Chapter 65: Dimensional War, Victory.

The alien race that had driven the Fairy Race to the brink of extinction had invaded once more.

As initially predicted, they hadn’t completely withdrawn.

They had merely waited until plants sprouted again on the withered land.

This time, with us making contact, those aliens must have seen it as harvest time.

“System, what about all the soldiers?”

[They are currently assembling at the Holy Land.]

Since diplomacy with the Fairy Race had gone smoothly, the soldiers had been deployed back to their original zones.

Some forces were planned to be stationed to guard the Fairy Race’s dimension, but that alone wasn’t enough.

‘This is our first encounter with the alien race that massacred the Fairy Race.’

Perfect preparation was needed.

“Reorganize the troops and dispatch them immediately.”

-We obey.-

The aquatic first apostle became the commander leading this force.

I was worried since first apostles are special beings, but it was awkward to refuse as he actively insisted on going himself.

In war, morale was more important than anything else.

“The understanding of that race is low. You don’t know what form it will take, so give it your all.”

-Yes! We’ll take their heads properly!-

Along with the aquatic first apostle, 2,000 troops crossed the dimensional passage.

It was a reconnaissance unit focused on mobility rather than the main force, but their combat power was among the top 10% even in the main force.

If they lost, it meant we’d have to accept heavy casualties in future battles.

Perhaps, we might have to abandon the Fairy Race’s dimension and seek another method.

“It would have been better if we’d developed up to gunpowder technology.”

The blood noble scholars were working hard, but they hadn’t secured gunpowder yet, nor established the theory for it.

Even if they developed the technology, turning it into weapons for use was still far off.

“Time is the issue, time is the problem.”

Should I invest more of the surplus from running the company into dimension management?

The dimension is one of the big pillars supporting Ribbon Corporation, so no one would complain even if I invested heavily.

They wouldn’t even question it in the first place.

Because it’s made that way.

-Master of the Dimension, we have won the war!-

As I was anxiously considering variables, the victory report came from the aquatic first apostle.

It was like lifting a big burden.

“What about the damage scale? And information on the enemy?”

-First, among our troops, there are about 100 dead. One organized unit was annihilated after being surrounded by the enemies.-

“Hoo.”

They were soldiers I’d never seen face to face, whose names I didn’t know.

Yet, thinking they had perished made my heart ache a bit.

As I downed water to the bitterness at my lips, the aquatic first apostle continued the report.

-After that, there were no further casualties. We achieved victory in all battles.

“Good. Then, the form of the alien race?”

-Their appearance was quite bizarre. They had the form of four-legged beasts with blades attached.-

An alien race in the form of beasts… This sounds familiar.

“By any chance, were there plants or something growing on their bodies?”

-Plants? There was nothing like that.

‘Not the parasitic plant race I saw before.’

They could be judged as a race purely resembling beasts.

-Perhaps because they look like beasts, their combat style was similar to beasts. So, our soldiers from hunter backgrounds were a big help.

They could have been difficult to deal with as intelligent beasts.

But since their combat style was that of beasts, frontal battles were fine, apparently.

“Don’t let your guard down. You still lost one unit.”

-I’m sorry.

“For now, they might be scouts. The main force could arrive and attack, so prepare accordingly.”

-We will obey.-

The first battle ended with our victory.

We just needed to maintain a defensive posture like this.

-Master of the Dimension, reporting the damage situation.-

But they weren’t that easy.

Though the dimensional war was unfolding urgently, I couldn’t just stare at the dimension all day.

So, with the time ratio lowered, while going about daily life, occasionally defeat news came from the aquatic first apostle.

Precisely, news of nighttime raids.

-We responded, but the enemies had superior numbers.-

“How many that you say they had more numbers.”

-To annihilate one of our units, roughly more than three enemy units are deployed.-

If we deploy a 100-man unit, 300 enemy soldiers come to raid.

And when the battle ends, all enemy soldiers disappear without a trace.

They moved based on tactics specialized in guerrilla warfare, not frontal battles.

This was possible due to their characteristics.

-It has been confirmed that the enemies can hide their forms in the darkness.

Are they a naturally born combat race?

After raiding, they hid in the darkness and vanished, so by the time follow-up units arrived for support, tracking was already impossible.

“How many raids is this?”

-The fifth.-

‘…These bastards.’

The enemies very meticulously targeted only the gaps in deployed forces, resulting in over 500 soldiers killed.

100 per night.

This was quite painful.

“Pursuit?”

-We did as soon as day broke, but couldn’t chase. I suspect they deliberately went beyond trackable range.-

“Hoo, the composition of the raided units? Was there damage to elite forces?”

-Elite forces were dispatched as commanders, about 5 per unit.-

“Tsk.”

At this rate, soldiers would disappear every night.

We couldn’t reduce their numbers by chasing during the day, so casualties would only increase.

Worst situation.

-The academy is currently researching the alien race using their corpses, but finding a perfect counter will take time.-

How to respond to those who only conduct guerrilla warfare.

“Trap installation?”

-We tried luring, but it’s confirmed they’ve already figured it out. Perhaps because they’re beasts, their sense of smell is keen.-

Their sharpened five senses detected and avoided the traps the soldiers set.

Rubbing my eyes hard, I asked.

“So, are we just going to take it like this?”

-No. The command is currently establishing a new strategy. Probably tonight, or at latest tomorrow night, we can wipe them out.

The aquatic first apostle’s voice dripped with killing intent.

His anger over the death of his subordinate soldiers seemed quite great.

Since he said that, I could believe and watch once.

And that night.

-We have eliminated all alien forces!

When I stopped by home to grab clothes, the aquatic first apostle reported that all enemies had been eliminated.

“How did you do it?”

-Combining information secured by the academy and our reconnaissance unit. We confirmed that they can only move to fixed locations.

So, even hiding in the darkness had patterns.

After deciphering those patterns, they counter-raided and annihilated them before they could attack.

“Good work.”

-No. If I’d known a bit sooner, the soldiers’ casualties would have been less. That’s the only regret.-

“It’s good that we’re not taking it anymore. Now, are there no remaining alien forces?”

-Based on what’s confirmed so far, yes. But it’s too early to relax.-

After several raids, the aquatic first apostle was no longer just ferocious.

More sharply refined, like a sword.

Now, he gave the feel of a fine military commander.

-The bastards haven’t discovered the dimensional passage yet. We’ll expand the search range and confirm their base.-

His anger over losing subordinate soldiers couldn’t be stopped by anyone.

“Don’t stop until you’ve completely annihilated them.”

All I had to do was add fuel to that.

“Aquatic first apostle Ruheah.”

-We receive the command!!-

Just calling his name greatly moved the first apostle, and he moved actively.

He searched all the remaining land in the Fairy Race’s dimension, even mobilizing aquatics to search the seas.

However, the dimensional passage wasn’t discovered.

“That can’t be.”

Once opened, a dimensional passage doesn’t close unless you try to close it.

There were no survivors among the alien warriors in the past raids.

The other side’s apostle had no capacity to respond.

Was there an apostle among the attackers?

If so, the system would have known.

“Hm, what is it.”

This strange feeling continued for several days.

During that time, the dimension’s time ratio was naturally lowered, causing a slight disruption in the company’s production.

“President, is there something wrong with the suppliers?”

“The wheat and fruit imports decreased?”

“Yes, we have reserves in the warehouse so it’s okay for now, but if it lasts over a week, it’ll be risky.”

The company’s growth engine is the dimension’s goods.

Lowering the dimension’s time ratio means failing to secure needed resources accordingly.

Naturally, instability in the company’s growth was inevitable.

‘Maybe that’s why Chairman Han Kang-seong didn’t invest heavily in the dimension.’

Rather than abandoning the dimension, perhaps he used only what was necessary and tried not to depend on the rest.

Perhaps chosen for risk management.

I also recalculated the risk of depending only on dimensional resources this time.

Real life or dimension.

The deliberation on choosing one of the two.

Came out easily.

“The growth speed difference is too big.”

Not using dimensional resources creates too big a gap.

So, in this situation, two choices for me.

Maintain the time ratio until reserved resources are depleted.

Or raise the time ratio and leave crises to the race’s apostles.

And my choice was.

“I command the first apostles. For the time being, solve occurring problems yourselves. If you judge there’s absolutely no way to solve it on your end, call me.”

The dimension’s time flows faster than real time.

Suppressing this time flow causes problems in reality.

So, dimensional problems should be solved in the dimension as much as possible.

That’s why I’ve grown the civilization until now.

‘Believe a bit more and wait.’

Soldiers’ sacrifices hurt the heart.

But intervening deeply here would only make them depend on me every time a problem arises.

‘Show that you can overcome crises like this.’

In conclusion.

This judgment was right.

[The blood nobles have eliminated all of the alien race’s apostles.]

During morning meeting and work, the system popped a message.

News of complete victory, having eliminated all enemy apostles.

‘That’s right…!’

This alone was satisfying, but another good news was added.

[Some of the dimensional energy held by the alien race apostles has been acquired by the blood nobles.]

[A special change occurs in the blood nobles.]

[Dimensional researchers are selected.]

By killing the apostles, the dimensional energy they held flowed into the blood nobles.

As a result, another special profession emerged.

“Let me see.”

Opening dimension observation, a red wave spread from one blood noble in the academy.

That blood noble scholar joyfully bowed toward the sky.

Not an apostle, so no conversation with me.

But I know it’s thanks to me.

“If you’re grateful, work harder.”

Dimensional researcher.

I had a premonition that with this special profession, I could hit the jackpot.

And hearing the information from the system turned this prediction into certainty.