The night breeze over the Bonai River had yet to fade.
Supporting Reynolds, Linley followed the stone embankment to the riverbank.
All the slaves imprisoned by the slave traders had disembarked.
They stood on the bank in nothing but tattered clothes, many still unable to believe they had truly left the hold.
Linley looked into the distance.
"There's a small town up ahead," Old White hurriedly said. "They can seek help there."
"You're going with them," Linley said.
Old White's face went pale.
"Lord Linley, I was only responsible for receiving the goods..."
"Tell the local officials what you know."
Linley did not kill him.
The slave traders' crimes would naturally be dealt with under imperial law.
Hook was also left on the bank.
Linley had crushed his shoulder bones, leaving him temporarily unable to resist. The events in the Luo'ao Empire's military camp also required a living witness.
Doehring raised a hand and condensed a stone tablet, planting it beside the riverbank.
The tablet was not tall, and only a few words were carved on it.
"Those rescued today must fend for themselves."
Linley glanced at it.
"Most of them will probably still end up dead or injured."
"There are towns nearby, and trade routes too," Doehring said. "The rest is up to them."
Linley nodded.
He hoisted Reynolds onto his back and soared into the sky.
Doehring followed beside him.
The Bonai River rapidly shrank in the darkness, becoming a winding black line.
Reynolds lay against Linley's back for a good while before saying, "Third Bro, you fly much faster now than you used to."
"You've seen me fly before?"
"Didn't you often practice outside the dorm after coming back from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?" Reynolds said. "Back then, I thought that once I reached the Saint Realm, I'd fly wherever I pleased too."
"Still want to?"
"Of course."
Reynolds grinned.
His voice was still that of the Reynolds of old.
It was just much weaker than before.
"But get your hand healed first," Doehring said.
Reynolds looked down at his right hand.
Two fingers were swollen and deformed. The slightest movement sent piercing pain through him.
"Can it be healed?"
"The bones aren't completely shattered, and the injury hasn't damaged your soul," Doehring said. "Find a high-ranking water mage to set the bones, then use light magic to restore the flesh. You should regain most of its function, at least."
"Most?" Reynolds asked.
"Whether it recovers completely depends on the healer's skill and your body."
Doehring glanced at him.
"This old man isn't a light mage. I can't conjure your fingers back out of thin air."
Reynolds paused.
"I wasn't counting on you anyway."
"Good."
Carrying Reynolds on his back, Linley showed no trace of a smile.
"Grandpa Doehring, can it be healed?"
"As long as I'm alive, that's enough," Reynolds cut in. "It's just two fingers. Third Bro, don't look like you're about to scour the world for healers for me."
Linley did not answer.
"You were always like this," Reynolds said. "When someone else gets hurt, you worry more than when you're hurt yourself."
"Shut up."
"See? Same as ever."
With that, Reynolds closed his eyes to rest.
Linley said nothing more.
Half an hour later, Nier City appeared ahead.
The city walls were brightly lit.
The soldiers on duty spotted the figures in the sky from afar and immediately sounded the alarm.
"Saint Realm experts are attacking!"
The Magic Crystal Cannons on the walls swiftly turned.
Linley did not land before the gates.
He went straight above the city wall.
"I am Linley Baruch."
His voice carried throughout Nier City.
"Have the city lord of Nier City come out."
Several officers exchanged looks.
Soon, a middle-aged man hurried over.
He was the city lord of Nier City.
The moment he saw Reynolds on Linley's back, his face turned white.
"Lord Reynolds?"
Reynolds climbed down from Linley's back.
His body swayed as his feet touched the ground.
Linley reached out to steady him.
Every soldier on the wall froze.
They had all thought this young battalion commander had already died outside the city.
"Take me to the military affairs hall," Reynolds said.
"Now?" the city lord asked hesitantly.
"Now."
Reynolds looked outside the city.
"My men are still waiting for a truthful military report."
The city lord dared not hesitate any longer.
Nier City's principal officers soon gathered in the military affairs hall.
Linley, Doehring, and Reynolds sat at the front.
The city lord stood below them, cold sweat constantly dripping from his forehead.
The officer who had requested permission to go out and rescue them that day was also brought over.
He now wore battered armor, and his body still bore unhealed scars.
"Lord Reynolds." The officer's eyes immediately reddened at the sight of Reynolds.
Reynolds nodded to him.
"What happened on the walls that day?" Linley asked.
The officer looked at the city lord.
The city lord closed his eyes.
"Speak," Reynolds said.
The officer drew a deep breath.
"When you fled to the foot of the walls, there were thirty thousand defenders in the city."
"At first, we saw only around three hundred enemies outside the walls."
"After a stray arrow frightened Prince Yulin, he ordered the gates shut and forbade anyone from leaving the city."
"I requested permission."
The officer clenched his fists.
"But His Highness said we couldn't put more people at risk for the sake of a few dozen soldiers."
Reynolds listened quietly.
No one in the military affairs hall spoke.
"What happened after that?" Linley asked.
"Lord Reynolds kept shouting for us to open the gates with what remained of his men," the officer said. "The gates never opened. We could only shoot arrows from the walls, but arrows couldn't save them."
His voice began to tremble.
"They fell one after another."
"In the end, Lord Reynolds was struck down by the enemy too, and a bald officer carried him away over his shoulder."
Linley looked at Reynolds.
"That was Hook," Reynolds said. "A company commander in the Luo'ao Empire."
The officer nodded.
"That's him."
Reynolds walked to the center of the military affairs hall.
He was still so weak that he needed to hold the corner of a table just to stand.
Yet his voice gradually steadied.
"The cavalry battalion I led was ambushed by the Luo'ao Empire."
"The enemy far outnumbered us. Only a few dozen of us escaped to Nier City alive."
"Every one of them knew he might die."
"But they didn't die on the battlefield."
Reynolds's fingers slowly tightened.
"They died before Nier City's gates."
"Not because the city couldn't hold, nor because reinforcements couldn't reach them in time."
"But because the gates never opened."
The military affairs hall was deathly silent.
"This must go into the military report," Reynolds said. "They weren't men we failed to rescue in time, or nameless battlefield casualties, or a bunch of common soldiers the enemy casually killed."
"They were soldiers of the Golden Flame Legion."
"They fulfilled their duty."
"And the empire must acknowledge that they could have lived."
Linley took out the War God Token and placed it on the table.
The instant the dark red token appeared, every officer bowed his head.
"Record the battle again," Linley said. "Write it according to the facts heard here today."
The city lord immediately bowed.
"As you command."
"No one who witnessed this may be transferred away or silenced."
The city lord shuddered.
"Yes."
"As for Prince Yulin," Linley said, "he is already dead."
Silence fell over the military affairs hall once more.
"How will the empire handle this?" an officer asked quietly.
Linley did not answer.
For the glow of a communication spell had already lit up above the military affairs hall.
Joanne's voice came from within the light.
"Prince Yulin closed the gates without authorization and delayed military operations, causing casualties among the officers and soldiers of the Golden Flame Legion."
"He is hereby stripped of all titles and fiefs."
"He himself has already been executed."
"Nier City's original military report is annulled. The true course of the battle shall be recorded anew."
"All fallen officers and soldiers shall have their military status restored, and their families shall receive double compensation."
The voice paused.
"The city lord of Nier City shall be transferred away from the southeastern border and reassigned."
"The officer who volunteered to leave the city to carry out a rescue that day shall be reinstated and promoted to company commander in the Golden Flame Legion."
The communication light faded.
The city lord's face was deathly pale.
The officer, however, suddenly raised his head.
He knelt and struck his forehead hard against the ground three times.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Reynolds said nothing.
He knew this was not something Joanne had wanted to do of her own accord.
It was just that the War God Token had already drawn a line the empire could not cross.
"Reynolds," Doehring suddenly said.
Reynolds turned around.
"What you needed to do here is done."
"But my troops..."
"Their names will be written into the military report," Doehring said. "That matters more than you staying here and continuing to bleed."
Reynolds looked at him for a while.
"Teacher Doehring is right."
For the first time, he had not called him Grandpa Doehring.
Doehring raised his eyebrows slightly but did not correct him.
Reynolds then turned to Linley.
"Let's go back to the imperial capital."
"My father still doesn't know I'm alive."
Linley nodded.
On the way back to Chiyan City, Reynolds remained silent.
He leaned against Linley's back, his face pale, but his breathing steadier than before.
Doehring did not use divine power.
He merely used his divine sense to examine the injuries inside Reynolds's body, confirming that the old wounds in his chest and shoulder had not worsened.
By the time they reached Chiyan City, dawn had broken.
Yale had long been waiting outside Earl Wharton's estate.
He had not left the estate for three days.
Members of the Dunstan Clan were there as well.
Nien Dunstan stood at the front of the crowd, looking much older than he had three days earlier.
When Linley descended from the sky, Yale immediately rushed over.
"Third Bro, did you find Fourth Bro?"
Linley stepped aside.
Reynolds emerged from behind him.
Yale froze.
The next moment, he punched Reynolds in the shoulder.
Reynolds grimaced in pain.
"You really didn't hold back."
"You're not dead?" Yale's voice trembled.
"Not dead."
"Then why didn't you send word sooner?"
"I was locked up on a ship. How was I supposed to send word?"
Yale opened his mouth, then suddenly pulled Reynolds into a tight embrace.
"Fourth Bro!"
Reynolds raised his arms and hugged Yale too.
"Boss, don't cry."
"Get lost!"
Yale cursed, but tears were already streaming down his face.
Nien Dunstan remained where he stood.
He looked at his son, his body trembling all the while.
Reynolds released Yale, turned, and walked up to his father.
"Father."
Nien said nothing.
He raised a hand to touch Reynolds's face, but stopped halfway.
"I'm not a ghost," Reynolds said.
At last, Nien pulled him into his arms.
"You're still alive..."
"I'm alive."
"You're really still alive."
Nien held him tightly, as though afraid that if he let go, his son would disappear again.
Reynolds closed his eyes.
"Father, I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," Nien said.
"But I made you all think I was dead."
"It's enough that you came back."
Not far away, Linley and Doehring did not disturb them.
Bebe lay on Linley's shoulder and let out a soft squeak.
Linley reached up and stroked his head.
A little later, Reynolds walked over.
"Where's Second Bro?"
"George is still in the Yulan Empire," Linley said. "He doesn't know you're alive yet."
Reynolds sighed.
"Then send him a letter."
"All right."
"Don't make it sound too miserable," Reynolds said. "Just tell him I'm alive, my fingers are a little injured, and I'll be able to drink again after a while."
Yale wiped his eyes.
"You're still thinking about drinking?"
"Of course," Reynolds said. "Not one of us four brothers can be missing."
Linley looked at him.
"Get your injuries treated first."
"I know, Third Bro."
A water mage was soon summoned to the estate.
Reynolds lay in his room, having his bones set and receiving treatment.
His bones were set back in place, and his wounds slowly began to heal.
The treatment lasted four hours.
Reynolds's forehead was covered in cold sweat from the pain, but he did not cry out.
After the treatment ended, the water mage shook his head.
"His life is no longer in danger, but his fingers still need time to heal. Whether they can recover fully will depend on how things go over the next few months."
"Can I cast magic?" Reynolds asked.
"Not in the short term."
Reynolds fell silent for a moment.
"Then I'll rest."
He looked out the window.
The streets of Chiyan City had become lively again.
The military report from Nier City would be corrected.
The families of his fallen subordinates would receive compensation.
He himself was still alive, too.
"Third Bro," Reynolds said.
"Hm?"
"Once my injuries have healed, I want to return to the Golden Flame Legion."
Linley looked at him.
Reynolds smiled.
"Not for Yulin, and not for the emperor."
"Those men who followed me in the charge to the city gates can't be left with nothing but a battalion commander who was taken away by slave traders."
"I'm going to finish walking the road they never finished."
Linley did not try to dissuade him.
"Decide after your injuries have healed."
Reynolds nodded.
Doehring stood outside the door. Hearing those words, he gently stroked his white beard.
This time, he did not decide for Reynolds.
Nor did he decide for Linley.
He simply watched this young man who had come back to life, standing quietly beside the door.