Raising Paladins

Episode 92. strike back (2)

After a while.

The place where there used to be a fishman tent village.

The place had turned into an advance base for the sea lizard clan.

It was thanks to Carl’s insistence that we should establish a base and always be vigilant to avoid being invaded again.

The place where the prisoners were confined became a nest for livestock saved from Derdrang, and after burning all the stinky tents, a simple nest for the clan to stay was prepared in its place.

And finally.

On the road leading to the coast, watchtowers and guard posts were built to prepare for invasion, and stone walls were built by digging rocks from the cliffs.

A job Carl had done countless times in his previous life.

In less than 15 days, the stone citadel was quickly completed.

Carl’s party and the leadership of the sea lizard clan were having a meeting in the center of the fort.

“It’s just that they’ve just taken their place, and it’s not quite over yet.”

“That’s right, this fight will only end when you cut down the fishman’s head.”

“But aren’t they deep-sea fish people? Priest Carl and the others cannot go there.”

Carl nodded.

The deep sea where even the sea lizard family cannot stay for long.

Even with gill hermit crabs, the temperature of the deep sea and the fear of the unknown are not something humans can handle.

I don’t know if Carl can complete the silver heart he achieved in his previous life.

It was difficult now.

“Maybe their base is somewhere other than the deep sea.”

These were the words of the liberator who had been listening silently.

The head of the clan narrowed their eyes.

“What do you mean, Darnar-Crete?”

“I must have lived in the deep sea in the past. But for some reason, they’ve come closer to the surface. Their raid on our clan happened recently and suddenly. Shouldn’t we investigate that part?”

“Um… … .”

Everyone nodded their heads at the reasonable argument.

“I… … May I say something?”

Tira raised her hand and said cautiously.

Everyone gathered here looked like a student taking a class with a scary teacher named Tira.

The liberator encouraged Tira.

“Miss Tira is the benefactor of our clan. Feel free to say anything.”

“hehehe, then… … .”

Tira gained courage and continued.

“It keeps bothering me that the fish people kept the children. One of the children I treated did this, and he said he kept mixing something with food. Even the kids don’t know what it is.”

“You mean food?”

“Yes, I heard it was like purple powder, but it was tasteless and odorless.”

“for a moment.”

Carl’s expression, which he had been listening to, was not good.

“Can you bring the child?”

“Now?”

“Yes, it is urgent.”

“yes!”

Tira quickly left the meeting room.

***

“to… … .”

A small sea lizard holding Tira’s hand and following her.

The child was a little frightened when he saw the adults in the meeting room.

Tira said as she gently stroked the child’s head.

“It’s okay, just do what you said when you were with your sister.”

nod

Tira brought the child in and sat her on her lap.

Then Carl asked the child.

“Can you tell me about the purple powder you gave to Tira?”

The child started talking.

They gave me something to eat once a day, and they gave me purple powder mixed with it.

It didn’t taste like anything, but after eating it, I felt sick to my stomach for some reason.

The fish-man who sprinkled it on food was a very old fish-man, but he said that after giving a meal, he disappeared and returned only for the next meal.

“Then there is a high probability that you did not participate in this battle.”

The fish-men who were decapitated by the sword and clan are all young warriors with good strength.

The clan nodded.

“You said you had something to show your sister.”

Tira pet the child again.

Then the child hesitated a little and took out a small marble from his pocket.

The color is a dark purple.

However, it was not a perfect bead shape because a part of it was ground out.

Carl, who received it, asked the child.

“Where did you get this?”

“… … I picked it up.”

“Did you sprinkle this on your friends’ food?”

nod, nod

As the child nodded, Carl glanced at Tira.

“Let’s go outside and play with my sister. Call your friends too.”

“huh!”

After Tira took the child out.

Carl said to his family with a serious face.

“These are scary guys. This isn’t something a fish-man could do… … .”

“What is it?”

Carl placed a purple orb in the middle of the conference table.

Then he pulled out the steel sword and slashed it down with all his might with the handle.

Kwajik!

The orb was destroyed at once, revealing what was in the depths.

It was a very small, but bizarre-looking bug.

It’s so dry that it’s hard to tell if it’s alive or dead.

At first glance, it looked like a shell left behind by an insect.

“This is a parasite that hides in the brains of fish-men and sucks their blood and brains. Her name is Frichinella.”

“Hey, did you say parasite?”

“Yes, the special thing about it is that warlocks use it to dominate other races. These pricinellas infiltrate the brains of their subjects and control their thoughts. This is made by hardening the larvae of Prichinella with black magic.”

“Then please… … !”

“you’re right. By feeding the powder of this medicine to the children, little by little, they were creating an environment suitable for the growth of Frechinella. Sea lizards are smaller and weaker than fish people, so it is difficult to settle down right away. In other words, the place where the young captives were confined would have been a reserve breeding ground for Frichinella.”

“… … !”

“… … !”

“… … !”

Everyone was shocked.

In particular, the face of the liberator was very pale.

A hot rage boiled over between that paleness.

“Ugly bastards… … ! Then shouldn’t we treat the children right away?”

“It is not. To create a cultureable environment, you have to constantly feed the powder, but that’s gone in vain. It will probably come out naturally.”

“Ahh… … What a relief!”

The liberator sighed in relief.

“The problem is that there is a high probability that the fishmen are also being controlled by someone through Frichinella. It’s like the sudden attempt to invade a place closer to the ground.”

“You’re saying this may not be a problem exclusive to our clan, Carl.”

“Someone or organization hiding behind like a shadow dominates the fish-men with excellent fighting power. With it, he tried to feed the sea lizard clan with parasites to enslave them. Where will you be next?”

“Derdrang!”

Everyone shouted at the same time.

“Obviously. Fishmen are good at fighting, but living far from the sea is difficult. However, the sea lizard clan can invade cities on the coastal cliffs. If that succeeds, Derd and the people will become hosts again.”

“It’s a plan to eat away at the empire step by step… … . But who the hell could do such a thing? As far as I know, I heard that warlocks mostly disappeared 200 years ago.”

“Not all are dead. Most were destroyed, but some managed to escape. They were branded traitors even within the Lich King’s army for not defending the Lich King to the end. but… … .”

A black magician came to Carl’s mind.

A guy whose specialty was bewitching and manipulating opponents with a captivating smile.

There were even soldiers who fled from the Legion because of her beauty.

However, the nature hidden behind that beautiful appearance is unmatched.

“There were many warlocks who blindly followed the Lich King. Some of them also survived the Last War. It’s probably the Lich King’s hand in preparing for the future. When he comes back, then he can raise a new army.”

“that… … .”

“One of them may have settled near Derdrang. You must find it even if you have to search all the nearby cliff caves. Do you have any doubts?”

The liberators and the leadership fell into trouble for a while.

Then a lizard spoke.

“After the fish-man invasion began, our clan’s living radius was drastically reduced. Originally, I used to go out to distant seas to collect fish and algae, but that became difficult. I think we should start a new investigation.”

“Then it will take a long time.”

The coastal cliffs near Derdrang are vast.

In the meantime, it would take a lot of time to investigate all the hidden caves, and if you split up and go out to investigate and run into fishmen, each one could be destroyed.

It was quite difficult.

‘At least Meisa and Hanson should be mixed.’

It wouldn’t matter if Carl’s unit ran into fishmen, but if not, Hanson or Meisa would have to be there.

said Carl, who had made up his mind.

“Me, Hanson, and Maysa from now on. These three people will lead three teams. We will investigate the suspicious cliff cave one by one. It will take a long time, but we can’t give up. Instead, only two teams go out to investigate, and one team will definitely be here at the outpost. The fish-men may attack again while we are out investigating.”

“All right. Then we will gather our warriors.”

“Please be warriors who are fast on their feet and are knowledgeable about the surrounding geography.”

“yes.”

After the conclusion of today’s meeting, the party and the lizards moved quickly.

***

“Godmother.”

Godmother Crena was watching the sunset outside the window.

He stared at Bailey as he entered.

“I heard the news. I heard you defeated some of the fish people?”

“It is.”

“That priest named Carl seems like a really great person. As well as his swordsmanship, he is a natural leader who sees the situation on the battlefield broadly and gives appropriate instructions.”

“That’s what I saw too. He is truly a talent that only appears once in hundreds of years.”

“But godmother.”

“… … ?”

“Shouldn’t we do something too? It is said that the misunderstanding between Derdrang and the sea lizard clan has been resolved, but are they still at odds?”

“Can we help them?”

“I wish it were. Although the races are different, haven’t they lived without any problems so far? If we help them solve the sea lizard clan problem, we can live quietly in each other’s territory as before, without interfering.”

“Hmm… … .”

Krenna nodded.

Bailey’s words were quite right.

When Krenna looked positive, Bailey added.

“If Godmother allows it, I will lead the battle priests of the Noon Church. Of course, I will leave the city defense troops in case.”

“You yourself?”

“yes.”

Bailey, a veteran priest of the Derdrang Sunflower Hall.

In fact, he didn’t really welcome the hatred of the Church of Dawn that was deeply rooted in Derdrang.

Even if the Church of Dawn is now in ruins, it is because of the Church of Dawn and the Paladins in the past that the Church of the Sun God flourished throughout the empire.

Besides, now that the Temple of Dawn in Meirium has produced such an outstanding priest.

He was dreaming of a day where Jeongoh-gyo and Yeomyeong-gyo could interact with each other like before.

Now was definitely a good opportunity.

“I will go. Please allow me.”

Godmother Crena is a believer in the Noon Church, but she is the mayor responsible for the security of all of Derdrang.

Even priests had to get her permission.

Krenna looked into Bailey’s eyes and said.

“Come.”