## Chapter 730 – Paladin Kim Kat

The maid inside brought tea, and after a brief greeting with the lord, I sat down on the sofa opposite him.

The tea was black tea.

Well, shit, I don’t know much about tea, so I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. So, I just blabbered about how delicious it was and got to the point.

“I am deeply grateful to the Great Temple for sending a paladin directly like this. So, your arrival means…”
“It is to discuss this matter with you, Lord.”
“Discuss.”

We needed to discuss how to proceed with this matter.

“First, I must confirm, Lord. Is it true that you requested assistance from the Great Temple in exchange for building a church and making donations?”
“That’s right. You’ve come knowing very accurately.”

The lord nodded confidently as he answered.

“As I wrote in the letter, I cannot move the troops at the moment. Moreover, even the mercenary band that was quite famous around here has been crushed, and other mercenaries are refusing requests.”

ㅡSlurp.

He took a sip of black tea as if he was thirsty and continued his explanation.

“…Incidents of missing persons and the discovery of gruesome corpses are increasing in the villages under my jurisdiction. Even the adventurers have given up… As you know, this is not a large territory, so I don’t have any knights. I only have personal guards.”

The royal family has the Royal Knights, but most nobles do not have a group that can be called a ‘knighthood.’ The salaries alone are incredibly expensive.

At most, they would hire a few individuals.

Even Lord Isvant did not have a knighthood.

It seemed this lord didn’t even have personally hired knights. Even if he did, it would have been difficult to use them at this time.

“But it’s not something you can use those personal guards for.”
“Indeed.”

After considering various factors, he judged that it was impossible to resolve the situation with the current forces and conditions in the territory. So, he decided to send an SOS call to strengthen ties with the church on this occasion.

“And… I have always been very interested in the doctrines of the Brass Celestial Angel Church. If you, Paladin, can resolve this matter well, I will fulfill the conditions without hesitation.”
“Yes. I understand.”

I nodded.

“The Saintess sent me here to confirm your intentions, and if those intentions are still valid, to accept the task and resolve it.”

The lord vowed that if I just solved the problem, he would fulfill the conditions he had set. Well, then I could believe him. Lying to me would be the same as lying to the Saintess.

He wasn’t someone you couldn’t reason with.
He was someone who acted according to his promises.

In fact, there was no reason to lie to the church in such a small territory.

“Since you have said that you will work hard for the development of our church, I, as the Saintess’s paladin, must help you.”
“Ah… That’s a relief. Thank you so much.”

As I spoke, the lord leaned back on the sofa as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Hehehe, it’s all thanks to your virtue, Lord.”
“Hahaha, you flatter me.”

He leaned back for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up as he looked at me and asked.

“By the way… Paladin, are you from Mirkesha?”
“As you can see. The Brass Celestial Angel Church values an individual’s character more than the perception spread among the public. That’s why I was appointed despite being from a barbarian background.”

It would be unusual.

There were still territories that were causing friction with the Mirkesha nomadic tribes. Battles often occurred in areas bordering their territory.

“Is there something that concerns you?”
“No, it’s not that. I just felt a sense of goodwill because you’re from Mirkesha. You certainly look strong.”
“Goodwill?”
“My late father participated in the occupation of a mine discovered in the nomads’ land and contracted a disease. He wasn’t a very good person, but he eventually succumbed to the illness and passed away. It was because he was weakened by a poison used by the nomads.”

Then shouldn’t you feel dislike instead of goodwill, you son of a bitch?

Are you crazy?

“No, but you’re saying you feel goodwill?”
“Hahaha. You say that because you don’t know about my late father. He was definitely not a good person. So, after my father passed away, my perception of the nomads improved.”

I couldn’t say anything bad about someone else’s father, so I just gave an appropriate answer.

Well, if you have inherited wealth, you might have wished for your father, who was a scoundrel, to die.

Anyway, let’s change the subject.

“The discussion about the church construction will proceed after I resolve this matter and report to the Great Temple. Is that alright?”
“I understand.”

With this, the story about the church construction was roughly over.

As if to prove it, the lord handed me several prepared confirmation documents. All of them had the lord’s seal on them.

After properly checking the documents, I put them in my pocket.

“Lord, do you have any information about the monster?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve gathered as much as I could.”

He handed me the documents about that as well.

“I first became aware of this matter after receiving reports that violent incidents were abnormally increasing in the rural villages.”

The lord’s face was serious.

“The villages are a bit remote, and there are monsters in the surrounding mountains and forests, but it’s not normal for the damage to be this severe. There are no monsters left in this area that could massacre farmers on a large scale. At most, stray monsters that have wandered in from outside attack travelers because they can’t overcome their hunger.”

Damage from monsters wasn’t completely absent, but violent incidents had recently increased abnormally.

“Of course, the Adventurers’ Guild conducted an investigation first. But many casualties occurred there.”

The adventurer system seemed slightly different in this area and Isvant. In that area, there were plenty of jobs and plenty of poor people, so the concentration of idiots in the adventurer profession was very high, but not here.

“The problem wasn’t solved, and violent incidents continued to occur, but I couldn’t rashly move the soldiers… So I commissioned the Bucklen Mercenary Band, which was quite famous nearby. But I heard they were completely crushed.”

Although they were a renowned mercenary band, they were said to be quite small.

Still, they had a reputation, but they were all crushed.

“There was one survivor from that mercenary band, and according to his testimony, a monster with silver fur slaughtered all the mercenaries. He said he had never seen such a monster in his life. He was so shocked that he couldn’t even remember properly.”

Silver fur?

Was there a monster with silver fur?

Could he have mistaken it for white? Then was it a Sasquatch? I recalled the Sasquatch I had fought last winter. A muscular beast that was three heads taller than a person, even with its hunched back. A Sasquatch alone could massacre a large number of ordinary residents, but a mercenary band, well…

Above all, it didn’t make sense in terms of region or climate. There was a chance it was a Sasquatch, but I thought it was a different monster.

“Hmm… If it’s a mercenary, they would have experienced all sorts of things, but they were crushed like that.”
“That’s right. That’s one of the reasons why I can’t spare the troops.”
“I see. It would be troublesome if the soldiers died even if they caught the monster.”
“Exactly.”

The lord, nodding, took out a map and handed it to me.

“Here, this is a map with the damage situation recorded. It will be helpful for tracking. The area circled in red is where the mercenary band was annihilated.”
“Thank you. This will be a great help.”

As expected of a lord, he had taken care of the basic tasks.

If he could have moved the army, he would have solved it all long ago. No matter how strong the mercenary band was, they weren’t very numerous. He said it was a small-scale mercenary band.

If the lord’s army had stepped in, they would have solved it for sure. Of course, there would have been many casualties.

“Then I will visit you after handling the matter. Whatever it is, I will bring back the head of that ‘silver-furred’ monster.”

All I had to do was catch and kill that bastard.

“Oh, you are truly trustworthy!”

The lord clapped his knees and expressed his joy.

“But now that I hear it, I’m curious about your exact skills, Paladin… Ah, no strange intentions. I’m just curious about how strong a warrior you are.”

He was curious about how strong I was?

“If it’s not too much to ask, could you show me your skills?”

It wasn’t difficult.

“Lord, do you happen to have something like a blade?”
“I have a letter opener now… Don’t tell me?”

I immediately took the letter opener and took a serious stance. After taking a stance, what should I do? Release the mana within my body to the outside.

ㅡTsupat!

Create sword ki.

“S, Sword Aura!!!”

Blue sword ki wrapped around the small letter opener. The lord, seeing it, widened his eyes and shouted in surprise. Sword ki users were not common. Even a noble would be surprised.

“You are an amazing master…! It will be resolved quickly!”
“Hehehe, it’s only natural.”

ㅡTsuzut.

I immediately extinguished the sword ki and returned the letter opener.

“Then, Lord, I will visit you soon.”
“I understand!”

After hearing a few more words of encouragement, I left the lord’s castle. As I was about to leave, a servant approached and brought the Vugal I had submitted before entering the castle.

I immediately wore it on my waist and headed to the inn.
I had to pack my bags and leave right away.

It was still morning anyway. Seeing that incidents were continuing to occur meant that the monster had not left this area, at least.

A monster that couldn’t annihilate a small mercenary band and left behind survivors?

I wouldn’t do that.

There was no way the monster did it on purpose, so it must have made a mistake or lacked the skill. If it was that level, I could definitely catch and devour it.

Anyway, even if I just searched today, if I found it, I was confident that I could cut it down on the spot.

That’s how I arrived at the inn. There was no need to bring all my luggage. I only packed food and filled the water bottle, then extended my stay and left.

My destination was the forest where the mercenary band was annihilated.

* * *

The forest was simply called ‘Dark Forest.’

It was a deep and large forest, and it was called that because it was so dense and dark. One of its characteristics was that there was a path running through the forest, and merchants and travelers would cross it in groups.

ㅡ…

Of course, there wasn’t a single sign of people in that forest now.

Naturally, no one would be brave enough to use such a path after hearing that the mercenary band had been annihilated. Even if there were, they would all be dead already.

Anyway, there were villages around this large forest, and the damage to those villages was said to be quite significant. In all likelihood, the monster hiding in this forest was moving around and committing murders.

“What a fucking bitch.”

First, I was going to try to find the area marked on the map, near where the mercenary band was annihilated. Even though it was marked on the map, it wasn’t accurate.

The annotation said it was marked based on the survivor’s testimony.

ㅡThud, thud.

The forest was eerily silent.
The air was cold and humid.

Because it rained yesterday.

Even though I was walking alone on this dark and ominous forest path, I didn’t feel much fear.

“Hehehe.”

What I was holding in my hand now was none other than my true friend and holy sword, the Hwalin Sword. Because it was Vugal. A trustworthy comrade. And with my close childhood friend together, there was nothing to fear.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeek…!!!”

Rather, I felt like I was consumed by destructive desires…! The Paladin will not forgive the bug that is harming the villagers!!!!!!!!

ㅡWhirr!

My body was already starting to heat up. The endless fighting spirit and anger were rising up my feet every time I took a step.

ㅡLehu…!

My breath was hot. I felt like flames were spewing out of a car’s exhaust pipe.

My mind was elevated, and my senses were expanded.

The surging mana was making my body strong…!

“Dejaaaaaat…!”

Was it because I hadn’t had a chance to swing my sword to my heart’s content lately? Certainly, since I slaughtered the lizardmen last time, I hadn’t fought by unleashing everything. The fulfillment of suppressed desires was approaching! I realized that an inhuman desire to destroy, to kill something, was filling my heart…!

As I kept a close watch on my surroundings and traversed the forest, something caught my eye.

Was that it?

When I got closer, it was a pile of corpses. Looking at it, it seemed these guys were the mercenaries who had been annihilated.

“What the fuck.”

The corpses were almost all skeletons already. It was only natural since time had passed while they were left abandoned in the deep forest.

But there were no signs that anyone had taken their equipment.
Did no one come because of the rumors about the monster?

It seemed like people in this town were smarter than I thought. If this was near Isvant or Krasheim, there would be a truckload of ruffians risking their lives to grab the equipment of these corpses and make a fortune, monster or not.

As expected, the people’s tendencies were different from the outskirts.

“Hmm.”

But… the condition of the equipment was all strange.

“…What the fucker did this?”

The mercenaries’ armor, the iron breastplates, were all ‘torn’ into three pieces. As if some monster with huge claws had torn them apart with a Sanhon Cheoljo.

And the condition of the skeletons wasn’t good either.
They were all smashed, broken, or torn.

A monster with great strength and sharp claws?

And silver fur?

What could it be?