Loss

Chapter 88 Loss

The brief "final battle" between the wizarding apprentices of District 12 and District 19 has ended.

The chaotic elemental fluctuations had not subsided; the battlefield was a shattered mess of trenches, and the outer ring of the low mountains bore the marks of sorcery cast by apprentice wizards. However, the inner ring of the low mountains seemed to have been solidified by the shockwave from the fall of the ancient, holy-scarred great wizard; ordinary apprentice wizards could hardly leave a mark on the slopes, and tens of thousands of corpses lay scattered on the ground…

Of course, more than 90% of these corpses belonged to wizarding apprentices from District 19.

Green's pupils suddenly contracted as he flew overhead!

In a shattered crater on the ground, the corpses of seven or eight academy guardians were mangled and tangled together, limbs scattered everywhere. Around them, the corpses of numerous wizard apprentices lay piled high, blood flowing like streams. In the crater, the only creature still breathing, a broken-winged night owl, was being treated by two wizard apprentices with healing magic, but it was barely clinging to life.

Even though the decisive battle is over, Green can still imagine how brutal it was!

Compared to Grimm's "easily" acquiring over two hundred badges in the rear of District 19, obtaining even a few dozen here would be incredibly difficult, and there's always the risk of being drawn into an unavoidable war. (Gade has around one hundred and seventy or eighty badges on him, plus Grimm's, for a total of about two hundred and seventy badges.)

Squads of Ward 12 wizard apprentices frantically rushed towards the remaining twenty resource points in Ward 19. Since the enemy's "final battle" had failed, the loss of these twenty resource points was only a matter of time. And once all the resource points were lost, they would have nowhere to stand and would be forced into an endless flight to evade the Ward 12 wizard apprentices' greedy pursuit. (For the badges.)

In a large pit, seventy or eighty bound wizard apprentices from District 19 looked at the people above and around the pit with fear and despair, awaiting the "judgment" of these wizard apprentices from District 12.

Meanwhile, the wizarding apprentices from District 12 on the giant pit seemed to be divided into several camps, arguing endlessly about what to do with the wizarding apprentices captured from District 19.

Ok?

Green spotted several familiar faces, the leader of whom was Amlongd, so he flew over without hesitation, hoping to get news of Rafi and the others from him.

"Keeping them around is just a waste of our manpower and energy. Who will be responsible for watching them? What if the wizarding apprentices from District 19 attack back and they get caught in a pincer movement? Hmph! It seems to us in the Bloodsail Alliance that it's better to kill them. We don't need to have any sympathy for our enemies!" Amlongde said firmly. The cruelty he experienced on the ocean liner and the ruthless education he received at Black Tower Academy over the years had left him with little compassion outside of the Bloodsail Alliance.

For many dark wizards, compassion is a luxury they can only dream of and a distant memory.

On the other side, a female wizarding apprentice disagreed, saying, "These prisoners also owe a debt to our Sand River Society. Since their badges are gone and they have no conflict of interest with us, we in the Sand River Society think it's better to spare their lives. Otherwise, what difference is there between us and those dark wizards who only know destruction?"

"Bullshit, how could we be dark wizards? Killing each other among wizard apprentices is recognized by the wizarding world, it's in accordance with..." A wizard apprentice from an unknown faction shouted from afar, swearing loudly.

"Who said this is a real war? After all these years, who among you still doesn't understand this so-called war..." Another wizard apprentice began to argue.

Green quietly walked over to Amgond, feeling somewhat annoyed by the boring discussion.

Amrond turned around and saw Green, exclaiming in surprise, "Green? You...!"

At this moment, Green's appearance was truly wretched. Even his once-signature pale mask was now torn open, and his tattered robes made Amrond swallow back all the words he wanted to say.

Green glanced at the District 19 wizard apprentices bound in the crater beneath him. They all looked like pitiful lambs, while many others glared angrily. He had no interest in such trivial matters and said indifferently, "Do you know where Raffi and the others are? Things are pretty chaotic here, and the crystal ball's communication is beyond its range."

Amrongd opened his mouth, then hesitantly uttered a location.

Green frowned and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"You'll understand when you get there." A bitter smile appeared on Amrongd's face.

Green narrowed his eyes, and after leaving a clear footprint on the ground, his body shot into the sky with a "bang." Then, under the combined force of repulsion and attraction, he flew rapidly towards the location that Amrond had told him about. His extremely fast speed attracted the attention of some wizard apprentices from time to time.

……

A short time later, Green saw several familiar figures on the ground, along with other Bloodsail Alliance members resting nearby. Green flew towards Raffi and the others, landing firmly on the ground with a "thump."

"Green..." Raffi greeted Green when he saw him, but he looked sad and was in a very bad mood, with no desire to say anything more.

Beneath his pale mask, Green's expression subtly shifted. After looking around, he saw Raffi, Binghamson, and Robin. Finally, Green's gaze fell upon Yorkriana, who was crouching on the ground with her back to him, sobbing uncontrollably, and the figure lying quietly.

His pupils contracted sharply; Green had already understood the reason for everyone's sadness and grief.

Walking quietly behind Yorkriana, Green looked at the familiar figure that had been pieced together, the familiar figure that had been with him since Bisel City, from initial dislike to later becoming teammates who entrusted their lives to each other, and now... it had been broken into pieces and barely pieced back together.

Dark wizards are different from light wizards.

As time goes by, while dark wizards grow stronger, the number of friends who can evoke their emotions, inspire trust, and inspire loyalty dwindles, making it increasingly difficult to forge true friendships. Therefore, every powerful dark wizard is destined to be lonely at heart, a necessary consequence of the long and brutal environment they endure in their lives.

Therefore, at this moment, Green instinctively realized that the reason he couldn't control his sadness was because he had truly lost something very important to him, although Green couldn't yet understand the importance of that thing.

Binghamson walked over to Green and whispered, "He was killed in the crossfire of a battle between several guardians. At the time, his bloodline magic transformation caused him to lose his mind and stray too far from the Alliance, so we didn't have time to rescue him..."

Binghamson was equally saddened, perhaps even more so than Green, because he had shared more experiences with Joklis than Green had.

Green tried hard to control his grief, as if a man wouldn't allow himself to be weak and shed tears, but his voice still choked up as he said, "The side effects of bloodline witchcraft...?"

Yorkriana was crying her eyes out, completely unaware that the half of her mask covering her scars had fallen to the ground.

Of course she was heartbroken. She had lost her brother, the one she had relied on since childhood, the one who had always protected her and sheltered her from the storms of life. Without her brother, she could no longer afford to be weak, because there would never be another wizard in the world who would treat her so selflessly, not even her future lover.

A wizard's most sincere expression of emotion is touching; it can melt away the defenses of others, just like that innocent and lovely little girl in the Twenty Drops of Blood Alliance.

Berg couldn't hold back any longer. He strode over, grabbed Green's clothes, and roared, "Where have you been? Trying to go it alone? I think you're running away, you're scared, you're terrified! You have the power of an elder recognized by Amrond, but inside you're just a cowardly wimp! If you were here, that wizard apprentice in your squad named Joklis might not have died, and she wouldn't be so heartbroken!"

Wizards rarely meddle like Berg, especially dark wizards, who are even rarer and have become legends.

But at this moment, Yokriana's grief was truly felt by people, even prompting Berg to take such an outrageous action.

Green was equally saddened, yet he was being treated so rudely by Berg at this moment. Beneath his shattered, pale mask, his bloodshot eyes revealed murderous intent.

Under a powerful repulsive force, Berg groaned and staggered back a few steps, releasing Green's clothes.

"You!" Berg realized his lapse in composure, but when he came to his senses, he couldn't utter a word, staring at Green in shock. Just now, that fleeting feeling...

Green looked at Berg, and without realizing it, his astonishing killing intent vanished without a trace.

Looking at Berg's ignorant expression, Green suddenly felt bored. Among wizard apprentices, due to age and limited perspective, some inexplicably childish scenes seemed to play out every day. However, although everyone knew deep down that some things were childish, because of their short-sightedness, they were confined to a limited, seemingly squeezed space, and had no choice but to do them.

He was unwilling to explain anything further to Berg, perhaps because Green had a longer-term vision and was more mature. A person with a strong inner self would not bother to talk about nauseating nonsense with someone who can only see the road in front of them.

Compared to the inadequacy of words, only practical actions are more fitting and authentic.

Green knelt gently beside Yorkriana, igniting an inextinguishable flame in one hand to set Yokris's body ablaze. With the other hand, he handed her one hundred badges, speaking calmly yet earnestly: "Yokris is dead. He wasn't just your brother, he was my friend too. These one hundred badges aren't my way of helping you, but rather avenging my friend. Wizard apprentices face death every moment. Others die, and so do we. Grow up, Yorkriana."

Yorkriana raised her tear-streaked eyes, her eyes red and swollen, and looked at Green. Her frail body trembled incessantly, like a helpless lamb that had lost its mother.

"Brother Grin, sob sob..." Yorkriana hugged Grin tightly, venting her indescribable pain, her tears soaking through Grin's tattered robes.

With Yocris's death, it seemed that Yokliana also died, or perhaps... was reborn.

Looking at Yokliana's still unhealed half of her face, Green sighed, recalling the vow Yokliana had made on the ship that had ultimately not been fulfilled. The world, after all, will not change according to anyone's will, especially not the weak.

the other side.

Berg watched as Green reached out and pulled out hundreds of badges, all of which came from the same source: killing wizard apprentices in District 19.

Berg recalled his own words, how he had mocked Green for being weak and fleeing the battlefield, how he had thought Green was a coward. Now, being stared at by a group of wizard apprentices in the distance, he felt a burning pain on his face and a stinging pain in his body as if he were being burned by flames!

At that moment, Berg wished he could find a crack in the ground and disappear into it to escape those people's gaze.

Looking back now, my sarcastic remarks just now feel like I'm slapping myself in the face. I feel like a clown on stage performing some old, laughable cliché, playing a villain.

His face flushed with embarrassment, Berg lowered his head and strode away.

He was unwilling to stay in this place for even a single breath longer; it would be an unforgettable humiliation and a formative experience for him.

(End of this chapter)