Ch.1616. Angel of Vengeance

Meanwhile, there are warriors who, despite being stronger and more formidable than those who became Blood Warriors, have not become Blood Warriors themselves.

This is certainly not due to a lack of skill—quite the opposite. To be precise, it’s because their level is too high.

These warriors, including Bjorn’s wife Rael, are those who awakened their Aura in the past and became intermediate-level warriors…..

Since it would be excessively inefficient to mix them with lower-ranked soldiers and use them as mere infantry, these 47 intermediate warriors were not made into Blood Warriors.

Instead, they were selected separately by me and received new training.

Blood Warrior training is the most basic and fundamental education course.

In addition to this, they received various commander training in strategy, administration, accounting, logistics, and civil operations….

Currently, exactly 36 intermediate warriors have passed all of these courses.

Therefore, I provided them with equipment two levels higher than the Blood Warriors’ gear.

Then I bestowed upon them an even more powerful blessing that went beyond merely enhancing their physical abilities—I interfered with their very souls, causing them to be reborn as my kin.

And during this process of rebirth,

The intermediate warriors influenced by my divinity grew wings of light from their backs, and halos formed above their heads.

I gave these warriors who had become my kin the name “Angels of Avenge.”

For now, this is a military branch appointed when intermediate or higher warriors among my followers die and volunteer for the army even in that state…..

In the future, I am also considering rebirthing Blood Warriors who achieve exceptional merit as Angels of Avenge.

Of course, they would need to receive the appropriate education.

Anyway, returning to the main point.

I appointed these individuals who ascended as Angels of Avenge as commanders of the Blood Warrior battalions.

According to the battalion structure divided into 10 companies, 30 of them were dispatched to the 30 companies formed by the division of 3 battalions.

The Angels of Avenge thus dispatched serve as company commanders and assault leaders.

As for the top 6, those ranked 4th, 5th, and 6th were appointed as battalion commanders,

while the remaining 1st, 2nd, and 3rd were assigned to the general headquarters.

Bjorn’s wife Rael, who ranked 1st, became the Commander-in-Chief, while the 2nd and 3rd became her aides and guards.

Since I believed that such a position as Commander-in-Chief should come with corresponding glory and reward,

I bestowed upon her a weapon that, while not quite a divine artifact, was at least level 3 equipment—allowing her to directly use my power.

This spear, named the “Spear of Avenge,” was created by taking a fragment of a fragment of my divinity.

It not only allows the user to cast divine magic up to level 3 but also grants endless vitality and resistance to all manner of things.

But the true power of this spear lies elsewhere.

Anyone who officially possesses this spear can issue commands to Blood Warriors or my kin by borrowing my authority.

Its value is sufficient in that it prevents personal feelings of discontent toward the Commander-in-Chief from hindering combat operations.

※ ※ ※

And while these warriors were being trained and reborn as my soldiers,

The approximately 100 shamans, instead of being drafted as combat units, were gathered at the forge according to my instructions, contributing their power to produce various divine weapons.

While the profession of shaman is certainly not weak—typically equivalent to something between druids and sorcerers—there seemed to be no reason to deploy them on the battlefield.

This was not because the shamans were weak, but rather because the main enemies my soldiers would face were divine soldiers.

Fundamentally, divine soldiers, kin, or angels have very high magic defense and resistance, leaving little room for the shamans’ specialty of curses to be effective.

Additionally, shamans are magic-based professionals specialized in support or special techniques, so their magical firepower isn’t particularly high either…..

Now, the weapons they are creating will likely solve the problem of ranged magical attacks for my army.

The appearance is rather unique—a massive mortar mounted on a fairly sturdy carriage pulled not by horses but by two unusually large Hounds of Vengeance.

In particular, the bronze mortar with red gems embedded in its surface is named the Blood Cannon,

and true to its name, it fires holy blood, raining blood storms upon the enemies’ heads—essentially a medieval fantasy version of a self-propelled mortar.

While it requires a shaman’s soul to possess the machine to operate it, the advantage is that no additional crew is needed.

Anyway, as the army was gradually being completed,

I was beginning to think that it was time for Bjorn’s growth to truly begin in earnest.

※ ※ ※

“Noble Ma-Duk, another brave warrior comes to your side……. please watch over him.”

In the underground of the Colosseum in the holy city of the Rom Empire, in the underground prison where slave gladiators—most of whom had recently fallen into secret faith—resided.

“…please watch over him.”

“”””””””””Please watch over him””””””””””

Here, a funeral for a slave gladiator who died today was being conducted under the leadership of the apostle of the god—Bjorn ‘The Chosen’.

Since the bodies of slave gladiators were disposed of as food for the monsters used in the Colosseum’s beast hunts, it was a miserable funeral without even a corpse…..

Nevertheless, their attitude was solemn beyond measure.

They laid out the deceased’s belongings and clothes in place of the body,

and Bjorn took out his divine artifact—an amulet—and slowly waved it over the belongings like an incense burner.

Finally, they burned his clothes in a brazier used for lighting in place of the body to end the funeral,

after which the gladiators dispersed to their individual prison cells.

Normally, such actions that could instill a sense of community would never be allowed for slave gladiators who were essentially death row inmates…..

Surprisingly, this issue was easily resolved.

The underground prison that served as the slave gladiators’ quarters had terrible conditions, and incidents of gladiators killing guards were so frequent

that no one came down to the underground except during meal times.

Thus, as the gladiators slowly fell asleep remembering their dead comrade in undisturbed silence,

‘…Is this right?’

Bjorn was blaming himself for being unable to do anything for his fellow suffering gladiators despite becoming an apostle of the god.

Though chosen by Ma-Duk, the God of Vengeance, and made his apostle….

Bjorn was still treated as the empire’s toy and spectacle, unable to protect the gladiators he had grown close to.

One could say he should be satisfied that the dead gladiators were guided to heaven by Ma-Duk thanks to his evangelism…..

But for the excessively conscientious Bjorn, this was an impossible mindset to maintain.

Therefore, as Bjorn was tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to grief and sorrow—

《It’s been a while, my apostle.》

“——?!!!!”

As the familiar voice he hadn’t heard for months reached his ears, the startled Bjorn sat up to find that,

‘Where is this? No, more importantly, my clothes……..’

He had somehow been transported to a dark forest, wearing the attire and equipment from his days as a tribal chief.

‘Is this real? Or a dream?’

Though surrounded by inexplicable circumstances, he knew one thing for certain.

Undoubtedly, this was happening according to the will of his master, Ma-Duk.

‘…Let’s go see.’

So as he got up and looked around,

His eyes caught sight of a strange puppy with reddish fur staring at him.

The moment their eyes met, the puppy immediately started running without looking back,

and Bjorn, instinctively sensing something unusual about the puppy, began running after it.

‘Is this the noble one’s arrangement?’

With his shackles mysteriously gone, allowing him to use his Aura for the first time in a long while, Bjorn ran at full speed but still couldn’t catch up to the puppy.

This convinced him that the puppy was connected to Ma-Duk, removing any hesitation from his movements.

After running for about an hour,

Bjorn saw the puppy jump into a cave somewhere and immediately followed it into the cave, but…..

‘…What is this place?’

What his eyes beheld was not the familiar puppy he had been watching for an hour, but a massive rock wall with a large, majestic stone door, and—

“KUOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

‘—A troll!?’

A giant troll wielding a wooden club, guarding that door.