Victory's Cry Rings Out
The fortress echoed with triumphant shouts.
“Long live the rebellion!”
“We won!”
Even as the mighty British Empire army was repelled and dealt a blow that could not be undone, the rebel soldiers drowned in overwhelming joy.
And right now.
While the cheers still thundered through the air, General Gates let out a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! Splendid… truly magnificent. Bringing me such an enormous victory, I will never forget your assistance, my dear friend.”
Gates spoke of his own glory—the “victory”—with genuine delight.
In response, I answered with the utmost modesty and a calm tone.
“Honored words, General Gates. All of this is not due to my own merit, but to your decision to entrust it to me, General Gates. Please retract your praise.”
“Haha, you are truly a man after my heart. Unlike that insufferably arrogant vice-commander of mine, you are competent and humble as well… Still, you worked hard. When I become the supreme leader and drive out General George, you will be greatly rewarded.”
“If you say so, I find myself at a loss, General.”
Of course, the truth was that I had spent the entire battle hidden safely inside the fortress doing nothing. Yet I kept my mouth shut and stroked General Gates’ ego as much as possible.
Given the narrow-minded nature of this man, speaking the truth would only harm me.
No matter how corrupt he might be, he remained the second-in-command of the rebels and the overall commander of the army gathered here.
How he would report to headquarters and the rebel council would decide my fate. It was an important factor in shaping the first impression I had left on the Empire, so I had to coax him gently, no matter how dirty or deceitful it might feel.
“Thank you, General. Then I shall take my leave.”
“Go on. Rest well after this.”
With our meeting concluded, I walked straight out of the command post and into the open air.
And right after.
Standing right beside me as I stepped outside was the woman I had been waiting for…
General Franklin.
“Are you all right?”
She looked straight at me, her expression carrying a gentle concern.
I knew exactly what that question meant.
It was the same worry she had voiced when we first planned the operation—should I really hand over the entire credit to General Gates, who had done nothing but sit inside the fortress?
In response, I offered a light smile and replied.
“Well, there’s nothing particularly wrong with it. Of course, handing over the final glory to someone who did nothing is a bit questionable, but right now I’m satisfied just for having avenged the Empire. Stirring up trouble with General Gates would bring me no benefit anyway.”
“Hah… I’m glad you feel that way.”
With that, General Franklin carefully turned her gaze toward me.
Her face held a bitter, regretful, and guilty expression.
Then she spoke to me in a heavy voice.
“I’m sorry. If I had… if I had been a little stronger, this would never have happened… I would never have allowed General Gates to devour your glory like this…”
“Please don’t say that. As I’ve said before, I am completely satisfied with the current situation. Far more than any claim of merit, you—General Franklin and the others—have finally come to trust my sincerity.”
“Th-that…”
General Franklin showed a moment of confusion at my words.
Watching her, I smiled softly and spoke with true sincerity.
“That is enough. I was a lost soul with nowhere to turn, and you accepted me. Simply giving me the chance to avenge the Empire is more than enough for my gratitude.”
“Cromwell… Captain.”
Honestly, I had always thought that General Franklin’s help had meant more to me than anything else.
Although the Hidden Quest had guided us, without her kindness I would never have been able to settle so quickly among the rebels.
No, if things had gone differently, she could have ended my life without a second thought—yet she had chosen otherwise.
So I bowed deeply to the woman who had saved my life.
“Truly… thank you. Even though this operation was unavoidable, the grace you showed me by trusting and supporting me to the very end—I will repay it in any way possible, no matter what form it takes in the future.”
“…”
Her face flushed slightly as she averted her eyes at my words of gratitude.
Seeing her reaction, I felt a strange familiarity stirring inside me.
*That drunken kiss… and now this. Maybe General Franklin really is the heroine… Well, in reality, do I even need to separate such things? If so… it doesn’t sound entirely bad…*
With that thought, I decided it would not hurt to consider my relationship with her more seriously from now on. Looking at the beautiful woman standing before me, I began to smile with deepening warmth.
*
Edward Cromwell had simply handed over his massive achievement to General Gates.
Franklin felt sincere regret for the situation and had wanted to comfort him, but the outcome had stirred an entirely different emotion within her.
*I don’t understand… how…*
Cromwell, who had thanked her from the bottom of his heart.
Franklin could only look away, her heart racing wildly.
*He said he was satisfied after receiving my trust… my trust… of course, it was said with everyone else in mind… but still… even with that, I can assume Captain Cromwell has some level of affection toward me… right?*
Though slightly exaggerated, Franklin felt an overwhelming happiness in this moment.
Then, watching Cromwell smile at her with such striking attractiveness, she made a firm resolve in her heart.
*This won’t do… no matter what, I can’t let this slide! Even if my feelings are a little impure, for this man…*
*
A victory celebration was held at the grand hall.
However,
At this very moment, many of the soldiers present were not focused on the victory itself, but on what had happened in the middle of the battle.
“So… the one who summoned those angels is Captain Cromwell?”
“That’s right. When holy power was released from his body, angels descended from the heavens as if by divine command.”
“I can’t forget it even now… standing beside him, swinging the sword together… it felt like I had directly participated in the holy war mentioned in the myths.”
“Ooh…”
The vivid accounts of those who had fought alongside Cromwell.
Even while battling hundreds of angels, none of them fell. Not a single soldier was injured beyond what could be healed in an instant by Cromwell’s gesture, and they all returned alive.
And now, with their wounds already healed, a sense of worship—not only toward the divine, but toward Cromwell himself—had taken root in their hearts.
And
She, listening to these stories among the warriors,
Was Jane, the one who had narrowly survived this war thanks to Cromwell and led the militias in fierce combat.
Her voice carried deep emotion as she spoke.
“From the moment I first saw him, I knew he was no ordinary man, but I never imagined he would be this extraordinary. Perhaps… he is the divine apostle described in the scriptures.”
“Divine apostle… he really was worthy of that title that day.”
“Not only the angels, but the holy power that flowed from his body was on a level far above ordinary clergy. If he were not the apostle, it would have been even stranger.”
The soldiers and militiamen responded enthusiastically to Jane’s words.
Turning to them, Jane spoke with clear conviction and fervent faith.
“To have fought at my side with such a man… it means our rebellion has been chosen by the divine.”
“Of course it does. Look at this overwhelming victory—does anyone here think it was inevitable?”
“The angels descended, the supposedly invincible Empire was utterly defeated and fled. There can be no clearer proof…”
The British Empire, a traditional superpower with centuries of history.
From the perspective of fighting against such a powerful empire, the rebel soldiers had always carried a lingering fear that they might not truly win.
However, the process and result of this battle had cleansed that fear from their hearts.
It was not merely a victory—it was a miracle: the God who stood with them.
It was the belief that the “miracle” they had longed for would come to pass.
“I once foolishly sided with the Empire, but I now understand how terrible a crime that was. Now that I truly know what good and justice mean, I will continue to fight against these evil forces.”
As the one who had lost someone precious to the Empire, Jane’s hatred toward it ran far deeper than the others.
And now, that hatred had transformed into the opportunity for revenge—and into a belief and worship for Cromwell, who had saved her life.
“This war will be ours. Of course, there will be difficult battles, but with Cromwell by our side… with the divine apostle at our side, we have nothing to fear.”
Just as she had practiced with him before, Jane spoke her resolve in a clear, passionate voice.
Her words moved the already inspired rebel soldiers to deep emotion.
The great apostle of the Lord.
Faith in Edward Cromwell…
---
God’s Earthly Representative
The angels, summoned by my hidden skill, had appeared at the decisive moment.
Their descent had not only turned the tide but also awakened a new layer of faith in every soldier present.
Some of them had fought beside me, swinging their swords with me against the sky army.
Now their hearts had shifted from mere loyalty to something deeper—worship.
And Jane, who had led the militias with courage and had nearly lost her life in the process, was the one who now spoke most movingly.
Her words carried the weight of centuries of imperial oppression.
She spoke not only of the miracle of the angels, but of the divine apostle who had appeared before her.
The soldiers around her responded with cheers and tears, their eyes shining with renewed resolve.
I stood at the center of it all, feeling the weight of the power I had awakened.
My hidden skill—God’s Earthly Representative—had changed everything.
It was not just a weapon.
It was a promise.
And the promise was simple.
With me together, we would surely win.
“Long live!”
“We won!”
The victory cries echoed through Stanwix Fortress once more.
And somewhere deep in my modern Korean mind, I felt a quiet smile.
*Haha… looks like the game’s hidden quest really is paying off.*
The system had shown me the path, and I had taken it.
I had manipulated, I had sacrificed, and I had won.
Now the rebels looked at me as their savior.
And I looked back at them with the same pragmatic calm I had always held.
But in the quiet moments, when the cheers faded and the night settled, I would remember the woman who had stood beside me the entire time.
General Franklin.
The one whose trust I had finally earned.
The one whose kiss I had once tasted in drunkenness.
The one whose heart I was now beginning to understand.
She stood a little apart from the others, watching me with that same gentle concern, but there was something new in her eyes.
Something warmer.
Something that said she was no longer just my superior.
She was becoming something more.
And I, Edward Cromwell, max-level 10th-tier Paladin, former fiancé of the woman who had betrayed me, reluctant savior of the rebels, and the man who had decided to desert the Empire—
I smiled quietly at her across the cheering crowd.
*With her, we will win.*
*For sure.*
The victory party continued long into the night.
But for me, the true celebration had already begun.
It was not the cheers outside.
It was the quiet promise I had made to the woman who had stood by my side through every betrayal, every sacrifice, every hidden quest.
She had trusted me when no one else had.
She had accepted me when I was still a lost soul from another world.
And now she was looking at me not as a superior, but as the man who had made her believe in miracles again.
I raised my glass in a silent toast toward the stars above the fortress.
*To the rebels who fought beside me.*
*To the angels who answered my call.*
*And to the woman who had finally become mine.*
“Long live!”
“We won!”
The fortress answered with a roar that shook the very stones.
And deep within me, the pragmatic voice of the modern gamer who had once played Blue Revolution whispered one last time.
*Game over.*
*But not for us.*
Not for the empire.
Not for the betrayers.
Not for the ones who had once made me doubt everything.
With me, victory was not just possible.
It was inevitable.
The rebels had won.
And I, Edward Cromwell, had finally become the man they needed me to be.
The NTR knight commander who had decided to desert.
The saint who had answered their prayers.
The husband who would one day stand beside the woman who had once looked at me with disgust.
I smiled again, this time fully, as the last cheers faded into the night.
*With her… we will win.*
*Always.*