Paladin of the Dead God

Pallor, realizing that sleep would not come easily, gave up on rest and began to replay the previous battle in her mind.

In truth, reviewing the past was not an easy task for Pallor. The Archangels of the Immortal Order, unlike those of other faiths, could not wander through Urbansus. For them, Urbansus had already descended into their world. There was no past to retrace, nor a future to anticipate. Only the present existed.

For that reason, even the Archangels of other faiths could not manipulate Urbansus within the territory of the Immortal Order. The most dangerous weapon became ineffective only when facing the Immortal Order.

Thus, Pallor struggled to grasp the concept of retracing her own past.

She had never once considered the possibility of losing that battle. If even a slight chance of defeat existed, she would have never descended in the form of her true body.

But the real issue lay with the monster that had suddenly appeared and struck her on the head while she was grappling with Isaac. Since becoming an Archangel, Pallor had never been struck in the face like that.

The shock and humiliation shattered the balance of the battle. Isaac did not miss the opening and inflicted a critical wound on her. Pallor couldn’t comprehend how Isaac had managed to create such a being or why it willingly sacrificed itself.

"Immortal Emperor, is that monster truly... someone worthy of standing by your side?"

Recalling the command of the Immortal Emperor, Pallor bit back an internal scream. No matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand.

That was the extent of a monster’s fate — nothing more.

Pallor forced herself to calm her mind. As a faithful believer and Archangel, the thought of defying the Immortal Emperor’s command never crossed her mind.

She was different from the unknowable Twelve Dead Decembers or the unbearably arrogant Lord of the Graveyard.

"As long as I guard this fortress, Isaac will never breach it. I just need to recover and face him again."

Before the battle, she had thought it would be simple — kill Isaac, then interrogate him. The Immortal Emperor had even said that if it proved too difficult, she could kill him. Even if they couldn’t use him immediately, they could take the other members of his group hostage and extract information through torture.

But now, she had decided not to rush.

"I’ll wear them down slowly. They can’t receive supplies here, nor will reinforcements arrive. I’ll feign raising the temperature, then suddenly drop it in the middle of the night. A few of them will freeze to death, and I can turn them into zombies to sow confusion."

Pallor’s imagination grew ever more vivid.

"Lower their morale, and even the Holy Grail Knight’s prestige will be tarnished. If he tries to launch a desperate charge into the fortress, that will be the moment to counterattack. During the siege, there will be heaps of Armyes, and I can conscript them as I see fit..."

Bang!

Her pleasant schemes were shattered by a sudden noise.

A cloud of dust cascaded from the ceiling of the inner sanctum. Pallor slowly turned her head. It wasn’t the first time such an explosion had occurred.

The relics of the World’s Forge Order had been plaguing the fortress for days, but this was the most intense impact yet.

"What’s going on? Did the wall collapse?"

Pallor asked the undead soldiers guarding the walls. From their bewildered reactions, it was clear that they didn’t know either. Even after expanding her senses, she found that the walls were intact.

There was no assault on Fortress Gertrude, nor had anyone invoked a miracle to call down lightning.

"What is it?"

Bang! Boom!

Explosions erupted continuously. Pallor could no longer remain passive and released a flock of birds to survey the surrounding area.

The sight that greeted her was shocking — explosions ripping through Fortress Gertrude from all directions, causing portions of it to collapse. At that moment, Pallor heard the panicked cries of the undead.

[The sky! Bombs are raining down from the sky!]

***

"Oho... Oh, this is nice. Better than expected," remarked Isaac, gazing at the spectacle.

"Hmm, it may only be a prototype, but it’s not bad," Tuhalin commented, folding his arms with satisfaction.

Isaac, Tuhalin, Rottenhammer, and the Paladins stood in a line at their main camp, watching the rain of shells descending on Fortress Gertrude. Each impact caused fierce explosions, shaking the fortress from within.

"The method you suggested is working better than I thought," Tuhalin said, nodding.

"Thank you. It’s all thanks to the extraordinary craftsmanship of the World’s Forge Order," Isaac replied humbly.

What Isaac had introduced was the concept of a mortar.

At first, Tuhalin had struggled to understand the idea of firing a projectile along a steep parabolic arc rather than a direct line.

But the core concept of a mortar wasn’t particularly complicated. Projectiles traveling in a parabolic arc to hit a target was a principle already present in catapults. The simplicity of its structure made it easy to comprehend.

However, creating a precise impact pattern was a completely different story.

At the time, they had no real concept of artillery or ballistics.

But Isaac had observed the World’s Forge Order’s exceptionally crafted cannons and was confident that with slight modifications, they could be repurposed as mortars.

The only reason the World’s Forge Order had no experience with advanced artillery tactics was that they feared knowledge leaks, so they rarely engaged in real combat. The orcs, on the other hand, left everything to their ancestors’ guidance, so they never needed to study artillery theory.

"After all, for artillery to work properly, you need to trust that the projectiles will land exactly as calculated. But if every cannon is different, that trust is impossible."

Fortunately, the World’s Forge Order had prepared five cannons.

All five had the same specifications, materials, and designs, so converting them into mortars was feasible.

"Still, the skill of these Forge Artisans is incredible."

Ah, they probably didn’t realize it. This is what it means to be a modern human... Isaac wanted to boast but knew it was not his achievement.

The real credit went to the artisans.

All Isaac had done was give them a nudge in the right direction. It wouldn’t be right to claim he had made some kind of groundbreaking discovery. Tuhalin and the Forge Artisans had immediately understood what Isaac meant, and they hammered out the modifications on the spot as if they were molding clay. After just a few test shots, they even figured out how much gunpowder was required to achieve accurate strikes.

Moreover, unlike the Olkan Code, which merely fired lumps of iron, the World’s Forge Order used incendiary shells with far greater destructive power.

"If only we had the facilities, I’d have refined the shells too, but making them on-site is impossible."

"The cannon is overheating! Bring that over!" someone shouted.

The Forge Artisans rushed over, tightly wrapping the “Mantle of the Prepared” around the overheated cannon barrel. Since the Forge Artisans, having been ordained as craftsmen, could not recite prayers, Isaac took on the role of reciting the sacred verses in their stead. In an instant, the cannon cooled and returned to its original state.

It was a perfect collaboration between the World’s Forge Order and the Immortal Order.

Of course, if any liches had been watching, they would have gone berserk. But a few more volleys of cannon fire would surely calm them down.

"Come to think of it, fortresses stopped being strategic strongholds not because of cannons, but after mortars were developed."

As Isaac and the members of the World’s Forge Order watched the rain of explosive shells with delight, Rottenhammer and the Paladins observed with pale, weary expressions.

They had seen cannons before while fighting against the Olkan Code. Back then, they thought they had figured out how to deal with them. But this was something else entirely. The range and accuracy were on a completely different level, and the fact that such destruction could be achieved without the need for miracles was downright terrifying.

This was not the simple, direct-fire cannon of the Olkan Code but a far more sophisticated weapon.

At that moment, the Paladins were more grateful than ever that the Issacrea Dawn Army was currently their "ally."

"Ah, could you shift the target about 20 paces south and 30 paces east? It seems there’s an important-looking structure in that area."

From above, Hesabel, mounted on Nel, scouted the impact points and relayed targeting adjustments.

With precise fire control from the skies, Fortress Gertrude had no choice but to endure the relentless bombardment. Using the fine-tuned sensitivity unique to dwarves, Tuhalin made a small adjustment to the mortar’s angle with his fingertips.

"Hmm, like this?"

Boom!

Isaac narrowed his eyes, watching the rising dust cloud beyond the fortress walls.

"Yes. That’s spot on."

Rumble...

Even before Isaac’s words had finished, a surge of white waves rolled up from beyond the hill.

Isaac grinned as he watched the sight.

"A perfect strike on a critical location."

Suddenly, Pallor rose with terrifying force. A massive flock of skeletal birds filled the sky as if they intended to blot out the sun. From high above, Nel unleashed a thunderous roar.

KRAK-KOOM!

A bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky, incinerating a large portion of the flock. But the vacant space left by the fallen birds was quickly filled with more. The flock swarmed toward Nel.

"Retreat, Hesabel."

Even before Isaac’s thoughts reached them, Nel and Hesabel were already retreating at full speed. Although it was no longer possible to maintain fire control, it didn’t matter anymore.

Isaac issued an order to Tuhalin.

"That’s enough. Cease bombardment and prepare for a charge."

"Already? Pallor’s shown herself — we could torment them a bit longer."

"No. This is the perfect moment. Pallor revealing herself was the signal."

Tuhalin raised an eyebrow at Isaac’s words, only to hear a blaring horn echoing across the battlefield.

***

“Isaac!”

Pallor’s mental wave was so intense that it could have been mistaken for a scream.

The skeletal birds flew in wild frenzy, prepared to peck and tear apart anything in their path. Although Pallor’s body had weakened, the birds’ beaks and talons were as sharp as daggers. It would be more than enough to rip through the belly of an ordinary human and pull out their entrails.

[I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you limb from limb and curse you to wander for all eternity!]

It was a torture method unique to the Immortal Order, but achieving such a desire was fraught with too many practical obstacles.

Her decision to burst out of the fortress wasn’t made out of pure rage. It was an inevitable choice.

Fortress Gertrude was no longer functioning as a fortress.

The undead soldiers had been helplessly blown apart by the rain of shells. By the time the army was fully disorganized, the enemy would begin their assault. If they wanted to avoid the shelling, they needed to dig trenches, but Pallor had neither the time nor the conceptual framework to think of such tactics.

With no other option, she resolved to inflict as much damage as possible before their forces were annihilated.

At this point, Pallor had already resigned herself to the complete destruction of the undead forces within Fortress Gertrude.

Her goal was to assassinate Isaac or one of the enemy’s key commanders amid the confusion. It was a humiliating situation for an Archangel to resort to assassination, but she had no choice.

However, at that moment, she heard the blaring sound of a crisp trumpet.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The thunder of horse hooves echoed like a war drum. Dust clouds surged from the south, racing rapidly toward Fortress Gertrude.

Pallor immediately recognized them.

[Elil’s dogs! But… how are they coming from there?]

Her eyes widened with shock.

The Elil Army wasn’t approaching from below the cliff like Isaac and Tuhalin. They were coming from above, from the elevated side. It was only then that Pallor realized the Elil Army, which had split south earlier, had already bypassed the cliff and was now advancing on the rear of Fortress Gertrude.

Pallor had intended to force the Issacrea Dawn Army into a divided formation. But in the end, she had only opened up her rear to them.

This realization struck Pallor like a bolt of lightning.

"How?! Did they have a map? But this is the first time the Dawn Army has even set foot on this land!"

Her intuition was correct. It was Isaac’s map that had revealed the bypass route.

Isaac’s map had been created from fragmented memories, so it wasn’t perfectly accurate. But it was good enough to mark major points of interest.

During a strategy meeting with Edelred, Isaac had mentioned the fortress’s weak points, as well as the southern detour that bypassed the steep slopes.

After all, aside from the fortress’s precarious incline, Fortress Gertrude was little more than a “stone wall” as Tuhalin had put it. Its rear side was even more vulnerable.

Using Pallor’s emergence as a signal, Edelred began the charge. Upon seeing the so-called "wall" that guarded the rear, Edelred snorted.

"Smash that fence to pieces! Charge!"

He dismissed the fortress as nothing more than a "fence" and unleashed his knights in a ferocious assault. The interior of Fortress Gertrude, once praised as a breakwater against chaos, was instantly flooded by the enemy.

At the same time, the main force of the Issacrea Dawn Army surged forward.

First in was the Lycanthrope Warriors led by Raulok. They had already grown accustomed to breaching enemy lines after several charges. The undead soldiers were crushed instantly under their assault.

“Pallor!”

In the midst of this chaos, as Pallor was once again contemplating the humiliating option of retreat, a loud voice echoed.

Isaac was pointing his sword at her.

“No, maybe I should call you Baldor now that your head’s about to roll off. Or just Baldie? Which do you prefer?”

The veins on Pallor’s temples throbbed with rage. She felt her mind snapping under the pressure of her fury.