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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 35: Apostle Commander (2)
[Broken World – Multiple Awakened beings descend on the planet Kevrian.]
[The divine blessing uniquely granted by Athena, the Goddess of War, has been retrieved.]
[Athena, the Goddess of War, grants her divine blessing to Apostle Commander Kim Jiho as a priority.]
[The status of the Order faction increases by 1.5 times. Athena’s additional blessing remains. Status increases by 1.8 times.]
[All attacks are imbued with the divine power of the Gods.]
I had braced myself for losing some stats, but seeing it drop from 2.5 times to 1.8 times still hurt.
"Wow. That’s an incredible blessing!"
"With Athena's blessing, your stats go up by 15%, and another 10% from command... This is an amazing buff."
The awakeneds around me were excited, a stark contrast to my sour mood.
But since nobody mentioned the divine power of the Gods, it seemed like that particular buff wasn’t given to others.
Was it exclusive to me?
That was a relief, at least.
"Jiho, take this. It’s a recording stone. Attach it to your helmet."
Kang Shia approached me and handed over a blue gem.
When I brought the gem to the center of my helmet, it smoothly merged into it.
Touching the area where it merged, I could feel the gem securely lodged within the helmet.
"If you touch the gem and say ‘Start recording,’ it will begin recording. Say ‘Stop recording’ to end it. It can record up to 24 hours."
"Such a handy item."
"Magic items can be quite unconventional. That’s why mana stones sell for such high prices."
I was told that these recordings were used for analysis by D-rank awakeneds.
Lower-ranked awakeneds or ordinary people couldn’t even view the footage, and awakeneds who leaked recordings would trigger a secrecy enchantment.
"Your Holiness, Apostle. These individuals are...?"
The figures of the fortress command, including Count Ohaim, had all gathered.
"To protect the fortress, I figured we’d need more than just myself. So I brought other apostles with me."
"Oh! If over fifty apostles as strong as you are helping us, we’ll be able to defend the castle perfectly!"
Count Ohaim looked relieved, as if the castle was already safe.
"That won’t be the case. The reason I was strong was that I received the blessing alone. Now that the divine blessing is shared, I won’t be able to exhibit the same level of power as before. However, with our numbers, we’ll be strategically advantageous."
"Ah... I see."
"Unlike me, each has their specialties. Whether it’s as warriors or mages, they excel in specific areas. Please assign them positions, Count."
"Do you think I’m capable of such a task?"
"Yes. No one knows the fortress better than you, Count."
As I said this and glanced at the group of awakened beings, they all nodded in agreement.
Count Ohaim cautiously approached the group, categorized them by their roles, and discussed their abilities.
The group comprised 25 warriors and assassins, 20 archers, and 10 mages.
The Count assigned them to defend the southeastern and southwestern walls of the fortress.
"Apostle Kim Jiho, who are they...?"
"Ah. It’s Liana."
"It really is her! How is Liana here?"
As Diana appeared, the group began murmuring.
Some reached for their recording stones and began recording.
At the mention of "Liana," she hesitated briefly, then approached me.
"For this defense, I thought numbers would be critical, so I brought reinforcements."
"I see. Thank you so much. However... the aura I felt from you seems a bit..."
"The Goddess’s blessing has been divided among others. Still, I judged numbers to be more important this time. This is just the advance team; more apostles will descend later."
"Understood. Thank you for your efforts."
"Also, I need to speak privately with the commander for a moment..."
I asked Diana to arrange a separate meeting with the fortress command.
Though puzzled, she nodded.
Once I separated from the group and entered the command post with Count Ohaim and Diana, I spoke.
"In truth, the apostles who arrived as the advance team are apprentice apostles."
"Apprentice apostles?"
"Yes. They aren’t particularly strong yet. Apprentice apostles need to grow through battle, but they prefer battles with high chances of victory. Losing battles weakens their power. That’s why, despite having the capacity for a thousand apostles, only about fifty came."
"I see. You could summon up to a thousand apostles...!"
"In ten days, I’ll report the progress of the battle to the Celestial Realm. I want to show that this fortress is secure. If it becomes well-known, I’ll be able to recruit a thousand apostles immediately. Will it be possible to go all out on the first day of the defense?"
Count Ohaim nodded enthusiastically, his excitement clear.
"Of course! I’ll mobilize every reserve force we have."
"I’ll also give it my all. I’ll tell the elves to fight with everything they have on the first day."
Good.
The enemy likely wouldn’t use their full strength to capture the fortress on the first day.
If we record how easily we can hold them off, it’ll help attract more recruits.
Once they come, they’re as good as trapped in the net.
They’ll fight with all their might, offering me experience points.
Thank you in advance, Earthlings.
Ten days later.
The sky darkened with countless black wyverns.
Statues resembling Uruk hung from their talons.
"Wyverns!"
"Shoot!"
Elven archers raised their bows high, chanting spirit magic.
Arrows of fire shot like bullets.
Most couldn’t penetrate the wyverns’ tough black hide, but occasionally, arrows struck softer areas like their eyes, engulfing them in flames.
"Kaaaargh!"
The wyverns fell before they could even reach the fortress.
I, along with the awakened archers, continued firing arrows.
With a tailwind blowing from the fortress, our arrows flew far and true.
Buffed by the Phoenix's Breath, each arrow shot brought down another wyvern.
The wyverns’ corpses were trampled underfoot as ogres, towering nearly as tall as the fortress walls, advanced in hordes.
The ground quaked with the ogres’ heavy strides, the tremors reaching even the fortress walls.
"Salamander’s Breath!"
"The Blessing of Flame has been granted! Focus on fire magic!"
The fortress walls glowed red as elven officers shouted commands.
Waves of fiery bombardments rained down in unison.
Some officers amplified their spirit magic, unleashing massive streams of fire, resembling an enormous dragon’s breath from a previous encounter.
"Graaaaah!"
The ogres’ thick hides ignited, turning the battlefield into a fiery hell.
Even so, the enemies trampled over the burning ogres’ corpses, pushing forward—only for sudden earthen walls to erupt from the ground, momentarily halting their advance.
Then came another rain of fiery meteors.
I sent my Flame Chariot speeding forward while aiming my bow skyward, taking down a wyvern.
The experience points must be piling up like crazy.
“Kiaaaa!”
Despite the fierce attacks, some wyverns managed to break through the barrage of arrows.
They reached the fortress and dropped Uruk statues strapped to their feet.
It was as if they were dropping massive boulders—primitive bombing tactics, perhaps?
“Activate the anti-air defenses!”
At the commanding voices of the elven officers, gusts of wind began to swirl in the sky, catching the falling Uruk statues in their vortex.
Though the statues couldn’t be completely stopped, their descent was drastically slowed, giving the soldiers on the ground enough time to dodge.
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Boom.
The statues shattered upon hitting the ground, revealing Uruks emerging from within.
So they weren’t just throwing rocks after all.
“Ugh... Kill the elves first! Only then will we be saved!”
The fallen Uruks rose one by one, exuding an intense presence.
They looked noticeably stronger than regular Uruk warriors.
But as soon as the previously idle awakened warriors charged at them enthusiastically, the Uruks ceased to be a threat.
“Give me your head!”
Jinseong, now astride a summoned spirit horse, raced along the fortress wall.
His Azure Dragon Crescent Blade gleamed with blue mana.
It was the passive skill Mana Blade of a D-rank warrior.
Though the Uruks tried to block, Jinseong’s strikes were faster.
Slash!
“Now this feels like a real battlefield!”
Jinseong laughed wildly, repeatedly swinging his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade at an Uruk whose arm had been severed.
His expression bordered on madness.
What a lunatic that guy is...
In any case, the fallen Uruks were being adequately dealt with by the awakened warriors and soldiers.
I focused on using my bow and magic until I ran out of mana to keep the ogres at bay.
One ogre managed to navigate past the earthen wall and reach the moat, but as it stretched its stride to cross, a massive spike of ice suddenly impaled its foot.
“Graaahhh!”
As the immobilized ogre roared, ice arrows rained down on it.
Even when they got close, the ogres were swiftly subdued.
The enemy also set up catapults to hurl boulders, but each time a boulder flew, a wind barrier would deflect it, causing the rock to fall short of the walls.
Wow, this is way too convenient.
The elves, who once seemed useless, and the awakened warriors were now formidable. Was it because of their classes?
Mages could use up to 4th or 5th-class spells, and the archers displayed dazzling skills.
“Ice Storm.”
“Arrow Rain.”
Large ice spikes fell menacingly from the sky, while a single arrow split into dozens, piercing through all the enemies.
Wow.
At D-rank, even active skills look this impressive.
Although my Flame Chariot was imposing, watching the awakened warriors’ flashy skills made me feel like my active abilities were lacking.
As I moved around the southern gate assisting with defense, Kang Shia, who was shooting arrows, smiled at me.
“This spot is amazing! I’ve already leveled up! I’m at level 28!”
“Already?”
Surprised, I checked my own level.
I was at 35.3. Sharing 5% of others’ experience points was turning out to be very lucrative.
Just yesterday, I was at 34.7...
Boom boom boom boom.
Three hours had passed since the ogres had been slaughtered by the spirit magic.
A loud drumbeat echoed, and the ogres, who had been advancing relentlessly despite their deaths, began retreating as if enchanted.
“The enemy is retreating!”
We continued shooting at the ogres within range, taking them down one by one.
The area outside the fortress was now littered with the corpses of wyverns and ogres.
After the battle ended, the dwarves came out of the fortress to collect the wyvern corpses, while the ogres were burned—likely because they couldn’t be salvaged.
“A flawless victory!”
The first battle ended in a decisive win.
This time, I had it easy, using my bow and Flame Chariot from the safety of the fortress walls.
The awakened warriors seemed thrilled, their faces filled with excitement.
The soldiers who hadn’t seen much action looked a little disappointed.
The warriors became excited upon seeing the legion experience points system, discussing how quickly they could level up if they brought more people.
Legion experience points allowed 0.1% of the experience earned by an awakened warrior for each monster slain to be shared with the group.
With 1,000 members, they could gain 100% more experience from each kill.
“Let’s head back to Earth immediately and recruit more people.”
“If we increase our numbers, the experience gains will be insane.”
“We should prioritize recruiting archers and mages.”
Despite their differing opinions, everyone’s faces were lit with joy.
I excused myself, saying I’d speak with the command group, and left the gathering.
“Count Ohaim, how much of our resources were expended in today’s battle?”
“We used about 60% of the fortress’s spirit energy, mostly to block the shaman’s magic and the wyverns’ aerial assaults. Fortunately, the energy regenerates at 20% per day...”
“So it takes five days to fully recover?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“From now on, please manage it so we don’t deplete it entirely. The awakened warriors are highly motivated by today’s victory and will bring reinforcements. That should help relieve the strain.”
Count Ohaim’s face brightened visibly at my words.
“Oh! Thank you so much. We’ll place our trust in you, Apostle of the Goddess.”
“The enemy shaman will likely interfere more heavily from tomorrow. A flawless victory like today’s will be harder to achieve. Reinforcements are vital.”
Although the command staff wasn’t celebrating the easy win, they repeatedly emphasized the need for reinforcements, citing how unexpected it was for the enemy to deploy wyverns and ogres on such a large scale.
It seems I need to return to Earth quickly before the next battle to recruit more people.
D-rank awakened warriors were stronger than I expected.
With their active and passive skills, they felt almost superior despite my high SP stats.
I need better rewards.
Getting a B-rank skill seems urgent.
Time to recruit 1,000 people.
Returning to the barracks where the awakened warriors were gathered, I spoke:
“Everyone, we’re returning to Earth. The battles will get tougher, but so will the rewards. Keep that in mind, and let’s aim to bring 1,000 recruits next time.”
“Yes, understood.”
“If we handle the persuasion, we can get it done.”
Having chosen Kevrian, they were bound to me by fate.
If they wanted to survive, they’d have to bring more people.
More people meant more experience.
Fifty-five awakened warriors began returning to Earth, beams of light shooting into the sky as they disappeared.
Finally, I returned, closing the door to this world behind me.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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