[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 149
"C-Captain! We can't break through with our current strength!"
The vice-captain, holding a shield at the front, advised Lewis.
A wise commander would have ordered a retreat, considering the difference in strength, but neither the cardinal nor Lewis had any intention of doing so.
"Shame on you! How can you call yourselves warriors of God?!"
Lewis, hiding his greed, invoked faith.
It was an unfair order, but there was nothing they could do.
The paladin unit stood before the warrior statues again with their shields raised.
Thud!
The warrior statues also changed their stances, holding their weapons differently than before.
It was a sign that they were moving past the warning stage and were now determined to kill the enemy.
The cardinal gritted his teeth and glared at the statues.
"May the miracle of the Sun God bring us light!"
His robe emitted light again.
Whoosh!
An even larger fireball than before appeared.
The flames of the Sun Church were more powerful than any other fire magic from any magic school.
The potential of sun magic, developed since the Holy Empire era, couldn't be ignored.
"Burn in the holy flames of the sun, you heretical monsters!"
The fireballs flew towards the statues at high speed.
Crash!
The statues raised their shields.
Then, magic circles appeared on the shields and blocked the fireballs.
At the same time, the fireballs split into several pieces and started flying towards the paladin unit.
Crash!
The reflected fireballs flew in and exploded here and there.
"Kyaaaak!"
The paladins, engulfed in flames, screamed.
The shield wall formation collapsed in an instant.
The statues seized the opportunity, swung their weapons, and attacked the paladins who broke from the formation.
"Uwaaaak!"
The screams of the paladins engulfed in flames and the screams of those crushed by the statues' attacks filled the cave.
The cardinal, trembling as he watched the chaotic battlefield, opened his mouth.
"D-damn it! L-Lewis! Protect me! Quickly!"
It was then.
The cardinal felt the sharp touch of a dagger against his neck.
"W-what?!"
Someone, holding a dagger to the cardinal's neck, said,
"Shut up, you Holy Kingdom trash. If you use magic, I'll pierce your throat right now."
The one holding the sword was none other than Zeke.
Zeke kicked the cardinal's knee.
Crack!
The cardinal's knee shattered, and he collapsed.
"Cough!"
The cardinal choked from the tremendous shock and gritted his teeth.
Zeke plunged the dagger he was holding into the cardinal's shoulder.
"Kyaaaak!"
Zeke had witnessed how the cardinal and Lewis treated the Lubern bloodline.
He was furious at the inhumane acts they committed against the young children.
Lewis finally noticed Zeke's presence at the cardinal's scream.
Zeke threw the screaming cardinal back by the neck and said,
"Boris, hold this trash securely. If he tries to use magic, cut his throat."
He drew Bahamut and approached Lewis, who had noticed him, with cold eyes.
Thud!
Lewis, seeing Zeke emerge from the darkness, instantly felt that his presence was extraordinary.
He took a deep breath and said to Zeke,
"Zeke Draker. Do you intend to become an enemy of the Sun Church as a heretic?"
Zeke also pointed Bahamut and said,
"If it becomes known that the Sun Church imprisons and exploits the Lubern bloodline like slaves, will your talk of heresy still work?"
Lewis's face hardened at Zeke's words.
An aura blade surged from his sword.
"Everything is in the name of the Sun God..."
"You always invoke God's name when you have nothing else to say."
As if there was no need for further conversation, Lewis charged towards Zeke.
"Haa!"
He believed that no matter how young Zeke was, being the youngest to be promoted to Blue Knight, he wouldn't be a match for him, a Red Knight.
But that thought changed as soon as he faced Zeke's sword.
Clang!
Bahamut fiercely countered Lewis's sword.
Lewis, surprised, stepped back.
"H-how...?"
His wrist throbbed.
The power he felt from Zeke's sword was definitely not that of a Blue Knight.
"Y-you, are you a Red Knight?"
An aura blade surged violently from Zeke's sword.
Lewis, seeing Zeke's aura blade, larger and more powerful than his own, faltered and retreated.
If he retreated further, the warrior statues would attack again, so Lewis caught his breath and gripped his sword tightly.
'Even among Red Knights, I have the advantage with my experience.'
Lewis calmed himself and prepared the secret technique of paladin swordsmanship.
The legendary swordsmanship said to be wielded by the Sun God incarnate for humans.
As Lewis took the stance of the Sun Swordsmanship, the aura blade on his body blazed like flames.
Woooong!
Lewis's sword vibrated with a resounding clang.
The aura blade concentrated on his sword.
As soon as he was ready, Lewis charged towards Zeke.
"Haaaaat!"
Paladin Sun Swordsmanship
Secret Technique
Burning Sword
Zeke, seeing Lewis charging towards him, took the stance of the Dragon Slayer Technique, Rider Style.
Dragon Slayer Technique, True Dragon Sword Art
Chapter 2 Verse 2
Pierce the Earth
Zeke's sword spun, generating a powerful aura blade.
Woooong!
Lewis and Zeke clashed at the same time.
As their swords collided, a powerful wave of aura spread in all directions.
Crash!
Zeke and Lewis's aura blades intertwined and clashed.
Rumble!
A strong pressure pressed down on each other.
The hard ground beneath Zeke and Lewis couldn't withstand the pressure and cracked and exploded.
"Ugh!"
Just then, Zeke's rotating aura blade pierced through Lewis's blazing aura blade.
Lewis was shocked that Zeke's aura was denser than his own.
'N-no way! To a brat who's not even twenty yet...!'
Lewis's body was gradually pushed back.
He gritted his teeth and tried to endure, but he couldn't withstand the heavy pressure of Zeke's aura blade.
"Kyaaaak!"
Finally, Zeke's aura blade pierced through Lewis's Sun Swordsmanship and pierced his shoulder.
Crack!
Lewis's left shoulder and arm were torn apart as if bitten by a giant beast.
Lewis rolled backward as if he had been flung away.
"Gasp... Gasp..."
He turned pale as he realized his arm was gone.
Zeke slowly approached Lewis.
Beads of sweat trickled down Lewis's face.
He said to Zeke,
"Huff... huff... Young Draker, I am a candidate for the next Arch Paladin. Do you think you can harm me and remain unscathed?"
Zeke, approaching Lewis, grabbed his neck tightly and said,
"Arch Paladin..."
Zeke glared at him with sharp eyes and said,
"The Arch Paladin I know was someone who sacrificed everything, even his own life, for those who were suffering."
"Cough!"
Lewis choked as Zeke's grip on his neck tightened.
Lewis grabbed Zeke's wrist with his remaining hand.
"S-spare..."
"This is the price for treating the young Luberns carelessly."
The power of Decay activated in Zeke's hand.
"G-groan!"
It was his first time using the power of Decay on a living person.
Blisters started appearing on Lewis's body.
He writhed in pain, unable to breathe properly.
"Kyaaaak! P-please, s-spare me...!"
Zeke looked down at Lewis with cold eyes.
Lewis didn't stop breathing until his whole body was necrotic and rotting.
He struggled in pain and finally breathed his last, his body completely melting and disappearing.
Zeke sheathed Bahamut and turned to head towards where the cardinal was.
The cardinal trembled as he saw Zeke, his face pale.
He couldn't even feel the pain of his broken knee and the dagger in his shoulder due to the extreme fear.
Zeke sat down on a rock in front of the cardinal.
"Cardinal Verdi."
Zeke already knew about Cardinal Verdi.
In his previous life, Cardinal Verdi, along with Howard Draker, who was currently the headmaster of the academy, joined hands with Abel and started the 3rd Continental War.
Due to his betrayal, the Holy Kingdom eventually knelt under the Rom Empire's flag, and many innocent citizens were sacrificed.
Cardinal Verdi, dragging his broken leg, grabbed Zeke's leg, kissed his shoes, and pleaded desperately,
"Zeke Draker! God will watch over you. Please have mercy on me. I beg you."
Zeke glared at the cardinal with cold eyes.
"Did you show such mercy to the Lubern children?"
The cardinal's lips cracked.
He begged Zeke for mercy with trembling hands.
"P-please spare my life. Then the church will pay an unimaginable price."
"Where are the other Lubern descendants?"
The cardinal's eyes darted around in fear at Zeke's words.
Zeke, without hesitation, took out a dagger and threw it.
The dagger lodged itself in Cardinal Verdi's thigh.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
Zeke stepped on the dagger with his foot, pushing the blade deeper.
The cardinal screamed.
"I-I'll talk! Please! S-stop!"
Cardinal Verdi revealed the location of the monastery where the Sun Church was holding the Lubern bloodline.
Zeke memorized the location and asked the cardinal again,
"What is the Holy Kingdom trying to do with the relic?"
Verdi's eyes darted around again.
Only when Zeke stabbed a dagger into his other leg did Verdi open his mouth again.
"L-legend has it that the one who possesses the Holy Grail gains i-immortality! J-just like the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker!"
"This is the first time I'm hearing that Terakan Draker has the power of immortality."
The cardinal, sweating, barely managed to speak.
"T-there's another version of the Dragon Slayer legend secretly passed down in the c-church. I-I saw it there."
"Hmm. A Dragon Slayer legend that even Draker doesn't know."
Zeke recalled that the Hermit of the Story had also said something similar.
The story that Siegfried, a free knight, met Claudia Lubern and became an Immortal Knight through the power of the Holy Grail.
With that power, Siegfried became the protagonist of the Dragon Slayer legend under the new name Terakan.
Zeke asked the cardinal,
"What are you trying to do with the Holy Grail that grants immortality? Don't tell me the Pope wants to become immortal?"
The cardinal shook his head.
"T-the Emperor of Rom wants that Holy Grail."
As Zeke expected, Cardinal Verdi had betrayed the Holy Kingdom and was secretly in league with the Empire.
'The 3rd Continental War didn't just happen out of nowhere.'
Zeke looked down at the cardinal and said,
"A cardinal of the Holy Kingdom offering a relic to the Emperor of the Rom Empire. What an interesting scandal."
The cardinal grabbed Zeke's feet again and pleaded.
"P-please... If you keep this a secret, I will fully support you, Zeke Draker. You will have the powerful Holy Kingdom as your backing!"
Zeke clicked his tongue as he looked at the cardinal.
"Corrupt priests are truly ugly."
Zeke grabbed the cardinal's face and made him look back.
The Lubern children, freed from their chains, and the Lubern girl who was almost sacrificed to open the door, were looking at the cardinal with fear in their eyes.
Zeke whispered to the cardinal,
"The moment you didn't show mercy to those children, your fate was sealed."
Zeke used the power of Decay to inflict a terrible and humiliating death on the cardinal.
"Keugh!"
The cardinal screamed as his body rotted away from the power of Decay.
It was a miserable end for a clergyman who greedily sought power.
Just then, the Lubern girl walked towards Zeke.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]