Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 59 - Javelin Throw

Chapter 59 – Javelin Throw

===================

Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

Elbridge immediately kicked off the ground and ran, shouting.

“There must be an individual leading the pack!”

The vital spot of a humanoid demon was generally in the heart or the head.

What was important now was not the location of the vital spot, but the very fact that a vital spot existed.

Even if the giant seemed to have split into dozens of creatures, the vital spot, or the core that formed the foundation of the demon, had to exist somewhere.

Rombel’s judgment was just as quick as Elbridge’s.

Rombel rushed toward the nearest fragment of the giant, swinging his axe widely.

Whoosh—

“One!”

The giant’s two legs were severed, rolling across the floor. Rombel struck down on the fallen fragment of the giant again with his axe to finish it off.

Elbridge also swung his sword and cut down one of the demon fragments. However, as if neither of the two was the entity leading the whole, the fragments of the giant did not stop moving.

No matter how great Elbridge and Rombel were, the two of them alone could not suppress the fragments of the giant scattering in all directions.

“Get a hold of yourself!”

One of the numerous fragments of the giant rushed in Viveca’s direction.

Although it was called a fragment, it was easily twice the size of an ordinary human.

However, Viveca did not retreat and held up her sword. It was because she knew that if she did not block the attack, others would have to bear the brunt of the giant’s assault.

‘I can do it.’

Among the paladins of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss, there was no paladin stronger than Viveca in actual combat. However, if asked whether she could face a fragment of the giant alone… she did not have that much confidence.

‘I trained hard, after all.’

As the fragment of the black giant swung its fist, Viveca raised her sword diagonally.

Thud!

Viveca blocked the giant’s fist with a stable posture, just like a swordsmanship textbook.

However, the problem was that the debris of the buildings beneath Viveca’s feet was not nearly as stable.

Clatter—

With the sound of stone dust scattering, Viveca staggered.

The black fist that she had almost blocked flew toward Viveca, its force still unspent.

Viveca widened her eyes.

‘To die so futilely like this? In my very first battle?’

But at the very next moment, a sword that emerged from somewhere sliced through the giant’s forearm.

‘Elbridge?’

Viveca whipped her head around to see who had helped her.

However, it was not Elbridge, but the mercenary Marcus, who had been tagging along by Elbridge’s side, who stood there.

“…Huh?”

However, Marcus looked rather bewildered himself even after cutting the giant’s arm, standing in a slightly awkward stance.

Although it was not a very reliable appearance, the sword strike he had just shown was quite impressive even in Viveca’s eyes.

“Thank you, mister!”

The fragment of the giant lunged a fist toward Marcus.

This time, Viveca jumped in to save Marcus.

Viveca and Marcus dashed here and there, blocking, parrying, and swinging their swords against the demon’s attacks.

Suppressing even a fragment of the giant, let alone the giant itself, was no easy task.

However, Marcus and Viveca realized one important fact.

‘…It’s not as strong as I thought.’

‘This is actually manageable.’

The giant’s speed was still fast. Rather, it seemed to have gotten faster as its size shrunk.

However, the physical strength that felt like it would shatter everything earlier was not felt. Although they would surely die if hit properly, it was much better than before.

Until just now, the heat had been so intense that they couldn’t even get close, but the heat felt now was somewhat bearable.

In other words, they could somehow face it.

Marcus shouted.

“We can fight this! Don’t be afraid!”

That shout was directed not at Elbridge or Rombel, but at the paladins who were watching the situation from the surroundings.

However, contrary to Marcus’s expectations, the response of the paladins was lukewarm.

One had to finish preparing their resolve before entering battle to fully display their capabilities.

However, that was not the case for the paladins.

The order’s policy that had not yet been reversed, the desire for revenge against the giant that killed their comrades, and their instinctive fear…

All of those things made the paladins’ bodies heavy.

Yet, they could not just helplessly let themselves be victimized by the rushing giants.

The paladins drew their swords to protect their own lives, and the onlookers around them.

“Block it!”

The paladins and the giant’s fragments clashed. Before even a few sword strikes could be exchanged, there was an individual showing a slightly different behavior.

One of the giant’s fragments had begun running to escape the battle.

Rombel screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Catch the one running away! Right now!”

However, the other fragments of the giant moved organically and formed a defensive line.

The paladins had no way to pursue the fragment of the giant that was fleeing.

Marcus was seized with doubt.

‘Why is that guy running away?’

It was the black giant’s side that had to settle the match immediately.

Because in just a day and a half, the combat orders would gain even a little more strength.

‘Does it lack intelligence? Or is there a coward even among those fragments?’

Marcus quickly found out the answer.

For at some point, the fragments of the giant stopped moving and vanished into the air like night mist, or like smoke.

The paladins were flustered.

“What, what happened?”

The dark smoke soared into the sky and vanished into the purple clouds.

Rumble—

A loud sound, as if thunder was striking within the purple clouds, was heard. And a moment later.

The purple clouds spat out a small, pitch-black mass.

When it was far away, it looked like a black dot.

However, the falling black dot rapidly grew in size. When it finally reached the ground—

Boom—!

It had become a whole black giant.

While fully possessing the colossal shape and size it had when first seen.

“…”

Only now did Marcus understand the black giant.

The black giant split into numerous fragments in dangerous moments, and if the single core entity among them was not suppressed, it quickly regained its original form.

Marcus’s vision went dark. No matter how great Elbridge or Rombel were, surely they could not suppress dozens of giant fragments alone, could they?

‘No. Sir Elbridge might have a way.’

Marcus thought so and looked at Elbridge and Rombel.

However, the reactions of Elbridge and Rombel were different from his expectations. The two of them did not get excited or frustrated, they were simply calm.

As if Viveca had the same thought as Marcus, she shouted to Elbridge.

“Why are you so calm? All that fighting went to waste!”

Rombel answered on Elbridge’s behalf.

“Then, did you think you could suppress a demon with just that much?”

“…Just that much?”

“We barely even fought, didn’t we?”

It was not a bluff. Rombel truly thought that way.

“Just now was only to check what kind of ability that guy has. And by nature, the race of demons is not something that one or two people can easily suppress.”

Elbridge also agreed with Rombel’s opinion.

However, it was not that Elbridge’s mind was completely at ease either.

No matter how outstanding Elbridge’s skills were, picking out and destroying the most important fragment among the giant’s parts was a problem of a different realm.

In order to destroy the giant’s fragments, the cooperation of the other orders’ paladins was essential.

It was not a situation where they could shatter the black giant endlessly either.

The authority that could be bestowed by the Goddess was still not abundant, and there would be limits to the authority of healing as well.

Elbridge offered a small prayer.

“Goddess. How many more times can I block the giant’s attacks with my shield?”

—Up to two times is possible, Elbridge.

‘Two times, huh.’

With that much, how many opportunities could he create?

It depended on the way of fighting.

However, in Elbridge’s mind, dragging it out and looking for an opportunity was not a wise decision.

Elbridge looked back.

There were countless people hit by the building debris scattered by the giant, or killed and injured while fighting the giant’s fragments.

Sure enough, the paladins of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss were manifesting their authority to treat the wounded.

A situation where it was clear that casualties would increase by as much as Elbridge consumed the authority of healing.

Elbridge hardened his heart.

‘I will end it in one go.’

While staring at the giant, Elbridge shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Paladins. What do you think is the difference between a mercenary and a paladin?”

No answer returned.

However, even if there was no answer, a teaching could be bestowed.

“There is only one most important difference. A mercenary fights because they are promised, and a paladin is promised because they fight!”

Elbridge took a deep breath, and then concluded his words.

“Right now, you stand on the path of becoming mercenaries. Think deeply about whether you will remain as mercenaries under your orders, or be reborn as paladins.”

Elbridge began to walk toward the black giant.

“Rombel. Follow me.”

“I’m coming.”

The skin inside his armor, which had been heated hot, burned.

However, in Elbridge’s experience, feeling pain was also proof that he was still fine.

Elbridge slowly wiggled his body, checking if there were any parts that wouldn’t move.

‘There are no functional problems.’

Step.

Thinking that the black giant would swing its fist, Elbridge kicked off the ground.

However, the black giant showed a response different from before. Instead of thrusting its fist toward Elbridge and Rombel, it threw its body backward and scraped the ground with both hands.

Craaaash—

Debris from the collapsed building rained down on Elbridge and Rombel. There were numerous stone blocks larger than a person.

As Elbridge and Rombel threw their bodies to the side, the building debris swept over the onlookers and paladins once again.

“Aaargh!”

Screams were heard. However, the damage would not have been as great as the first time. Because it was not the first time the black giant had attacked by scattering debris.

Rather, what frustrated Elbridge was that the gap between himself and the giant, which was retreating while scattering building debris, did not seem likely to narrow easily.

Elbridge made an immediate decision.

‘I will break through.’

Elbridge ran while lowering his posture. The debris scattered by the giant flew again, threatening Elbridge.

However, Elbridge dodged the debris by twisting his body to the absolute minimum, and took the debris he could withstand with his body. Perhaps a piece of debris had grazed his head, as his forehead was torn and bleeding.

The giant’s throwing continued once more. However, this time the size of the debris was too large for Elbridge to handle.

Elbridge raised his shield.

“Goddess. Grant me the authority of no retreat!”

The authority of no retreat was merely an authority for not retreating, not an authority for moving forward.

However, Elbridge put forward the shield that shone white and ran, breaking through the massive debris.

Since this was not the correct way to utilize the authority of no retreat, the Goddess’s authority was consumed extremely rapidly.

However, a single proper time could be better than two clumsy ones.

As Elbridge, who broke through the debris, revealed himself at close range, the black giant could no longer respond by scattering building debris.

As if the black giant’s upper body was twisting, a massive fist struck down at Elbridge.

Crash!

Elbridge leaped into the air, dodging the fist and plunging his sword into the giant’s wrist.

Then, he immediately pulled his sword out and kicked off the giant’s forearm. He felt his armor heating up at a scary speed. The smell of roasting meat was unpleasant.

However, Elbridge ran while stepping on the giant’s forearm. One step, two steps.

The giant’s forearm connected to the shoulder, and the shoulder connected to the neck and the heart.

Elbridge’s blade chose the giant’s neck.

Slice.

A gas resembling faint smoke leaked out from the giant’s neck.

Could it be something similar to human blood?

“…!”

The black giant let out a bizarre shriek in a voice leaking air, and then slapped Elbridge, who had not yet landed, with the palm of its left hand.

Crack!

Elbridge tried to assume a posture in midair to deflect as much of the giant’s force as possible.

However, completely deflecting the giant’s overwhelming power was an impossible task from the very beginning.

The left arm of Elbridge that had held the shield, and his left kneecap that had supported the bottom of the shield, were shattered. If he had not rapidly accumulated divine power recently, he would have surely died instantly.

Thud-crash!

Elbridge, who was sent flying, rolled across the floor.

However, Elbridge smiled.

“How foolish.”

Because this time too, the giant had lost track of Rombel’s position.

Rombel, who had leaped up onto the giant’s back at some point, swung his axe vertically.

“Die!”

Crack!

Rombel’s axe split the giant’s head almost in half.

The black giant’s body began to split into several pieces again.

Now, everyone in this place knew what would happen next.

Boom!

With a roaring sound, the black giant turned into dozens of fragments.

Subsequently, the giant’s fragments began to run.

However, the paladins had still not made a decision.

The paladins of the Order of the Laurel Wreath, the paladins of the Order of the Bloody Spear, the paladins of the Order of the Staghorn…

All of them merely blocked the giant’s fragments with a defensive attitude.

“Hold on!”

And unlike last time, the giant’s fragments, which had gathered at a single point, pushed roughly against the siege line formed by the paladins of each order.

At the moment the balance was about to break like that, three of the giant’s fragments changed their stance and began running at full speed.

One of those three was the demon’s core.

However, the three fragments were already too far away for the paladins to stop with their swords.

Yet, it was not too late.

“I showed you how to fight a demon, as promised!”

Elbridge suppressed his pain, demanding an answer from the paladins.

“Now answer my question! Do you fight because you are promised? Or are you promised because you fight?”

Finally, someone answered that question. It was the Chief Paladin of the Order of the Bloody Spear.

“We are promised faith because we fight! So, everyone—javelins!”

The paladins of the Order of the Bloody Spear threw away their long spears at the same time, gripping relatively short javelins in their right hands.

“Ready!”

The paladins wrapped their bare left hands around the blades of the javelins.

The blood flowing from their palms ran down the blades of the javelins.

Subsequently, the paladins leaned their upper bodies far back, waiting for the next command.

“Throw!”

With the Chief Paladin’s instruction, dozens of spears sliced through the air.

Since ancient times, the paladins of the Order of the Bloody Spear had held the role of cutting off the demon’s breath.

Protected by divine power and authority, their javelins flew in a straight line without drawing even a parabola. That sight looked just like dozens of light beams.

Crack!

Dozens of javelins embedded themselves into the giant’s fragments.

While two of the giant’s fragments merely had holes pierced all over their bodies, one was different.

That fragment began to spew pitch-black smoke in thick gulps.

And then, something intangible exploded.

At the same time, the paladins felt divine power filling the surroundings abundantly.

Strength surged from all over their bodies, and their fatigue seemed to recover.

The paladins, who had been swept into a brief ecstasy, belatedly snapped out of it and shouted.

“We must seal the demon! Mages, bring the mages!”

“There’s no way the Mage Tower missed this situation! They will be coming!”

Elbridge finally laid his body down on the ground.

Although sharp pain was felt throughout his entire body, his mind was at peace.

Rombel, whose beard was completely singed, flopped down beside Elbridge and said.

“These are the guys we have to fight alongside in the future, but except for a few, every single one of them is at a disastrous level. It feels hopeless…”

At Rombel’s lament, Elbridge smiled silently.