"Gazef! What are you doing! Get up!" Brian roared, furious. The duel had just begun... and Gazef collapsed like that! Such an outcome was unimaginable to anyone.
"He's already dead." That fellow, with great politeness and reverence, laid Gazef down, slowly closing his still-open eyes.
"To step forward knowing there's no chance of victory? Uh... as a sign of respect for him, I will stop the pursuit. As for..." That fellow glanced at Gazef's corpse.
"Let me clean him up properly, then I'll return him to you."
"No, you don't need to trouble yourself. We will take Gazef's body back," Brian said. Klem, beside him, let out a sigh of relief. Klem had been very worried that Brian would challenge the Magic Caster King, but it seemed he had no such intention now.
"Is that so!" The Magic Caster King stood up and continued speaking to them.
"I used an instant death spell. True death cannot be revived with low-tier magic. Also... please inform the people of the Kingdom that as long as they submit to me, I will treat them with mercy."
After speaking, he floated up, turning his back to everyone... Exposing one's back to the enemy on a battlefield is a huge taboo, but no one present was so shameless as to attempt a sneak attack in such a situation.
"Tell the King that if you return the areas near E-Rantel to me within the next few days, these magic beasts will not appear in the Royal Capital." The Magic Caster King floated onto the back of the giant magic beast and said.
Subsequently, those giant magic beasts truly stopped their pursuit and turned around to retreat.
Klem, Brian, and Irubyue looked at Gazef's body lying on the ground, unable to utter a single word.
"Damn it!! Why did you do this?!" Brian once again fell to his knees, punching the dry earth.
"Kid... Gazef did it for the future of the Kingdom," Irubyue said slowly, her head bowed as she looked at his body.
"Future?" Klem and Brian's gazes turned to Irubyue.
"The reason Gazef refused to be resurrected was for..." Irubyue took off her mask. Klem and Brian were somewhat surprised, as it was their first time seeing Irubyue's face beneath the mask.
"The honor of the Kingdom. Many people died in this battle... If the Royal Family, as the decision-makers, suffered no actual 'harm,' how would the Kingdom's citizens who lost relatives, family, and loved ones in this war view the Royal Family?" Irubyue said with a look of unwillingness.
"..." Klem and Brian did not answer, because they knew. They had already witnessed it during the last incident when Adalbaud attacked the Kingdom.
Why didn't you save my loved ones! What good are you!
Such words were vivid in their memory. After just that one incident, the Royal Family's reputation was already very poor. Now...
"Gazef's sacrifice, perhaps... can, to some extent, alleviate the resentment of the Kingdom's citizens who lost loved ones in this war," Irubyue continued.
In the Kingdom, Warrior Captain Gazef Stroganov was a household name. The King of the Kingdom also valued him greatly, and his reputation among the populace was very high. Even the strongest warrior in the Royal Family sacrificed himself in this battle, which indeed could alleviate some internal conflicts within the Kingdom.
"Heh... just for such a trivial reason, he refused to be resurrected!" Brian simply could not accept such an explanation.
"To us... it does seem like a very trivial reason, but... Gazef still sacrificed his 'life' for this utterly trivial reason. He is not like you, Brian... Gazef is the Warrior Captain of the Kingdom. He was fulfilling his final loyalty to the Royal Family of the Kingdom," Irubyue said.
"So that's how it is? The gap between him and me... is that how it is? I... understand. Klem, can Gazef let me take him back?" Brian stood up and asked.
"Yes... yes, then I will take Warrior Captain Gazef's sword back." Klem nodded, looking at Brian's expression, which was a mix of crying and smiling.
"Before that... could you please remove Gazef's gauntlet?" Irubyue said this out of the blue.
"Gauntlet? Lady Irubyue, Warrior Captain Gazef's gauntlet is one of the Kingdom's secret treasures." Klem was somewhat surprised.
"Kid! What do you take me for! I just want to see if Gazef is wearing the magic ring that old woman gave him!" Irubyue immediately became displeased.
"Ah... sorry! I'll take it off right away!" Klem hastily removed Gazef's gauntlet. Sure enough... on Gazef's left-hand finger was a plain silver 'colored' ring. To call it a ring... it was more like a child's toy ring.
"He's wearing it after all!" Irubyue knelt down and directly took the ring off Gazef's finger, examining it carefully. Then she took out another, quite ornate, gold 'colored' ring from a small pouch on her waist and put it on Gazef.
"I'll hold onto this old woman's magic ring for now. This should be used by someone who needs it!" Irubyue said.
"Lady Irubyue? What are you doing?" Klem completely failed to understand why Irubyue was taking Gazef's ring. Although this ring was not one of the Kingdom's four secret treasures, it was still Warrior Captain Gazef's Relics, wasn't it!
"Cough... what I mean is, let me return this ring to the old woman! This ring was given to Gazef by the old woman, and... and... it's perfectly fine for me to return it! Oh... that's right! As an exchange! The ring I gave Gazef has the effect of permanently preserving the corpse from decay! Don't take it off after you take Gazef back!" Irubyue said, sounding somewhat nervous.
"Ah... it can keep the corpse from decaying! Lady Irubyue... thank you." Klem immediately bowed to Irubyue in gratitude.
"So... so! Hurry and take Gazef's body back!" Irubyue quickly urged Klem and Brian.
At this point, Brian finally lifted Gazef's body... seemingly intending to carry him on his back.
"Ah... that's right, Lady Irubyue, could I trouble you to use teleportation magic to send Warrior Captain Gazef's body back?" Klem suddenly remembered this.
"Ah... um... y-yes, I can." For some reason, Irubyue was even more nervous than before.
"Teleport! Activate... uh... why... isn't it working? Damn it! An anti-teleportation barrier has been set up nearby! Teleportation magic can't be used. It seems like that Magic Caster King's doing. There's nothing we can do." Irubyue said with an embarrassed expression.
"Is... is that so? I apologize, Lady Irubyue. Then let's return together." Klem didn't think much of it, picked up Gazef's sword, and said to Irubyue.
"O-okay." Irubyue responded, then followed behind Klem and Brian, but Irubyue's steps became slower and slower, and she hadn't walked many steps.
"Ah! One more thing! I need to go confirm something! You two go back first! Don't wait for me!" Irubyue suddenly called out from behind.
"Lady Irubyue?" Klem turned his head, very curious.
"You two... go back first. I have something quite important to do! I'll come back by myself later." Lady Irubyue was seen with her back to them, then she quietly muttered "Fly..." and was seen floating up, disappearing in a flash.
"I just feel that Lady Irubyue seems a bit off..." Klem said, looking at Irubyue's receding back.
"Maybe she really does have an urgent matter, after all... so many people died." Brian glanced at the battlefield... In the entire empty battlefield, besides the two of them standing intact, all else were mangled corpses.
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