Chaos and Severe Injuries

The reinforcements from the Padia Battle Qi Academy finally defeated the rebellious city guards, rescuing King Korek and Queen Susan. General Schaumberg, foreseeing the failure of the rebellion, fled in advance with Duke Lind and dozens of trusted subordinates. Humanity was starkly evident at this moment; the feeble and aging Earl Holly was abandoned, left behind in a fit of rage that caused him to faint. The soldiers, who were collecting the bodies of the fallen, mistook him for dead and carried him out of Padia City. When the mages set fire to the bodies, even if poor Earl Holly had awakened, it was too late—he was burned alive, meeting a disgraceful end.The remaining city guards, leaderless, either fled for their lives or surrendered, temporarily quelling the costly farce.However, people barely had time to celebrate before everyone was attracted by successive high-pitched roars in the distance, unsure of what was happening. The king's severed arm had just been bandaged, but despite his weakness, he led people toward the source of the sound. As they walked onto the main avenue of the city, they were met by a team of elite cavalry in full armor. The leading knight dismounted and knelt on one knee from afar, shouting, "Your Majesty, Suarez is late. Please punish me."The border legion had returned a day early. Although indeed late, judging by their travel-worn appearance, they must have marched tirelessly. Korek waved his remaining right hand, "General Suarez, your return is not late at all, and far exceeded my expectations. It's just that the despicable rebels launched their rebellion early, causing significant losses. General, the defense of Padia City is now in your hands.""At your command, Your Majesty." Suarez, a hearty and straightforward man, stood up briskly. He had been friends with Korek since childhood. After performing the formalities of court, he immediately approached, looking at the king's severed left arm with anger, "Who did this? I swear I'll kill him.""I'm afraid we can't do that, Suarez," Korek replied calmly. "My dear brother Lind actually got the help of Prince Alvin from the Aldria Empire, having his three guards assist in attacking the palace, which is how I got injured.""Curse those Aldrians. This is Paddington; their claws reaching here will be chopped off," Suarez, though crude, was not foolish. He knew that Paddington could not afford to provoke Aldria. Despite his anger, his voice lowered significantly."Perhaps the Aldrians are already in trouble. Did you hear the roars just now? That was Alvin's guards calling for their companions. If not for his three companions leaving, I wouldn't have been able to hold on; the palace would have been breached." The king patted Suarez's shoulder. "Let's go see what trouble the esteemed Prince Alvin has encountered."Suarez quickly ordered his legion to take over the defense of Padia City, then brought his most elite soldiers to protect the king. They followed Korek toward the direction of the sound.Halfway there, the successive roars continued. Even the king's face grew solemn, and the worst speculation formed in his mind—could it be Alvin...?A magician confirmed the king's guess. He was a messenger sent by Lady Belinda to inform the king.He relayed what happened at Marquis Delta's mansion and what Celine had said to Korek. Finally, he said, "Your Majesty, Teacher Belinda asked me to tell you this. She said, clean up the aftermath first, don't make any moves, and wait until Dean Bartes and Duke Gene return... The two venerable elders are about to return; please be patient."Though shocked and dumbfounded by Alvin's death, Korek quickly composed himself. He knew what Duke Gene and Dean Bartes had left Padia to do, and from Lady Belinda's tone, it seemed the two elders had made progress. His heart couldn't help but race... If, if they really got what they wanted, Paddington's strength would undoubtedly receive a huge boost. Even if it still couldn't match a giant like Aldria, they wouldn't be at the mercy of others!As he thought of these wonderful prospects, nearly forgetting all the terrible things in front of him, a huge explosion suddenly erupted! Though several streets away, everyone was shaken by the immense shockwave.When Baroque woke up, he found himself lying in a patch of grass in the wilderness. Any slight movement caused excruciating pain, his arms and legs unable to move as if his bones were shattered. Struggling to open his eyes, he was startled by his own appearance!His beautiful silver fur was gone, leaving him charred black all over. The exposed skin was covered with large, horrifying wounds, not yet scabbed over, revealing raw, red muscles. His legs were twisted in an eerie angle, with pale bone shards visible through the torn flesh. One arm was limp, and the only other hand that could move had several fingers bent backward, broken. He couldn't see his face, but it was likely disfigured and horrifying.Baroque felt like crying but had no tears. He had always been proud of his handsome appearance, but now he was utterly ruined. Even without considering his looks, with his limbs broken and body severely injured, he didn't know if he could fully recover. Baroque shuddered, unable to imagine himself in the future, hobbling with a cane, covered in horrific burns, looking like a living dead...Who could have imagined that the Padia sewers, untouched for a long time, had accumulated a large amount of methane from decaying matter? The Fire Dragon Spell, though only an intermediate spell, had extremely high temperatures. Combined with the narrow sewer environment and the dense concentration of fire elements, it instantly triggered a methane explosion, affecting the entire street. If not for the underground magic defense array, the damage would have been far more than just a few hundred meters of street.There was no time for self-pity. Baroque suddenly noticed that about a mile away was the tall wall of Padia City. He was still in danger; people from the city could discover the escaping beastman at any time, and pursuers could appear at any moment. He needed to leave quickly. But wait, how did I end up outside the city...?Baroque realized he must have been escaping in the sewers to avoid being chased by Alvin's guards, then threw out several Fire Dragon Spell scrolls, inadvertently triggering the methane explosion, and was blasted out by the force, rendering him unconscious, with no knowledge of what happened next."He's awake... He's awake..." A slightly childish voice came from behind. A small silver wolf, holding a crystal stone in its mouth, wobbled over like a drunken kitten, occasionally using its paw to put the fallen crystal back into its mouth, looking adorable."Did you save me?" Baroque thoughtfully looked at the mysterious little wolf."Yeah... You almost died. My three brothers are still with you, so I couldn't let you die. That's why I dragged you out." The little wolf continued to struggle with the crystal stone, not even looking up as it answered Baroque's question.Hmph, seems like I owe it to those three phantom beast eggs, Baroque thought with self-mockery, noting the little wolf's tone, which suggested it wouldn't have bothered to save him otherwise."How did we escape? Did no one chase us?" Though curious about how this cat-sized wolf managed to drag his tall and robust beastman body out of the city, he assumed that as a mysterious phantom beast, it must have some means. What mattered now was the current situation; at this point, any ordinary person could easily kill him."They lost a lot of people, and the three chasing us were seriously injured. The city was in chaos, constantly moving bodies out. They thought you were dead and carried you out. I dragged you away; otherwise, you'd be ash by now, burned by those mages!" The little wolf continued biting at the crystal stone, but it wouldn't budge, making it increasingly angry, its growls more impatient.The little creature's tantrum made Baroque shake his head. Regardless, the little wolf did save him. But now the question was how to leave here. In his current state, he couldn't even crawl, let alone walk!Baroque had no desire to return to the city. Given the explosion and the heavy casualties in Padia City, coupled with the death of Prince Alvin of the Aldria Empire, all these troublesome matters happening at once would surely cause a headache for those in charge. Who would care about a few escaped beastmen? His tribe should be close to Treym Forest by now, just two days away from crossing the border town and returning to the Gravel Desert.Thinking of this, Baroque couldn't help but feel excited. Freedom, freedom, at last, was within reach! Even if he had to crawl, he would make it back; even if he had to die, he would die on the desert. He reached out, trying to grasp the wild grass to pull himself forward, but his arms were wracked with sharp pains, and he couldn't muster any strength. After several attempts, he angrily slammed his head into the ground, reopening a wound on his forehead, with drops of dark red blood dripping down.Beside him, the silver wolf also growled in frustration, tossing the blue crystal stone onto the ground, its adorable head lying on its paws in a sulk. That stubborn crystal was too hard to bite!The crystal rolled in front of Baroque, making him pause and examine it closely. The crystal was blue, with a tiny blue eagle faintly flying within the misty center, exuding an aura of majesty and strength despite its small size."This is the crystal embedded in that metal belt, isn't it? How did it come loose? I couldn't even damage it with an axe," Barok thought.The little wolf tried to eat it but couldn't, making Barok wonder... "Could this be a phantasm crystal? Do phantasms like to consume crystals from their own kind?"However, Barok had some doubts. Why could the little wolf consume the crystal left by the old Chibraeton wolf but couldn't handle this one? Could it be that only crystals from the same species could be absorbed?Curious, Barok reached out with his barely functional hand and grabbed the crystal, attempting to probe it with his shamanistic abilities. His soul energy was nearly depleted, but after a long effort, he managed to gather a bit and gently contacted the phantasm crystal. Suddenly, it felt as if a massive door had opened in his mind, releasing a powerful beast. In his mind's eye, a huge and majestic blue eagle, with eyes full of disdain for the earth below, swooped down towards him.Even knowing it might be an illusion, Barok was shaken by the sheer power. As he was on the verge of despair, the light sphere left in his mind by the old Chibraeton wolf reacted once again. He seemed to hear the laughter of an old man: "Haha, wonderful! I thought it would take ages to come across a phantasm crystal, and now here it is, and it's even an Odin Thunder Eagle's crystal... Haha, those Odrian bastards have suffered a great loss. Well, it doesn't matter. My children can feast now!"Barok rolled his eyes...