Paladin of a Ruined Order - Chapter 108

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 108: Mysterious Assailant

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After the brief speech ended, the Paladins dispersed to their respective churches.

The residents of Norens City followed after them.

"Let's follow them."

Elbridge and Rombel blended naturally into the crowd.

Clank, clank-

The Paladins were visibly exhausted from battle and travel.

Still, they walked proudly before the crowd, shoulders thrown back and faint smiles on their faces. Several Paladins even waved to children.

Their pride was impossible to hide.

'I must have looked like that once too.'

The Paladins of the Watcher Church arrived at their temple amid the people's welcome.

The church's priests stood in a line before the temple, waiting for them.

A platform had been prepared in front of the priests, draped with a pure white cloth.

The Paladin at the front, the man who had been unable to meet anyone's eyes during his speech earlier, spoke.

"High Paladin Gareth and sixteen others have returned temporarily."

Gareth. Gareth.

Elbridge quietly repeated the name to remember it.

The priest standing at the front, an elderly man who was most likely the Archbishop, spoke.

"Brothers. Welcome back to the Hall of the Watcher, which sees farther than any other."

It wasn't only the surviving Paladins who had returned. Traces of those who had not survived had returned to the temple as well.

The Paladins carrying two swords stepped forward and placed one sword each on the white cloth.

"Yates's sword."

"Helga's sword."

"Dorian's sword."

As they set down the swords, the Paladins called out the names of their fallen comrades.

A middle-aged woman watching the scene fainted and collapsed. Her hands had been trembling ever since the Paladins returned.

A small commotion spread through the crowd.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Wake up!"

No one explained it, but Elbridge and Rombel understood the situation all too well. Her husband or child who had gone to the battlefield must not have returned.

Several people in the crowd had red-rimmed eyes. They were surely family members of Paladins who had not returned as well.

At last, every sword had been placed on the platform.

Eleven had failed to return.

A heavy silence seemed to press down on the surroundings.

High Paladin Gareth recited in a low voice.

"Death is not an end, only a brief rest."

The other Paladins answered in unison.

"One day, our brothers will return and become watchers of the North once more."

Finally, the believers responded.

"We will stand upon the watchtowers in their stead and wait for the day our brothers return."

The priests, the Paladins, and the countless people all closed their eyes.

It was not a long prayer, but there was something in it that moved people's hearts.

Elbridge and Rombel closed their eyes with them and mourned those whose faces they did not know.

The reason this situation had come about did not matter. The devotion of the dead Paladins deserved respect in itself.

With his eyes closed, Elbridge reflected on the High Paladin's first words.

'Death is not an end, only a brief rest.'

What came after death?

There were many views on what happened to the dead after they passed on.

Still, no one disputed that the dead received new bodies and were reborn. Countless gods had confirmed it through oracles.

The body had a lifespan, but the soul was immortal.

Sooner or later, the dead would be reborn. Whether they would return to the Watcher Church was another matter.

The moment of silence ended, and people opened their eyes.

As though the mood had never been heavy, everyone except the bereaved seemed a little excited.

High Paladin Gareth spoke loudly to the Archbishop and the statue of the Watcher looking over everyone from within the temple.

"Through the Watcher Church's devotion and the god's protection, the expeditionary force was never ambushed by demonic beasts or demons! We exterminated dozens, even hundreds, of demonic beasts! We sealed two demons..."

Gareth proudly reported their achievements before the crowd.

Formally, it was a report to the god and the Archbishop, but in truth, it was a proclamation for the people gathered around them.

"They're working hard to promote the church," Rombel muttered.

Elbridge replied, "It's the most desirable kind of promotion. They achieve something first, then ask for support based on those achievements."

Until recently, a church's seats had been a matter of pride.

Now, seats were directly tied to a church's survival and each Paladin's life.

Everyone knew there was a new life after death, but survival remained humanity's strongest motivation. There was nothing shameful about asking the public for support to gain more seats.

By the time the brief welcoming ceremony ended, the sun had set, leaving only a faint twilight in the western sky.

The Paladins who had finished their reports scattered once more. Those without homes went to the temple, while those with homes returned to their own.

Then Gareth, the High Paladin of the Watcher Church, headed outside the temple.

"Let's follow him."

Elbridge and Rombel hid in the gathering darkness and followed Gareth.

- Elbridge. It seems you've been sneaking around quite a lot lately.

Elbridge was wearing a hooded robe instead of armor and carrying only a short dagger. He was even moving quietly, like a petty thief trying to hide his footsteps.

Perhaps he thought it did not suit a Paladin either, because Elbridge answered awkwardly.

"I know it isn't a dignified sight. I'm sorry."

- That's not what I meant. It's strangely exciting. The nervous feeling of wondering whether you'll get caught... This isn't so bad.

"..."

Gareth arrived at a modest house at the edge of the city.

No one came out to greet him, and there were no candles welcoming his return.

'Is he single? Good.'

Elbridge and Rombel did not follow Gareth inside right away.

Instead, they hid a short distance away.

"Let's wait for a while."

Gareth had to be exhausted, so he would soon fall asleep.

Elbridge and Rombel quietly waited, intending to subdue Gareth once he was asleep.

How much time passed?

Just as Elbridge was about to move, figures approached Gareth's house.

Swish.

There were three of them. All had their faces covered with masks, and they moved with stealth and speed. Even when Elbridge listened closely, he could not hear their footsteps.

'They aren't ordinary people.'

The door opened without a sound.

The three masked figures disappeared into Gareth's house.

Rombel asked in surprise, "Who are they? Are they with him?"

"I don't know. Let's get closer first."

Elbridge and Rombel crept over to Gareth's house.

They had never trained for a situation like this, but they knew barging into the house without thinking was the worst possible move.

'I need to learn at least a little about what's happening inside.'

Elbridge pressed his ear against the wall beside the door and listened carefully to the sounds inside.

"..."

There was no sound at all from within.

The only thing he could hear was Rombel's slightly loud breathing, characteristic of dwarves.

'What should I do?'

Should he enter, or wait?

Elbridge looked at Rombel, intending to ask for an opinion. Rombel was looking back at him with a somewhat foolish expression.

Rombel had left the decision entirely to Elbridge.

'...It would have been better if I'd brought Marcus instead of Rombel.'

Elbridge focused his senses even more. He could faintly feel the Goddess of the Rusted Shield's presence.

Yet the Goddess of the Rusted Shield gave no oracle. She was simply waiting for Elbridge's decision with keen interest.

'...'

Then a chill ran down Elbridge's spine.

His instincts screamed at him.

Still, Elbridge could sense neither sound nor movement.

'What's wrong?'

He didn't know. But Elbridge moved on instinct.

He grabbed the collar of Rombel's deeply hooded robe and yanked him hard.

Stagger.

Caught off guard by Elbridge's sudden action, Rombel lost his balance and was pulled away.

Thwack.

At that moment, a blade shot two handspans through the wall beside the door.

It was chilling. If Elbridge had not pulled Rombel away, Rombel's neck would have been pierced by now.

'How did they figure out where Rombel was?'

The answer came to him immediately.

Rombel's slightly loud dwarven breathing.

Dwarves were a race far removed from stealthy movement in many ways.

Elbridge did not know whether that attack had come from Gareth or from one of the intruders who had entered later.

But someone inside the house had certainly noticed Elbridge and Rombel.

Rombel still did not understand the situation, and the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was not the sort of god to offer advice in a situation like this.

When things went wrong unexpectedly, Elbridge could only trust his own judgment. His thoughts sped up.

'What should I do?'

The safest choice was to run away immediately.

But that was only the safest choice, not the best one.

Elbridge was not someone who sought a perfect victory without even a small wound. He was someone who accepted injury if it meant striking his opponent's vital point and ending the fight quickly.

His approach to life was the same.

Even if it meant taking risks, Elbridge wanted more clues and information. Clues that might disappear like mist if he let tonight pass.

His decision took only an instant.

Bang!

Elbridge kicked down the door and rushed inside.

He caught a glimpse of a figure standing beside the door retreating deeper into the house. It was one of the three mysterious assailants who had infiltrated Gareth's home.

They had likely not expected Elbridge and Rombel to evade the ambush, nor had they expected Elbridge to charge inside.

Elbridge pulled his robe's hood lower over his face and shouted to Rombel.

"Get them!"

Elbridge's only weapon was the dagger beneath his robe.

Rombel's circumstances were even worse. All Rombel had were two thick fists.

Still, neither of them intended to retreat just because the conditions were poor. Rombel was confident he could subdue most opponents with his bare hands.

Tap, tap, tap!

Elbridge and Rombel ran in the direction the intruder had disappeared, past what appeared to be a living room and into an inner room.

That room was not a dead end.

Through the wide-open window, they saw the three assailants fleeing while one carried a limp person on their back.

Given the circumstances, that limp person had to be Gareth.

Whoosh-

Elbridge leaped out through the window. Rombel also nimbly squeezed his thick body through it.

The assailants were about to enter a small forest at the city's edge. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but their movements suddenly seemed more agile.

'No. They really got faster.'

Even Elbridge was not confident he could keep up with that speed. It would be even harder with the slower Rombel beside him.

In the end, Elbridge drew his dagger.

Hoo-

Even as he ran after them, Elbridge focused his mind.

People could maintain concentration better while moving than while standing still.

Elbridge pulled back the shoulder holding his dagger. His body swayed violently as he ran.

Yet Elbridge's sharpened senses accounted even for that movement.

His mind was clear.

'I can hit them.'

Elbridge threw the dagger.

It spun through the air and buried itself in the back of the rearmost assailant's thigh, an area that could be dangerous depending on the circumstances.

"Urgh!"

With a short cry, one assailant rolled across the ground.

The two ahead were thrown into confusion. They seemed to be wondering whether to take their fallen companion or escape by themselves.

'You should have decided that beforehand.'

Their movements were decent, but they did not seem accustomed to unexpected developments or combat.

That moment of hesitation was enough.

Elbridge and Rombel accelerated explosively and rushed at them.

Just as Elbridge and Rombel were about to attack the two still standing, one of the assailants shouted.

"Wait!"

It was a high-pitched female voice.

Elbridge stopped moving.

But Rombel was too late. His short, thick body was already in the air, and wingless Rombel had no way to stop himself midair.

Thud!

Launching himself like a catapult, Rombel collided with one of the masked assailants.

Rombel weighed far more than an ordinary human. Like a doll struck by a club, the assailant he collided with was sent flying pathetically.

They did not move at all. They appeared to have fainted.

'They aren't dead, right?'

Only one assailant remained standing.

The assailant glared at Elbridge through the mask and said, "You're the ones who were staying at the Corner Inn, aren't you?"

The Corner Inn was the name of the inn where Elbridge's group was staying. He had no idea why it was called that when it was not even on a corner.

Rombel looked tense.

"How did you know? Were you following us?"

"Nothing like that... You're the only dwarf in Norens City right now."

Rombel touched the hood pulled low over his face. Despite all his noisy movement, the hood had not come off.

Rombel lowered his voice further and pressed the assailant.

"I'm asking how you knew I was a dwarf."

"You thought you could hide that build under a robe?"

"..."

Rombel was only tall enough to reach an ordinary man's chest. But his torso and limbs were more than twice as thick as those of an ordinary human. Dwarves were the only race with such a build.

Rather than admit he had said something foolish, Rombel chose to rate the opponent highly.

"Ahem. You have remarkable powers of observation. You're no ordinary person."

"..."

Elbridge gestured at the assailant with his chin.

"Put down your weapon."

The assailant carefully set down the sword.

Rather than approach the female assailant, Elbridge removed the mask from the assailant groaning with a dagger in their leg.

"You..."

An elf.

One of the elves who had extorted money from them while babbling about Johannes over the chunk of meat.

The female elf removed her mask as well. As expected, the elves' characteristic long ears were revealed.

Elbridge let out a deep sigh.