After the Battle (Part 1)

Tuesday, April 4, Imperial Calendar 1157, morning.

At this moment in Linshui City, Alice was leading Gordon and Peter toward the slums where they had once lived. Before leaving Linshui City, Sean had instructed her to select a cook and maids from among the people she used to know.

After several days of consideration, Alice had already settled on suitable candidates. As she made her way there, however, she could not help thinking, I wonder if the young master and Phil are all right right now? This thought had crossed her mind countless times since Sean and the others left...

Worry lent a faint sorrow to her fair, beautiful face. Her full, well-proportioned figure was dressed in a clean, neat, well-tailored Maid Outfit, making her especially pitiful and endearing while also carrying a trace of charm and allure.

A pair of small cowhide boots covered Alice's delicate feet. As she walked along the stone-paved streets of the slums, they made crisp clicking sounds that drew countless covetous gazes from those around her.

The faint fragrance unique to the high-grade Perfume she wore made those greedy eyes all the more eager. Yet whenever their gazes swept over the Noble Emblem on her chest, those looks that seemed ready to pierce through her vanished like smoke.

Some of the ruffians who had once been utterly unscrupulous even revealed humble, ingratiating smiles when they saw the Noble Emblem on her chest that represented Sean.

Alice could not help reaching up to stroke the iron emblem on her chest. It was as if she could feel a faint warmth from it, which made her feel exceptionally secure, as though she were protected by Sean's strong, powerful arms.

Ignoring the various strange looks around her, Alice led Gordon and Peter, both with longswords at their waists, toward their destination. It was the home where her former neighbor, Aunt Sarah, and her daughter lived.

Speaking of Aunt Sarah, one had to mention her background. She had been born into a small merchant family in Linshui City. In her youth, she had been breathtakingly beautiful and somewhat well-known in the area.

Later, despite her parents' objections, she had insisted on marrying a minor official. In the end, she had even left Linshui City with him and moved north. Afterward... perhaps fate had played a cruel joke on her. She had not gained the happy life she had hoped for. Within a few years, she returned to Linshui City alone with a baby girl. Her once-beautiful face had faded, and during the years she had been away, her family had all passed away one after another.

When Alice was still very young, Aunt Sarah moved in nearby. More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Alice had always liked the gentle, kind Aunt Sarah, who was also an excellent cook. When Sean needed a cook this time, Alice immediately thought of her. Her daughter Nina could likewise become one of Sean's maids.

"Aunt Sarah, are you home?" Alice called softly into the house after arriving outside Aunt Sarah's door.

"Ah... Miss Alice, hello." Aunt Sarah opened the door and saw Alice standing prettily outside. She immediately greeted her somewhat stiffly.

Looking at the young woman before her, whose expression was still gentle and delicate, Aunt Sarah naturally showed respect and envy in her eyes. Ever since Alice had left the slums, her status had changed beyond recognition. Boar Bill and the others, who once lorded over the slums, probably would not even dare say a flattering word before Alice now.

And behind her stood Gordon and Peter, openly carrying weapons. They had once merely been minor thugs, but now their sharp eyes were filled with confidence. All of this reminded Aunt Sarah that the young woman before her and her companions were no longer ordinary girls from the neighborhood.

"Hello, Aunt Sarah. I came to see you and Nina," Alice said with a gentle smile, her tone just as it had always been.

"Ah... Miss Alice, then... please come in..." Aunt Sarah replied in surprise. At the same time, she quickly bowed slightly and moved aside to clear the entrance.

"I won't be coming in... I came today to ask whether you'd be willing to become my young master's cook?" Alice declined Aunt Sarah's invitation with a smile and asked directly. After a pause, she continued, "And Nina as well. The young master asked me to find candidates for maids, so I thought of her. Please ask her whether she'd be willing..." She finished with a smile and looked at Aunt Sarah.

Hearing Alice's purpose, Aunt Sarah seemed somewhat flattered and overwhelmed.

Alice continued with a smile, "Aunt Sarah, you can think it over for a few days... then tell me what you decide." With that, she gently gave her current address.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Aunt Sarah, Alice took her leave. Aunt Sarah stood at the door and watched Alice's fading figure until she disappeared around the street corner. Only then did she return home with an excited expression.

Alice seemed somewhat rushed because she had many things to do each day. The most important of them was constantly missing someone. Just as the thought now rising in her heart...

Likewise, in the early hours of April 4, under Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's command, the Linshui City Guard launched a surprise attack on the Gil River Bandit Group entrenched in the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp. With the elite squad sent ahead successfully creating chaos, the Water Bandit Group was almost completely wiped out within the Water Bandit Camp without resistance. Aside from a small number of bandits who escaped amid the confusion, most of the Water Bandit leaders, including their chief Gil, died in the Garrison's assault.

Last night, Sean had rescued Frey, a classmate who had endured mental torment and was exhausted in both body and mind, from the Water Bandit Prison. Also rescued was a servant of the Frey Family. As for the other Water Bandit prisoners, Sean could only wish them good luck...

Afterward, Sean rendezvoused with the soldiers who had attacked the Water Bandit Prison and returned to the place where they had hidden the boats without alerting any bandits. At that moment, towering flames began rising from the distant Water Bandit Camp, and chaotic shouts could be heard from afar. After arranging for the rescued hostages and leaving soldiers behind to guard them, he led several soldiers back to support Donny and Vinson.

At this moment, in the small forest, Donny and Vinson were leading the soldiers who had gone to set the fire in resisting the pursuing Water Bandits.

Everything had gone smoothly until they set the fire. But as they withdrew through the chaos toward the outskirts of the camp, they happened to encounter a Water Bandit leader who had a grudge against Vinson. The moment he saw Vinson, he charged at them without a word.

When Sean arrived with his men, he saw more than fifty Water Bandits surrounding and attacking Donny, Vinson, and the others. Under the weak light of several torches, shadowy figures swayed across the battlefield. The Water Bandits periodically let out loud battle cries, mixed with the screams of men falling to the ground.

Sean briefly assessed the situation. The Water Bandit leader shouting the loudest was nearby, so he signaled to the soldiers and pointed out the leader's position. Then, using the trees as cover, he quietly approached the Water Bandit leader. The other soldiers also moved in without a sound.

From less than twenty meters away, Sean was the first to charge with his sword drawn, loudly issuing the order to attack.

For Sean, twenty meters was only a matter of one or two seconds. Before the Water Bandits at the rear had even fully turned around, the longsword in his hand had already swept across the throats of two of them in succession.

As screams rang out and bodies hit the ground, the Water Bandits finally completed their turn and rushed at Sean with savage grins. His swiftly shifting figure constantly evaded their attacks while the longsword in his hand struck each of their vital points. In the blink of an eye, dozens of Water Bandits screamed and died beneath his blade.

The savage expressions on the Water Bandits' faces instantly turned to terror. Facing Sean's coldly gleaming longsword, they backed away in fear. Such swift death unfolding right before their eyes caused unrest among them and shook their will to fight. On Sean's side, however, the soldiers seemed inspired. They shouted and charged at the Water Bandits.

The enormous commotion on Sean's side was also noticed by Sergeant Donnie, who was surrounded by Water Bandits. He loudly encouraged the soldiers and personally led them in fighting toward Sean's position.

The Water Bandit leader had originally been loudly urging his men to attack, but Sean and the others' appearance completely disrupted his plans.

"Kill them for me..." the Water Bandit leader roared, ordering his men to attack. Yet he himself quietly took several steps back, trying not to attract attention. His earlier encouragement had merely been an attempt to buy time for his own escape.

At that moment, Sean's blood was boiling as he vented the emotions he had suppressed through unceasing slaughter. His pupils, glowing with a faint violet light, met the Water Bandit leader's panicked, fearful eyes.

A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Sean's face. Facing the charging Water Bandits, he raised his sword without hesitation. A flash of blades swept past, and another seven or eight Water Bandit corpses fell to the ground. By then, his body was already splattered with their blood. He tugged at the corner of his mouth toward the Water Bandit leader, revealing a contemptuous, cruel smile.

Sean's action at that moment completely shocked the Water Bandit leader. Trembling, he kept backing away until he accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. Then he scrambled back to his feet in a panic. The leader's miserable display and the ensuing commotion finally drew the attention of the other Water Bandits.

Seeing their leader in such a pathetic state, the other Water Bandits' morale plummeted. They could no longer withstand the soldiers' assault, and Donny and the others were soon rescued from the encirclement.

The Water Bandit leader had just climbed to his feet when he saw Sean charging straight at him. He could not help letting out a despairing scream as he futilely swung his weapon at Sean, trying to keep the terrifying being with violet pupils far away from him.

Then, after a dull clash of weapons, an irresistible force struck. Sean violently knocked aside the leader's weapon, and in his wide, terrified eyes, the reflection of a cold sword light appeared.

"Finish them off immediately... take every wounded soldier and return to the boats..." Standing beside the headless corpse of the Water Bandit leader, Sean coldly ordered the soldiers after the battle ended.

The soldiers answered loudly and immediately began carrying out Sean's orders. Everything was soon ready, and no one lingered.

More than an hour later, the Water Bandit Speedboat Sean and the others were aboard took a wide detour toward the designated rendezvous point.

Standing at the bow, Sean looked back toward the Water Bandit Camp. The fire within the camp grew ever larger, quickly dyeing that stretch of once-dark sky red. By then, a dense mass of Garrison warships had appeared in the open waters before the camp.

Piercing alarms soon sounded from within the camp. Even Sean, already far away, could hear the Water Bandits' desperate cries. Suddenly, tens of thousands of fire arrows shot from the Garrison warships that were gradually closing in. The mass of arrows trailed fiery tails as they blanketed the Water Bandit Camp.

The rain of arrows whistled down, adding fuel to the flames and completely igniting the entire Water Bandit Camp. Within the camp, desperate Water Bandits covered in flames screamed miserably amid the blaze. Others who had luckily avoided the arrow rain cried out in terror and hoarsely begged for help.

What appeared before Sean's eyes was a scene of cruelty mixed with hints of beauty. He could not help silently thinking, In any world, cruel war is the most soul-shaking sight, and it is also what best tests the hearts of all living beings...

Facing death and destruction, Sean took a long time to let out a breath. Then he turned and directed the fast boat to leave.

Another hour later, Sean finally rendezvoused with the Garrison warships that had come to meet them. On the warships, which had long been prepared, the wounded soldiers from Sean's assault team quickly received treatment.

The rescued Noble Cadet was also properly settled. After completing the handover, Sean entered the cabin assigned to him to rest. Following a night of infiltration, assault, and subsequent battle, he was utterly exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep.