Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 15 - The Crow
Chapter 15 – The Crow
===================
Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
Rob, who had suddenly lost both eyes, screamed even louder.
“Argh…!”
The sight of blood flowing from his empty eyes evoked a primal sense of dread.
It was a fear far more vivid and intense than having one’s limbs broken.
“W-What! What happened!”
Perhaps because of that, none of the paladins of the Golden Platter Order rushed to save Rob. They merely hesitated, trying to grasp the situation. Or perhaps they were just lingering, pretending to assess the situation.
At least, only the hedge knight Richard’s reaction was slightly different.
Although he was just as flustered as the paladins, Richard, unlike the others, actually tried to run toward Rob.
However, Elbridge stopped Richard.
“Sir Richard. Come back.”
Richard’s steps came to a halt.
If it had been moments ago, he might have ignored Elbridge’s words.
But now the situation had changed. Was he not seeing clearly what state Rob had ended up in after ignoring Elbridge’s warning?
Elbridge spoke to the paladins of the Golden Platter Order.
“You all need to pull yourselves together now.”
“But, Sir Rob is…”
“Did you think you came to hunt rabbits? When you come to fight a magic beast, it is only natural that injuries will follow.”
Perhaps because Elbridge’s tone felt somewhat overbearing, one paladin raised his voice.
“An injury? To call it merely an injury! It isn’t like he hurt a limb; his eyes became like that…”
It was a red-haired paladin. Was his name Magnus?
Elbridge cut Magnus off.
“If you are dead, it is a fatality; if you are alive, it is an injury. Do you need any other classification?”
“…”
“It must be flustering. But as for the injury, he can just go to the Order of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss to be treated. Though some scars will remain, he will be able to recover his sight well enough. Since you are a wealthy order, you will surely be able to prepare more than enough donations and offerings to pay for it.”
The red-haired paladin, Magnus, snapped at Elbridge.
“You. Are you speaking so lightly now because it is someone else’s business?”
“Someone else’s business.”
Elbridge realized anew.
Although these people knew in their heads that sacrifice was inevitably accompanied by combat, they had not engraved it in their hearts.
Elbridge gestured toward Rob with his chin.
“Then go right now and rescue Sir Rob. I won’t stop you.”
“…”
Until just moments ago, Elbridge had shown a fairly polite attitude in front of the paladins of the Golden Platter Order.
Because Elbridge was in a hired position, and nothing had occurred that required him to firmly assert his opinion.
But now was different. Even if he had to show a rude side, he had to take control of the conversation.
Since he knew they were unlikely to make a better judgment than him, letting himself be pushed around by their words would be a foolish act.
Elbridge quietly stared at the red-haired paladin, Magnus.
There were only two situations in which one must respect an opponent’s opinion on a battlefield.
When one wished to avoid responsibility, or when the opponent possessed ability worthy of respect.
And right now, it was neither.
Conversely, the paladins had to respect Elbridge’s opinion. They did not want to bear responsibility, and they thought that Elbridge might possess ability worthy of respect.
Sure enough, Magnus could not reply to Elbridge’s statement and averted his eyes.
“Good. You have no intention of going alone. I will now explain what we must do.”
At that, Magnus asked cautiously.
“So… are you saying we also have to do something? Against that magic beast?”
Elbridge almost let out a sigh coming from the depths of his heart.
There was that massive of a gap between the expression ‘What do we have to do?’ and ‘Do we also have to do something?’
‘…In the past, he wouldn’t have even been called an apprentice, let alone a paladin. No need to get angry.’
Elbridge gestured with his chin toward Solenion.
“If you are going to babble nonsense because you are scared, get lost right now. Sir Rob would probably want that too.”
Perhaps because they minded the eyes of others, not to mention Magnus, the other paladins did not back down either.
Although Marcus did take exactly one step back… Marcus was not important in this situation.
Charlie asked Elbridge.
“Sir Elbridge. Shouldn’t we rescue Sir Rob first?”
“No. That crow will not kill Sir Rob immediately.”
“Why is that?”
“A crow is a clever bird, and Sir Rob is already prey that has been caught. It knows it can use Sir Rob as bait to fish for even more prey.”
In truth, it was only a strong probability, not a certainty. It would not be strange even if that crow killed Rob right away. Magic beasts were fickle after all.
However, even if such a situation were to arise, it was right not to act rashly now.
“As you saw, that crow is a warping-type magic beast, not an enhanced-type. It seems to have passed the early stage of magic-beastification, transitioning from the middle to the late stage. It is still at a level that can be managed somehow. You can consider a distance of about forty or fifty steps… no, a generous sixty steps to be within its range. Is there anyone whose armor has received a mage’s enchantment?”
No one answered. It was impossible to know whether they had not received an enchantment, or if they simply did not want to step forward.
“…It doesn’t matter even if you haven’t received an enchantment. Press your helmets down tightly and cover your necks well with your aventails. It would be better to take care so that the large blood vessels in the front and inner thighs, as well as your eyes, are not exposed.”
Charlie asked.
“Sir Elbridge. Can we block that fellow’s attacks with armor?”
“Look at Sir Rob’s eyes. It didn’t attack precisely just the eyeballs, but even the eyelids were torn off. It’s a fellow whose utilization of warping ability is not yet sharp.”
“…You call that not sharp?”
“If it were in the late stage of magic-beastification, it would have left the eyelids behind and plucked out exactly just the eyeballs.”
When a warping-type magic beast reached the late stage of magic-beastification, armor held no meaning whatsoever. Because the body inside the armor would be directly attacked.
It was not only a problem that armor became useless. Intervening inside the body was also not impossible.
Elbridge had even seen a monkey that had reached the late stage of magic-beastification wave its hand in the air and pull out a person’s heart.
However, just because it was a warping-type magic beast that had reached the late stage, it did not mean there was no countermeasure. A body protected by holy power or mana could not be easily invaded even by a warping-type magic beast.
“There is no need to be too terrified. The fact that it targeted Sir Rob’s eyes means, conversely, that it is difficult for it to attack unless it is a part as soft as the eyes. Even avian-type magic beasts are on the weaker side physically. The authority of the Golden Platter Order, which increases physical durability, has a good compatibility with that magic beast.”
The paladins’ expressions brightened noticeably. They must have been terribly frightened.
Charlie asked.
“What do we need to do?”
“Do you have any gold coins left?”
“We do.”
“Can you offer those gold coins to your god and bestow the authority of the Golden Platter Order upon me?”
Charlie thought for a moment, then replied in a less-than-confident voice.
“It seems possible, but… I’ve heard that bestowing authority upon a believer of another order has terribly poor efficiency. Wouldn’t it be better for each of us to offer gold coins and gain power instead?”
“In any case, killing that fellow is my role. Even if the efficiency is poor, it is better to bestow the authority upon me. It is enough if it can prevent that bastard’s beak from emerging inside my body.”
“With just that much… No, I understand. Is that all?”
“You only need to cover your vital points with both arms and run with me toward that magic beast. There’s no need to attack the magic beast. I’ll handle that, so just rescue Sir Rob. Ah, and you, please lend me a spear.”
Elbridge was handed a modular spear by Magnus. However, he did not assemble the shaft and kept it in its short state.
A spear in his left arm, and a single sword in his right arm.
Elbridge caught his breath while staring at the crow.
Only then did Charlie realize one important fact.
Unlike the others, Elbridge possessed no armor.
If they concentrated the authority on him, the disaster of that crow’s beak popping out inside Elbridge’s body would not occur, but just as Rob had lost his eyes, it was entirely possible for the crow to target Elbridge’s vital points.
No, it was a foregone conclusion that Elbridge would be struck.
Eyes, neck, heart… If the crow’s beak emerged at a point only a finger or two away from a vital spot, there was no way to survive.
“Sir Elbridge. I think it would be better for us to just rescue Sir Rob and pull out.”
“Why?”
“You don’t have armor, Sir Elbridge.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I can just use my sword like armor.”
“?”
Not to mention Charlie, the other paladins also failed to understand Elbridge’s final words.
“And unlike other magic beasts, a warping-type magic beast must be killed immediately upon discovery, no matter what. It is not a situation where we can just let it go. Bestow the authority upon me.”
The paladins did not ask Elbridge for further explanations. It was because they feared that if they spoke out of turn, a dangerous role might be assigned to them.
Instead, they took out gold coins by the handful or two from their pockets and scattered them over Elbridge’s head.
Swish-
“O God of the Golden Platter, bestow your authority!”
A massive amount of gold coins scattered into the air like water mist. Subsequently, power dwelled within Elbridge’s body.
Elbridge clenched his fist, gauging the amount of authority.
‘…The efficiency is indeed poor.’
Still, this much was worth a try. Elbridge lightly tapped the ground with the spear shaft.
“Let’s go.”
Elbridge kicked off the ground. His eyes were fixed on the red pupils of the crow magic beast.
*
“Let’s go!”
The paladins of the Golden Platter Order still could not shake off their fear. However, since Elbridge, who was not even wearing armor, took the lead, they could not bring themselves to hesitate either.
They ran beside Elbridge, crossing both arms to shield their faces while peering at their surroundings through the narrow gap between their forearms.
The distance to the crow magic beast decreased rapidly. A hundred steps, eighty steps, sixty steps.
And when they were about fifty steps away.
Caw-
The red-haired paladin, Magnus, felt a sensation as if someone were striking his left forearm with a sharp object.
Clang-
And he realized straight away. That the crow magic beast had targeted his eyes.
Goosebumps broke out all over him.
They said crows were cunning birds.
It was clear that it would target Elbridge next, who was not wearing armor; Magnus’s gaze naturally turned toward Elbridge.
The crow let out an unpleasant cry.
Caw-
At the same time, Elbridge slightly twisted his head and shielded his neck using the sword in his right hand.
The flat of Elbridge’s blade was pressed so closely to his neck that it did not leave even a hair’s breadth of space. It was to the point of being worrisome whether he might cut his own neck or jaw like that.
Right after, Magnus saw something pitch black pop out in front of Elbridge’s neck.
It was a spot barely a finger or two away from Elbridge’s neck.
Clang-
Elbridge’s head shook back slightly.
‘…Insane.’
Once again, Magnus instantly realized what he had just seen.
Elbridge had predicted that the crow’s beak would emerge in front of his neck by warping space, and had blocked the crow magic beast’s beak using the flat of his blade.
That was what it meant to use a sword like armor.
A sword was a piece of iron, and armor was a piece of iron. As long as one could defend the precise spot at the precise timing, a sword could replace armor.
‘…But, just how?’
*
Elbridge’s gaze was fixed on the red pupils of the crow.
‘Neck.’
Elbridge’s sword shielded his neck.
Clang-
True to his expectation, the crow’s beak emerged and struck Elbridge’s sword.
‘Left eye.’
Elbridge’s sword was raised, shielding his left eye.
Clang-
It was just as expected this time too. The crow’s beak emerged and struck the flat of the blade.
A warping-type magic beast that had not reached the final stage beyond the late stage had one characteristic.
It was that the distortion almost always occurred at the point where the magic beast’s gaze fell.
Therefore, Elbridge carefully gauged where the magic beast’s gaze was landing.
As long as one’s prediction was accurate and one’s guts were sufficient, blocking the attacks of a warping-type magic beast was not difficult.
‘Heart.’
Clang-
The problem was that predicting was not easy.
Unlike human eyes, animal eyes often do not show the sclera clearly.
That was also the case for that crow magic beast.
Using only the movement of pupils filled entirely with red, accurately gauging the crow’s gaze felt almost impossible.
Everyone stared at Elbridge, harboring the exact same question.
Just how was such a thing possible?
In fact, Elbridge had harbored the exact same question as them during his days as an apprentice paladin.
Therefore, the young Elbridge had asked the chief paladin of the order.
“Chief Paladin. How are paladins able to gauge the gaze of warping-type magic beasts?”
The chief paladin’s answer had been simple.
“Those who couldn’t do it all died.”
And Elbridge had survived without dying. That was all.
Caw-
Clang.
Like that, Elbridge defended against the crow magic beast’s attacks four times in a row.
‘That fellow has eight eyes, so it seems a bit easier to predict…’
Before he knew it, the clattering sound of the armor of the paladins running with him ceased. They were surely guarding Elbridge’s back from beside Rob.
This time, the crow’s beak emerged without any cry. It was a strike targeting Elbridge’s forehead.
Clang-
Of course, Elbridge blocked the crow’s attack this time as well.
‘Cunning bastard. So you kept one final move in reserve.’
Before he knew it, Elbridge had reached a distance of fifteen steps from the crow magic beast.
Finally sensing a threat, the crow magic beast spread its two wings and took flight.
‘Of course you would.’
Elbridge’s hands crossed, swapping the positions of the spear and the sword.
Now, the sword was held in Elbridge’s left hand, and the short spear in his right.
Elbridge’s upper body bent back as far as it could.
Then, using the elasticity of his entire body, Elbridge snapped his upper body forward.
Caw-
The short spear flew cutting through the air, impaling the crow.