Getting on Track

Several more days had passed since the battle in the corridor.

Under Lin Jin's leadership, everything was getting on track, and their territory had officially been named Ashen City.

Fortunately, he had read plenty of kingdom-building novels in his previous life. His first move was to issue the most basic laws-or rather, rules.

First, every bug had a duty to act in the god's name.

Second, every bug was to cooperate with the others, taking on work suited to their abilities.

Third, no one was to betray the clan. Any disputes could be brought before the god for judgment, and so on.

After all, they were only just starting out. There was no need for too much detail; he only needed his bugs to know what they should and shouldn't do.

Next, with the overarching strategy of an expedition established, Lin Jin laid out several important positions.

First was Gron. He remained the chief of the Ashen Clan while also serving as Sunfire's Chosen, responsible for all matters concerning the expedition.

Isara became the Pontiff, responsible for matters of faith and the territory's development.

However, the Ashen Clan simply had too few bugs.

There wasn't really much trouble involved in managing them. Her role mostly consisted of leading their daily prayers.

For now, those were the only two appointments. There were too few bugs available, so many of Lin Jin's ideas couldn't be put into practice right away.

But there was no rushing this sort of thing. In the end, Lin Jin decided to focus on what mattered most: expanding their territory.

Soon, guided by Lin Jin's divine revelations, a great expedition began.

These ruins of a civilization held countless treasures. To Lin Jin, failing to properly develop them would have been an enormous waste.

The Ashen Clan did not disappoint him.

Under their god's protection, they felt stronger than ever before.

Using the Temple as their base, the Ashen Clan began steadily reclaiming the kingdom's lost territory.

As the clan chief and the first bug to receive a divine blessing, Gron led the charge, always fighting on the front lines.

After receiving his divine blessing, both his strength and speed had increased dramatically.

Even against five beasts at once, he held his own. Every enemy he slew even made the markings on his face shine brighter.

As for Isara, her outstanding performance in the battle in the corridor also earned her a gift from their god.

But with the clan chief already enhanced in physical strength, Lin Jin chose to enhance her magic this time.

After another communal prayer, Lin Jin solemnly issued his divine decree.

Isara felt her body grow lighter and her strength increase, but it seemed her soul had received the greatest enhancement.

The markings on Isara's face did not share the shape of their god's, as the clan chief's did, stretching from his right eye down to the lower left side of his face.

Instead, hers were white markings that ran horizontally across both eyes.

"Markings again, and these seem a little different from the last ones," Lin Jin mused. "Could my symbol be markings left by scorching flames?"

Lin Jin had always wanted to know exactly what kind of god he was.

It wasn't as though he hadn't tried other types of power: flowing water, lightning, hurricanes.

But after trying all sorts of powers, Lin Jin still felt the greatest affinity with fire.

"The Sunfire God. Looks like the title I gave myself really does fit."

The divine blessing was complete.

After gaining her markings, Isara's soul power increased tremendously.

She had only just received it, yet she could already use simple spells such as Soul Strike and make herself float.

This power, unlike anything she had ever seen, only deepened Isara's faith.

"This is... Thank you for your blessing, Sunfire God!"

"Think nothing of it. You've earned this."

Lin Jin wasn't lying. He was genuinely pleased with Isara's efficiency. She handled every task flawlessly.

Sometimes, Lin Jin only had to suggest an idea or two for Isara to grasp them immediately and apply them to other situations.

Yet Isara didn't think she had done anything particularly great. It was all simply part of her duty to serve her god.

As Pontiff, she not only drew up plans for their newly reclaimed territory but also pondered day and night how she could better serve her god.

Just as the blessing ceremony ended and the faithful began turning to other urgent tasks, a discordant noise reached the Temple.

"Hmm?"

"What bug dares make a commotion before the Temple?!" Isara's gentle demeanor before her god vanished, her gaze turning cold.

This was her blessing ceremony, yet something had gone wrong just as it ended.

It was an insult not only to her, but also to the god she worshipped.

White light shone in Isara's eyes. She could hardly wait to use the power her god had granted her.

"It's all right. What happened?" Lin Jin wasn't bothered. He recognized the voice as that of the clan warrior guarding the entrance to the cave.

Someone stationed there generally either had nothing to report or brought news of something serious.

The Temple's newly built doors were pushed open, and the clan warrior immediately reported, "My god, an unknown clan has appeared outside, and they refuse to leave the great stone gate."

"What?" Isara's heart tightened at once. Their previous encounters with other clans out on the wasteland had hardly been pleasant.

"Oh, interesting." Lin Jin wasn't worried. Although he wasn't quite a god yet, he possessed the power of a demigod. As long as their visitors weren't true gods, there was nothing he couldn't handle.

Lin Jin immediately extended his mental power toward the gate to see whether the newcomers were enemies or guests.

A powerful wave of divine power spread outward. Through the enormous stone gate, Lin Jin saw a group of starving, utterly exhausted exiles.

They seemed unable to walk any farther, and they had eaten every last scrap of their supplies.

Their clothes were ragged and their steps unsteady. They were almost no different from degenerated beasts.

If he didn't open the gate, those bugs would probably either starve to death or start eating one another.

"Uh..."

The good news was that the newcomers weren't enemies.

The bad news was that they had come begging for food.

"I thought the Ashen Clan had it bad enough, but those bugs outside are even worse off..."

Lin Jin narrowed his eyes and said somewhat helplessly, "Have I been too cautious?"

The bugs outside were knocking on the gate as a desperate gamble. Even they probably didn't think they were likely to get a response.

But today was their lucky day. Lin Jin was short on bugs for his expedition.

"Looking closer... fireflies? That's a rare bunch." Lin Jin searched his memories, confirming that neither the first game nor the second had featured fireflies.

He didn't want to come into contact with major powers like Hallownest or Silk City too early.

Although the harsh conditions of the wasteland had left almost all of them malnourished, with even the luminous organs on their tails dark and dull,

Lin Jin could still clearly tell that they were a group of fireflies.

"There shouldn't be any overlap, right?"

After much consideration, Lin Jin finally decided to see whether he could take this clan in.

He really was desperately short on bugs right now.

The Ashen Clan was excellent, but it only had a little over fifty bugs in total.

The recently hatched larvae would need a little over a week to grow into useful workers.

Over the past few days, even with Gron doing the work of two bugs-or pushing himself to do the work of ten-they still had far too few.

If he wanted to develop his territory, he needed plenty of bugs. Besides, he wasn't short on food.

With that thought, Lin Jin made his decision.