Chapter 71 - Recognition

Still, eventually, Liry’s voice began to weaken, and the group realized that her posture was weakening as well. Heirina approached and then put her hands on her shoulders.

“You can stop now, Liry. The flow of the battle is in our hands. That idiot also apparently did something to deal with the enemy, general.”

In the end, Liry nodded and then began to take deep breaths to recover. She looked exhausted and soon the group realized the risks of her trait. When Liry looked around the battlefield, she pointed to the right sight and signaled for them to lead a charge and attack that side of the enemy’s formation… she couldn’t talk.

They didn’t know if that was temporary or not, but it was hard to think that Liry would be reckless to the Point, that she would lose her voice.

“I will rally our right side. You two keep a tight formation and protect her at all times,”

Irlan and Edea nodded and then Heirina began to ride her horse, she raised her voice and soon the captain on that side of formation soon began to follow her… at the same time, his underlings didn’t the same and hundreds of soldiers moved to flank the enemy’s left side.

It didn’t take long for the flow of the battle to change completely. The enemy’s formation was in tatters to begin with. It only got worse. That army wasn’t used to defending without the full support of their cavalry and chariots, so the enemy’s lines were pierced with ease.

Eventually, around two hundred riders showed up to join the battle, but they did it too late… when they saw the front lines being destroyed, they turned around and began to run away. They didn’t want to suffer any more losses. 

The infantry soon realized that something was off when they began to suffer massive losses and their general didn’t show any signs of showing up or sending orders. Their discipline eventually collapse and they began to run away as well, using all the horses that they could find.

When the group invaded the enemy’s camp, Kaitrine suddenly showed up covered in sweat and exhausted. She took some time to recover her breath, and Heirina waited for it.

“Are you all right, Kaitrine? I can’t see any signs of blood or wounds… where are Zelos?” 

“I don’t know, we split up to cause more damage… Since he wasn’t at the places that we stopped, I assumed that he had returned. But I guess he decided to do more than follow his orders.”

No one among Zelos’s comrades was particularly surprised when he didn’t follow strictly the plan. After all, he had a tendency to go against authority, preferring to follow his instincts rather than strict orders. It was a trait that they had grown accustomed to, even if it sometimes caused frustration.

However, there was an unspoken understanding that, while Zelos might deviate from the plan, he would at least exercise some measure of caution. He wasn’t one to do anything outright insane—or at least, he shouldn’t have been.

But perhaps Zelos had grown overconfident. His healing skills had granted him a certain sense of invincibility, a belief that he could push the boundaries without consequence. It was a dangerous line to walk and one that his comrades couldn’t help but worry about.

Despite their concerns, there was a begrudging respect for Zelos’ abilities. His unconventional methods had often shown results, and his courage on the battlefield was unquestionable. Still, they couldn’t help but wish that he would temper his recklessness with a bit more caution.

Although the group was worried about Zelos, the battle wasn’t over yet. They had to finish off the enemies as many as possible to discourage them from future battles.

 “Give the order for everyone to split into groups of ten riders and ten infantrymen,” Liry suddenly said while her voice sounded a bit hoarse. “Don’t follow the enemies for too long. We don’t know their territory and from here onwards, we will be in enemy territory.”

Everyone looked relieved when they heard her voice. It seemed that Liry's throat was a bit hurt, but she recovered a lot faster than they had expected. 

While being escorted by Irlan and Edea, Liry headed toward the tent of the enemy’s commander after they heard that his body was there. After checking his body, they entered the tent and saw Zelos covered in red bandages eating all the food that one could find there… It seemed that he survived a difficult battle, but since not even those grave wounds stopped him from eating like usual, they confirmed that he would be fine.

“Took you guys long enough.”

Irlan shrugged when he heard that, and the others furrowed their eyebrows. All’s well that ends well, or so they say… still, while they won, they could tell that Zelos will get an earful once all that is done.

When morning came, Zelos felt better since his wounds had closed enough. They were still throbbing, and he had those massive red lines in his body showing the damage that the enemy general caused on him. He got lucky… or perhaps, all the training that increased his vigor helped him block a lot of the damage of the enemy’s attack.

Throughout the day, the group’s focus shifted to recovery and providing assistance to those who needed it. They tended to the wounded, offering help and comfort to their comrades in arms. Despite the toll that the battle had taken, there was a sense of resilience among them.

As night fell and the chaos of battle subsided, the grim toll of the day became clear. They had lost one thousand soldiers out of their initial force of 2500. Each loss was felt deeply, a reminder of the sacrifices made in the name of victory.

Yet, despite the heavy losses, there was some pride. The enemy had suffered even greater casualties, losing three thousand out of their five thousand troops. It was a staggering blow, one that left them proud.

For all intents and purposes, it was a massive victory. Despite the high cost, they had emerged triumphant, dealing a decisive blow to the enemy’s forces and shifting the momentum of the war in their favor.

If they were in condition for that, most of the soldiers would have celebrated, but they weren’t in condition for that. Only a handful of them didn’t have wounds that made them feel some annoying pain. At the same time, Liry seemed serious and distant. It looked like she believed that harsh times were coming for the country and they couldn’t keep going like that. Or maybe something else happened.

In the blink of an eye, one week passed, and the army was ready to finally move. One of the captains that survived will maintain the border well guarded and the others are supposed to return home. Liry and the others also were supposed to finally retreat.

“It is finally time to go home, everyone. The mission was a huge success, thanks to you all. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Liry’s words came from the bottom of her heart and, considering the smile that she showed, her words truly were genuine. Still, Zelos couldn’t help but think that anyone could have taken their place… they were only there by pure coincidence, or maybe Reina imagined that all that was bound to happen. It was hard to know.

Before everyone could finally dismantle their camp, they finally celebrate their victory with a large dinner. They received some fresh meat and a lot of alcohol from the closest city, so Liry decided that they would use all that in a single night. Thanks to it, things got quite noisy.

At first, Irlan, Heirina, Edea and Kaitrine tried to contain themselves, but once they took a sip of the alcohol, they were unable to stop. Once again, Zelos had to assume the role of the guy who would keep an eye on things while everyone was celebrating like there was no tomorrow. Much to his surprise, Liry didn’t join them.

“Aren’t you going to drink, Zelos?” 

“I am twelve,”

“Ah, that is right. You don’t look that young, though. Perhaps this is a good idea, even though I have the feeling that no amount of alcohol would affect you.”

Zelos had believed that alcohol would have little effect on him. Firstly, his stomach was rarely empty long enough for the alcohol to truly take hold. With the constant demands of battle and the need to maintain his strength, he would always work or train.

Secondly, Zelos’s metabolism was remarkably fast. He could consume food and drink and recover from fatigue with astonishing speed. This rapid metabolism meant that any alcohol he consumed would be metabolized and expelled from his system before it could significantly affect him.

Perhaps he would have a few moments of warmth, maybe a slight buzz, and then it would be gone, leaving him unaffected and ready to return to the battlefield.

This resilience to alcohol had its advantages, allowing Zelos to maintain his focus and clarity even in the midst of celebration or commiseration. However, it also meant that he missed out on the camaraderie and relaxation that often came with sharing a drink among comrades.

“We have accomplished our goal. With this, your mission is over and you will have the chance to return home.”

“It was about time. Although it will take at least three weeks to really return home. We have some places to be, like the capital and Reina home.”

Zelos wanted to ask if things would truly be fine in the capital for her, but Zelos knew that asking wouldn’t change a thing. It also wasn’t a good idea to get involved more than he already was in the mess of the capital with its current situation. He also had his own problems to worry about…

Not to mention, the recent battles were truly eye opening. They made Zelos realize that he was still weak in all aspects. When it comes to martial skills, tactical knowledge, economically, and even in terms of influence. He had to find solutions to all of that as soon as possible.

“You should enjoy this as much as you can. I bet that you can’t let loose in the capital, so this will be your last chance in a long while.”

“I am not sure I am in the mood for that.”

“That is your choice.”