Chapter 442 — The Battle Ends
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The flames roared, and thick smoke billowed skyward.
This fire had done its work well indeed.
Ropeni Gran stood quietly before the northern gate of Fortress Stonehold, a breeze-shield wrapped around her to ward off the choking smoke and dust in the air. Behind her stood several dozen Steel Rangers, every one of them wearing full-coverage magitech helmets whose visors glowed faintly red—a sign that they were scanning for any arcane anomaly in their surroundings.
The fire had spread from the armory in the northern district, consuming part of the watchtowers and barracks and cutting the entire inner city into several isolated pockets. Under normal circumstances, the garrison of Stonehold could have brought a blaze of this scale under control, but with the collapse of the great shield, all order within the fortress had dissolved. Even if someone had stepped forward to turn the tide, there was nothing left to accomplish against flames already raging at full fury.
The fortress was finished.
Ropeni Gran lowered her head and looked at the two bodies, still faintly warm. After a long silence, she raised a hand and gently rubbed her fingers together.
She had imagined countless times what she would do if she ever gained the power for revenge—imagined torturing the guilty by every means she could devise, drawing out their suffering, imagined how she would savor the pleasure of vengeance. But now she understood at last: when the chance truly came, she would have no patience for any of it.
She did not even have the patience to let those men draw one more breath.
The last two names on the list had been struck out. Ropeni Gran breathed out softly and suddenly felt a touch of emptiness.
Handling certain people personally had been part of her bargain with Gaoyang Cecil. She could offer everything in Fortress Stonehold to the Founding Duke, and the fate of those in Xuanque City—life or death—would be decided by the Cecil family. But a handful of them—including Viscount Carroll, the first to die—not only had to die, but had to die by her own hand.
"My lady, emptiness after vengeance is a normal thing," Suojilin's voice suddenly broke through Ropeni's daze. The high elf ranger spoke to her in a tone utterly cold, yet somehow calming. "Do not be bewildered by this emptiness. You are finally free of hatred—and after this, there is still much work waiting for you."
"Thank you," Ropeni said, steadying herself and thanking Suojilin. "Master Ranger, as an elf... you must have seen far more than I have, and grown far more mature."
"The elven mind differs somewhat from the human, so it is hard to say who is more mature—but I have indeed seen more than you. Also, there is no need for honorifics with me."
"All right—I know you were once Duke Gaoyang Cecil's comrade-in-arms," Ropeni said. She seemed to need something else to draw her attention away. "In your eyes, what sort of man is Duke Gaoyang?"
"I am still his comrade-in-arms," Suojilin said with a faint smile, then shook his head. "As for what sort of man Gaoyang is... that is a difficult question to answer. His temperament after resurrection differs somewhat from seven hundred years ago, yet he still often leaves me unable to see through him. He is always thinking of things beyond our sight. Seven hundred years ago, on the wasteland, he thought of sanctuaries beyond the wasteland. Seven hundred years later, he has simply begun to think of another age altogether. So if you wish to follow him, the only advice I can give you is this: keep pace with him as best you can. Even if you do not understand, that is better than falling behind while pondering and doubting."
Those who fell behind seven hundred years ago were devoured by the wasteland, and those who fell behind seven hundred years later would fare no better. Suojilin had a full measure of intuition on that point.