Raising Paladins

Episode 22. I didn’t know the priest (5)

“Whoah, stop!”

A procession heading towards the border area.

Two men appeared in front of them and blocked the way.

They carry a hatchet at their waist.

These were the men who had popped out from warming themselves in the nearby hut watchtower.

They slowly approached the driver’s seat.

“Hello, brothers.”

Terrence, who was in the driver’s seat of the lead wagon, pretended to know.

“It’s Terrence. Did you confess to Merilda?”

“… … no.”

“hehehe, if you don’t do it quickly, I will do it first!”

“That’s not okay!”

“It’s a joke, a joke.”

Terrence and the man exchange jokes as if they know each other well.

Then two men looked at the skinny man sitting next to Terrence.

“Who is this? It’s the first face I’ve ever seen.”

“ah… … This is the priest who will escort the procession to Tournoble. He says his name is Carl.”

“huh?”

The two men exchanged puzzled glances.

They quickly checked the wagons and workers following them.

“what? Where are Daryl and the kids?”

“I know. Where is the convoy?”

I can’t see the people who should be there.

The year-end fruit shipment is the largest of the year, so Daryl or Hanson personally escorts it.

But Daryl and Hanson were nowhere to be seen.

It’s because the guards at the post stay there for a week or even 15 days once they come out, so news of Meirium hasn’t been delivered yet.

I didn’t know anything.

furthermore… … .

“What are you looking at? Would you like a hit?”

A skinny man in a coachman’s seat.

He continued to stare at the two men alternately with displeased eyes.

I wasn’t in a good mood because the situation was strange, but when the guy I was seeing for the first time glared at me, I felt bad.

But the important thing now was the convoy.

“Terrence, I’m asking. Where are Daryl and the kids?”

“that is… … I’m not sure either. I think you should ask the priest for details… … .”

Terrence looked at Carl with a begging look.

Carl nodded.

“I will explain.”

“What are you talking about? The first person you see.”

“I have the authority to escort this procession. Originally, I wouldn’t explain it one by one to you guys, but today is the first time, so I’ll let you know.”

“Crazy… … ?”

Hanson’s gang with a bewildered expression.

Carl, who was watching them, jumped off the wagon with a light movement.

chuck!

He slowly drew the wooden sword from his waist.

“what? Are you sure you want to fight us?”

“With that toy knife?”

Two men from a gang laughing at the absurdity.

Carl told them with a sunken gaze.

“Stand upright.”

***

After a while.

slap!

“Oh!”

Slap, slap!

“evil! I will walk straight!”

Two men with black bruises all over their bodies, each carrying a large box of fruit.

Up until an hour ago, they were fine.

But now he was a slave to the sword.

‘… … He was a very scary person.’

gulp!

Terence glanced at the knife next to him and swallowed.

The knife that saved himself from becoming an asshole.

But Terrence was more impressed by Carl’s violence an hour earlier than he was when he nearly got run over by a wheel.

‘How can you hit someone like that?’

A knife with a wooden sword drawn against two men with hatchets.

This is obviously a very dangerous and reckless move.

But the result was just the opposite.

– Help me! I was wrong!

– I won’t mess around again! Please save your life… … !

The wooden sword, wriggling in the air, dug into it and knocked the two men’s hatchets away.

After that, it was just a one-sided assault.

One to the thigh, one to the lower back, then one to the head if you don’t feel like screaming!

Occasionally, he used his fist to beat his chin.

-You Hanson’s gang, I’ll give you a new one. From now on, I will rip off the merchants of the market… … No, not to steal money. You will become the servants of the temple and live the rest of your life atonement. Got it?

Clearly, the Hanson gang are bad guys.

Terrence thinks so too.

Every time I make some money, it mysteriously shows up and steals almost half of it.

It was called protection money, but in fact it was no different from extortion.

Of course, Hanson’s gang escorts the fruit transport, but that’s not something to be thankful for as they charge for the transport separately.

Frankly, it was Terrence who internally rejoiced when two men got beaten up.

But it is true that I am a bit worried.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone get beaten so badly!

“Write- the box sags.”

“sorry!”

The men are startled by Carl’s words.

They were walking at pace with the driver’s seat of the lead carriage.

The sword was a long reed he had picked up somewhere and was being used as a whip.

These days, the method of reforming (?) the wicked in the temple seems to be a bit radical.

Terrence thought so.

Of course, the effect was obvious.

“How many more posts are there before the scavenger haunt?”

“Two!”

“How many?”

“Four people, two for each post!”

“Right. Are the twigs and rabbit dung piled up next to the cabin guard post used to light a fire and send a signal?”

“… … yes.”

Earlier, when they were excitedly beaten.

Perhaps thinking it was impossible, Hana quickly ran and tried to set the rabbit poop on fire.

Rabbit dung that dries up and makes good fire seeds.

If you light a fire on it, the pine tree that is with it will also burn vigorously.

Then the other guard posts and Hanson’s gang from Meirium must have rushed to you.

However, before he could ignite the rabbit poop, he was struck in the back of the neck by Carl’s wooden sword and fell down.

‘As expected, the world is wide!’

Terrence grew up watching Hanson’s gang from a young age.

He thought Hanson’s gang were the scariest thugs in the world.

But today my mind has changed.

***

after a couple of hours.

hee hee hee!

The horses pulling the carriage shudder merrily.

It must have felt that the load on the lead carriage had become lighter.

Terrence stared at the six crates of fruit that had been loaded onto the wagon earlier.

“Okay… … .”

“It’s heavy… … .”

“I feel like my back is about to break… … !”

Six people with six boxes.

All of them were Hanson’s gang, guarding their posts.

Every time Carl passed one of the guard posts, he captured two of them.

And like that, he made a human cart.

At first, I had other workers carry their luggage.

Then, after some time, the wagon’s fruit box was lost.

To put it plainly, Hanson’s gang were the people and horses of the procession, and they were all being helpful.

Of course, they look very painful.

Carl kept changing boxes, as if determined to annoy them.

“I… … knife.”

“hmm?”

Terrence cautiously called out the knife.

“Wouldn’t that make my back go out? It seems like you are making me lift a heavier and heavier box.”

“The human body is much stronger than you think. I wouldn’t go out of my way to that extent.”

“… … .”

“Besides, those guys are thugs. Through such self-mortification, you must erase all the impure thoughts that remain in you. Only then will you be qualified to become a seed of the temple.”

“okay… … .”

Seeds of the future who shudder at Carl’s words!

Inside, they were pouring all sorts of curses on Carl.

‘Who asked for a seed!’

‘I’m living well, but I’m going to have a good time!’

‘I was destined to become a seed… … .’

But no one ever said it out loud.

slap!

“evil!”

“The box sags. If you drop the box and the fruit in it loses its marketability… … Even if you don’t say anything, you know, right?”

“omg!”

The gang that was whipped with a reed by a knife.

I hurriedly lifted the box.

Terence watched the scene.

Unknowingly, I shivered slightly.

‘Those older brothers aren’t the ones to live beaten up like that… … .’

Members of Hanson’s gang.

Among them, the people at the guard post on the outskirts of the city are all shoulder to shoulder.

If the scavengers or gangs from the neighboring village do surprise you, you have to survive and deliver the news to the village.

That’s why the captain, Hanson, knows that he selects reliable and good fighting shoulders from among the gang and sends them to the post.

But what about that unattractive look?

A group of people following the wagon’s speed while forcibly carrying a heavy crate of fruit on their backs.

In addition, when the knife is forgotten, tears are shed again at the whip that is whipped.

More importantly, they had given up their resistance altogether.

‘They must have judged that the opponent wasn’t good in the first place.’

The mysterious swordsmanship that the sword spread with a single wooden sword!

The tip of the sword shot like a snake in the air aimed at the wrists of the gang.

Once the wooden sword was extended, the dagger or hatchet with the gang fell to the floor.

After that, he hit just enough to keep him from dying, and his skill was also exquisite.

It seemed that he knew exactly where to hit and how painful it was to hit to feel the extreme pain.

Like someone who has done it thousands of times.

It was a hobby that did not go well with the status of a ‘priest’.

“Daryl and Peter, whom you served as older brothers, have already become perfect squire and serve the temple and the sick. So consider this moment as an ordeal to become a good seed. Got it?”

“I can’t… … .”

“Write.”

“yes! All right!”

The voices of the seed candidates (?) full of spirit!

Carl smiles in perfect satisfaction.

He asked a candidate who was walking near the driver’s seat.

“How far is it left to the border area?”

“Almost now… … came. Around the hill ahead… … You will see a large acorn tree. From there, it is the border area between Meirium and Tournoble. Whoa… … .”

Carrying a heavy box, walking at the same speed as the wagon, or politely answering Carl’s questions.

The candidate looked like he was about to die.

“Tell me what you know about scavengers.”

“They… … They are the ones who have no standards, whoops, and no order. She poops at the place where she eats, and breeds as she pleases… … It’s those guys. After the winter, about half of them freeze to death, but vagabonds come in from somewhere to replenish the number of people. Hoo-wook.”

“They really live a wild life.”

“you’re right.”

“Can you hurt people?”

“of course. We live on the basis of Meirium, so even if we take money from the market, it won’t harm people’s lives. however… … Scavengers don’t have that. It’s common to rob passers-by or merchants and commit murder. It also insults women.”

“The roots are rotten.”

Carl nodded with a sad face.

and that moment.

A group of people dressed in rags appeared on a hill far away.

Carl looked at them and thought.

‘I hope you have accumulated a lot of wealth in the meantime… … .’

If the sun god knew, it was the knife’s ulterior motive.