Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 62
Internal strife (2)
“Civil war. “What do you mean?”
Lucia’s face hardened.
The crusader called Oklan continued speaking with gloomy eyes.
“The vice-captain and his subordinates rose up in revolt. He asked where the glory of the Knights of 300 years ago had gone and claimed that the reason the Knights were confined to a small kingdom in the outskirts was because of the greed of the Knight Commander.”
“What nonsense…”
Lucia trailed off with an expression of disbelief.
Next to him, Dallon was silently lost in thought.
‘Everlock Glasden, vice-captain of the Holy Knights.’
Along with the Ash Witch, she is considered one of the worst enemies in the mid-game.
In fact, compared to a fully awakened witch, her true power was not that strong.
Unlike witches who made a contract with an evil god and amplified their power, the vice-captain did not receive power directly from the evil god.
But it wasn’t his power that made him a difficult and difficult enemy.
‘Because he is the main culprit causing the internal strife in the Holy Knights in this situation.’
It would not be wrong to say that the fate of the continent is a blind man walking with cliffs on both sides.
A situation that is approaching destruction at every moment amidst war clouds that could break out at any moment and the eyes of evil spirits targeting humans at any moment.
In the meantime, human greed was endless, and there were not many forces willing to completely confront the apocalypse, ignoring their own interests.
We are not just talking about the southern empire going crazy over war.
The three kingdoms of the East, with their vastly different cultures, ignored each other no matter what disaster occurred.
The western alliance countries were busy bickering among themselves over money and power, as they had for the past hundred years.
The Tsar’s country, which has been invaded by barbarians for decades, the Holy Knights who closed the rift, and the Transcendants of Falcion, who have the labyrinth at their feet, are the only ones trying to prevent the apocalypse.
Vice-captain Everlock was the main culprit in destroying one of the most important forces from within.
‘I was already planning to find out what he was up to when I arrived at the headquarters, but I didn’t know it would already cause internal strife.’
The pace of the apocalypse quickens one beat again.
The vice-captain’s premature treason was likely due to the Ash Witch’s influence.
In fact, splitting an order of knights that has been unwavering for over a thousand years is impossible on one’s own, no matter how much one holds the position of vice-captain.
Therefore, he has been preparing to achieve his misguided ambitions by communicating with the Ash Witch for a long time.
And now that his collaborator, the Ash Witch, has died.
The guy who was cornered probably had only two options.
‘Either I give up all the ambitions I’ve prepared so far, or I make a final struggle no matter the outcome.’
Looking at the current situation, it seemed like he chose the latter.
“The vice leader claims that previous leaders used interrogators to seize power. “I heard that in order to protect their vested interests, all the highly capable Paladins were accused of being heretics and executed.”
“How can you say such crazy things…! “Do any of you believe that?”
“Not much. But most of the special lease companies followed suit. “By the time I left the headquarters, they had completely taken over the 3rd sanctuary and started a sit-in protest.”
The crusader spoke with an expression full of anger. His beard, with its sparse white strands, trembled.
The scars and deep wrinkles on his face are proof that he devoted himself to the Holy Knights for a long time.
Even for such a mature warrior, what happened now was a big event that made it difficult to control his emotions.
Lucia couldn’t forget what she said for a while. Only when her chewing lips turned pale did she manage to open her mouth.
“Well sir. Thank you for telling us.”
“no. The leader said that if you meet Sir Lucia, please be sure to protect the goods being transported.”
“Keep that in mind. Continue your mission.”
Lucia forced a smile. The crusader nodded and received the plaque and document from the knight.
“Keep in mind, Knight of the Empire. “This matter should never spread.”
The crusader, who warned the knight with his blazing eyes, gave Dallen and his companions a light greeting and rode off again.
The direction was toward the inside of the empire.
As the leader’s messenger, he was to deliver news of the civil war to the Holy Knights’ branches throughout the empire.
***
After the crusader left, the group passed the checkpoint in silence.
Lucia continued to chew her lips. As always, Dallon had an expression on his face that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
And Parn glanced at the two adults and kept his mouth shut.
Unlike Dallen, the boy did not hear the crusader’s whispers, but he could tell that the atmosphere was unusual, as he had been exposed to a lot of noise while working as a mercenary.
Even after passing the checkpoint, I rode a horse for a while.
Lucia stopped talking.
“Dallen. You may complete your request here.”
Dallen stopped talking and turned his head. He looked at the paladin in silence.
“here?”
“yes. Even if you stop here, the request will be treated as completed. “Remuneration will be paid by inviting you to the headquarters as soon as the situation is resolved.”
Dallen scratched his chin. And he asked with an indifferent expression.
“You don’t need my help?”
“…….”
Lucia paused for a moment.
She soon sighed once more.
“…Required. “But I don’t want to put you on a limb.”
“And what about that one?”
“I am an interrogator for the Holy Knights. “It is my duty to kill the traitor who betrayed the Knights.”
Lucia forced a smile.
It was similar to the smile he gave to the crusader who set out as a messenger a little while ago.
Dallen reached over his shoulder. He grabbed the handle of the holy sword wrapped in cloth and untied the chain that bound it.
Suddenly,
the chains and cloth come off, revealing the blue appearance of the holy sword.
The wide and elongated two-handed sword had faint wave patterns engraved here and there.
An angular and sharp wave pattern that is far from soft.
Instead of being carefully and delicately crafted, the marks are irregularly engraved, as if someone accidentally used the hammer incorrectly.
Dallen slowly ran his palm across the sword body, which was both beautiful and rugged.
Ugh……
Then the Holy Sword cried faintly.
A sound that can be felt not only by Dallen, but also by Lucia and Parn.
Dallen grinned and said.
“Let’s do this.”
“yes?”
“The reward for this request.”
Lucia’s face became blank for a moment. Dallen smiled lowly and continued.
“The Holy Sword chose me. After losing its divine power, it regained its power in my hands. “To borrow a phrase from the witch in Lvivbach Forest, it’s as if God chose me.”
And if you look at history, that choice has always been absolute. Dallon added:
Although there were only a few times in the long history of the Knights, it was not the first time that the Holy Sword recognized a being other than a Paladin as its owner.
Some of the greatest heroes in history were recognized as masters of the Holy Sword even though they did not follow the God of War.
And every time a major storm hit the Knights, the heroes saved the Knights from danger by wielding the holy sword.
Lucia was delighted when she realized what Dallen was talking about.
“Do you mean to intervene in the civil war of the Knights Templar?”
“That’s right. Otherwise, where will I get my pay?”
Dallen shrugged.
In fact, my physical strength has largely followed my strength so far, so there was no need to get a tattoo to enhance my physical strength as I first thought.
However, the sacred tattoo did not only increase stamina.
Of course, there were things that not only increased each ability, but also increased resistance to poison and fire spells.
And at a time when the apocalypse is constantly on its feet, the value of each of those tattoos is indescribable.
‘Besides, if you want to gain divine power, you have to visit the Holy Knights at least once.’
Whether it was a sacred tattoo or a holy sword, one had to obtain divine power in order to properly handle it.
And the corpse that could most definitely obtain the divine power in Dallen’s memories could only be found by going inside the crack.
“…thank you.”
Lucia bit her lip again.
Dallen laughed and wrapped the holy sword in cloth again. He said.
“If I didn’t have that tattoo, my lips would have been torn off a long time ago.”
Dallen, carrying the holy sword wrapped in cloth on a chain on his back, gently shook the reins and started the horse.
He looked up at the sky.
The sky was dark blue. The sun had already gone over the horizon.
The disappeared sun created a layer of purple, red, orange, and yellow on the horizon, as if it were a farewell gift. As Dallan looked at it, he thought of a sweet cocktail.
When I get back to the crow’s nest, I’ll have to ask Bourbon to make me a cocktail.
Thinking about something useless, Dallon glanced back. And said.
“Let’s go. If you go a little further, there’s a village. “I’ll take a shower and sleep in bed today.”
Dallen spurred his horse. His horse galloped straight down the road.
The mercenary boy also said something and accidentally kicked the side of the horse and started following him without realizing it.
“…….”
Lucia, the last one left, looked at the warrior’s back for a moment, then slowly grabbed the reins and started the horse.
And soon she became the leader of the group.
Dallen still did not have horseback riding skills.
***
The headquarters of the Holy Knights was located in the southwest of the Kingdom of Noria.
‘Crack’ is a huge valley that continues into the great forest of the southern part of the continent and deepens without end.
This was because the headquarters of the Knights Templar was blocking the entrance to the crack.
After crossing the border of the empire, the party rode horses across the Kingdom of Noria for several days.
Along the way, they encountered several more messengers like Oklan.
And rumors usually travel as fast as messengers on horseback.
Whenever I visited a village inn or a city blacksmith shop, I could often hear rumors about the division of the knights.
[Internal strife in that powerful knighthood. I can’t believe it. After all, humans are among the most spineless among mortals.]
The devil muttered in subspace. Dallen scratched his chin.
“Are you talking to yourself or are you telling me to listen?”
[Ho, I was talking to myself, master!]
“I think I was talking to myself a little too much.”
[…I’m sorry.]
The devil said in a wrinkly voice. I felt like I could hear the guy clasping his hands together in subspace.
Dallen laughed and stood up. He stretched and looked around.
A campsite deep in the forest. Blazing bonfire. A paladin and a boy sleeping deeply. An empty bowl that I used to heat up dinner leftovers.
It had been 15 days since I left Lvivbach, and it was a night scene that I had become accustomed to.
‘Maybe this view will be my last day.’
Dallen thought as he looked at the foot of the mountain beyond the forest.
The place they were sleeping in was an unknown forest in the southwest of Noria Kingdom.
It’s about a day’s walk from this forest to the mountain range in front of you. From there, it was the territory of the Holy Knights.
Although a civil war was in progress, according to Lucia, the probability that the vice-captain’s men had taken control of the mountain gates was low.
Even looking back on the experience of the game, there were many cases where mountain range gates and headquarters buildings did not fall into the hands of the vice-captain.
Its main base was the Third Sanctuary, where various holy relics and special weapons were stored.
In the first place, it was natural that the position of vice-captain was also the management of the Third Sanctuary, which was called the armory of the Knights.
Dallen, who was looking at the constellations hanging on the mountainside with dull eyes, suddenly asked.
“Do you know much about Enaxagus?”
[Are you talking to me?]
The devil’s voice echoing in my head.
“okay. “It’s the same devil.”
Dallen nodded and walked into the forest. The devil seemed to think deeply for a moment and then spoke.
[Enaxagusra…the most cunning of the five gods of Hell. Ruler of the overturned sky and a thousand hands that study the shedding of species. The place where I was born was also the pothole of Enaxagus. It is said that on the continent, he is most famous for his nickname of the dwarf who binds fate.]
“Is there anything else other than that abstract content?”
[Uh…]
The devil closed his mouth. It seemed like he didn’t know anything else.
In fact, even Dallon, who knew most of the secrets of the continent, did not know much about evil spirits.
The only certain information is that they are the culprits behind all apocalypses.
Fortunately, Enaxagus, the evil god, had more information than other evil gods.
As the saying goes, he is the most cunning evil god, and he has secretly placed his servants all over the continent.
The story was that Dallon had experienced numerous indirect conflicts with the guy from beyond the monitor.
‘Is that why? Ever since I arrived in Falcion, I’ve been strangely involved with that guy a lot.’
The apostles of retrograde and the great warrior leader Barguf, the immortal demon and ash witch.
And Vice-Captain Everlock, who was influenced by the witch, could also be said to have been influenced by the evil spirit.
At this level, the fight that Daelon has been doing since Falcion is almost like a fight with Enaxagus, with a few exceptions.
‘A warrior watched over by the gods.’
It is only now, after a long time, that I ponder over the words of Eberron, one of the dead great apostles and transcendents.
In this world where divine beings actually exist, who do those gods mean?
Pantheon of Empire? Evil god of hell? Or…
rustling.
The thoughts stopped there. Dallen turned his head.
In a forest where there is nothing.
The dense foliage obscured the stars and the moon, making the dark shadows so blurry that it was difficult to distinguish their boundaries.
But Dallen’s eyes could see through the darkness.
About twenty people wearing black armor made of polished plate and soft, flexible leather, and holding weapons with black blades.
In fact, it was around evening that they started following the group.
If I wanted to chase after them and deal with them, I just left them alone because they were so spread out that I couldn’t catch them all.
But did my thoughts change in the middle of the night?
The siege network, which had been slowly narrowing since Dallen set foot in the forest, was now forming a circle around him with an interval of about a hundred steps.
Dallen sighed briefly, then stretched out his hand and slowly pulled out the holy sword.
The cloth and chains surrounding the sword fall, revealing the hidden holy sword.
A blue sword that glows softly in the dark.
Seeing this, I could feel the people who had built the siege being shaken.
Dallen slightly raised the corners of his mouth and put strength on his toes.
OK.
Pow!
The ground he had been standing on until just now exploded lightly and his new form disappeared from its place.