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Chapter 37: The First C-Rank (1)
The first ones to attack us were a pack of wolves.
Massive gray wolves, much larger than humans.
They dashed madly toward the already destroyed castle gates.
“Fire!”
Arrows rained down from the still intact parts of the castle wall, but the wolves charged ferociously, undeterred even as arrows pierced their bodies.
“Summon Fla Chariot!”
A chariot of fire roared to life.
Wolves were engulfed in flas as they collided, but even as the fire spread around them, they charged on without fear.
I commanded the Fla Chariot to circle the entrance repeatedly and drew my sword.
“Silion, please help.”
Diana unsheathed one of her twin swords and kissed it.
A green wind enveloped the blade, and it floated into the air by itself.
Its tip pointed toward the wolves and then flew forward.
The speed was blinding, and in the blink of an eye, the heads of dozens of wolves were severed.
“We will join the fight as well.”
The warrior awakeners who had been idle so far stepped forward confidently, defending the hill from the wolves’ attacks.
Feeling reassured, I charged toward the wolves.
“Grrraaaah!”
Thunk.
As a wolf opened its jaws to bite , I drove my sword into its mouth and thrust it through.
Unable to withstand my strength, its teeth shattered, and my greatsword pierced through the inside of its mouth.
Slash!
I yanked out the sword and swung it in all directions.
Just my right hand was enough to wield the blade, while my left crushed the skulls of wolves lunging to bite .
Boom!
“Grrrr…”
The wolves tried to surround
and subdue , but the gap in physical ability was insurmountable.
While their movents might seem fast to others, they appeared excruciatingly slow to my eyes.
As they attempted to form an encirclent, I broke through it, crushing and smashing each of their heads.
At this rate, they were no different from re Uruks.
Even though my buffs had decreased, I was confident I could take them all down on my own.
“Grrr…”
Having seen their comrades die as soon as they approached , the remaining wolves hesitated, retreating step by step as they warily watched .
Well then, it’s my turn to go to them.
I leapt into the midst of the wolves and resud the slaughter.
Their flesh was tough and dense, making it hard for other awakened ones to deal with, but they were no match for .
“A monster…”
I heard an awakened mutter in a stunned voice behind .
By the ti I turned around, the area around
was already littered with the shattered bodies and blood of wolves.
This seems manageable enough.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a sharp pain suddenly hit my forehead.
Danger detection?
Here?
I dodged to the side, and a massive axe slamd into the ground where I had just stood.
Imdiately, a massive figure descended from the sky.
An enormous orc, even larger than the already huge Uruks.
Its skin was brown, with large scars across its eyes and cheeks.
With an ogre-like fra, it wore crimson armor and looked directly at .
“Are you the Apostle of the Gods?”
“Yes. And who are you?”
“Grosh. I serve the Earth Mother Goddess as her Apostle.”
Grosh pulled the massive axe, larger than my own body, out of the ground.
“If I sever your head and offer it to the temple, perhaps I will once again hear the Goddess’s voice.”
Grosh… If I rember correctly from the strategy guide, he’s an orc hero.
So he’s not just another mob.
This is going to be a hassle.
Still, I’ve got to deal with him sohow.
[Grosh is a neutral Apostle of the Earth God and one of the few orcs not ntally dominated by the Black Dragon Arkardian. He is aware of the unusual situation in the Black Dragon Legion but has yet to receive a revelation from the Earth God. As chaos becos evident in the Black Dragon Legion, his actions may change. Your objective is to force Grosh to retreat.]
[Side Quest]
[Difficulty: Hard]
[Objective: Force Grosh to retreat without killing him.]
[Quest Reward]
Blessing of the Earth God
Enhanced affinity with Earth Spirits
A sudden quest, huh?
It’s a side quest, so I don’t have to complete it, but the reward is tempting.
Fine.
Let’s subdue him first.
“Earth, bind him!”
The ground suddenly turned into a swamp-like texture, and giant hands erged beneath .
This guy can summon spirits too.
I kicked the hand aside and rushed toward his body.
“Hup!”
Grosh leaned back, gathering energy.
A burst of mana exploded from his body, trying to repel .
It’s similar to how I used to release mana.
As my speed montarily slowed, he struck my sword with his axe.
Clang!
The impact pushed
back.
“A re human with such strength…!”
Our physical strength was evenly matched.
This is doable.
However, the unstable terrain makes fighting him troubleso.
The Earth Spirit’s constant interference is an annoyance I can’t ignore.
“Summon Fla Chariot!”
I mounted the chariot and charged at Grosh.
Holding the fiery reins with my left hand, I thrust my greatsword with my right.
The charge of the chariot combined with my sword strike.
Even if he could block the sword with his axe, the force of the fiery chariot would be difficult to withstand.
“Earth Shield.”
But Grosh ford a shield of earth in front of him.
The clash of mana caused the chariot to rebound.
Imdiately, his axe ca crashing down.
I parried with my sword, but the force pushed
back.
I tumbled backward along with the chariot.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Grosh’s massive fra charged forward relentlessly.
I maneuvered the chariot to dodge his attack and drew Artemis’s bow.
I aid for his eyes and fired, but he instead lowered his head, deflecting the magic arrow with his helt.
The arrow of light disappeared entirely.
What’s that helt made of?
It’s incredibly tough.
Is this what being a hero gets you?
High-end gear?
On top of that, divine energy doesn’t work on him.
“Phoenix, co help !”
[Understood, master.]
I called the phoenix I’d sent to deal with the wolves.
If I don’t subdue this guy quickly, I’ll run out of mana, and this will get really annoying.
As the phoenix flew toward us, Grosh paused montarily to observe it.
“A phoenix! But it’s still young. Earth Spirit, restrain the phoenix!”
The ground surged upward, forming wolves out of earth.
Though small, there were dozens of them.
The wolves leapt into the air, harassing the phoenix and preventing it from joining the fight.
Damn it.
What a troubleso foe.
But there’s no way he can keep summoning Earth’s power indefinitely!
Boom! Boom!
The clash of sword and axe echoed like explosions through the air.
I had never fought an opponent with such brute strength before.
My entire body ached, but every ache only fueled my vitality thanks to the infinite stamina skill that reinvigorated .
The phoenix was battling the wolf spirit, but it occasionally spewed fire in this direction to assist, gradually shrinking the size of Grosh's earth shield.
"Impressive... Truly worthy of being a Apostle of order!"
My sword strikes were slowly breaking through.
[Translator - Night]
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As Grosh's earth shield dwindled, he used his shield and axe to block the Fla Chariot while taking my sword strikes directly with his body.
Grosh’s armor was pierced, and his flesh was torn, but his subtle evasive movents made it impossible to land a critical blow.
"Urgh... Oh Earth Mother Goddess, grant
your strength!"
Blood began trickling down his body, and his movents beca visibly slower.
If we kept fighting like this, I would gain the upper hand.
As long as I didn’t run out of mana.
It seed this battle would be decided by whose mana ran out first.
“Apostle, let
help you!”
Diana, who had been cutting down wolves, shouted toward .
I was tempted, but having her join
would make it harder to keep Grosh from escaping.
“No, focus on helping the others. I can handle this on my own.”
“Understood.”
Diana nodded at my words and leapt back into the battlefield.
Grosh growled, glaring at .
“You dare to underestimate ?”
“Underestimate you? Not at all. But if this keeps up, it’s obvious I’ll win, don’t you think?”
Grosh's face turned beet red, and his eyes began glowing crimson.
Ugh, did I provoke him too much?
Is he about to use so ultimate move?
I hastily spoke.
“If Diana joins , you’re dead for sure. Why don’t you retreat now?”
“…What’s your angle, Apostle of the gods?”
“I encountered a lich at the Fire Sanctuary. Undead who follow chaos. Don’t you think sothing about this whole situation seems off, given you’re a Apostle of the Earth Mother?”
“A lich, you say?”
“Yes. It destroyed an orc village and turned the inhabitants into zombies.”
“Hmm… That’s hard to believe.”
Despite his words, Grosh seed less eager to fight.
He might just be convinced if I push a little more.
As I pondered my next move, I suddenly rembered my title.
[Bat Awakener]
[Grade: B]
[A title earned by receiving the blessings of two divine factions.
When equipped, it reveals only the blessing of the main patron god.
Can be detected by Grade A or higher awakened beings.]
If I unequipped this title, wouldn’t it hide the neutral patron god's blessing too?
I removed the title, and Grosh’s eyes widened in shock.
“No… How can this be? The blessing of the Volcano…?”
“I am also blessed by the Goddess of the Volcano. If I were truly your enemy, would I tell you to retreat?”
“…You have a point.”
“Go back and investigate. You were unhard by attacks infused with holy power, but the dragonkin were destroyed with just one holy arrow. Chaos and the Black Dragon are definitely connected.”
“I did sense faint traces of chaos in the dragonkin, but the Black Dragon assured
it was fine… Perhaps I must look into this further.”
Perhaps because of the blessing of the Volcano, Grosh accepted my words more easily than I had expected and began retreating.
Before turning to leave, he gave
a warning.
“Beware the earth. The Giant Wyrm is stirring.”
With that, Grosh dashed off and disappeared.
A notification popped up before .
[Your affinity with earth spirits has been strengthened.]
[The Goddess of Earth, Skadi, bestows her blessing upon you.]
[Your neutral faction stats are increased by 1.5 tis.]
[When standing on the ground, your physical regeneration and mana recovery increase.]
1.5 tis?!
That’s incredible!
For a side quest, this blessing was ridiculously good.
I deactivated the fla chariot and stepped back onto the ground.
The difference in mana regeneration was imdiately noticeable.
My physical stat, previously at B, now felt significantly stronger.
The improvent was tangible, even more so than when I had exclusive access to Athena’s buffs in the past.
“Kill the Apostle of the goddess!!”
Although Grosh had retreated, the massive orcs continued charging, undeterred.
Was Grosh not as influential as I thought?
Well, it didn’t matter.
The quest rewards were fantastic.
My level had also risen to 48.
Just two more levels to go.
The area was swarming with orcs, wyverns dropping statues from above, and now a Giant Wyrm rumored to be coming from below.
The battlefield was chaos, with enemies in every direction.
The number of awakened fighters guarding the entrance alongside
had noticeably dwindled.
This was bad.
We couldn’t afford to lose more people yet.
“Fla Chariot, summon!”
I used the Fla Chariot to mow down enemies while instructing the phoenix to focus on the skies.
“Try to thin out the wyverns.”
[But going that high will drain a lot of your mana.]
“I’ve got the Earth’s blessing now, so my mana regeneration is much better. Go wild up there.”
[Understood. I’ll do my best to pin them down.]
The phoenix soared into the sky, while the Fla Chariot rampaged across the battlefield, eliminating orcs left and right.
I swung my sword relentlessly, cutting down any orcs that evaded the chariot.
Ti beca a blur.
My Hephaestus armor was dented and damaged, and the Fla Chariot had disappeared.
My greatsword was dull, so I sheathed it and picked up a club from a fallen orc, smashing monster heads with sheer force.
The hill of earth spirits had beco a flat plain from the sheer number of bodies.
Hearing the sound of drums, the frenzied orcs hesitated montarily.
“Ugh… Don’t retreat! The wrath of Akardian will fall upon you if you do!”
“Focus on him! Kill him, and it’s over!”
As the orcs renewed their assault, our warriors fell one by one.
“Kim Jiho… I’ll revive and return.”
“Argh…!”
Glancing around, I noticed the warriors’ numbers had dwindled significantly.
More than half were gone.
Diana had gone to deal with the Giant Wyrm that had erged at the heart of the stronghold.
At this point, it was just
and a few warriors holding the entrance.
“Kill him! Kill him now!”
“Throw the axes!”
“Shield.”
Blocking the axes flying from all directions, I charged forward again, smashing orc skulls.
Even with my infinite stamina, I was growing tired of this endless battle.
How long would these maniacs keep charging?
Exhausted, I continued fighting.
This felt like the Battle of Changban, except I was alone.
If the other warriors fell, the line would eventually break.
Even I couldn’t hold them off forever.
My only hope now was to reach level 50 and ascend to C-grade.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a long-awaited notification appeared.
[You have reached Level 50.]
[You are the first Earthling to reach Level 50. You have earned the title ‘Pioneer of Earth (Hero).’]
[You have fulfilled the achievent conditions.]
[You can now ascend to C-grade.]
[Translator - Night]
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