Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 80

Fallen Knight (1)

The fight is over.

As the captain lifted his head high into the sky, the gnoll army began to retreat all at once.

Numerous arrows and stones hit their backs as they ran toward the inside of the crack.

The Nol army, which suffered close to 2,000 casualties in close combat, was eventually able to retreat only after sacrificing about 2,000 more in the process of fleeing.

The Battle of Suseong, where a thousand troops defeated five thousand gnolls in one night.

It was a complete victory, but the atmosphere inside the fortress was not that good.

thud!

A body torn to pieces is placed roughly in a coffin.

The crusader, who had already carried more than ten corpses of his colleagues, looked almost on the verge of crying.

The coffin lid was placed in the hand of a holy priest wearing a priest’s uniform, and after a short moment of silence, the coffin was placed on a cart.

I’m sorry.

The appearance of a precarious cart carrying more than ten coffins.

Given the weight of people, most of the bodies died so horribly that they could not be properly separated from the armor.

It was fortunate that his limbs and body remained intact.

There were many cases where limbs or heads were lost, or the entire body was eaten and the corpses could not even be found.

Rattling. Rattling.

The cart, which had reached the limit of its carrying capacity, departed for the headquarters for the funeral.

The survivors with mixed expressions soon dispersed here and there.

There was no time to mourn their death.

This is because all facilities in the fortress had to be restored as quickly as possible, as no one knew when the monster army would attack again.

“…….”

Dallen, who was sitting on a chair by the window and looking down at the scene, suddenly felt a bitterness spreading in his mouth.

He rinsed his mouth with the wine on the table. When I looked up, everyone sitting around the conference room had similar expressions.

“Through this battle, the knights numbered three hundred and fourteen crusaders. “We lost twenty-seven paladins.”

Maug, who was sitting at the head of the table, spoke in a calm tone.

“We have sent a request for support to the headquarters, so a large number of troops and supplies will arrive within a few days. May God’s grace be upon those who left first in the afterlife.”

May grace come to you. Voices chanting. Phew. Or small sighs.

Maug took a moment to speak.

“Nevertheless, the mission to defeat Everlock and retrieve the barrier key must continue.”

“There is a difference of opinion.”

One paladin raised his hand. It was a woman with a bright voice.

“Interrogator Pydna. Please speak.”

“As everyone knows, the gnoll army that invaded here last night came from within the rift.”

The atmosphere changed subtly.

If just a moment ago the air was drenched in lamentation and sadness, now the maturity of veterans who have overcome that sadness and looked at reality is on the table.

“And there is no way for a gnoll army of that size to bypass Fortress Estra, the first line of defense in the Rift.”

“Is there anything about the interrogator’s feed or what you want to say now…”

“Yes, that’s right. “The fact is that our primary destination, Fortress Estra, has fallen into the hands of the enemy.”

At her declaration, there was silence in the conference room for a moment.

It wasn’t wrong. Or rather, it is no exaggeration to say that it represents the thoughts of everyone gathered here.

There was no one here who did not think about the fall of Fortress Estra when they saw the gnoll army approaching.

“The original mission plan was to maintain a smooth supply line using Fortress Estra as a base and repeat short-term searches every few days. “But the intended base has been destroyed, and this second defense line is too far from where we need to search.”

Pydna calmly organized it. Her tone could have sounded cynical at first glance.

But at the same time, it was true in every detail, so the face of Maug, the leader of the group, became more and more conflicted.

“You talk like worldly commanders, not paladins, Pydna Inquisitor.”

At that time, the old knight with a grave face raised his hand and opened his mouth.

“Last night’s fight was a fierce battle unprecedented in nearly ten years. Nevertheless, among us who participated in this mission, there were not a single casualty. “This is God telling us to continue our mission.”

“Or maybe he was preparing us for future battles by ensuring that our strength is intact, Deputy Inquisitor Domer.”

Pydna immediately refuted.

“Shall we look back on last night’s fight right now? “If it weren’t for us, this fortress would have fallen in less than an hour.”

It was true this time too.

The number of troops stationed in this fortress was less than a thousand, including about a hundred Holy Knights.

On the other hand, each of the enemies was a gnoll warrior who had been imbued with the power of the true dragon, even a little, and had become half times stronger than normal.

If the high-ranking knights and inquisitors who joined at the right time had not been able to hold on by boosting the morale of the allies with battle prayers throughout the castle walls.

Not long after the skirmish took place, the castle walls must have been taken over in the blink of an eye.

That wouldn’t have changed even if there were Dallen, who ran through the enemy lines and eventually killed the captain, or the two wizards who provided constant magical support from the rear.

No matter how hard Dalen and Priest Valentino fought, the moment the castle wall fell into the hands of the enemy, the battle was lost.

“Besides, there is no way that yesterday’s gnoll army is the end of the offensive. “If it were to be such a large-scale attack, Cheonglin would have had several more monster armies deep in the crack, ready to attack at any time.”

Pydna took a moment to catch her breath and continued speaking.

“It would be suicidal for us to jump out to the front lines and carry out our mission in a situation like this. As you all know, until you cross the Estra River, there is no place to avoid or hide even if 10,000 armies come, right?”

Her gaze looks around the audience as if she is asking for consent.

No one openly agreed. However, no one could refute her words.

Even the deputy chief interrogator, Domer, who had been reprimanding her in a stern voice just moments ago, just sighed in discomfort and leaned against the backrest.

“…Then, as I said before the mission, this matter will be decided through voting.”

Finally, Maug, whose face became tired for a moment, opened his mouth.

“If you believe that it is God’s will for us to continue the mission, please raise your hand.”

***

Purr.

A warhorse wearing gleaming plate armor toured roughly. After preparing for a day, the party left the second defense line at dawn.

The path the group took was not uphill, but downhill.

That means that at yesterday’s meeting it was decided to proceed with the mission.

Rattling. Rattling.

The party’s luggage had increased several times compared to before.

Not only did they each carry their own luggage on horses, but even two carts were mobilized.

The speed slowed down, but it was unavoidable.

Since the fall of Fortress Estra had become a fait accompli, the fortress we had just left was the last place where we could receive proper supplies.

How many hours did he go into the crack like that? Maug slowly rode his horse towards Dallen, who was chewing beef jerky.

“Thank you, Sir Dallon.”

The middle-aged paladin spoke quietly. Dallen shrugged, swallowing the remaining beef jerky in his mouth with water from his canteen.

“If the Lord had not helped us, the mission could not have continued.”

“Then I would have gone alone. “I told you.”

Maug made a strange face. It was a look in his eyes that seemed to ask whether that remark was sincere.

Dallen chuckled and raised his head.

It was close to noon. The sun was peeking out from behind the cliff of the crack.

My eyes hurt from the shining sunlight. Dallen frowned slightly and thought about the meeting that took place yesterday.

It was around this time that we voted in the conference room on the direction of the mission.

In the uncomfortable silence of the conference room, Dallon was the first to raise his hand.

And said.

‘I’ll tell you in advance. Even if everyone doesn’t go, I will go.’

Those words were spat out with an indifferent face.

The tone was so light that it took some time for people to understand it, even though it was a declaration that he would enter the rift alone.

‘Why do you want to do that?’

And a little later, Pydna, who had constantly insisted on aborting the mission, shot him.

‘Anyway, I’m just a mercenary who received a request, so once the request is canceled, I’m free to go wherever I go.’

‘If you go into the crack now, you will not be able to avoid a fight with the demon army. If you want to die like that, please return the Holy Sword, the treasure of the Knights.’

The atmosphere in the conference room was filled with embarrassment at Pydna’s criticism.

Even though he was an elite interrogator of the Knights, he clearly had the potential to cross the line against Dallon, the owner of the Holy Sword.

However, Dallen, who was actually the person involved, looked at Pydna with sullen eyes as if such words were not a big deal.

‘It’s an unavoidable fight. Can I avoid it if I go back?’

‘At least we can fight after sufficient preparation.’

‘And it will give the monsters of the crack enough time to prepare. ‘I don’t know since when the Holy Knights started introducing cowards who run away from demons and monsters as knights.’

Low sneer. And the interrogator woke up in a fit of convulsions.

High Knight Maug had a hard time moderating the atmosphere in the meeting room, which quickly became hostile.

And in the vote that followed, most of the Holy Knights voted to continue the mission.

It was unclear whether this was because the Holy Sword respected the opinion of the chosen warrior or whether it was a strategic decision of its own.

Or maybe he really understood God’s will, or maybe he was just angry at the provocation of some foreign warrior.

‘Anyway, it worked out well in the end, so it doesn’t matter.’

The remaining paladins, including the two wizards, all voted in favor, so Interrogator Pydna had no choice but to reluctantly raise his hand in the end.

As a result of the vague unanimous decision to continue the mission, the party was moving toward the inside of the crack as it was now.

‘I thought the feed and interrogator would be left out, but surprisingly they went together.’

In fact, just before departure, Maug declared once more that those who would return could return.

The members of the party were all high-level members of the Knights, and logically speaking, it was true that this mission was semi-suicidal.

Nevertheless, it seemed that honor was important to the Paladins, as they did not return home alone in the end.

“Anyway, it’s taking some time to stabilize.”

Then Maug spoke again. He was looking at Dallen’s left hand.

The back of my hand is full of big and small scars here and there. A sacred tattoo shining softly on it.

After being completely stabilized, the sacred tattoo should be assimilated into the skin and not normally visible.

However, unlike the other two tattoos on the shoulder, the sacred tattoo on the back of the hand took quite some time to stabilize.

“Well, it is not a tattoo that is commonly seen even among paladins, so it may be so. “It is a tattoo that has very strict conditions and is difficult to use.”

“Do you know what it is just by looking at it like that?”

“of course. The power to inscribe sacred tattoos is given to only a very few, but many high-ranking paladins like me participate in researching new tattoos and measuring old tattoos.”

Maug continued speaking with a proud expression.

“Isn’t the tattoo on the back of Lord Dallen’s hand a catalyst for using miracles?”