Free Web NovelChapter 34: Aftermath of the war
The war brings chaos but more than the destruction and death, it brings sorrow and a lasting misery that falls upon the people, families, cities, and communities that survive a war.
In this world, especially, the wars that are fought against the demonic forces bring to the people what we should not curse even upon our worst enemies.
"Muh muh..."
"Whaaaaaa! Daddy! Whaaaaaa!"
"Shuuuu. It’ll be alright, dear. It will be alright."
The Sungrade city Oren had faced the demonic beasts coming from the forest for generations. However, a battle that can be described as a war hardly ever takes place.
The demonic beasts that never manage to penetrate the war and the defenses of the city seldom hurt the citizens, but those who protect the wall and the people beyond that are a different case altogether.
[ "My people..." ]
The first light of dawn had just kissed the city and the people who faced the consequences of the war, those who lost their loved ones, and those who could not save their comrades from the demonic beasts had gathered below the wall outside the city gate.
Laid out before them were pyres, though sitting atop them were no dead bodies.
Only caskets of remains were left of what used to be the people that the alive had loved.
Gathered here were not only the families of the perished but also the people who knew the dead, and the lord who had learned about every single one of them.
[ "We have gathered here to say our farewell to the brave men who repelled the demons, fought them for all of us, and saved us from a fate of unspeakable demise." ]
The Patriarch of the Sungrade did not only lose sixty three soldiers, fifteen mages, and nine nights yesterday. He lost 87 of his people.
Eighty seven that could have lived a long life but were slaughtered by the demons and their demonic power.
Due to the demonic corruption, their ends were so unsightly that giving them a quick death and burning their bodies with pure elements was the only thing they could do.
This funeral was not something they were doing for the dead... but for those who were still present among them.
[ "They were brave men... good men." ]
As the patriarch spoke, his voice echoed throughout the city, reaching each and every individual that was trying to get back to his routine life.
Not all of the people had lost someone. But this city, most certainly, had lost the people that had fought for them.
[ "Their honor will live on." ]
The lord would support each family that had lost their loved ones in this war for as long as they needed.
The families would ignite the pyres for their loved ones and those who did not have anyone, will receive the honor by their comrades, the people they fought with, or, in some cases, by those that cared about them.
"Lady Markeet." A soldier handed a torch to their commander as she stood before one of the pyres.
Rested upon it were the remains of a knight she had known for a long time.
"He was a young lad." She had trained him herself.
Like many others that had perished before him, she saw something inside him that few of the knights came to possess.
He fought against a hound-like demonic beast that somehow pulled a bunch of their soldiers down the wall.
He saved each one of them at the cost of his own life. But, he did not die below the wall.
The soldiers carried him above the wall. But, the demonic corruption had spread too far.
They were too late, and at the end, they had to let him go.
"He went with a smile, that dumb child." Lady Markeet had lost many of hers. But, every time she had to stand before their remains and let them go, the burden on her chest grew further.
She was not just a commander that led these soldiers and knights. Or merely a Lady of a great name.
She was their teacher, their leader, and the one responsible for each one of them.
"M’lady..." The soldiers and knight that stood behind her as she lit the fire shed the tears that she could not.
She held them back as it was her duty as the knight commander.
Few in the world were like her. In the east of the empire, perhaps, she was a rare ember that shined with the fire that burned deep inside of her.
"Lady Markeet is amazing." Green Falcon, the one who led the infiltration group, was not standing before any of the pyres right now.
He watched from a distance, observing the funeral rites of the Sungrade that he had seen a few times in the past.
Beside him, pouring a cup of wine, Lady Emilia watched her daughter who was sending off a mage she had known in the past.
She wanted to be there for them, but right now was not the time for that.
"Mark is certainly amazing. But, you are even more amazing, Sir Falcon." She handed him a cup, and the veteran held it with his hand that had remained after the battle.
Thankfully, he had lost his non-dominant hand. But for a host like him, both of those hands were equally important.
"I’m a mere soldier, m’Lady. If anything..." He was not here since he was bedridden after that battle, but if he were, he would point out to the youngest master of the Sungrade and smile with great pride. "Young master Prism saved me. If it weren’t for him, I don’t even know what might have happened to me."
Lady Emilia smiled at him warmly, thinking back to the boy that her husband brought back from the forest.
She had seen his powers firsthand and she trusted Lady Markeet’s judgement so she let that boy go into that damned forest.
She had prayed throughout the battle for his safety. And thankfully, he returned to them... still, he was wounded. And he did not look well.
Lady Isha, the fourth wife of the Sungrade patriarch, was looking after the young boy in the central castle right now.
She reassured the rest of them that the boy would be just fine and that they did not have to worry about him, so they had come out here to play their roles.
This battle was unexpected. However, the boy was the reason they were able to react to it on time.
Hundreds of lives were owed to his foresight. Her daughter had already told her what had happened between her and the boy, so she knew the truth.
Additionally, she was aware of a rather unsettling fact.
"Prism is a good boy." Lady Emilia watched as the Green Falcon took a sip from the glass and smiled at her.
"You were right to not lay a hand on him in that forest." As she watched with an expression that had suddenly turned cold, the one handed man standing before him glared back at her with eyes that were not his own.
Her gaze had made him realize something.
However, by the time he realised it, it was already too late.
"You’re going to pay for what you wanted to do to my family, you bastard." As the Green Falcon... or the lackey of the Faceless Manipulator fell to the ground, Lexie appeared out of nowhere and bowed to Lady Emilia before vanishing with the fallen man.
Their feud with the Serulians had gone on for generations, but she believed it would be different now that the Family head had changed.
Their family relations had improved quite a lot... but, it seems like all of that was just an act to make them let their guards down.
’That bastard will move as well.’
They had only caught a grunt and the true criminal was still hiding somewhere within this city.
And now that he knew that they knew about him, he would try to run away as quickly as possible.
’Sadly for you, you have already exposed yourself.’
-Ooooooooooooooooong!
Lady Emilia activated a bond mark on her exposed shoulders as it glowed with a powerful blue-yellow color.
The bond mark was unique as it depicted a bird like creature, however what came out of it resembled an animal.
It had wings, it had a beak, and it had the body of a beast.
"Kyaaaaaa~."
As unique as it was, the creature was a young feathered beast. And the speciality of this feathered beast was a little unusual.
"Sync and go."
The moment it materialised, heeding the command of its master, it broke into multiple feathers that flew up before scattering all across the city.
"Huuuuu..."
Each one of these feathers were now connected with their master.
She could see through them. She could feel through them.
But more than that, she could track the ’eyes’ that she had seen through the power of these feathers...
-Zaaaaaaaa...
The feathers created a powerful Mana-network all across the city.
A wave of energy was sent throughout the city.
She scanned through everything there was to see. And while it took her twenty whole seconds, she managed to find him.
-Zup!
The nearest feather of gold shot from the sky, passing through the walls of the houses, passing through the security mechanisms, and ultimately passing through the magical barriers that were set up in an underground facility built in an ordinary residential house.
-Gup!
The golden feather struck the target’s back and melted into his body, turning into a tracking mark that exposed the criminal to the ones that’d chase after him.
"Haaa... haaa..."
-Thud.
Using this one skill used up all her energy, but thanks to that, she had played her part.
Now, the others can take care of the rest...
