Chapter 80
Chapter 80
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Judicator Zekt 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The arrow, infused with tremendous power, didn't seem like something launched by human strength—it was more like a shot from a siege weapon. But an invisible shield appeared around Sir Zekt, blocking the arrow.
"Holy Shield!"
Unable to withstand the force, the arrow shattered like an explosion.
'A spell similar to the one the count used?'
Azadin frowned as he recalled the scene. It was the count's trickiest defensive magic. If that holy knight could use it, it would be hard to take him down just by raining arrows from afar.
'Midi'am or Ismail could break it with Crimson Bird Four Seasons White Crane... but the problem is they'd become targets if I sent the kids in.'
Azadin clicked his tongue, knowing that Judicator Zekt still had plenty of leeway.
'Damn it. They said there are only sixteen Judicators in the entire King's Church, and now I see why! Please don't chase me.'
Hoping Sir Zekt would give up the pursuit, Azadin began his escape.
As Azadin fled, Mayya stomped her feet in frustration.
"What do we do? He's getting away, and he's too fast! If we don't chase now..."
"It's fine. We'll follow at a leisurely pace."
"A leisurely pace? Even if a wraith knight is pursuing, the enemy knows that and will definitely prepare some countermeasure."
"The reason he didn't run from the start and stayed to buy time against us—was because of that man's goat? No, alpaca?"
"It's a Kerim mountain goat."
Jibek corrected her.
"Anyway, it's because that alpaca is carrying a heavy load. It can sprint for now, but endurance is its weakness. That's why he stayed behind to stall."
Kerim mountain goats, with their thick fur, were vulnerable to heat and couldn't outrun horses outside cold regions. It had bolted faster than a horse initially, but it would tire eventually. Moreover, in this area, only northerners rode Kerim goats, making them easy to track.
And they had Wraith Knight Sir Gazrek, didn't they?
"Tracking him is no problem at all. The issue is devising a surefire plan to catch him every time so he can't escape again. And..."
Sir Zekt removed his gauntlet.
"Huh?"
Blood was trickling out.
"No way?"
"Yes. When I blocked his swing just now, my fingers got torn. What incredible power."
Sir Zekt's hand trembled as he stared at it.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course."
Sir Zekt gazed at his hand and chanted a spell. The blood from the wound stopped flowing quickly.
"Fortunately, the bones seem intact. If they weren't, I would've died without deflecting that thrown dagger. Heralds truly aren't to be underestimated."
Sir Zekt raised his hand, and the sergeants, who had just caught up on foot, brought spears.
"One-on-one is fun, but next time, let's catch him together. Arm yourselves with spears and join me."
"......"
"What's wrong, Sir Jibek?"
"Sir Gazrek..."
Looking where Sir Jibek pointed, Sir Gazrek was writhing in agony.
"Ah, right. Sir Mayya!"
"Yes?"
"Go with the sergeants and find the escaped horses."
"Ah, understood."
After sending Sir Mayya away, Sir Zekt ordered the remaining sergeants.
"Feed him."
"Yes!"
The sergeants dragged Sir Gazrek, who had strayed off the road into the bushes, loaded him onto a packhorse, and tossed him a chunk of meat from the supplies.
Sir Gazrek pounced on the meat like a beast and tore into it—it was a human thigh.
"......"
"They're bodies of criminals who deserved death. I admit it's not a pretty sight, but isn't it an effective way to use scum that would've been dumped in the fields anyway?"
"That's more the mindset of a necromancer than a holy knight. What crime did these 'deserving criminals' commit?"
"Murder of a holy knight."
"...What?"
For a moment, Sir Jibek doubted his own ears.
"That farmer boy?"
The young farmer captured over Sir Gazrek's murder had been killed and fed to that monster?
Sir Jibek shuddered. The investigation report he'd seen was thoroughly distorted, but that revealed something. Sir Gazrek had indeed killed civilians, and the farm folk had retaliated by ambushing him and his squire knights.
Sir Jibek knew the boy's words were true. And yet they'd killed him?
Sir Zekt spoke softly then.
"The Salvation Knights may be fools, but their teachings hold one truth."
"......"
"Beneath our continent, powerful black magic still spews forth endlessly. In other words, without the King's Radiance, every corpse becomes an undead. So feeding them to him is a highly effective funeral rite."
"But that farmer boy... Sir Gazrek killed his family."
"So you're saying we should forgive him for laying hands on a holy knight? People would ask why he was forgiven. Should I say, 'Oh, actually Sir Gazrek massacred civilians'?"
"......"
Sir Jibek was at a loss for words.
Indeed.
For the sake of the King's Church's Holy Knight Order, Sir Zekt was right. But it was still too ugly. Covering up the truth for the organization.
"Crime is crime. Sir Gazrek's sins have already been paid by him ending up like that. And for the farmer boy who touched a holy knight, death is fitting punishment. This is hardly excessive. Anyone else would've ruled the same."
"Will Sir Mayya be alright? If she sees this..."
"That's why I sent her away."
"Even so..."
"Of course it's not a pleasant sight, so I'm keeping it from her view. I'd appreciate it if you did the same, Sir Jibek."
It was a warning to keep his mouth shut too. Sir Jibek gave a wry smile. Suddenly, he recalled the Herald clansman Azadin who'd just fled.
Remembering how he'd meticulously buried the villagers killed by the count's son, and fought for the petitioners even after securing the emperor's gold—compared to that, his own holy knight guise felt endlessly shameful.
"Once Sir Gazrek recovers, we'll pursue. That Herald probably has a copy of the count's New King's Array scrolls. We can't let him get away."
As the wraith knight Sir Gazrek devoured the human flesh, a bizarre change began in his body.
In a body already dead, with metabolism halted, its guts—especially the digestive organs—removed to prevent decay, unable to eat or process food anymore... change began to stir in Sir Gazrek's flesh.
*********
Azadin panted as he raced along the road as the sun set. The wound from the magic bullet was starting to ache more.
"Maybe I shouldn't, but should I rest a bit?"
Azadin halted the mountain goat. Its body heat was too high.
"I shaved its butt and leg fur beforehand, and it's still like this. Guess I need to shave its whole body."
Muttering that, Azadin began undressing by the roadside. The magic bullet wound was bruised, already turning purple with internal bleeding.
Even a hammer blow wouldn't bruise this darkly so soon. It hadn't been long, yet the wound had discolored this fast—impossible.
And...
*Wriggle.*
Something moved inside the wound.
"Damn it."
Azadin rummaged in his saddlebag and pulled something out—a razor made of obsidian. He sliced open the bruised wound with it.
*Squish.*
A dark red, blood-clotted leech-like thing burst from the wound.
"Damn it."
Azadin took a small porcelain vial from his pack, soaked its contents into a cloth rag, then put the dark red blood leech inside. He sliced open the other wounds, extracted more blood leeches, stuffed them into the vial, and sealed it.
"What kind of holy knight wields black magic this well? Infusing colorless magic bullets with black magic."
That Judicator Zekt was a mage brilliant enough to fuse spells independently.
"A normal person would've died already."
Azadin had survived thanks to his strong magic resistance; anyone else would've dropped dead the instant they were hit by that horrific bullet.
Azadin cleaned the bleeding incisions with the rag soaked in medicine from moments ago and applied ointment.
That's when it happened.
"Are you okay?"
"......"
Midi'am and Ismail had circled back along the road.
"I told you to run..."
"With the count, we came back and you survived, didn't we?"
"That was then. But that holy knight is really dangerous. He's a powerful mage—if you help, you might die instead."
"Then what do we do? That undead will keep chasing you."
"I'll make a scapegoat doll."
Azadin cut fur from the mountain goat with his dagger, twisted it into a doll by hand, and stuffed it with his own hair and the vial containing the sealed dark red blood leech.
"Impressive. Where'd you learn that? From Elder Kazas?"
"Yeah. I assisted Elder Kazas when he researched black magic. Can't cast spells myself, but I know the theory. This should shake off the wraith knight for a bit. Problem is transporting it."
Just then, someone passed by holding a torch, so Azadin approached.
"W-What?"
The sun hadn't fully set, but it was darkening. Suddenly blocked by someone jumping from the roadside, he had no choice but to panic.
"Ah, sorry. Mind if I ask where you're headed?"
"Why?"
"I have something to deliver. If you're going south, would you take it? I'll pay, of course."
Azadin showed him a silver coin.
"Something to deliver?"
"Yes. Take this south and toss it in the river—I'll be grateful."
"......"
"Five silver coins."
"F-Five coins? Hm. A-Alright."
"Don't damage it, whatever you do."
"I won't."
"Here's the upfront payment."
Azadin handed over the silver coins and the scapegoat doll. The traveler, thrilled at the sudden windfall—or eager to get away from Azadin—hurried off into the distance.
"Hope this scapegoat doll throws off that Judicator."
"Amazing. Are you scared of him?"
Ismail asked. Azadin admitted it readily.
"You should fear battle. No matter how confident in your skills, fearing unnecessary fights is wise. Come on, let's go. We need to put as much distance as possible while this ruse works.