505 Chapter 505: Aftermath Again (1/2)
”Brother Richie!”
Adrian ran out of the shelter and toward me, accompanied by Melina. I nodded, still supported by Dong Fang Yue Chu. The earlier battle had consumed too much of my mana, and coupled with the severe injuries I had sustained, I wasn't able to walk on my own.
”Are you all right?!”
”Sensei!”
Both of my disciples were staring at me in concern, especially when they caught sight of my current state. I forced a smile.
”Yeah, I'm still alive, am I not?”
”WAAAAAH!”
Unexpectedly, it was Rossetti who made the most noise. The moment she emerged from the bunker, she burst into tears and started wailing.
”Why the heck are you crying?!” I demanded.
”But…but…” Rossetti sniffed as she wiped at her eyes. ”We all thought you were dead! The opponent is the strongest member of Grimaldus, you know? It's a miracle that you survived a duel against him!”
”Hah!” Craig chortled. ”You give Richie too little credit!”
”Who is she?” Theodore whispered to Harrison. ”She looks very familiar…but I don't know where I've seen her before…”
”She's from Saint Teresa Academy. We fought against her team during the national tournament.”
While Harrison explained to the big guy, Rossetti joined Adrian and Melina in looking at me in concern. She reached out to touch me, and I grimaced.
”Ouch! Hey! Watch it!”
”You're hurt! Very badly hurt at that!”
I tried not to roll my eyes. Duh, of course I was severely injured. You knew who my opponent was, didn't you? And man, she had quite the penchant for stating the obvious.
”We'll get Sister Pearl to heal you once she reaches here,” Dong Fang Yue Chu assured me, but I knew it was meant more for Rossetti and the kids, to stop them from worrying. However, there was something in his statement that caught my attention.
”Sister Pearl is here too?”
”Yeah, she, Lily and Sheila are all here. Cody too, actually. But we all came separately. The girls stopped by Cambria on the way here, to do some shopping, while Cody…you know how he is. Always playing assassin.”
As long as he stayed out of trouble, I didn't care what Cody play-acted as.
”Thank you for saving us,” the camp manager told us, even as the teachers and trainers were moving out to secure the location. Theodore handed over Xun Lian Jia to them, having picked him up after the battle ended. The chief trainer was still terribly injured, but at least he was alive.
That was more than I could say for the Black Swordsman.
”It's nothing,” Harrison told her with a polite smile. He then turned and gestured toward the Four Heavenly Kings of Jing Tian. ”In fact, I came too late to help. The credit should go to these guys. They were the ones who did all the fighting.”
”Hey, you pulled our asses out of the fire at the end there,” Craig protested. Then he grinned at me. ”A fire ignited by Richie, of all people. What would you have done if Harrison didn't show up?”
”Richard would still have conjured that ice shield of his,” Theodore reminded him. The guy was as serious as ever. Craig groaned and tried not to roll his eyes.
”Never mind.”
”They're coming.” Harrison turned up his head when the roar of hovercrafts came, temporarily drowning out our voices. I watched as the massive transports dropped down on the edge of the camp, disgorging troops.
”Hmph.” Craig snorted. ”They're late to the party. The fighting's already over.”
”Hey, at least we don't have to walk home!” Dong Fang Yue Chu, on the other hand, was optimistic. ”And we'll be able to bring the wounded back for treatment!”
”How did you guys get here?” I demanded. Surely the four of them didn't rush over on foot when they received the distress signal.
”Drop pod,” Theodore replied seriously. He then pointed to a clearing over a hundred meters away, somewhere deep inside the forest. My jaw dropped when I saw a mechanical contraption that was about five meters high, its ramp-doors having slammed down for its occupants to disembark. What were my friends trying to be, space marines or something?
”I came here by hover-bike,” Harrison admitted as he pointed to a hover-bike that was parked next to the dop pod. ”Rented one from Flandor City and zoomed all the way here.”
That explained everything. There were still a few questions I wanted to ask, but I was too exhausted. For now, I just stared at the hovercraft wearily and did my best to not fall asleep.
*
After such a crisis, there was no way for the camp to continue. Not to mention, the camp buildings were razed to the ground, the lake was gone and the facilities were wrecked. The middle school students also lost a lot of their beginnings, thanks to the Black Swordsman's spamming of his Excalibur. Speaking of which, I wondered why he was ripping off Excalibur from a famous anime series.
Probably because he watched the whole duel between Saber Alter and Berserker.
Pearl and the other girls were waiting for us when we returned to Flandor City on the hovercrafts, and true to form, she cast healing spells on me. Xun Lian Jia also received medical treatment from more professional healing mages, and I was informed that his life wouldn't be in any danger. I was actually surprised that he had somehow escaped all of those Excalibur shots that the Black Swordsman had fired off repetitively.
”You were too reckless!” Pearl snapped at me. ”Taking on the strongest member of Grimaldus on your own…do you have a death wish or something?”
”Uh, you do realize that I actually fought alongside Xun Lian Jia at first, then with Dong Fang Yue Chu and the others?”
”Why didn't you retreat after Xun Lian Jia was taken out?” Sheila asked, though her tone was not as harsh as Pearl's.
”Retreat to where, exactly? And what's going to happen to the middle school students if I run away? I can't just abandon them.”
”You're always too reckless, Brother Richie.” Adrian shook his head. Then he beamed. ”But that's exactly why I follow you!”
Pearl glared at him. ”Don't encourage him.”
”It's all thanks to Sensei that we're still alive.” Melina tried to sound conciliatory. She glanced down, looking guilty. ”If it weren't for him, we would have been…”
”Ah, no…that's not what I meant.” Pearl softened her tone and waved her hands. ”I'm glad that Richard did his best to protect you guys. I'm not saying what he did was wrong. But I just wish he will be more careful…and treasure himself more. He always makes us worry about him.”
”Well, it's Richie we're talking about here.” Dong Fang Yue Chu clasped his hands behind his head. ”You know how he is. We love him because he's a hero.”
”Yeah, I think Richie is fine the way he is.” Craig chuckled mischievously.
”His actions saved a lot of lives today,” Theodore said seriously. Adrian and Melina nodded vigorously at that.
”That's right!”
”Sensei protected us!”