Chapter 66: The Traitor (1)

"Executioner Gamal!"

Dionisio shouted urgently.

"Sir Sanus! What are you doing!"

"Dionisio~ Calm down~."

Sanus spoke in a still relaxed tone.

"The one who attacked first was Gamal~ We were resting with our Order's Paladins when~ Gamal attacked from hiding~."

"Don't spout nonsense! Why would Executioner Gamal do such a thing!"

"I don't know. Only Gamal would know, wouldn't he?"

Dionisio looked at Gamal with trembling eyes. Gamal shouted at Sanus.

"Dionisio! Don't believe it. Sanus... cough!"

Sanus tightened his grip on Gamal's neck, causing him to spit blood.

"Executioner!"

Dionisio shouted in panic and tried to rush forward.

But the Radiant Pain Paladins blocked his path.

"Don't come any closer. You might be in cahoots with Gamal."

"There must be some misunderstanding. Why would Executioner Gamal ambush Sir Sanus!"

"Misunderstanding? Several of our Order's Paladins almost died. Can you still call it a misunderstanding?"

Sanus's words made Dionisio bite his lip.

"...Then, please arrest me and the Executioner. We will receive a fair trial at the headquarters!"

"That's difficult~ We are in a dangerous place now~ We can't leave any loose ends~."

Sanus, still holding Gamal, lifted his axe. Just as Dionisio was about to leap in shock,

"Did you say Sir Gamal ambushed you?"

Demian, who had been quietly observing the situation, asked Sanus.

"Yes~ That's right~."

"Did you subdue him, Sir Sanus?"

"Yes~."

"That's quite impressive for someone who was ambushed."

An ambush is usually advantageous for the attacker over the defender.

Moreover, Gamal was a 2nd-class Paladin like Sanus. If Gamal had attacked, Sanus should have suffered significant injuries.

Even if not, the surroundings should have been in chaos.

"Could it be the opposite?"

At Demian's question, Sanus smiled.

"Oh, you're not fooled~."

* * *

"Sir Sanus, what do you mean by that?"

Dionisio asked in a trembling voice. Sanus replied nonchalantly.

"What do you mean? I ambushed Sir Gamal first~ I planned to subdue both of you after making you let your guard down~ But it didn't work~."

Dionisio's eyes narrowed with intensity.

"Why would you do such a thing...!"

"Oh, I don't have any grudge against Gamal~ It's all to carry out the will of the gods~."

Dionisio's brows furrowed at the incomprehensible words.

"Our headquarters has become too weak. Just look at the recent incident at the jousting tournament. The headquarters only interrogated and released the participating nobles. It's truly deplorable."

"That's natural since the interrogation is over..."

"Exactly, that's what's deplorable."

Sanus sighed and shook his head.

"In the old days, the headquarters would start by cutting off the fingers of the participants. They would burn anyone who seemed suspicious. People only reveal the truth under pain."

The once fanatical order had surprisingly become more lenient.

There was a time when they burned an entire village because they couldn't find a hidden heretic.

"Our Radiant Pain has always been troubled by this. That's why we plan to return to the old ways."

"What does that have to do with attacking Executioner Gamal!"

"It does. To achieve our plan, our Radiant Pain must become the core of the headquarters. We must stand above other sects."

The best way to weaken a sect is to kill a promising Paladin who could lead the future.

Coincidentally, this expedition included not only the Radiant Pain's Paladins but also Gamal and Dionisio, disciples of Black Snow.

"...So you're trying to kill the Executioner for such a reason!"

"Can't you understand? It doesn't matter. I can't understand you either."

Sanus released Gamal, who fell weakly to the ground.

"So, this is what happens. Since we can't understand each other, the only thing left is bloodshed, right?"

Sanus raised his axe high.

"Executioner Gamal!"

Unable to contain his emotions, Dionisio charged at Sanus.

The Radiant Pain Paladins blocked his path.

"Move out of the way!"

Dionisio swung his spear, but a Radiant Pain Paladin blocked it with a shield.

At that moment, a light burst from the shield.

"Ugh!"

Dionisio was thrown back. He fell to the ground, spitting blood.

"Don't resist. For today, our Radiant Pain has opened the armory."

The force that sent Dionisio flying was not a Paladin's skill.

The shield itself emitted a shockwave, sending Dionisio flying.

"Demian... run...!"

Dionisio, spitting blood, said.

"Equipped with high-level holy relics...! Even you can't win...!"

Dionisio used his spear as a support to struggle to his feet.

"I'll hold them off here! You go and join the Burning Ones... Gah!"

Demian kicked Dionisio's foot. Dionisio lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"What are you doing!"

"What can you hold off when you can't even stand...? Sit there and treat your wounds."

Demian stepped forward. Sanus, surprised, asked him.

"Are you really going to oppose us?"

"Since you won't let us go anyway. If I escape and tell other Paladins about your betrayal, it will be troublesome for you."

Demian replied bluntly. Sanus laughed.

"The more I see, the more I feel it's a waste. Sir Demian, why don't you join our Radiant Pain? Then I'll spare you."

Demian, in response, drew his holy sword.

Sanus sighed regretfully at the clear rejection.

"Kill him. Don't underestimate his strength."

The Paladin who had sent Dionisio flying charged at Demian.

Demian swung his sword at the Paladin, who sneered and raised his shield.

The holy sword and shield collided. In the next moment, the blade of the holy sword pierced the shield.

The shield split without resistance, as if a red-hot blade had cut through cheese.

The body of the Paladin holding the shield also split in two. Crimson blood poured onto the ground.

"..."

"..."

Everyone present wore expressions of incomprehension.

A knight using aura can cut through steel plates in one stroke.

But this was not an ordinary shield but a holy relic. It was an item that wouldn't even show a scratch if hit by an ogre.

"You were too careless. You shouldn't underestimate aura."

Careless?

Could anyone have expected a holy relic shield to split?

Can it be called carelessness to not anticipate such a thing?

"Are you just going to watch?"

Demian asked, looking at the other two. The two Paladins gritted their teeth and shouted.

"O God! I offer this battle to you!"

"We are the executors of God's wrath!"

The two Radiant Pain Paladins swung their weapons at Demian.

Just before the weapons reached him, Demian disappeared from their sight. He was already behind the two Paladins.

"Wh...?"

"Wh...?"

Bloodlines appeared on their necks. Their heads fell to the ground. The headless bodies staggered and fell.

A 3rd-class Paladin of the sect was felled in one stroke. It seemed they didn't even realize they were being attacked.

"You...?"

At this incomprehensible scene, Sanus came to a conclusion.

"You're not a Low-Class."

"Obviously not."

In response to Sanus's question, Demian replied nonchalantly.

"You said you betrayed to carry out the will of the gods?"

"It's not betrayal, but rather..."

"Whatever you call it, it's still betrayal."

Demian cut off Sanus's words.

"Still, I must thank the gods. Thanks to you, I discovered the traitor quickly."

In his previous life, it was clear that the Radiant Pain had betrayed.

The Radiant Pain probably thought they could handle the situation among themselves.

They had sent a 2nd-class Paladin and opened the sect's armory to equip with high-level holy relics.

However, as the result showed, this was a huge miscalculation.

"Disgusting. Don't belittle our resolve with words like betrayal."

"If you can't understand, don't do it. I have no intention of convincing you."

Demian summoned his mana. Aura enveloped the surface of his holy sword.

"Are you really going to fight me?"

"I'm a bit of a coward. If I let a traitor live, I'll keep feeling uneasy."

Sanus chuckled in response.

"I agree."

A massive divine power erupted from Sanus's body.

* * *

"How much do you know about the Radiant Pain?"

The divine power Sanus emitted was like the sun. It was so bright and hot that standing nearby was unbearable.

"The Radiant Pain can enhance anything. Simply put, it can enhance physical abilities like strength, agility, and endurance... and more deeply, it can enhance the sturdiness of armor and the sharpness of weapons."

It was impossible to know.

Demian recalled his memories of fighting the Radiance, one of the Five Great Saints during his Death Knight days.

The Radiance had 'enhanced' gravity to crush thousands of undead.

"The Radiant Pain's power can be stacked. The higher the level, the more times it can be stacked."

Sanus placed the edge of his axe slightly above the ground. A loud noise followed, and the floor cracked.

The enhanced sharpness and weight of the weapon alone produced such power.

"How many times do you think I can stack it?"

"About ten times?"

"Thirty times."

Sanus's body disappeared. The sound of air exploding was heard, and he was already in front of Demian.

Sanus swung his axe down. Demian leaped backward.

The moment the axe struck the ground, thousands of cracks appeared. The ground and the surrounding walls shattered completely.

The brute force left Demian speechless.

'With the Flow Insight, I can't even dream of deflecting this.'

The Flow Insight, a level of Sword Mastery, could twist the trajectory of an attack.

However, the more powerful the opponent's attack, the more mana it consumed. Demian's mana was not enough to deflect Sanus's attack.

"Surprised?~"

Sanus said, looking surprised. Meanwhile, he continued to swing his axe at Demian.

Demian dodged the axe instead of blocking it. Blocking such an attack would be suicidal.

"Did you just reach the Middle-Class?~"

Currently, Sanus had enhanced his physical abilities dozens of times.

Thus, all his attacks were terrifyingly fast