Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-186

**Boom-boom-boom-boom!**

The headless cavalry captain, along with his horse, tumbled on the ground, causing a significant disruption in the formation of the charging cavalry. The knights were shocked by Isaac’s sudden appearance, but they were even more startled to realize that he wasn’t merely striking and fleeing; instead, he was actively splitting their formation.

“Catch that madman!”

“No, what are you saying! Keep charging!”

A chaos of screams and shouts ensued. Although there were knights ready to take command after the captain’s death, their judgments were severely shaken. Their opponent was none other than Isaac.

Since the main force was faltering, they had to strike at the rear of the Aldeon army and crush them! No! It was an opportunity to punish the Holy Grail Knight who had brazenly harmed their comrades right before their eyes!

Indecision caused the cavalry’s ranks to break significantly.

A knight, whose left eye wound was still fresh, screamed as if in a fit.

“That damned bastard has killed our comrades like dogs! If we can’t catch him, we’re doomed too!”

He was part of the cavalry that had suffered near-annihilation from Isaac’s previous ambush. They were traumatized by the recurrence of a similar event right before their eyes.

His vengeful roar made some sense. Though the Georg knights were suffering heavily, if they didn’t catch Isaac now, they would still be hindered and unable to effectively charge. Eventually, the deputy commander urgently issued an order.

“Capture the Holy Grail Knight first! No matter how much of a Swordmaster he is, he can’t…”

The deputy paused, suddenly realizing.

Alone?

Even when the cavalry had suffered significant losses previously, Isaac hadn’t attacked alone. The knights he had personally slain weren’t even ten.

The deputy hastily corrected his order.

“Ambush! It’s an ambush! Prepare for an ambush…”

Thud. A moment later, an arrow shot from the woods pierced the shouting deputy commander’s throat. The commander fell off his horse, an arrow lodged in his neck.

While everyone’s attention was on Isaac, soldiers with spears emerged from the woods, stabbing the knights in their backs and flanks.

It took the falling of dozens of knights for the others to realize the ambush. Compared to the entirety of Aldeon’s forces, these assailants were a negligible number, yet they were enough to aggravate the knights while Isaac wreaked havoc on the battlefield.

The thought of ‘annihilation’ flashed through the minds of the knights again. Conventionally, losing a third of their forces was enough to be deemed incapable of effective combat, classified as a route. The damage they had suffered from Isaac before was even more dreadful.

It was natural for their morale to plummet.

But that wasn’t the case.

“Kill the Holy Grail Knight!”

In times of crisis, these battlefield ghosts seemed to rage even fiercer. Some cavalrymen, filled with frenzy, charged towards Isaac.

A cavalryman, spear still lodged in his flank, charged at Isaac, who dodged, causing the spear to impale his comrade’s horse instead, but his momentum remained unbroken.

Although they were a vocal minority, when such few start to incite, instincts usually drive the rest to follow, especially in a leaderless situation like now.

‘This is getting troublesome.’

Bang! Crack… Feeling the undying morale of the cavalrymen, Isaac quickly felt exhaustion setting in. Another spear grazed his shoulder, wounding him.

There were not a few among them skilled in superior swordplay. Even as a Swordmaster, Isaac could not withstand dozens of skilled swordsmen draining his stamina. Fortunately, the commanderless, vengeful knights were in disarray, creating chaos.

Even if Isaac could cut down dozens with his sword energy, if this continued, fatigue would take him first. Isaac saw no choice but to look for an escape opportunity. Slowing down the cavalry’s charge was sufficient for now.

“Holy Grail Knight!”

A knight with glistening white eyes charged madly, roaring. Isaac wrapped the knight’s mace with the Luadin Key and swiftly unleashed a short burst of sword energy, severing it. However, the knight didn’t stop and headbutted Isaac.

Bang. Isaac staggered briefly, but the knight fell from his horse, his helmet coming off.

‘Don’t these men care about their lives? Do they have several to spare?’

Isaac muttered a curse, gripping his sword tighter. He paused when he saw the fallen knight. The knight’s mace wasn’t held in his hand but was soldered to the wrist part of his armor. Isaac realized why these cavalrymen could perform such mad attacks.

‘As expected…’

This cavalryman was certainly one of the knights Isaac had killed in the woods before.

Back then, Isaac had ordered, “Cut off all the thumbs of the dead knights.” It was a minimal precaution that allowed them to handle the bodies with minimal mutilation.

As expected, the knights who had lost their thumbs couldn’t exert much force in this battle.

Then, this particular knight had attached his weapon directly to his armor.

“It seems the Immortal Order was involved at this point already.”

Though he didn’t want to believe it, his worst suspicion had now been confirmed.

It wasn’t surprising.

Just as the Codex of Light had intervened in Elil for their own benefit, so had the Immortal Order, naturally intervening in Elil for their own interests.

***

The knight charged at Isaac, attempting to bite his leg. However, Isaac raised the heat of the Luadin Key and drove it into the knight’s head. Fierce flames scorched the knight’s head. Even as an undead, he couldn’t withstand the flames of the Luadin Key.

At that moment, Isaac felt a chilling aura.

Clack, clack, clack. Amidst the noisy battlefield, the sound of a single horse’s hooves clattered loudly. Isaac’s heightened senses warned of a formidable enemy approaching.

“Stand back!”

The charging knight roared, and the Georg cavalry split like the tide, revealing Lianne Georg.

“Cavalry, join the main force and retreat to the Elion fortress!”

Upon arrival, Lianne immediately ordered a retreat.

“But the Holy Grail Knight…”

A knight protested as if challenging a superior’s command, prioritizing vengeance over orders. Flames sparked in Lianne’s eyes at this disobedience, a fierceness the cavalrymen had never seen before, making their hearts nearly stop in fear. However, instead of slaying the knight, Lianne reprimanded him.

“The main force hasn’t been able to seize a chance to retreat! Prioritize the overall battle situation over personal grudges! If the cavalry joins, the Aldeon army will have no choice but to retreat! Retreat to the fortress immediately afterward!”

The reason the cavalry couldn’t charge was that Isaac was holding them back. Now, Lianne was offering to release that hold. The cavalrymen, simmering with anger yet swallowing their hatred for Isaac, prioritized joining the main force as quickly as possible to facilitate a retreat.

Thud-thud-thud-thud! The cavalrymen charged across the battlefield, ignoring even the conscripts’ intercepting attacks.

As the cavalry started moving, the formation of the Aldeon army began to change. They had already dealt significant damage to the Georg army. Today could certainly be counted as a tactical victory for the Aldeon army.

“It seemed too quiet today. Holy Grail Knight!”

Swoosh, swish! Clink-clank-clink!

Lianne swiftly spun her sword and struck down at Isaac. Instead of foolishly receiving the holy sword, Isaac narrowly deflected it. The frost was so intense that the chill from her sword pierced through the Luadin Key, creating a circle of white frost on the ground.

‘She is angry.’

Unlike her usual tired expression, Lianne’s eyes were fierce as she looked at Isaac.

“Didn’t you think I would understand your intent? Or is it because you’re a foreigner that you don’t know?”

Isaac knew but asked for confirmation.

“Are we both just exhausting our forces only to wear down our emotions?”

“Yes! The soft methods Edelred thinks of can’t bring back peace! We need to reclaim our honor, and the Aldeon royal family needs a pretext that they have sufficiently punished the traitors!”

Lianne bared her teeth and growled as she spoke.

“This wasn’t supposed to be a one-sided victory! Do you think I took our precious soldiers out of the fortress just to amuse you? But you’ve been gambling with the lives of our soldiers!”

The reason the Aldeon army had been so aggressive was that Isaac had promised to block the cavalry. There was also Mors’s plan to clear out the cavalry while they were at it, relying entirely on Isaac’s capacity, a gamble, as Lianne put it.

Shick, shick! As Lianne’s sword whistled sharply past, the chill bit painfully into Isaac’s skin and lungs. However, Isaac did not counterattack but instead dodged, maintaining a check. He didn’t want to reveal his more dangerous powers, especially in broad daylight, without the certainty of being able to kill his opponent.

“If you have a mouth, say something! Does the Codex of Light insistently need Elil’s blood for the Dawn Army? Will you take as much as you need even if it means trampling everything?”

“I have one thing I’m curious about, Lianne Georg.”

Clang! Isaac deflected Lianne’s sword and said. Lianne frowned but also discreetly surveyed the rear to check if the cavalry had safely rejoined the main force. Seeing that the situation was not much different from what she expected, she looked back at Isaac with a sense of relief.

“A question? Do we have time for idle conversation?”

“Do you have any veterans from the 12th Dawn Army here? I mean the last Dawn Army.”

Isaac ignored Lianne’s retort and posed his question. Since the Kingdom of Elil formally ceased participation in the Dawn Army over a hundred years ago, there have been no official entries. However, knights on pilgrimages and devout believers often joined as volunteers.

Lianne grimaced and glared at him.

“I see no reason to inform you.”

“That’s fine. No need to tell me.” Isaac said, slowly lowering his sword to the ground, signaling that he had no intention to fight further.

“The Immortal Order has a method called ‘death insurance’ to increase their population.”

The Immortal Order couldn’t naturally increase its population. Therefore, they actively accepted various forms of ‘migration’ such as conscription, kidnapping, and persuasion.

Among these, the most effective method to attract high-quality personnel was the ‘death insurance’ Isaac mentioned.

“One can maintain their original faith while alive, but immediately upon death, they become an undead of the Immortal Order.”

Most subscribers to ‘death insurance’ join under irresistible circumstances. However, breaking this contract is surprisingly not too difficult. A local priest could nullify it through confession, atonement rituals, and offering sacrifices.

But interestingly, actual cancellations of the contract are very rare.

The complacency of being able to cancel anytime and the fear of ‘just in case’ keep the contract in place.

Death makes anyone fearful.

“If you know someone with experience in the Dawn Army, it’s highly likely that they have contracted with the Immortal Order. I hope you’ll be cautious.”

Lianne’s face twitched at this. However, she no longer had time to argue with Isaac as the Aldeon knights, having regrouped after the retreat, began to converge on their location.

Instead of responding, Lianne mounted her horse and began to circle back towards the fortress.

“Holy Grail Knight! Are you alright?”

An Aldeon knight approached Isaac, who looked dreadful after single-handedly facing numerous knights.

Fortunately, his visible wounds were healing, but he was beginning to feel hungry. However, Isaac was confident that Lianne had suffered a greater blow in today’s fight than he had.

–TL Notes–