Rick turned his head and tried to calm Ashley, who was clearly restless. Jill and Ayaka did the sa, each of them speaking softly, offering reassurance in their own way.
They stood close to her, as if their presence alone might ease the anxiety weighing on her chest.
However, Gordon was different.
He remained where he was, unmoving, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the condition of Lion City displayed before him.
Panic was obvious on the faces of the other mbers gathered there, fear reflected in their expressions as they whispered among themselves. Yet one strange thing had not happened.
"Ethan isn’t dead," Gordon said calmly, his voice short and filled with certainty.
Ashley imdiately turned toward him. "What do you an?" she asked, her tone sharp, unable to hide her worry.
Gordon shifted his gaze toward the projection panel floating in front of them.
The panel showed multiple indicators: the status of LionArk’s core crystal, the number of team mbers still alive, and, most importantly, the live event projection itself.
The reason Gordon had reached that conclusion ca down to two simple facts. First, the number of team mbers had not decreased. Second, Lion City still existed.
"Assu Ethan is holding LionArk’s core crystal," Gordon explained slowly. "If he had died, the core crystal would have fallen into enemy hands."
"That would’ve caused an imdiate failure. The entire team would’ve been force-teleported back to Mavelard. But that didn’t happen."
"The team count hasn’t changed, and Lion City is still standing. That alone proves Ethan is fine," Gordon concluded.
Ashley stared at him intently. Gordon’s observations had never been wrong before, and now he was speaking not out of theory or arrogance, but genuine concern for a friend.
Of course, Gordon wasn’t joking. Everything he said was exactly what he believed.
"Then what’s happening to Ethan?" Ashley asked quietly.
Gordon shook his head and returned his gaze to the live event projection. "I... don’t know."
One of the LionArk mbers raised her hand, drawing Ashley’s attention. She was a woman, her expression tense and emotional.
Her husband was one of the participants in the LionArk event team.
"My na is Nicole," she said. "I’m Nathan’s wife. I’ve been closely watching the live event for the past few days."
Ashley nodded. "Go on."
Nicole pointed at the number of core crystals displayed beside the team mber count. She explained that the number had been lower yesterday.
Gordon listened carefully, his eyes focused as he pieced everything together.
The fact that no team mbers were injured while the number of core crystals continued to increase only strengthened his conclusion.
"Now it all makes sense," Gordon muttered.
"Ethan went after those core crystals alone," he said more clearly. "Without any team mbers accompanying him."
"Alone?" Ashley asked in shock. "Aren’t core crystals owned by each guild’s team leader in this event?"
"That’s exactly what I’m afraid of," Gordon replied, eting Ashley’s gaze. "I’m worried Ethan is in this condition because he fought a terrifying war against cities belonging to other guilds."
Hearing Gordon’s conclusion only made Ashley more anxious, not calr.
She knew exactly what it ant.
If one city represented the strongest team of a guild, then LionArk possessing twenty-seven core crystals ant only one thing.
Ethan had destroyed twenty-seven cities.
Twenty-seven elite guild teams.
Ashley turned her head forward and stepped closer, moving until she stood directly in front of the live event projection. Her eyes were fixed on the display, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
How many battles did you fight alone?How many tis did you push yourself past your limit?
Jill glanced at Gordon. Gordon gave her a subtle signal, indicating that Jill should speak to Ashley.
In his experience, won were more likely to listen to other won in monts like this.
Jill gathered her courage and stepped forward.
"Lady Ashley," she said gently. "Let Ayaka and take care of the rest of your work. You can stay here."
Ashley turned to her and smiled faintly, reaching out to hold Jill’s hand. "Thank you, Jill. Thank you, Ayaka."
Jill and Ayaka nodded. The two of them then left the area, walking away together. Rick and Gordon remained at the front courtyard.
They stayed there, waiting for news about Ethan while keeping an eye on Ashley, making sure her worry didn’t spiral out of control.
Elsewhere, the two priests had already finished cleaning the blood stains from Ethan’s clothes.
Under Hanss’s supervision, they examined Ethan’s athletic body, which was covered in countless cuts that continued to bleed.
His HP had dropped, though not to a critical level.
Hanss instructed one of them to pour an HP potion into Ethan’s mouth, allowing him to swallow it slowly. Gradually, a soft green glow began to spread across Ethan’s body.
"I don’t know what he’s been through," one of the priests said quietly.
"He fought alone," the other priest added, wringing out a damp cloth before wiping the blood from Ethan’s skin.
"Core crystal notifications appeared almost every day, sotis every hour. We all know what that ans."
Hanss nodded.
Whenever a core crystal notification appeared, it was a simple sign that Ethan had destroyed another city using his own strength.
Hanss didn’t know the true limits of Ethan’s power. Only a madman would dare attack enemy cities filled with the strongest mbers of a guild.
"He’s sacrificed too much for LionArk," Hanss said firmly. "We can’t keep burdening him like this."
"I agree," the priest replied.
Hanss stepped out of the town center and began using Lion City’s resources to develop new settlents. As the number of NPCs increased, the amount of resources generated would increase as well.
With abundant resources, Hanss could form a powerful city army and prevent Ethan from having to shoulder everything alone again.
The two priests took turns watching over Ethan as he remained unconscious, exhausted beyond asure. News spread quickly throughout LionArk, especially regarding Ethan’s condition.
Many sympathized with him. Many felt sorrow.
However, Hanss told them all the sa thing: every mber of the team had to struggle just as hard as Ethan did.
In the future, war between cities would be unavoidable.
***
Three days later.
Ethan’s eyes slowly opened, his vision blurred. He stared up at the ceiling, taking in his surroundings bit by bit.
It was clear he was inside Lion City’s town center.
He noticed a female priest in the room, asleep while sitting upright in a chair.
Ethan’s condition had fully recovered. He moved his hands and legs carefully, easing the stiffness and preventing cramps.
He reached out and picked up his LionArk uniform, putting it back on. Once he was fully dressed, Ethan left his room and stepped onto the city street in front of the town center.
"Sir Ethan!" several people called out when they saw that he had awakened.
Ethan turned and smiled, greeting them. Imdiately, the entire team gathered around him. The n cheered loudly, while the won cried with relief and emotion.
Hanss heard the commotion. He rushed over from the military barracks and arrived at the town center, his eyes locking onto Ethan’s figure.
Ethan stood there, fully recovered, smiling.
"So you’re finally awake," Hanss said.
Ethan heard his voice and turned toward him. "Thank you for taking care of the city for , Hanss."
User Comments
0 comments from readers