Chapter 34

Finally, the war broke out.

Well, if we’re being polite, it’s more like a suppression—a fight between a cult and a nation.

But in terms of scale, yeah, it’s definitely a war.

Not only is it large-scale, but massive conflicts like this rarely happened in modern times.

The elites of the Ansellus Kingdom versus the warriors of the Future Hope Church—these two clashed first.

Every time they killed each other, warmth would flow in, *swoosh swoosh*.

Hehe!

For once, the warmth lasted so long that I was feeling super duper happy!

But then it burned out like firewood and disappeared.

It wasn’t because the fight ended—it was because things changed up suddenly.

This wasn’t a war where people went out like candles; it wasn’t an indiscriminate battle where countless lives vanished with every clash. Instead, it became more efficient, minimizing friendly casualties while maximizing damage to the enemy.

The Future Hope Church started using strategy and tactics.

I know why. It’s Witga. That guy has incredible skill in handling people. Last time he fought Yasle, now he’s commanding troops?

So, should we focus on fighting the incoming Ansellus Kingdom first?

Then does that mean Ansellus will fail?

Tisah will fail?

I thought so too, but then Andrew approached Witga. It wasn’t a private meeting—Isra was with Witga, and one of Andrew’s Blessed Ones was there too.

Andrew explained the current situation, saying Hieronymus had abandoned Witga. He claimed it was all over when the Blessed One heading north disappeared.

Then Andrew asked Witga what his goal was.

Witga looked around, making eye contact with everyone who came with Andrew—including me several times. Yeah, I got stared at a lot.

That’s right. Andrew brought several Blessed Ones as subordinates. Isra grabbed a weapon, and Andrew’s followers noticed and reached for their own weapons too.

Tension at its peak!

Witga spoke with a complicated expression about the fall of the Cogni Kingdom. When Andrew asked why, Witga revealed he used to be a general of the Ogla Kingdom.

Searching through the memories of those who knew, it turned out the Ogla Kingdom was destroyed by Cogni.

Of course.

That’s why he’s so skilled in strategy, tactics, and warfare. Even Isra, who was nearby, didn’t know this and stared wide-eyed at Witga.

Andrew promised to help Witga if he followed him. But Witga countered by asking if Andrew wasn’t the same as Hieronymus.

In response, Andrew mentioned me.

There aren’t just three people who can receive blessings but four, he said, claiming he’d confirmed this directly from the Outsider.

He twisted Hieronymus’ words, making it seem like Hieronymus had been embezzling blessings.

I know it’s a lie—I’m the type who sticks to facts.

Andrew then questioned whether anything Hieronymus said could be trusted. When Witga slowly nodded, Andrew smiled.

He didn’t ask Witga to trust him but instead proposed a deal: let the elite soldiers of Ansellus charge straight to a village, and in return, Andrew would help organize an army of Blessed Ones under Witga’s command.

Witga asked if the Outsider would agree to that.

Andrew repeated what the Outsider had told me: as long as offerings were provided, blessings could be bestowed on anyone.

Witga froze upon hearing this.

After a moment, he asked Andrew if he planned to take the Outsider.

Andrew responded by suggesting the Outsider would make a suitable new god.

After a long silence, Witga put the matter on hold. Then Andrew handed over one of his Blessed Ones to Witga, saying he could use them as he pleased.

The ones who acted as my eyes and ears heard Witga mutter something about surveillance but pretended not to notice.

Probably because it was true.

And the next day…

Blessed Ones without special abilities advanced to the battlefield and suffered a tragic defeat. The elite soldiers of the Ansellus Kingdom, riding animal-drawn vehicles, covered a week’s journey in just four days on foot.

Panic spread through the underground temple. Food and water from surrounding villages were moved inside, and many armed themselves to fight.

I also relocated from my original room to a deeper chamber within the underground temple—my very first room.

During this time, I hadn’t seen Thungkesuni. Was she working elsewhere or had she fled? I thought she might be useful in case of emergency, but I made a mistake.

I should’ve stuck close to her, even if it meant fawning.

When you fail, you analyze and improve.

So I went to find Yasle.

“What?”

“I want you to stay with me.”

I stated my business bluntly. Yasle sighed deeply and tried to placate me, but I refused to back down.

Knowledgeable candidates don’t grow on trees.

Yeah, why did I stay quiet until now? Why did I watch passively as the Future Hope Church headed toward ruin, letting the organization giving warmth and sustaining my Harvester fail?

Because I was patient.

Extremely patient.

I wanted something, so I watched silently as the church crumbled, carefully controlling my urge to hasten its collapse. Wait. Wait. Wait.

At last, Yasle was cornered.

Yes, and now I’ll attach myself to him like a little girl.

Whenever an offering is given, the power of blessing flows. A bit unsettling, but so far, he’s done nothing, acting merely like a simple beast.

Thungkesuni’s absence bothers me, but I can’t afford to lose this person—they possess knowledge far more important than fleeting warmth.

When I finally threw a tantrum and clung to Yasle, he eventually gave up. Gave up completely.

Right now, Andrew is striking a deal with the Ansellus Kingdom. In exchange for turning a blind eye, he opened a secret passage and showed the elite soldiers the way to Hieronymus.

Slowly but surely, the collapse of the underground temple was approaching.

I couldn’t afford to miss this chance. Never.

So I followed Hieronymus alongside Joanna. No one from the sect found it strange that I was tagging along.

They probably think I’m sticking close because of the dangerous situation.

Luckily, there’s no sense of awkwardness as I trail behind.

Then Witga came to see Hieronymus. After a long silence, he suddenly shouted that the kingdoms of Lasve and Cogni were attacking from the north.

He blamed Hieronymus for not providing enough Blessed Ones and demanded to know which direction the troops would be sent.

But his face was plastered with lies.

Hieronymus asked what he meant by “where.”

Witga replied whether the troops would head north to face the two invading kingdoms or southeast toward the capital of the Ansellus Kingdom.

Instead of answering immediately, Hieronymus asked Witga for an update on the war situation.

Witga explained everything, stating that holding out in the underground temple would suffice.

Lies.

His guilty expression betrayed him, but I played dumb.

Hieronymus ordered Witga to head southeast.

A faint look of resignation and hatred crossed Witga’s face before disappearing. He nodded, turned toward the door, and without looking back, muttered that he was sick of lies before walking out.

He wandered far away. Then, in a secluded spot, he told one of Andrew’s subordinates that he’d join Andrew’s ranks.

Yasle made a huge mistake.

That question about which direction to send reinforcements was likely his last chance. But Yasle prioritized dealing with the Ansellus Kingdom.

Yeah, wrong choice.

Two days later, Witga left with a large group of followers, supposedly to attack the Ansellus Kingdom to the southeast—but I know that’s not true.

Afterward, I continued following Yasle as he inspected the underground temple. Initially, he felt uncomfortable, but by the second day, he stopped paying attention to me altogether.

On the second day after Witga’s departure—

BOOM!

Sand rained down from the ceiling.

Finally, the day arrived.

Two days ago, when the entrance to the underground temple was reached and Andrew received guidance from someone inside, the Ansellus soldiers didn’t attack immediately.

They waited for the armies of Lasve and Cogni to strike first, using the chaos to infiltrate.

A diversionary tactic.

Led by Tisah, the soldiers of the Ansellus Kingdom breached the underground temple.

Inside, there were hardly any soldiers left—they had gone out to defend against the attacks from Lasve and Cogni.

So the ones who stood in their way were ordinary believers.

But they were all slaughtered.

The men trying to block them, the women grabbing at their ankles, and even the children who rushed out despite not fully understanding the situation—all of them died.

Incidentally, some of those children were Blessed Ones, so they roughly understood what was happening. And apparently, so did Hieronymus—he must have known, since ominous energy surged around, collapsing tunnels and breaking the limbs of charging soldiers.

But even that couldn’t stop Tisah.

Eventually, they reached the deepest part of the temple—where Hieronymus was.

A few bloodied young men and women, including Tisah, stood before Hieronymus. Just as they prepared to fight, Hieronymus destroyed the area and retreated through a hidden passage.

I hung onto Joanna and followed Hieronymus.

We walked a long, dark secret passage filled only with heavy breathing.

It was a really long tunnel.

We finally emerged outside—but there stood the army of the Ansellus Kingdom, along with Andrew and a Blessed One.

Surprisingly, Hieronymus wasn’t shocked.

He calmly looked at them, pulled out a strange device, and the ominous energy we’d seen all along erupted from him.

He was powerful.

He killed many soldiers from the Ansellus Kingdom and even some Blessed Ones.

Victory seemed within reach—but just before the tide could turn—

Tisah and his comrades emerged from the passage we had used.

They were incredibly strong, and Hieronymus ultimately fell.

His body was battered, suffering fatal wounds that signaled imminent death.

Yes.

Finally.

The opportunity arrived.

I waited a very long time. Not idly observing but unable to act. Even creating a superhuman wouldn’t guarantee success due to unpredictable variables.

Most importantly, Yasle summoned me here.

He might know how to reverse-summon me.

So I endured, endured, endured, and kept waiting.

After telling Joanna to let go, I approached the blood-soaked figure barely standing.

Tisah screamed, realizing my intent, while Andrew yelled not to kill me.

I asked him the same question I asked every day—the one he already knew.

“I will give myself to you. In return, when you finish everything, I’ll take everything you have. How does that sound?”

With a dark expression, he bowed his head, touched his wound, and extended his hand smeared with blood.

Yasle nodded toward the Outsider.

“Let’s do it.”

A dark purple mist flowed out of me, enveloping Yasle, and eventually met the light. The light instantly turned black.

Simultaneously, Yasle’s skin cracked open, revealing a tall youth inside. His hair was purple, his skin blue, his eyes yellow, and his sclerae pitch black.

He became a Blessed Superhuman.

Meanwhile, I discovered what I sought: the method to summon someone into this world!

The fruits of patience are oh-so-sweet!

Heh heh…

Unintentionally, I grinned ear to ear.

My facial control failed.

Look at me.

I finally achieved my goal!

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