chapter 4
Episode
4 .
The Holy Knight was one of the signposts of the Baranches Church.
The signboard exists for the eyes of others and advertises the identity of the group.
Authority and dignity, divinity and nobility. As the doctrine of the church is like this, the paladin, the symbol, had to have all the values.
External factors were very important.
Aiden cut off his overgrown beard and brushed his hair neatly.
Then, after taking off the dark leather armor, he put on the sacred armor.
“Sir Aiden, it is absolutely perfect.”
One of the five new recruits the bishop gave away, he served as Aiden’s temporary squire.
Seeds were essential for paladins. It was difficult to put on and take off the holy armor by myself, and sometimes I needed someone to wait on me.
Aiden was in the VIP room of the lord’s castle. He was checking his armaments and making plans for the battle to come tonight.
“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
Iden muttered, standing in front of the full-length mirror. When I saw it in the game, I thought it was cool, but when I put it on, it stood out too much.
Of course, practicality was perfect. It can’t even be scratched with tolerable blades and absorbs most of the impact.
The problem was the enormous weight, but it had nothing to do with Iden.
“It’s too much. You look really good together.”
The servant looked up at Aiden with his eyes sparkling. A supernova who passed the ordeal and was commissioned as a paladin in just two years. Rumors had already spread within the empire.
Being able to serve such Aiden was a great source of pride for the servants as well. even if it’s a temporary job.
“What is your name?”
“This is Euron.”
“I want to know the skills of you and the recruits.”
The recruits were elites professionally trained by the church. He had a very good understanding of tactics, including combat ability, and was qualitatively different from ordinary soldiers.
He must have been confident in his skills, but Euron’s expression was not.
“That, that…”
Aiden thought it was a little strange. Whatever it was, they had to know their skills.
“Pull out your sword.”
“yes? what is that?”
“hurry. I want to see your skills.”
An embarrassing order. Euron could not hide his wonder.
“You mean here?”
There was no need to go outside. If you compete with a few sums, strands will come out.
Euron hesitated for a moment, but when he sensed Iden’s serious expression, he slowly drew his sword.
“Then, I would like to ask for a favor.”
Aiden motioned for him to come in. Euron digging straight into it. It was a normal stab, but Iden realized he was really bad at it.
Ting, without even pulling out his sword, he parried Euron’s attack with his plate gauntlets.
Even the way he let go of the knife he was holding was perfect.
Euron’s face turned red. It was the shame of my lack of skills and the frustration of betraying my expectations.
On the other hand, Aiden’s voice was calm.
“Are the other four like you?”
Euron could not answer easily.
“I have to know the power. answer me.”
“… It’s almost similar.”
“i get it. Go out.”
Euron looked down and looked at Iden’s face. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel disappointed.
Rather, it was as calm as expected.
Euron’s impression was correct. Aiden was just focusing on the fact that his instincts were gradually fitting.
‘All of them are lax.’
The Demonic Church is involved, but only five troops were given. In addition, individual skills did not change.
Yes, since the highest-powered paladin and holy mage Xerath belong to the organization, and the mission assigned is ambush reconnaissance, let’s assume that’s the case.
Then the problem was who was in the main unit.
The bishop’s plan was to raid the site where the Demonic Church was making human sacrifices for children, identify the escape routes of the fleeing remnants, and destroy their strongholds.
According to common sense, the enemy’s key figures would be lined up at the human sacrifice site. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be right for us to focus our efforts on the raiding party as well?
Are there other paladins besides Aiden? No, in that case, there was no need to ignore all the formalities and entrust Aiden in the first place.
In addition, it was very annoying that the ambush location was a graveyard.
Iden knows what kind of person Bishop Forell is. I’m sure they’re trying to get the kidnapped children back. to satisfy your own greed.
However, I couldn’t figure out why Iden and Xerath were used. If it wasn’t for the use of force, it would just be annoying.
‘Does he have other ulterior motives besides the children?’
With a click, the door opened and my thoughts were interrupted.
“Huh, it was true that clothes are wings. But why is that expression like that? Knight who is in agony. What, is it like that?”
Xerath entered, trembling. There was dirt all over the silver uniform, and the smell of rotting corpses emanated from him.
“Where have you been?”
“You are quick to notice. How did you know?”
“Your clothes are dirtier than before. It smells too. Rotten mine.”
Xerath scratched his head in amazement.
“I robbed you of turning… but your eyesight is not that of a human. Same with your sense of smell.”
In fact, Xerath’s appearance was clean to anyone’s eyes. The reason Iden was able to capture even a single grain of soil attached to his clothes was thanks to his Sight stat.
Sight was also very important to Paladins, who spent most of their battles at night, so it was the result of investing in their spare time.
At this distance, you could clearly see the sebum in the other person’s pores. It wasn’t all that good.
“But hey, why are you staring at my face like this?”
“no. Where have you been since then?”
“I think we should talk about it anyway.”
Xerath looked at Iden’s expression with solid eyes.
“Did you not feel anything strange?”
As far as this incident was concerned, Xerath was an absolute ally. Because he was a person close to a fanatic.
I never did anything that went against the doctrine.
“Everything from one to ten is strange.”
“It must be fast.”
Xerath pulled a chair and sat down at the table.
“I’ve been looking at the place the bishop said.”
Tonight, it was an area presumed to be a place where the Demonic Church would offer their children.
“It’s definitely demonic, and it’s even set up a barrier.”
It looked like something was going to happen there.
“I took a step back. If you touch the barrier, they’ll find out. Probably installed for that purpose. it was messy Anyway, I went to the graveyard where we were going to ambush, and, well, I found something interesting.”
Xerath smiled and sighed.
“Some places in the graveyard have been dug up.”
Traces of the necromancer. Plant the spell on several corpses, and wait until the spell spreads throughout the graveyard.
It was a black magic that awakened all the dead in the cemetery with magic when the magic spell was all over.
“The standard was quite high. It’s embarrassing, but I couldn’t turn it off.”
Of course, it was more difficult to cast a spell than to cast a spell. However, if someone as skilled as Xerath hadn’t been able to unlock it, the opponent’s level wouldn’t be as formidable.
“Anyway, what does this mean?”
Xerath asked the question as if he were dealing with a monk.
“Either it was a simple preparation, or he knew our plan in advance and set a trap. Wouldn’t it be one or the other?”
“yes. But, isn’t that a bit strange? Of course, our ambush location is a graveyard, and there are many strange corners in the situation.”
Xerath was focusing on the possibility of a trap.
“If so, who is trapping us for what?”
“I don’t know about that.”
If the bishop is behind it, why is he doing this? It was an unknown part as of now.
“Anyway, there are two options.”
“I will report this to the bishop, or I will step into the trap myself and dig up the truth.”
“hahahaha, so. What will you do?”
If he chooses the latter, Xerath may assume that Iden thinks the Bishop is behind it.
It didn’t seem to make any difference.
“I hate having a headache. I will see it with my own two eyes.”
“good. You and I got along.”
“The sun will set now. Let’s move slowly.”
They led the new recruits straight to the ambush.
*
Aiden and Xerath’s outfits were not suitable for ambushes and night raids.
In the middle of the night, no light can be found on the mountainside, because the uniform and sacred armor reflect the moonlight and shine brighter.
“Wear this from here on out.”
Xerath handed over a black hoodie to Iden.
The moment I put it on, the brilliance of the sacred armor faded.
“It is a material that absorbs light. It comes in handy at times like this, so you should have one.”
When the only light source in the mountain disappeared, the surrounding area was covered with desolate darkness.
The new recruits were nervous and trembled.
“I will walk from here.”
I tied my horse to a tree and climbed the hillside. The closer they got to the graveyard, the thicker the concentration of demonic energy in the air.
It is now visible to the naked eye. The moonlight shattered over the demonic air that had settled like fog, dyeing the surroundings purple.
Euron followed Aiden, barely enduring the trembling of his hands and feet.
They were able to reach their destination after a long time.
The tombs and tombstones were arranged neatly, and the scale was quite large.
“It’s a perfect environment to be possessed by the devil.”
The recruits swallowed their saliva at Xerath’s words. Iden wanted to leave the new recruits behind, but he didn’t want to raise unnecessary suspicion.
To be honest, they were completely useless. It was clear that the bishop had entrusted the beggars.
“Ah, Sir Aiden. What can we do?”
Euron asked fearlessly.
“Do nothing, stay here.”
Even if I was hurt, I couldn’t help it. It was better than losing a precious life through hasty action.
Aiden held his breath as he completely hid himself in the dense bush.
The surroundings were dark without a single light, but Aiden’s eyes were looking right through the graveyard.
The recruits relied only on their hearing in the pitch-black darkness.
Grass bugs cried and leaves rustled. Occasionally, the howls of beasts echoed chillingly.
Sabujak, I heard the sound of something falling down. Aiden immediately looked away. A human who appeared out of nowhere near the graveyard.
At the same time, all the sounds made by the forest all at once stopped.
‘The recruits are agitated.’
It was neither seen nor heard. Like a sinking ship, it seemed to be sucked into the desolate darkness.
The soldiers were bewildered. It was right to leave it as well.
Aiden contemplated retreating. To give up the enormous experience of being an undead?
In addition, the necromancer had to be captured to solve the question.
‘do.’
He exchanged glances with Xerath.
The moment they nodded, the sounds of life that had stopped began to be replaced by those of the dead.
Big Deuk!
In order to shake off the rotten flesh and rob the living,
Beings who yearned for life more than anyone else climbed the graveyard.
Eek to him!
The tenacity of longing for life glared at the living in unison.
Aiden immediately threw off his black hood. The new recruits were terrified as the moonlight illuminated the dead.
“Don’t be afraid!”
A blazing halo ignited the darkness and covered the dead.