Chapter 41: Providing Free Awakenings for Members of the Red Heart Society

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The Ningcheng Awakening Center immediately reported this malicious incident. However, the War Corps Administration blocked the report, reasoning that in such dire national times, it hardly mattered. The Red Heart War Corps was not committing massacres in Ningcheng; in fact, their intentions were quite transparent. As a C-rank corps, they faced immense pressure from the medium-sized demon lair. Under such circumstances, it was only natural for them to recruit nearby Awakeners to serve as logistics labor.

Still, the Red Heart War Corps’ style was far too reckless. During wartime, had they simply filed an application, the Administration could have mediated the temporary rental of Awakening Orbs from the Awakening Center. They could have followed proper procedures instead of acting on their own. Given the current state of war, however, the Administration chose to let it slide. After all, it was not a major issue. At most, you were using the Awakening Orbs to awaken the friends and family of the Red Heart War Corps, seizing a bit of personal benefit. What else could you possibly do? Surely you weren't volunteering to awaken others for free? How could that be?

Once you obtained the Awakening Orbs, you began arranging for the orderly awakening of the Red Heart Society’s auxiliary members. According to standard procedure, leaders of the Awakening Center were required to deliver long, vapid speeches before and after each awakening. With time being of the essence, you had no time to waste. Even at maximum efficiency, an Awakening Orb could only awaken one professional every two minutes. In other words, a single orb, running day and night, could only awaken 720 professionals per day. With hundreds of thousands of people in Ningcheng, it would take over a year to awaken everyone using just one orb.

Just as you were preparing to go out and "liberate" more Awakening Orbs, a shipment of strategic supplies sent by the Administration dissuaded you. Not expecting the Administration to still have the capacity to support you, you decided to revise your robbery plan. Since the Red Heart War Corps still required the Administration's support, you couldn't openly oppose them. If you couldn't rob them, you could steal! Well... perhaps "steal" was the wrong word; let's say that in light of the powerful enemy, you were taking subtle measures to support your pursuit of a beautiful ideal.

The next day, terrible news arrived.

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The Federation’s Fourth War Corps was completely annihilated while defending against an ultra-large-scale abyssal demon tide, due to the commander’s errors. The loss of the Fourth War Corps caused the demon tide on the abyssal front to surge, which in turn led to a marked increase in the number of monsters in demon lairs of all sizes across the Federation.

In July of the 131st year of the Transcendental Era, the long-brewing demon tide at the Ningcheng lair erupted. Assessments indicated that the scale of this eruption was infinitely close to a medium-sized demon tide. The Shangdu branch of the War Corps Administration held a pessimistic view of the war; they even sounded alarms across the province, calling for professionals to maintain strict defenses throughout Shangdu. Unexpectedly, however, the Red Heart War Corps managed to hold back the tide.

The Shangdu branch offered enthusiastic praise for this feat. Upon receiving the commendation, you immediately sent Wang Meng to the branch office to demand material support. The Red Heart War Corps was bleeding on the front lines; surely the rear could show some appreciation after they had successfully repelled the enemy's offensive? Initially, the branch was reluctant, as Shangdu itself was under great pressure. But Wang Meng had arrived with your orders: use any means necessary—even throwing a tantrum or acting like a rogue—to secure a batch of transcendental resources.

Thus, a classic scene of shameless rowdiness unfolded within the solemn halls of the Shangdu branch. Faced with such a nuisance, the branch leaders tried to brush him off with empty verbal promises. But Wang Meng was not the type to let go of a bird in the hand. Most importantly, given the current volatile atmosphere of the Federation, there was no guarantee the Red Heart War Corps would survive the next battle. So why be embarrassed? At this critical juncture of life and death for his brothers, if he could trade his dignity for an increased chance of their survival, he would gladly peel his own face off.

Ultimately, under the intervention of the headquarters, the branch had no choice but to provide Wang Meng with a batch of transcendental resources to take back. Shortly after Wang Meng left, the two Awakening Centers in Shangdu reported that their Awakening Orbs had mysteriously gone missing. Very few people paid attention to this minor incident. With the Federation besieged on all sides and frequent unrest, there were too many destabilizing factors in society. Losing two Awakening Orbs was hardly a major concern. After all, without a constant supply of strategic energy crystals, the orbs wouldn't last long anyway.

In September of the 131st year of the Transcendental Era, the threat level of the Ningcheng demon tide rose once more. This time, it reached the medium-danger level, which only a B-rank war corps could typically handle.

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However, after months of refining their "people's tactics," the Red Heart War Corps was no longer what it once was. Killing abyssal monsters during such a tide resulted in a highly gratifying drop rate for various transcendental materials. In particular, God-given Crystals, which usually had a very low drop rate, appeared frequently during the tide. Every time the Red Heart War Corps repelled a wave, they harvested a massive haul of these crystals. You suddenly realized where the various merchant guilds were sourcing their primary God-given Crystals—most likely from the war corps fighting on the front lines.

Although these were mostly primary-grade crystals, just because the official members of the Red Heart War Corps couldn't use them didn't mean the auxiliary members or the developing members of the Red Heart Society couldn't! While the Red Heart Society only had three Awakening Orbs, a small number of people could still be awakened. Consequently, only those designated by the Red Heart Society could become professionals for free.

Once this benefit became known, it sent shockwaves throughout Ningcheng. Anyone with the slightest desire for transcendence flocked to join the Red Heart Society. Upon learning of the Society's goals, they were even more stirred! In their eyes, the Red Heart Society was a purely philanthropic organization that truly cared for the downtrodden. The Society asked for nothing in return but their faith. And for the people at the bottom, faith... was the easiest thing to give! As long as they were given enough hope and shown a bright future, countless people were willing to struggle and fight for it.

As the number of professionals in Ningcheng grew, the primary God-given Crystals, low-level equipment, low-level skill cards, and transcendental materials harvested from the demon tide found a ready market. The turnover was so high that the Red Heart War Corps' income became staggering. Even though the casualty rate for the corps and its auxiliary members during the defense was significant, the constant influx of new recruits meant that the actual number of combat personnel continued to rise.

Yet, there are no walls without cracks. The news of your free awakening program in Ningcheng eventually leaked out through unknown channels. In an instant, the actions of the Red Heart War Corps ignited a massive uproar within the Federation.