<Chapter 1485> 1485. Paladin: A Journey of Evil
The Necromancer Barbaroyaks’ plan was obvious.
Buying time.
The demons were sacrificing themselves to hasten the Great Demon Revival Ritual.
“Hmm, guess I’ll play along a bit.”
Undead creatures rise from the ground. Most are Skeletons, the lowest tier of Undead. They’re no match for my single punch, but their numbers reach into the thousands.
“Undead give less EXP compared to Fallen Ones.”
This is because most Undead are weaker than Fallen Ones. But leveling up is all about gathering even the tiniest bits of EXP. I kicked the nearest Skeleton, and its body shattered like a dropped porcelain plate.
“It’s a waste to use my Holy Spear against these kinds of foes.”
I put the Holy Spear back in my inventory and drew my greatsword instead.
The bone-only Skeletons charge at me. Their lack of intelligence means they have zero fear of me. Spinning like a top, I swung my greatsword in wide arcs. The Skeletons broke apart like sugarcane, scattering bone fragments everywhere.
“Come forth, my papers! Crush my enemies!”
Barbaroyaks tapped his skull staff on the ground with a thud. His Magic Power spread out. Some Skeletons reacted. Hundreds of them gathered together, compressed, and began forming into the shape of an armored human.
As I knocked away the charging Skeletons with a punch, I kept my eyes on it.
“…These aren’t ordinary Undead.”
Even though I already knew what it was, I played dumb.
“The previous Paladin of Valentinier was truly remarkable. Both in character and skill, he lacked nothing. But he was foolish—daring to challenge Lord Suton without knowing his place. From Lord Suton, I received the bones of that Paladin. Before me, and before you, this pile of bones is none other than the former Paladin of Valentinier.”
“Disgusting behavior without any shame.”
“I sometimes feel disgusted by what I do myself. Especially when I mess around with corpses. But behold my completed army! Your sense of disgust will soon turn into fear of me! You too shall become part of this force!”
“The Plains of Death, right? You’ll sleep eternally here alongside your pile of bones.”
I unleash a Holy Aura.
All the Undead approaching me from all sides were instantly swept away.
KONG KONG KONG.
The Skull Knight, once a Paladin in life, approaches. Composed of hundreds of Skeletons, it’s incredibly heavy. Its defense looks formidable as well. The Skull Knight moves by pushing aside the surrounding Skeletons like a tank.
As I take a battle stance with my greatsword raised, the Skull Knight also raises its bone-made greatsword and assumes a fighting stance. Up close, the body of the Skull Knight appears 2.5 times larger than mine.
The Skull Knight swings its sword first. The attack is surprisingly clean for an Undead. However…
“Instantaneous Moment.”
[Using Instantaneous Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
I dodged the Skull Knight’s attack…
With a hair’s breadth to spare, I dodge and deliver a counterattack. My sword, glowing with golden light, strikes the Skull Knight’s neck. Though I aimed to cleave it, the Skull Knight’s body proves far harder than anticipated.
Without hesitation, it retaliates—only possible because undead feel no pain. Kicking off the ground, I leap backward.
“An ancient paladin… Your movements are undeniably masterful. A mere holy knight wouldn’t stand a chance.”
The Skull Knight swings its bone sword. Tilting my greatsword, I deflect the strike. Sparks fly as its blade slides against mine.
Most knights in this world lack my combat experience. When it comes to swordsmanship alone, I doubt there’s anyone here who could even touch me.
Then, mid-clash, the Skull Knight’s “ha-se” changes oddly. It steps back and pulls its sword rearward.
“I’ve stalled for enough time.”
Crackling.
Golden lightning sparks from my blade.
Raitenryu (Thunder Heaven Style): Manshu (卍 Thunder).
Golden lightning gathers and rotates around my greatsword.
I rarely used Raitenryu in this world. First, pure swordsmanship was sufficient to handle demons and heretics. Plus, brute force has always been more my style.
Secondly and thirdly, I didn’t have enough divine energy to recklessly use Raitenryu, and wielding it with a greatsword was inefficient for various reasons.
“But now, when a powerful blow is needed, things are different.”
The Skull Knight swings its sword. I respond, swinging my lightning-filled blade.
KRAAAAAAAKKKK!
Thunder roars. Golden lightning spreads in all directions. My sword slices through the Skull Knight’s torso. Currents surge into its bones, devouring its evil aura with golden light. BOOM! The Skull Knight collapses.
I climb atop its fallen form, gripping my greatsword reverse-style and delivering the finishing blow.
“Barbaroyaks! Next is your turn!”
I roar.
My shout demands more skeletons be summoned immediately.
But Barbaroyaks misinterprets—or perhaps chooses otherwise—and begins recalling his skeletons instead of summoning more. Skeletons crumble around me, their bones flying toward Barbaroyaks.
‘Is he stepping into direct combat?’
The floating bones take the shape of a colossal elephant. From within the elephant, Barbaroyaks’ voice echoes.
“I acknowledge you. You’re strong enough that I must reveal my full strength. I shall personally crush you.”
A towering 10-meter elephant charges at me. Its elongated trunk is sharp like a blade.
Facing it head-on would be madness. I dash sideways, narrowly avoiding the charge. The elephant turns, but its massive bulk slows its movements.
‘This is my chance. Sprint.’
Activating the Sprint skill. It feels similar yet distinct from Acceleration or Blink—a mysterious force pushes me forward. And with it, I can perform Double Jumps.
One Double Jump isn’t enough to reach the elephant’s back. Using its body as leverage, I execute three consecutive Double Jumps, landing atop the elephant.
“Futile!”
Barbaroyaks’ voice booms from inside the elephant. Suddenly, its bones begin to deform. Sharp spikes erupt, targeting me. Dodging them, I sprint across the elephant’s back. Some spikes graze me, but thankfully they aren’t powerful enough to pierce my armor.
I don’t flee aimlessly. Evading the spikes, I circle around while aiming my greatsword at the elephant’s…
The massive body came crashing down. The elephant leaped and thrashed about on the pitch-black ground, but maintaining balance was no easy feat.
KAANG! KANG! KANG!
I struck again… and again!
At some point, cracks began forming in the bones. Sharpened thorns tightened their grip around my body. Bone arms shot up from the ground, attempting to deliver crushing blows.
“Dammit! Die already! Why isn’t the curse working?!”
“Curse? Did you place one on me?”
“Yes, yes! The madness curse! The hallucination curse! The migraine-inducing curse! The flesh-rotting curse! I’ve used every single curse at my disposal on you! Why won’t it work?! Tell me!”
“Are you expecting me to teach you?”
None of my skills could resist or ignore curses… not like this.
I had a hunch.
Divine Spirit.
‘So this is affecting me more than I thought… does it completely nullify curses too?’
Regardless, it wasn’t a bad situation.
KANG! KANG! KANG!
Swinging my greatsword like a hammer, I continued my relentless assault.
Finally, my efforts paid off.
The cracked bones shattered.
Inside the elephant’s hollow frame lay Barbaroyaks.
Barbaroyaks gazed at me in astonishment.
“Remarkable. I never expected things to escalate to this extent.”
“You’re still acting so calm.”
As I glanced downward, calculating the distance, I hesitated—not to prolong the battle, but to buy time.
“The resurrection ritual for the Great Demon must succeed.”
“You look curious. Wondering why we’re rushing the revival of Lord Suton?”
“…Will you answer?”
My question brought a smile to Barbaroyaks’ face. Time was on his side too.
“Lord Suton seeks to put an end to this tiresome war.”
“Attack the cult? Even a Great Demon can’t accomplish that alone. If it were possible, the cult would’ve been wiped out from this world long ago.”
“Not alone. What if all the Great Demons guarding their territories attacked the cult simultaneously?”
“…Nonsense. Do you think I don’t know the nature of demons? They’d kill each other without hesitation to satisfy their desires.”
“Isn’t that true for humans as well? Yet they unite when necessary. There’s no rule saying demons can’t do the same. Plans to attack the cult are already underway.”
A lie.
No plans have begun. The real strategy will start after Great Demon Suton’s resurrection. And there will be no execution because Suton will die by my hand.
“Tell me more about your plan.”
“Hahaha! So you’re curious! But alas! The resurrection ritual has just concluded! I no longer need to play with you!”
Barbaroyaks shouted as the bone elephant collapsed, its remains transforming into swords.
“So, I don’t have to endure your disgusting words anymore.”
[Using Instant (Moment). Remaining stacks: 5]
I activated Instant and leaped.
[Using Instant (Moment). Remaining stacks: 4]
Then I unleashed Sprint. A double jump formed, closing the gap instantly. My greatsword pierced Barbaroyaks’ chest with precision.
“How can you move this fast…!”
“Maybe you’re just too slow.”
I raised the sword. His head split cleanly in two.
We both plummeted toward the ground.
I remained motionless.
BOOM.
A slight impact resonated through my back as I stood up. It was the interior of Grad Hall. Before me lay the corpse of Barbaroyaks.
