Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 84
Dragon Family (1)
“Is the old man okay?”
“Cough! It’s okay! Haha, as I get older, I get more coughs. Cough! “Keuhum!”
Felber waves his hands as if it’s really no big deal.
Leaving behind Dallen’s distant gaze, the elder wizard approached the half-remaining body of the fallen knight with an interested expression.
“Chuhum cluck! greatness! “Is this Everlock’s body?”
He covered his mouth with the generous sleeve of his robe and casually placed his hand on his disciple’s shoulder, holding a cane with his free hand.
Dallon looked at the old man’s back and gently stroked his chin.
‘It’s worse than I thought.’
My sense of smell became dull after being hit by blood.
Through it all, I can faintly sense the scent of new blood.
I hid the bloody sleeves from view and quickly washed them with a simple spell, but I couldn’t completely avoid Dallan’s feelings.
Felber, who had known Dallen for quite a long time, would also be well aware of how excellent his senses were.
Nevertheless, there must be one of two reasons why he is acting the other way.
Maybe it’s his self-esteem as an elder wizard who can be said to be in charge of a part of the Magic Tower and doesn’t want to show his weakness to others.
Or maybe he genuinely doesn’t want Dallen to worry about him.
“Playback has reached its limit. The divine power and the power of the realm also interfered with regeneration. Looking at the nature of the remaining magical power, it has already become no different from a devil.”
Felber said, poking the corpse with the tip of his cane.
Dallen roughly wiped the blood from his face and turned his head.
The Holy Knights were rushing into the clearing a little late.
“Lord Dallon! Are you okay?”
“That…is it really Everlock?”
“That’s ridiculous. “I can’t believe that someone who was once a paladin has degenerated to that level!”
As soon as you enter the vacant lot, reactions as varied as the number of people jump out.
Daelon quietly stepped aside, allowing the paladins to check Everlock’s body.
The interrogators immediately began to examine the fallen knight’s body, turning it over and over.
Frustrated moans and exclamations that keep coming out of their mouths.
It seemed like it was hard to believe that the Paladin had actually become closer to the devil after taking on the power of an evil god.
‘It’s hard to find something that isn’t just corrupted, but completely demonized. ‘It’s not uncommon when you reach the end of the apocalypse.’
The final half of the apocalypse.
When the foreshadowing of a large-scale invasion by evil spirits was revealed, high-ranking devils often appeared on the continent in person.
And among the high-ranking demons, there were some who thought it was no fun to simply trample on human forces with an army of monsters at the forefront.
Those guys enjoyed destroying humanity from within through all kinds of secret temptations.
‘There are many demons like that under Enaxagus and Laphilem.’
Not many mortals can withstand the temptations of high-ranking demons or archdemons.
Paladins were no exception.
No matter how thorough one was through training and practice, it was difficult to resist the temptation of a high-ranking devil unless one had a very deep fundamental faith.
“Lord Dallon, are you hurt anywhere?”
Maug asked with a worried look on his face. Dallen scratched his chin and shook off his thoughts.
He shrugged. It meant that it was roughly okay.
“You can rest for a day.”
“Fortunately, the. We plan to stay for at least a day while we secure the fortress and set up a temporary base. “Please get plenty of rest in the meantime.”
Dallen nodded. Maug suddenly looked down at the back of his hand and said.
“By the way, you really received a miracle. I realized once again that my faith was lacking. thank you.”
What is this, alone repentance mode again?
There was something wrong with saying he received it, but Dallon didn’t bother to correct it. What good would there be in confusing such a faithful paladin?
He just chuckled and raised his left hand.
The sacred tattoo on the back of his hand still had a soft glow.
Three circles arranged in a triangular shape, with soft curves and sharp straight lines running between them.
The pattern centered around three circles appears to be symmetrical at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it is slightly different.
“The miracles given by the God of War can only be used through sacred tattoos. Unlike the imperial pantheon, which relies on sacred oracles or relics for its miraculous use.”
“It would be a bit unpleasant for the priests over there to hear that.”
Maug nodded.
“Maybe so. But even there, they often compare our miracles to the magic of pagan beliefs beyond the Frost Highlands, who worship barbarian gods. “I heard they both use it through tattoos.”
“exactly?”
Dallen suddenly became playful. He smiled, showing his fangs.
The high-ranking knight facing that ferocious smile belatedly became aware of Dallen’s size and appearance, and stuttered and spread out his hands.
“…sorry. “It was never my intention to disparage Sir Dallon’s hometown.”
“It’s a joke. joke.”
Dallen laughed lowly. The Northern Frost Plateau, which I have never been to.
I was no longer just used to being mistaken for someone from there, it was to the point where I felt like I was really from there.
‘I’ll go there at least once someday.’
Dallen thought, recalling the scenery of Frost Highlands he saw beyond the monitor.
Beyond that rough terrain where blizzards rage all year round, there were several corpses that were hard to miss.
‘If you think about it, the mercenary you saw in the labyrinth was from the country of Char, south of the Frost Highlands.’
One of the labyrinth bandits who used gunpowder weapons when he was on his way with Lucia to find the holy sword.
Was his name Boris? The mercenary card of the man who was a fairly accomplished gold-plated mercenary was still sleeping deep in his bag.
To be precise, it would be correct to say that it is in a subspace containing that bag.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s been a bit quiet these days?’
[…If you plan on using me as a flint in front of the Holy Knights, I won’t stop you.]
Hearing the devil’s dead voice for the first time in a while made me laugh.
At that time, the interrogators who had been fiddling with the half-corpse returned.
“It has been confirmed that the half-man and half-demon that Lord Dallon killed was Everlock Glasden. As the owner of the holy sword, I express my gratitude on behalf of the inquisitors for condemning the corrupt paladin.”
Of course, I will promise you reasonable compensation after the mission is completed. Deputy Interrogator Domer, an elderly paladin and the eldest member of the group, spoke.
“But I couldn’t find the holy sword Numisrak and the key to the rift barrier that he ran away with.”
It was Interrogator Pydna. She wiped her hands on her handkerchief and looked around the ruined fortress.
“It might be hidden somewhere here, so let’s find it together while we search for survivors.”
***
The party set up a camp and temporary base in the ruins of Fortress Estra.
As it was the Holy Knights’ front line of defense, the size of Estra Fortress was quite large.
The number of permanent troops is over 2,000, and if the troops are concentrated as much as possible, it can easily accommodate more than 5,000 people.
It was impossible for a small number of people to search this magnificent fortress, which faces the Estra River and has double walls several kilometers long, in one day.
Crack. Cracking.
In front of a bonfire made by gathering wood from the remains of a collapsed building.
A stew filled with meat, grains, and fresh vegetables was bubbling in a large pot.
Today’s dinner was the work of Deputy Chief Inquisitor Domer.
It wasn’t as good as what Lucia made, but still, both quantity and quality were not bad.
What I learned while traveling through the rift was that, on average, paladins had decent cooking skills.
Cracking. widely.
Dallen lifted the wooden bowl containing the stew to his lips and took a small sip. He was the only one in front of the bonfire.
After quickly finishing their meal, the Holy Knights were conducting a search to find survivors and the Holy Sword Barrier Key.
In order to control his inner thoughts, Felber began meditating with his student a few hours ago inside a relatively intact building.
Therefore, the fortress’s parade ground, which was once crowded with people, was now filled with lonely silence.
There was no sound of insects croaking or mice crawling, which would normally be heard in a ruin like this.
This is because no living being was big enough to hastily set foot in a place where the shadow of hell had been overlaid just a few hours ago.
Both on Earth and on this continent, beasts were more sensitive than humans.
Is there a sense organ that senses something ominous?
Dallen, who was thinking random thoughts in his head, suddenly muttered.
“hey.”
There was no answer. He called once more.
“hey. “Devil bastard.”
[…Yes?]
“Master, did you sell the three letters?”
[Oh no, master! I wonder why you called me….]
“I was bored.”
Through the soul connection, I felt the demon look a little puzzled.
Dallen smiled lowly and put down his bowl. He put his hands behind his back and tilted his head.
I could see stars moving silently across the night sky between the two cliffs.
Two intersecting rays of the Milky Way and the twinkling of stars many times more than seen in a quiet countryside on Earth.
“…….”
The wandering thoughts calmly disperse in front of the twinkling stars and the dance of the bonfire.
A silence that makes even the red warmth feel lonely. not bad.
Ever since I gained the senses and intelligence of a superhuman, I have always been surrounded by noise both internally and externally, so silence has always been nice.
After stoking the fire with the poker, Dallon relaxed and yawned.
And it’s been a while since I opened the status window.
――――――――
Name: Dallon
Level: 17
[Strength: 34] [Skill: 26] [Stamina: 30]
[Sense: 22] [Intelligence: 24] [Magic Power: 23]
Skill: Dehaman’s Armor Fighting (D) Night Vision (E) Dragon’s Blood’s Regeneration Factor (C) Leaping (E) Flame Arrow (D) Quick Freeze (D) Lapanthella’s Crushing Blade (C) Hegaleus’ Rain of Flame (C) Shooting Lightning (D) Seal of the Curse (D) Secret Sword of Reredona (B) Flame of the Flame (C)
――――――――
A level that is slowly entering the late teens.
By crushing the gnoll army that was attacking the knights’ defense line, destroying the Shadow of Hell and killing the fallen knight Everlock, another one rose.
Additional abilities were invested one by one in intelligence and magic power.
The imbalance in abilities wasn’t enough to cause any immediate problems, but if it were more balanced than it is now, it would be easier to handle the power of the area.
After checking the skills one by one and observing the change in proficiency, Dallon closed the status window and stood up. He stretched and said.
“hey.”
[Yes, master!]
“Not you.”
Dallen chuckled.
“The guy hiding behind the pillar there.”
There was silence for a moment.
And soon, a shadow flowed from behind the half-collapsed pillar and formed the shape of a person.
“Does it feel good? savage.”
It was an elf who appeared from the shadows.
Pointy ears. Slim face line. Clear facial features and thin, elongated limbs.
It looked quite similar to the elves that appear across the eastern sea once every few years.
But Dallen knew that her gray eyes and purple lips indicated a distinctly different race from the relatively friendly elves beyond the sea.
Dallen, who had already erased his smile, looked at the elf with his usual emotionless face. He said.
“Shadow elf.”
“I guess you’re also interested in history? “Not like a barbarian.”
The elf woman lightly curled the corners of her mouth. He seemed satisfied that he recognized himself.
She slowly pulled out the elegantly curved sword from her waist. And shouted.
“I am Tatiadella, the seventeenth-generation granddaughter of Melvride, the founder of the shadow elves, the granddaughter of Talarina, daughter of Hashikruk!”
A magical voice echoed through the empty space of the ruins.
A faint blue-grey energy began to subtly cover the sword body, as if the voice contained some kind of spell.
In the darkness, the elf’s eyes flashed with a mysterious light. Dallen wordlessly placed his hand on his waist.
“A member of the Dragon God’s left-hand armor, Cheongrin, and a person with the power of crystal and cold, the Watcher of the Shade…!”
The elf’s pupils narrowed as he shouted loudly. Something was flying towards her.
It was a disk of some kind of light.
A disk of light flies, scattering in all directions at the same time as it destroys the reddish glow of a bonfire under the night sky.
It flew so fast and so suddenly that even an elf’s senses had no way of knowing what it was.
But one thing was clear.
With her ingenuity, she couldn’t avoid that.
The fact that the disk of light that flew right in front of him would definitely kill him.
Wedge –
that moment.
Wow!
A black line shot from somewhere hit the disk and twisted its orbit.
The wind brushed through my hair. My eyes couldn’t follow the disc passing by.
What I felt was a burning pain spreading from the right side of my neck and a feeling of lightness in my head as the hair that had covered my pelvis fell off.
Quagwang! Kurrrrrr….
And the only sound was the sound of something collapsing behind my back, as if it had been hit by a cannonball.
The corners of the barbarian warrior’s mouth slightly rose. He spoke.
“There was one more guy.”
Tatiadella, an elf belonging to Cheongrin, could feel it instinctively.
That was the smile of a wild beast that found its prey.