Paladin of the Dead God-Chapter 422: The Immortal Emperor (4)

The sound of horns. The beating of drums. Military songs. The thunder of hooves. The crude jests and boisterous roars of knights laughing wildly.

The Knights of Elil charged like an unstoppable torrent into the Olkan Code Army, creating a raucous cacophony that bordered on frenzy.

No evil spirit or unholy presence could approach them. Their clamorous noise, their praises, and their unyielding chants acted as miracles, driving away everything impure and malevolent.

“Elil watches over this battlefield!”

“Elil! Elil! Elil!”

At Edelred’s proclamation, the knights surged forward, chanting Elil’s name over and over.

Thud-thud-thud-thud.

The orc soldiers scrambled to reorganize their formation against this sudden new enemy, but the Knights of Elil were unimaginably swift. In mere moments, their spears and galloping hooves trampled over the orc ranks.

“Elil! Elil! Elil!”

A veteran orc Centurion, fueled by sheer heroic might, lifted an enormous cannon with his bare hands. He aimed it directly at Edelred, who was leading the charge, and bellowed:

“Light the cannon!”

The cannon might shatter, and his flesh might be seared, but the centurion didn’t care.

Edelred, seeing the threat, accelerated his charge. The orc soldiers, quick on their feet, cut the fuse and immediately lit it. The cannon roared with a deafening explosion, spewing flames as it fired.

Boom!

Even though the cannon was hastily aimed, the shot blessed by the orcs’ ancestral spirits flew straight at Edelred.

Edelred, however, kept his eyes locked on the incoming projectile. His sword moved with an otherworldly precision, and in an instant, Kaldbruch sliced through the cannonball, splitting it in two.

It was The Drowned Hand, a sword technique taught by Isaac.

Crack! Boom! Boom!

The centurion stared, his jaw agape, unable to believe what he had witnessed.

Splitting the cannonball was one thing, but Edelred had also redirected the two halves of the projectile. Wielding his blade, he sent the fragments hurtling back toward the densest formation of Khan’s army.

It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed the fragments and hurled them into the enemy’s ranks.

The sight sapped the orcs of their fighting spirit, while the Knights of Elil roared with renewed fervor.

The idea that a king shouldn’t fight on the front lines was meaningless in the Kingdom of Elil. A king was the greatest knight, and when necessary, they were expected to step into the battlefield and prove their valor.

“Elil! Elil! Elil!”

By now, the orcs were on the verge of developing a neurosis at the mere sound of the name "Elil." The knights, however, intended to make sure that name would forever remain a symbol of terror.

Though the Elil army was small compared to Khan’s forces, they were creating enough chaos to rattle them. Most of Khan’s army was focused on Holy Land Lua and the Dawn Army’s main forces, leaving their rear vulnerable.

Furthermore, the hordes of evil spirits summoned by the Immortal Emperor were as unsettling to Khan’s army as they were to anyone else. They couldn’t afford to take their attention away from the front.

The Shaman-General Teherma, who was temporarily commanding in Atlan’s absence, issued hurried orders.

“They’re just a handful! Kesiks, regroup and block them!”

But when the rear is attacked, soldiers lose their composure. They start to believe they’re surrounded, and the enemy seems more numerous than they actually are.

This is even more pronounced when the attackers are fast-moving knights.

The knights continued to shout Elil’s name as they tore through the battlefield, showing no signs of fatigue. Edelred, however, had to restrain his troops to keep them from overextending.

“Don’t dig too deep! Skim the edges and whittle them down! If you get isolated, you’ll die!”

“Elil! Elil! Elil!”

Fortunately, the knights placed the king’s commands above their excitement, allowing Edelred to maintain some semblance of control.

Though he was exasperated by his reckless knights, Edelred couldn’t deny that his heart was pounding with excitement as well. He found himself almost understanding their laughter and jokes amidst the chaos.

“Let’s go! We’ll save those pathetic Codex of Light fools ourselves!”

Unlike fighting in civil wars against their own countrymen, this battlefield carried a sense of noble purpose and justice.

Edelred realized he might actually enjoy being a knight after all.

‘Master, I’m glad I followed your path...’

He thought of Isaac, the most knightly knight he knew.

Boom!

A sudden explosion shook the charging Elil army. Edelred felt a violent shock reverberate through his body as he was thrown into the air and hit the ground hard, rolling across the dirt.

‘A cannon?’

Edelred thought through the dizziness clouding his mind. It was likely, but he hadn’t sensed any killing intent or hostile energy. Whatever it was, it was faster than his instincts could react to.

When he managed to lift his head, he saw Lianne rushing toward him, her expression frantic.

“Your Majesty! Are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine.”

Thankfully, nothing seemed broken, nor did he feel any internal injuries. Even if there were, he could rely on Kaldbruch’s power to heal them.

“More importantly, rally the troops. The enemy will attempt to encircle us soon.”

The Khan army was already moving. The Elil knights, caught off guard by the sudden attack, were struggling to regroup. Despite the searing pain coursing through his body, Edelred forced himself to his feet, projecting an air of composure for his knights.

“Do not falter, Knights of Elil!”

At Edelred’s shout, the Knights of Elil snapped to attention, their scattered formation quickly reforming.

Edelred tried to remount his horse, only to realize belatedly that his steed had been utterly destroyed. The horse had been with him from the Kingdom of Elil, through the Isaacrea Estate, across the Nightmare Strait, and up until now.

It was clear—the enemy had aimed not at him, but at his horse.

"Why?"

They must have believed that attacking his mount would humiliate him further and provoke a stronger reaction.

That was when Edelred realized who had attacked him.

His gaze turned to the far distance. Atlan, who had been fighting the Sword of May just moments ago, was now staring at him with a furious expression. From a distance of at least several hundred meters, Atlan had loosed the arrow aimed at Edelred’s mount.

It seemed Atlan had stepped in personally after the Shaman-General Teherma failed to handle the situation. The Sword of May, who had been dueling Atlan, was now nowhere to be seen, the battle left unresolved.

"Your Majesty, take my horse," Lianne offered, dismounting.

"No, that won’t be necessary," Edelred refused, stopping her. Instead, he climbed up behind her on the same horse.

Lianne turned, startled by his unexpected action, but Edelred’s gaze was fixed solely on Atlan.

"Take me to him. Khan’s army will lose its leader today."

***

When the door opened, a tepid, unsettling breeze drifted in.

The first thing visible was a dark, narrow alleyway. The disorganized, grimy streets were lined with densely packed, poorly maintained houses. Yet Isaac recognized the place instantly, as soon as the centuries-old, stagnant air filled his lungs.

Behind him, Rottenhammer, who had followed him through the door, muttered with a groan.

"This is... Holy Land Lua."

The city appeared to be nothing more than an old, unplanned maze of buildings, but the deep scars of ancient history etched into its very fabric weighed down on all who entered.

For paladins or priests sensitive to divine energy, the sacred aura emanating from Holy Land Lua was almost overwhelming.

How many were born and raised in this ancient city? How many gods and angels had once called this place home?

Now, however, Isaac’s party were the only living beings in this desolate place. All that remained were ghosts, corpses, and dust.

The most unsettling of all was the white sand blanketing the ground.

"What is this sand? It doesn’t seem normal," Rottenhammer asked, staring at the layers of pale grains.

Isaac avoided looking at it directly, replying curtly.

"Remnants of the White Plague."

"The White Plague? Ah..."

Rottenhammer recalled the disaster that had occurred three centuries ago. Though the event was now so distant that only the most obsessive inquisitors still remembered it in detail, it was universally known as one of the greatest catastrophes in history.

The White Plague, which had wiped out a third of humanity, began here in Holy Land Lua.

When the residents of Lua succumbed to the plague, they disintegrated into white sand, turning the city into a graveyard of death.

Shortly after, the rest of the group emerged from the doorway. As Angela, holding Gebel’s hand, set foot in Holy Land Lua, Isaac heard a familiar message.

[The Nameless Chaos watches you.]

[You have completed the quest: ‘Bring Angela to Holy Land Lua.’]

[A reward from Chaos is granted.]

[Choose one of the following rewards:]

"Huh?"

Isaac had expected the quest to complete the moment Angela arrived, but the reward notification abruptly stopped, as if it had been interrupted.

After a brief, awkward silence, the message resumed, this time rewritten, as though it had been carefully reconsidered:

[A reward from Chaos is granted.]

[The ability ‘Agent of Chaos’ has been enhanced.]

"Agent of Chaos? After all this time?"

Isaac was taken aback.

The Agent of Chaos was the first ability Isaac had ever received, as well as the first one he had ever used.

The skill allowed him to summon malicious tentacles that devour everything nearby when he is on the brink of death.

Since the ability only activated in life-threatening situations, Isaac rarely used it, wary of the unknown risks. Now, of all times, this skill was being strengthened.

Moreover, the Agent of Chaos left no room for subtlety—its activation always revealed Isaac’s true nature to anyone nearby. The fact that the Nameless Chaos had deliberately revised the reward to enhance this skill was troubling.

"Does this mean I’m going to need it?"

Isaac was, after all, heading toward a confrontation with the most formidable foes he had ever faced.

Despite all his accumulated strength, Isaac still couldn’t see a clear way to defeat beings like Elil, the Lighthouse Keeper, or the Immortal Emperor, who was essentially a god in his own right.

"So, how exactly has this skill been enhanced?"

Isaac inspected the updated Agent of Chaos ability, and what he saw left him even more baffled.

[Agent of Chaos]

[You are now worthy of holding the key to open and close the doors of the world. Go and claim it.]

The new description was far shorter and vaguer than before, making it even harder to decipher.

Previously, the skill had described Isaac’s injuries as the trigger for summoning the tentacles, implying that the greater the harm he suffered, the larger the “door” opened.

"Does this mean I can now summon the tentacles at will?"

Isaac couldn’t be certain. Whatever the case, he had no intention of using the tentacles in front of others. The idea left him with mixed feelings.

"Let’s move quickly. I’d rather not wait until the Eclipse Army finds us first or until the Burning Maiden incinerates Holy Land Lua completely," Isaac declared.

Isaac and the Knights of Issacrea carefully advanced through the narrow alleyways. Though the paladins followed him without question, they had no idea where he was leading them.

Rottenhammer whispered to Isaac as they moved.

"How do you plan to deal with the Immortal Emperor? He’s on the dome, isn’t he? At least, that’s what it looked like earlier."

Isaac glanced back at Angela, who followed silently. The young girl’s deep, enigmatic gaze was fixed on him, unwavering.

Isaac held her gaze for a moment before answering calmly.

"The Immortal Emperor will come to me."

"The Immortal Emperor... will come to you?"

"He said he would stop me. If he learns that I’m heading for Midas’ Hand, he’ll come. I’ll handle the Immortal Emperor. When that happens, take Angela to Midas’ Hand."

Isaac lowered his voice and whispered to Rottenhammer.

"Make sure no one claims it. Destroy it if you can. If not, take it and run."