Past midnight. Under the cover of a dark moon, an army marched silently, arriving 2 km from the tall walls of Tulens before halting.
The city was well past curfew, and the lights were dim. They saw some torchlight on the battlements, with a scant few guards patrolling there.
The top commanders of the joint army frowned at this.
"So few guards? Are they that confident in their walls? They should already know we arrived at full force." Wolfgang doubtfully said.
"Perhaps they are merely resting, preparing for battle?" Audbjorn guessed.
"Hmph. Then we should give them a rude wake-up tonight." Kurc sneered.
"My jarl. We will rush to cim their skulls for Qhiion at your orders." Wolfgang's vice-commander, a 5th-tier strongman, eagerly said.
"My jarl. We await your command." Audbjorn's vice-commander also expressed his eagerness.
Only Astrid remained silent, watching the city from afar with her blood-red eyes, the gift of Qhiion, as if discerning something. Wolfgang, who was paying attention to her, noticed it.
"My daughter, what have you found?" Wolfgang asked.
"The winds of blood blow against us. It is a bad omen. Very bad." Astrid gravely said, showing a hint of fear before turning to Wolfgang, "My jarl... no, father. We should pull back our forces. A wise retreat is also in Qhiion's ways. It might not be too te..."
Wolfgang saw it, the pleading in her eyes. It was the first time he saw her like this. She looked desperate, almost vulnerable. It caused Wolfgang to hesitate. He was a religious man who believed in the signs of the gods.
However, Audbjorn and Kurc were not the same.
"You give up so quickly? Just like this? Leave it to a woman to be so weak-willed and paranoid. We brought a whole army of 10,000! We outnumber them more than 2 to 1! And we also have insiders who will open the gates for us." Kurc sneered.
"How about we wait and see? We can retreat and march back if those dirty cultists fail." Audbjorn suggested.
Wolfgang weighed his options before nodding, "Alright, we can wait."
Astrid shook before clenching her fists. She wanted to vent but was unable to. She sighed and stopped trying to convince them, knowing it would be fruitless.
And so, they continued waiting. After about two hours, just when they started hesitating-
"There! Do you see that? It's the signal!" Kurc excitedly pointed at the top of the eastern gate.
The others looked, and sure enough, they saw a fshing light, lighting in a previously agreed-upon interval. The guards were also nowhere to be found, likely taken out by the assassins.
"Good!" Audbjorn had a vicious grin, pulling out his sword. "Kurc, as pnned, take the horsemen to attack from the west gate. Sughter everyone who escapes."
"Yes, my jarl!" Kurc grinned, thumped his chest, and gave a victorious grin to Astrid, "Wait for my gift to you."
Astrid coldly looked at him and didn't reply. He was not worth her time. Instead, she turned to Wolfgang.
"Father, we can still flee." She suggested a second time, drawing a frown from Wolfgang.
"Daughter, I think you are truly being too cautious. If you don't want to join the battle, stay here. If you notice things go awry, you can flee." Wolfgang affectionately patted her shoulder.
"I... As you wish, my Jarl. Let Qhiion guide your axe," Astrid closed her eyes in resignation.
Wolfgang smiled and drew his sword, silently signaling his soldiers to advance.
The soldiers were stimuted and excited and marched with their Grand Jarls and Jarls to sack a major trading city.
Astrid, who remained behind on a small hill, watched with horror as the gates of the city slowly opened, like the bloody maws of a beast, ready to swallow all who entered.
"N-No... NO! PULL BACK! PULL BACK!!!" Astrid screamed at the top of her lungs, but the soldiers were already deaf to her words. They were too far away, and they were already screaming war cries.
"KILL! LOOT!"
"BLOOD FOR QHIION!"
"TAKE THEIR WOMEN! CRUSH THEIR MEN!"
"MAKE THE RIVERS RED!"
"DRINK WINE FROM THEIR SKULLS!"
A thousand men rushed inside the gates, including Audbjorn and Wolfgang at the front.
And then it happened.
Woosh* Creek* Bam*
The gates suddenly dropped, crushing those beneath, and bloody screams rang out as archers appeared on the ramparts, shooting arrows and crossbows, throwing rocks, lighting oil, and tossing explosive potion bottles at their army.
"GYA!"
"UWA!"
"UWA!"
"FIGHT!"
"AMBUSH!"
"NOO!!!"
"REGROUP!"
"RETREAT!!!"
Screams sounded as contradicting orders cshed, and Astrid could even hear her father's voice in the mix.
"LEGENDARY?! YOU SET US UP!!!"
"HAHAHAHA!!! DIE! BARBARIANS! DIE!!!"
BOOM* BOOM* BOOM*
Plop*
"It's over..." Astrid muttered.
Through her blessed eyes, she saw the power of Qhiion swirling around. The death of her people brought Qhiion's favor not only to the city and its defenders but also to a single man. He was not the legendary warrior butchering the two armies, but rather a man who didn't even participate in the fighting, coldly observing it on the City Lord's Mansion's rooftop while offering a sacrifice to Qhiion with three corpses.
Activating ocur magic, her vision focused and saw they were the Ludiron cultists, pierced on spikes. The man continued praying, no, demanding the blessing of Qhiion.
"Qhiion! The true hope of humanity in the darkest of nights! I, Rilden Greybde, offer the gift of blood and skulls in your name! Of these heathens, and of the ones who sided with them! So bless us! Give us our rightful reward! I want the power to face the darkness with bravery and zeal and be the torch of humanity as our forefathers did!"
Such a demand would normally be sacrilegious and anger the mighty god, yet Qhiion was delighted! Astrid even had the feeling Qhiion was ughing in the high heavens!
In real-time, she saw Qhiion's favor grow thicker and thicker until-
HUM*
A thick column of blood light shone on the man calling himself Rilden. It was the heaviest blessing of Qhiion that Astrid had ever seen. Many warriors in the city received a minor blessing, but Rilden received over 90%.
Watching the figure bathed in that light, Astrid had forgotten about the tragic death of her people, the fate of her father unknown to her.
Many barbarians stopped fighting when they saw the pilr of light and dropped their weapons, while the rest tried fleeing. However, those who fled got blocked by Varkas, who turned into a grey giant and were forced to surrender or die. The battle in the west was no better, and it was soon over.
But Astrid ignored it all, her ruby eyes fixated solely on the figure in the pilr of bloody light.
And I am also watching out for stealbots selling free-to-read content on Kindle when you can find it for free on scribblehub...
Gradually, the blessing of Qhiion ended, Rilden's physique grew by a head taller, his muscles were sculpted like marble art, his eyes and hair turned red, and a bloody mark appeared on his chest.
A Hero was born, and she was attracted to him like a moth to the fme.
"He is the man to cim me," Astrid muttered, finally understanding the message she divined several days ago.
Not fleeing, Astrid slowly got on her horse and advanced, not caring if she was cut down or captured on the way.
.
.
.
Rilden opened his eyes, his eyes ruby red, having received the blessing of Qhiion himself.
Qhiion wasn't blind, knowing the cause and effect of everything. Rilden almost single-handedly caused everything, turning the tables around from a hopeless situation, and thus he deserved the reward. And Qhiion was nothing short of generous.
[Despite not being his believer, Qhiion was so pleased with the quality of your offering, audacity, and words that he decided to reward you regardless of your belief, granting you his true blessing, and making you a Hero of Qhiion who carries his original teachings, whether you like it or not!]
[You have undergone the true baptism of Qhiion, becoming his hero and gaining four divine abilities, each reted to Violence, March, Pilging, and Sughter.]
[You have gained the Hero Abilities:
,
[
: Your body and instincts have been tempered to be the ultimate instrument of violence. Your strength, agility, endurance, vitality, perception, and instincts are adjusted to human perfection. You and your subordinates gain affinity to all weapons and a natural fighting sense.]
[
[
[
"Amazing..." Rilden muttered and checked his status.
Name: RildenSex: MaleAge: 18Status: Perfect Condition, DazedSocial Status: Hero of QhiionSexual Status: Virgin Adonis (A hero is always a chick magnet, but you are weirdly still a virgin)Bloodline: ???(Unknown mutated bloodline)Bloodline Abilities: Daily Prophet, Analysis, PrecognitionBlessing: Qhiion(Hero Blessing)Hero Abilities: Perfect Warrior, Fire of Hope, Ruler's Mark, Carver of PathsWarrior Realm: Initial tier 2. Warrior Talent: 2.Magician Realm: Peak tier 1. Magician Talent: 2.Comprehension: 2Overall Evaluation: From zero to hero. Still in the crib, but a hero nonetheless.
"I-I'm a hero now? Like those in the legends of old?" Rilden muttered, finding it difficult to believe.
Heroes. Each god has only one such entity in this world, and they channel the power of their god the most strongly. They are the blessed leaders of their race, and their actions decide its fate. A god might not have had a hero for millennia or had only one a minute after the st one died. Qhiion didn't have a hero, perhaps not finding anyone worthy of him.
"But... I just wanted a regur blessing, not to become a hero..." Rilden's mouth twitched. He felt like he just got had.
Yes, he became a hero, and he wouldn't object to it if he became the hero of Druelia or Bulthar, but the problem was that he became the hero of Qhiion! The Erebium Empire shunned the old gods! Even if the gods themselves didn't have a problem with one another, the religious institutes that tried abandoning them did!
"Can I get a refund? You can take it back and raise my talent to 7, no, 6... 5?" Rilden felt like crying, trying to bargain with Qhiion.
Of course, the god turned a deaf ear, not caring if he wanted to be his hero.
"Fuck..." Rilden's shoulder slumped.
"Y-Young Master... your holiness... I..." A familiar voice sounded behind him.
Rilden turned around and saw Pesem looking at him in reverence.
"Pesem, what's up?" Rilden weirdly asked.
"Everyone saw it... your blessing from the gods. You ended the battle during that moment... Everyone knows you are a hero."
Rilden suddenly noticed he was the center of attention of the entire city.
The defenders, the surrendered enemies, and the civilians looked at him with shock, awe, reverence, and fear.
"Well... so much for being low-key..."