Aftermath of the Battle of Fort Shadowsong

"Aghkk!"

Unfortunately for the two remaining Swordmasters, their physical abilities aren't enough to outrun Helena who soon caught up to them.

She then sent them flying with a kick before all four Swordmasters from the Rougenfort Kingdom surrounded them.

"Surrender."

Helena said as she pointed her enchanted greatsword, the Salamandr, towards the two wounded Swordmasters of the coalition army.

Seeing that there wasn't any chance for them to escape anymore, the enemy general surrendered through gritted teeth.

"We surrender…"

Cheers erupted wildly from the Rougenfortians after hearing the enemy's surrender. The battle was hard-fought and they were constantly on the back foot.

They even thought that the fort was already lost, but then, the small elite army wearing Samaran armor turned out to be Battalion Commander Leif and his men.

That was the first time they ever felt the sorrow of losing a battle. Fortunately, everything was just a trap planned by their military leaders.

The battle took lots of dramatic turns but they prevailed in the end! 

They've successfully defended their homeland and protected their loved ones again!

The Rougenfortians passionately cleaned up the battlefield. They killed the soldiers who refused to surrender and captured those who did.

After a few hours, the battle officially ended.

Unfortunately, they weren't able to either capture or kill every single enemy and there were around 3,000 enemy soldiers who managed to escape.

Still, with such severe losses, the Samara Kingdom was done for. Although they might still have a few Swordmasters defending the Samara Kingdom's Capital, they would probably not be able to stop Blanc and the other Swordmasters.

Even the Kairuku Kingdom lost quite a few Swordmasters in this battle.

However, the Rougenfort Kingdom had big losses as well. Although it wasn't as severe as the Samara-Kairuku Coalition Army's losses, it was still their most severe loss up to date.

After the war, only 10,500 men were left but there was no other way around it. If they want to protect their kingdom, then they have to pay for it with the lives of the soldiers.

Once the two remaining Swordmasters from the Samara-Kairuku coalition army were detained, Blanc ordered his men to clean up the battlefield.

They dug a huge pit for the dead bodies of the enemy soldiers, sorted the dead bodies of their soldiers, looted the usable armor and weapons, retrieved the siege towers, and dug proper graves for the dead enemy Swordmasters.

While everyone was cleaning up the battlefield, Helena and the other battalion commanders happily gathered around Leif.

"Leif! You've finally conquered your inner demons and became a Swordmaster huh?"

Helena said as she repeatedly tapped Leif's shoulder

"You were gone for a year! Where have you been?"

"Yeah! Come on, share with us how you broke through to Swordmaster!"

Since everyone was curious, Leif didn't have a choice but to patiently explain his experiences during the past year.

Helena and the battalion commanders were shocked when Leif told them about his experiences in the arena and how he fought life-and-death battles against other Swordmasters almost every other day.

Once Leif was done telling his story, he looked around and saw that everyone was stupefied. However, just a few moments later, everyone was inspired.

They were all tier 5 advanced swordsmen right now and Leif's story made them understand that facing death head-on is the surefire way to become a Swordmaster.

After three days of continuously cleaning up the battlefield, they were finally done and ready to go home to their families.

Before leaving, Blanc called for carpenters from Blasridge City to repair the huge breach in Fort Shadowsong's walls.

Of course, Fort Shadowsong couldn't be empty so Blanc stationed Alexander along with around five thousand men before heading back to Resonance City, the capital of the Rougenfort Kingdom.

Although they were triumphantly marching towards the capital, they weren't as happy as their previous victories. This is because this was the first time they lost a lot of men in a single battle and it was hard to be too happy when the corpses of their brothers were being transported behind them.

Blanc planned to hold a ceremony for their fallen brothers before celebrating their victory a week later to give those who lost their loved ones time to mourn.

…

…

…

A month later, Blanc and his men finally arrived at Resonance City where they were warmly welcomed by the citizens. Everyone was grateful for the victory in the Battle of Fort Shadowsong but unfortunately, this welcome wasn't as joyous as their previous ones.

Family members of those who died came rushing toward the corpses of their loved ones. However, they weren't even allowed to touch them since a harmful chemical was applied to their bodies to preserve their appearance until the burial ceremony.

The family members couldn't do anything but wail in sorrow as the corpses of their family members were transported towards the location of the burial ceremony.

Blanc knew that he couldn't delay the burial ceremony so after resting for only three hours, everyone assembled at a vast expanse of land where many graves were prepared in advance.

The citizens who lost their loved ones in the recent battle surrounded the graves while Blanc spoke and sang the praises of the brave soldiers who fought for Rougenfort Kingdom then, after saying his piece, a bard walked in front of everyone and played a melody to calm the souls of the dead before finally putting every corpse in their respective graves. 

As the corpses of their loved ones were being buried, the mourning citizens couldn't help but run towards the graves and wail while Blanc couldn't do anything but watch them. 

Seeing their tear-filled and grief-stricken faces made his heart ache and made him want to turn his head away but he chose not to.

Although the scene was heavy, he didn't look away and engraved the sadness of the citizens in his heart. 

Such is the fate of a king, he must bear this burden in his heart as long as he lives. If he had a choice he wouldn't let his soldiers die but in a war, losses were inevitable. 

The soldiers also understand this and that's why they fight with their lives on the line in exchange for a peaceful life for their loved ones.