Martial Elf

“Uck-!”

With a brief groan, the last person holding on collapsed.

As the people standing around me vanished, I dropped the wooden sword I was holding in both hands.

The practice wooden sword could not penetrate the hard ground and tumbled around while making noise.

Just like the paladins nearby who were mimicking a war dragon.

“Today’s training session led by me comes to an end. However, don’t be lazy and keep striving.”

With those words, the six surrounding me sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily or grimacing while clutching the areas they were struck with the wooden swords.

The paladins who had fought earlier laughed at the ridiculous state they had just witnessed, which mirrored their own not long ago.

The training order for those who would be nurtured as paladins typically went like this:

First, foundational techniques.

This involved training basic muscles and energy meridians, and warming up the body and mind for subsequent sparring sessions.

After completing the foundational techniques, paladins would engage in theoretical lessons alongside personal duels.

Here, the aim was not only to practice light theory but also to cultivate a sense of ‘what one is capable of and to what extent.’

Finally, the most important part involved group battles, considering scenarios of multiple versus multiple or multiple versus one, using accepted formations for sparring.

Still, at this point in time, humans were a species that could rank stronger individuals, but it was quicker to count them from the back than from the front.

If one did not intend to do the insane thing of challenging beasts and monsters to non-lethal duels, it was inevitable that humans could only form numbers when facing all the lives present in nature.

Moreover, there was an essential purpose in teaching upcoming paladins the importance of accepted formations.

‘Though they aren’t yet at a usable level… in a few years, we could engage even large beasts without major damage.’

Currently, the population of Elves was quite small.

And due to the pact etched during their creation, it would take a long time for that population to grow.

The problem lay in the fact that the elite warriors among the Elves, known as forest guardians, were still in a growth period and, compounded by their low population, were unable to extend their reach beyond the Elven Road’s forests.

Therefore, I was considering assigning roles of mediators akin to the Elves to the paladins of the New Religion.

‘There’s sufficient justification for that.’

The New Religion does not engage in the mundane power struggles of humans.

As God’s representatives, the New Religion seeks to make the world a better place.

The New Religion does not tolerate evil that disrupts the peace and well-being of the land under the names of the deities.

Delving into the religious views created by Alia becomes more complex, but when seen from a broader perspective, it embodies the most mundane and ideal doctrines as a religion.

From Priegoss’s standpoint, uniting diverse ethnicities and classes spread across the continent under the same religion does significantly alleviate political burdens, yet, if the power of the New Religion becomes excessive, it could conversely become a political burden for Priegoss itself.

Consequently, the New Religion established a decree that it would never involve itself in the worldly squabbles of humans, regardless of the circumstances.

Moreover, considering the examples from the Middle Kingdom in a past life, there has never been a case where religion’s involvement in politics did not lead to chaos.

Hence, though the paladins could match the elite troops of Priegoss in strength, they were restrained from meddling in human affairs. Conversely, even when Priegoss undertook expeditions, they received private troops free to use through the New Religion.

‘As with the 72 Roa, all it takes is to declare an entity disrupting balance as a heretic.’

This was one of the conveniences of religion.

‘Although the position of a religious leader isn’t necessarily one anyone would eagerly aspire to…’

Aren’t the martial sects like the Monastery or the Taoist School fundamentally rooted in religious thought?

Moreover, the leaders of such large sects are revered as wise monks or sages, greatly respected by the common people as if they were immortals.

The disciples of these sects uphold the intentions of such masters and ancestors, and unlike the secular sects, their actions within the martial arts community tend to focus greatly on public safety.

‘I’m not establishing a heretical cult aimed at deceiving the masses; after all, it’s something broadly beneficial to humanity.’

I decided to regard it as a sect with such hues rather than a religion.

From the Elf’s perspective, the existence of an organization capable of adjusting the surrounding environment without them having to leave the forest was not a bad thing.

The information power of the Peddler Guild, which moves anywhere for profit, and the influence of the temples springing up throughout Porhelania.

And if those discovered issues could be resolved directly, the ecology of the western continent would stabilize significantly.

While reflecting on such thoughts, I found myself watching a group of paladins gathered and eating the food prepared by the priests.

‘And if they are my disciples, they should do as their master says.’

Considering the duties of a disciple-master relationship, I sat down on the large rock I usually occupied and pulled out a pouch of honey pastries from my robes.

At that moment, a haughty-looking deer approached.

“…”

“…”

A creature that asserted its demands through silence and gaze.

I unknowingly furrowed my brows as I looked at Rudolf.

Outside, I was revered as the spirit beast that I rode, and inside, the priests took great care of me, so its attitude had grown beyond complacency.

Moreover, when another priest approached, it would kick up a fuss or even snort, so the female priests took over its management.

The creature was staring intently at the pouch filled with pastries, while my disciples glanced over during their meal.

Unlike before, I couldn’t afford to let myself act like I was on equal footing with a beast, so I reluctantly offered it a pastry.

It eagerly gobbled it up, raising its eyes with an expression not fitting for a beast.

It seemed to increase its wits, understanding and manipulating the surrounding relationships.

As it licked its lips, not satisfied with just one, I pondered how to correct its habit of staring at the pouch when a priest came running from the direction of the training ground.

“The divine beings wish to enter the shrine.”

At those words, all eyes in the training ground turned towards the priests who had come as messengers.

In that instant, I raised my right hand and slapped Rudolf on the head.

Suppressing the sound that erupted from it so that it wouldn’t spread, I turned to look at the messenger with everyone else as if nothing had happened.

Some glances fell on the creature that was now dazed, perhaps due to the shaking of its brain, but since it often acted unpredictably, attention swiftly moved on.

As I mixed in with the procession leaving the training ground to welcome the divine beings, Rudolf, still reeling from the impact, looked on in astonishment.

‘Well, if it were going to act out, it should at least do so moderately.’

◈ ◈ ◈

“Ugh- ha- how refreshing-”

“Don’t act frivolously.”

Upon arrival, two giants over 8 elte (8m) were brushing off their wet clothes.

One giant accused the other who was shaking off like a wet dog while calmly wringing out his clothes.

What would be a deep moat, potentially fatal for a human, was merely a slightly deep lake for the tallest Titan among the giant race.

The giants worshiped as divine beings in the New Religion.

Golb and Silv stepped into the moat and entered the Grand Temple merely by walking a few steps.

As the giants squeezed out or shook off water from their clothes, newly arrived paladins could only stare in awe, and the advance party patted their shoulders as if to say they understood.

“Looking at your bodies, it seems you haven’t been slacking off in training.”

I smiled and greeted them while looking at their muscular bodies shown through their drenched clothes.

“Master!”

Kuwung-!

In an instant, Silv leaped into the air and landed in front of me, causing the ground to rumble and my body to lift off the ground.

As people lost their balance and began to tumble due to the shockwave, Golb moved quietly and swiftly—uncharacteristically for a giant—and slapped Silv’s head with his palm.

“I told you not to do that near people. Don’t you think humans might be startled?”

Pakaaang-!

With a chilling sound that made the hair stand on end, a deluge of water poured down as Silv’s hair was cleared of water all at once by Golb’s strike.

As the surrounding area became soaked, a tense atmosphere circulated among those who had come to greet the giants.

While it was meant to prevent an incident by stopping Silv, such a tremendous force used to strike him understandably raised concerns about whether Silv would lash out in retaliation.

Although they were kids who listened well to my words, humans looking at giants was akin to observing a tamed beast.

There is no wild beast one could be entirely sure would never attack a person.

However, contrary to those concerns, the one who suffered the impact seemed entirely unfazed, scratching the area that had been struck as if it were itchy.

“Yeah. I did that. Sorry. I was just too happy.”

With an innocent expression, Silv looked up at Golb and rather willingly apologized.

The tension that had tightly gripped the people in their presence dissolved, and they merely stared, enthralled by the actions of the divine beings.

Some female priests, having been excessively tense, either collapsed or fainted.

“Making such a ruckus and causing problems. Be sure to apologize to those kids later.”

“Yeah. But it’s been a while, Master.”

The giant Silv, with a face so fierce it deserved the title of divine being, smiled broadly as he greeted me.

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