If Isaac had been fighting the giant bear, it wouldn’t have been easy to win unscathed. At least, it would have been as close as when he faced the wild boar, or even more difficult.

Suddenly, Isaac had a strange thought while looking at the giant bear.

‘A big, fierce, and violent bear… But I wonder, what special reward would I get if I went inside its belly?’

[The Nameless Chaos watches over you.]

[The Nameless Chaos desires you to seek ‘bigger prey’.]

[Award from Chaos awaits you.]