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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 36: Apostle Commander (3)
A Sudden Rise in Popularity.
That was the situation I found myself in after the reports about Kevrian’s state were made public.
Contrary to my expectations, Eshtar was already in a critical situation, and nations around the world were scrambling in panic.
The first to approach me was the United States.
“It’s truly an honor to meet you, awakened Kim Jiho.”
A man who introduced himself as Agent Smith, claiming to be a secret CIA operative, approached me.
With a muscular physique, blonde hair, and sunglasses, he had the stereotypical look of a secret agent straight out of a movie.
He took me to a private room in a restaurant near my house.
And I do mean “took” in the literal sense — it wasn’t an exaggeration.
The way this American bent over backward, speaking Korean with formal honorifics, saying “How dare I” and “It’s a great privilege,” made it seem like he was truly bowing to me.
As we ate, Agent Smith showered me with so much praise that even I felt embarrassed to hear it.
Finally, as dessert was served, he brought up the main point.
“The United States of America would like to offer you the utmost respect and hospitality, awakened Kim. Our superiors have already prepared a blank check for you.”
“A blank check?”
“It’s disappointing to see that Korea hasn’t given awakened Kim Jiho the recognition you deserve. Despite your achievements of accomplishing what was thought impossible and reducing an 'impossible' difficulty level to 'very hard,' it’s baffling how you still have debts. Even if you don’t wish to relocate to the U.S., we hope you’ll accept this card.”
With that, Agent Smith handed me a golden envelope.
Inside was a gold card with “J.P. Morgan” written in elegant cursive.
“This is a small token of appreciation from the United States to you. Feel free to use it as you wish.”
I, Kim Jiho, am not one to turn down gifts.
I gladly accepted it.
“We would be deeply grateful if you could allow me and some of our American awakened ones to join your expedition.”
“Agent Smith, you’re an awakened too?”
“Yes, which is why I can discuss the Broken World with you.”
Surprisingly, he was a big shot.
A D-rank awakened and a secret agent — what a combination.
When I agreed, he asked for a spot for 100 American awakened ones and sent $10 million as a token of gratitude.
Sigh.
Honestly, I would’ve been grateful even if they joined without giving me money… Hmm.
Oh well.
In addition to Agent Smith, I met secret agents from various countries.
China’s Agent Wang.
Japan’s Agent Nakamura.
Russia’s Agent Ivanov.
China brought 100 awakened ones, Japan and Russia brought 70 each, and they all handed over hefty sums of money.
They even suggested I consider naturalizing to their countries, though I deferred answering for now.
After receiving all that money and returning home, I couldn’t help but feel amused at how hard I used to struggle over every penny.
“You shot down wyverns with your bow and summoned the Chariot of Flames to incinerate ogres? The industry’s buzzing about it.”
“Did people record me?”
“Yeah. Apparently, some awakened ones recorded it, focusing on you. Everyone’s scrambling to figure out who you are.”
A conversation with Jinseong made me realize why they were so generous with the money.
If they reacted this way just from seeing that, imagine if they’d seen me annihilate an entire legion single-handedly — they’d probably pay ten times more.
Jinseong said plenty of people were eager to join, and it wouldn’t take long to gather a force.
Kang Shia offered an alternative suggestion.
“Jiho, why not charge the new recruits joining the Kevrian expedition?”
“Charge them?”
“Even if you charged 10 million won each, they’d gladly pay it, considering how much they’d gain.”
Her logic was sound.
With so many awakened ones leveling up in just one day of battle, 10 million won would seem like a small price to pay.
But I felt it was unnecessary to charge ordinary awakened ones when I was already receiving bribes in the form of participation fees from various nations.
Considering how much harder things would get moving forward, charging them might only lead to more complaints.
When I explained my reasoning, she agreed.
“That makes sense. The first battle in Kevrian was easy, but who knows what’s coming next. Even a small fee could stir unnecessary conflict later, so it’s better to proceed without charging them.”
“Yes. I think getting 1,000 recruits smoothly is more important than the money.”
“In that case, I’ll use the footage we have to attract more participants.”
“340 spots are already filled.”
“Wow. Already? It’s filling up fast.”
As she predicted, the recruitment moved quickly.
There was so much competition that I could handpick participants based on their roles.
Since long-range fighters were crucial, I limited melee roles like warriors and assassins to 300 and filled the remaining 700 with archers and mages.
Some argued we should prioritize more long-range fighters, but I insisted on having at least 100 per wall, as we didn’t know what challenges awaited us.
“Kevrian is so popular that people are trying to enter on their own, even if it means bypassing the official process. What should we do?”
In just three days, we gathered 1,000 recruits.
On top of that, 400 more expressed their willingness to enter Kevrian independently, even if they had to bear penalties.
Most of them were melee fighters.
Kang Shia, who had practically become my assistant, looked troubled as she reported this, but I felt like celebrating.
“Really? That’s great. We’ll need every soldier we can get. Fortress defense is only going to get harder.”
“Do you think so? The first battle seemed so easy…”
“I guarantee it’ll get harder. The more soldiers, the better. Just make sure to tell them they need to coordinate their entry time with our unit. Entering separately and causing time shifts in that world could be disastrous.”
“Understood. I’ve asked the elves to block entry until your unit is inside.”
Efficient, as always.
The elves had already begun enforcing entry restrictions, ensuring that no one entered Kevrian before our unit.
The awakened ones, understanding the risks, complied without issue.
It took a week for everyone to complete their preparations.
A 1,000-strong Kevrian expedition.
300 melee fighters, 400 archers, and 300 mages — a solid D-rank force.
The overall level wasn’t exceptionally high, as most high-level awakened ones had resumed activity in Eshtar, where the established powers held sway.
That worked out perfectly.
I didn’t want high-level awakened ones causing trouble by trying to take command.
“Let’s move out.”
Fully armed, we departed for Kevrian.
The fortress command welcomed us warmly, and the awakened ones were filled with anticipation for leveling up.
Upon our arrival, the total force grew to 1,400 with the addition of independent participants: 500 melee fighters, 500 archers, and 400 mages.
The subsequent battle was easier than expected.
Even though the enemy shaman began to intervene, with the proper defense from spirits and the overwhelming firepower of the awakened, everyone leveled up enthusiastically, and the unit's morale was at its peak.
"Captain, thank you for selecting me."
"Thanks to you, I broke past level 30! I’ve learned a new skill!"
At some point, I had earned the title of "Captain."
Even the foreign white and black soldiers would give me a thumbs-up and say, "Thank you, thank you, good!" I couldn’t help but feel proud.
That was the case for eight days.
On the 9th day of the siege.
My level had already reached 47.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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With 1,000 soldiers offering 5% of their experience points each, leveling up was absurdly fast.
Just three more levels, and I’d reach Class C.
I was praying the difficulty would stay the same as yesterday.
But today, something felt different.
This wasn’t the mindless advance of ogres we’d seen before.
"Dragonkin!"
The elf with sharp eyesight cried out urgently.
At those words, I squinted at the battlefield.
About 100 dragonkin were walking toward us slowly.
Over 5 meters tall, humanoid bodies with dragon heads—dragonkin.
The one in the center was twice as tall as the others, towering like a giant tower.
They marched in neat rows and columns, stopping abruptly after reaching a certain point.
It was still far too distant for arrows to reach, even with the aid of the Wind Spirit.
What are they trying to do from there?
“They’re preparing to breathe fire!”
The central dragonkin began to unleash its breath.
The breath it exhaled was massive enough to be clearly visible even from this far.
Yellow flames shot out, coalescing into a single orb.
Then the other 99 dragonkin exhaled toward the orb.
As the fiery breaths combined, the orb swelled, growing large enough to envelop even the massive central dragonkin.
When the orb reached that size, it began to shift shape.
It morphed, flowing like liquid, eventually forming the head of a dragon.
When the fiery dragon opened its mouth, the phoenix spirit shouted urgently.
[It’s a dragon breath! It’s going to hit the castle gate directly!]
"Alfid! We need to block the castle gate immediately. Prioritize defenses at the southern gate!"
“Yes, sir!”
The earth rose up in front of the gate, while ice walls filled the gaps.
Countless walls sprang up, all concentrated on the gate.
But even so, it didn’t feel like it would be enough.
As the fiery dragon opened its mouth fully, the heat felt as if it could consume the entire castle.
"Kaaaaaaaah!"
The dragon’s roar echoed across the battlefield.
A fear rose from deep within, freezing my entire body.
My spine tingled, my consciousness blurred, and my hands and feet trembled as my body refused to obey me.
No matter how much I tried to move or resist, I couldn’t.
What is this?
How is it affecting me from this distance?
[You are exposed to Dragon Fear.]
[The Perfect Form Maintenance skill has been activated. Dragon Fear is blocked.]
Hah... Hah...
So this is Dragon Fear?
It’s overwhelming.
If not for the Perfect Form Maintenance skill, I would’ve been utterly paralyzed.
With my body moving again, I looked around and saw everyone else frozen in place.
[Master, have you regained your senses? You must get to the gate immediately. Even the High Elf is frozen by Dragon Fear.]
The phoenix spirit resisted Dragon Fear due to its divine beast nature.
Looking toward the top of the gate, I saw Diana, her eyes wide, unable to move.
The heat grew more intense.
Heatwaves shimmered off the ground.
At this rate, the breath would be unleashed any second now.
"Summon Flame Chariot!"
I summoned the Flame Chariot and sped up, snatching her away in an instant.
As we continued to flee, the world suddenly turned bright yellow.
A searing heat enveloped my entire body.
BOOOOOOM!
A series of explosions echoed as the world was consumed in a yellow inferno.
Looking back from the chariot, I saw the fiery blast obliterating everything in its path.
The ice walls and earthen barriers melted away, the gate reduced to nothing.
This wasn’t just fire.
The dragon breath annihilated everything in its way.
If I hadn’t rescued Diana, she would’ve been instantly killed...
The gate and part of the adjoining wall had been completely destroyed.
The dragon breath carved a straight path, continuing until it eventually dissipated in the distance.
Screams echoed across the battlefield.
The largest dragonkin stood burning, disintegrating into ash.
Was this the backlash of using such an immense attack?
The remaining dragonkin had all collapsed, gasping for breath.
“Ugh… Thank you, Apostle of the Goddess.”
“Are you back to your senses?”
“Yes. The presence of a dragon... It’s overwhelming. We must block the breached gate immediately.”
“Understood. Let’s go.”
Reaching the destroyed gate, I saw the ground deeply scorched, flames still lingering.
Diana used the Water and Earth Spirits to extinguish the fire and reshape the land into defensible terrain.
The ground on our side was raised high, while the terrain beyond the gate was kept low.
The elves, who had recovered, joined in to assist.
The terrain shifted quickly, turning the gate area into a hill ideal for defense.
I moved along the wall, gathering melee fighters.
There must be a reason for such a powerful attack.
Destroying the gate must have given them confidence they could overpower us.
We had to block it, no matter what.
Warriors who hadn’t had a chance to fight yet all ran to the southern gate at my command.
I’m so close to reaching Class C...
Somehow, today’s battle doesn’t feel like it will end as easily as the previous days.
But if this turns into a major conflict, there will be plenty of opportunities to gain experience.
Maybe I can gain three levels and rank up to Class C.
For now, let’s focus on surviving and holding the line.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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