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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 69

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God's Love

A few days later, Bireone came to find Elbridge.

"Good. Things are moving along as planned."

"As planned?"

"Yeah. Right now the situation is..."

Bireone began explaining.

Elbridge still got the names of the southern churches a little confused, but the situation itself wasn't hard to understand.

The Curved Sword Church didn't know it was Bireone who had stolen away their priests and paladins.

Instead, they'd developed a grudge against the wrong church, and pulled in yet another church to strike at that wrong target.

A windfall born from tangled misunderstandings.

Bireone seemed thoroughly pleased with the situation. His face was full of smiles.

"While the three churches tangle with each other, I think we can squeeze out one more advantage."

"An advantage."

"This time I'm planning a two-pronged approach. One side goes after the empty fortress again, and the other watches the battlefield and looks for an opening to profit. If this battle goes well, we might just seize the winning hand."

There was one truth about war. The sooner it ended, the better.

Bireone had seen that possibility.

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Going after the empty fortress doesn't need many skilled hands. Dicha, Rombel, and Marcus should be enough to lead the Apostles through the job. You, Elbridge, come with me to the battlefield."

Elbridge frowned slightly.

"I doubt the two of us can do much of anything worth mentioning in the middle of hundreds of people tangled up in a fight."

"If it looks like it won't work, we just come back. And Elbridge. You're underestimating yourself. And underestimating me at the same time."

A quiet competitive spark rose in Bireone's expression.

Elbridge could already guess what he was about to say.

"Elbridge. A sparring match."

"We've already done that plenty of times."

The shrewd Bireone often asked Elbridge for a sparring match, if only to show off for his own subordinates.

Watching skilled fighters spar was a great help in improving one's own technique.

But the outcome of Elbridge and Bireone's sparring matches had never once changed.

With weapons, Elbridge had the edge. Bare-handed, Bireone had the edge. Bireone's claim that he was more confident in unarmed combat than in weapon technique hadn't been an exaggeration.

Talent was talent, but Bireone's physical build was simply too good. His long, springy limbs moved faster and more menacingly than most demonic beasts.

"This time will be a little different. Let's fight using divine power too."

"Divine power?"

Paladins generally didn't use their god's divine power in sparring matches.

That had been true at the Grand Festival, and true in Elbridge's past matches with Bireone as well.

"This isn't a simple sparring match. Before we head to the battlefield, I need to get a clearer read on your strength. And in turn, you should know mine."

But Elbridge shook his head.

"The Order of the Rusted Shield's divine power isn't suited for fighting people."

"Then I'll show you just what I can wield. I'll show you I can beat you with weapon skill."

A provocative remark.

Deep down, Elbridge was curious about the Silver Javelin Church's divine power, so he didn't refuse the match.

Sparring with Bireone was genuinely fun, too, if he was honest.

The two men put some distance between themselves, and the Silver Javelin Apostles gathered around as if they'd been waiting for this.

'Feels like I've become a spectacle.'

Still, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Elbridge slowly steadied his breathing.

In Elbridge's hand was a sword still sheathed. In Bireone's, a curved sword and a roped harpoon.

The biggest difference between a harpoon and a short spear was the shape of the blade.

A short spear's blade was simple. Just sharp and slender. But a harpoon's blade curved backward like a fishhook, so that once it sank in, it couldn't be pulled free.

"Here I come."

As the two slowly closed the distance, Bireone hurled the harpoon with force.

Fwoosh-

Elbridge watched the harpoon and thought.

'Seems like he wants to show me something. Might as well take a look.'

The most ordinary response in this situation would be to dodge. Elbridge stepped smoothly aside.

But Bireone gave the rope attached to the harpoon a strange twitch, and the harpoon's path bent slightly, grazing past Elbridge.

Then Bireone yanked the rope.

Snap.

The harpoon that had flown past came whipping back, aiming for Elbridge's back.

Elbridge raised his scabbard, meaning to knock the returning harpoon away.

But at that exact moment, his body began being pulled toward Bireone.

"...!"

It wasn't quite like being dragged.

Even with both feet planted firmly on the ground, he felt no friction at all under his soles.

A strange phenomenon that defied common sense. Surely this was divine power granted by the god of the Silver Javelin.

The speed at which Elbridge was being pulled was as fast as an ordinary person sprinting at full speed.

'...This divine power seems to manifest through the harpoon.'

When Elbridge swept his scabbard and knocked the harpoon aside, the strange force vanished as well.

But by then the distance had already closed considerably. Bireone charged in, swinging his sword.

You couldn't shake off a charging opponent by backing away. Instead of retreating, Elbridge pushed forward to meet Bireone, sword swinging.

Clack, clack, clack!

Elbridge's scabbard and Bireone's curved sword clashed rapidly, four or five times.

Bireone's swordsmanship was quite good. But not good enough to overcome Elbridge.

In the end, Bireone flung himself sideways and threw the harpoon again.

This time the harpoon's path aimed at Elbridge's thigh, or maybe his knee.

A fairly threatening trajectory. Generally, defending the lower body was harder than defending the upper body.

Instead of blocking the harpoon, Elbridge kicked off the ground and stepped aside.

Thunk!

Missing its target, the harpoon buried itself in the dirt.

Dodging wasn't the end of it. Elbridge immediately swung his sword and cut the rope trailing behind the harpoon.

'Can't control a harpoon without a rope.'

After a brief glance at the fallen harpoon, Elbridge's eyes turned forward again, toward the spot where Bireone should have been.

But Bireone wasn't there.

'What?'

He hadn't lost track of Bireone's movement.

The time Elbridge had spent looking at the harpoon stuck in the ground was extremely short. Even Bireone couldn't have moved outside Elbridge's field of view in that brief a span.

From experience, Elbridge knew that any situation he couldn't understand was always a threat to his life.

The simple fact that Bireone had vanished from sight was enough to snap Elbridge's mind and senses to their absolute limit.

Whoosh-

Elbridge felt as though the entire world were closing in on him.

Then, all at once, he became aware of sensations he'd always taken for granted, a whole mass of feelings he'd never notice without deliberate attention.

The faint movement of organs inside his body. The sound of his heartbeat. The pressure of his soles against the ground. The brush of his clothes against his skin. The taste on the roof of his mouth. The scent of air passing over the membranes of his nose. And the faint touch of moving air against his skin.

Elbridge felt an unnatural stirring of air behind his back.

That wasn't a natural breeze. It was an airflow made by something twisting and pushing through the space.

Just as it always had in moments of mortal danger, Elbridge's body read the situation faster than his mind could.

His scabbard swept behind him without a moment's hesitation.

Crack!

He felt the recoil through his grip.

Instinct had guided him until now. Only after the fact did Elbridge's reason catch up to what had happened.

'Behind me?'

Elbridge turned around. Bireone had dropped his sword and was gripping his own wrist.

"...!"

Bireone's expression was something Elbridge had never seen on him before.

Bireone, always so composed, now wore a look of pure shock.

The Silver Javelin Apostles watching the match wore similar expressions, as though they'd witnessed something that shouldn't have been possible.

Bireone's eyes, fixed on Elbridge, shook unsteadily.

"...Is that your goddess's divine power?"

Elbridge shook his head.

"I told you. The Order of the Rusted Shield's divine power isn't suited for fighting people."

"Elbridge. Have you ever seen our church's divine power somewhere else before?"

"No."

"Then how did you react like that?"

Elbridge thought it over before answering.

"Just... comes from living the life I've lived."

To the still-dazed Bireone, Elbridge asked a question.

"The first divine power you showed me was pulling in an opponent tangled with the harpoon."

"Right."

"What was the second one?"

"...Leap. It's our church's strongest divine power."

Bireone looked more than a little rattled by the unexpected loss. But he hadn't forgotten the point of this match.

Bireone pulled his harpoon out of the ground where it had landed and said,

"I'll show you again."

Fwoosh- thunk.

Bireone threw the harpoon, burying it in a nearby tree.

And in the very next moment, Bireone's figure vanished as if by magic.

The vanished Bireone was suddenly standing next to the tree.

"...Leap swaps my position with the harpoon's. It has a lot of restrictions, but it's a powerful ability."

Elbridge gave his assessment.

"A strange power. One that would shine more against people than against demonic beasts or demons."

"But it's also the secret behind how our small church has managed to survive in the south."

That made sense.

If a fighter of Bireone's caliber could catch someone off guard with a power like that, who could possibly survive it?

Once he'd finished explaining, Bireone wore a wretched expression, then asked Elbridge,

"...Elbridge. What you said when we first met. Was it true?"

"When we first met?"

"That you're the weakest paladin in your church..."

It hadn't been a lie.

But if Elbridge admitted that here, Bireone seemed likely to fall into serious despair.

"Actually, it's not quite that bad."

"Then what?"

"Right around average, exactly."

Hearing that, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield burst out laughing.

- The strongest and the weakest, and exactly average, Paladin Elbridge. Well played.

Elbridge whispered quietly, "Thank you, Goddess."

Two days later, the time for battle arrived.

Elbridge patted Rombel on the back.

"Don't screw it up, Rombel."

"What are you talking about? If anyone screws it up, it'll be you. Worry about yourself."

Elbridge turned to Marcus with a solemn expression.

"Mr. Marcus's task carries a heavy weight. Rombel tends to go off doing something stupid at the wrong moment..."

Marcus chuckled.

"Safe travels."

Yesterday, Marcus had told Bireone he wanted to go along with Elbridge and Bireone.

But Bireone had flatly refused Marcus's request, saying he wasn't skilled enough to join this particular mission.

That could have come across as fairly rude, but Marcus, having been turned down, actually looked rather pleased about it.

Marcus and Rombel set off with the Silver Javelin Apostles.

Now it was Elbridge and Bireone's turn to move.

"Let's go."

The two of them ran a long way, cutting across the Great Forest.

Since the plan was to watch the battlefield and look for an opening rather than join the fighting outright, both Bireone and Elbridge traveled light.

Like the Silver Javelin Apostles, they wore only a cuirass and thigh guards.

As they ran, Elbridge asked Bireone,

"Bireone. What will you do if the Order of the God of Flowing Water doesn't stay with the Silver Javelin Apostles?"

"That won't happen. Haven't you seen how bright the Flowing Water priests' faces have been?"

"You never really know what people are thinking."

"The priests and paladins of the Order of the God of Flowing Water aren't fools. They know it's more realistic to settle in, claiming they had no choice, than to risk their lives on another escape attempt."

"Sly as ever."

After running and walking like that for a long while, the sound of shouting reached Elbridge's ears.

Bireone must have heard it too, because he slowed his pace and said,

"Sounds like they're really going at it. Let's get closer carefully from here."

Creeping in further, they saw through the trees people fighting along the fortress walls.

'The Curved Sword Church and the Stump Church are attacking the fortress. The Sinking Shadow Assembly is defending from inside, I was told.'

But the way they fought was different from anything Elbridge had imagined.

The church clashes Elbridge had witnessed in the past had all involved cold steel, swords and spears and the like.

This barely looked like a fight between paladins at all.

The Curved Sword Church at least fought with swords, but the other two churches were the problem.

First, the Stump Church. When its priests unleashed their divine power, a massive tree of the Great Forest began crawling toward the fortress wall, slow as a turtle.

A slow power, but one with no clear way to stop it.

Defending against the attack was the Sinking Shadow Assembly.

They wielded spears and swords like ordinary paladins. A few even shot arrows with real skill.

But their divine power was even stranger than the Stump Church's.

Whenever a dangerous moment came, the paladins of the Sinking Shadow Assembly would scatter their whole bodies like smoke, then reappear a short distance away.

To Elbridge's eyes, their way of fighting looked almost like something out of demons and demonic beasts.

"...The southern churches really are strange. I've never seen divine power like that."

"There are churches down here that would look ordinary to you too. But in the south, unconventional powers like that are more effective. In the end, the strong build the biggest forces."

While they talked, the massive tree toppled onto the fortress wall.

Boom-

The tree partially collapsed a section of the wall, and became a bridge that let people climb up onto it.

Paladins of the Stump Church and the Curved Sword Church ran up the fallen trunk and swarmed onto the wall.

Bireone clicked his tongue.

"This is going to end earlier than I expected. At this rate we won't be able to sneak the Order of the God of Flowing Water out... Should we have come sooner?"

The paladins of the Sinking Shadow Assembly kept fighting, scattering into smoke and reappearing, but the invaders outnumbered them nearly two to one.

Whatever divine power their god had granted must have run dry, because the Sinking Shadow paladins fell one after another.

Just as the battle was about to end in a total rout,

one bloodied paladin of the Sinking Shadow Assembly stood atop the wall and screamed at the top of their lungs.

"You bastards! You think the Sinking Shadow Assembly will just disappear quietly!"

The paladins attacking the fortress laughed at him.

"Ha! That's for us to decide."

Then the paladin pulled out something that had no business being on a battlefield.

It was an animal a bit bigger than a dog. Its shape unmistakably resembled a wild boar.

It looked fairly cute, but the way the paladin handled the little boar was anything but gentle.

The paladin seized the young wild boar roughly with both hands.

Squeeeal-

The young boar let out a piercing scream.

The scream was startlingly clear and loud, far too loud to have come from such a small body.

It was a bizarre thing to do in the middle of a battle, but Elbridge thought he understood exactly what it was for.

'...No way.'

He wasn't the only one who caught the intent. The attackers' faces went pale.

"You crazy bastard! Are you trying to wipe out your own people too?"

But the paladin only burst into a fit of manic laughter.

"Ha, hahahaha! My people would rather die together than live on beside their enemies!"

At last, the paladin tore the little boar apart and scattered its blood around them, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.

"So let's all disappear into the shadows together. You bastards."

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