jackal-among-snakes-16091326
chapter-649

The casualties from the assault of the silver knight were staggering. Elenore reviewed the figures as she sat.

A great deal of the most prominent spellcasters in the world had been in Blackgard, and many went in its defense. As it turned out, their being clustered together so tightly was a hindrance rather than a boon. Great Chu and visiting Veiden scholars did not participate as much in the defense, so the bulk of the deaths were concentrated in Vasquer natives. Figures were of yet unclear, but one thing was certain: the Order of the Gray Owl’s upper echelon halved in size. Castro’s successor also perished, leaving a void of power at the top of the organization that brought her great unease.

The army, which had been mobilized to get the citizens to safety, had not been hit as hard… yet it was hit. Their numbers had swelled to twenty-three thousand before the attack, and preliminary reports suggested they had lost three to four thousand. It would put a huge strain on the kingdom’s treasury to pay out their families as was promised, but now more than ever, Elenore needed to show that enlistment in the army was a viable career option and that the government did value its soldiers.

The civilian population faced similar losses to the army. No attacks pierced their defenses directly, yet the silver knight’s reckless blows caused landslides, collapses, sinkholes, and other such tragedies. Beyond utterly wrecking the painstakingly-established infrastructure, deaths were also in the thousands. Blackgard had attracted such immigration because of its reputation of invulnerability—with such a devastating attack on it, the influx of immigrants might slow.

Rook had sustained a dire injury, apparently, and now considered his debt to Argrave, which had been incurred after treacherously killing Erlebnis, paid. Law had been humiliated, arriving yet achieving little—but more than that, Elenore felt the reputation of the Kingdom of Vasquer within the Blackgard Union might’ve been damaged by her calling such a dramatic mobilization. So much tragedy, and damage, and death… all spurred by one attacker.

But there was someone that hadn’t died.

Elenore lowered her reports, staring at Orion as he laid there. When she’d had some people rush in and retrieve him, he was in the worst condition imaginable. His orbital socket had been shattered—it was a wonder his eyes hadn’t popped out during battle. His hands were completely frozen, and needed to be amputated so they could regrow properly. A metal shard from his helmet had embedded itself in his head, and needed to be removed. Many of his internal organs had been cooked, both from electricity and fire.

As for his legs… he couldn’t use them, for now. The finishing blow from the silver knight had blown a great hole in his waist, completely eviscerating a huge section of his spine. That should have killed him. Had Elenore taken seconds longer to have her people go, it would have. Even if he could awake now, he wouldn’t be able to walk. Not just because the spinal injury—in the battle, he’d fractured his femur in countless places, and both of his lower legs had separated after a spiral fracture.

Beaten, broken, battered, and facing a foe that could strike down gods… and still Orion had charged forth, fighting desperately. It had been his righteous defense that had spurred other defenders to keep fighting still. And in the end, though she had been planning some grand stratagem wherein the Fruit of Being was used to wipe away this scourge… Orion, all but alone, had won that battle and defended Blackgard. And he would make a full recovery, ridiculous being that he was.

The damage of this battle would last years, maybe even decades. It could echo out into the infrastructure of the whole kingdom, spelling weakness. She would do her best to let it be known that this was the beginning of Gerechtigkeit’s wrath in efforts to unite all beneath their banner. Yet despite all of that, the whole ordeal had seemed a contravention against fate.

After talking to Sophia, who’d had a strange reaction to this event, it seemed Gerechtigkeit—now certainly confirmed to be Griffin—had weaponized that idealistic dream the siblings had once shared in Sandelabara. Raven’s observations suggested he’d used the Gilderwatcher’s strength of will to bring that dream into existence, sending it forth to ‘save’ Sophia.

Fortunately, Sophia’s dream of a perfect knight proved lacking before the real thing.

Elenore gently laid her hand atop Orion’s cheek as he slept. “Rest well, brother.”

Leaving that quiet whisper behind, Elenore gathered her papers and made to leave. There was work to do to ensure that this city he’d nearly spent his life protecting remained grand. She’d had her small moment of vulnerability with her brother—now, it was time to let the others that he’d fought so hard for have their time. His wife. His mother. Little Sophia, who still seemed in disbelief this was all over.

When Argrave came back, she’d have to be certain that Orion was given a proper reward. She owed him that much. Whatever he’d done, or not done, in the past, she had forgiven Orion. More than forgiven him, she might go so far as to say the role of favorite brother was a little less clearly distinguished than it once was.