Chapter 23: Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Uh... The Strategy Guide...? (2)

“How… how did it turn out, Apostle?”

“Is the commander of the elite troops deployed Diana, Ambrosian, Lannister, and Reblo?”

I check the content of the book first.

Cross-checking is essential.

“Oh, yes. Did such content appear in the holy scriptures?”

“As expected, the gods are great!”

“Great indeed!”

Holy scriptures, my foot.

It’s just Satan’s rubbish.

Still, it seems accurate.

“Among them, it is recorded that Commander Lannister of the Knights has died. The dwarf lord Ambrosian has safely headed to the sanctuary of the earth. I intend to assist the remaining two and activate all the sanctuaries.”

“Ah… Lannister… I understand. We will risk our lives to defend this castle in the meantime.”

The count, who seemed close to Commander Lannister, briefly reddened his eyes but soon replied with a resolute expression.

“Understood. However, judging by the state of things, it seems difficult to defend the castle while leaving that vanguard untouched. I will defeat that vanguard alone.”

“W-what? Alone, Apostle? That’s too dangerous!”

“We will help you!”

Everyone in the conference room stood up to stop me.

But I was confident.

No, it wasn’t confidence—it was more like the belief that if I couldn’t handle this, I couldn’t clear this planet.

Even the damn strategy guide said, ‘The Trein Fortress can be captured even with a vanguard lacking elite troops.’

If their level is similar to those guys from before, I can manage by enduring with my boundless stamina.

If I die here, I’ll just move on to another planet.

But, of course, I couldn’t say it like that...

Cough, cough.

I cleared my throat and adjusted my tone.

“It is written in the holy scriptures that this is the first trial I must face. The first trial I must undertake for the order of our world! As the Apostle of the Goddess of War, I will gladly carry out this mission.”

Let’s put on a good act as the Apostle of the gods.

Lowering my voice, I began.

“Look upon this sword.”

The black blade burned with a pure white flame.

The essence of divine power granted by Athena.

Its sacred aura brought everyone to their knees.

“Minerva has bestowed divine power upon me, Mars has granted the blessing to deflect arrows, and Hellenis has given the power of the sun. With the blessings of these three gods, I shall not be defeated.”

“Minerva… Mars… Hellenis…!”

“Ohhh! The gods have sent their ultimate warrior!”

“The adversary of the Dragon of Destruction Akardian has arrived!”

“Oh, gods, forgive this lowly one for doubting you, even briefly.”

I habitually started to say Athena, Ares, and Apollo, but the names naturally translated into the ones these people recognized as gods.

Now that I think about it, it’s Roman-style to call Athena and Ares Minerva and Mars, but why is Apollo Hellenis?

Ah, who cares?

That’s not important.

Let’s just keep spinning tales.

“Warriors of the Trein Fortress, trust in me and the gods who bless me. Allow me to carry out my first trial. I will annihilate those enemies alone and offer victory to the gods!”

The divine power imbued in the sword erupted, radiating brilliantly.

The shimmering white light was stunningly beautiful.

Wow, did Athena go all out for this?

This sudden display—very nice.

“Ahhh...”

“Truly divine power.”

“Minerva!”

“Mars!”

“Hellenis!”

“We believe in you, the ultimate warrior!”

“We trust in the Apostle of the gods!”

Maybe it’s because the divine power is so overwhelming, but everyone burst into tears and began praying fervently.

Ah, divine power sure makes people easy to convince.

[Pollux is sulking because their name wasn’t mentioned.]

Mister… do these people even know who you are?

If I said Pollux, they’d probably go, ‘Who’s that?’ Don’t ruin the mood.

[Pollux is at a loss for words and feels dejected.]

Sorry, but it can’t be helped.

The local names work better here!

Amidst everyone’s heartfelt sendoff, I leapt over the fortress walls and charged alone toward the enemy camp.

I had no idea how many enemies there were.

Taking on the enemy vanguard alone—ha ha ha.

This is madness.

But this insane planet requires you to do crazy things to clear it.

Let’s see who dies today.

After sprinting toward the orc camp, I observed the enemy’s encampment from a distance.

Their defenses weren’t particularly tight.

Since the fortress was almost on the verge of collapse today, they likely didn’t expect anyone to attack from here.

The orc tents were densely packed.

Perhaps because the fortress was built in a mountainous area, they didn’t have the space to spread out.

This calls for fire tactics, doesn’t it?

I summoned the Chariot of Flames.

With the blessings that boosted my mana and my maxed-out neutral faction stats,

the chariot I summoned this time had an extra horse.

The chariot had grown larger, with enough space for me to comfortably ride.

“Chariot of Flames!”

“It’s the Apostle!”

The large, crude military tents illuminated by the firelight were packed tightly together.

Orcs rushed out in a panic.

But I had no intention of dealing with them one by one.

Driving the Chariot of Flames, I charged straight through the cluster of tents.

“Arghhh!”

“Fire! Fire!”

“Get out of the way!”

Whoosh!

The flames trailed behind the chariot as it tore through the camp.

The blazing trail left a path of destruction.

Some orcs, risking their lives, leapt toward the chariot to block its path.

No—they weren’t trying to stop the chariot but were aiming for me.

A chariot made of fire couldn’t be stopped, so they were targeting the driver.

But I had the power of incorporeality.

“What… what is this? Arghhh!”

An orc, engulfed in flames, tried to grab me but passed right through my body.

A scream echoed like a haunting melody.

Incorporeality allowed me to transform my body into a ghostly state.

I wondered if it would make me fall off the chariot, but it didn’t.

I could ride the chariot while evading attacks, perfectly picking the benefits.

The ability came naturally, perhaps because I was a soul mediator and soul reaper.

It was ridiculously easy to control.

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“Retreat! Stay away!”

“Don’t engage until their mana runs out!”

“Run! Arghhh!”

The depletion of mana was noticeably tangible.

Still, it wasn’t as bad as when I first summoned it.

Back then, since it was running independently and the distance grew further, mana drained in chunks.

But now, as I was riding it, the consumption wasn’t as severe.

Even so, I couldn’t predict when the chariot would disappear.

So, I had to cross this camp quickly and turn everything into a sea of fire.

After about 10 minutes of riding—

I passed through the enemy lines faster than any vehicle I’d ever ridden.

A wrenching sensation tightened in my chest.

It was nearing the end.

The speed of the chariot gradually slowed down and finally stopped, shrinking away completely.

Hmm.

Did I manage to pierce through more than half of the enemy camp?

For now, I should avoid the sea of fire behind me and charge forward.

“The Apostle’s mana is depleted!”

“Kill him! Kill him now!”

Persistent, those orc bastards.

Truly.

Even in this hellish fire, instead of fleeing, they pointed at me and pursued.

How can they have such unyielding determination?

Is it because of the Black Dragon?

“Ugh!”

My body was in perfect condition.

I leapt forward, using an orc’s head as a stepping stone.

The orc tried to resist in its own way, but with my Radiant Shield activated, it was no match.

If anything got in my way too much, I cut it down with my sword, slicing through the enemy lines.

“Chase him!”

With Athena’s buffs, two overlapping status windows, and neutral faction abilities maxed to the limit, they were no match for me.

Their attacks couldn’t land, and even a simple punch from me shattered an orc’s head.

Still, they kept reviving their fighting spirit to throw themselves at me.

If I were in their shoes, with my camp burning and unable to even scratch my enemy, I would have fled long ago.

Is it the Black Dragon again?

“Blessing of the Entire Body.”

A group of orcs hurled hand axes and spears at me in unison.

But with the blessing, every weapon missed.

With no worry about ranged attacks, my pace quickened even more.

I ran and ran until I reached the end of the enemy camp.

I felt my mana returning.

Alright, time for another round.

“Summon Flame Chariot.”

The orc unit chasing me hesitated.

“Argh!”

“It’s the Flame Chariot!”

“Already?!”

Shall we go again?

Even though the Flame Chariot was powerful, it couldn’t completely incinerate the vanguard camp of the orcs.

But if I kept running like this, I could create a true hellfire.

“Stop him!”

The orcs heroically threw themselves at me, disregarding their lives.

Perhaps they didn’t see me turning ethereal earlier because they hurled their bodies again.

Heh.

Even as enemies, their resolve was admirable.

But I couldn’t afford to die here.

I lightly turned ethereal to evade and restarted the fiery chariot.

From the opposite end of the orc camp, the flames began spreading once more. seaʀᴄh thё ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Ugh… If only we had a shaman…”

“Grr… Was it a mistake to rush the Trein Fortress without our spirits?”

“To think we’re being toyed with by a single Apostle…”

I heard the despair of the orcs.

I was playing with them.

The difficulty was supposedly “hard,” yet it felt far too easy.

When my mana recovered, I summoned the Flame Chariot and charged toward the enemy lines.

When it depleted, I didn’t fight the orcs but fled.

Then, once the magic returned, I summoned the chariot again and charged.

Perhaps it was because they had no mages that I faced little retaliation and simply repeated this process.

Sometimes I even sped through areas already engulfed in flames.

In those moments, Peep absorbed the flickering fire around me, shielding me.

While the orcs suffocated and collapsed, I remained unscathed.

I was starting to feel like I wasn’t even human anymore.

If the D-rank limit was like this, how strong would I be at C-rank or B-rank?

After burning down the entire enemy camp, the battle was essentially over.

Yet these damnable orcs still didn’t think of fleeing.

The few remaining orcs and Uruks charged at me in a frenzy.

“Why don’t you run away?”

I asked, genuinely curious.

Their entire camp was aflame, their bodies scorched and blackened, and yet they barely managed to pursue me.

If I were an orc, I would have fled long ago.

From the moment a crazy man charged in alone, I would’ve felt the chill and started planning my escape.

“Human… How can you speak our tongue?”

“Orcs never show their backs!”

“That’s not true. You do flee sometimes.”

They had retreated during the siege when they couldn’t match us.

“Grr… At night, there’s nothing more terrifying than Lord Akardian.”

“It’s better to die here! Comrades, let’s fight!”

“That’s right! Kill the Apostle!”

Akardian must be the Black Dragon’s name.

Do they fight harder at night instead of fleeing?

Tch.

What mad creatures.

Fine.

Now that everything’s ablaze, it’s time for Round 2.

Let’s see you all perish.

[You have obtained the title “Orc Slayer.”]

…

[You have fully acquired “Orc’s Strength.” Your physical strength is already maxed out, so your stats will no longer increase.]

…

[Your SP has reached 1,000. The Premium Shop is now available.]

…

[You have annihilated the Orc Vanguard.]

[You have completed the side quest “Break the Enemy Vanguard.”]

[You have obtained the title “Conqueror of Orcs.”]

[You gain 1,000 SP.]

[You have completed the chain quest “Destroy the Enemy Vanguard Alone.”]

[You gain 1,000 SP.]

[You receive 3 attribute points.]

[The blessing of the Goddess of War, Athena, has been enhanced. Athena shows a faint interest in you.]

[Translator - Night]

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