Chapter 60
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 60: The Crusade(1)
***
When people heard the name “The Church” three things immediately came to mind: fanaticism, divine power, and weapons.
The Church was not only followed by humans but also by other races who were accepted as followers as long as they held faith.
The first non-human race to join the Church were the dwarves.
Dwarves were known for their exceptional craftsmanship, often considered descendants of the god of Blacksmith.
The Dwarves who joined the Church generously shared their exceptional skills and vast knowledge, significantly enhancing the Church’s craftsmanship and contributing to its remarkable advancement.
The weapons provided to the soldiers were of exceptional quality.
Weapons specially crafted for paladins were beyond praise, true works of art.
Among the renowned weapons of the Church, there was one that stood out: the Holy Sword.
Forged through the visionary craftsmanship of the dwarves, the rarest metals, and the infusion of divine power by countless priests over several years, the Holy Sword possessed remarkable and unparalleled abilities.
“…Is this really the Holy Sword?”
Even Damien couldn’t help but feel excitement like a child. The Holy Sword was truly a magnificent sword.
“Why would I lie about something like this? Well, it’s not high-tier, of course. You could call it low-tier at best.”
There was no way to give a high-grade holy sword to Damien, who was not even a paladin.
Yet, there was no need for disappointment. Even if it was a low-tier Holy Sword, it was still a holy sword.
Damien untied the cloth, revealing the Holy Sword stored in its wooden scabbard.
It lacked extravagant decorations. The pommel was rounded, and the crossguard plain.
However, the moment Damien drew the sword, any notion of simplicity vanished from his mind.
The blade gleamed with a smooth and shiny surface, seemingly forged from molten silver.
It was perfectly centered and comfortable to hold as if it were an extension of his own body.
Most astonishing was the divine power emanating through the hilt.
The infused divine power washed away fatigue as if it were a refreshing breeze after training.
True to its name, the Holy Sword radiated divine power on its own.
“…Impressive.”
Damien spoke sincerely.
During his time as a Death Knight, he had seen top-tier Holy Swords wielded by the elders of The Church, capable of annihilating thousands of undead with a single swing, almost as if divine punishment itself.
Compared to such weapons, the power of the Holy Sword he received was negligible.
But it was all relative to those legendary Holy Swords.
Even Damien’s current weapon, the Thousand Mile Sword, paled in comparison to this Holy Sword.
“You should thank Agnes, the Church had no intention of giving you the holy sword in the first place, and she fought tooth and nail to get it.”
“Sister, don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“Hey, when you do something good, you have to tell the whole neighborhood, otherwise, no one will ever know about it.”
Agnes glared at Margata with a frightening glare, and Margata understood and backed away.
“Thank you, Lady Agnes.”
Damien said sincerely. Agnes coughed in response.
“I had originally hoped to get armor as well, but master hit me on the head and said no way…….”
Damien was taken aback by the mention of armor.
Like the holy sword, the armor was a treasured item of the Church, forged through a complicated process.
Only a select few persons who proved their skill and faith could be given one.
If they got armor, they might be forced to become paladins.
“I don’t need the armor.”
“Don’t feel pressured, I’ll make sure Sir Damien gets you armor…….”
“I really don’t need it.”
Agnes’s shoulders slumped slightly at Damien’s firm refusal.
***
“The Dungeon of Corpseplay is located in the southern Noffery Mountains.”
While riding in the carriage, Margata explained the current situation to Damien.
“The lord near the Noffery Mountains used to have frequent dealings of herbs with the Noffery Mountain tribe. However, one day, they stopped contacting them..”
Damien listened to Margata’s words while seated in the carriage.
“The lord found it suspicious, and during that time, one member of the mountain tribe came down from the mountains. At first, they couldn’t recognize him. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t have a human form. The body was covered with the carcasses of animals, and only a human head was attached.”
Even just imagining it made Margata slightly furrow her brow.
“The mountain tribesman left a message that there was a dungeon of Corpseplay in the mountains and died on the spot. The lord reported this to the Church, and thanks to that, we were able to locate the dungeon of Corpseplay.”
Having finished the story, Margata looked at Damien and asked, “So, what do you think?”
“It’s suspicious.”
Damien answered immediately.
“It doesn’t seem likely that the Corpseplay would easily let go of its test subjects. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have remained hidden until now.”
Corpseplay had revealed itself to the public only once.
It was when it turned an entire village into an undead lair to announce its existence.
Since then, there has never been a single trace of Corpseplay.
It didn’t make sense that he would miss one of the test subjects.
“You’re absolutely right. Even we have our suspicions that it might be a trap.”
“But still, you guys formed Crusade?”
“Dark mages are sinners who disrupt the balance of the world and blaspheme the gods. We who serve the gods cannot avoid dealing with such scum, can we?”
Margata said with a fierce smile.
Despite her cheerful appearance, she harbored the fanaticism of a paladin within.
“Above all, the Church views the Corpseplay as a dangerous dark mage. They believe it has the potential to grow into an archmage in the future.”
This judgment from The Church could be considered accurate.
“In reality, Corpseplay will ascend to the rank of archmage, becoming a formidable force in Dorugo’s army.”
“The Church believes that, even if it’s a trap, it’s necessary to enter the dungeon. If we can kill Corpseplay it would be a great achievement. And even if we fail, we’ll find clues to pursue him.”
Even the smallest traces were deemed too valuable for The Church to overlook.
“The Church isn’t blindly sending a Crusade. Assuming the dungeon is a trap, they estimate the strength of the Crusade to be high. For this dungeon, three sects of the Church have gathered.”
Anyone who worships the gods in The Church can use divine power.
Among them, very few awakened to special powers.
Agnes was one of them.
Groups formed by those who unlocked new powers were called sects.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the core group leading The Church was a sects.
“Which sects have gathered?”
“We have ‘The Incinerator,’ ‘The Mixed Blizzard’, and ‘The Blinding Pain’ here.”
“Three of the sects of the Five Great Elders have gathered.”
“There were countless sects within the Church. Therefore, not all sects were on an equal footing. The size of their influence and power varied.
The term “Five Great Elders” referred to the five strongest among The Church’s paladins, and the sects they belonged to had great power and influence.
“It’s not just individual paladins from different sects gathering. Even within The Church, they’ve decided to send disciples of the Five Great Elders, like me and Agnes.”
The fact that the participants in this expedition were disciples of the Five Great Saints made it unnecessary to explain their strength.
“But why did you ask for my help? With that kind of power, you’d have enough for the Crusade.
In response to Damien’s question, Margata scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“The decision to launch this crusade was made so abruptly that we, The Incinerator, didn’t gather enough power, just me and Agnes.”
Sects were the core strength of the Church, and priests and paladins who had awakened their abilities were much stronger than those who hadn’t. As a result, they had many tasks to handle, and it was understandable that they struggled with a shortage of manpower.
“Originally, our master didn’t want to send us for this crusade. It was deemed too risky for just the two of us. So, instead of us another sect going to participate, but…”
“I insisted on participating and asked our master for permission.”
Agnes took over the explanation after Margata.
“As I mentioned to Sir Damien, I am pursuing Cropseplay. I couldn’t miss this opportunity.”
“So our master set a condition. Even if you have to recruit outsiders, strengthen your power before the launch of the crusade. That’s why Agnes came to find you.”
Margata said, clenching her fist.
“If you hadn’t accepted this proposal, I wouldn’t have allowed Agnes to participate either.”
“Thanks to you, Sir Damien, I have the opportunity to put an end to Cropseplay.”
Agnes bowed her head once again, expressing her gratitude.
“I appreciate it as well. Thanks to you, I have the chance to eliminate those bastards.”
Margata said with a sinister smile.
“I hope you can match the skill with which you killed that Yulan members.”
***
The carriage moved and moved and moved until it reached the Noffery Mountains.
At the base of the mountain range was a camp already established by the Church.
The number of soldiers was not great. But they all had fierce eyes and muscular bodies.
They were undoubtedly the Church’s most elite soldiers, having received specialized training directly from the Church.
There were also a large number of paladins. They were ordinary paladins who hadn’t yet attained their powers.
Although they were called ordinary paladins, they were all low-class knights.
I could sense that the Church was preparing for a decisive battle.
“Let’s see. The meeting is supposed to be inside.”
Margata led Damien and Agnes into the center of the room.
“Ah, I found it.”
A tent was set up in the center of the clearing, open on all sides.
In the center of the tent was a huge table. People were seated around the table.
“Here you all are, good to see you after all these years.”
Margata sat down at the remaining table.
“Margata, you’re late again.”
A nervous-looking man spoke up. His tone was extremely unpleasant.
“I’m late because I had to stop somewhere. I won’t do that next time.”
“I hear that every time I see you. I doubt you have any intention of honoring your oath.”
“Gamal, you’re always nervous. You will get wrinkles on your forehead if you keep making faces like that.”
“You’re late and now you’re just spouting nonsense. That’s typical of the Incinerator. You’re so ignorant.”
Margata’s eyebrows twitched at the male, Gamal’s words.
“Gamal, watch your tongue. I don’t mind if you insult me, but don’t insult my sect.”
“Did I say something wrong? If your sect’s teachings were correct, you wouldn’t be acting this way.”
The smile faded from Margata’s face.
“Isn’t it a bit narrow-minded of you to act like this, even if Black Snow was beaten to death by our master?”
“……When was my master beaten to death by you!”
Gamal shouted in exasperation.
“Oh, Your master was beaten to death and admitted defeat or not but Black Snow indeed lost to my master anyway.”
“At that time, master was very tired, having just completed a great mission.”
Gamal glared at Margata as if to kill her. It looked like a fight was about to break out.
“Who is that man?”
Damien asked Agnes. Agnes whispered in a low voice.
“His name is Gamal, a disciple of Black Snow and a second-grade paladin of the Mixed Blizzard.”
The Mixed Blizzard.
One of the sects of the Great Elders, Black Snow, that specialized in the use of ice divine power.
Damien had fought them himself as a Death Knight.
They had an insane ability to freeze the entire ocean in the middle of summer.
“The two sects don’t seem to like each other.”
“They’re not at odds, it’s just that the Mixed Blizzard side is being unreasonable.”
Agnes said in a firm tone.
The sects differed not only in the nature of their divine powers, but also in their ideas and doctrines.
It was not uncommon to find sects at odds with each other.
“Not long ago, Black Snow was defeated by our master.”
However, it seemed that the conflict between the Incinerator and the Mixed Blizzard was simply a battle of pride.
“Everyone~ Don’t fight, please~”
A woman seated between Margata and Gamal spoke in a slow, soothing tone.
“Don’t waste your anger now~ Your anger should be used to tear apart those fucking dark mages who were hiding inside the dungeon~.”
Her gentle face contradicted the harshness of her words.
“This is Sanus, a second-grade paladin, a disciple of Radiant Light and a member of the Blinding Pain.”
Agnes added a quick explanation, sensing an unusual aura. Indeed, this woman was also a 2nd-grade holy knight.
Damien had fought against ‘Radiant Light,’ one of the Five Great Elders in his past life.
The Blinding Pain Sect was a sect that could strengthen various things through divine power.
The Great Elder Radiant Light fought with over a hundred divine enhancements, truly a formidable figure that could be compared to a walking fortress.
“Sanus, just sit quietly. Today, I have to fix Margata’s nonsense.”
“Can a wimpy weakling like you handle me? What will you do if things backfire on you?”
The two of them growled at each other.
Caught in the tension between Margata and Sanus, Damien observed the three individuals.
He recalled the words of the paladin who survived in the dungeon in his previous life.
“If there’s a traitor, the probability of these three being the ones is high.”
In his past life, the crusade was wiped out due to a traitor. Even considering betrayal, the complete annihilation of a force of this size seemed odd.
Moreover, paladins were known for their resilience thanks to divine power.
If the repercussions of betrayal were so significant, only these three individuals met the criteria.
‘It might not be the case. The members of the crusade might be different this time compared to my previous life.’
Certainly, the timing was different, and the members of the crusade might have changed.
However, he couldn’t be overly optimistic.
Due to the incident of the complete annihilation of the crusade in his past life, The Church suffered immense losses, leading to a defeat in the war against Dorugo.
He needed to consider all possibilities.
‘Anyway, my goal remains the same.’
He has to kill Corpseplay.
To Prevent the annihilation of the Crusade.
Even if there’s a traitor, it doesn’t matter. He can handle it himself.
“But who is that man? He doesn’t look like a paladin.”
At that moment, Gamal looked at Damien and asked. Margata spoke with a smug expression.
“That’s Damien Haksen.”
“What? The knight who supposedly took down Yulan’s member?”
“The same Damien Haksen who claimed to have killed two dark mages at the same time?”
Gamal and Sanus looked at Damien in surprise.
“Isn’t that great? Our Agnes went out and recruited him herself. I thought she was a little shy, but she’s got a way with men.”
“…….”
Agnes glared at Margata, her gaze full of fire. But Margata remained unfazed.
“Lady Margata, one moment.”
Just then, the young man sitting next to Gamal stood up.
He still had his boyishness.
“Are you saying you’re going to invite outside forces to join the crusade?”
“No, not outside forces. Sir Damien has performed many meritorious deeds for the Church, and he is designated as a cooperator.”
” After all, he’s an outsider.”
The young man said, unconvinced.
“Doubt Endlessly, Persistently Continue, Always Verify. Deception sprouts suddenly; like weeds; be ready to nip it in the bud. Isn’t that what the Church teaches?”
“Sir Dionysius, are you doubting Sir Damien?”
Agnes said in a sharp tone.
“Sister Agnes, I am merely speaking of the possibility of danger.”
“Sir Dionysius, Watch your words.”
“……Sister Agnes, I am merely stating the possibility of danger.”
Gamal nodded at Dionysio’s words.
“My paladin has a point, we cannot allow outside forces into something as important as this.”
“Gamal, what’s wrong with you again?”
“Not ‘again’. There are quite a few people in the Church who are suspicious of Damien Haksen, and given his history, he killed Akitora after only a few years of training with the sword. It’s not a good sign.”
Akitora.
A Yulan’s dark mage who had died at Damien’s hands after cursing Viscount Haksen’s estate on the instructions of the Black Serpent organization.
“You haven’t forgotten who Akitora is, have you? He’s a curse caster who’s managed to slip past the Chruch’s grasp and kill two third-ranked paladins. And that Akitora was killed by a knight who had only just trained with a sword?”
Gamal looked at Damien and continued.
“Not only that. I’m also suspicious of the recent killings of two dark mages at the same time. There were signs of a large-scale dark magic usage at the scene, too much for a low-class to handle.”
“It’s possible that the dark mages enhanced their dark magic by some other methods.” ……
Agnes defended Damien. But Gamal’s attitude didn’t change.
“It was high-powered black magic, after all, wasn’t it? I can’t believe an ordinary knight could have dealt with not one, but two of them at the same time.”
Margata said with annoyance.
“So what is it you want to say?”
“I’m saying that Sir Damien Haksen might have ulterior motives, and isn’t there actually a case of dark mages setting themselves up to plant spies in the Church?”
“Watch your tongue. You’re crossing a line.”
Margata growled. Sanus glared at her, unmoved.
“Sanus, you don’t think the same thing, do you?”
Margata asked, looking back at Sanus. Sanus smiled awkwardly.
“I share Gamal’s opinion, but I think it’s dangerous…… to bring outsiders into the crusade.”
Margata’s frown narrowed even more.
“This is too annoying.”
Just then, someone spoke up.
All eyes focused on Damien Haksen.
“You’re suspicious of me not because it’s the Church’s policy, but is your suspicion…… based on a lack of faith in my abilities?”
Agnes was taken aback when Damien spoke up.
“Sir Damien…….”
Agnes tried to stop him, but he turned away from her for a moment.
Damien had his reasons for participating in this crusade.
He couldn’t let this petty power struggle stop him.
“Yes, it is. No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense for an ordinary low-class knight, not even a paladin, to kill Yulan’s member and slay two dark mages…….”
“That’s because your sect’s paladins are all weak.”
Damien said, glancing at Dionysius.
“I guarantee you, no matter how many third-ranked paladins from your sect come at me, they won’t be able to defeat me.”
Boom.
At that moment, Dionysio slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
“Get out of here now!”
Dionysius said, glaring at Damien like he was going to kill him.
“I’ll cut off both your arms and make sure you never hold a sword again!”
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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