Two days had passed since Merlin's attack on the Paladin forces.
It had been a brutal and unforgiving battle; no, to put it more accurately, the Paladins had stood no chance against Merlin. The Paralar Empire had sent five hundred Paladins along with General Leon of the Holy Church to this campaign.
In the end, Leon had perished, and only a handful of survivors remained.
...
In the Holy Church's recovery room.
"Where... where am I?" Will, gravely injured, stirred from his unconscious state. He was one of the fortunate few who had survived. When the Paralar scouts had found him, his hands and abdomen were soaked with blood, and he had lost consciousness. His abdomen and left leg had been struck by blunt force, resulting in two broken ribs and a fractured left leg.
"This is the recovery room of the Paralar Empire," two unfamiliar figures sat by Will's bed, gently placing their hands over his wounds. Their hands radiated a golden aura. Will recognized it as the divine power of the Paladins, healing him.
"Hah, it seems I have quite the affinity with this place; in just one month, I've been here twice," Will remarked wryly, staring at the ceiling.
"Oh, by the way, where are the others? The others from the expedition?" Will asked anxiously.
"The vast majority of the Paladins perished. You, Will, are incredibly lucky," one of them replied.
"And... Eddie? Eddie Marshall?"
"Eddie is in the room next door."
"How is he?"
"When we found him, he was unconscious, and... his right hand was burning."
"So... we had no choice but to amputate it."
Upon hearing this, Will closed his eyes, unwilling to believe his ears, unable to imagine what Eddie must look like now.
...
One month later.
After a month of healing, Will's body had recovered enough for him to stand. Ordinarily, someone with such injuries would need at least three months of rest, but the Paladins had discovered a strange energy within Will's body, which seemed to hasten his recovery. Thus, within a month, he could walk again.
It was a bright, sunny day. The sunlight streamed through the window, warming Will's face, slowly rousing him from his slumber. With a groan, Will pushed the covers aside and sat up. For someone whose ribs had just healed, even this simple action was difficult. With great effort, he managed to stand, but after a month of immobility, walking still felt unfamiliar.
"Will, what are you doing? You're out of bed!" The door to his room suddenly flew open, and Mary rushed in. Seeing him standing by the bed, she gasped in alarm, as though she had witnessed something monumental.
"They said I can walk now, Mary," Will explained, a bit surprised by her reaction.
During the month he had rested, Mary had been his constant caretaker. Since the previous incident, she had moved in with him, just as he had hoped, helping Sophia with the household chores.
"That doesn't matter!" she exclaimed, her voice full of concern.
"No, no, no, I've rested enough. If I stay in bed any longer, I'll go mad," Will said in panic, seeing how seriously Mary was taking it.
"Well... alright, then. Let me help you," she said, decisively stepping forward and gently linking her arm through his.
"Mary, you're being a bit too eager," Will teased, though he felt a warmth in his chest as he stood so close to her. Ever since the incident with Donald, he had come to realize that he had been captivated by this kind-hearted and simple girl.
"I... Sophia, Uncle Terry, and I have all been so worried about you. We all hope you recover soon," she said, her voice full of sincerity.
"Mary... thank you..." Will began, just as a loud explosion sounded from outside the window, followed by screams and cries.
"What's happening?"
"It must be an attack by the Arus and United Nations bombardment vehicles."
"Why isn't our army pushing out to counterattack?"
"The city gates are sealed. Someone from the enemy forces used magic to lock all the gates, and we can't get out."
"Eddie..." Will murmured anxiously to himself. Eddie had been discharged from the recovery room half a month ago. He had visited Will a few times during this period. But it seemed that Eddie was in worse shape than Will; after losing his right arm, Eddie had become deeply melancholic. His hair was unkempt, and his face was covered with stubble—something the old Eddie would never have allowed.
"Eddie should be safe. Uncle Terry told me he was reassigned to the logistics team. He's currently helping to evacuate the citizens of Paralar City to the underground emergency shelters."
"That's good to hear," Will thought, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he was relieved that Eddie was safe, but on the other hand, he lamented that Eddie's dream had always been to fight alongside him.
"What about Lisa?"
"Lisa left a few days ago. She was summoned to the Holy Church. She's probably working on a strategy to resist the enemy."
In the battle with Merlin a month ago, Lisa had been the only one untouched. This had been due to her deep understanding of Merlin's power. When she visited Will, she had scolded him harshly because, before everything had unfolded, she had warned him to retreat, but he hadn't listened.
"Looks like I need to recover quickly... I can't just do nothing," Will thought as he stared out the window at the rising black smoke, his eyes filled with concern.
...
Not far outside Paralar City, several Arus bombardment vehicles had been set up, continually launching fiery stones into the city. Arus and United Nations camps had also stationed their forces here.
"General Ray, I think it will only take another day before the Paralar Empire begs for mercy," a soldier said to General Ray, who was overseeing the bombardment.
"Hm?" General Ray glared at the soldier with a sideways glance.
"Do you enjoy this kind of work? Do you enjoy slaughtering your own kind?" General Ray asked sternly.
"I... I don't, but... but I'm a soldier. I have to follow orders," the soldier hurriedly responded.
"Orders? I don't remember giving such an order."
"It was I who gave the order," Merlin's voice cut through the conversation as he stepped out from the tent, taking over the dialogue from General Ray.
"I know it was you. Only you would give such a filthy order, trapping them within the city," General Ray said disdainfully, glaring at Merlin.
"But isn't it wonderful? I've followed your suggestion and minimized your casualties. Yet, you're not even grateful. Instead, you blame me?" Merlin said with a sly expression.
General Ray fell silent. He had no response. Merlin was right; he had indeed said that he wanted to minimize the casualties of his troops.