Paladin of the Dead God-Chapter 384: The Breakwater Against Chaos (3)

“I only wish to accompany you, Elder, when you present that chalice as a ‘gift’ to His Majesty, the Emperor.”

Al Theodore fixed his gaze on Leonora, his glowing eyes narrowing with quiet scrutiny.

Leonora had no miracles to call upon, no guardian angel to protect her.

But her "harmlessness" was her greatest weapon. She posed no threat to anyone and instead existed as a constant source of profit — even in a world divided between the living and the dead.

[You know as well as I do that the Immortal Emperor doesn’t concern himself with trinkets like these.]

“I’m well aware.”

The Immortal Emperor Beshek was both a god and an emperor. Wherever he walked, that place became a holy land. Whatever he touched became a sacred relic. His history was short, but it was a history that could be rewritten at any time by his will alone.

“But he is not only a god — he is also an emperor. Just as the throne of the heavens belongs to him, so too should the finest treasures of the earth. It is only natural, is it not?”

Of course, Leonora wasn’t so bold as to claim that the chalice she had brought was the "finest treasure on earth," but it was valuable. The cup was crafted from Fallen Angel bones and made by a Forge Artisan — a rarity that hadn’t been seen in centuries. Al Theodore would have to present it to the emperor eventually, if only to make a formal report.

[Come to think of it, Miss Leonora, you’ve met His Majesty before, haven’t you?]

Leonora simply smiled in response.

Yes, she had met the Immortal Emperor — and even signed a death insurance contract with him. It was a contract that put her soul up as collateral, but it also served as a safeguard, ensuring that the Immortal Order could never harm her. No lich, no Death Knight, and no member of the Order could violate that contract without Beshek’s permission.

But, of course, Al Theodore wasn’t worried about Leonora attacking the Immortal Emperor. No one could. His concern was far more pragmatic — he worried that Leonora might embarrass him in front of the emperor.

[Very well. Miss Leonora, you’re not the type to make a fool of yourself, so I’ll see if I can arrange it. But you know as well as I do, an audience with the Immortal Emperor isn’t something that happens just because you want it to.]

“Timing and luck must align, I understand. I’ll wait patiently.”

Unlike other nations, the Urdantu Empire required almost no “governing.” The people didn’t need to be fed, and disasters didn’t result in casualties. Everyone’s soul was already collateralized by the Immortal Emperor, making rebellion impossible.

The few tasks that remained — diplomacy, the import and export of luxury goods, war, and budget allocation — were mostly handled by angels or their proxies. It was a pure theocracy where Beshek himself only appeared when absolutely necessary, issuing divine commands at unexpected moments before vanishing once again.

And the people had no complaints.

The very existence of the Immortal Emperor on earth was itself a miracle. For ordinary citizens who had rarely seen even an angel, the mere idea of beholding a god was a lifetime-altering event.

[May I ask why you wish to meet with His Majesty?]

Leonora responded with a faint, mysterious smile.

“I have something to report about the Holy Grail Knight.”

[The Holy Grail Knight… You mean Isaac Issacrea, the rumored Archangel candidate? I’ve heard his name plenty. What exactly do you plan to tell him? His Majesty can hear all the knowledge of the dead, so it’s not like there are any gaps in his understanding.]

Al Theodore tried to pry for more information, but Leonora didn’t bite. She simply smiled ambiguously, her answer hidden behind an air of mystery.

[Hmph. Very well. I’ll submit a petition for an audience soon, so feel free to stay here in the meantime.]

“Thank you.”

***

After parting with Al Theodore, Leonora was escorted to her room. The mansion was as enormous as its owner’s wealth, with hallways that stretched on seemingly forever.

Behind her, Shalok followed, his gaze alert as he kept pace with her long, steady strides.

“Are you seriously planning to stay here?” Shalok asked cautiously, hoping she would say it was a joke.

But Leonora answered in her usual calm tone.

“Do you think I’m happy about living among Armyes? I considered camping outside the city, but there’s no place better than this mansion to gauge the current state of the world.”

“The state of the world? We’re not even in Ushak, so what could you possibly learn here? I don’t see any informants coming and going…”

Leonora didn’t answer. They’d already reached their destination.

The undead servant leading them stopped in front of a door. The servant, whose body still had some flesh remaining, used its vocal cords to speak aloud rather than relying on mental resonance.

“Miss Leonora, this is where you’ll be staying. The rest of your party will be guided to a separate lodging.”

“Can you tell me more about the room?”

At Leonora’s request, the servant opened the door and stepped inside.

But as soon as the servant crossed the threshold, Leonora moved like lightning. Her hand grabbed the servant’s shoulder, slamming him against the wall with a heavy thud.

Startled, the servant tried to struggle, but Shalok was faster. He dislocated the servant’s shoulder with one swift twist, making him too weak to resist.

Leonora clamped a hand over the servant’s mouth, preventing him from screaming. From within her coat, she pulled out a small vial of incense. Rubbing it roughly beneath the servant’s nose, she released the faint, pungent scent into the air.

The servant’s vacant eyes slowly came to life, like a fog lifting from his mind.

Only then did Leonora release her grip on his mouth.

“Where… am I?”

“Name,” Leonora said coldly.

“Wh-who?”

“Your name. Where are you from?”

The servant, still dazed, stammered before finally managing to speak.

“V-Vinaburke Monastery… My name is Todd Lenham. Where am I? What’s going on?”

Leonora and Shalok exchanged tense glances.

This man was a former priest of the Codex of Light.

The Immortal Order had two main methods for increasing its ranks. The first was through death insurance — when people died, their souls were automatically bound to the Order. The second method was more sinister: capture the living, kill them, and bind their souls to the dead body before the soul had a chance to escape. If the person failed to "convert" willingly, their mind would be permanently suppressed, and they would be enslaved as an undead servant.

The only way to avoid this fate was for the person to be completely destroyed before conversion.

Even those who converted willingly were relegated to a lower status unless all their flesh was stripped away, at which point they would finally be considered “citizens.” This system created a hierarchy based on physical form — at the bottom were zombie slaves, followed by fleshy undead, and at the top were skeletal undead.

The incense Leonora had rubbed under Todd’s nose was a special substance capable of disrupting mental suppression. Originally, she carried it to protect herself in case she was exposed to mind-control toxins, but it was strong enough to break the mental chains binding an undead slave’s mind.

“Todd Lenham. What were you doing here?”

Though Todd had once been a priest, he shrank back instinctively under Leonora’s overbearing demeanor. Even without knowing her identity, he could sense that she was someone who had been born into a position of authority — the type who had grown accustomed to stepping on others to climb higher.

“Uh, I… I’m sure I was with the Dawn Army. At Belslav… I think… It felt like my whole body was on fire, but after that… I… I can’t remember.”

Although the effects of the stimulant incense had temporarily cleared his mind, his speech remained disjointed, likely due to the mental suppression that still lingered.

But Leonora had seen and heard enough.

She studied Todd’s scattered words, his condition, and the surrounding context, and her sharp intuition put the pieces together.

Lifting his eyelids, she checked his eyes and nodded to herself with certainty.

“What is it?” asked Shalok, standing beside her.

“He’s a Scorched One.”

Although the rest of Todd’s body was partially decomposed and discolored with rot, the whites of his eyes and the sheen of his pupils were unnervingly pristine.

“A human soot-stained by the Light of Heaven. The Codex of Light thinks of them as ‘warriors destined to lead the Millennium Kingdom.’ They say they don’t burn, their eyes radiate divine light, and they never die. Looks like that last part was exaggerated. He’s clearly rotting like the rest of them.”

“W-what are you saying? Am I dead?! Am I dead?!”

Todd’s voice trembled with panic, but Leonora ignored him, choosing to continue her conversation with Shalok instead.

“Besides this one, I spotted several other ‘proofs’ around the mansion. It’s certain now. Al Theodore is gathering signs of the coming of Heaven and collecting them like rare artifacts. Judging by what I’ve seen, he’s also conducting experiments on them. I knew something was off the moment I saw him keeping such low-grade slaves.”

“P-proof? No, no, wait! What are you talking about, miss? I’m no slave! Please, just send me to a monastery or church! I’ll reward you, I promise—”

Leonora shot Shalok a quick glance, and Shalok moved swiftly.

With a sharp motion, he twisted Todd’s head, dislocating his neck. Crunch. Todd’s head drooped lifelessly. His soul momentarily slipped out of his body but would inevitably return later. By the time it did, the stimulant incense’s effects would have worn off, and his mind would be suppressed once more.

“That’s why you said it would be better to stay at Al Theodore’s mansion, huh?” Shalok said, rubbing his hands together as if brushing away dirt.

“Hmph. As soon as I saw how much White Dawnweed he was burning, I figured he was hiding something. We’ll stay here until I meet the Immortal Emperor. Just by watching how things move, we’ll get a peek at how the gods’ plans are unfolding.”

Shalok was quiet for a moment, his brow furrowed. Then, cautiously, he asked,

“Miss, does this mean… you think the Immortal Order will win this war?”

“Of course,” Leonora replied, as if the answer were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But, Lady Leonora, didn’t you already bet on Isaac’s victory?”

“That’s that, and this is this,” she said with a wry smile. “Even if the Holy Land of Lua is reclaimed, even if all the Archangels are wiped out, even if the Urdantu Empire crumbles, and even if the Millennium Kingdom is established, the Immortal Order will not fall. The Lighthouse Keeper has no intention of letting them perish. There are few business partners more reliable than that.”

The Codex of Light was, in essence, propping up the Immortal Order.

Just as Linde, the former commander of the Avalanche Knight Order, had speculated, Leonora was equally certain of it. It wasn’t a difficult conclusion to reach if you watched from a third-party perspective.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

For Leonora, it was even easier to notice since she operated as a merchant for both sides — dealing with both the Codex of Light and the Immortal Order at the same time.

“The only real unknown is how much the Holy Grail Knight will comply with the Grand Plan. Given what I know of him, there’s unlikely to be any major disruptions, but he’s still the only variable.”

Her eyes shifted toward the southwest, in the direction where Isaac was likely making his way toward her.

“By now, I imagine he’s already passed Fortress of Gehenna.”

***

“Looks like we’re still not there yet. Fortress of Gehenna is farther than I thought. This is going to throw off our schedule.”

After defeating Pallor, the Issacrea Paladin Order had resumed their march to rejoin Tuhalin, but the detour had cost them almost a week. No matter how quickly they moved, it was impossible to regain lost time.

There were clear gains. They’d eliminated an Archangel, resolved internal disputes, and solidified their control. But large-scale expeditions like the Dawn Army were often at the mercy of schedules. A delay of even a few days could spell failure.

“We can only hope Tuhalin is handling things well.”

Unlike most fortresses, Fortress of Gehenna wasn’t heavily garrisoned. It was old, remote, and understaffed. If Tuhalin had already captured it, things would be much easier, but Isaac had his doubts.

Even if Tuhalin hadn’t captured it yet, Isaac would be satisfied if he had at least prepared for a siege.

Rottenhammer scrutinized the map, his thick fingers tracing its contours.

“I didn’t even know a place called Fortress of Gehenna existed. How can there be a thousand-year-old fortress here of all places?”

“Yes. It’s not much of a garrison, but it’s been standing for quite some time.”

“What’s the point of a fortress here? This place was impassable until recently. No one could even cross this salt desert, not even the Dawn Army.”

Isaac didn’t bother giving a simple answer like, “A thousand years ago, there was no salt desert.” Instead, he addressed the heart of Rottenhammer’s confusion.

“That fortress wasn’t built to stop humans.”

“…Not humans? Then what—ah.”

“Exactly. It was built to defend against the Outer Boundary. Back during the Unified Empire era, they rebuilt the fortress after seeing signs of the Outer Boundary’s approach. Since then, the Immortal Order has been using it.”

The Immortal Order’s territory bordered the Outer Boundary on almost every side. Attacks from Outer Boundary creatures were so frequent that it was practically a daily affair.

Fortress of Gehenna was one of many fortresses used to hold back the flood of horrors. It was both a bastion and a pre-emptive strike platform.

“That’s why it’s known by another name: The Breakwater Against Chaos.”

“Breakwater Against Chaos… A fine name,” Rottenhammer muttered with a snort. “Suits those Immortal Order bastards perfectly.”

Isaac almost laughed but stopped short. Something about Rottenhammer’s words struck him as odd.

The map of this world was peculiar. The Codex of Light’s territory was in the center, with the territories of other faiths circling it like a ring. The Immortal Order held the largest portion of that outer ring.

In that sense, the name “Breakwater Against Chaos” wasn’t just the name of a fortress. It was also an ironic reflection of the Immortal Order’s role in the world.

“Holy Grail Knight!”

Someone called out from afar, and Isaac raised his head. It was a scout, running toward them, holding something in his hands.

Isaac narrowed his eyes as he saw what the scout was carrying.

His face grew cold.

The scout was carrying a skeletal bird’s skull. But it wasn’t something he had picked up just for fun.

“There are multiple skeletal bird Armyes in the eastern sector! I suspect it may be linked to Pallor’s mark, so I came to report it!”

Rottenhammer’s face darkened. The logical assumption would be that these were the remains of Pallor’s summoned birds, but it was more likely that Pallor had retreated after bleeding out spiritual energy, leaving these remains as traces of his flight.

If that was true, it meant Pallor was already at Fortress of Gehenna.

“We’d better hurry.”

The Archangel would be there — wounded, seething with rage, and waiting for them.