Back at the destroyed section of the rainforest that had been the battle site, the fighting had finally ended. Fortunately, it was the defenders who erged as victors, against all previous odds.
With Emma and Emily's support, the attacking Arcanists were unable to rain down death and destruction on the defending Runebound. That allowed the defenders to finish off the attacking Runebound before charging at the Arcanists with very few losses.
In the end, the attackers were slaughtered. No branded Runebound survived, as they all fought to their last breath in a crazed haze. Whatever the hunters had used to drive them to that point, it was clear that very little sanity remained in them.
As for the Arcanists, so possessed spells that allowed them to escape, but most were too slow to outrun the victorious and enraged defenders. Thus, only a few hundred of the thousands of Arcanists survived the battle, disappearing into the distance.
Unfortunately, the survivors included most of the force's second rankers. Even so, a huge blow had been dealt to this faction of hunters, whatever na they went by these days.
Now, blood soaked the ground, and cheers of victory echoed across the battlefield. Tears flowed everywhere—so tears of sadness and rage, as defenders knelt next to fallen comrades, and others of relief and blind joy at having won the day.
In the middle of it all was a small group of six won, surrounded by a wall of roots and branches. These were Erik's family and servants. The wall wasn't there to defend them, per se, but rather to keep the defenders from hugging them all in gratitude.
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None of them relished the idea of touching so many strangers. Erik's wives, in particular, knew their husband wouldn't want any n to touch them intimately like that. Thus, they remained behind the barrier, accepting gratitude only in words—from a distance.
For the first fifteen minutes after the battle, things were fine. But it took a turn for the worse when the werelion appeared. Clearly, his battle had been blown off course, much like Erik's, and he had only just returned.
The werelion stumbled slightly as he walked. One leg dragged behind him, and he clutched his side as blood dripped from various cuts on his body. He was in bad shape. Yet, whatever the result of his battle with Abigail, he had survived—if barely.
His expression, still transford, was stormy as he approached the thorny barrier and pointed at the people behind it. "You six!" he snarled, his tone full of anger and anxiety. "Where is that werewolf you ca with?! Where is Naeku?!"
Reactions were varied among Erik's allies. So reacted with anger, annoyance, and even bloodlust at the werelion's aggressive tone, while others remained far calr.
anwhile, the defenders nearby naturally heard his words. They blinked in surprise as they all turned toward their supposed saviours with suspicious expressions, most of their earlier goodwill lting away instantly.
A murmur rose as the news quickly spread among them.
"Is Princess Naeku missing?" one worried man asked.
"Do you know what the general is talking about?" another asked his neighbour in a confused tone.
"Wait, what did those people do to Princess Naeku?!" a woman exclaid, the beginnings of fury in her voice.
"T-They saved us... I doubt they'd hurt the princess, right?" another answered, sounding doubtful and anxious.
The murmuring was quickly followed by nervous clamor. The crowd was becoming restless, but before things could escalate, the werelion roared, "Everyone shut up! I will deal with this!"
He then turned back to Erik's allies and growled, "Answer the question!" as his third-rank pressure washed over them. Although the man was weakened and wounded, his presence was still significant and weighed heavily on them.
Naturally, his tone and actions were not appreciated, but fortunately, cooler heads prevailed when Emma spoke up first. She smiled softly at the third ranker, seemingly unbothered by his pressure.
"Our husband and master's battle took him quite off course, but he'll be back soon," she began, her tone soft and her expression kind. "I'm sure he will answer all your questions when he gets here."
They had been in contact with him through their bond, of course, so they already knew everything and could feel him drawing closer.
The werelion instantly zeroed in on Emma, narrowing his eyes. He remained silent for a mont, staring at her. "Why do you feel similar to my niece?" he finally asked, suspicious.
Naeku had always had an aura about her that neither he nor his people had felt in anyone else—until now. The defenders had been too preoccupied to notice it before.
Emma continued to smile calmly and shrugged. "I believe we both have the nature affinity. Nothing more than that."
A hint of realization flickered in the werelion's eyes, but caution quickly returned. "Fine," he groaned, slowly lowering himself to the ground and tending to his wounds. "But none of you are leaving here until he returns and Naeku stands before again. Understood!?"
Although he wanted to go search for his niece, he knew that was the worst course of action. For one, he was wounded, and if he had to fight Erik later, he'd need to be in far better condition based on the power Erik had displayed earlier.
For another, he had no idea where Erik was, and running around aimlessly wouldn't help anyone. Besides, since Emma had already admitted that at least so of them were the werewolf's wives, he naturally assud Erik would return for them.
"Understood," Emma nodded calmly, neither deferential nor dismissive, simply acknowledging the werelion's superior power and his ability to keep them there by force.
So of the other won in their group were far less pleased with this arrangent, but Emma kept them calm. The werelion ignored their hostile gazes, though his omnisense remained on constant alert.
Thus, peace was maintained. The defenders surrounding them were clearly still anxious about Naeku's fate, but so long as their leader remained relatively calm, so did they.
At least until Erik returned.
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