“Looks like this Senator Keltos sent multiple people to search through the Untamed Jungle without attracting anyone’s attention. His interest in the Untamed Jungle is pretty high,” Michael murmured quietly to himself.
He recalled Lilica’s words and began to frown deeply.
‘It is not only the Senator, but the rest of the Zentika Empire is looking for something as well! It’s just that Senator Keltos is more proactive…Are they looking for something else, or is it actually the Temple of the Forgotten they’re looking for?’
One way or another, Michael figured that Senator Keltos was a piece of shit and that he wouldn’t receive much peace in his territory anytime soon. Even if he and his territory were now strong enough to survive the dangers of the Untamed Jungle’s outer region, his territory’s location was too close to the Zentika Empire.
It would not take Adventurers much time to spot his territory while searching through the outer region and, they would end up in front of his territory sooner or later. It was located between the middle area of the Untamed Jungle, and the Zentika Empire, after all.
‘What a hassle…’
Michael was already dead-tired and on the verge of collapsing, but more trouble seemed to unveil itself in front of him. He was in pain, and his head was aching horrifyingly – especially the area headbutted by the Minotaur.
Unfortunately, it was not the time to rest yet.
His gaze moved over to Icarus’ talon and a sigh escaped his lips. One of Icarus’ talons twisted when the Greater Eagle had dived toward the ground. He was lucky that only a talon had twisted and that the Greater Eagle hadn’t broken his neck, but it was still a grave injury nonetheless.
Thus, Michael retrieved a potion, unstoppered the lid, and made Icarus drink it. Then he stored the corpses spread around him in his War rune before he returned to the territory on Icarus’ back.
The trip back to the territory was short. The atmosphere was gloomy, and nobody cheered like usual when he returned. However, it was not as if Michael expected them to be in a mood to celebrate.
They had far more casualties than they could have hoped for, and that didn’t even include the number of injured.
A little over two dozen people had died, and almost no melee fighter returned from the battlefield unscathed. The smallest injury was a broken leg.
Meanwhile, the Mages had used too powerful spells to subdue the Minotaur, draining more origin energy than their body could hold or make use of. As a downside, they entered a state of magic overcharge, which sealed their ability to cast spells for several days.
The Summoner had fallen unconscious from the backlash he received after summoning a monster that was not only of a higher Tier than himself was, but also from a different realm.
Then there were the Archers and other long-range combat units. Their confidence was completely shaken after witnessing how useless their attacks had been against the Minotaur. They were unstable after having been forced to watch their comrades and friends die at the hands of the Monster that they couldn’t kill.
They hadn’t even been strong enough to seriously injure the Blood-eyed Minotaur. It was a shame.
Last but not least, Tiara was seriously injured. She had to be tended to for the next few days until they could see whether she would be able to recuperate fully, or if she had sustained permanent injuries.
That was a hard blow for Tiara and for everyone else.
Nobody was in a condition to fight anymore. The close combat units had to recuperate, and the long-range combat units were in a bad mental state as well. They needed some time to digest what had happened and how to improve themselves so as to avoid a repeat of this incident at all costs. Their uselessness had led to the death of their friends and they blamed themselves for the massacre.
Michael was not a therapist, but he could tell that everyone required some time off. This included himself as well. Fighting the Blood-eyed Minotaur had been an eye-opener for him and he realized with glaring clarity that he and his territory were still far too weak. They might have won the battle, but it didn’t feel like it. Their losses had been far too great.
All in all, the potions the Master Alchemist had created in bulk were completely used up after the battle with the Blood-eyed Minotaur. It was a stock that should have lasted for ten battles. Unfortunately, too many injuries had to be treated with great care.
Once all the fallen comrades’ bodies had been brought to the center of the clearing, a huge pyre was set up and ignited. Everyone stood solemnly in front of the pyre, their hands crossed and their heads bent low as they offered prayers to the departed. It was nothing special but it was the least Michael could do to wish a final goodbye to his loyal subjects who had fought valiantly.
Michael looked like he was on the verge of collapsing on the spot, but he ensured to give the fallen the last rites they deserved. Their souls were cleansed and they were given food as a tribute to ascend to heaven, fully satiated.
Michael sensed that the Links of Loyalty of hundreds of subjects were growing firmer, but that was not his intention when he set up the memorial fire. He wanted to take care of the people, who had died to protect the territory.
Before the corpses of his subjects were burned, Michael tested Extraction on the 2-Star Berserker, who died in battle today. He remembered the Berserker from a few days ago. Michael had asked his soldiers what they wanted to happen to their corpses if they were to die in battle at that time.
Nobody really wanted to die, but they knew that the possibility was there.
Michael recalled their simple wishes and one particular wish that had astonished him at that time. The 2-Star Berserker wished that Michael would use his corpse to experiment with his Soultrait on it. The Berserker wished to provide something for the territory even after he died in battle and had said that it would be his greatest honor.
At that time, Michael had been quite surprised by the Berserker’s wish. He always thought that his subjects wouldn’t want to be touched by Extraction because they believed that their Soul shouldn’t be touched, or affected in any way after death.
Michael completely understood and respected his subjects’ beliefs. He wouldn’t experiment with their corpses if they didn’t want him to. That was why the Berserker’s wish shocked Michael a little bit.
Unfortunately, the Will of the Origin Expanse didn’t create any special drops for the summoned subjects under one’s control. The Berserker didn’t even drop a single Summoning Scroll Fragment after Extraction was used on him.
He didn’t know what happened to the souls of the deceased, especially subjects who had been resurrected once already, but he was not sure if he would like to find out more.
Maybe, it was great that some mysterious things would stay a mystery forever. It retained the magic behind the unknown and allowed the living to hope and dream.
He had a lot to do, but his body and mind didn’t allow him to stay awake.
Michael stumbled into his room before he fell heavily on the bed.
In the next moment, he found himself in a deep slumber.
