Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-193

Isaac estimated the distance to the Holy Land of Elion. The path was unrideable, so he had to walk, but it wasn’t easy to walk fast in a place where water splashed up to his ankles.

‘It’s getting closer now, but…’

The silhouette of the Holy Land of Elion, which had seemed distant, was now considerably nearer. Beyond those cliffs, encircled as though by pointed spears forming a barrier, lay the place where Elil’s body was enshrined.

Yet, Isaac kept looking back.

[The Nameless Chaos watches you.]

Isaac understood why the whispers of warning continued. He had already sensed an ominous aura emanating from the fortress of Elion. The dark shadows cast over the fortress were clearly signs of the Immortal Order.

‘It seems they’ve finally shown their true colors.’

If so, those villains were undoubtedly rushing here, ready to die, or rather, to be shattered. The only chance to turn the tide was now at the Holy Land of Elion.

“Hurry up. It seems the Immortal Order scoundrels are just starting to leave.”

“What? But the forces of Aldeon should be holding them back…”

“When those who fear neither death nor injury and disregard wounds decide to escape, no one can stop them. Even if the Aldeon forces arrive, that place is a battlefield. It must be piled with corpses.”

Realizing what Isaac’s words implied, Edelred’s face turned pale. If Isaac was right, the forces of Aldeon were likely already fighting the undead legions.

“Shouldn’t we go back? We can clean up the Immortal Order scoundrels and still make it to the Holy Land!”

“We need to go to the Holy Land not to fight the Immortal Order, but to prevent them from invading it in the first place.”

Even if all the undead at the fortress of Elion were cleared, if the Immortal Order invaded the Holy Land, it would be over. As Isaac was about to explain how dangerous the invasion of the Immortal Order could be, he spotted an army approaching from a distance.

A wave of cold spread like a wave, and a path of ice formed over the surface of the lake. Hundreds of cavalrymen were charging across it at a furious pace. The icy bridge was rough enough to prevent slipping.

At the forefront was Villon Georg. From a distance, Isaac recognized him wielding Lumiarde and smirked bitterly.

‘Faster than expected. And he even has Lumiarde.’

He must have intended to kill Lianne to snatch it.

Isaac felt conflicted knowing Villon was serious. Meanwhile, Edelred’s face turned pale upon seeing the charging cavalry, but then he gripped the Holy Sword Kaldbruch tightly.

“Lumiarde…?”

Isaac blocked him with a hand.

“Refrain from using Kaldbruch, Your Majesty.”

“But I should be of help…”

“It’s strange. The Immortal Order is openly invading the Holy Land, and yet there’s no intervention from the angels. They might be neglecting it on purpose or even leading it.”

Isaac still hadn’t dismissed his suspicion that one of Elil’s angels was manipulating Georg’s rebel forces. And if that angel still hadn’t abandoned their purpose, they might even use the Immortal Order to thwart Isaac. Using Kaldbruch, which harnessed the power of angels, might backfire.

“Holy Grail Knight!”

Villon’s roar, filled with rage, echoed over the surface of the lake. Isaac pulled out the Luadin Key. Edelred also decided to lend his strength, but without drawing on Kaldbruch’s power. It was a reliable sight, but whether it would truly help was questionable.

‘In the Holy Land, watched by angels, alongside a child, against hundreds of undead knights from Elil? This difficulty level is insane. Chaos? If you don’t want me to die here, how about doing something?’

[The Nameless Chaos watches you.]

[The Nameless Chaos wants you to execute the ‘corruptor Villon Georg’.]

[Chaos’s reward awaits you.]

Instead of helping directly, it seemed to be offering motivation. Isaac smirked.

“Let’s see what happens then.”

***

Isaac faced Villon head-on as he approached. The vibration from the cavalry’s hooves drummed on the bridge, trembling the previously calm lake surface. Villon, wielding Lumiarde, unleashed a storm of cold with unstoppable ferocity as he charged.

Isaac, of course, was unaffected, and so were the cavalry around him.

‘The undead of the Immortal Order are not affected by the cold.’

Perhaps due to the aura of the dead, they already emitted a chilling presence just by being near. Ironically, this allowed the Immortal Order’s undead to wield the relics of Elil.

‘Well, I’m using the Luadin Key myself.’

Isaac lifted the Luadin Key high, drawing out its sword energy to the fullest.

Fluttering wildly, the flames of the Luadin Key writhed in a deep purple, eerie aura, as if performing a bizarre ritual, dancing and flickering.

Isaac concentrated intensely, mimicking the advanced sword techniques used by the Knights of Aldeon.

No past, no future. Only the determination to kill the enemy before him.

A sound like metal crushing emanated from Isaac’s hand holding the Luadin Key. He struck down like lightning towards the bridge leading to the Holy Land of Elion.

In an instant, the sound vanished.

Instead of noise, a powerful wave spread across the entire lake first. The waves furiously pushed forward, revealing the bleached surface of the bridge below. Then, a loud explosion followed.

The bridge connecting the Kingdom of Elil and Elil’s mausoleum was, in itself, a holy place and a relic. Isaac’s attack would not have destroyed it, not even if he had unleashed some miracle.

However, the impact did not simply disappear.

The result was a ferocious vibration that shook the entire bridge.

Quaking, the ice road created by Villon was swept away or shattered by the vibration. The only reason hundreds of cavalrymen could ride across the mere ice was because the robust bridge had served as a support. But now, that bridge was casting off the road.

As the ice broke, the undead knights were alarmed and tried to halt. But it was too late for any response.

“General Villon!”

Many undead knights stumbled from the single strike and fell beneath the water.

Wearing heavy armor, they sank like stones into the depths of the lake—a lake nearly hundreds of meters at its center. It would take ages for them to crawl out from under the water if they could find their way through the notorious fog and dark waters of Lake Elion.

“Damn it!”

Unfortunately, Villon had not fallen beneath the bridge due to Isaac’s strike. He hastily scattered cold around him to repair the ice, but by then, nearly half of the undead knights had already plunged into the lake.

Villon, who knew better than anyone the notorious fog and depth of Lake Elion, realized he had lost many comrades to Isaac’s strike.

Without even a chance to enjoy the fruits of having sold their souls to the Immortal Order and become undead.

“I will kill you!”

“The angels failed, what can you possibly do?”

Isaac mocked Villon’s energy as he raised his sword.

***

Racing across the surface, Villon charged at Isaac with reckless aggression.

The sheer weight of Villon’s charger made it a deadly weapon. However, Isaac had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation with the fierce undead from Elil.

As the collision neared, the Colors Beyond, already scattered on the ground, gripped the charger’s ankles tightly. It wasn’t enough to drag but was sufficient to trip it unexpectedly. As the charger stumbled and fell, Villon was catapulted forward.

Villon rolled across the bridge in a battered mess.

Isaac did not give Villon a chance to rise and swiftly attacked.

‘He’s no longer a follower of Elil, so there’s no need for a fair fight.’

Isaac’s sword, teeming with deadly intent, came crashing down on Villon, who barely managed to raise his own blade in time to block the attack. Had it been a normal sword, Isaac’s sword energy would have split it and likely taken Villon’s head with it, but the sword in Villon’s hands was the holy sword Lumiarde.

With a screeching clash, a burst of cold exploded out. Isaac retreated before his feet could freeze. Although he regretted not finishing it in one go, this move was a definite upper hand.

Villon, rolling to his feet, shook off ice fragments from his body. Being undead, he neither suffered from the fall’s impact nor felt any pain.

Enraged, Villon yelled, “This is no place for a heretic to interfere!”

“Now you say that? And you’re no longer a follower of Elil either.”

Isaac found it absurd but dismissed it, knowing that villains often ignore their own hypocrisy.

And in that regard, Isaac had no room to talk about being duplicitous either.

Villon, incensed by Isaac’s taunt, swung his sword again.

Whoosh, slash! Lumiarde’s blade gleamed as it erupted with light, aiming to claim Isaac’s life. Just as he had with Lianne, Isaac used the Eyes of Chaos to discern which attacks were genuine and deftly countered them. Yet, Villon relentlessly continued his assault.

One terrifying aspect of the undead was their ability to keep fighting without fatigue or feeling the burden of injuries. Among them, Villon seemed almost akin to a Death Knight, endowed with the compensation of life insurance.

Despite not learning the Immortal Order’s miracles, there was no reason he couldn’t match a Death Knight, given his pre-death status as one of Elil’s finest knights.

But Isaac, clashing with the attacks, gauged Villon’s level.

‘He’s among the best knights I’ve seen, but not quite a Swordmaster.’

That meant it would take about five knights of Villon’s caliber to match Isaac. His current resilience was purely thanks to Lumiarde.

Isaac waited for the right moment to disengage Lumiarde and aimed his sword at Villon’s throat.

Crack! However, Isaac’s attack was blocked by Villon’s left hand. Isaac was surprised that Villon was able to grasp the sword energy of the Luadin Key with his hand.

Soon, Isaac realized that the gloves on Villon’s hands were not ordinary but relics of heresy.

“Wearing something nice, aren’t you?”

Knowing he was already at a disadvantage, Villon heard Isaac’s words as mockery and glared with grinding teeth.

“General Villon!”

The undead knights, having regrouped from the confusion, joined the fight. Isaac sheathed his sword and backed off. The area had become a sizable ice patch due to Villon, but given the earlier catastrophe, it couldn’t spread far. At most, only three knights could confront Isaac simultaneously on the bridge.

‘Lucky they’re all undead followers of Elil.’

If these had been true Death Knights who knew the Immortal Order’s miracles and could summon specters or phantom steeds, Isaac would have been in real trouble.

They would have attacked from the air.

But now, they were merely knights who fought well and didn’t die easily, without the hope of Elil’s blessings.

On this narrow bridge, Isaac was distinctly at an advantage.

However, just being able to confront them didn’t mean he could easily wipe them out.

‘As long as Villon has Lumiarde, he can enter Elion. If he interferes during the returning ceremony, it’s all over. I need to deal with this here.’

Isaac subtly gauged their morale.

Knights who until days ago served Elil and pursued glorious battles, now reduced to pathetic and corrupted undead, obsessed solely with vengeance. Wouldn’t they feel self-loathing?

Isaac spoke up, “Tricked by angels, you sold your honor, pride, friends, comrades, and kin. And that’s all you can do after such a betrayal?”

Crack. Villon, his eyes blazing with anger, glared at Isaac. But Isaac didn’t stop taunting.

“Oh, being able to express your feelings so vividly is only temporary. Soon your face will rot, muscles to form expressions will decay, and even your eyes will fall out. Naturally, your hair too.”

“Shut up!”

‘A knight who only knew battle, lacking in vocabulary.’

Isaac thought internally but continued to provoke him outwardly.

“Why, Villon? Are you scared of becoming that? Then you should have chosen your place to die better. If you’re afraid of dying, what does abandoning the god you served all your life at the end amount to?”

At Isaac’s rebuke, the knights flinched.

Isaac had surmised that had these knights been aggressively coerced into becoming undead, they would have likely resisted and fought to their deaths. However, the nature of the life insurance was different. They likely lived with a slight discomfort, postponing the cancellation of their membership until they died somewhat unexpectedly. Internally, they might have comforted themselves with the excuse that they hadn’t deliberately committed apostasy, to lessen the guilt on their conscience.

And to justify such actions to themselves, they would have been even more compliant with Villon’s commands.

The truly terrifying aspect of the life insurance was precisely this: it passively allowed individuals who might have resisted becoming undead to eventually accept it through neglect.

This manipulative conversion process was a critical point Isaac understood and used to his advantage in psychological warfare, aiming to undermine their resolve further and exploit the internal conflicts gnawing at the knights.

–TL Notes–