Chapter 1475 – 1475. Paladin: The Journey Of Eradication
The corrupted, revealing their true nature, rushed in from all directions.
As if I had been waiting for this, I gripped my greatsword and spun my body. As the large sword was swung like a top, the corrupted flinched and backed away.
‘Amateurs.’
They were the ones who had not been corrupted for long. Experienced corrupted would have believed in their regeneration, which was far superior to humans, and rushed at my sword without hesitation. And I would have struggled quite a bit.
‘If they come at me like this, it’s easier to deal with.’
I approached the closest corrupted and threw a punch. The corrupted staggered from the blow. A huge blade popped out of the corrupted’s chest, aiming for my shoulder. Clang! The blade was blocked by my armor. The shoulder area of the armor was slightly torn.
‘That’s why you need to wear good armor.’
Whoosh.
The large greatsword bisected the creature’s body.
“Attack all at once and kill him!!”
“Even if he’s a paladin, he’s just one guy!”
“We have to kill him here! That’s the only way we can live!”
“Let’s kill him and have a blood festival!”
The corrupted shouted. The desperate corrupted rushed at me all at once. A creature that looked like an octopus grabbed my leg with its thick tentacles, a large one grabbed my back, and nimble ones grabbed each of my arms.
“Kehehehe! Got him! We got him!”
“You’re done for, you bastard!”
“I’ll eat your guts while you’re still alive!”
“I’ll suck your marrow! I’ll suck the paladin’s marrow!”
Other corrupted rushed in, rejoicing. Their claws and teeth attacked Stormbreaker relentlessly. No matter how strong Stormbreaker was, it wouldn’t last long in this state.
‘The Heavenly Heart I need most in this situation is on cooldown. I can’t use full recovery either.’
This was a crisis. If I stayed like this, I would die.
‘But I can use lightning.’
Zzzzzzzzzzzzt!
Golden currents of divine power spread in all directions. All the corrupted who were gleefully attacking me were electrocuted and trembled. Free from them, I swung my greatsword. The speed of the swing was slow. My physical stats weren’t that overwhelming.
‘There’s no need to be impatient. Victory is already in my hands. I just need to take them out one by one.’
Every time I swung the greatsword, the heads and bodies of the corrupted were separated.
The corrupted’s death throes ended. In the quiet street, only the terrified villagers and two corrupted who hadn’t attacked remained.
I approached the remaining corrupted with my sword.
“D-don’t come! You monster!”
One of the corrupted ran away. It was the one with the broken leg, but it was running very fast.
‘I’ll deal with the one that’s left first.’
The remaining corrupted chose something else instead of running. It grabbed a nearby man and aimed its sharp claws at his neck.
“Aaaargh!”
“Shut up if you don’t want to die! Paladin! You stop right there! You don’t want this guy to die either, do you?! Let me escape! Then I’ll let this guy live!”
My steps didn’t stop.
“Stop! I said stop! Can’t you hear me?! Do you have to see this guy die?!”
The corrupted’s claws dug into the hostage’s neck. Even so, I didn’t stop.
“We do not negotiate with demons and the corrupted. We only kill them.”
“P-please save me! Paladin! Please!”
The hostage trembled and begged for his life. I said to the hostage in an emotionless tone.
“Blame me.”
“You crazy bastard!”
The corrupted’s claws stabbed deep into the hostage’s neck. A fountain of blood spurted out.
I ran, closing the distance, and swung my greatsword. I cut through the corrupted and the hostage at the same time.
Blood splattered on my armor, making it sticky.
Fatigue washed over me all at once. But the work wasn’t over yet. I had to chase down and kill the corrupted that had escaped.
‘Demons and the corrupted eat humans and corrupt them. They’re like a plague. If I leave them alone because they’re annoying, the number of corrupted will only increase.’
Kiiiiiiing.
I activated the Holy Eye. The Holy Eye showed me the traces of the corrupted that had escaped. It had circled around the village. It had run as if it was going to leave the village, but in the end, it had hidden inside the village.
‘It’s someone who’s never been outside the village. Or maybe it’s trying to catch me off guard.’
If I didn’t have the Holy Eye, I would have struggled quite a bit. I might have even missed it completely.
Clank, clank.
Making the sound of armor, I arrived at a certain house. Entering the small house, I paused for a moment and looked around.
The Holy Eye found the hidden corrupted. It was hiding under the bed.
There was no reason to hesitate. I took my sword and approached the bed, plunging it into the bed.
“Kiyaaaaaaaaak!”
The corrupted let out a terrible scream and jumped out from under the bed. With its tattered shoulder, it scattered blood everywhere as it ran out the door and through the village streets. I threw the tightly gripped greatsword at it.
The result was a direct hit.
It fell to the ground, impaled by the greatsword. I approached and crushed its head with my foot.
‘It’s over. …No. There might still be some hiding, so I should look around one more time.’
There were no more corrupted.
I decided to rest for a day and then leave the village. I got on my horse. There was no one around me. But I could feel the gazes. The gazes filled with fear wanted me to leave the village.
At that moment, an old man approached me, trembling.
“You must be the village chief. Do you have something to say?”
“T-thank you for saving our village!”
“I was just doing my job.”
“…This is a small amount of money we collected for the Order. Please accept it.”
“An offering. Your money will be used to kill demons and the corrupted.”
I received the money pouch.
Paladins do not refuse offerings. Half of the money received is used by the paladin, and the other half is given to the Order. That was one of the rules of the paladins.
I could have kept this money for myself. I was a paladin who had received the goddess’s revelation, not just an ordinary paladin.
“Control your desires. Demons incite human desires and corrupt them…. You must always be careful.”
“Y-yes, I will keep that in mind.”
The horse began to walk slowly.
My destination was the Valentier Cathedral. It was quite a distance. It would take a week to get there on horseback.
‘I should stop by churches and cathedrals along the way.’
The aura of corruption lingering on my body was very annoying. And I also needed to replenish my holy water.
Kiiiiiiing.
I used the Holy Eye from time to time. If I saw a corrupted animal, I didn’t hesitate to run and kill it. All of these were experience points.
•••
I stopped by a small church in a fairly large village.
The priests in the church were aghast as soon as they saw me.
“This can’t be! Such a large and dense aura of corruption…!”
“Holy water… no, the aura of corruption is too dense! A purification ritual would be more effective than holy water!”
“Inform the bishop and prepare a purification ritual!”
The priests bustled about, making a fuss.
I tried to go to the chapel, recalling the original game.
“Stop.”
The paladins of the church blocked my path. Wearing full armor, they looked at me with wary eyes.
“We know that you are an excellent paladin. But right now, your body is overflowing with impure energy. The priests are preparing a purification ritual, so please wait. And we would also like to know your identity. What is your name, and which church do you belong to? How did you get so much impure energy on your body?”
“That’s a lot of questions.”
“Please understand. These days, demons and the corrupted are running rampant, so the atmosphere in the church is as cold as ice.”
“……”
Kiiiiiiiiing.
I activated the Holy Eye. My eyes turned blue, and a winged cross pattern appeared in the center.
The paladins were startled. They all drew their swords and planted them in the ground.
“We greet the Paladin!”
The Holy Eye was one of the abilities only paladins possessed, so it was also used to prove their identity.
“Has information arrived from the Papal State?”
“Yes. Paladin. Four days ago, the Papal State informed all churches and cathedrals of the existence of the paladin!”
The paladins spoke in a tense tone. In their eyes, I could feel the awe they had for me. I checked the number of paladins. Seven. That was enough.
“I’m going to the chapel. All of you follow me.”
“Paladin, first, the purification ritual….”
“That is an order.”
“…Yes. We will follow you.”
I led them and strode into the chapel. The paladins looked at me with questioning eyes. It was because I, who was visiting this church for the first time, walked straight to the chapel. I ignored their questions. It was annoying to explain, and I didn’t feel the need to.
Just before opening the door to the chapel, I summoned Stormbreaker and put it on. Shhhhh! From head to toe. Wearing the armor, I pushed open the door to the chapel without hesitation.
The chapel had a sacred atmosphere. In the center was a statue of the goddess Herianne. On both sides, statues of paladins were lined up.
I strode towards the goddess’s statue. The goddess’s statue was beautiful. The wings on her back were so detailed that they looked like they would move at any moment.
“Everyone, prepare for battle. And watch the statues.”
I gripped the hilt of my greatsword tightly and lifted it.
“Paladin?! What are you doing?!”
The tip of the sword pierced the goddess’s chest. The statue didn’t break. Instead of stone fragments, blood splattered.
“Kaaaaaaaak!”
The goddess’s statue wailed. The angel’s wings turned into demonic ones and flapped, and the beautiful face turned into a wrinkled monster’s.
Gargoyle.
The demon of the statue.
“Paladin! You hateful dog of the goddess!”
The other statues lined up in the chapel rose to their feet.
The paladins, realizing the situation, all drew their swords and aimed them at the demons.
“You filthy demons! How dare you hide here!”
“We will not forgive you.”
“We will kill you all!”
The paladins began to fight the gargoyles, venting their anger. I focused on the leader gargoyle in front of me. This one in front of me was the most dangerous. It was one that you could only attempt to catch when you were at least level 30.
But the situation was different now. The surprise attack was a complete success.
‘Lightning!’
Zzzzzzzzt!
Golden lightning flowed along the sword. The gargoyle, trying to escape by flapping its wings, screamed and staggered. I grabbed its shoulder and put strength into my sword. I had no intention of removing the sword until it died. The moment I removed the sword, it would surely escape. And after recovering from its wounds, it would attack again.
“Die here!”
“Paladin! I will kill you before you grow! Coming to kill me just because you believe in that eye is your mistake and arrogance!”
The gargoyle grabbed my armor and flew into the air.
