Paladin of the Dead God - C.152:

As the ship sailed towards the Kingdom of Elil, Isaac was often found at the stern practicing with his sword. The sailors, intrigued by the famous Knight of the Chalice honing his skills, would steal glances occasionally. Even to their untrained eyes, something about Isaac’s swordplay seemed off.

“I was refining some sword techniques,” Isaac responded when questioned.

“It looked quite… unique,” one of the sailors remarked.

The movements Isaac executed were unusually slow and seemed inefficient. To the sailors, it was unclear exactly whom or what Isaac was preparing to fight.

Isaac was actually developing a new advanced sword technique. In high-level swordsmanship, there are no inefficient movements, only inefficient techniques.

“Too much killing intent in the blade,” he explained.

“Killing intent? Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”

“For a soldier, maybe. But it’s different for swordsmen above a certain level.”

The spar with Bashul had greatly advanced his skills, but Isaac still hadn’t overcome all the flaws Bashul had pointed out.

He wondered if he was creating barriers for himself by following such advice, but then he remembered that the real masters he knew—like Gebel, Baxter, and Bashul—didn’t constantly overflow with killing intent. They only released it sharply when needed.

The difference between Isaac and them was in proper training.

Isaac had never formally learned advanced swordsmanship apart from basic techniques.

“Well-trained swordsmanship knows how to refine killing intent,” he concluded.

Though confident he could defeat or even kill most of them if he didn’t hold back, Isaac knew that wasn’t the way to advance his sword skills. If his technique stagnated, he would end up revealing more of his monstrous side and killing more people.

He could mimic other swordsmen’s advanced techniques, but doing so strained his body. To properly use those techniques, he needed to fully assimilate them into his style.

Just as the prelude of the Avalanche swordsmanship had evolved into the “Eight Branches,” and the attempt to cut through sanctity had become the “Blade Tear.”

Isaac knew he needed to move to the next level.

“A sword not meant to kill…”

First, subdue the opponent. Whether to kill was a decision for later.

“Eidan, could you stand at the end there for a moment?”

Puzzled yet compliant, Eidan positioned himself opposite Isaac at the railing. However, as Isaac began to adopt a fighting stance, Eidan ducked, alarmed.

“Wait, Isaac. You’re not planning to test your advanced technique on me, are you?”

“It’s alright. The goal isn’t to kill.”

“But that means you might if you slip up…”

Then, Isaac began to move strangely. Eidan, frozen in place, watched the sword. Though they were far apart, he couldn’t predict when Isaac might charge.

Suddenly, Eidan realized how slow Isaac’s sword appeared. Each movement was so deliberate that Isaac seemed to sweat with effort.

Eidan thought back to the Drowned King, how he had flung ships into the air with ease.

Then, in a blink, Isaac stood before him.

Thud. Isaac’s sword plunged into the deck. Despite the brief motion, sweat dotted Isaac’s forehead. Eidan looked around, confused. Nothing seemed to have been cut or broken.

“Hmm, I think I’ve got a feel for it, but it’s not ready for combat yet.”

“What did you just do?”

“Well, I like that you didn’t even realize what was happening.”

Isaac waved off and walked down from the stern. Eidan watched him go, feeling as if he’d been enchanted.

‘Was he moving very fast?’

As he looked around, Eidan finally noticed something odd. He wasn’t near the railing where he had started, but right in front of where Isaac had been standing. Isaac hadn’t moved at all.

Realizing this, Eidan shivered.

He might not know much about swords, but he understood that high-level techniques could rival miracles in effectiveness and were developed over decades or centuries.

‘Knight of the Chalice, who are you really…’

A genius or a monster, Isaac was approaching the sacred lands of the knights.

It felt as if a massive tidal wave was about to hit the Kingdom of Elil.

***

Kingdom of Elil.

A land of legendary warriors and unyielding knights, the resting place of emperors, and home to enchanted forests and lakes,so went the tales in the Gerthonia Empire about Elil.

It was said that honorable knights dueled there, and fairies and magic hid in its beautiful natural scenery. There were even legends of dragons that had refused to submit to the gods living secretly within Elil.

However, when Isaac arrived at Aldeon, the capital of Elil, his only thought was,

‘It’s quaint.’

Aldeon was a modest port city, hardly what one would expect of a kingdom’s capital.

It was perhaps slightly better than Norden Harbor, where Isaac had briefly stayed; most of the ships were fishing vessels, with few merchant ships and almost no warships visible.

Compared to Rougeberg, the bustling northern metropolis of the Empire, Aldeon felt like a slightly prosperous fishing village. But Isaac quickly shook his head,

‘I’m a backwater country lord myself. What am I thinking, feeling superior after just a few days in Rougeberg…’

“It’s quaint, isn’t it?”

Eidan’s comment came just as Isaac was reflecting on his own snobbery.

“Honestly, yes,” Isaac admitted.

“It used to be that Aldeon was quite prosperous,” someone had mentioned. “But as the civil war dragged on and trade with the empire was cut off, it seems to have declined.”

Isaac nodded as he remembered the times he had played as a follower of the Elil faith.

The Kingdom of Elil had been in a state of civil war for nearly a century. Actually, even before that, the civil war had continued in various forms, flaring up and then subsiding. The player’s goal was to end this civil war and join the expedition of the Dawn Army to retrieve the ‘Red Chalice’, the heart of Elil. In short, the mission was to kill and steal whatever came across, simple yet challenging.

Eidan’s ship docked at the port of Aldeon.

Men began to lazily gather around the large ship that had just arrived at the port; not a single one was without a sword at their waist, which made Isaac slightly suspicious, but they skillfully began to assist with docking the ship.

‘Port workers, huh… Even in a nation of knights, do workers carry swords?’

Isaac and Eidan disembarked as a man who looked like an office worker approached them.

“Who’s the captain?”

“It’s me.”

“What’s the name of the ship?”

“‘Shining Knight of the Holy Grail’.”

Despite all the pressure during the voyage, the name hadn’t changed. Hearing it again made Isaac strongly desire to smack Eidan on the back of his head.

Originally it was ‘Glorious and Noble Journey of the Shining Knight of the Holy Grail’, but other captains had warned Isaac he might get killed for such a name, so he had shortened it.

The office worker’s eyes lit up with curiosity at the mention of the knight.

“So the Knight of the Holy Grail has appeared across the sea. Seems to have become quite famous.”

“This is him right here.”

Eidan proudly pointed to Isaac standing beside him, who tried to appear dignified—at least confident. His features were easy to like but required a certain type of incident and setting to command respect.

“Hmm?”

The office worker scanned Isaac up and down. Isaac braced for questions or exclamations, but instead, the worker just scribbled something down and bluntly informed him.

“Entry of armed personnel confirmed. Please wait for the customs officer to check for contraband and duties. It’s just to prevent smuggling or illegal imports, so don’t be alarmed.”

With that, the worker left, leaving Isaac feeling something was off. Eidan looked just as surprised.

“Hmm… I wasn’t expecting a welcoming crowd or diplomatic envoys for a state visit, but…”

“Indeed, this is strange. Even if it was a sudden visit, we came as envoys of His Majesty the Emperor, and we notified them in advance… Not even one escort?”

Isaac felt overwhelmed but knew he had to head to the Aldeon royal family controlling the Kingdom of Elil. From their reaction, it was unclear if they were being dismissive or simply indifferent, but it was not a pleasant sign.

“We should head to Aldeon Castle first. If we reach the castle, they can’t ignore us.”

That was when Isaac noticed a short woman swordsman approaching along the muddy harbor.

Her sword looked quite refined, and her walking posture was well-balanced, suggesting she was a skilled swordsman.

What particularly caught Isaac’s eye was her wearing spotless white clothes in a harbor where filth was likely to splash. It was either a perfect sense of balance or sensitivity, but frankly, it was impressive.

Suddenly, a passing cart splashed mud all over her.

Isaac was at a loss for words seeing the now-dirty woman, but she approached him and Eidan as if nothing had happened.

“Are you Isaac Issacrea?”

The woman, mud dripping from her face, asked. Isaac responded more sharply than intended.

“Yes… but who might you be?”

“I was sent by the Codex of Light to accompany you. I will guide you while you are in the Kingdom of Elil.”

Isaac had a lot to say but luckily, Eidan spoke up first.

“This is the Knight of the Holy Grail. The Resurrected Saint, Lord of Issacrea, the one who defeated an angel, related by blood to Duke Brant. Are you sure you know who he is?”

After Eidan’s lengthy introduction, the woman simply responded.

“My name is Yulihida.”

Isaac stopped Eidan from saying more and handed the woman a handkerchief.

“I’m Isaac Issacrea. I look forward to working with you.”

Yulihida stared at the handkerchief, wiped her face roughly with it—more like smearing the mud across her face.

Isaac thought she was a peculiar person to be his guide.

***

Eidan stayed behind to look after the ship.

Isaac and Yulihida headed towards Aldeon Castle, but since it was already late evening, they decided to stay at an inn near the port. However, there were many issues with Yulihida, his supposed guide.

“A decent inn? I don’t know.”

“…We’ll look for one on the way to Aldeon Castle. Do you know the way?”

“Just go straight as you see.”

“Going straight will lead you into the sea. Never mind, I’ll handle it. Just prepare some money. You were sent by the Church, so you should at least cover the cost of accompanying me, right?”

“Money? I don’t have any.”

“…How have you been staying here?”

“Usually at the church. Need something? I could bring it if needed.”

“Bring it? From the church?”

“Typically those guys carry something around.”

Isaac quickly stopped Yulihida as she began moving toward some shady figures in the alley. Whether she was capable of robbing them or not, he didn’t want his first day as an envoy in the Kingdom of Elil to involve mugging.

“I have some money stored with the Golden Idol Guild. There should be a branch here, so let’s stay there.”

Who on earth is this person?

I couldn’t discern the identity of the individual who had come to perform this task.

–TL Notes–

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