Aftermath

Imperial Calendar 1157, April 4th, Tuesday, 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 candidates for a cook and maids from among those she knew well.

After several days of consideration, Alice had settled on suitable candidates in her mind. As she walked, she couldn't help but think: "I wonder if Young Master and Phil are doing well right now?" This thought had crossed her mind countless times since Sean and the others departed...

Worry lent a faint melancholy to her fair, beautiful face. Her full, well-proportioned figure was clad in a clean, neatly tailored maid outfit, making her appear both pitifully endearing and subtly alluring.

At this moment, Alice's slender jade feet were shod in a pair of calfskin boots. As she walked along the slums' stone-paved street, crisp "clack, clack" sounds echoed, drawing covetous gazes from all around.

The unique fragrance of high-end perfume wafting from her only deepened the longing in those predatory stares. Yet when their eyes swept over her prominent chest, those looks that seemed to want to pierce through her quickly dissipated like smoke, vanishing without a trace.

Some of the hooligans who had been brazenly staring earlier, upon spotting the Noble Emblem representing Sean pinned to her chest, immediately put on humble, ingratiating smiles.

Alice couldn't help but reach up and gently touch the iron emblem on her chest, as if she could feel a faint warmth from it. This brought her an extraordinary sense of security, like being protected by Sean's strong, powerful arms.

Ignoring the various strange looks around her, Alice led Gordon and Peter, both with swords hanging at their waists, toward their destination. It was the house of her former neighbor, Aunt Sarah, and her daughter.

Speaking of Aunt Sarah, one must mention her background and origins. She was born into a small merchant family in Linshui City. In her youth, she was beautiful and moving, gaining some renown in the area.

Later, against her parents' wishes, she insisted on marrying a minor official. Eventually, she even left Linshui City with him, moving north to live. After that... perhaps fate played a joke on her, for she did not obtain the happy life she had anticipated. Within a few years, she returned alone to Linshui City with a baby girl. By then, her former beauty was gone, and her family members had all passed away during the years she was away.

When Alice was very young, Aunt Sarah moved near her home. Over a decade passed in a flash. Alice had always liked Aunt Sarah, who was gentle, kind, and made excellent food. This time, when Sean needed a cook, Alice immediately thought of her. And her daughter, little Nina, could also become a candidate for Sean's maid.

"Aunt Sarah, are you home?" Alice called softly from outside Aunt Sarah's door.

"Ah... Miss Alice, hello." Aunt Sarah opened the door and saw Alice standing gracefully outside. She immediately greeted her with some restraint.

Aunt Sarah looked at the girl before her, whose expression was still gentle and soft. Her eyes naturally carried deference and envy. Since Alice had left the slums, her status had undergone earth-shattering changes. The Boar Bill and others who once threw their weight around in the slums probably wouldn't even dare to speak a flattering word in front of Alice now.

And behind her, Gordon and Peter, openly carrying weapons—once mere thugs themselves—now had sharp eyes brimming with confidence. All of this reminded Aunt Sarah that the girl before her and her companions were no longer the ordinary neighbor girls of the past.

"Hello, Aunt Sarah. I've come to see you and little Nina." Alice said with a gentle smile, her tone as warm as ever.

"Ah... Miss Alice, then... please come in..." Aunt Sarah replied, somewhat surprised. At the same time, she immediately bowed slightly and made way at the entrance.

"I won't come in... I'm here today to ask if you'd be willing to be my Young Master's cook?" Alice declined Aunt Sarah's invitation with a smile and asked directly. After a pause, she added, "And little Nina—the Young Master asked me to find maids, and I thought of her. Please ask her for me if she's willing..." She finished with a smile, looking at Aunt Sarah.

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

Alice smiled and continued, "Aunt Sarah, you can take a few days to think it over... then tell me your decision." After saying this gently, she gave her current address.

Then Alice exchanged a few more pleasantries with Aunt Sarah before taking her leave. Aunt Sarah stood at the door, watching Alice's fading figure until she turned the corner. Only then did she return home with an excited expression.

Alice seemed a bit hurried because she had many things to do every day. Among them, the most important was constant longing. Just as her heart was now filled with...

Also in the early hours of April 4th, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, the Linshui City Guard launched a surprise attack on the Gil River Bandit Group entrenched in the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp. With an elite squad sent ahead successfully creating chaos, the bandit group was virtually wiped out within their camp with little resistance. Except for a few bandits who escaped amid the confusion, the vast majority of bandit leaders, including the group's leader Gil, all perished in the Guard's raid.

Last night, Sean rescued Frey, a Noble Cadet who had suffered mental torment and was physically and mentally exhausted, from the Water Bandit Prison. Also rescued was a Servant of the Frey family. As for the other prisoners in the bandit camp, Sean could only wish them good luck...

Afterward, Sean joined the soldiers who had attacked the prison and, without alerting any bandits, returned to the hiding spot of the boats. By then, a towering fire had started in the distant bandit camp, and chaotic shouts could be heard from afar. After arranging for the rescued hostages and leaving soldiers to guard them, Sean took a few soldiers back to rendezvous with Donnie and Vinson.

At this moment, in a small grove, Donnie and Vinson were leading the soldiers who had set the fires, fending off attacks from pursuing bandits.

Everything had gone smoothly until after they set the fires. While retreating in the chaos to the camp's outskirts, they happened upon a bandit leader who had a grudge against Vinson. Upon seeing Vinson, the man attacked without a word.

When Sean arrived with his men, he saw over fifty bandits surrounding Donnie, Vinson, and the others. Under the faint light of a few torches, shadows flickered chaotically. The bandits shouted battle cries loudly, interspersed with the screams of those falling.

Sean briefly assessed the situation. The bandit leader making the most noise was nearby. He gestured to the soldiers, pointing at the leader's position. Then, using the trees for cover, he quietly approached the bandit leader. The other soldiers followed silently.

When he was less than twenty meters away, Sean charged first with his sword, shouting a loud command to attack.

Twenty meters was just one or two seconds for Sean. Before the rearmost bandits could fully turn around, his longsword had already sliced across the throats of two of them.

With the screams and the thuds of falling bodies, the bandits finally turned. They grinned fiercely and lunged at Sean. His figure darted swiftly, constantly evading their attacks, while his sword kissed their vital points one by one. In an instant, dozens of bandits fell screaming under his blade.

The bandits' fierce expressions turned to terror. Facing Sean's coldly gleaming sword, they retreated slowly in fear. This scene of rapid death unfolded before their eyes, causing chaos among the bandits and shaking their will to fight. In contrast, Sean's soldiers seemed inspired, shouting loudly as they charged and fought.

The commotion Sean caused was also noticed by Sergeant Donnie, surrounded in the middle of the bandits. He shouted encouragement to his soldiers and personally led them in a charge toward Sean's direction.

The bandit leader had been loudly urging his men to attack, but Sean's appearance completely disrupted his plans.

"Kill them for me!" the bandit leader roared, ordering his men forward, but he himself inconspicuously took a few steps back. His earlier encouragement was merely an attempt to buy time for his own escape.

By now, Sean was boiling with bloodlust, venting his pent-up emotions through relentless slaughter. His pupils, tinged with a faint purple light, locked onto the bandit leader's somewhat panicked and fearful eyes.

A bloodthirsty smile spread across Sean's face. Facing the charging bandits, he raised his sword without hesitation. A flash of blades and shadows passed, and seven or eight more bandit corpses lay on the ground. His body was now splattered with bandit blood. He curled his lips toward the bandit leader, showing a contemptuous and cruel smile.

This move from Sean utterly shocked the bandit leader. Trembling, he stumbled backward, tripped over himself, and scrambled up in a panic. The leader's clumsy movements and the ensuing commotion finally caught the attention of the other bandits.

Seeing their leader so pathetic, the remaining bandits' morale plummeted. They could no longer withstand the soldiers' assault, and soon Donnie and his men were rescued from the encirclement.

Just as the bandit leader got up, he saw Sean charging toward him. He let out a desperate scream and swung his weapon futilely at Sean, trying to keep this terrifying being with purple pupils far away.

Then came a low clash of weapons, followed by an irresistible force. Sean violently knocked aside the leader's weapon. In the leader's wide, terrified eyes, a cold gleam of a sword was reflected.

"Finish them off immediately... Take all wounded soldiers and return to the boats," Sean ordered coldly, standing beside the bandit leader's headless corpse.

The soldiers loudly acknowledged and moved swiftly according to Sean's orders. Soon, everything was ready, and the group did not linger.

Over an hour later, Sean and his men sailed the Water Bandit Speedboat on a long detour toward the predetermined rendezvous point.

Standing at the bow, Sean looked back at the bandit camp. The fire there grew larger and larger, soon illuminating the once-dark sky. On the open waters in front of the camp, a dense array of Guard warships had appeared.

A piercing alarm sounded from the camp. Even Sean, now far away, could faintly hear the bandits' desperate cries. Suddenly, tens of thousands of flaming arrows shot from the encircling Guard warships. The volley of arrows, trailing fiery tails, rained down overwhelmingly on the bandit camp.

The arrow storm howled down, like adding oil to a fire, fully igniting the entire bandit camp. Inside, desperate bandits, engulfed in flames, let out harrowing screams. Those who had narrowly escaped the arrows wept in terror and hoarsely begged for help.

What unfolded before Sean's eyes was a scene of cruelty mingled with a touch of beauty. He silently thought: In any world, cruel war is the most shocking spectacle; it is also the best test of one's character...

Faced with death and destruction, Sean let out a long breath. Then he turned and directed the speedboat to leave.

Another hour later, Sean rendezvoused with the Guard warship sent to meet him. On the well-prepared warship, the wounded soldiers from Sean's raid squad quickly received treatment.

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