Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 404



Only Noblemtl

Episode 404. Graveyard Lord (4)

Krumbling, krumbling… … .

The dark clouds in the sky twisted violently and let out uncomfortable sounds.

The Graveyard Lord kept looking back, as if he was bothered by the loud noise. Having lived in this territory for a long time, the Graveyard Lord knew what the sound was.

Such things have happened when the boundaries of the external world have become blurred.

The boundaries of the Apocrypha have been blurred whenever important historical events have occurred, but I couldn’t figure out why this was happening now.

‘I have to finish the mission quickly and get back. Something is wrong. But… … .’

The resistance of the Isacrea Dawn Army was formidable.

The Isacrea Dawn Army, who had thought they could defeat them in an instant if they gave it their all, were showing incredible strength and tearing the Lunar Eclipse Army apart like a saw blade. Everyone from the paladins to the soldiers showed fierce strength, as if the exhaustion they had put in over the past two days was a lie.

One of the paladins roared madly as he simultaneously cut down two death knights with spears piercing his shoulder and side.

“Under the banner of the Isacrea Dawn Army, we will not be defeated!”

‘You’re crazy.’

The ones who particularly found the Graveyard Lord unpleasant were the knights of the Code of Light.

The Graveyard Lord, Sarka Nua, was a descendant of a fallen empire, but he was a follower of the Code of Light. He was well aware of their doctrines and beliefs. However, the knights before his eyes did not shout for the glory of the gods or the protection of angels.

Only Isaac Isaaccrea shouts the glory and protection of the Knights of the Holy Grail.

As a celestial being, the Graveyard Lord felt uncomfortable with this blind faith and loyalty that went beyond his devotion, and he even felt as if he was set up as a stage villain for the realization of this faith.

‘Don’t make me laugh, I am Sarka Nua. I won’t stop until I kill all of you, you Light Code bastards, and bring that damned Heaven down to Hell… … .’

The Graveyard Lord felt a deep-rooted, bitter anger towards the Light Code and tried to order a stronger attack.

At that moment, an explosive wave surged into the Graveyard Lord’s mind.

It was a mental wave that made the Graveyard Lord’s knees buckle for a moment and sparks fly out of his head.

Shock, anger, bewilderment, screams, despair, fear… all kinds of emotions surged and swept through him like a storm. The sudden appearance of the Graveyard Lord did not even bother to look at the Death Knights who were assisting him.

The Graveyard Lord commands the Eclipse Army through coercive mind control.

Since he did not allow even a little autonomy, even if the Graveyard Lord fell, there were no soldiers to help him until he gave the order. The Graveyard Lord did not expect any help either.

‘what?’

The Graveyard Lord looked in the direction the psychic waves had come from. The sky was distorted enormously. It was on a scale greater than any external erosion he had ever seen.

The Graveyard Lord realized that this wave of screams and terror was coming from the Holy Land, Lua.

And then, a mental wave of powerful authority came crashing down on me.

[Where are you, Graveyard Lord!]

It was the Immortal Emperor. My head was buzzing with the thought of how far away he was sending out waves.

At this point, it was probably a voice coming from the Holy Land, Lua. The Graveyard Lord answered hurriedly without even having time to be polite.

[As Your Majesty has commanded, the Knights of the Holy Grail… … .]

[The Holy Grail Knights are here! Right here, in the Holy Land of Lua!]

The Grave Lord turned his head sharply. Just as Isaac did not take his eyes off the Grave Lord, the Grave Lord did not take his eyes off Isaac.

Isaac is definitely here.

But is it also in the Holy Land, Lua?

[The Grail Knight is here. Are you sure?]

In normal times, I would never have doubted the words of God. But wasn’t it the Immortal Emperor himself who had said, “Go west and capture the Grail Knights” in the first place?

The Graveyard Lord was also out of his mind from shock and bewilderment. Even the Immortal Emperor was the same, so he did not dare to think of asking me if I was doubting his words.

[Isaac! It’s Isaac! Who else but Isaac? He’s the only one who can do this!]

It was clear that the Immortal Emperor had lost his composure. The Cemetery Lord tried to calmly analyze his bewildered master’s words.

‘So you haven’t seen Isaac in person. But… … .’

The Graveyard Lord was also suspicious of whether Isaac of the Isacrea Dawn Army was the real Isaac.

Even as the battle reached a critical point, Isaac still only showed his appearance as a brave paladin. It was certainly an impressive performance, but it was obvious that this would not be enough to defeat Pale, and would only make him the 2544th paladin in her collection.

‘Then this side must be fake… … and that side must be real!’

The Graveyard Lord shuddered at the scale of this insane paladin who was toying with gods and angels. It was more of a shock to him as a commander and warrior than a sense of insult. However, the situation was not so easy.

[Return to the Holy Land, Lua, immediately. Hurry!]

The Immortal Emperor’s command was not unreasonable.

The mission given to the Graveyard Lord from the beginning was to subdue the Grail Knights, not the Isacrea Dawn Army. Subduing the Isacrea Dawn Army is also important, but the combination would quickly collapse if there were no Grail Knights in the first place, so it would be right to pursue the real Grail Knights.

The problem was that his forces were already too deep in.

[We will repel the Isacrea Dawn Army and return. If we retreat now, we will suffer losses… … .]

[Return immediately!]

Never before has the Immortal Emperor issued such an order so tyrannically.

He was always a calm and polite priest-like lord. The graveyard lord didn’t particularly like the immortal emperor’s appearance because it seemed to lack authority, but now he missed him so much that his bones were sinking into him.

What on earth is going on in the Holy Land?

[… … All forces, retreat. Retreat immediately towards the Holy Land, Lua. Do not show your back or retreat. Some troops stay behind to buy time, and the rest slowly fall back, making the enemy think this is a temporary retreat.]

The Graveyard Lord, who was suddenly forced to retreat in the face of a battle of annihilation, was furious, but prayed that he would be able to retreat safely.

***

“Is the moment of victory you mentioned something that has to be filled up until tomorrow? From now on, I won’t give you any leeway.”

Tukhalin, who had barely managed to buy some time by crushing the harvester, grumbled to Isaac.

He who was visited by the angel of the Holy Spirit was hardly tired, but others were not. No matter how much the body was restored by a miracle, the shock was cumulative. The miracle itself could be a burden to the body.

Isaac squinted his eyes and stared at the eastern sky.

He knew that the sky was distorting ominously and that the Holy Land Lua was threatened through the shared senses with the main body Isaac. However, it was entirely up to the Graveyard Lord to make the eclipse army retreat before his eyes.

“It’s not far. Soon… … .”

The moment Isaac tried to appease Tukhalin, the Lunar Eclipse Army’s momentum suddenly began to die down. Feeling the momentum of the attack weaken, Isaac realized that the moment he had been waiting for had arrived.

“All troops… … !”

Boom! At that moment, a loud noise erupted from somewhere. The surprised soldiers’ eyes all turned to one side. A huge iron chain stretched out long and pierced through the middle of the Death Knight army.

“I’ve arrived, Holy Grail Knight! Have I arrived at the right moment?”

They were sailors of Aidan and the Salt Council.

They had planned to depart as a last-ditch effort, but they arrived with new supplies, having dismantled the whaling harpoons on board. Tukhalin was delighted by the unexpected arrival of reinforcements, but he was also in a slightly strange mood.

I know the Salt Council sailors are brave.

But if you ask whether they are strong enough to turn the tide of the battle, it is difficult to answer. Tukhalin asked in confusion.

“Is that the last card you prepared, Isaac?!”

Of course not.

But the truth didn’t really matter.

“Reinforcements are here! All forces, attack!”

“Wow!!”

At Isaac’s command, the Isacrea Dawn Army roared as if on fire and began to charge forward all at once. The Lunar Eclipse Army’s troops, who had been fighting fiercely, were unable to respond in time due to the gap created by the retreat, the confusion caused by the appearance of reinforcements, and the Graveyard Lord’s orders.

Only Tukhalin, Aethelred, and Lyanna, who knew that the Salt Council’s reinforcements were not to that extent, looked at Isaac in disbelief.

But when the soldiers’ charge actually succeeded in breaking the ranks of the Lunar Eclipse Army and slaughtering them, they panicked and rushed in together.

“This, this… … why is this not happening?”

Aethelred’s mutterings, as if in disbelief, represented the feelings of all the commanders. However, the one who was most bewildered by the sudden attack was Aidan.

“Oh, no, really?!”

I thought he would be happy if I arrived as reinforcements, but I don’t think he can defeat such a large force. Isn’t that an angel in front of me?

The angel, the Lord of the Graveyard, was glaring at Aidan with burning hatred and anger.

[I’ll kill you later, you filthy bastard of the Salt Council… !]

His strategy of a gradual retreat collapsed with the appearance of a handful of reinforcements.

Aidan felt like fainting when he heard the Grave Lord’s words, but his crew was elated.

“Who can boast in heaven that they died holding a grudge against the angels, Captain! Come on! We are proud of you, Captain!”

“Ah, shit, go, go! Let’s do our part!”

The sailors also started to charge, shouting.

***

The Graveyard Lord groaned as he looked at the completely destroyed battle lines of the Lunar Eclipse Army. There was no point in a gradual retreat anymore.

If we can preserve even half of this force, it will be a successful retreat.

If we turn back our forces now and incite a melee, we can inflict fatal damage on the Isacrea Dawn Army, but since it has been revealed that the Grail Knights are fakes, we cannot delay any longer.

If Holy Land Lua is under threat, what’s the point of destroying a handful of troops? Since the only Angel that can move right now is the Graveyard Lord, we must join Holy Land Lua as soon as possible.

[Retreat as quickly as possible. To the Holy Land, Lua!]

Kwadududu… … His command did not only affect the ground. The bone dragon that had been fighting with Nel in the sky was falling, spitting out white breath. Nel bit the creature’s neck and shook it violently as if she was cutting the neck of her prey.

In that frost, a breath of pure white cold scribbled across the ground like graffiti.

Although they are undead that can handle and resist cold, they can literally withstand the cold and are frozen by breath that freezes their entire body.

The Graveyard Lord was furious at the Bone Dragon for blocking his retreat and stripped it of its soul. The Bone Dragon immediately disintegrated into pieces in the air, falling in pieces all over the place.

The only people who were trustworthy were the harvesters who had been brought in to counter the heretical angels, but they seemed to have no purpose other than buying time.

They were summoned to face Tukhalin and Ethelred, but they were no match for the Thunder Artisan and Lion Knight who were protecting them.

‘It doesn’t matter. If we can just hold back their ankles a little bit… … .’

The damage that soldiers can inflict is limited. But the damage that angels can inflict is unimaginable. Then suddenly the Graveyard Lord thought of Isaac.

Although it was a fake for illusive purposes, it showed considerable power.

‘Where is he?’

At that moment, the Graveyard Lord spotted Isaac running through the Death Knight army.

The Graveyard Lord was honestly impressed by the sight of him running only towards him, not even glancing at the fleeing Death Knights.

‘Have you ever seen such a madman? He has no interest in the retreating troops and only goes after the general’s head?’

The Graveyard Lord was seething with pride, but he could not be caught in a place like this. He ordered the other Death Knights to catch him by the ankles and tried to retreat.

At that moment, a sharp, ear-piercing sound rang out.

Karrururuk, bang! With a loud noise, a huge harpoon and chain pierced his chest. The Graveyard Lord followed the end of the chain with a dumbfounded gaze.

There he saw Aidan laughing like a lunatic.

“Ha, haha… … I got it! I caught a big fish!”

[I’ll kill you now, you filthy bastard of the Salt Council… !]