Chapter 31 Paladin(2)

Editor: BaeBae

Arwen lifted his shield.

He wasn’t going to let his guard down just because he was facing a child.

Inside the body of a small child, on the tongue of a slender woman, a devil could be lurking.

This meticulous way of thinking was the ironclad principle behind White crow knights.

Arwen felt an arrogant vibe from the way the boy was standing relaxingly in front of him.

An extraterrestrial feeling was emanating as if he really didn’t belong in this world.

“A devil’s child for sure.”

At Arwen’s confident tone, Juan bursted laughing.

“When I heard that you Paladins are swords that guard the emperor, I had high expectations but it looks like you guys are no different….. It’s an important role, so you would think they’d have looked for smarter people than..…..you. Man what are they doing. Hey you. I’ll give you a special name, How about, ‘Crabshell’[1].”

Arwen face twitched at Juan’s ridicule.

When he was wearing his Paladin armor, except for his holy knight order, no one had the audacity to behave like that in front of him.

Even the countryside nobles chose their words carefully around him.

From the conversation just passed, it didn’t look as if he didn’t know what his armor signified.

“…..Either your eyes are blind or you’ve gone mad .”

“Why don’t you have a guess and pick one, Crabshell.”

Instead of replying, Arwen started to walk towards Juan. Each step thudded heavily as if it would get stuck in mud, but surprisingly his steps seemed light and agile.

Carrying a thick heavy shield, he looked like a moving tower, like a Golem.

But while the man in front of him was rock hard and sturdy like a Golem, there was a difference.

Juan couldn’t beat the Golem. He’d managed to control it by getting to the relic on top of its head. If he had to destroy the Golem, Juan would have given up from the start.

And the Paladins, they had the same defensive sturdiness as a Golem but they were also bestowed the emperor’s ‘grace’ in addition.

‘How do I rip the shell off this crab.’

Juan was swinging his dagger in circles as he looked on at the approaching Arwen.

“If you’re not going to guess, I’ll make you blind and go mad.”

Juan ran at Arwen. He found himself stopped against Arwen’s shield as he stepped into the muddy pool between them.

Clang! Juan’s body flew into the air. He was a little taken back.

He’d tried to attack underneath Arwen’s shield, his black spot.

However, Arwen had not only stopped him but sent him flying back.

Meanwhile, Arwen had also been surprised. He had anticipated that Juan wouldn’t be an easy opponent, but his movements were better than he’d expected.

If not for his ‘graced’ shield, he wouldn’t have been able to stop Juan’s attack.

Once Juan fell back onto the ground, Arwen swung his Mallet at him.

A big block of metal that a normal person wouldn’t even be able to lift, was coming straight at Juan.

Juan turned his body and managed to just dodge the attack. His grey cloak was caught in the swing but like a fog it gently slipped.

“You bastard, what sort of dark magic are you using!”

“What are you talking about? Idiot.”

The moment Juan had his foot back on the ground, he set off towards Arwen once again. As if Arwen had expected this, he lifted his shield.

Instead of going right at him, Juan flew towards Arwen’s left.

‘Blink.’

In a straight line, Taltere’s dagger fired towards Arwen’s helmet.

At the sudden change in direction, Arwen panicked for a moment but swiftly lifted his shield in time to deflect Juan away.

Because of this, Juan only managed to slam the top of his helmet instead of stabbing Arwen through his helmet.

“Keu-uk.”

Arwen wobbled from receiving the impact on his head. It was an opening for Juan, but he’d just been deflected back with Arwen’s shield so he couldn’t use the situation to his advantage..

Arwen repostured his helmet and swung his mallet once more. The swing missed by inches as Juan dived into the mud.

“What is this……? You bloodless heathen!”

“Ah, trying to remove your shell is quite difficult, Crabshell.”

“You ill mannered bastard!”

Arwen’s head filled with anger.

Till now, he’d not once been smacked around, especially his head.If his shield or armor was scratched, he lay vengeance by literally crushing the perpetrator’s body flat. However, he didn’t know what sort of consequences were appropriate for this new kind of rudeness he’d experienced.

“My body, my armor, my weapon were all bestowed to me by the emperor and been ‘graced’! It’s something you shouldn’t even think about claiming.”

Shouting with a deep voice Arwen ran at Juan.

Juan dodged Arwen’s bone crushing strike to the side. Juan’s body swayed from the wind that was created from the swing.

The heavy impact of the swing shaked the whole village as it slammed the ground.

Hearing the commotion, few villagers and guards came and surrounded them. However, no one dared approach.

They would become big pieces of meat, with one swing from Arwen.

‘I’ll be dead if I get hit once by that.’

It wasn’t a good idea to stop it with Taltere’s dagger. The force would pummel him into the ground.

Arwen’s attack patterns were heavy and destructive, and he used his shield perfectly to cover for any openings after his swings.

Juan acknowledged Arwen was a difficult enemy to face. Dodging his swings continually wasn’t a good idea as eventually one might land, Juan thought.

Juan didn’t even get a chance to properly catch his breath as the fight continued on.

As Arwen tirelessly swung his gigantic shield and weapon, Juan barely managed to keep him in bay. Arwen’s swings were getting faster each strike.

“You slippery rat!”

Juan saw a flash of light appear where Arwen had slammed his mallet. Looking closely, Juan noticed Arwen’s body was slightly glowing.

A familiar mana scent.

‘So that’s the emperor’s ‘grace’ huh….’

Arwen’s base skills were subpar.

While he was better than an average Blue rose knight he was worse than Sina.

However, the ‘grace’ flowing out from his item was making him profoundly faster and stronger.

Beating him looked difficult, especially when Taltere’s dagger hadn’t yet been enhanced.

If Sina and he fought one on one, it would end in Sina’s defeat.

The Paladin’s items were that powerful.

In a straight confrontation he couldn’t think of a way to defeat Arwen in his current state.

Juan thought Paladins being big and heavy would be dimwitted, but this wasn’t to be. If he’d kept dodging, Juan thought he might tire first but the Paladin didn’t show any signs of tiring.

Attack, defence, stamina. Everything was first rate.

His skills were lacking but it didn’t matter.

Juan came to realize why the church favoured faithfulness and loyalty above being talented.

“However, you still disappoint me.”

For efficiency’s sake, he was better off using the Golems instead. The Golems he designed up in the far north during the war were much more powerful and capable.

He didn’t see the need to enhance and strengthen humans like this.

“How dare you!”

During Juan’s muttering, Arwen bellowed. He had felt Juan was looking down at him.

In truth, Juan had depleted his energy so he was recouping his strength, but Arwen hadn’t noticed.

Arwen was feeling a sense of doubt.

‘He was using Valte swordsmanship.’

Every knight in the empire learnt Valte swordsmanship, but the way it was applied in battle differently by everyone. He could tell, Juan had mastered the swordsmanship to a level close to royal guards.

This was simply just not possible.

A boy from beyond the border knowing Valte swordsmanship to a extremely high level.

He could already imagine a scene where his peers are laughing at him.

Hadn’t earnt but instead forcefully placed as a paladin into the holy knight order. And defeated by a little child.

Arwen’s White crow order was one of the weaker skilled knight orders in the empire.

A position of a Paladin and emperor’s ‘grace’ couldn’t be attained with just hard work and talent, it was a realm only the top geniuses could reach.

For a long time now, the large gap between him and his fellow Paladins had made Arwen feel a sense of inferiority.

In truth, his decision to work in the area of heretical interrogation was entirely down to his feeling of inferiority compared to other Paladins. He wanted to escape these thoughts.

And to instead feel happiness in killing the weak and feel justified for doing under the emperor’s name.

The everso arrogant Paladin Arwen felt Juan had scratched his ego. Unable to control anymore, the deep inner feeling of his inferiority overflowed.

It felt as if he could hear his colleagues laughing at him.

“I AM! I’m the emperor’s fist!”

Arwen roared deeply.

Juan suddenly felt uneasiness with Arwen’s spirit. The lights surrounding his body turned red.

Then, the light burned upwards in flames.

“Feel the emperor’s innocent anger, the spear of wrath!”

At Arwen’s roar, the lights on his armor converged onto his mallet. Light condensation. It was similar to what Sina had shown him.Juan sensed danger. He used blink to quickly pull back, but the light from Arwen’s mallet was quicker.

Everything lit up before his eyes.

A lighting spear from Arwen’s mallet sped across and penetrated Juan’s body.

There was nothing Juan could do. Like lighting, the Spear of wrath continued to pass through anything and finally struck the outer walls of the village. The wall made of rocks crumbled. A giant gaping hole was there for all to see.

From everywhere, screams began to sound.

Everywhere the lighting strike had passed through lit up in flames.

Arwen made a murderous grin and approached Juan.

“Foolish bastard. Did you really think your pathetic tricks could defeat me, a Paladin serving the great emperor?”

Juan’s body didn’t even twitch. It looked certain that he had met his end.

No blood could be seen on him but Arwen didn’t think too much of this. Spear of wrath burned and almost disintegrated everything in its path. Injuries would be smoldened, so Arwen thought it was natural to not see any blood.

“With ‘grace’ I’m protected, with ‘grace’ I move freely. I am the emperor’s sword itself!”

For Arwen it had been discomforting seeing a boy use ‘grace’ but as he’d given him the ultimate punishment, he didn’t ponder on this topic.

“I’ll make sure to finely grind then burn your corpse. And feed the remains to the pigs.”

“……….you.”

Hearing Juan’s voice, Arwen had a look of disbelief.

There was not a single person that survived his strike when he’d used ‘grace’. This ‘grace’ was powerful enough to tore apart walls of a castle.

Even other Paladins would be dead if they met the strike head on.

Only with a more powerful defensive ‘graced’ item, it could be matched.

“……..You’re way of speaking makes me want to puke.”

Juan slowly got up.

With wide goggling eyes, Arwen stared not knowing what to say.

Just like when they first met at the plaza, Juan was standing smuggly while he looked at Arwen.

His clothes were burnt in a circular shape but no injuries were found on his body.

“So that’s what the church teaches you instead of training? How to speak like that? Sina spoke somewhat similarly as well.”

“You, you heretic! I don’t know what you did but you dare stop the emperor’s miracle?”

“This emperor of yours if a little lackluster….. no?”

Juan chuckled as he walked towards Arwen. Without realising Arwen had instinctively backed off. He couldn’t believe what his body had instinctively done.

I retreated in the face of an enemy? An apostate?

Looking on, Juan made a cold expression.

“Did you just back away from me?”

“Aughh ahhhh!”

Arwen gathered his ‘grace’ one more time. The light glowing all over his body converged on the tip of his mallet. A desperate shout bellowed as Arwen made his swing.

“Di, die! Heretic bastard!”

Once more, the spear of wrath swept through Juan’s body.

The spear of wrath had destroyed castle walls, penetrated creatures and had made quick work of previous apostates, turning them into ash. And Arwen was certain that his weapon could make Juan into a skewer.

Arwen wanted to fully believe this. But no, a small doubt again creeped and blossomed inside his head.

Kwang!

The spear of wrath passed through Juan and smited the stone wall behind.

But Juan was still standing on the same spot, like a ghost.

“Again?”

Upon seeing this sight, Arwen completely lost his fighting spirit. The fact he’d driven Juan back till now was an afterthought.

Arwen assumed Juan was dodging in order to taunt and deceive him.

An enemy that the emperor’s ‘grace’ has no effect on.

Arwen felt the pillars that held up his giant arrogant ego crumble.

The emperor is the center of the world and the form of justice. And he was an agent of this emperor.

Night after a slaughter, he would dream of becoming one.

However, an opponent appeared that even his ‘grace’ couldn’t conquer.

“Aughh ahhhh!”

Arwen tossed his mallet and shield, and ran, turning his back on Juan.

Juan was waiting in anticipation, looking forward to seeing how Arwen would respond, but was left dumbfounded at what transpired.

He wanted to question Anya, ‘Paladins would die rather than have their equipment stolen?’.

But before that, Juan’s head swelled in anger.

“You little bitch!”

[1] – Literally the shell on the back of a crab.