Ch.245Chapter 245 – Offer Your Screams (1)

When Mikhail heard the words “happy hunting time,” he doubted his own ears.

‘I have to stop this.’

No matter what, these so-called apostles of God shouldn’t be pointing weapons at non-combatants.

It was a matter of basic decency that anyone would understand without being taught.

‘Surely not.’

Mikhail believed that the paladins of the Emiris Order wouldn’t be ignorant of such basic principles.

However, the Emiris Order paladins raised their weapons without hesitation and shouted:

“Secure them quickly!”

As if they couldn’t care less about the Zeolei Order’s presence, the Emiris paladins rushed forward.

‘What, are they serious?!’

Mikhail quickly gathered his wits after being shocked by their actions.

But in that brief moment, the Emiris Order paladins were already charging toward the dwarf village.

A dwarf on lookout duty was startled and tried to stop them as they rushed into the village.

“Wait, what are you—”

But mere verbal protests couldn’t stop them.

The order’s paladins leaped over the village fence in an instant.

The dwarves stared at them with shocked eyes.

The next moment, the order’s paladins began striking and slashing at the dwarves with their weapons.

“Wha—! Argh!”

“Crazy humans! Crazy—!”

The dwarves guarding the village began to fall in an instant.

Then one of the Emiris Order paladins raised his sword high and shouted:

“Round them all up! They’re valuable materials!”

“What the—!”

Belatedly, Mikhail and the Zeolei Order paladins entered the village to stop them.

With all the dwarves who could have hindered them already fallen, they entered without resistance and began grabbing the Emiris paladins, trying to talk to them.

Mikhail quickly grabbed the nearest paladin and said:

“What are you doing? Why are you attacking the dwarves—”

“Are you planning to interfere with the Emiris Order’s business?”

Mikhail flinched momentarily at those words.

While the Zeolei Order wasn’t a small order, it was still weaker than the Emiris Order.

His actions now could potentially cause unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, the upper echelons of the Zeolei Order had instructed the paladins dispatched to the area to provide full support to the Emiris Order.

“Ugh…”

Faced with this sudden reality, Mikhail unconsciously chose to back down.

Seeing this, the Emiris Order paladin sneered and said:

“I knew it. Fool.”

Leaving those words behind, the Emiris paladin turned his back and rushed toward another dwarf.

Snapping back to his senses, Mikhail quickly clung to him and shouted:

“Wait, please calm down and listen to me!!”

Mikhail desperately tried to stop the Emiris paladin.

The Zeolei Order paladins also began grabbing and clinging to the Emiris paladins, trying to stop them.

But they alone couldn’t hold back the Emiris Order paladins.

“Move!”

The Emiris paladins physically pushed away the Zeolei paladins.

And some of them rushed toward the dwarves without hesitation.

“Damn, they’re coming!”

“Run!”

The terrified dwarves began to flee.

The paladins slashed at the fleeing dwarves with swords, knocked them unconscious with blows to the head, and forcibly dragged out those who had fled into houses.

“Drive out these crazy humans!!”

“Our brothers and sisters are under attack! Grab your tools!!”

“They’re monsters in human form!! Show them the dwarves’ fury!!”

The atmosphere among the dwarves had turned extremely hostile due to the attack.

Seeing this, the Emiris Order paladins briefly looked at each other and began to discuss.

“Damn. Thanks to those Zeolei bastards, it seems like some vigilante group has arrived.”

“Yeah. Those damn fools wasted our time.”

The Emiris paladin briefly looked at the Zeolei Order paladins.

Then he smiled and said:

“We’ll have to round them all up.”

“I don’t know what they’re muttering about, but attack!!”

The dwarves shouted and began charging at the paladins.

They were armed with weapons and farming tools crafted by their artisans, wielding the characteristic brute strength of dwarves to face the order’s paladins.

For a brief moment, the dwarves were able to push back the Emiris Order paladins.

“These dwarves are pretty strong, huh?”

“But not strong enough to defeat us. Right?”

“Of course not!”

Some paladins laughed as they began to flex their muscles.

While the dwarves had initially been able to hold their own, they soon began to fall one by one, and before long, they were all rolling on the ground.

“What a nuisance.”

A paladin kicked one of the fallen dwarves.

And as he was about to raise his weapon, Mikhail shouted loudly:

“What on earth are you doing?! Why are you attacking the dwarves!”

Mikhail shouted with a flushed face.

“They’re not monsters! They’re not demons! No matter what, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Is this what the god Emiris teaches?!”

“Does a weak paladin of the Zeolei Order dare to discuss our god’s will so casually?”

Despite speaking the truth, the Emiris Order paladin responded with anger.

“I ask you, does a mere Zeolei Order paladin intend to defy the Emiris Order!”

“That’s not what I’m saying!”

Mikhail shouted at the top of his lungs, but the Emiris Order paladins didn’t even pretend to listen.

Instead, they began to direct their anger toward the Zeolei Order paladins.

“A follower of a false god dares to question the will of the great Emiris?!”

“Why are you acting like this?!”

Mikhail continued the argument, shouting loudly.

Meanwhile, he quietly reflected on the conversation with his opponent.

‘This is strange.’

Despite not having insulted their god specifically.

They were responding with anger and rage.

As if no objection to their god should be allowed.

Mikhail felt a slight chill at this sight.

‘They couldn’t be on drugs or something…’

Yet their reactions resembled those of addicts experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

It was as if they couldn’t make rational judgments once their god’s name was mentioned.

Whether it was because they were part of such a large religion and had immense pride,

Or whether the order was actually spreading its doctrine by drugging its followers.

Either way, while thinking this was strange, Mikhail still tried to persuade them.

Unfortunately, since his side was weaker than the Emiris Order, he believed their only option was to somehow convince them.

Amidst the argument, Mikhail spotted a paladin dragging a female dwarf by her hair and a male dwarf grabbing the paladin’s leg, trying to stop him.

“No… ugh!”

“Ah, forget it, we’ve secured enough already!”

The paladin soon raised his sword in reverse, about to stab the dwarf.

And the next moment.

With the sound of metal clashing, the sword’s trajectory changed.

The diverted sword grazed the male dwarf’s cheek and stuck into the ground.

“Oh?”

The Emiris Order paladin paused for a moment.

His gaze turned to an archer from the Zeolei Order.

A brief, deathly silence fell.

The Emiris Order paladins spoke with hardened faces.

“…Did you just attack us, the apostles of God?”

“You pointed a weapon at us?”

“You defy us?”

They muttered ominously, one by one.

And the next moment.

They smiled brightly.

“…Captain Hakan.”

“Yes.”

Hakan, who had been busy striking down dwarves one by one from a distance without paying attention to this side, finally turned around.

And he said with a smile:

“This worked out well, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

The eyes of the Emiris Order paladins had completely changed their attitude.

Looking at their eyes, Mikhail realized:

‘…We were also targets.’

Whatever they were plotting, he and his comrades were part of their objective.

“Draw your weapons now! Fight!”

His fellow paladin, Max, shouted as he raised his shield.

Soon, except for a few paladins, the Zeolei Order paladins and Emiris Order paladins began to clash.

‘At least some of them aren’t involved.’

Though it was problematic that they were busy capturing and assaulting dwarves, at least not all of the enemy’s forces were directed at the Zeolei Order paladins, as Mikhail had thought.

‘The captain isn’t participating either, for now.’

Hakan was watching from a distance, holding a greatsword.

‘And we have the numerical advantage!’

If they could establish numerical superiority, they could stop them now.

With that assessment, Mikhail swung his axe.

“Seems like we chose the wrong side!”

Thinking they should have chosen the Holy Maiden instead, Mikhail swung his axe.

The weapons of the two groups clashed loudly.

And as Mikhail had judged, the Zeolei Order was slowly pushing forward due to their numerical advantage.

At this rate, somehow…

“Everyone. Use that.”

Hakan spoke from a distance.

At his words, some paladins looked at him.

Then, smiling, they grabbed the swords at their waists.

The next moment, a brilliant white light erupted from their swords.

“Yes, that light.”

Hakan spoke in a casual tone, as if talking to an old acquaintance.

“Show them how strong a true paladin can be.”

With Hakan’s casual words, the tide of battle changed.

The Zeolei Order paladins, who had been barely pushing forward with their numbers, suddenly began to be overwhelmed.

‘This is a blessing…’

A technique commonly used by clergy to enhance the body.

And not just any blessing, but one as powerful as those used by high-ranking clergy.

The Zeolei Order paladins began to fall one by one under the attacks of the Emiris Order paladins, whose physical capabilities had dramatically increased.

In the midst of this, Mikhail’s axe finally broke in two.

“Oh no!”

As he quickly retreated, trying to draw the sword at his waist,

an Emiris Order paladin planted a fist in his face, knocking him down.

As his brain rattled and his vision blurred, he saw his opponent raising a sword.

“Offer a scream to Him!!!!”

Whatever it was, he had to block it somehow.

Mikhail instinctively extended his right arm.

The next moment, his arm was severed.

“AAAAARGH!!!!”

Screaming, Mikhail rolled on the ground.

And from a distance, other screams began to rise.

“No, stop! Not the face! AAAAARGH!!!!!”

“You, monster-like humans…!! AAAAARGH!!!”

“KYAAAAA!!!”

The surroundings became filled with screams.

Amidst the screams of men, women, young, and old, Mikhail barely managed to hold onto his consciousness.

“What on earth…”

Mikhail tried to protest further, but the screams around him continued endlessly.

‘Are they demons?’

Despite having fought alongside them briefly, like comrades,

they were attacking and torturing their fellow warriors without the slightest hesitation.

‘What turned them into demons?’

As Mikhail clutched his arm and stared in horror, someone stood before him.

“Hey, why did you cut off his arm?”

Hakan stood in front of Mikhail, scolding the paladin beside him.

The paladin, who had been laughing until just now, bowed his head solemnly.

“I apologize. He was being insolent, so…”

“Anyone would think you have mania… though it might be something similar.”

After saying that, Hakan looked down at Mikhail.

“Well, don’t take it personally, Mr. Zeolei Order paladin.”

Mikhail tried to say something to Hakan, but the next moment, Hakan grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

“Being weak is your fault. Don’t worry. We’ll make it look like you died honorably trying to save the dwarves. …Which isn’t entirely untrue, is it?”

Hakan looked up at Mikhail, sneering.

“What are you plotting…”

“Well, I’d like to keep it a secret, but…”

Hakan said with a smile.

“You know the Red Paladin Order, right? We’ll make you as strong as them. Just go with the flow.”

“What…”

“Now, little one, it’s time for you to sleep.”

Hakan raised his fist.

“Sweet dreams.”

As if in slow motion, the fist began to fly toward Mikhail.

A simple punch, but to the current Mikhail, that fist was more terrifying than any blade.

‘No.’

If he were knocked unconscious by that punch,

what would happen afterward would be something he couldn’t even imagine.

‘Save me.’

Please, someone.

“Someone please save me!!”

Mikhail cried out desperately.

And Hakan’s fist reached just in front of Mikhail’s face.

-KWANG!!!

With the sound of clashing metal, Hakan suddenly flew away.

Simultaneously, Mikhail fell to the ground.

-THUD

A halberd was stuck in the ground with a dull sound.

It was a halberd familiar to Mikhail’s eyes.

‘This halberd is…’

As he carefully raised his head, a man wearing a familiar helmet was standing there.

“You are…”

The helmeted man didn’t give Mikhail a glance.

Instead, he was emanating killing intent.

“You bastards.”

The man looked around and then spoke forcefully:

“What the hell have you been doing?”

Kei’s voice spread coldly.