Raising Paladins

Episode 147. return (3)

“omg!”

Carl let out a startled breath and opened his eyes.

I only fell asleep for a short time, but to have a dream like this.

But it was so vivid.

The man in the dream was definitely the Lich King.

Although he looked different from when he saw him in his previous life, he was clearly the owner of the night.

‘Where are you? Where did you start playing?!’

Carl searched the captain’s office for a map.

A map depicting the entire empire as well as the vast sea.

However, no matter how good the map was, it was difficult to mark even the small villages scattered throughout the empire.

Carl gripped his head.

‘The sun god must have shown me to prepare for the upcoming danger.’

You have to look for clues.

And Carl thought that preparations for war should be much quicker than he thought.

I felt it when I met Helena at Derdrang, but disaster was already approaching.

“knife! I cooked with marlin caught by the elderly!”

Tira, Hanson, and Maysa burst into the captain’s office.

When they saw Carl’s expression of displeasure, they quickly came closer.

“Carl, what are you worried about?”

Tira put down the marlin dish she had brought and gently placed her hand on Carl’s forehead.

Habits developed from always being with patients.

It was Tira who would first check if she had a fever if she thought she was feeling a bit unwell.

“No, I just had a bad dream.”

“You had a nightmare. Listen to this.”

Carl took a bite of the blue marlin that Tira held out.

Sprinkled with spices from the Pinas Islands and sprinkled with fresh lemon juice, this dish is grilled.

As the fresh, salty, refreshing flavor spread, Carl felt a little better.

‘Yes, even if it has already started regenerating, there is no way to stop it from above the sea. Let’s calm down and come up with countermeasures.’

Carl was the pack leader.

A leader must also consider the morale of his unit members.

He quickly corrected his expression.

“I feel better because I eat something delicious. But how did you get hold of this? On top of a running sea boat?”

“You caught it with the fishing rod that Chief Mediel gave you as a gift.”

“The fishing rod the village chief gave you?”

“It looked unusual.”

Hanson intervened, swinging the bracelet on his right arm.

He seemed to be very fond of the bracelet made from blackfang fangs.

Hanson and Maysa, who recently had nothing to do on the boat, were training by competing with each other’s dark weapons.

“I’ll have to take a look. I will be leaving soon, so please stay first.”

“yes.”

***

The voyage went smoothly.

Tyra was delighted to learn from Crete how to fish on board, and the young men and children rescued from being sold as slaves got to know each other on deck.

Because there were sailors from Pinas, the ship went straight on the sea.

The fifth day like that.

The coastline of the eastern part of the empire began to appear.

“Land! I can see the land!”

A sailor’s cry from high up on the mast.

People rushed out.

Everyone was delighted to see the land.

In particular, the young people from Pinas couldn’t hide their excitement because it was their first time coming out of the island.

Carl was discussing transfer with Crete.

“How many days will it take from the East Coast to Meirium?”

“It will take about ten days on foot. Two or three days on horseback, five days in a wagon.”

“Then we should send a starter to get a wagon. I’m going to send a selection to Meirium so that I can meet you halfway.”

“I was thinking that too.”

Soon after, the ship anchored on the sea far away from the shore.

The closer you got to the shore, the shallower the water, so you couldn’t put a ship near it.

It took a whole day to carry a lot of luggage in a few small boats.

In the meantime, Hanson and Maysa went to the surrounding villages and rented horses and carriages.

“I paid a generous price, and the farmers went out of their way to lend me a wagon.”

“I didn’t have any doubts because I was wearing the priestly uniform of the Dawning Church.”

I borrowed five wagons.

It was a little too small to transport all three ships at once.

“We need troops to protect the ship anyway, so let’s leave some behind. You’d better send someone back to get it.”

“I will.”

Carl accepted Crete’s advice.

He appointed Hanson and Maysa to be in charge of the transport and sent them to Mayrium first.

Half of the troops and children were also with them.

after they leave.

They set up a temporary shelter on the shore and set up a simple camp.

As the sun went down, people gathered around the bonfire.

The young men were in a frenzy with each other, saying that they wanted to get close to Tira, and that they would receive treatment for minor scratches.

“Priest Tyra, actually, I want to become a healing priest rather than a combat priest. Can I become a priest who handles divine power like Priest Tira?”

“Sure! If you work hard, the sun god will definitely give you an answer!”

“Oh oh! Then, what should we do first when we arrive at the Meirium Shrine?”

“You have to join the washing tub first!”

“Three, a washing machine?”

“yes! Our Merium Shrine of Dawn has a tradition. First off with a knife… … No, first join the washing machine and cultivate your mind by washing the clothes, diapers, and bandages of the sick. Whether you are a healer or a battle priest, you must go through this.”

“okay… … What next?”

“Farming, cooking, security, etc… … I have a lot of work to do. If you go, you will be able to meet the seniors who come first and live as seeds. Why don’t you get along with them and learn step by step?”

“Um, I guess so too. Are they kind people?”

Then a young man who was listening interrupted.

“Of course they must be kind and generous! These are the people who became the seed of the temple!”

“hahahaha, is that so?”

“of course!”

Young people excited about meeting new seniors.

Tyra did not bother to reveal what Daryl, Peter, Grom, etc., who were waiting at the Meririum Temple, were originally doing.

It was something you would know when you arrived anyway.

“under… … ha ha ha… … They are such good people! He will kindly tell you things every night!”

“So it was! I can’t wait to live in the temple! hahahaha!”

***

People chattering and enjoying food.

It was a homeless stay at the campsite, but the goods and food brought were great, so the situation was much better than staying at a shabby inn.

The knife that checked the outfit of the night guard.

He said to Crete, who was nearby.

“Senior, I will go to the village for a while.”

“What is it?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve come here, so I want to take a look around.”

“I hope so.”

Carl put on his troll-hide cloak and hit the road.

The village took about two hours at a brisk pace.

Thanks to this, when Carl arrived in the village, the moon was already clear.

The guards at the entrance wore leather armor and carried spears.

“Who is there?! Come out of the dark!”

“I am the priest of Meirium who is camping by the seaside.”

“Ah, you must be a priest!”

The faces of the guards brightened as Carl lifted his cloak to reveal the clergyman’s robes underneath.

“It’s because the atmosphere has been so vicious these days, so don’t be offended that I raised my voice.”

“no. It is natural.”

“Thank you for your understanding. But priest, are you really the priests of Meirium?”

“Yes, but.”

“I heard that there are many great priests in the Temple of Dawn in Meirium. Some people emit light from their hands to heal wounds.”

“Is anyone in town injured?”

“Ahh… … Not now. However, there were hunters who said they saw ghouls in the back mountain from time to time, so I asked. Isn’t it difficult to treat wounds inflicted by ghouls with moderate medicine?”

“A ghoul? Are there ghouls in the mountain behind the village?”

Unlike zombies that target living people or animals, ghouls are monsters that eat the flesh of the dead.

Perhaps because of such characteristics, ghouls were synonymous with fear even though they were not very strong monsters.

It was terrifying enough to see them digging up graveyards in the middle of the night and eating their rotten flesh.

However, ghouls were not born that easily.

“We have only heard rumors. As you may know, unlike other places in the eastern coast, fish are not easily caught, so the people of the coastal villages live by farming, hunting, and handicrafts. There are a few hunters in my village too, and one of them said he saw a ghoul. I said it drunkenly at an inn, so it’s not accurate, hahahahaha.”

“I’ll have to check, though.”

“of course. however… … .”

The guard scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Actually, we wear armor and carry spears, but we are usually farmers. I’m just standing guard when it’s my turn. Most of the other guards are in the same situation. But when a ghoul appeared… … . It would be nice if someone took the lead, but everyone is a coward. Same for me. So I was hesitant.”

“I see.”

Carl understood the guard’s heart.

What if you dare to go out and get scratched by the ghoul’s claws, leaving them with rotting wounds?

Then, in a town on the outskirts like this, we had to see it as the end.

It was even more strange that a person with a wife and children risked their lives recklessly.

“That’s why, priest. We will collect money from our village. Could you get the crone and check if there is a ghoul nest?”

“Crons are fine, put them in. I will check.”

“Hey, are you really? Is that free too?”

A small town with a population of less than 200 people.

I’m sure most of the people who live day by day earn it.

Carl already has plenty of money and has no intention of robbing the pockets of these people.

he grinned.

“Yes, please guide me to the inn that the hunter frequents. Or even the location of the hunter’s hut.”

“Ahh! The cabin is right over there! Jerry is probably in the cabin!”

“All right.”

Carl moved his feet to the road from the entrance of the village toward the back mountain.

Even if you say the length, it is the part where people or donkeys often walk and the grass does not grow.

It was the middle of the night, but Carl climbed the mountain without difficulty because his vision was brightened by divine power.

After going up for about thirty minutes, I saw a cabin with smoke rising.

The inside was brightly lit, and it seemed that there was a person inside.

Wedge-!

An arrow suddenly flew with the sound of tearing through the air.

It was a quick and accurate shot that would have killed a normal person.

But it was too much for Carl.

widely-!

Carl bent his head slightly, dodged and grabbed the arrow.

Then a man appeared out of the darkness near the cabin.

It was a hunter wearing clothes made from animal skins and carrying a shortbow.

“I’m sorry, I made a mistake because bad things have been going around lately.”

“it’s okay. Is that a hunter named Jerry?”

“Yes, but… … .”

Carl approached the bright light leaking from within the cabin.

Then Jerry’s eyes widened.

“Wow, did you catch the arrow?!”