Paladin of the Dead God-Chapter 404: Lord of the Graveyard (4)

Rumble. Crash.

The dark clouds above writhed violently, emitting ominous, unsettling sounds.

The Graveyard Lord glanced over his shoulder, his attention repeatedly drawn to the thunderous noise. As someone who had long dwelled in this territory, he understood its origin.

The Outer Boundary’s borders occasionally blurred, especially during significant historical events. What perplexed him was why this disturbance was happening now. freёweɓnovel.com

"I need to finish my task and return immediately. Something feels off... but first—"

The Issacrea Dawn Army’s resistance was proving far fiercer than anticipated.

The Graveyard Lord had assumed that if he unleashed his full might, they would be crushed in an instant. Instead, the Dawn Army fought with astonishing tenacity, shredding through the Eclipse Army like serrated blades. Even after two days of relentless skirmishes meant to exhaust them, the paladins and soldiers fought with an unyielding fervor.

A paladin, impaled through the shoulder and side by spears, roared defiantly as he cleaved through two Death Knights simultaneously.

“Under the banner of the Issacrea Dawn Army, we will never be defeated!”

"Madmen."

What particularly irked the Graveyard Lord, Sarka Noir, was the paladins associated with the Codex of Light.

Though Sarka Noir was a descendant of a fallen empire, he had once been a devout follower of the Codex of Light. He knew their doctrines and faith intimately. Yet the paladins before him did not invoke the glory of their god or the blessings of angels.

All their cries were for Isaac Issacrea, the Holy Grail Knight—his glory, his protection.

As an Archangel himself, the Graveyard Lord felt a deep unease at this blind loyalty and unwavering devotion. It made him feel like he had been cast as a villain in some grand play staged to affirm their fanatical faith.

"Ridiculous. I am Sarka Noir. These Codex fools... I will slaughter every last one of you and drag your damned heaven into the abyss!"

Consumed by his simmering hatred for the Codex of Light, the Graveyard Lord prepared to unleash an even stronger assault.

Just then, an explosive psychic wave surged through his mind, causing him to stagger. His knees buckled momentarily, and it felt as if a fiery burst ignited within his skull.

The mental barrage was a storm of emotions: shock, fury, confusion, anguish, despair, and fear, all raging at once before fading into a lingering dread.

Though his sudden falter drew attention, none of his Death Knight lieutenants turned to assist him. The Graveyard Lord’s leadership relied on absolute psychic domination; his subordinates were not granted even the slightest autonomy. Should he fall, they would not lift a finger unless explicitly ordered.

Not that he expected—or wanted—their help.

"What... was that?"

He turned toward the source of the psychic disturbance. The sky was twisting grotesquely, signaling a massive Outer Boundary incursion unlike anything he had ever seen.

And the torrent of despair emanated unmistakably from Holy Land Lua.

Suddenly, another psychic wave struck—a commanding presence that radiated overwhelming authority.

[“Where are you, Graveyard Lord?”]

It was the Immortal Emperor. The sheer force of his mental broadcast was enough to make the Graveyard Lord’s head thrum painfully. Judging by its intensity, the Emperor must have been speaking directly from Holy Land Lua.

Without even a moment to compose himself, Sarka Noir hastily replied.

[“I am pursuing the Holy Grail Knight as per Your Majesty’s orders—”]

[“The Holy Grail Knight is here! Right now, in Lua!”]

The Graveyard Lord’s head snapped around. His gaze, fixated moments ago on Isaac, now darted toward Lua’s direction.

Isaac was undeniably here—standing in the thick of the battle.

Yet the Emperor claimed he was in Lua as well?

[“The Holy Grail Knight is here with us. Are you certain?”]

Normally, he would never have dared to question the Emperor’s word. But it was the Immortal Emperor himself who had ordered him to the west to hunt down the Holy Grail Knight.

The Emperor, too, was rattled, to the point where he did not reprimand the question.

[“Isaac! It’s Isaac! Who else could orchestrate such chaos? Only he could!”]

The Immortal Emperor’s tone was laced with uncharacteristic panic. The Graveyard Lord, trying to analyze his master’s words, came to a chilling realization.

“So, he hasn’t actually seen Isaac in Lua. But still…”

The Graveyard Lord was beginning to doubt whether the Isaac before him was genuine. Even as the battle reached its peak, Isaac remained steadfast in his role as a valiant paladin. Impressive, yes, but hardly the level of cunning required to outwit the likes of Pallor or escape becoming her 2,544th "trophy."

“If this is a decoy, then the real Isaac must be in Lua!”

He shivered—not from disgust, but from sheer awe at Isaac’s audacity. It was a scale of deception that mocked gods and angels alike. As a warrior and a commander, the Graveyard Lord couldn’t help but feel a grudging admiration.

The Emperor’s next command shattered his train of thought.

[“Return to Lua immediately. At once!”]

The order was not unreasonable. After all, his primary mission was to capture the Holy Grail Knight, not to annihilate the Issacrea Dawn Army. Without the Holy Grail Knight, the army would crumble on its own. Pursuing the true Isaac took precedence.

The problem was that his army had already pushed too deeply into enemy territory.

[“I will crush the Issacrea Dawn Army first and then return. If we retreat now, the losses will be—”]

[“Return immediately!”]

The Immortal Emperor had never issued such a forceful command before. Normally composed and priest-like in demeanor, his sudden urgency unsettled the Graveyard Lord. For the first time, he yearned for the calm authority of his usual master.

What on earth was happening in Lua?

With no choice but to comply, Sarka Noir relayed the order.

[“All units, retreat. Withdraw toward Holy Land Lua immediately. Do not turn your backs or flee. Leave behind a rearguard to delay the enemy and make it appear as if this is a temporary fallback.”]

It was galling to abandon what had been shaping up to be a decisive victory. Yet all he could do now was pray for a safe withdrawal.

***

“Is this ‘guaranteed moment of victory’ supposed to take until tomorrow? Next time, don’t keep us waiting.”

After crushing the Reaper and barely managing to buy time, Tuhalin grumbled to Isaac with visible irritation.

Though imbued with the resilience of an Archangel, Tuhalin remained relatively unscathed. But the same could not be said for the others. No matter how much divine miracles healed their bodies, the shock and strain inevitably piled up. Even the miracles themselves exacted a toll on the recipients.

Isaac narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the turbulent eastern skies.

He could feel the chaos threatening Holy Land Lua through the shared senses of his main body. Yet, the retreat of the Eclipse Army rested solely on the decisions of the Graveyard Lord.

"Not much longer now... any moment—"

As Isaac was about to reassure Tuhalin, he noticed a shift in the Eclipse Army’s momentum. Their assault began to falter, the ferocity waning as if an unseen weight was dragging them down.

Isaac’s gaze sharpened, recognizing the moment he had been waiting for.

"All units...!"

Boom!

A deafening crash echoed, drawing every soldier’s attention toward its source. A massive harpoon pierced the center of the Death Knight formation, its long chain trailing behind.

A boisterous voice followed.

“I’m here, Holy Grail Knight! Did I arrive at the right moment?”

It was Eidan and the sailors of the Salt Council.

Having departed later as a reserve force, they had dismantled the whaling harpoons from their ship, repurposing them as makeshift siege weaponry. They arrived with fresh supplies, ready to turn the tide. Tuhalin, taken aback by their sudden appearance, couldn’t hide his mixed feelings.

He knew the sailors of the Salt Council were brave.

But on land? Could they truly tip the scales against an army of this magnitude? He hesitated, voicing his doubts to Isaac.

“Is this your trump card, Isaac?!”

Isaac didn’t bother answering. The truth was irrelevant.

"Reinforcements are here! Full assault, now!"

The Issacrea Dawn Army roared in unison, their battle cries surging with renewed vigor as they charged. The Eclipse Army, disoriented by the sudden support, the growing gaps in their lines, and the Graveyard Lord’s retreat orders, failed to mount an adequate defense.

As the Dawn Army began breaking through the disorganized ranks, only Tuhalin, Edelred, and Lianne spared Isaac a bewildered glance. They knew the Salt Council’s sailors weren’t strong enough to cause such a shift on their own.

Yet the assault worked. The Eclipse Army’ formation collapsed, and the Dawn Army began slaughtering their disoriented foes.

"Why... why is this working?" Edelred muttered in disbelief, echoing the thoughts of every commander.

The most shocked of all, however, was Eidan himself.

"N-no way. Really?!"

He had expected some celebration upon their arrival, but seeing the enemy army crumble before them was beyond his wildest imagination. Especially with the towering figure of the Graveyard Lord among their ranks—an Archangel radiating pure malice.

The Graveyard Lord turned his burning gaze toward Eidan, his voice dripping with hatred.

[“I’ll kill you later, Salt Council vermin...!”]

His careful, incremental retreat had been utterly undone by the arrival of a mere handful of reinforcements.

Eidan felt a wave of panic at the promise of certain death but was quickly interrupted by his enthusiastic sailors.

“Captain, think of the glory! Who else can brag about dying to an Archangel’s wrath?”

“Yeah, Captain! We’re proud of you!”

Eidan, suppressing a groan, waved them forward. “Fine, fine, let’s go! Everyone, do your part!”

The Graveyard Lord watched the crumbling ranks of his Eclipse Army and sighed. Any hope for an orderly retreat was gone.

If he could preserve even half his forces, it would be a miracle.

He considered turning his army to force the Dawn Army into a chaotic melee, which could inflict devastating losses. But with the revelation that Isaac here was likely a decoy, he couldn’t waste any more time.

Holy Land Lua was at risk. No mere army was worth delaying his return. As the only Archangel capable of immediate action, he needed to act swiftly.

[“Retreat! All forces, fall back to Lua immediately!”]

His command reverberated across the battlefield, not limited to the ground. Above, Nel was engaged in a ferocious battle with a Bone Dragon, her jaws locked around its neck. With a savage twist, she tore through its throat, shaking the massive dragon’s head as if breaking the spine of prey.

The Bone Dragon, in its death throes, unleashed one final blast of freezing breath that streaked across the battlefield, leaving trails of frost. The undead soldiers beneath it, resistant as they were to cold, still froze solid under the intensity of the attack.

Enraged, the Graveyard Lord stripped the Bone Dragon of its soul, reducing it to fragments that rained down like shattered glass.

While his army was retreating in disarray, the Graveyard Lord’s primary concern was Isaac. Even as chaos unfolded around them, Isaac’s steadfast, commanding presence gnawed at him.

“Where is that imposter…?”

Suddenly, he spotted Isaac cutting through the Death Knight ranks, ignoring the retreating soldiers entirely as he charged directly toward him.

The Graveyard Lord couldn’t help but feel impressed.

“This lunatic! He cares nothing for the fleeing troops and only seeks the commander’s head?”

For a brief moment, a surge of competitive pride swelled within him. But he couldn’t afford to be caught here. He signaled for nearby Death Knights to intercept Isaac, preparing to withdraw.

That was when he heard the sharp whistle of a harpoon slicing through the air.

Crash!

The Graveyard Lord staggered as a massive harpoon and chain pierced through his chest. Stunned, he traced the chain back to its source.

There, grinning like a madman, was Eidan.

“Ha... haha... Got you! I caught the big one!”

The Graveyard Lord’s burning eyes flared with rage.

[“I’ll kill you now, Salt Council worm...!”]