Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 81
Fallen Knight (2)
“The more I think about it, the more amazing it is. Not only was he recognized as the owner of the holy sword, but he was even granted a miracle by God. “If you don’t mind, may I ask what kind of miracle you received?”
“Not yet.”
“also. If you are a god, such a high-level miracle… yes?”
Maug’s eyes fluttered shut. Dallen chuckled. This is someone who has a taste for teasing.
“I haven’t received a miracle yet.”
“…You didn’t even receive a miracle, so you got a tattoo to use it?”
“Is there something wrong?”
There was confusion in Maug’s eyes at the delicate answer.
In fact, if it were normal, there would have been a problem.
In general, it was right to receive a miracle first during training or battle, and then get a tattoo later to use that miracle.
In the first place, God does not give miracles to just anyone.
Among all paladins, the proportion of paladins who have downloaded miracles is around 5% at most.
If the Holy Knights, who always refine their mind and body through prayer and practice, do the same, Dallen, who does not have a ounce of divine power, would get a tattoo in advance rather than common sense.
Of course, Dallen’s situation was a bit different.
Because of the successor option, he was able to retrieve even miracles in the form of skills.
And since there are several corpses of former Paladins deep within the crack, it was an extremely reasonable choice to get a tattoo in advance.
“Oh no. What a problem. He is also the owner of the Holy Sword. “It is said that faith is the substance of things hoped for, but my lack of faith is revealed again like this.”
Maug, who was in a state of confusion, belatedly opened his mouth.
Dallen leisurely drove his horse and fell back into his thoughts as the middle-aged high-ranking knight suddenly turned into a repentant mode.
Interestingly enough, the more people around him were calculating and researching things, the more they seemed to talk.
Volkmana, a merchant who studies sacred tattoos and is the owner of Maugna Galios.
‘If you think about it, that old man was also a talkative person to begin with.’
Looking at Felber’s narrow back ahead, Dallon suddenly thought.
Whether it was a serious look or a more free-spirited look, Felber was always talkative as well.
But why?
Since the fight in the sanctuary, the elder wizard’s talkativeness has decreased noticeably.
He only said what was absolutely necessary, and even that was often short-answered or just laughed off.
‘There was an incident that could change something.’
Dallen had been feeling it for some time now.
After recovering from being fatally wounded by the vice-captain in the sanctuary, Felber’s level rose to an incomparable level.
Perhaps that incident helped him break through his own wall that had been blocked for a long time.
And if that were true, the talkativeness might have been a side effect of such a rapid rise in status.
‘Well, if you look at me right now, I’m not in a very relaxed situation.’
Dallen thought as he relaxed his stiff shoulders.
Recently, I felt like my body was creaking slightly.
An inconvenience that is barely felt when fighting, but becomes especially noticeable when returning to daily life.
‘hmm.’
What is the reason? First of all, it was not due to the side effects of hemolysis.
His stamina level was already too high to be exhausted by the dragon’s blood’s regeneration factor.
Perhaps, like in the underground ruins of the Sandstorm Dynasty, I would have to be able to break down a huge maze by myself in order to feel at least a little bit of pressure.
‘It’s not a question of balance of abilities. Although strength and stamina are a bit higher than other abilities, the two abilities are complementary.’
For Dallon, it was a matter of territory.
To be precise, the problem occurred because the power contained within the area was too large.
The skills he has acquired so far are well over ten.
Among them, there were several that were C-grade or higher, something that ordinary talent could not even dare to reach.
Even those skills were reaching their highest level of proficiency one by one, reaching a power of greater potential than before.
And since various powerful forces reside in one area, it is inevitable that the total amount of power contained in the vessel will increase enormously.
‘It’s clear that the scale of that enormous force is putting a strain on my body.’
If the realm is a vessel, the body is a passage connected to the vessel.
Of course, using the power of the realm did not mean bringing forth all the possibilities that were unlocked in the fantasy world without limits.
However, because his original power is so strong, for some time now even the parts that are expressed in this real world have been putting a strain on his body.
‘For now, my strength and stamina levels are holding up. However, it is a power that cannot be contained with just that.’
In fact, this would have been difficult to happen under normal circumstances.
It was realistically contradictory to say that he had gained power that his physical abilities could not handle.
Originally, even game characters could barely obtain skills by achieving appropriate abilities and then learning the theory through a proper teacher or assistant.
Even that was a low-grade word, and higher-grade skills were often acquired through long training and practice in addition to theory.
On the other hand, what about now?
It was routine to obtain at least one skill by recovering one or two corpses.
Even spells from different schools that would have been extremely difficult to learn together were easily contained in one area.
‘It’s strange that all kinds of powers are mixed together and even become stronger than the original, but there are no side effects.’
As he was concentrating his thoughts, Dallon took out some beef jerky from his waist pocket and chewed it.
It’s not a problem that can be done right away.
However, since the steps you will take at the end of this journey will vary depending on what measures you take, it may not be a bad idea to organize your thoughts in advance.
While enjoying the flavor of the meat flowing through the chewy texture, Dallon began to quietly reflect on the knowledge he had experienced beyond the monitor.
***
It was a two-day journey from the second defense line to Fortress Estra.
However, the party’s steps slowed down considerably due to the cart full of supplies.
Around noon on the third day, they were able to spot smoke rising in the distance.
“That’s not a good sign.”
Maug muttered as he saw a few wisps of gray smoke rising.
The group increased their speed a little more. It was a couple of hours later that I was able to fully see Fortress Estra.
“God…”
And facing the scene, the elderly Holy Knight Deputy Chief Interrogator Domer sighed deeply.
Estra Fortress had completely fallen.
The castle walls collapsed in many places. Above that were broken water-based weapons for anti-monsters.
Black dead blood was solidified between the cracks of the collapsed stones, and beyond that were buildings engulfed in flames.
And, leaving all that scenery behind, among the corpses of monsters and humans scattered all around the outside of the castle.
A huge man wearing dull armor was sitting on a large rock, looking in this direction.
“I was wondering when you would come.”
He said.
The pattern of the Holy Knights engraved on the armor was strangely twisted to depict an image that blasphemed God.
The holy sword, which boasted powerful healing abilities, was left behind and a huge greatsword as tall as a person was leaning against a rock.
Everlock Glasden, who was once the vice-captain of the Holy Knights, looked at the party with eyes filled with a strange light.
To be exact, a warrior who was a head taller than the others sitting relatively behind the group.
“If you didn’t come by tomorrow, I was going to come find you. “Barbarian of the North.”
The guy stretched his lips.
Dallen stared at that smile, dripping with evil, with an emotionless expression that was no different from usual.
“You betrayed God.”
“flaw. betrayal?”
Everlock laughed.
“I am still a faithful servant of God. “My master is not the old, old-fashioned god, but the true god who promises me endless power.”
Chureup. The guy said as he licked his lips.
A bright red tongue that is several times longer than a normal tongue and extends flexibly to the bottom of the chin.
A peculiar glow was streaming down from his sparkling eyes, and the corners of his mouth were drawn in, twisting his facial muscles grotesquely, making him look like the face of an evil spirit wearing a human mask.
‘Is it to the point where even the basic body structure is mutated?’
If the body was distorted to that extent while maintaining reason, how much of the evil spirit’s power did the body receive?
In fact, if you only consider the total amount of power he was given, it would not be wrong to say that he was demonized.
Therefore, it was an instant before the stiff expressions of the Paladins turned into uncontrollable anger.
bang!
A large double-edged ax that slashes the ground.
As if a weight weighing hundreds of kilograms had been struck down, the solid ground was suddenly dented to a depth of more than a span of time.
“You are like a fallen apostate! Still, how can someone who was once a member of the Order have the dirty blood of a devil in their veins!”
Domer shouted, filling his two-handed ax with divine power.
Even the air surrounding the old knight seemed to become heavier as the sacred tattoo glowed all over his body.
“I was wondering why no messengers or at least survivors came even though the fortress had fallen. “It was because of you.”
Beside him, high-ranking knight Maug also drew his sword with a slightly red face.
“The secret passage that bypasses the fortress is known only to a very small number of high-ranking paladins. Who would have thought that they would use that to block the retreat of the defeated knights. Still, you were in the vice-captain position, but I had no idea you would turn your back on me so quickly and cruelly. Everlock.”
Guuuung….
The spirit of a high-ranking paladin is added to the chief interrogator.
The small stones on the ground trembled just from the pressure of the invisible energy.
Everlock did not answer. He just smiled brightly and continued to stare at Dallen.
“Tsk. “He’s someone you shouldn’t talk about.”
Domer briefly clicked his tongue. He raised his left hand into a fist and declared so that everyone in the group behind him could hear.
“Inquisitor Domer Ricus, who eradicates evil within the Knights, and four others will punish the apostate Everlock Glasden as of this moment.”
Slurring kagang!
Upon hearing the chief interrogator’s execution sentence, the remaining interrogators also draw their weapons.
Grumbling.
White flames flicker on the sword blade and the tip of the ax blade.
Everlock, facing the white flame of a single horse that burns evil, then turned his gaze to the old knight.
“Hehe. “I’m sorry, but I have no intention of dealing with the knight commander’s plaything.”
Giiiii-
As soon as he said those words, the space became distorted. Dallen couldn’t believe his eyes for a moment.
A distant fortress suddenly approaches in front of us, and the space where Everlock was standing stretches like a rubber band and is sucked into the fortress.
It is not a hallucination or optical illusion.
Dallen’s vision, which saw through spells and mysteries, told him that the twist before his eyes was the result of magical power.
It’s literally magic powerful enough to warp space, starting from the ruins of the collapsed fortress, and pulling Everlock’s body into it.
And if that level of reality distortion is needed rather than simple space transfer.
‘The fortress has already been tainted by the power of the devil.’
High intelligence levels draw conclusions in an instant.
The result of pulling out old memories from beyond the monitor and analyzing thousands of cases by comparing them to the phenomenon in front of us.
When Everlock, the vice-captain of the Holy Knights, transforms into a fallen knight, he inevitably receives the power of the evil god Laphilem.
And when he becomes a fallen knight and takes over Fortress Estra, there are three actions he takes.
Use it as a base for a monster army led by a dragon.
Or open the huge gates of hell.
‘Or dedicate the fortress itself to Laphilem’s Palace of Illusion.’
Kwaaaang!
As soon as the decision is made, the ground explodes. Stones and dirt rose high into the sky.
The new form of the warrior became a blurry shadow in the middle of the explosion and was launched towards the fortress.
Kkwagwagwagwang-!
In a short period of time, his body reached the speed of sound by stepping through the air dozens of times, instantly closing the gap between him and the fallen knight.
‘That current phenomenon is an action of power that cannot be explained without the descent of Laphilem’s palace.’
And one of Laphilem’s nicknames is the evil god of endless change and distortion.
If the ruins in front of us were even a shadow of the illusionary palace, it was impossible for this number of people to destroy it from the outside.
‘However, it is possible from within.’
Dallen was sure. No, he just knew.
If you just dig in.
If only I could follow that distorted space and enter the shadowy ruins of the Palace of Illusion.
The steps he would take after that were already organized in his head as a perfect strategy.
‘Rotten…!’
But it was a little late.
Like a black hole, the distortion of space as it is sucked into the fortress is not subject to physical restrictions.
Before he knew it, the distorted new form of the fallen knight was moving away from him faster than Dallan’s speed, which had reached subsonic speed.
Kkwagwagwa-
In a split second of time. Constantly push into space with your toes.
The muscles of the whole body are stretched tight as if they are going to burst, and the resistance of the air hitting the entire body as it approaches the sound barrier.
However, it was the moment when it became clear that even though I had increased my strength to the limit, I could not enter that curved space.
“Elle – memento elegus!”
It was at that moment that Felber raised his staff.