Chapter 82: The Woman Beside Axi
Airael and Axi naturally did not partake in the pursuit operation.
They remained on the battlefield.
Their accomplishments were already plentiful; there was no need to compete with those knights for minor accolades.
Moreover, Airael needed a moment to recover.
The recent battle hadn’t completely drained her stamina, but it was close enough.
Meanwhile, some individuals stayed behind to clean up the battlefield.
Especially those who were severely wounded required urgent medical attention.
However, Airael and Axi did not involve themselves in this effort.
They simply stood to the side and watched.
But no one commented on it.
Everything felt so natural.
Supported by two knights, Hudeman stood up from the ground and slowly approached Airael and Axi.
Noticing his approach, Airael and Axi took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
“Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Axi, Miss Airael.”
Hudeman paused to express his gratitude.
The outcome of the previous battle was largely thanks to these two.
Especially Airael, her performance had astonished everyone.
They could only sigh to themselves: Truly worthy of being the woman beside Axi, she was extraordinary.
They believed that it wouldn’t be long before this woman beside Mr. Axi would become renowned across the continent.
“Your Excellency, you don’t need to thank us specifically; we were just doing our jobs.”
Axi replied.
“Even so, I must express my gratitude. Without you, those orcs would have likely been our fate.”
As he spoke, Hudeman glanced at the orc corpses around them.
While some orcs might not have died immediately, merely fainted, the human knights would soon verify that any surviving orcs would be finished off.
So, they couldn’t escape death.
“Since that’s the case, we accept your thanks.”
Airael responded directly.
After saying that, she looked at Hudeman, who needed support to stand, and added, “Now, Your Excellency, you should hurry to rest; your health is important.”
“Yes! Thank you for your concern.”
Once Hudeman finished speaking, he went to rest with the support of the two knights.
After he left, Airael glanced around.
She hadn’t noticed before, but now with the battlefield being cleaned up, she realized that the human side had also suffered significant losses.
Many had lost their lives, and many others were injured.
Especially those severely wounded; if they did not receive timely treatment, it could lead to disastrous consequences.
At best, disabilities; at worst, death.
Such scenes reminded Airael of the battle she had experienced three hundred years ago.
After that battle, both elves and humans had suffered.
Whenever war occurred, sacrifice was unavoidable.
No matter who fought, the principle remained the same.
“Sigh!”
After a brief reminiscence, Airael gently sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
Axi, hearing the sigh, asked.
“Nothing, just recalling some past events.”
Airael smiled lightly in response.
Axi nodded slightly.
He refrained from asking for details.
Though Airael was smiling as she replied, Axi could sense, given her earlier demeanor, that the memory was not a pleasant one for her.
Since it wasn’t a good memory, there was no need to press further at such a time.
At that moment, he noticed that Airael’s cloak was still draped over him, and he hadn’t returned it to her.
Axi hurriedly removed the cloak.
Just as he was about to hand it to Airael, he noticed that the cloak was in quite a disheveled state.
It was covered in blood.
This mess was naturally from Sko, whose head Airael had just severed.
Airael noticed Axi’s actions and saw the bloodstains on the cloak.
Axi looked at Airael, feeling embarrassed, and said, “I’m sorry!”
“It’s nothing; a single spell will solve this.”
Airael smiled slightly, effortlessly using the remaining magic power in her body to cast a cleaning spell, enveloping both the cloak and Axi within it.
After all, this was also her doing.
She had cut off Sko’s head, leading to the gory splatters all over Axi.
After a while, as the magical light faded, the cloak had returned to its original state.
Axi was also cleaned up.
Airael then gracefully took the cloak from Axi and draped it over herself.
However, she didn’t put on the hood.
At this point, she no longer needed to deliberately conceal herself.
Time slowly passed, and soon the knights who had gone to hunt for the orcs returned one by one, all with satisfied smiles on their faces.
After their victory, they chose not to follow up on their success, instead setting up camp nearby.
Having fought a fierce battle, many were already exhausted, not to mention needing to care for the injured.
While the knights began to rest, the orc convoy continued on its way.
Under Sko’s orders, they dared not rest and hastened their return overnight.
Shifting focus back to the human forces.
After the knights had split from the group, Duke Rayman ordered the infantry to quicken their pace.
However, no matter how fast the infantry moved, they could not match the speed of the horseback knights.
In the human infantry, initially, Celia and Aurora could remain with the group.
But after some time, worrying about Airael, they grew restless.
After all, there were some quite dangerous characters among the orcs.
Previously, they had wanted to accompany Airael but, regrettably, they had no horses available.
The horses in the small town were a precious war resource, limited in number, and most already had owners.
The remaining two horses had been assigned to Axi and Airael.
Considering the situation now, after some discussion, they resolved to leave the group and pursue Airael on their own.
Though they still lacked horses, having just the two of them would allow for a faster pace than joining the current group.
Duke Rayman, upon learning of their decision, did not stop them and let them go on their way.
Returning to the knights, after a night of rest, the exhausted knights had fully recovered.
The injured were also much better.
Early in the morning, after a simple breakfast, Hudeman called a morning meeting to discuss their next moves.
As key figures in the team, Airael and Axi also attended this morning meeting.
