The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 283 The Emergence of the Paladin Profession
"Excellent, His Majesty Elion has eliminated all the enemies."

John, the high-ranking warrior, breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned the pioneering team members to emerge from behind the massive rocky hill.

He had hesitated before deciding whether to join the battle.

With the strength of the pioneering squad, if they go all out, they can temporarily hold back one of the three secondary lords, which will help them win the battle, but they will certainly suffer heavy losses.

After much deliberation, John finally ordered the pioneer squad to remain inactive to prevent Elian from being distracted by protecting them and thus hindering his own performance. They should only join the battle when absolutely necessary.

The battle went very smoothly. Elion not only easily defeated Artina Shi, but also held his own against the high-level legendary Wind Demon King Pazuzu.

boom.

"Master, we are here."

Just then, Balor Ratu, the Balor Demon, appeared amidst a burst of fire and led a group of bizarre demons to the scene.

Behind Latour stood seven demons of various shapes and sizes.

Among them are Hadris, a six-armed serpent demon twice the size of before; Balor, a fire demon with an appearance similar to Latour but much smaller; an evolved giant bull demon with muscles stronger than ordinary giant bull demons; a giant skull demon with a huge head and dragging iron chains; and a unique demon that does not belong to any common demon type and looks like a giant snake...

——7 legendary demons!
Some of the demons were originally minions of the Balrog Ratul, and through this period of conquest, they have continuously evolved, acquiring legendary-level power. Others were lesser lords captured, subdued, and controlled in battle.

Now, each of them has been personally bound by a sworn pact with Elion, and will fight for Eldoron as a demon general under Ratul!

"Master, Master, how is it? Is the battle over?"

"ended."

Elion looked at the three lesser lords lying on the ground, already in a deep sleep and firmly bound by a magic circle:

"Congratulations, Latour."

"Your ranks of legendary demons will soon be expanded by three more."

Latour was both surprised and delighted to hear this.

In this way, he will have 10 legendary demon generals under his command.

This even surpasses many true demon lords!

Elion turned to the pioneering team beside him and smiled:

"You all worked so hard during this ordeal. I'm so glad everyone is alright."

“John, your judgment in the face of danger was correct. You successfully bought time and held off Altina until the base discovered the anomaly and came to our aid.”

"It's fair to say that your decision saved the entire pioneering team!"

"Eldorlen is proud of you."

His Majesty is praising me!

John trembled slightly, feeling a little uneasy at Elian's praise, and lowered his head with a hint of nervousness.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty El-Erian."

"I just did what I could."

El-Erian smiled:

"In this incident, all members of the pioneering team performed outstandingly and will be promoted one level in rank and benefits."

"As captain, John remained calm under pressure, turning danger into opportunity and indirectly helping us capture three lesser demon lords. His rank and benefits are promoted three levels, and he is awarded the highest honor medal of Eldoron!"

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Elian took a deep breath and gazed at the desolate sky in the distance.

That's the direction of the high mountain where Pazuzu is located.

"As expected, the lesser lords of the Abyss Plains and the powerful Sky Lord Pazuzu have joined forces..."

"After that, Eldoron will have to deal with their alliance..."

"Fortunately, we managed to eliminate three powerful secondary lords ahead of schedule during today's battle, which was an unexpected bonus..."

Elian pulled himself out of his reverie and led the group back to the Iron Lake Abyss Base.

……

Back at the Molten Iron Lake Abyss base, after confirming the commendations for everyone and watching the Pioneer Squad disperse amidst cheers, Elion turned to Captain John, who had remained silent to the side, and said:

"You have something to say, right?"

“Uh…” John was startled, realizing that His Majesty El-Erian had seen through his thoughts. He quickly lowered his head and said nervously:
"Yes, yes... Your Majesty."

"I... felt a bit mentally unstable after confronting Altina Shi."

"It's as if there's a voice in my ear, speaking to me. It's rewarding my righteous act..."

"Uh... I don't know how to describe it, or rather, it's not exactly what was said. It's more like a message and emotion that transcends language, appearing out of nowhere in my mind..."

"I...I'm a little worried. Perhaps that great demon left me with some kind of curse. I implore Your Majesty to examine me..."

El-Erian nodded slightly, vaguely guessing what was going on:
“Okay. I’ll take a look.” He softly chanted the incantation for prophecy, and an invisible wave of detection enveloped the warrior John’s soul and body.

"This is……"

There was no trace of curse or contamination in John's soul.

On the contrary, a radiant and dazzling light is sprouting in his soul.

Inspiration?

The call of the paladins?!
"Your Majesty Elion, is there anything unusual about my body or soul?"

John looked nervously at Elian, whose face was grave.

"It has both, and it doesn't."

El-Erian suddenly laughed.

"Huh?" John looked blank, unable to understand what Elian meant.

Unexpectedly, the Paladin class is appearing ahead of schedule; it's a pleasant surprise...

Paladin.

In the original game's history, this divine magic-based extraordinary profession appeared after the priest, and has undergone several changes throughout history, possessing three different types—

Divine Paladin, Faction Paladin, Oath Paladin.

The oldest prototype of the paladin was simply a melee clergyman from the Church of Lawful Good, more like a fusion of warrior and priest classes. This is the traditional "Divine Paladin".

The truly complete and special paladins appeared a little later.

History has never lacked such legends—

When ruthless bandits massacred an entire village, a naive boy who had never touched a sword before suddenly awakened extraordinary power in a fit of intense rage. The fire of justice in his heart transformed into tangible might, and he used a sword that shimmered with holy light to kill all the bandits...

When demons from the abyss descend upon the mortal realm, unleashing slaughter and conquest, a woman in the city, after failing to sway all the gods in the face of the evil legion's invasion, unexpectedly gains extraordinary divine power...

—At that time, some warriors or ordinary people, after performing certain righteous deeds, would suddenly find themselves receiving the call of some invisible force when fighting against evil forces such as the invasion of the abyss. They would then possess extraordinary divine power, gaining the ability to heal and cast divine spells, and so on.

This is the [Faction Paladin].

Later scholars, including Erian, studied this strange phenomenon of "divine inspiration" and finally reached the following conclusion:
These professionals, known as "paladins," are the natural outflow of the divine source of lawful good in the universe.

They received the call of the primordial power of Lawful Goodness, bypassing the gods and directly connecting with the sacred origin of the universe.

Even mortals who do not serve gods may acquire divine powers!
Aside from the Lawful Good faction, the other eight factions may also produce their own paladins, though this is extremely rare.

At this stage, a paladin's power derives from their alignment (usually Lawful Good), and therefore they cannot stray from their alignment. Once they shift their alignment, they will lose the protection of their divine power.

According to Elian's observations, the current warrior John has received the call of the divine source of [Lawful Good] and has shown signs of becoming a paladin.

As long as John accepts the call of this divine source power, he can immediately change from a seventh-tier warrior to a true paladin, and his level may be further increased!
"Your Majesty El-Erian?"

John looked at Elian, who had fallen into deep thought and suddenly stopped talking, with a bewildered expression, somewhat at a loss.

“You’re doing very well, there’s no need to reject the voice you’re hearing.”

Elian laughed:
"Based on my observations, it is probably because of the invasion of the Abyss in recent years, as well as your achievements in fighting against chaotic evil demons and establishing order in the Abyss, that you and a portion of the Eldorians have been noticed by the divine source of [order] and [goodness] in the universe."

"It is just right that this divine power has been bestowed upon you when you are facing this great demon, Artina Shi."

"If you make good use of this gift, you will become even stronger!"

Elion knew that in the original history, the Paladin class didn't appear that early.

These sacred origins of the universe, like the will of the abyss, are capricious and unpredictable beings.

—In fact, the will of the abyss itself can be seen as a facet of the origin of the chaotic and evil universe!
It seems that due to the intervention of the Mind Flayers, the Abyss invasion has become even larger, and coupled with Eldoron's actions in establishing order within the Abyss, the inherent laws and goodness of the universe are also becoming restless...

Elian thought to himself.

He believed that, faced with Altina's death threat, if he hadn't gone to rescue the pioneering team, the outcome would have been—

John watched his teammates die before his eyes, and in his rage, he suddenly awakened divine power, helping his teammates in a fierce battle against the lesser lord Artina!

A very traditional, classic storyline unfolds.

This is indeed the most welcome story development direction for the inherently kind people.

Of course, even if John became a more powerful paladin, he still couldn't possibly fight against Altina, who was far stronger than him, and the final outcome would certainly not be good.

After hearing Elrian's explanation, John, though not understanding what the divine origin of the universe was, was still both surprised and delighted:
"In other words, the sounds I hear and the anomalies I feel in my soul are entirely positive, and they are powers that I can use?"

“I can keep hearing that voice, and it’s making me accept it and bear the corresponding power.”

"What risks are there in accepting such power?"

(End of this chapter)