Aldred had 50 undead with him. 49 undead were at the copper rank, while one undead was at the silver rank. Swarmed by them from all sides, Milet had a hard time fighting them.

He slashed at the ogre’s head, turning it into mist of shadows, but not a second passed, and the head returned. Their regenerative ability was a pain in the butt hole.

Aldred, Bartrem, Mareona, and Pongo smiled. They slipped through the ranks of the undead and occasionally attacked the Gold Rank spearman. Whenever they retreated, the silver rank undead would cover for them.

Milet was angered. Although the undead couldn’t hurt him with their attacks, he still needed to put some effort to knock them away. But after a few minutes of fighting, he found a weakness. The undead were less intelligent than normal humans, and they did not care if they would get hurt or not. But they also did not know that their true goal was not to attack him but to protect their master.

Milet smirked. He punctured through dozens of undead. Violent wind revolved at the tip of his spear, cutting anything in his path. It went for Aldred’s frail, small body. He was the master of these undeads. If he died, the undeads would disappear as well.

Suddenly, a large man dashed from the side and blocked his path. It was Bartrem. The spear went through his chest, and out from the back. Milet clicked his tongue in annoyance before kicking him to the side. He rushed forward, stabbing his spear at Aldred again.

Aldred trembled in fear at the sight. This was the first time he saw Bartrem being defeated. The once large, and inspiring image fell to the ground for the first time. The boy couldn’t move as the spear went for his life.

“Aldred!” Mareona blocked the spear with a shield. It failed. The spear went through the shield and stabbed her abdomen. Mareona turned around. Blood leaked out from her lips. “Run, Aldred. You’re our only hope in toppling the emperor.”

Aldred looked at her with widened eyes. For a short moment, his mind was blank, and he couldn’t think. Then he recalled what Mary had said to him. Crush the crystal. Use it to escape.

‘Crush the crystal.’

‘Use it to run to the capital.’

Milet laughed. “I am a Gold Rank. There is no way you can run from me.”_-.

Aldred pulled out his ruby crystal from the inventory. He squeezed, cracking it. It shone out with blinding red light, and then thick red mist entered his body empowering his fire manipulation.

“You think that’s enough to escape from a Gold Rank?”

“I don’t plan to escape.” Aldred stared at him with fiery eyes. His hair floated in non-existence air with fire particles sparked around him. For a moment, the boy was like the ruler of flames with his eyes filled with a blazing aura.

His feet blasted with a powerful flame jet. Milet was shocked when the boy arrived right in front of his face. He couldn’t react as tens of fire javelins pierced his chest. Aldred did not stop there. He shot out a couple of flame jets from his palms, destroying the man’s shoulder to oblivion.

Milet screamed. Blood dripping from his wounds. He attacked, stabbing with his spear at the boy. But the spear stopped short right in front of Aldred’s eyes. Milet looked at his arm and realized there were dozens of fire arrows stabbing his arm and preventing it from moving.

“How could a boy like you defeat me?” Milet looked at Aldred unwillingly.

“You talk too much.”

Dozens of undead stabbed Milet from behind.

Milet kept on looking at the boy before he fell to the ground.

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have entered Gold Rank]

[Divine dimension space increased by 1 kilometers]

[Divine Dimension Teleportation Points unlock]

[Undead limit tripled. Undead capacity: 50/180]

Aldred sighed in relief at finally defeating the enemy. Then he turned around to look at Bartrem and Mareona. His eyes were filled with tears as he rushed to them. Luckily, they still breathed.

“Mira! Can you save them?”

Mira looked at the boy who broke down in tears.

“Please tell me you can. Please. I will believe in whatever god you want me to believe.”

Mira couldn’t turn down his request. “Yes, I can.”

Aldred was relieved.

Mira raised her staff to the sky. Golden particles flashed around her combined with green energies of the life force. She looked at Mareona and Bartrem before opening her lips slightly. A small red particle came out and mixed with the particles around her. They spun around then turned into the color of thick gold.

“Holy Golden Stream.”

The golden water streamed to Mareona and Bartrem. Washing all over them and entering their bodies. All their wounds disappeared in a flash. Their pale skins turned healthy, and they immediately opened their eyes. Awake.

Aldred hugged them both. “You guys survive!” He cried again.

Bartrem realized the situation and hugged the boy back. It wasn’t the first time he experienced a near-death situation, but it wasn’t the same for Mareona. She felt she had died earlier, and it was weird to return back alive again. But looking at the boy who cried for her sake, she threw the other thoughts away and hugged him.

After a few minutes, Aldred looked at Mira, ran to her, and hugged her tight. “Thank you for saving them.”

Mira smiled. Her skin looked paler than usual. “It’s okay. You don’t have to thank me.”

She felt so much weaker because she used her life span to save them. She had to unless the boy turned resentful and destroyed the world when he had the power. Mira had seen many people consumed by their hatred. They destroyed the world around them, and then themselves. The boy had great power in his hands. She must guide him to a better path.

Aldred noticed Mira’s health deteriorate. His godly eyes detected many problems in her body. That never happened before. “Mira, what was the cost you pay to save them?”

“Nothing,” she replied. “The god is benevolent. He gave hope to those who need it.”

“Stop lying. You clearly become much weaker after saving them.”

“I’m just running out of mana, child. A good rest and I’ll be good to go.”

“That cannot be. You still have a lot of mana in you.” Aldred could see her mana capacity with his godly eyes. He then noticed a red life force that flickered weakly. “Did you sacrifice your lifespan?”

Mira sighed. “I cannot hide anything from you, can’t I?”

Mareona and Bartrem heard their conversation.

“Why did you save us?” Bartrem asked. “You are our enemy.”

Mareona was curious as well. “Enemy?”

“He’s a nun from Montcresia,” Bartrem said. Since Mareona was in the empress’ camp, it was safe to tell her.

Mira smiled. “I don’t see you as the enemy. Our enemies are those who fall to their emotions. Greedy kings and emperors take more than they need from the people. Power-hungry nobles betray each other for influence. Those are our enemies. It’s not about ceraisian or montcresian.”

Bartrem looked down in shame. At first, he thought the nun only spouted nonsense to cloud their mind. After all, Montcresia had tried many times to convert the soldiers to their religion. But not once had Mira tried to convince him or his soldiers to enter her religion. It was always about emotion; the driving force of why humans do what they do.

“But why did you sacrifice your lifespan for us?” Aldred asked. “We only know each other for a short time.”

“Because I believe you can change the world, child. I don’t want you to become resentful of the world, and destroy it.”

“You really believe I can change the world?”

“Not just me. A lot of people put their hopes on you.”

Aldred looked at Bartrem and Mareona. They nodded.

Mira held his shoulders. “Your shoulder is heavy with responsibilities. All I can do is lift it slightly.”

“Me as well,” Mareona said with a smile. “I will do everything to help you, Aldred. If you need anything just come to me.”

“Since the emperor ordered a Gold Rank to kill you, there’s not much I can do. But I will be your body shield anytime you need it,” Bartrem said.

Aldred was shocked. They all willingly threw their life for him. Who was he? Did he deserve all of this? He was just a boy. What had he done to deserve this treatment? He couldn’t find the answer.

Aldred wiped his tears and snot. “I have something to tell you guys.”