And with that the most significant battle of the war came to an end, with both armies returning to their camp to rest for the remainder of the day. Yet relaxation was not at all the desire of either the Eclipse men or the mercenary ones, as they began to celebrate and cheer like none had ever done before. Only the eastern army's camp remained silent, since after months of nonstop fighting and then the relentless pursuit for days on end after Eliana's remanent army, they were absolutely spent, and with duty and anxiousness being the only two things still propping up their sword arm after so long now gone, they crashed onto their beds without a second thought. But such a scene felt utterly paradoxical in my brothers' eyes, as Nizam asked while we made our way through the jubilant camp, his eyes looking around him in confusion and mild disgust "How can they celebrate so carefreely when a third of their brothers and comrades had been lost in this battle?" "Because that is the right thing to do." I calmly answered. "Huh?!" Nizam and Cyrus were both so confused that they couldn't even form their sheer disbelief in words anymore. Smiling at their antics, I explained "They celebrate so happily and so serenely, as you said, not only because it is their right as the victorious, but because that is how our warriors grieve and how they honour the memory of those dauntless dead." My brothers still looked at me in confusion, so I continued to clarify "To cry after a hard won battle is to dishonour the sacrifice of their slain brothers, and to cheer and party is to prove that their blood had not been spilt in vain; so that their souls may go into the God of the Underworld's kingdom in peace. That is how our warriors have always behaved in victory, even hollow ones." Nizam and Cyrus grew quiet at my words, their faces now reflecting a different light of appreciation and understanding to the jolly men, but then Cyrus asked "Is that why I heard the mercenaries are doing the same in their camp?" "Not exactly." I answered "Though yes, I am certain that some of them are indeed doing so to mourn their lost comrades, most of them are probably cheering for their work to be over and their gold to be delivered. Some might even be happy that so many of them had died this time around, because it means more Darr to fatten their pockets." Cyrus' face soured at this, as he asked "Is that all they care about?" "Of course, such are mercenaries after all. Even when in front of their most respected and admired king, the man they worship as a legend and the only commander they would die for if asked, gold is still retains the status of their second highest priority and ultimate goal. And the death of their comrades simply means a bigger piece of the pie." I replied, recalling a few old memories of the times I had interacted with these breed of gold starved men before. "...I don't think I like them very much." Cyrus suddenly said with the voice of a child, yet with the tone that carried more than it showed. Looking back at him with a stunned eyes, as I think in shock 'He's already beginning to speak like that? Seems like Nizam isn't the only one that's progressing faster than in my past life. It won't be long now and the empire's Golden Lion will return!' My mouth curled into an excited grin, just thinking of Cyrus recreating his monstrous achievements yet again in this life, but this time with my support that would ensure his light isn't snuffed out before it's strong enough burn all those who dare approach it. I finished that thought just as we were nearing the entrance of a slightly secluded tent, that was placed a decent distance away from all the ruckus of the men, so that it's occupants won't be disturbed. But instead of the silent and solemn air we expected, that was disturbed by high ranking priests, alchemists and doctors going in and out of the fabric curtains that signified the tent's entrance, instead there was a jovial tune being played on a lute, while fits of jovial laughter would echo out every now and then. My brothers' looked at each other with widened eyes, surprise evident in their expressions, while I merely smiled, as I gently pulled the curtain doors aside and entered to behold the comical scene. Horus and Leonid, each with a half drunk cup of wine in hand sat in their separate beds, laughing, singing and merry making while a dozen professionals worked to heal their bodies. The two were so dazed that they hadn't even sensed my presence yet. Turning to the leading physician and alchemist of these two, I ask "What did you give these two?" "Dew of Pathiya, my liege." The man answered with a hint of hesitation laced into his voice. Hearing his words I simply nod with furrowed brows, being very familiar with both the good and sinister sides of this miracle drug, since I often tried to use it in my past life, in a desperate attempt to dull the torture when I unlocked a new gate, which unfortunately stopped working all together after I opened the fourth one. But even after it failed to ease my pain, I still continued to make great use of this drug; not as medicine, but as a silent weapon. Dew of Pathiya is one of the most potent narcotics to have ever been created, capable of numbing pain that would've left men screaming for the mercy of death. But with this great power, came a far more terrible curse, as it proved to be so strong that even a single drop of it was enough to peacefully usher someone, who had not been strengthened by aura or magic, to the embrace of my ancestor. And due to all this, this medicine that was born to spare the weak and dying, was corrupted in my and others hands to a noiseless, tasteless poison that would quietly rid one of the pesky thorns he couldn't reach to forcefully pluck out. 'Even I was not spared the hushed threat of this potion's possible presence, either in this life or the past.' I calmly thought, having already grown used to these assassination attempts. Because of all of this, it's manufacture and use have been heavily monopolized by not only my empire, but by all nations, for the completion of unsavoury work or for the healing of elite troops on the battlefield, since with precise use it can put to sleep a martial artist till the fifth rank to sleep, and while less effective against masters of higher ranks it was still capable of blunting their pain, at least temporary. "How bad is it?" I finally ask, knowing that they would not have used such a potion if they had not judged their situation to be fairly grim. "If I make speak with complete honesty, sire. It's not great." The man replied with a sigh, before explaining "Lord Horus was originally going to need no more than a couple of weeks to be fully healed and back to normal, but because he pushed himself so harshly before he could properly rest his body, it's going to take him now a few months to return to his full health. Meanwhile lord Leonid isn't any better. His abdomen has been pierced no less than four times, much of his skeletal structure, especially his ribs and legs have been broken to bits, with us still trying to remove the remaining bone fragments from his thighs and feet. And that's not even mentioning the all the other internal injuries he's suffered, as well as the uncountable number of gashes, bruises and contusions all over his body." The man then paused for a moment form his unstoppable rant, before continuing in an extremely serious tone "All in all, my liege, they'll live. But Lord Horus can not, under any circumstance continue to fight any longer in his current condition, and I recommend he be sent back to a nearby city to recuperate properly. While lord Leonid would need less time to fully heal, as his body is far stronger, but I still implore that he rest for at least a week." Hearing the man's words caused me to furrow my brows even more, as I hadn't realized the severity of their injuries, as I reply "Very well then, do what you must, but keep me notified of their conditions." "Of course, sire." The man quickly bowed. I then left with my two brothers, as remaining there would do only more harm than good, by constantly hampering the healers' work with our presence, while we couldn't say anything to the merry duo who would most likely forget any words we would say to them anyway. But as we began making our way back to my own tent at the center of the camp, a black swooped down from the orange tinted skies, while a blood armoured knight with a fearsome lance in hand leaped off it's back. "It's good to see you in such good health lord Sodarus." I calmly commented, as the man quickly fell to his knee. "It is good to see you too, your imperial majesty and highnesses in good health as well." He quickly responded. "You may rise general, we will continue this in my tent." I said, but Sodarus remained unsarcastically stationary, before he said, his head bending even lower down. "Before that, my liege, let me first express my gratitude for all that you have done for me and my men in this war so far. For without the reinforcements of Lord Valdour you had sent us, we would not have been able to vanquish our foes. And without the condition you made for both my and Admiral Khairuddin's sake we would've been undoubtedly in clasped chains or held by the earth for months now." Check latest chapters at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵 Hearing his words began to form a large grin across my lips, before I quickly supressed it, not only because of his gratitude, which would forever guarantee the unwavering loyalty of the already fiercely loyal Sodarus and the Chimera knights, but because of what he said of the Eastern Admiral as well; which likely meant that I had gained that fickle man's true loyalty as well, that I had been trying to think of how to sway to my side lately, and was truthfully starting to give me a headache, as I couldn't demand his loyalty, like I did with the lower and lesser important officers in the beginning of my rule, nor did I know how to earn it, like I did with Hamilcar and Sodarus, as he was a famously eccentric man with an infamous wilfulness to him. 'Seems like I'm going to achieve more than I had expected to in this campaign!' I happily thought, before asking "By the way Sodarus, where is the Forge Lord and the Eastern Admiral?" "...They went off ahead to cleanse the starting point of this whole rebellion, root, stem and all." He said with a chilling ruthless and a monstrous glint in his eyes.