"Thank you so much, truly, thank you..."
"It's nothing, nothing at all. All for the Emperor."
Through his haze, Xiao Lan heard a stream of fervent thanks. His mind reeled, because just a moment ago, he had still been chilled to the bone by the assassination strike he had taken for Lian Leilo.
After several deep breaths, Xiao Lan's vision gradually cleared.
An enormous Dreadnought was humbly thanking a Librarian. Judging by his attire, he was the Salamanders' Chief Librarian, yet Xiao Lan had no memory of such a person.
The Dreadnought kept bowing his head, his side turned toward Xiao Lan. As Xiao Lan's memories slowly stirred, he recognized the familiar markings. That was Anthony's Dreadnought.
"Anthony... Anthony, what's going on...?"
Delighted to see Xiao Lan awake, the Dreadnought turned around.
"Ahem, Xiao Lan, it's me, William."
Xiao Lan: ???
William?
Huff... cough, cough...
Xiao Lan tried to hold it in, but he simply couldn't.
"Hahaha... William, you actually ended up in a Dreadnought! Hahaha..."
William stood there looking rather awkward, his two mechanical arms unconsciously trying to rub against his "sides."
Xiao Lan's body had only just been restored, and he was still very weak. Crossing the boundary between life and death had been a brief but weighty journey.
The Crimson Tide's first generation of veterans commanded immense respect among every faction. Even to the Salamanders' Chief Librarian standing before William, the man he had just healed was a figure out of legend.
"All right, William. How long has it been?" Xiao Lan understood what had happened, too. He must have been placed in a stasis field.
"It's early 43K, Xiao Lan. You certainly had a long nap."
The two old friends kept talking, trying to dilute their grief with more words.
Of course, Xiao Lan knew what