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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 28
The moment I saw the people hiding in the harbor’s crater, I moved immediately.
I wasn’t planning on revealing my identity if I could help it, but I wasn’t so heartless that I could just ignore people in danger.
If I could save them, I should.
So, I ordered the three artillery units to continue bombarding Fort Mulgrave while directing the main Revolutionary force to charge into the harbor.
Empowered by [Battlefield Charisma], the Revolutionaries tore through the Royalist coalition and surged into the harbor in an instant.
‘Europeans.’
The people hiding in the crater were European.
Since Toulon Harbor was in France, they were probably French Hunters.
It was strange to think that I was now encountering people from the other side of the world, after leaving my shop in Yeoksam-dong, Korea, to enter this Gate.
One woman, who seemed to be their leader, looked oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her.
“Can I heal them?”
“If you want to, Jeanne, then go ahead.”
While Jeanne treated the Hunters, I took care of the remaining Royalist undeads.
Bang!
Blasting off the head of an officer at the center of a group caused dozens of undeads to collapse with it.
I hadn’t even known that shooting the officers would make the rest disappear.
I had just fired because it felt like the right move, and the results spoke for themselves.
Another ability of Napoleon’s Rifle, perhaps the ability to identify the key targets.
Bang! Bang!
I simply pulled the trigger on whatever target the rifle told me to shoot.
And every time, without fail, an officer’s head was erased from existence.
‘Damn, this thing hits perfectly.’
Landing every shot made firing all the more satisfying.
At this rate, I could probably hit my mark with my eyes closed.
Of course, it wasn’t because I was some master marksman.
==
Accuracy: +90%
==
It was all thanks to the rifle.
With the officers dropping like flies, the harbor, once swarming with undeads, quickly emptied.
"Clean up the rest."
[Oh!]
A Revolutionary officer saluted me before leading his forces to mop up the remaining Royalist stragglers.
With the Battlefield Charisma buff active, the Royalist undeads didn’t stand a chance.
Leaving the cleanup to the Revolutionaries, I turned to the French Hunters.
Jeanne had finished healing their injuries, and they were now back on their feet.
The woman who seemed to be their leader stepped forward and introduced herself.
“Rachel Bonaparte.”
“She says her name is Rachel Bonaparte. She’s the current head of the Bonaparte family.”
“Oh, that Rachel Bonaparte…”
Hearing Jeanne’s translation, I looked at the woman with newfound recognition.
No wonder she had seemed familiar.
Rachel Bonaparte was someone I’d seen on TV countless times.
France’s S-rank Hunter and a direct descendant of Napoleon himself.
Up close, Rachel bore a striking resemblance to Napoleon.
Her hair was silver, but her sharp, unwavering gaze and well-defined features immediately reminded me of him.
Then, without warning, she handed me a small brooch.
"Present."
"Thank you."
Hearing the French word for gift, I accepted the brooch from her.
It was adorned with a cross-shaped gemstone at the center, encircled by a laurel wreath.
‘Looks like a medal.’
I examined it.
==
[Napoleon’s Medal]
==
It didn’t display a rank or abilities, but one thing was clear; it was Napoleon’s relic.
I looked at Rachel in surprise, and she gestured toward her chest as if fastening a medal.
"She wants you to wear it."
"She’s giving this to me?"
"Yes, she says it’s a token of gratitude for saving them."
Taken aback by the unexpected reward, I followed her suggestion and pinned the medal to my chest.
But nothing happened.
It was just a brooch with no effects, no reaction.
‘Guess it’s not compatible with me.’
This wasn’t unheard of.
Some relics required a matching soul resonance, while others chose their own wielder.
Excalibur, for example Arthur became King of Britain by pulling the sword from the stone, something no one else could do.
Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, was another relic that only Thor himself could lift.
It seemed this brooch simply hadn’t recognized me.
Or so I thought...
— Napoleon’s Rifle has recognized the medal.
— Napoleon’s Rifle’s attack power has slightly increased.
The rifle hummed softly, and a more detailed description of the medal surfaced.
==
[Napoleon’s Medal]
[Rank: Epic]
[Shield of Protection: 3 uses]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
— The Order of the Elephant, awarded to Napoleon by King Frederick VI of Denmark.
==
‘So that’s how it works.’
Just like Admiral Yi’s Twin Dragon Sword had synchronized with his helmet, Napoleon’s Medal had merged with his Rifle.
It seemed that being recognized by the relic’s original owner had allowed me to connect with their other relics as well.
***
Meanwhile, Rachel Bonaparte was trembling.
She had given him Napoleon’s Medal to confirm a suspicion to prove that he was Napoleon’s reincarnation.
The medal was a relic that had once belonged to Napoleon himself, and the only person who could fully awaken it was Napoleon.
The only other way it could react was if Napoleon himself had personally acknowledged someone.
But that was impossible.
There wasn’t a single person on Earth who could meet a figure from centuries past.
Yet the medal had responded.
This could only mean one thing: Choi Seojun was Napoleon’s reincarnation.
At first, Rachel had been confused as to why the medal hadn’t reacted immediately.
But now she understood it must have simply taken time to recognize him as Napoleon’s reborn self.
‘My… ancestor…’
Rachel’s eyes trembled as she gazed at Choi Seojun.
Now, she finally understood why the Revolutionary forces were following him.
Napoleon was Toulon’s commander!
With the rightful owner of the relics returned, it was only natural for the Revolutionary forces to obey him.
‘And his siege tactics… they’re exactly as described in our family’s records.’
The sheer realization made her legs weak.
***
‘Why is she looking at me like that?’
Rachel was staring at me with an intense expression.
Her legs were shaking slightly; perhaps she hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries.
Thinking she wanted the medal back, I hesitated for a moment before reluctantly removing it from my chest.
It was a powerful relic. There was no way she’d just give it away.
“This is far too valuable for me to accept.”
But even as I tried to return it, Rachel refused to take it back.
“She says you’re worthy of it.”
“Me?”
“Yes. That’s what she said.”
I looked at Rachel, and she simply smiled softly and nodded.
Then, without another word, she climbed out of the crater and took the lead.
“She wants to spearhead the attack.”
“But she hasn’t fully recovered yet…”
I was concerned about her condition, but if she insisted, it wasn’t my place to stop her.
Besides, I was curious just how strong was an S-rank Hunter like Rachel Bonaparte?
If things got too dangerous, I could always intervene.
‘She’s surprisingly kind.’
Rachel, leading the charge with such composure, truly seemed like Napoleon’s descendant.
***
Rachel had struggled earlier only because she had entered the Gate with no prior intel.
But now that she was prepared, her true power as an S-rank Hunter was undeniable.
Shuaaa—!
Every time her golden saber swept through the air, undeads were cleaved apart without resistance.
Her sword, with Jupiter’s head engraved on the hilt, was none other than the Golden Sabre, the very one Napoleon had wielded at the Battle of Marengo.
However, Rachel’s true strength didn’t come from the relic; her real power came from her awakened ability as a Hunter.
Whooosh…!
The air around her swirled in a vortex, forming a powerful gale.
[Armor of the Wind King]
As an S-rank wind-elemental Awakened, Rachel’s ability was a storm-like weapon that destroyed everything in its path.
With wind enveloping her golden sword, its cutting power became absurd, and she could even launch compressed air blades at her enemies.
And that wasn’t all.
Flap—! Flap—!
Jeanne’s banner fluttered behind her, boosting all of Rachel’s abilities.
And with [Battlefield Charisma] fueling her fighting spirit.
Slice—!
With Rachel receiving a double-layered buff, the Royalist general guarding the path to the fortress lost his head in a single, effortless slash.
[Ohhh!]
With the obstacle removed, the Revolutionary forces charged into the now-breached fortress.
I hadn't even lifted a finger, yet the entire siege was unfolding on its own.
‘Man, this is like getting carried in a dungeon raid.’
Was this what auto-hunting felt like?
***
[You have defeated General O’Hara.]
[Toulon Gate Conquered]
[Clear Rank: SSS]
[Reward: Summon Reset Ticket]
The moment General O’Hara, the commander of Fort Mulgrave, lost his head to Rachel’s saber, the conquest of Toulon Gate was complete.
As soon as the Gate was cleared, Jeanne and I were automatically transported back to the General Store.
“Seojun, you worked hard.”
“What do you mean? You and Rachel did all the work.”
It wasn’t just polite humility I genuinely meant it.
All I had done was pull the trigger a few times from a safe distance.
And once Rachel had joined the battle, even that wasn’t necessary anymore.
An S-rank Hunter with the Saint’s Buff was practically an unkillable monster.
Her wounds healed faster than they could be inflicted; it was hard to tell who the real undead was.
And Jeanne had been the one pouring out Holy Power nonstop, so I felt even more undeserving of any credit.
But putting that aside.
‘A Summon Reset Ticket, huh.’
The reward allowed me to reset either the cooldown of a relic or Jeanne’s summoning time.
At first glance, it didn’t seem that useful, but in a crisis, it could be a lifesaver.
On top of that, my Snowflower Stone’s mana capacity had increased significantly from this raid.
I still couldn’t use relics freely, but at least I no longer had to be stingy with my mana.
Of course, it didn’t reduce cooldown times, but it did mean Jeanne could use even more Holy Power—definitely a win.
Speaking of summons, a question popped into my head.
“Jeanne, where do you go when your time in this world runs out?”
“I don’t really know. It just feels like I’m… asleep.”
“Is it uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all, so you don’t have to worry.”
Jeanne smiled reassuringly, but I wasn’t convinced.
It couldn’t be as easy as she made it sound.
I’d need to work on increasing my mana as fast as possible or at least collect more Summon Reset Tickets.
“Jeanne, let’s wash up and go eat some pork belly.”
“Sounds good!”
Jeanne beamed at me.
***
The General Store was structured with a small home attached to the back of the shop.
A simple setup just a living room with an adjoining bedroom.
It was far more convenient than traveling back and forth between a shop and a separate house.
‘Still, I should move soon.’
It hadn’t bothered me when I was alone, but now that Jeanne was here, the space felt cramped.
She didn’t stay here all the time, but when she was around, I wanted her to be comfortable.
Fortunately, I still had plenty of money left from selling Ahn Wi’s Hwandao, so finances weren’t an issue.
I made a mental note to start house-hunting soon.
For now, I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.
— Hunter Rachel! What was it like to clear Toulon Gate?
— Many Hunters who entered with you were lost. How did you manage to clear it without a single injury?
Rachel was holding a live press conference, answering a barrage of questions from reporters.
The conquest of Toulon Gate had shaken the world, and the media was in a frenzy.
And in front of the flashing cameras, Rachel gave her response.
— My ancestor… helped me.
“……?”
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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