...
"Is that so? I got it. " Hearing the news from the frontline, Roland felt his heart sink. After a while, he replied in a low voice, "How's your injury?"
Then there was silence again.
When he spoke again, it was already several minutes later. "No, it's not your fault. There should be no ifs at this time. Now that the threat from the frontline has been eliminated, take a long vacation and have a good rest. "
After hanging up the phone, Roland leaned back in his chair and heaved a long sigh.
Nightingale seemed to have expected something. Instead of flashing to the table as usual, she walked to Roland's side step by step and asked, "Was it Leaf?"
"Yes." Roland closed his eyes and said, "The war is over. The First Army conquered Taquila at a small cost and found a half-built tower foundation in the God's Stone mine. Although the ambush plan failed, the enemy Magic Slayer was killed and the curse was gone. It was a blessing in disguise, but... "He paused and said," Ashes and Elena didn't survive. "
"That … fool?" Nightingale could not help but be startled, and then turned her head away.
"According to Lightning, Ashes became a Transcendent in the end and perished together with the demon. Apart from a small piece of the sword hilt that was melted, there was nothing left," Roland said slowly.
When he saw the ambush site besieged by the demons through the phantom instrument, he knew there was a problem with the plan. Judging from the demons' arrangement, it seemed that they were waiting for the witches to attack. Unfortunately, he could only see a corner of the battlefield through the light screen. After the Special Action Team decided to retreat to the west, they soon disappeared from his sight. As a result, he was burning with anxiety for the next day and a half.
In fact, at that moment, Roland had already prepared for the worst.
The final result could be said to be much better than what he had expected.
Even so, when he heard that there were casualties, he found that he could not relax at all.
After all, he was the one who approved the ambush plan.
"Although Ashes is arrogant and presumptuous, at least she is serious about every choice she makes..." Nightingale put her hand on the back of Roland's hand and said, "Elena is even more so. I believe they have long been prepared for this. You don't have to take this responsibility on yourself. What I said to Leaf also applies to you."
Roland nodded. He still did not understand why the demons could see through the whole operation in advance, and even regarded the goal of wiping out the witches as more important than the Holy City of Taquila. But the fact could not be changed — as the leader of Graycastle and the united front, he could not show any depression in front of everyone, no matter what difficulties and setbacks he encountered.
If even he fell into the bottom, how could he support those who were even more heartbroken?
For example, Tilly.
This was also the most difficult problem for Roland to face.
From what Leaf had said to Lightning, the relationship between the two was probably much closer than he had thought. Although Tilly did not appear to be grief-stricken at that time and still prioritized transporting the wounded, the absent-mindedness in her eyes could not be concealed — in Lightning's words, it was as if her eyes had suddenly lost their luster. As for why the little girl secretly conveyed her last words to him, it was probably because she hoped that he could comfort Tilly.
And this was the thing that Roland was least good at.
"I can only take one step at a time," he thought to himself.
That afternoon, the "Seagull" returned to Neverwinter.
The first batch of people to return were the witches who were not injured or had recovered from minor injuries. Those who were more seriously injured still needed to rest at the frontline camp for a period of time while Nana completely healed her wounds.
Roland personally led the rest of the members of the Union to the airport to welcome their return.
Anna, Agatha, Molly, Phyllis... everyone walked down the gangway one by one and hugged Scroll, Nightingale, Sharon, and the others in turn. The ordinary staff of the Union, such as Bell, Gray Rabbit, and Pearl, were also among them — no matter whether they were combat witches or non-combat witches, whether they were survivors of the Union period, whether they were Awakened or ordinary people, at this moment, there was no difference between them.
The last one to come down was Tilly.
Roland walked up to her and said, "Well..."
"Can I talk to you alone, brother?" Tilly raised her head and said.
...
Back in the castle office, Roland said a few words to Nightingale and personally closed the door.
"Well, what do you want to say..." As soon as he turned around, he suddenly felt his chest tighten as a figure leaned against him.
"Don't move, please." Tilly hugged him and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Just let me lean against you for a while, just for a while..."
Towards the end of her words, there was already a sob in her throat, and her fingers clutched his back harder and harder, almost as if they were going to dig into his flesh.
"I see."
She was also like him — as the guide of the Sleeping Spell, she could not show excessive sadness in front of everyone, and the deeper her feelings were, the more painful it was to restrain them. It was not easy for her to hold on until now.
Roland gently patted her back and said, "There's no need to hold it in anymore. Don't worry and cry, no one here can hear you..."
"Woo... woo..."
At first, Tilly let out an extremely suppressed sob, then it became louder and louder, and finally she let out a cry that he had never heard before — even when she was maliciously bullied by Prince Roland when she was a child, she had never been so sad. Like a person who had lost their most precious treasure, her cry was full of grief.
It was no longer important whether there were words to comfort her or not.
All he could do was to accompany her to the end.
...
At the same time, at the frontline camp.
The tent flap was lifted, and Shavi walked in with a bowl of boiled medicine.
"Are we going to drink this thing again?" Andrea asked vaguely. Her legs were tightly wrapped in gauze, and her cheeks were covered with ointment — although it was not very effective, the cold touch could at least offset some of the pain. "I can't drink it without sugar."
"Then... should I ask the medical team for some?" Shavi hesitated.
"The medical team won't have sugar, and we're not in Neverwinter. Forget it, just help me up. "
Andrea sat up, took the bowl, and drank the bitter painkiller in one gulp.
"Ahem, is Nana still busy? How long do I have to wait before I can see her treatment?"
"I asked her, and she said it would take about three or four days. She said those God's Punishment Witches were more seriously injured than you, and said..."
"Said what?"
Shavi muttered in a low voice. "She said your leg injury looked scary, but it's not fatal, and that you just need to drink the medicine."
Andrea rolled her eyes. "I'm not that muscular monster. How can this degree of injury heal naturally?"
Shavi's eyes reddened.
"Alright." Andrea coughed twice. "Pretend I didn't say anything."
"No..." Shavi shook her head. "I just felt that your expression just now was a bit like Ashes, so I couldn't help..."
"I look like her? What are you kidding... "She frowned, but forced herself to suppress it. It seemed a bit vulgar to say it like that, um... aristocratic, aristocratic. "Well... I'm just a little tired. You should go back and rest. Remember to tell Lightning or Maggie in advance next time, and ask them to bring back some honey when they patrol. At least it'll make it easier for me to drink the medicine. "
"Okay, I got it."
"Thanks."
After Shavi left, Andrea found that she couldn't calm down.
You only know how to put on a brave front and become a Transcendent in the end. Do you think you're the Queen of Starfall City?
But now, you killed the Grand Demon Lord, and became a hero who saved everyone. It would have been fine if that was all —
She lay down again and pressed her face with her hands.
... Bastard, have you never thought about it?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
