Chapter 226
Episode 73: Murakan’s Benefactor (Part 2)
It was a relief that there were only two of them. That meant they could be subdued the same way as before.
Swoosh!
The moment the paladin in front of them reflexively drew his sword, Quikantel’s fist struck his face first. Crack! The helmet crumpled inward, blood splattered, and the man collapsed, trembling in unconsciousness.
Kuzan didn’t hesitate either. He jabbed at the seam of the armor, paralyzing the other opponent.
“So, you took down four paladins as soon as you arrived,” Kuzan remarked.
“If anyone heard that, they’d get the wrong idea, Quikantel,” Jin said, hiding the fallen paladins in the drainage ditch. They looked like corpses but weren’t dead.
Fortunately, just inside the side gate, there wasn’t a single person. The city center had already been sealed off to prevent civilians from leaving.
The three of them moved silently forward. They had to reach the city streets and confirm news about Murakan as soon as possible.
A little further inside the gate, many patrolling paladins were visible. As Jet had reported, there were no troops from the Shol Principality—only members of the Doctrine Guardians’ Dawn, an extremist and authoritarian faction.
Jin and his companions were able to slip through the center unnoticed not only because of their skill but also because the streets were noisy and chaotic.
Buildings were burning and collapsing from the fires Kadun had left behind.
The air was thick with wails and cries. “Oh no, oh no…” People who had lost family and friends in the battle were collapsed on every street, weeping uncontrollably.
Uncollected corpses were scattered about. Paladins, their eyes cold behind their helmets, tossed bodies onto carts.
All of them.
No, every single corpse was charred beyond recognition—blackened remains of the dead.
So far, there was no sign of spiritual energy being used.
“This is horrific,” Jin muttered.
“Kadun and the fire dragons don’t care about humans to begin with. Unless you’re someone special, you’re just an insect to them. Most dragons see humans as inferior creatures, but fire dragons are especially disdainful,” Quikantel explained.
But could Murakan be completely blameless for these corpses?
As that thought crossed Jin’s mind, Quikantel seemed to read it and added, “At least he’s not the type to slaughter humans indiscriminately for no reason.”
Jin gave a wry smile instead of answering.
The deeper they went, the more corpses they saw. Some places had piles of bodies surrounded by priests chanting requiems.
By rough estimate, at least five thousand had died. For a city the size of Santel, this was practically a massacre—more than half the population wiped out.
But it wasn’t just the dead.
There were also many wounded, groaning and screaming without respite. Healers from Vankela, known as “saints,” were desperately tending to them.
Yet not all saints were focused on healing.
That was what made the group uneasy.
“Sir Gongja, doesn’t the atmosphere in the city feel… off?” Jin asked quietly.
Quikantel nodded in agreement, watching the saints closely. Some weren’t healing but delivering sermons.
“Out on the plains before the city, the fire dragons are still battling monsters. But good and gentle people, the messengers of heaven have come, so do not fear or despair…”
“The hateful monsters who killed our parents, brothers, sisters, and children will soon be slain by the fire dragons! Let us all pray that the gods watch over the dragons…”
The claim that fighting was still ongoing on the plains was a lie. Jin and his companions had just passed through that area and entered the city.
Outside, there were only a few reporters and paladins blocking them.
Yet the civilians crouched before the saints seemed to believe every word.
“Let us pray!”
“Ahhh!”
Some were even moved to collapse by the saints’ absurd incitement.
On one side, saints were healing; on the other, they were stirring up the less injured. The city was tightly sealed off. The Vankela contingent was blatantly playing a predictable game.
But the civilians weren’t fools for falling for the saints’ manipulation.
In the midst of shock and grief from losing loved ones, they were being brainwashed by the saints’ unique “persuasion magic.”
Though the saints claimed it was divine power, most mages, including Jin, knew it was a form of mind magic.
Similar to ancient mental magic, persuasion magic was mainly used for sermons and proselytizing.
The faint yellow glow in the saints’ eyes was proof the magic was active.
“Both the dead and the living are bound by the power of prayer, so we shall not be alone! Those who have fulfilled their mission will find peace…”
Persuasion magic was useless against strong-willed individuals but could easily deceive civilians in shock.
“The current king must have strictly forbidden the use of persuasion magic by saints, yet they’re all using it,” Jin observed.
King Miklan had publicly declared that any saint using persuasion magic would be labeled a heretic.
Though it had been tolerated out of convenience and tradition, persuasion magic clearly violated the doctrines and ideals of the holy kingdom.
“This is incitement to blame the massacre Kadun committed on the monsters. If Murakan really was a monster, I don’t think Kadun caught him,” Quikantel said.
“I agree, Quikantel. If he had been caught, there’d be no reason for all this chaos,” Jin added.
The monster presumed to be Murakan had fled, and Kadun, in his haste to pursue, hadn’t retrieved the fires he’d set in the city.
Jin and Quikantel simultaneously deduced the same thing. If Murakan had been caught, Kadun would have collected the fires and might even have been celebrated as a hero by Jiple.
“We need to find out why they’re helping Jiple, even if it means defying the king’s orders.”
From the evidence so far, Vankela was no longer a neutral country.
They were using forbidden persuasion magic to aid Jiple—a move that would require state approval.
But for now, finding Murakan was the priority.
“Let’s look for a chance to talk to some civilians. We just need to confirm if the monster is definitely Murakan, then leave.”
Finding an opportunity to approach civilians was harder than expected. Talking to those caught up in the incitement was pointless and might even get them reported to the saints as suspicious.
Just as they were about to move on, a paladin approached a saint ahead of them, whispered something, and quickly walked away.
“Good and gentle people! We’ve just received a report that a treacherous group has infiltrated the city. If you see anyone suspicious, please alert our messengers immediately.”
The patrolling paladins’ behavior changed. Until now, they’d only watched the main roads for fleeing civilians, but now they began checking alleys and between buildings.
Jin’s group quickly left and tried to find civilians they could talk to.
But everywhere they looked, there were paladins, saints, or mages putting out fires. Not a single civilian was apart from them.
The biggest problem was that the number of paladins stationed in Santel far exceeded their expectations.
“Damn, the streets are swarming with paladins. How many are there? At this rate, hiding won’t last long, Jin.”
“This is what we expected when we broke through the side gate, but it’s still exhausting.”
Creak… Boom! Creak…
From afar, the double locks on all the city gates slammed shut.
The paladins on the streets shouted to each other as they ran, and the saints led the civilians away somewhere.
“Here!”
As they turned a corner, a paladin spotted them and shouted.
The blazing fires and chaotic atmosphere had helped conceal them until now.
But their senses were dulled compared to usual. Even with Jin’s keen sight, amidst this chaos, he couldn’t precisely detect the energy of hundreds of people nearby.
That’s why they failed to change direction before running into the paladin at the alley’s bend.
Behind the shouting paladin were about five more. True to their role as Doctrine Guardians and heresy judges, they quickly blew horns and fired signal flares to announce they’d found their target.
“Drop your weapons and kneel!”
If there had been fifty or more, or a captain among them, Jin’s group would have had to fight carefully.
But five second-class knights from the Dawn were no match. Quikantel and Kuzan each took two to subdue, while Jin drew Sigmund.
Crack!
Before the five paladins could even grab him, Jin unleashed a volley of lightning. Since their position was already revealed by the horns and flares, it was better to quickly take them out and move on.
Within five seconds, ten bolts of lightning struck down four of them.
Jin intended to subdue all five. The one who dodged the lightning was clearly skilled—probably the first time facing the Sword of the Underworld, yet he moved calmly.
That meant he was a formidable opponent by Jin’s standards.
But for some reason, that paladin hadn’t drawn his sword.
The moment Jin and his group appeared, the other four immediately drew their swords and shouted, but he alone didn’t react as expected.
Just as Quikantel and Kuzan were about to charge at the paladin together—
“Wait, wait a moment!”
Suddenly, the paladin raised both arms. It was an unbelievable gesture for a member of the Doctrine’s Dawn, the most fanatical faction within Vankela.
“What is it?”
“I am Lani Salome, a second-class knight of the Doctrine’s Dawn. From what I see, you don’t seem like heretics.”
“What?”
“You’re not heretics, right? Please answer me.”
The sudden question caught them off guard.
But the eyes behind the helmet were so serious that Jin simply nodded.
“I never draw my sword against those who aren’t heretics. And you… you’re connected to the Black Dragon who fought that mad Fire Dragon, aren’t you?”
Jin’s eyes widened.
The paladin who identified herself as Lani didn’t call them ‘monsters’—she used the term ‘Black Dragon.’ And the phrase ‘mad Fire Dragon’ carried a strong hostility toward Kadun.
Clack, clack, clack—!
From a nearby alley, the sound of more paladins’ footsteps echoed. In a few seconds, they would reach the alley where they stood.
“Follow me for now. If my comrades catch you, you won’t survive.”