26. Humanity

A dryness caught Nathanial’s throat as he tried to muster the words. He looked around the battlefield once more with sorrow in his eyes. His helm hid his expression, but maybe it was because of how he carried himself; his men held their composure within the rain.

Finally, he asked, “How many did we lose?”

Richard kept his head down low. “Five. We lost five men in the battle.”

The number was far lower than expected. Nathanial thought their casualties would be at least double that. So it was a relief to some extent, yet still a tragedy in another.

He nodded. “What about our injured?”

“Already handled. We’ve given them the rest of the mid-grade healing potions. It’ll take some time, but their injuries will stabilize. Some have lost a lot of blood, but there’s not much else we can do.”

Richard held out a crimson vial. “This one’s for you; better to have your injuries tended to so that you’re back to proper fighting condition.”

“I don’t need it. Give it to the others.”

The burly man frowned and pushed it into Nathanial’s hands. “Now’s not the time to be stubborn. They’ve been given their fair share, and despite what you’re feeling, you need to remember that your life is far too great for us to lose now.”

Nathanial stood there and hesitantly accepted the potion. He wasn’t in a position to complain, no matter how much he wanted to. They had a few men who could use aura, and he was one of them.

Everyone rushed to get their bearings. They treated their wounds with the bandages in the backpacks, while gathering equipment from the fallen. Nathanial replaced the chest plate he discarded with one that belonged to his men. Praying that their souls would find peace in the afterlife.

He took off the iron gauntlet and poured the crimson liquid on top, feeling the bones slowly mend together in his right hand with a crackle and then a pop.

Nathanial stared at his fallen men once more and clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white.

“There was nothing you could’ve done,” Fredrick said. “If those bastards knew we were here, then conflict was unavoidable.”

Nathanial raised a brow. “You… knew?”

“Well, it doesn’t take much to put two and two together. You’re not the type of guy to just run out looking for a fight if there wasn’t a reason.”

Nathanial dryly chuckled. “Our diversion didn’t work. I really thought we would have them with that, but it seems like when their vision isn’t the only thing they can strengthen.”

“I take it you mean their hearing?”

“Yeah… I fucked up.” Nathanial’s voice quietly broke. “I didn’t realize it, and because of that we had to take a fight we almost didn’t win.”

Fredrick shook his head and held out a dagger by its blade. “It’s a shitty situation no matter how you cut it. We would have just got picked off one after another if we didn’t take that fight, anyway.”

The men around him agreed.

But Nathanial found no reassurance in it, because parts of him still felt like it was his mistake. Even though in most cases others would find it impressive that they had somehow overcome the odds, Nathanial couldn’t stomach it, knowing that they would say it could have been a lot worse because to him, it could have also been a lot better.

He shook his head and put on his iron gauntlet before accepting the dagger.

“That doesn’t change what’s happened.”

A soft ding reached him.

[ Aura Regeneration Activated ]

The words on the golden screen infuriated him, knowing that the messenger was watching. If the system were a god, why didn’t it help? What was he supposed to be a champion of, and how come the gods that ruled the Souldom stood aside and did nothing while their nations went to war?

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There was faith in the world with powers of divinity that created miracles, yet when the people needed it most, it was idle.

Nathanial sorted his equipment with a sense of loss. He took a deep breath to calm his heart. What they had done was insane, and the fact that it worked was only because everyone signed on knowing the risks. They pulled off something incredible with only a handful of men.

And even if the guilt of surviving weighed down on his heart. He knew he needed to keep moving forward, because that was the only way for them to repay the lives that had been lost.

Yet, as Nathanial was lost in his thoughts, he accidentally bumped into someone far shorter than himself. A person who was crouched on the ground.

“Hey! Who dares—”

The voice stopped mid-sentence, and as Nathanial looked down, he saw Percy.

“Sir!” Percy immediately rose and saluted him.

“Oh wow, Percy’s still alive?” Fredrick asked.

The yellow-eyed youth frowned. “That’s kinda rude, sir.”