Having pulled Jason back from the grasp of death, Malin began to inspect the battlefield.
First, he found the Half-human’s head. The fellow, who had said he would take to his heels when danger ca, ultimately fell in battle. His short sword had been broken, which, from one aspect, proved he had been slain in combat.
He had not surrendered, nor had he fallen into despair. Even when faced with fatal blades, he stood alongside his comrades, choosing to fight to the end.
Although he hadn’t spoken a single truth in his final monts, he was still a presence reassuring enough for his comrades... This was sowhat characteristic of Half-humans.
Malin placed his head beside his body, to make it easier to recover later.
Then ca the Dwarf... The Dwarf’s breastplate was completely shattered, just like his shield. The axe could still be used if the handle were replaced, so Malin collected the axe head, planning to hand it over to his descendants or friends.
Next was that warrior, the leader of the squad. When Malin found him, he lay there on the grass, a split shield on his severed left arm, with a huge open wound on his chest. A strike from Chaos had killed him outright, but before his death, he had managed to drive his longsword into the neck of the Chaos that killed him, so the murderer lay beside the victim. Malin pulled the longsword from his neck.
It was a very ordinary-looking longsword, marked with many signs of wear. Mulling over it, Malin removed the warrior’s sword belt and sheathed the sword.
This should be the young man’s legacy. Malin would pass it on to his daughter.
Mimi Lu... A na that sounded very sweet.
Last was the Healer.
She fell not far from the warrior, having crawled toward him after being wounded, but ultimately, blood loss took her breath away. Judging by the bloodstains beneath her, she must have been trying to reach the warrior’s side.
Just then, the little twig surfaced from the ground; it grew small tender branches that reached out to Malin’s hand.
That gave Malin an idea, "Could you give a little bit of your tender branches?"
The small twig grew another section of tender shoots, wrapped around Malin’s hand, and then cut itself off.
Malin nodded, "Thank you." He then broke off the tender shoots and twisted them into two rings, slipping them onto the ring finger of the warrior’s left hand and the ring finger of the Healer’s right hand, respectively.
"Is this... so kind of ritual?" Faye’s voice ca from behind Malin.
Malin nodded, "They loved each other. I am rely... bestowing upon them a final blessing. I’ve heard that souls who cannot enter the Divine Realm after death, and are not twisted by Chaos, will return to the earth and beco the most elentary of elents..." Malin turned to look at Faye: "I don’t know why, but recently, I’ve been witnessing the sorrow and separation of others."
"...It hurts, doesn’t it." Faye moved next to Malin, reaching out to hold his hand, "When I was very little, we had an old dog at ho. It was very old, and when I was four years old, it died... It was the first ti I realized that life has an end. Later, as I saw more, I understood that our old dog dying peacefully in its bed was actually very fortunate... Many people die mysteriously — slain by Chaos, Spirits, crazed evil Pagans, natural disasters..." She pursed her lips as she said this: "I asked my mother if life is just suffering, and she said yes. So I asked her what the aning of living was."
Malin tightened his grip on Faye’s hand, "Fate has us live so that I could et you."
Faye’s previously somber mood lifted in an instant as she smiled and nodded, "Yes, my mother said the sa. She said that Fate brings us into this world so that people who love each other can et, just like she t my father."
"Hmm, so I bless them for the sa reason. Perhaps the thread of Fate woven for them was ant to end here, but at least... they were able to speak the words to each other that they had wanted to say in their last monts." Thinking this made Malin feel a bit better.
At that mont, the Mage appeared again, but this ti he brought with him quite a few helpers — at least six Gryphon Knights flew overhead, and a cavalry unit of twelve erged from the other side of the hill, followed by an infantry of at least thirty soldiers.
"Is the battle over?" The Mage landed, looking at Malin as if he were a monster, "The thing beside you..."
"A sapling from the God of Justice." Malin opened his hand, and the small twig imdiately ’jumped’ into Malin’s palm, shaking off a large clump of dirt, splattering it across the Mage’s face.
"I... I..." After stuttering repeatedly, the Mage spat in disgust, expelling a mouthful of mud, "I’m not losing my temper with such a strange creature!"
"Don’t you want to take a look?" Malin wondered since, based on the Mages he’d read about in novels, shouldn’t they be tempted by riches?
"Why should I look? I was just curious and got targeted. If I touch it again, won’t it beat into an idiot? I’m not brain-damaged!" After saying this, the Mage eyed Malin... That’s right, are you from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest?
"Yes." Malin nodded.
"Malin Gaiate?" the Mage asked again.
Malin continued to nod, and there was no need for a reply.
"I was wondering, you do not know what the tree branch in your hand is. It has a na in the Mage Circle, called the Tender Branch of the World Tree, harvested from a legendary Ancient Colossal Tree. Don’t just see it as a branch; this thing is more useful than those so-called legendary weapons, only awarded to those recognized by the God of Justice..." As he explained this, the mage gasped in shock, "It has chosen you... I was just saying, in summary, no one would kill you just to steal it. It will choose its own master, and besides, you’ve already registered with the God of Justice. I am young, and I certainly do not wish to be hunted by paladins of the God of Justice for the rest of my life just because of a lapse in judgnt."
Having said that, the mage glanced around, "Well, ten Chaotics, eight warriors, two magicians... Is that all who perished?" He looked at the rcenary squad lying on the ground and then frowned, "Right, I also saw a paladin earlier, where is he?"
"He was a saint," Faye chid in this ti.
The mage fell silent for a mont, followed by a sigh, "These madn... why can’t they take proper care of their lives."
Malin, hearing the deep pity in the mage’s words, offered no response, so the atmosphere also turned sowhat silent. However, their silence did not last long, as knights and infantryn arrived soon after, Malin carried out the handover of the scene with them—the bodies of the victims would be taken by them back to the city for purification and cremation, while the remains of the Chaotics would be purified on the spot with fire. As for the injured, Malin and his companions borrowed two stretchers and four soldiers from the cavalry, and they helped to transport the elf and Jason to the carriage.
"By the way, Mr. Malin," the leader of the cavalry approached as Malin was about to leave. He was a middle-aged man with a beard and wildly grown curly hair, certainly a handso man in his youth, though from two ters away Malin could sll him—he hadn’t bathed in at least half a month.
"Is there sothing you need?" Considering that these n had been exterminating Spirits of different kind in the woods for so long, Malin looked up at her.
"I have a small request. Can I buy the bodies of those two magicians?"
Buy the bodies of Chaotic Sorcerers?
Malin was sowhat puzzled.
In his view, although the folk of Carterburg were simple, they were not so naive to make specins out of humanoid Chaotics.
It was Faye who spoke up beside him, "You have family in the Church of Justice, right, Baron?"
"Yes, my third son and eldest daughter, a set of twins, they are currently breaking through to the eighth rank. I want to prepare sufficient offerings for them, and the heads of two Chaotic Sorcerers would be an excellent choice," the gentleman admitted awkwardly. "But I’m a bit short on funds recently, although I can use my land as collateral. One thousand four hundred, to be paid in full in six months, Your Highness, what do you think?"
"It’s a fair trade, Malin, what do you think?" Faye did not decide for Malin but turned to him.
"I agree, but there’s no need for collateral, for the God of Justice is witnessing," Malin stated, waving the branch in his hand which swiftly transford into a staff suitable for travelers, much to Malin’s satisfaction.
The leader, seeing the branch in Malin’s hand, nodded with reverence, "Yes, Your Excellency, the God of Justice is watching over us, and I certainly will not betray your trust."
"Pleasure doing business, Your Excellency. By the way, I have yet to know your family na," Malin asked, looking at him.
"Charles Sarn, Your Excellency, a company commander with the garrison at Karinburg, I am the second son of Pinto Sarn," the man promptly responded.
"Your son and daughter have a good father. With that, I leave these brave n in your care," said Malin, as he set off to follow the retreating column with Faye.
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency!" The father sounded very pleased, and Malin turned back with a smile. When he turned around, he saw the rcenary squad’s captain and the healer standing in the depths of the woods.
Malin glanced back again; the two of them were lying on the ground.
’Thank you,’ at that mont, their voices reached Malin’s ears. He turned his head to see the healer, with a joyful smile, and noticed the satisfaction and gratitude on the warrior’s face.
The warrior and priest bid farewell to Malin and then walked into the depths of the forest. Faye noticed Malin’s odd behavior and glanced in the direction of his attention, "Is there sothing there?"
"Nothing," replied Malin, turning around with a smile.
The tender shoots on his left hand and her right hand were so conspicuous, and they made Malin realize that everything he had done was not in vain.
They seed to have beco guardian spirits of a sort.
Then Malin looked again at the little branch in his hand.
The latter quickly retracted the tender shoot that rested on the back of Malin’s hand.
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