Chapter 1481 – 1481. Paladin: A Journey Of Evil Extermination
Inside an abandoned church in the Valentier region.
Four demons gathered there for a meeting.
Demons rarely gathered. They were proud and self-willed. They rarely united. If demons ever did unite, it was for one of two reasons: either they had succumbed to a demon with immense power, or they were facing an enemy too powerful to handle alone.
This meeting was clearly the latter.
The four demons in the church each positioned themselves in their own way.
The first to speak was the crow demon perched on a broken crucifix. A crow with gleaming green eyes, he was Parason, who enjoyed displaying human corpses.
“The paladin chosen by the goddess in Valentier this time is no ordinary one. Compared to paladins in other regions, he is killing us at an abnormally fast rate. It’s like a predator hunting its prey.”
The one who responded to Parason was Goat, a demon covered in fur. Goat adorned himself with human eyeballs, tongues, and entrails. The human corpses were decaying, and flies swarmed around them.
“That human is so annoying. My friend was killed by that paladin a week ago. Let’s go and kill him.”
Parason shook his crow head.
“Are we going to charge into the Valentier Cathedral with just us? That’s no different from suicide. The goddess’s power is strong in the cathedral, and it’s swarming with her followers. It’s impossible to conquer the Valentier Cathedral with just our power. But I agree that we need to kill the Valentier paladin as soon as possible.”
Paladins grew stronger over time. The Valentier paladin was growing at an unprecedented rate. Moreover, as if he had a grudge against demons, he was subjugating them every single day. At this rate, the Valentier paladin might become the worst paladin in history.
“I agree. The paladin must be killed. If we don’t kill him, we’ll be killed.”
Boned, a demon with a sturdy build and three pig heads, said. The three voices merged into one, sounding like a beast’s roar.
Goat turned his gaze to the fourth demon present.
“Baron, what do you think? The fact that you’re here means you agree that we need to kill that paladin quickly, right?”
Sitting cross-legged on an old chair, he had a very human-like appearance, unlike the other demons. However, his skin was as pale as a corpse. Baron Hale Guide. A human nobleman who ruled a small territory and was a vampire who devoured humans. He called himself a True Ancestor.
Baron Hale Guide opened his mouth leisurely.
“That paladin is a madman.”
But his voice was not leisurely. It couldn’t be.
“Yesterday, one of the villages in my territory was annihilated by him.”
“…Is that important now? That paladin can distinguish us. It’s not strange that they were annihilated.”
Goat said nonchalantly. He assumed that the village referred to the corrupted.
For demons, the corrupted were useful slaves. Most of the corrupted were far weaker than demons. Occasionally, a corrupted person stronger than a demon would appear, but it was very rare.
“That village was not a village of the corrupted.”
“……He annihilated a village of ordinary humans? A paladin?”
Boned asked back, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“The paladin’s sanctuary is not omnipotent. He can distinguish demons and the corrupted… but he can’t distinguish our collaborators.”
Collaborators.
Humans were funny creatures. Even if they weren’t corrupted, they would not hesitate to join hands with demons if it benefited them. Of course, in most cases, they would become corrupted within 10 years, but the demons had no reason to care about that. They simply used them for their convenience.
There was a great demon in another region who was creating large-scale human collaborators. Baron Hale Guide found the method interesting, but that was not the important thing now.
“My human collaborator was living in that village as a merchant.”
Boned opened his mouth as if he had guessed what had happened.
“The village with the collaborator was executed as a group.”
“To be more precise, they were executed because the collaborator was hiding there. The paladin didn’t know the details of the collaborator. There was no evidence. It was just a guess. He annihilated an entire village based on suspicion alone. And he suppressed the objections of the priests and holy knights with his authority and started a riot. The riot was so impressive… I was even impressed when I heard the report.”
“…I understand that the paladin is a merciless bastard. So, Baron, what are you trying to say?”
“The paladin’s nature and actions are close to ours. Perhaps we can corrupt the paladin. By inciting the paladin’s desires. If we twist his desire to kill demons and tempt him to crave power… it’s quite possible.”
“No. The paladin must be killed.”
“I agree with Goat.”
“Baron. There’s no guarantee that your plan will succeed. We need to kill the paladin before he gets stronger.”
The other demons all objected. Baron Hale Guide, however, did not lose his composure and leisure.
“I will lead the plan myself. The paladin will fall. There are not many cases like that even in history. That’s why it’s more interesting. Don’t you want to see a corrupted paladin?”
“……”
Everyone was silent. The meaning was obvious.
Basically, demons were beings who were faithful to their desires. With no set lifespan, they could live for hundreds or even thousands of years before they died. They always craved thrilling stimulation.
“If the Baron will take the lead and command… it might not be bad to watch for a while.”
“We can’t wait long.”
“I wonder what a corrupted paladin will taste like.”
“It’s decided then. But just in case, let’s call other demons. So that we can kill the paladin immediately if we judge that the plan has failed.”
It was then.
The front door of the abandoned church burst open, and something flew in and fell among the demons.
It was a human, or rather, a demon, with only his upper body remaining. Baron Hale Guide calmly said, looking at the corpse.
“That’s my son.”
His son, who was born 15 years ago by tearing open his mother’s womb, was brutally killed.
Thump, thump, thump!
Heavy footsteps echoed. The demons looked at the source of the sound and were shocked. The greatsword he gripped, the heavy full-body armor, the unpleasant aura emanating from his entire body. There was no way they wouldn’t know who he was.
“Paladin…!”
“How did you know we were here!”
“Hehe, you’ve come to die.”
“Did you find this place through my son….”
Clank, clank.
The paladin walked.
The demons tensed up. The paladin they faced directly was more intense than they had expected.
“You disgusting demons. Were you gathered here to masturbate together?”
“Heh, hehe. How foolish! You’ve come to die!”
Goat, the demon covered in fur, laughed and leaped towards the paladin. As he rose into the air, his fur became as stiff as steel. He looked like a hedgehog with its quills raised.
“You’re the foolish one.”
The church windows, barely holding their shape, shattered. Specially treated crossbow bolts rained down from all directions from the altar. The crossbow bolts fell not only on the demons but also on the paladin. However, the crossbow bolts could not penetrate the paladin’s armor.
“Kaaaaaak!”
Goat, with arrows embedded all over his body, fell to the ground and writhed. The holy poison applied to the arrowheads was eating away at his body. One arrow would have been nothing, but there were at least 30 arrows embedded in his body.
The paladin held his sword in reverse with both hands and slammed it down on Goat.
Bang!
Goat’s head was severed.
“It’s a chance to kill four demons at once. You wouldn’t have come alone. Holy knights and inquisitors have surrounded this church. You have no chance of escaping.”
“Paladiiiin…!!”
Goat, with only his head remaining, called out to the paladin with hatred. Immediately after, his fur bristled and aimed for the paladin’s head.
The paladin, as if he had expected it, tilted his head and dodged the final attack. The paladin cut through Goat’s head and body, finishing him off, and walked forward with dignity. The paladin’s entire body glowed with holy aura, and the paladin’s sword was enveloped in divinity.
“Parason, Boned. Are you okay?”
“I have a few arrows stuck in my body… but other than feeling bad, I’m fine.”
“……Krr. There are quite a few humans outside the church.”
“That paladin made an arrogant choice. He dares to face us alone. Let’s ignore the guys outside the church for now and kill the paladin in front of us first. Boned, face the paladin head-on. Parason, aim for the paladin’s back. I’ll provide cover with magic.”
Boned spread his hands wide. The center of his palms wriggled, and sharp bones protruded. He held the bones like swords and charged at the paladin. At the same time, Parason spread his wings and circled in the air, aiming for the paladin’s back.
Baron Hale Guide used magic. Blood surged at his gesture. The blood flowed from the floor and approached the paladin.
The paladin’s movements quickened. He approached Boned so fast that even the demons’ eyes could not follow him properly, and thrust his sword into his chest. Boned unleashed a powerful gust of breath from his three pig heads and swung his twin swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Boned’s bone swords could not cut through the paladin’s solid armor. They only hit parts of the armor.
“How did you get such armor! You coward! Parason! Baron! What are you doing! Kill him quickly.”
Parason rushed in from behind, and the Baron’s magic swirled around.
“You’re making a fuss.”
Zzzzzzzzz!
Golden lightning erupted from the paladin’s entire body. Parason was startled and retreated, and the Baron’s magic evaporated. Most of the golden lightning flowed into Boned’s body. Boned’s body, electrocuted, lost its strength.
The paladin did not miss the opportunity. He swung his sword and cut Boned’s body into pieces. Boned’s corpse fell to the floor.
Wriggle.
From within Boned’s severed corpse, a fourth head, smaller than a palm, popped out. It moved its rat-like legs attached to its head and ran away. The paladin was not flustered. He calmly threw his greatsword.
The greatsword accurately pierced the back of the fleeing demon’s head.
