Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 56



Only Noblemtl

Episode 56. I accept your debt (4)

“The Hendlock Knights?”

Isaac asked with a shocked expression. Owen said as if he was embarrassed, fiddling with the bear-shaped brooch tied around his cape.

“yes. “It was originally called the Black Bear Knights, but no one understands it, and even the lord calls it the Hendlock Knights, so we just call it that.”

‘No, why are the Hendlock Knights here?’

If it is the Hendrak Knights, it is the knights of the Hendrak territory that Isaac will attack with Lehart.

I expected that there would be a fairly high probability of fighting, but it was Isaac who saved the knights.

‘I can’t beat him up now.’

The knight, who gave his name as Owen Renly, observed Isaac carefully and then opened his mouth.

“Are you, by any chance, Isaac, the Holy Grail Knight?”

Isaac thought about hiding his identity for a moment and pretending not to know, but all he knew was that he would eventually be found out. There are too few Holy Grail Knights to keep their identities hidden, and they have made conspicuous moves.

“right.”

Isaac calmly admitted. Then, anger spread to the knights.

“also! I knew you would! The courage to jump in without hesitation to save the weak in trouble, the honorable grace to allow even a single blow to an enemy, the ability to kill someone in an instant, and most of all… … .”

Isaac listened to the sweet compliments heaped upon him, and then suddenly Owen stopped talking and he looked at him. Owen looked like he was about to say something but suddenly stopped.

“First of all, what? “Why don’t you stop talking?”

“Ah, well, that seems like a secular expression… … .”

“Worldly?”

“People say it is a noble beauty that looks like it was created by an angel… … .”

What does this guy look like?

I deliberately chose Nephilim to play as a pretty character, but it’s not a compliment I hear often, so it feels strange every time I hear it. Isaac answered, thinking he was lucky they didn’t make him a female character.

“It doesn’t matter, so you can praise me as much as you want.”

“Yes, sorry for using rude language… … yes? yes?”

“More than that, what are the Black Bear Knights doing here?”

Owen seemed pleased with the fact that they were called by their official name, the Black Bear Knights, rather than the Hendlock Knights.

He confidently spoke of the orders he had received from Lord Kyle Hendlock.

“yes. I have received a mission to bring Holy Grail Knight Isaac to the territory. I think it’s probably to praise the Holy Grail Knight’s noble journey and provide helpful things!”

***

The command Kyle received was simple: ‘Bring Isaac’, but the story behind it was quite complicated.

The Hendlock estate was in a more serious condition than Lehart had said. The salaries of the knights who were vassals were being pushed back.

The knights were wondering whether a lord with a large territory would have to eat up his salary, and were hoping that if the salary was delayed, he might be granted a small fief separately.

But Isaac saw things differently.

‘I’m on the verge of bankruptcy.’

From the looks of it, Kyle’s relief seemed unlikely even if Lehardt was in a hurry.

The best Lehart can do is sell Hendrak territory for a reasonable price. Unless his vassals rise up inside Hendrak’s territory and steal his assets before he arrives.

Anyway, Kyle found Isaac in this situation.

Isaac thought that the reason was probably similar to what he had expected.

Even if we fail, we fail with a cause.

To create a foundation for a comeback by leaving at least the bare minimum foundation.

‘But it was Lehart who arrived first.’

If the Hendlock Knights had been a little faster, Isaac would have been heading to Hendlock territory with them. However, Isaac had already given Lehardt an advance payment – one horse, but he had already received it anyway.

In fact, it wasn’t bad for Isaac to follow anyone.

No matter who he helped, Isaac could get what he wanted from them. No, maybe Kyle Hendlock could have given more.

He will fall anyway, and if Isaac is by his side at that time, he will be able to eat the most of Hendrak’s territory.

‘Maybe that’s not what Kyle Hendlock wants.’

Anyway, Isaac was tempted by this new temptation, but he quickly gave up.

It is not very honorable to abandon the promise you made to Lehart and take the side of a bankrupt noble.

And, honor aside, Isaac was one of the hyenas who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to take a piece of Hendlock’s territory.

“good night. egg plant.”

But Isaac nodded obediently.

There is no need to throw away options. I don’t know what the situation will be in the future, but there was no need to antagonize the Hendlock Knights early on.

Anyway, there will be a showdown when we arrive at Lehart Territory.

Owen smiled brightly.

“It is an honor to serve the honorable Holy Grail Knight! “I’m happy to join you!”

Although he was obviously several years older than Isaac, Owen greeted him with a manner that showed more than just politeness, it showed respect.

Rather than Isaac’s accomplishments, the weight of the name Holy Grail Knight may have contributed to his respect.

Children of this era would have grown up listening to the heroic stories of the Holy Knights instead of watching hero movies.

***

Even though they showed a poor performance by being defeated by a troll, they were still an order of knights.

As soon as Isaac moved, they formed a guard formation and began their ceremonial march. Judging by the way he skillfully drove a horse, it seemed like he was good at serving high-ranking people, no matter how talented he was.

“Are you going to move with them?”

Heshabel looked at the knights with a dissatisfied, no, disdainful expression and said,

“They are people with crude skills. “It’s amazing that you can call yourself a knight with that skill.”

Her eyes occasionally met the knights, as they glanced at the striking looking Heshabel next to Isaac.

As a member of the Red Grail Club, which values ​​beauty, Hesabel had an appearance that was not obscured even by wearing a hood.

Isaac also has an eye-catching appearance, but he is probably more interested in women than men. Even though I couldn’t outright ask who it was, it was natural to be curious.

“It’s advantageous to have a lot of people. It’s easy to get food, it’s safe, and there’s no need to be on guard or anything like that.”

“Do you really think so? “It may be difficult during the day, but at night, it won’t be a problem for me even if a few of those knights keep watch.”

Isaac internally agreed.

In fact, you can eat animals by using their tentacles, and safety goes without saying. There is Hezabel, who doesn’t even have to sleep at night. Even though she isn’t, she can set her guard up against Jihylet, who is following her somewhere in the mountains.

But there was no need to separate it.

Isaac was even more puzzled by Hesabel’s sensitive reaction.

“What is it for?”

“I just feel bad for people who don’t fit in… … .”

“If you’re really dissatisfied, think of it as a portable lunch box.”

“… … yes.”

Isaac couldn’t figure out what Hesabel was upset about. Of course, your skills may seem poor, but isn’t there still a lot of benefit to be gained by hanging out together?

For example, while walking down the road, the road is blocked by logs.

After walking along the road for about half a day, Isaac stopped and stared in front of him with a puzzled expression. When I looked next to him, Owen also looked embarrassed. There were a lot of logs piled up, blocking the road.

“There was nothing like this when I came in the morning.”

“I guess so.”

The road ran through a narrow valley, and the logs were stacked so meticulously that it seemed difficult for people on horseback to get around them. Since there were no traces of soil, it did not seem to be due to a landslide.

It didn’t take long to find the culprit. Because I showed up on my own feet.

“Oooooh!”

Four trolls were standing between the trees and shouting at Isaac and the others. Seeing that each one was growling at a large piece of wood, it seemed like they were trying to block the road and use it as a trap.

‘Then you should not just shout, but attack… … what?’

“Those bastards… … .”

As Isaac questioned the troll’s intelligence, one of the knights muttered a curse and drew his sword. Upon seeing this, Isaac began to doubt the knight’s intelligence.

What are you going to do? Earlier, I was struggling because I couldn’t catch even a single troll on the flat ground. Are you going to jump up to the top of the slope and catch it?

Fortunately, Owen stopped the knight before he could jump up.

“It looks like the trolls did the damage. Are there really that many trolls on this street?”

“It’s not like that. This is my first time doing something like this… … .”

Owen made an excuse as if he was embarrassed. In other places, you might not know this, but this is not a deep mountain, but a road where people walk. It was a strange sight, considering that troll blood and leather are sold at a fairly high price, and that it is easy to catch with just one priest.

Isaac projected his will onto Zihillet, who was moving and hiding in the mountains. Jihilet, which had already moved stealthily from the moment the threat appeared, was in a position to immediately attack the troll.

“Oooooh!”

Soon a troll disappeared into the darkness of the sagebrush forest and a scream erupted. It was impossible to see what happened to the troll from down the slope.

Jihilet can take on one or two Walaika human hunters even in non-sanctuary areas.

If you attack first, trolls aren’t a problem.

While the knights were taken aback by the troll’s sudden scream, other trolls also belatedly noticed the incident. They were a little confused, but soon discovered something in the darkness of the forest.

“Ooh, ooh ooh!”

Soon they almost tumbled and jumped down the slope.

“Oh, it’s an attack!”

The knights accepted this as a belated start of a surprise attack and hastily drew their swords.

Isaac quickly stabbed one of the three trolls in the neck before it could get up. As the Sword of Judgment heated up, he burned the troll’s throat.

The rest could have been done in no time, but Isaac didn’t really feel like doing so.

“Can I see the skills of the Black Bear Knights, Owen?”

“Oh, yes! “Of course!”

It is a specification that is not easy to follow. Rather, Isaac was more curious about why the troll group was going crazy.

The knights, including Owen, followed their command and bravely fought the two trolls with their swords.

I thought it would be difficult, considering the way I was one-sidedly attacked by one animal earlier. However, the Hendlock Knights fought surprisingly well. This was not a sloped place and there were no logs for the trolls to use as weapons. Above all, the trolls seemed scared and wanted to run away rather than fight.

Even though they couldn’t burn the wounds, the knights were steadily wounding the trolls.

‘Even so, the standard is too low… … .’

Of course, it is superior to regular mercenaries or guards. But compared to the Holy Knights, they are miserable. It was doubtful whether even three or four Hendlock Knights would be able to stand against Rottenhammer’s Holy Knights.

Moreover, of course, swordsmanship can be used not only by the Holy Knights but also by ordinary knights. However, none of the Hendlock Knights seemed to be able to use advanced swordsmanship. I couldn’t tell if they had deliberately chosen only the poorest people, or if this was the original situation of the local knights.

‘At least Owen is a little better. It feels a bit self-serving, but… … .’

Although Owen was somewhat passive, once he swung his sword, he was sure to inflict injury. Judging from the fact that he was quite fierce, the only person who could step into advanced swordsmanship was Owen.

Isaac shrugged his shoulders as if showing off to Hesabel.

“Look. “If they weren’t there, you would have been cleaning up those trolls, right?”

Of course, Heshabel didn’t seem to think so.

“The Red Grail Club does not necessarily harm trolls. “Because it can be tamed well.”

“Tame?”

“yes. “The Red Grail Club considers trolls to be precious spirits.”

“Young things? Ah, because of the blood.”

Isaac realized what Hezabel was saying. Isaac paid little attention when playing, but the Red Grail Club saw trolls as useful livestock and guard dogs.

Although he doesn’t communicate well, he’s not so stupid that he can’t understand what’s being said, and his blood is very useful. Its regenerative power is also amazing. It was natural that the Red Grail Club, which worshiped life force and blood, cherished it.

‘for a moment… … It’s the Red Grail Club.’

Isaac was struck by something subtle.

The Red Grail Club tames and cherishes trolls. And now there are a strangely large number of trolls appearing here.

It was clear that there was someone behind it.

‘Hezabel… … I don’t think so. Rather, it seems that Hesabel has caught the eye.’

Even if a paladin or priest apostates, all kinds of curses and pursuers follow, so there is no way to just let the heir of the dukedom apostatize.

Isaac began to guess who might be behind it.