Chapter 304:

“That’s ridiculous... Do you think you can just appoint the next head of the guild as you please?”

“Accepting or not is up to you. But if I go straight to Belman Bessia and undermine Leonora’s standing, who do you think will be the next head? Naturally, I’d have a say in it.”

Isaac’s words were no different than saying, “I’ll let you choose the next Pope of the Codex of Light.” It was absurd, but a ridiculous deal was sometimes needed to shake the opponent’s resolve.

For Isaac, a poor and penniless Holy Grail Knight, this was the kind of bait he had to dangle to buy Shalok.

‘If I kill Shalok, I’ll earn the grudge of his mercenaries and the displeasure of the Golden Idol Guild. Leonora might resort to even more drastic measures... It’s best to just bribe someone like Shalok.’

Whether Shalok could deceive Leonora into thinking he was on the verge of success was crucial, but that was up to him.

Shalok had already been calculating how much he could sell the “next guild head nomination” for.

As soon as he figured out a sum that would let him live comfortably even if he spent his life writing plays that never sold, Shalok nodded with feigned difficulty.

“An unjust contract with evil is annulled before a righteous and noble Paladin. Well, if I can just keep doing what I’ve been doing...”

Trust as a mercenary? Shalok never had any of that to begin with.

Moreover, with the expected sum, he wouldn’t have to do the distasteful work of a mercenary ever again. Although he might have to share it with his troupe members, the risk seemed worth taking.

Had Isaac demanded Shalok outright join his side, he wouldn’t have accepted. But since he could simply continue his current actions without crossing any more lines, there was no reason to refuse.

“I can swear before the Golden Idol, right?”

It was a warning that breaking the contract would bring misfortune: choking on water or breaking one’s nose while sleeping.

Isaac shrugged nonchalantly.

“Go ahead. Just don’t forget that the deal only goes into effect once I reach Odryf.”

Isaac could run off before reaching Odryf, but doing so would only ensure the Golden Idol Guild kept hindering him. Defying the merchants responsible for supplying the expeditionary forces would benefit no one but the enemy.

“Fine. Let’s put on a convincing show, then.”

“Then consider the contract sealed... There’s just one more thing to settle.”

“One more thing?”

As Shalok turned in confusion, Uchiura, the White Tiger Captain, came growling out of the village chief’s front yard.

Despite being bloodied, his muscular build and the intimidating presence typical of a White Tiger Captain remained intact.

Shalok hesitated, taking a step back.

“You need to resolve the conflict with your friend there.”

“Wait, what...?”

Before Shalok could say anything, Uchiura let out a wild roar and charged.

Isaac shoved Shalok forward.

Both Shalok and Uchiura were unarmed, but an orc’s bare hands could easily kill a grown man. If that orc was a White Tiger Captain, it was even more dangerous.

As Isaac pushed him, Shalok stumbled and rolled across the yard, dodging Uchiura’s grasp by a hair’s breadth. Shalok slid past Uchiura, knocking his legs from under him.

The moment Uchiura fell, Shalok sprang up and stabbed his hand into the back of Uchiura’s neck.

The hand that had been empty now wielded a large dagger. Uchiura gurgled blood from the back of his throat before going limp.

He was finally free from his body, returning to his homeland.

“What? I swear I confiscated his weapons...”

Hesabel, who had seized his weapons before bringing him in, looked shocked. Hiding a weapon from an assassin like her was no small feat.

But Isaac, who had half-expected this, was unfazed. Shalok probably had a few more hidden weapons up his sleeve.

Shalok shot Isaac a weary glare before sighing heavily. Then he casually addressed Hesabel.

“A man always carries a sturdy weapon or two.”

“Hmm, something to keep in mind.”

“Hesabel, that’s a sexually inappropriate comment. If he makes another like it, feel free to cut something off.”

Isaac didn’t specify what to cut. Inwardly, he thought to himself, ‘With lines like that, no wonder his plays don’t sell...’

Shalok flinched and averted his gaze.

Nothing was more valuable than life.

After a brief silence, Shalok finally spoke.

“Yeah, 100,000 coins aren’t enough to balance the books.”

“So, what...?”

“I’m going to ask Lady Leonora for a little extra fee.”

Shalok smirked.

Isaac had said he could continue as he was as long as he didn’t cross any lines. That meant he could carry out Leonora’s orders, get paid, and then settle accounts with Isaac afterward.

A business where he could extort money from both sides—nothing could be sweeter.

“You mentioned last time that a skilled Swordmaster from Elil joined, right? I’ll tell them I need some funds to recruit that guy.”

***

Isaac adjusted his course, veering slightly east instead of heading directly to Odryf.

It was a bit of a detour, but not far enough to be inconvenient. Especially since he figured Elil’s forces would be arriving around this time, it was worth checking in.

After crossing a long stretch of snow-covered mountains, a barren wasteland suddenly spread out before him.

Even from the sky, the stench of burning reached his nostrils: the acrid smell of burning crops, wood, and bodies.

Isaac directed Nel to lower their altitude.

The cold wind sliced sharply at his ears. The Galford Mountains blocked the southern moisture, leaving the air dry. Since there was no snow, the horrors were clearly visible.

Soon, Nel landed, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Isaac surveyed the surroundings and frowned. It was a battlefield. There had clearly been a massive battle here, but surprisingly, the bodies were spaced at regular intervals, not piled up as expected.

‘Which means...’

As Isaac dismounted, just as he anticipated, the bodies around him began to twitch and move.

They were dormant zombies.

The zombies, instead of immediately attacking, let out a chorus of screams.

What began as one or two cries soon turned into the roars of dozens, then hundreds, echoing through the wasteland. Feeling annoyed, Isaac cut down one of the nearby zombies.

‘Siren Zombies.’

These were corpses captured by the Immortal Order and planted as a kind of living minefield. Their role was simple: rise when the living approached, alert the surroundings, and attack. There were hundreds of them scattered across this wasteland.

‘Which means there are living people nearby.’

Where there were alarm systems, there were intruders.

“Ooooooo!”

The zombies continued to howl as they charged. Isaac pulled out the Luadin Key, which was more effective against undead than Kaldwin.

The flickering blaze from the Luadin Key’s blade cut through the zombies like straw.

The flames emanating from the Luadin Key spread rapidly, consuming the zombies like a living creature, biting and burning them.

From somewhere beyond the horde, a scream echoed.

In the middle of the wasteland, a lone shack was under assault by the zombies. Whoever was inside seemed to have been hiding from the Siren Zombies, only to be attacked when Isaac triggered them.

The shack, which looked ready to collapse at any moment, drew Isaac’s attention. He signaled to Nel.

“Krrrraaaa!”

Nel inhaled deeply and unleashed a bolt of lightning. Half of the zombie horde crumbled under the lightning’s impact, unable to withstand its power. Isaac sprinted along the newly formed path.

As he burst through the door, another scream rang out. Inside, ragged people, looking like defeated stragglers, huddled together. A pitchfork jabbed toward Isaac, but it couldn’t even scratch his armor.

“A... A Paladin?”

One of them finally recognized him and spoke up. Just as Isaac was about to suggest they leave the zombies behind and escape, he noticed a man dressed in a priest’s robe hiding in the back.

Isaac immediately recognized who it was.

“Ciero?”

Read Next 30 Chapters Here – /Akaza156