Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 225:

Dietrich flinched and looked at him.

“The Dawn Army that the Church is pushing forward on their own, anchoring in Syracusa in the western part of the Empire where madness is thickening, right in the midst of an ongoing heresy hunt. You showed me quite the spectacle. From the start, we didn’t need supplies, did we? You said it was an urgent matter, but there’s no reason to anchor so close to the capital.”

“……”

Dietrich didn’t respond.

But it was clear just from how quickly the ship had set sail as soon as Isaac boarded.

“Perhaps you deliberately showed me the Church’s madness. It would be even better if a conflict arose between me and the Order. That way, I’d be forced to rely even more on His Majesty the Emperor.”

In the end, this too was part of the tedious power struggle between the Emperor and the Church.

Isaac had long since seen through Dietrich’s intentions but decided to play along.

Because Isaac also couldn’t stand those bastards in the church.

“……You’re an unnecessarily clever son-in-law. And a mad one at that. So, was beheading the priest a signal that you’re cutting ties with the Church?”

“Regrettably, the Church won’t expel me over such an incident. The will of the Church doesn’t matter. The angels won’t have any desire to do so.”

In the end, earthly authority was insignificant compared to heavenly authority.

Isaac had no intention of denying the authority of the gods and clinging to the Emperor, a mere human, in a world ruled by gods. As always, he intended to benefit as much as possible, like a bat.

The incident of beheading the priest would become his message to the Church.

I have no intention of being a pawn in your trivial games. I have the angels’ backing. The angels won’t cast me out over a few priests’ necks, so don’t become the second neck to be severed.

‘Though it seems excessive, if the Church is descending into fanaticism, I need to clearly show my stance.’

If the Church was wise enough, they would understand. Or the angels would inform them.

Isaac took care of the girl who almost ended up on the pyre due to the beheaded priest. He intended to have Hesabel find a priest in the capital to perform the annulment ritual directly.

Dietrich seemed to ponder how to explain this situation to the Emperor and how to justify it to the Order, continuously tapping on the railing.

Isaac decided to ease his father-in-law’s worries a little.

“Seeing as you’ve deliberately shown me all this, His Majesty must really be at odds with the Pope.”

Dietrich frowned and then replied.

“At odds? You must be unaware, being from abroad. I’m worried there might be a civil war before the true Dawn Army even begins.”

“Civil war? Between the Emperor and the Church?”

How could that be? Although the Emperor held practical power, his authority was held by the Church.

Even if the Emperor mustered his forces and stormed the Vatican, the Pope’s single ‘You’re excommunicated!’ would turn the Emperor into a barbarian. From the Pope’s perspective, turning an Emperor with such unprecedented power into an enemy would be akin to self-harm.

“Of course, it’s a metaphor. The Licht Treaty ensures that a civil war cannot occur. His Majesty is that furious. His Majesty is maddened by the fact that the troops he should rightfully recruit are turning into independent warlords.”

“But the Church would argue that the faithful are voluntarily forming forces. If the paladin orders and priests join this ‘voluntary Dawn Army’, His Majesty’s forces would effectively be halved.”

In a world where gods existed, the Church’s authority was immense. Without priests or paladin orders, the Emperor would be doomed to fail in a war against the Immortal Order before it even began.

The Empire was currently engaged in a struggle between the Pope and the Emperor over the command of the Dawn Army.

The root cause of this situation lay in the Emperor’s authority being comparable to that of the Pope. Previously, there had been no Holy Emperor with such strong authority. Entrusting it to the Pope was questionable given the Church’s repeated failures with the Dawn Army.

“Do you remember the heinous attempted assassination in Rougeberg?”

“Yes.”

“The Inquisition concluded it was a terror attack by the Black Empire. But there’s persistent talk that the Codex of Light Church secretly cooperated or at least turned a blind eye.”

Isaac nodded, already aware of the matter.

The distorted ankh.

From Dietrich’s conjecture, it seemed the Emperor hadn’t yet disclosed the ankh. It was a sensitive topic that could cause division and serve as the Order’s weakness.

‘Not in a position to mock the Kingdom of Elil.’

The Kingdom of Elil’s civil war was purely internal, while here, it was a mess even with external enemies. It was utterly disheartening.

“I heard His Majesty even killed his brothers to seize the throne. He doesn’t seem like someone who would be lenient with his enemies, so this situation must be quite irritating for him.”

“Indeed. Although he respects the Church’s authority for now, he is not a lenient person towards his enemies. However, while the Licht Treaty remains solid, he cannot directly oppose the Church.”

‘The Licht Treaty……’

A term he had heard earlier. Isaac knew what it was. It was a background explanation essential for understanding the Empire’s history.

In short, the treaty was an agreement to leave the earth to humans and the heavens to the gods.

‘I thought it was just a nominal treaty, but it seems politically sensitive. I need to investigate further.’

Even Elil respected the Codex of Light but had severed ties with the Church. While Elil’s stance included the angels, it might be less challenging if they only opposed humans.

However, in the game, the Emperor never fully broke with the Church.

Despite constant conflicts, the Emperor ultimately reclaimed the Holy Land and received the new Tablet of Dawn, marking the thousand-year kingdom’s arrival and the Codex of Light’s victory declaration.

But in this world, with Isaac’s involvement, it was unpredictable how things would unfold.

‘Honestly, the conflicts didn’t seem this severe in the game.’

“But His Majesty won’t sit idly by while they fanatically mobilize the populace. They’ll learn what it feels like to be gored by those sacred horns.”

***

Before reaching the capital, Isaac investigated the Licht Treaty. The information was readily available in history books, and combining it with his knowledge, he easily uncovered the details.

Approximately 300 Years Ago

Around 300 years ago, the White Plague spread across the continent. Numerous kingdoms, cities, and villages collapsed and perished. The disintegration of systems and societies led to even more death and fear.

Amidst this terror of death, the Immortal Order emerged. With the advent of this new faith promising salvation from the fear of death, the inept and corrupt Codex of Light was almost destroyed.

To survive, they convened a grand council in ‘Lichthheim,’ where the papacy is now located. There, they allied with the twelve kings, nobles, and the Emperor who ruled the continent.

They decided to immediately form the Dawn Army to suppress the Immortal Order.

In exchange, they made a pact that all land would belong to humans, while the souls would belong to the gods. This was a radical condition as the Order owned most of the land at that time.

Naturally, the kings and nobles, hungry for land and power, signed the treaty and formed the Dawn Army. It seemed to everyone that the gods had forsaken the tangible asset of land, opting instead for the significant spiritual realm. For the priests and monasteries who owned vast lands, it felt like a bolt from the blue, but such drastic reform was necessary to restore their power.

Most importantly, this treaty was directly instructed by Luadin. Through this bold reform, the Codex of Light Order, which faced its greatest crisis since the Elil faction, survived once again.

Since then, the Church was ‘in principle’ unable to own land. It operated solely on donations received by monasteries. Despite this, immense wealth continued to pour into them.

As a result of this treaty, all nobles, knights, and royalty in the Empire had to be followers of the Codex of Light. Even if the country changed hands dozens or hundreds of times, the continent remained entirely under the Codex of Light unless it was destroyed by an invasion of heretics.

In essence, humans got the land while the gods got the people.

Though it might now seem like just a nominal agreement, Isaac knew that the gods’ schemes were never made lightly.

‘There must be quite a powerful restriction. Surely, there are constraints beyond what’s visible.’

It meant more than just a powerful ruler like the Emperor defying the Order.

Isaac decided to remember this information.

**Capital: Ultenheim**

The heart of the Empire, the core of earthly power, where the bones of countless kings and emperors formed strata. Built as a strategic fortress city according to the war plans of the born conqueror Elil, it still harbored undiscovered secret passages and mechanisms, according to legend.

As a result, Isaac felt overwhelmed by the grandeur of Ultenheim as he sailed up the river.

“……It’s impressive.”

As the Duke Brant’s warship sailed up the river, a massive net chain was hoisted, opening the gates. True to its origins as a fortress city, the black walls resembled an array of hundreds of thousands of shields, and the endlessly rising spires were like blades.

Consequently, Isaac couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed like a country bumpkin.

“It’s a magnificent city. Even the army of the Immortal Order couldn’t breach these walls.”

Dietrich spoke with pride, though it would be a dire situation if the Immortal Order ever invaded this far. Isaac, a modern man, had seen cities far more impressive. The modern marvels achieved through inconceivable architecture.

However, ancient structures had a unique kind of madness, a sense of ‘humans built this?’ that was hard to match with machines, cement, and rebar.

Moreover, Isaac could see something special that others could not.

‘Even angels wouldn’t dare to spread their wings here.’

This ancient city, infused with immense divinity from its history and spilled blood, had become a colossal holy artifact even angels couldn’t easily bypass. Isaac felt drenched in the divine power emanating from it.

‘It was wise to leave Nel behind.’

Isaac had decided to leave Nel outside. Bringing a man-eating monster before the Emperor might upset the guards, and the more people involved, the higher the chance of an incident. Until he received permission from the Emperor, he told Hesabel to look after her.

‘Me? Really?’

‘At least someone who can escape should she try to eat them.’

Hesabel was displeased, but their similar tastes might lead them to get along better than expected.

At that moment, a large bell rang out. Cheers erupted from all sides. Countless petals rained down from both sides of the canal as they sailed up the river.

Though he expected some welcome, Isaac was caught off guard by the sheer number of people.

Citizens, soldiers, and knights of the capital gathered, waving at the ship Isaac was on.

“Holy Grail Knight! Holy Grail Knight!”

“Elil’s grand warrior, the resurrected saint!”

Dietrich, watching the scene, patted Isaac on the shoulder.

“Give them a wave.”

Isaac reflexively raised his hand. The cheers grew louder.

Women who saw Isaac’s face screamed in delight. Suspicious, Isaac whispered to Dietrich.

“You mobilized the citizens, didn’t you? To imprint me as your man against the Order?”

“I can’t say no one was mobilized. We couldn’t just casually invite the great warrior of Elil, who revived the banner of reconciliation with the Kingdom of Elil and the Dawn Army alliance. But honestly, the mobilized crowd is gathering in front of the palace.”

“Then these are…….”

“People who came to see the famous Holy Grail Knight.”

People were pushing so hard that some fell into the canal. Isaac worried about accidents, but the enthusiasm of the welcome didn’t wane.

“Isaac! Isaac! Isaac!”

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The cheers calling his name were burdensome, but he decided to enjoy it. The hot divine power charging up with each call of his name was satisfying.

As he raised his hand, the cheers grew louder. The omnipotence of knowing all these people supported, respected, and expected of him.

Suddenly, Isaac felt a chill. He understood why some ambitious individuals aspired to become gods.

[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]

Even the Nameless Chaos seemed content for now.

Isaac decided to let the long-starved god of recognition enjoy the opportunity to indulge a bit more.

Before long, the ship docked.

Fortunately, the dock led directly to the imperial palace, so there was no need to push through the massive crowd. Isaac’s name continued to be called even as he climbed the stairs.

For some reason, Isaac’s heart pounded as he climbed the stairs. It wasn’t just the large crowd or the imminent meeting with high officials. He felt a certain premonition. And when he finally reached the top of the stairs, Isaac realized his premonition was correct.

Isaac forgot all the cheers. Even if millions called out, he would turn his head for this one voice.

“My angel.”

Isolde approached with a bouquet and embraced Isaac.

–TL Notes–

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