Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 420



Only Noblemtl

Episode 420. The Immortal Emperor (2)

Isaac considered telling them to try to convince the orcs if they could, but decided against it.

The world’s crucible believers hate the Olkan Discipline so much that they want to chew it up. Such an order could have the opposite effect. However, just in case, I decided to give Ethelred a little word.

“Okay. Then you… … .”

Isaac looked back at Leonora.

“There is a secret passage leading to the Holy Land, Lua?”

Leonora smiled and nodded.

It doesn’t matter what secret she’s hiding. Isaac also knew of the existence of the secret passage leading to the Holy Land, Lua. He even knew how to get inside.

Leonora may think she is in control, but the passage will be a place where Isaac will test her.

“You’re trying to infiltrate the Holy Land, Lua, right now? You’re crazy!”

Tukhalin, hearing Isaac’s words, quickly grabbed his wrist.

“The role of a commander in chief is to command his soldiers, not to rush into enemy territory! And that’s especially true when the opponents are angels and gods!”

To Tukhalin, it was like a storm and an earthquake fighting, and a human being is stepping in with a shovel. Isaac had already shown incredible strength several times, but now was not the time to jump in.

“There is no way. Tukhalin.”

Isaac said with a smile.

“If we don’t stop the Immortal Emperor now, it’s all over.”

No, rather, now that the Immortal Emperor has revealed his power, this is the opportunity.

In this strange state of antagonism, where the Lighthouse Keeper and other angels are tied down and cannot move, the power that the Immortal Emperor himself can exert is not that great.

Maybe even Isaac could handle it.

But Tukhalin seemed unable to imagine going that far.

“You’re going to stop the Immortal Emperor? By yourself?”

“You are not alone.”

Then someone suddenly stepped forward.

It was Rottenhammer. Then came the knights of the Knights of Gebel and Isacrea.

“Isaac Isacre is the saint who will lead the way for the Knights of Isacre. The path that Saint Isacre walks is the path that the Knights of Isacre will follow. Do not try to separate us.”

Tukhalin looked as if he had been told to commit mass suicide, but none of the Isacrea Knights reluctantly stepped forward.

They were afraid, but at the same time they were confident that they would definitely win.

“My wish was to set foot on the holy land of Lua before I die.”

Gebel grinned, showing his teeth.

Aethelred tried to step forward, but Lyanna held him back and stopped him. Isaac shook his head to stop him.

Aethelred is the king of a country. The weight is different, and if there is even one more angel who can be active outside, it will be possible to prevent more people from dying.

But Tukhalin was still in a state of unease.

“Don’t do that. First, gather your forces and then observe the situation… … .”

“When, Tukhalin? After the Immortal Emperor has destroyed all the Angels of the Light Code? Or after the Olkan Discipline has sacked Holy Land Lua? Or after the Light Code has burned Holy Land Lua?”

Tukhalin gritted his teeth and glared at Isaac.

Isaac gently let go of his hand. It was understandable that he was being cautious. The perfectionist tendencies of the world’s crucible believers are the source of their ability to create masterpieces. But at the same time, they are also the cause of their reclusiveness.

“Is the world’s furnace always waiting for the ‘real’ light code to return? Is he the one who will come if we just sit there and wait?”

“that…….”

“Now it is your turn to give the answer you have been putting off. I am going to save the world. You will be the hammer that will strike the world. It is time to wake up and tell me that I have been sleeping too long.”

Isaac didn’t wait for Tukhalin’s answer. Instead, he looked at Leonora.

Leonora, who had been waiting for Isaac with her arms folded, tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, should I say something touching? Is this the right time? But I don’t have any great beliefs, I’m just here to show the way and get my share of things… … .”

“Let’s just go quickly.”

Leonora smiled as if she had expected that. But before she could move, she opened her mouth.

“Before that, didn’t you miss someone?”

***

The last person Leonora pointed out was none other than Angela.

Leonora’s condition was that Angela must be taken with her because she knew the location of the Hand of Midas. Isaac also accepted because he had been given the mission to take Angela to the Holy Land, Lua.

I thought about taking her after everything was over, but since I didn’t know what the outcome would be, it might have been better to take her in when no one knew and then send her out secretly.

The Isacrea Dawn Army led by Tukhalin and Ethelred moved to the battlefield, while Isaac’s group moved toward the secret passage under Leonora’s guidance.

The entrance to the secret passage was in a nearby abandoned well.

The bottom of the well was loose and dry.

Even as I walked along the narrow underground passages, the sounds of evil spirits sobbing and crying could be heard through the ground above.

Isaac looked at the wall of the passageway and thought.

‘Fortunately, I know this passage.’

There are more than one or two secret passages that connect to the Holy Land Lua. I don’t know all of them, but fortunately, Isaac knows this passage. And as far as Isaac knows, only followers of the Undead Church, that is, undead, can open the middle stone gate that opens the secret passage.

Isaac knew how to get through it, he just wondered if Leonora knew it.

“What an inefficient war. It’s horrible.”

Hesabel, who was following behind Isaac, grumbled.

The Red Grail Club, which is known for plotting all kinds of cruel conspiracies, tends to hate war itself.

Hesabel was the same. He had followed Isaac around and experienced many battles, but the battle taking place above his head was madness beyond the perception of ordinary people.

“Why are angels so cruel to humans? They were once humans too.”

Isaac had thought about that too, so the answer came right away.

“Because humans are harsh on themselves.”

“Humans are cruel to human beings? Why?”

“How small and weak you must seem when you see the power of those great gods and angels. So you entrust your ego to a powerful being and leave your entire fate to his decisions.”

By doing so, weak humans experience the illusion of homogeneity, thinking that they have become one with a powerful being. In this world, this phenomenon occurs as gods and angels, but in fact, it is not something that is only a matter of faith.

Nations, groups, ideas, ideologies, races, bloodlines, heroes… … Countless people identify themselves with groups simply because they belong to them. This illusion gives people the power to accomplish great feats that individuals cannot, but it also makes it easy for individuals to be crushed within the group.

Even if we just look back at the history of the original world that Isaac lived in, there were all sorts of horrible massacres and crimes committed because the other person belonged to a different group.

Are angels particularly cruel compared to them? Isaac didn’t think so.

In the end, it is a group that has been personified and given the name of angel.

“There’s no need to blame angels for being inhuman. That’s what humans want.”

Isaac’s words were heard not only by Hesabel but by everyone passing through the secret passage. Although they were openly apostate words, no one was surprised or serious now.

I just ponder the meaning of those words.

But Hesabel tilted her head and asked.

“If Isaac becomes an angel, will he be that cruel?”

Isaac kept his mouth shut.

Isaac received a naming notice. This means that he was told in advance that he would become a great angel after his death. Of course, we will have to wait and see if that will actually come true, but at least Isaac has accomplished enough to become a great angel.

Still, Isaac could not answer.

He wanted to think otherwise, but something beyond reason was lurking inside him. If he died, wouldn’t the monster inside his body reveal its true form? And when that monster began to devour the world, would he be able to think that it was ‘because humans wanted it’?

***

“They’re all here.”

Leonora stopped before Isaac could find the words to reply. She held up the glowstone and shone it before the massive stone gate.

A door that can only be opened by the undead.

Leonora solved it simply.

“Sherlock.”

As soon as he heard Leonora’s words, Sherlock made a gesture. A mercenary stepped forward and untied the bundle he was carrying on his back. He put some herbs into the bundle, which he thought was his travel luggage, and rubbed it in, and suddenly it began to move slowly and squirm.

Leonora put her hand inside the bundle and stroked it gently, saying:

“Hey, can you open this door for me?”

“ah…….”

“Yeah. Move this device… … like that.”

Something inside the bundle moved obediently as Leonora commanded, manipulating the door. The huge stone door moved smoothly according to the boy’s gesture.

As the stone gate opened, Leonora praised him for his good work and gestured to Sherlock. As Sherlock was about to pack his bundle again, Isaac suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the bundle.

What was revealed from under the removed cloth was a young boy. Judging from his pale complexion, he seemed to have been dead for only a short time. Isaac immediately recognized the boy’s identity from his appearance and clothing.

“Are you a boy soldier drafted into the Yeomyeong Army?”

“Yes. I picked it up on my way to the Holy Land, Lua.”

Leonora answered nonchalantly.

“I brought him here because I had some circumstances that didn’t allow it, and I thought he might be useful when dealing with the Undead Cult. Maybe the Hand of Midas is somewhere that only a child can see.”

Leonora’s gaze turned to Angela as well. All she knew about the Hand of Midas’ whereabouts was that no one had seen it in the Holy Land of Lua except a young girl named Angela.

They decided to take along a boy named Leono, who couldn’t miss a single clue.

“But… …you knew that only the undead could open the stone gate, so you killed them?”

“You seem angry, Grail Knight.”

Leonora spoke with a faint smile, but Sherlock quietly placed his hand on the knife. Isaac was shocked, but he listened to Leonora anyway.

Leonora held up three fingers.

“There are three reasons. First, since this door can only be opened by the undead, we had to find someone with life insurance. This kid was a prisoner of the Undead Cult, so he was covered by life insurance. Second, the sense of smell had to be alive in order to break the mind control with herbs. So at least one of them had to have died recently.”

“The third one?”

“We couldn’t kill an adult. It’s too heavy to carry around. Even if they were under mind control and attacked us, it would be easy to subdue a child.”

“Why didn’t you cut off an adult’s limbs?”

“Then it will be difficult to open the door.”

Isaac laughed ferociously. It was an answer so clear and vivid that it was unpleasant.

I had forgotten about it because we were on the same side, but Leonora was originally this kind of woman.

A psychopath born from the pursuit of extreme profits and efficiency.

“Wouldn’t it be a worthwhile investment to use a life that would otherwise be lost or become an undead slave to save the world? We’re all already doing that.”