Chapter 538: So, What Happened To You?

All around the Dunne Family’s main hall, Celestina’s team of elites, along with any able-bodied staff from the Manor were doing their best to stabilize the injured, but it was obvious to all of them that most of the wounded they were working on weren’t going to make it.

Lucas had quietly provided Walter Thompson, the best Doctor in the Balfour Family’s employ, with some advanced medical knowledge he managed to dig up from his inherited memories, which had improved their ability to treat serious wounds somewhat, but it seemed his otherworldly benefactor only had some minor information on the subject, rather than a comprehensive guide to surgery and regenerative treatments.

Not that it would have made a huge difference even if Lucas had the full knowledge of a doctor from the other universe, as most of the victims here were already too far gone to save.

As focused as everyone was on their individual jobs right now, however, all of them noticed when Celestina arrived as they were still extremely tense and on high alert.

The members of the Darr Kingdom assumed defensive stances the moment they saw this unknown armed party arrive, while those from the Rockwell Kingdom breathed a little easier, relieved that both their General and her Disciple were alright.

A few soldiers moved to salute, but Celestina swiftly waved them off and ordered, "Save everyone you can. Spare no effort or expense."

"Yes, General," the strike force acknowledged and then got back to work.

Laying the now unconscious Christina down on a makeshift cot, Celestina made her way over to the far side of the hall where a well-built, light-brown haired man was resting against the wall.

Lifting his head with some difficulty, Commander Brock Anders smiled weakly as he muttered, "Never thought I’d one day be saved by the Red-Haired Monster."

"I see my reputation still precedes me, even after all the decades that have passed," Celestina quipped back lightly before her expression turned solemn and she asked, "You going to make it?"

Coughing lightly, Brock Anders leaned back against the wall and shrugged, "Not sure. My Core was completely shattered, and then I drew out all my strength to fight those black-cloaked bastards, so I’d say my chances of living past tonight are about 20%."

It was for this exact reason that a Mid-Rank Martial Initiate from the Darr Kingdom like Brock dared to speak so casually with the famed General Balfour of the Rockwell Kingdom.

If he was going to die anyways, what did he need to fear?

His face suddenly darkening, Brock asked, "What happened to Lani?"

"She’s dead," Celestina replied bluntly, "Some unseen master must have been watching this whole drama play out from afar, and once it was obvious their side wasn’t going to win, they used some kind of technique to... dispose of all the evidence."

"I see," Brock nodded, not quite sure what to feel right now.

Lani was clearly a traitor, an agent of some mysterious organization that meant ill towards the Darr Kingdom. She also happened to be the one who crippled and most likely sentenced him to death; however, she had also been his second-in-command for over a decade, someone Brock privately even considered a friend.

Knowing she had died a gruesome death because some hidden plotter had decided she was ’expendable’ left Brock Anders with... complicated emotions.

"What about the prince?" Commander Anders followed up, setting aside his personal matters and focusing on his duties.

Glancing over to where the medics from her team were working, Celestina answered calmly, "Prince Landon was heavily injured and will likely suffer some long-term negative effects from tonight, but he’ll survive."

"Good," Brock nodded before asking, "What now?"

"Now?" Celestina sighed tiredly, "Now I try to stop our two countries from going to war over this debacle."

"Heh," Brock chuckled, though it came out more like a strained cough, "All my life, I’ve wanted to destroy your damn kingdom for what you did to my family, yet now I may owe you people my life."

"Life is full of irony," Celestina shrugged, turning back to the pale-faced man and declaring, "Don’t go dying on me just yet. I need you to testify about what happened here to your countrymen."

Grinning wryly, Brock nodded.

He had many good reasons to hate the Rockwell Kingdom, so if the Darr Kingdom went to war with them, he would have no objections, but to be manipulated into such a war by a third-party for their own malicious purposes was wholly unacceptable to him.

If the last thing Brock ever did was screw that hateful, unseen enemy’s plans over, then he would die with a smile on his face.

.....

"So, what happened to you?" Celestina asked.

"I tried to do too much," Marcus Jennings, Second Regiment Commander of the Raging River Legion and a close aid to Celestina replied with a slight grimace.

Knowing how non-descript this stubborn subordinate of hers could be at times, Celestina turned to her son instead.

Taking over for his injured comrade, Samuel Balfour reported succinctly, "When the assassins all started self-destructing, Commander Jennings moved to block the explosion from killing the Dunne Family and several other non-combatants from the Darr Kingdom’s side. Unfortunately, he seems to have underestimated the force of the explosion so his hastily erected defenses proved insufficient."

"As dry as always, Sam," Marcus grumbled, though he couldn’t really argue with his old friend’s blunt analysis.

Setting aside his moral duty to protect innocent lives, Marcus knew that living witnesses to tonight’s events were critical if they wanted to smooth things over with the Darr Kingdom, so he hadn’t hesitated to throw himself into danger.

Just as Samuel had said, though, his efforts proved futile.

Putting it simply, he had tried to do too much, save too many, causing the burst of Spirit Qi he had released at the last moment to be insufficient to block the entire explosion.

The result?

Only a handful of individuals, including Viscount Norah Dunne, were still alive, while all the others were too seriously wounded to survive.

Even Marcus himself had received some nasty burns from the explosion of the Mid-Rank Initiate assassin his team had secured earlier.

"It’s not like you to misjudge the situation like that, Marcus," Celestina mused, but still patted him on his un-burnt shoulder, "Regardless, you did well to save at least a few."

Stiff, sore, and clearly in quite a bit of pain, Marcus somehow raised his arm to salute his commanding officer, but that was all he could manage.

"Patch him up, then get him to the Tartans and back to Misty City," Celestina ordered the nearby medics, her brow furrowing in the next instant as she turned her head towards the Manor’s front entrance and muttered, "Seems the locals have finally arrived."