Chapter 606: Evening Beach
Yubaire’s battle had ended.
The once prosperous city had turned into ruins, with collapsed walls, charred bricks, stiff corpses, and dark, dried bloodstains everywhere.
Soldiers with white cloths tied around their arms searched the broken city, looking for any signs of survivors while also moving the dead bodies to a centralized location for cremation to prevent the spread of disease and decay.
The air was filled with the smell of burnt things, causing the silver-haired figure to cover her mouth and nose as she walked through the streets, which were covered in dust and blood. Lolan Hill wore a silver-edged hooded robe that concealed her face and body, stepping on cracked stones and debris.
Behind her followed several high-ranking priests from the church and soldiers from Clancia.
“How is the search for the city’s residents going?” She stopped to look at a corpse lying in a corner nearby.
“Lolan Hill, please rest assured. With the help of many necromancer sequence extraordinary beings from the church, we can easily find those still alive using the perception of souls. We are almost done searching the entire city,” replied the High Priestess, whose hair resembled twilight, and whose face was exceptionally beautiful. This was none other than Archbishop Julia, an old acquaintance of Lolan Hill.
Then, a military official from Clancia reported the rough data.
“Originally, there were about 1.2 million people living in the main city of Yubaire and its surrounding villages, making it the largest city in Verga in the past. When our forces reached the city last year, many wealthy residents began transferring their assets and family members. By the time we attacked again this year, the number of residents in the city had dropped to less than 900,000.”
“Additionally, the bombings at the beginning of the war greatly intimidated the residents, causing them to flee en masse. This time, many ordinary families also started evacuating. By the time we officially laid siege to the city, the number of residents had fallen below 500,000.”
“Among those who went missing or fled during the siege, approximately 100,000 people unfortunately perished during the war.”
“Many died from falling airships, burning, suffocating from thick smoke, collapsing buildings, and explosions, gunshots, and spells. Many also died due to accidents such as crime, trampling, and overcrowding during the chaos.”
The official spoke cautiously, feeling somewhat uneasy. As a follower of the Sage, he was well aware that this scene would be repugnant to this young lady. But war was brutal; it wasn’t a dinner party but a complete act of violence.
Fortunately, Lolan Hill wasn’t someone naive or innocent. She knew that all of this was inevitable, but emotions didn’t fade just because of rational understanding. They still surfaced in her heart, eventually turning into a sigh.
“After cleaning up the battlefield and the city, it will be troublesome for the church to carry out subsequent tasks like disinfection and treatment,” she said.
“This is our church’s duty,” the priests behind her responded. Then they looked up at this slender young woman, even though they had heard many rumors, they were still amazed by the pure aura emanating from the Sage, which was so similar to that of the angels from above.
After inspecting the city, Lolan Hill returned to the camp outside the city.
Inside the large tent, Lolan Hill sat around a round table with a few others, having a brief conversation.
“Thanks to the support of the Usui Parliament. I wonder how your side’s casualties are. Do you need any rescue?” Lolan Hill turned her gaze toward Tug, the rising star in the war.
“Thank you for your concern, Sage Lolan Hill.” Tug first expressed his gratitude before slowly recounting the events of yesterday.
At that time, about ten magic masters gathered in Yubaire city, and the Usui Parliament sent out twelve. During the mid-war period, four from the Usui Parliament and three from the Frost Union passed away. In that combined dive, two more from the Usui Parliament lost their lives, leaving only six survivors.
“From the Frost Union, only two of the ten magic masters managed to escape the city alive,” he continued.
About fourteen extraordinary beings of Sequence 8 died in Yubaire City, these individuals were pillars of the magic community on both sides, leaders in various fields, the essence of the essence. Their deaths meant that many technologies and fields would temporarily stagnate or regress.
After expressing gratitude again, representatives from various parties discussed further handling plans and schedules before dispersing.
Returning to her residence, which was a tall blue tent with golden trim and patterns, reminiscent of the Red Mulberry Palace, Lolan Hill lifted the curtain and heard a joyful voice.
“Lolan has returned.”
Keti got up from the sofa in the tent hall, rubbing her eyes as if she had been waiting for Lolan Hill for a long time.
“Keti is hungry,” the fire witch looked at Lolan Hill with pleading eyes, as if saying, “Take me to eat something delicious.”
Even though the battle outside was intense and chaotic last night, this witch still slept soundly, not paying any attention. To her, those were just minor skirmishes, not worth worrying about. It was more important to follow Lolan’s instructions and get a good sleep.
“I know, Keti,” Lolan Hill hugged the approaching girl, then the two left the tent and headed towards the beach outside the camp.
The beach, once bustling with tourists, was now completely silent, and without the usual noise, the sea gently washed against the fine white sand, creating some foam before receding back into the water.
“Can Keti remember the past?” Lolan found a stone by the sea and sat down with Keti, backs touching, looking at the distant sea, watching the crimson sea shimmering under the sun.
“I can’t remember,” Keti shook her head from behind.
“Then why did Keti start calling herself Keti? Did Chris tell you?” Lolan Hill recalled the memories from the distant past, when she was once an experimental product of the Primordial Heart faction. Among the four original pillars, the one representing fire, Chloeati, had a pronunciation very similar to Keti, almost like a shortened version. This made her guess that Keti’s origins might be similar to hers.
“Chris never told me that. She just said that since it’s a new beginning, we shouldn’t keep carrying the burdens of the past,” Keti said, conveying a slight warmth through her back to Lolan Hill.
“Oh.”
Lolan Hill looked up at the faint stars appearing in the sky and closed her eyes slightly, feeling the gentle sea breeze caress her skin.
“Yesterday is gone, only what is present is real and precious,” she sighed softly, comforting herself.
A few minutes later, Lolan Hill opened her eyes again, looking at the nearby beach and the sea, leaping off the stone.
“Keti, let’s catch crabs,” she suddenly said.
“Crabs? What are they? Are they tasty?” Keti turned around, curiously looking at Lolan Hill, her eyes filled with anticipation.
“I don’t know if they’re tasty, but they must be fun.”
Lolan Hill took Keti’s hand and came to the edge of the beach, watching the tide rise and fall.
“We should take off our shoes to avoid getting wet,” she said, turning to Keti.
The two took off their shoes, revealing their clean feet.
After putting the shoes in her ring, Lolan Hill lifted her skirt and walked hand in hand with Keti on the fine sand, occasionally feeling the coolness of the seawater soaking her ankles.
“Where are the crabs, Lolan?” Keti asked the silver-haired girl curiously, as they left shallow footprints on the beach.
“Right here.”
Lifting her skirt and walking a few steps forward, Lolan Hill stopped and slowly squatted down.
“Keti, light a lamp,” she said.
“Okay.”
Three small fireballs, about the size of oranges, slowly rotated around them, emitting a modest light.
After living with Lolan for a while, Keti gradually understood that when Lolan said “light a lamp,” it didn’t mean creating a massive flame that could dry up a lake, but rather a manageable one.
Lolan Hill squatted on the beach, tucking her skirt into her waist, freeing her hands to slowly dig into the sand, while Keti slowly approached, placing a chubby little fireball between them to illuminate the dimming beach.
As the sand was parted, a green crab emerged, about the size of a palm, with a very pale belly and edges of light blue.
Seemingly startled by the sudden light, the crab raised its two pincers and slowly crawled forward, with some of the damp sand on its body sliding off.
“This is a crab,” Lolan Hill extended her finger carefully, touching the crab, and quickly withdrew her hand when it tried to pinch her.
Looking at the crab scuttling across the shallow waters, Lolan Hill suddenly remembered something amusing.
“Keti, do you know? Many people subconsciously think that crabs are always red. In paintings and descriptions, crabs are often shown as red.”
“But in fact, only cooked crabs are red; living ones are usually greenish-black.”
Unfortunately, Keti wasn’t paying attention to this trivia at the moment. She began mimicking Lolan, poking at the crab, and then extending her hand to stop it from escaping.
“Pain,” Keti exclaimed as the crab’s pincer clamped onto her finger. She tried to shake it off, but the crab refused to release its grip.
“Giggles.”
Seeing Keti flailing her hand with water splashing everywhere, Lolan couldn’t help but laugh. Then she helped Keti hold the crab, releasing it back into the water, where the crab finally let go of its grip.
Fortunately, this crab wasn’t too big, and as a witch, Keti’s physical condition was decent. She wasn’t injured, just a bit scared.
After all, to outsiders who hadn’t experienced it, a crab of such a small size shouldn’t have much strength. Why would it clamp down so tightly?
“Alright, no problem,” Lolan Hill examined Keti’s finger carefully, then used her healing ability to soothe it. Finally, she touched Keti’s warm hair, comforting her softly.
“Tonight, let’s try roasting crabs,” she said.
“Mm-hmm.” Keti quickly forgot the pain and eagerly anticipated Lolan roasting crabs for her.
She wondered if they would taste better than mushroom soup as she followed Lolan Hill.
Facing the evening glow and the comfortable sea breeze, the two slowly walked along the beach.
Thank you to the Watermelon Panda and Demoness Selling Candy from the Path.
Thank you to Fool, Gentleman Sage, Umumu Paimon, Illusion Light wzg, Huasu Xu, No Ink No Words, Dream Butterfly Listening Rain Sleeping, and the readers for their support.
Today is Dragon Boat Festival ya~ (Late wishes 0 0/)
