BXBX NOVEL Chapter 85: Reports
Sadly though, not everybody was happy about this. While they should be thankful that the city was saved in the end, some couldn't help but feel doubtful and bitter about that mysterious expert.
Why would that person only help at the last minute? If they had shown up earlier, wouldn't all of these casualties be prevented then? If they had shown up earlier, they could've ended the Black Sky and prevented people from dying. Why did they have to wait until the very end before making a move?
Some argued that the mysterious expert might've been someone who just passed through their city and decided to lend aid before moving towards other places where their help was needed more. But this idea was quickly shut down since there were no reports of similar miracles happening in other cities, so people thought that whoever caused those miracles might've been a selfish person.
This sentiment got the sympathy of those who had lost a loved one in this event. Some even decided to march to the City Lord's office to file a complaint and have whoever it was take responsibility for the deaths of their fellow citizens.
Sufficed to say, none of them even made it to the doors of the City Lord's office due to the simple fact that the mysterious expert did more good than bad if you could even call it that.
The grateful people and soldiers that the mysterious expert saved ruthlessly rebuked the self-entitled pricks and jabbed at their bruised egos, making them realize that casualties in this kind of event were to be expected.
All of those who died participated in the event, with full consent, that there was a possibility of them dying in their duties. They told these people that they should even grovel at the foot of that mysterious expert's foot should they even announce their presence because, without that person, all life in this city would've been lost.
This place would then become a den of Demons from this day onwards.
Facing the ruthless attack on their conscience, the self-entitled and self-important pricks went back home dejectedly with even more bruised egos. They were openly rebuked in public and practically 90% of the people in the city were against them, so how could even make a difference?
All of this though, wasn't something that Cedric concerned himself with.
He had recovered after sleeping for the majority of the day, he even felt better than the last time he was awake.
Spreading his senses to survey the city, he immediately heard the gossip about him and smiled wryly. That said, even though some people were doubting his intentions, he only shrugged at this.
They don't know who he was, even if they did, he doesn't owe them an explanation. In the grand scheme of things, that's all they could do...talk. And he doesn't plan on taking that away from them since that's their right.
His ego wasn't that fragile either. Again, all those people could do was to talk shit about him and nothing else. Words like that are meaningless in a strength-oriented world like this one.
Besides, the majority of the people were thankful for him despite not knowing his real identity. That's enough for him so he stopped paying attention to it.
The reconstruction of the walls had already begun from what he saw. People were already moving about, helping with the recovery of the city so that they could go back to their regular lives.
Though the atmosphere was still tense, at least it was getting better. Cedric guessed that it shouldn't take a month before the city fully recovers and its people's lifestyles go back to normal.
"It seems that the cult didn't send more troops either," Cedric muttered after a deep scan of the city.
He was grateful for it, of course, at least now he could relax for quite some time.
The cult wouldn't be making any bold moves right away, at least not in this city. They're probably expecting that their team made it and were laying low for the time being before reporting back to them.
That gives the city enough time to nurse its wounds and recover completely. Once the cult realizes that their plans are compromised, it should be too late for them to do anything.
"Alright, time waits for no one. Let's train and become stronger!"
****
- Royal Capital -
The Black Sky just ended in the Royal Capital as well. Just like the Black Thread City, the capital was now focusing its efforts on rebuilding and recovering. Unfortunately, for the officials, it's not yet time for them to rest.
City Lords had been summoned by the Monarchy and Government to assess the damages and they couldn't be absent unless their respective cities were still under attack.
The meeting began with a headcount. Amongst the 54 Cities under the Monarchy's rule, only 50 attended. After confirming that the 4 missing City Lords were still protecting their city, the meeting began without them.
"Alright, let's begin assessing the damages we incurred so far. Let's start with you City Brennan, how's your city?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, my Mulberry City faced a Lv.2 intensity Black Sky. According to the reports of my trusted aides, we only lost less than 500 people from the event, and most of them were foot soldiers. As for civilian casualties, we estimated at least 3 thousand people.
The east and north walls of my city had been broken down from the relentless siege of demons, some managed to infiltrate deep into the city damage some properties, and harvest the lives of my citizens."
"Still, we are relatively fine. We are handing out compensation to the bereaved families as we speak now and we also plan on improving the density and quality of our walls to prevent this from happening again." City Lord Brennan reported.
"Good. At least you didn't lose much. How about you City Lord Denzel?"
"Your Highness, My Clear Sky City experienced a Lv.2 intensity Black Sky as well, as for our casualties we..."
One by one, the City Lords were called and asked to report the current status of their respective cities. Some had minimal casualties while others suffered gravely.
The City Lords looked exhausted and frankly, most of them weren't in a proper mental state to be attending this meeting. After all, it's clear that most of them haven't even rested yet.
Truthfully, this entire meeting could've just been an e-mail instead. That would be easier, faster, and more convenient. However, this person from the Monarchy was a little rigid when it came to tradition and the City Lords couldn't exactly refuse his orders.
"...moving on, City Lord Reiner, it's your turn."
Renier didn't miss the glint in his superior's eyes when he looked at him. The old man sighed inwardly as he began reporting.
"Your Highness, My Black Thread City almost faced a calamity this time. We experienced a Lv.3 intensity Black Sky that lasted until a few hours ago. Our defense held tight until the very last minute thanks to the reinforcements we received."
"Truthfully, I almost lost hope completely, especially a few hours ago. My soldiers reported that hundreds of Tier 5 Demons surrounded my city and I was bound to face 20 of them by myself."
"Oh, yet you are standing here. That's impressive. Did you manage to kill all of them? But that shouldn't be possible, right? As far as I know, the only Tier 6 there is you. Did something happen?" His superior asked curiously.
"Indeed, Your Highness." City Lord Reiner replied, "Just as I was about to lose hope, a miracle occurred."
"A miracle? Can you elaborate more on that?"
The City Lord then discussed what he had seen then. He described it as best as he could, emphasizing that he was unaware of the person's identity and intentions as well as the effect of his spells against demons.
He excluded the matter of his old injury being healed completely though. As for why, the City Lord has his reasons for now and he doesn't want to expose them just yet.
"...with everybody healed to their peak state and the Tier 5 Demons severely weakened, me and my army did not hesitate to chase after them to kill as many as we could. We couldn't let such a chance escape after all. Once we rounded them up and confirmed that the Black Sky was over, I then instructed my aides to confirm the damages we suffered."
The City Lord for several gazes focusing on him, but nothing beats the heat in his superior's eyes. But despite his expectations, his superior only smiled softly and muttered:
"Interesting...very interesting..."