## Chapter 135: The Hardship After the Battle
After Kashya left, my Brain felt a bit hazy. The battle where I overdrew my Strength against Belial had left me in a very bad state. But thinking that Sha La was fine and most people were okay, my Heart relaxed. A wave of fatigue and drowsiness, making my whole Body feel soft and weak, surged into my Heart, and my eyes quickly became lazy.
Just as I was drifting in and out of consciousness, about to enter a sleepwalking state, Velas's Petite Figure appeared at the doorway. She was holding something in her hands, probably some food.
"Lord..."
A beautiful Voice entered my ears. I watched her gradually Approach with hazy eyes. Perhaps my Brain was momentarily dizzy, or perhaps I was Attracted by that wonderful Voice, but I actually hugged the figure that came closer, tightly wrapping my arms around her slender waist. (Because I was sitting on the bed).
"Huh...?"
Velas, whose waist was suddenly attacked by me, let out a startled cry. The things in her hands fell with a "smack" sound, hitting the Ground with a dull thud.
After the sound of the fall subsided, the entire House suddenly fell silent. Only the sound of Heartbeats, like a startled deer, echoed with a "thump-thump".
"Velas..." I mumbled groggily.
"L-Lord, I..."
Velas's soft and weak Voice carried a hint of urgency. I could clearly feel with my hands that her delicate little waist, which had been stiff just moments ago, had gradually softened. However, the Heartbeats transmitted from the ear pressed against her ample chest became increasingly intense.
"Velas, I'm sorry..."
Holding that warm jade-like Body, I groggily spoke the words in my Heart.
"Eh... eh... Huh...?"
Things didn't seem to be developing in the direction of blushing and pounding Heartbeats as she had imagined. Velas couldn't help but let out another light cry of surprise and confusion. At the same time, she secretly spat at herself: Velas, oh Velas, how could you have such impure thoughts?
However, the Lord didn't do anything wrong, so why apologize to a Civilian like me? Is it because he feels guilty for not being able to save us?
Thinking of this, Velas's burning affection, mixed with reverence and worship, seemed about to overflow from her Heart. What a gentle and Kind Lord. Despite possessing Strength that she could only forever look up to, he felt so close, so warm. She couldn't help but use her hands to gently hold the Head resting in her arms tighter.
"Lord, why are you apologizing? On the contrary, it is us useless Civilians who have caused you trouble. Not only did we not help in the Battle, but we almost put you in a deadly situation. Shouldn't we be the ones apologizing?..."
She gently rubbed his Hair with her firm Chin. Normally, she would never be so bold.
"Ugh~~"
I wanted to say something else. But my consciousness became increasingly blurry, especially from the warm and sweet Aura emanating from Velas's embrace, like a catalyst for drowsiness. It instantly calmed my Heart, and I just wanted to lean there and have a good sleep.
Velas will definitely be a good Mother in the future. This was my last thought before falling asleep.
In fact, Velas, lost in her thoughts, didn't know that what I wanted to express wasn't the apology stemming from not being able to save them. After all, I had already done my best at the time and had a clear conscience.
What I felt guilty about was this: The moment I knew Sha La was safe and sound, even if it was just for a brief instant, my Mood was so happy that the sadness brought by Velas's death was almost forgotten. I even had the thought, "It doesn't Matter about everyone else, as long as Sha La is okay." Although selfishness is Human nature, my Idea was understandable. But whenever I recalled the scene of Velas's death and then thought about that selfish thought of mine, I couldn't help but feel a surge of apology.
This was the most genuine thought in my Heart. Taking advantage of the groggy drowsiness just now, I boldly confessed it to Velas. But I didn't expect her to misunderstand it. Could this be considered a beautiful misunderstanding?
Velas explained intermittently, trying to dispel my misunderstood apology. But after a while, she noticed the even breathing coming from her arms. She was slightly startled and realized that the person she was comforting had already fallen asleep.
Really, she was trying so hard to explain, but the Lord just fell asleep on his own. She wanted to complain a little, but found that she couldn't complain at all. Instead of complaining, it was more appropriate to say it was a sweet Act Spoiled.
The Lord is like a child.
She lowered her Head and gently examined the face pressed tightly against her chest. Then, gathering her Guts, she gently poked it with her jade-like fingers, revealing a doting and gentle Smile on her face.
She originally wanted to lay him down, but Velas found that his hands were still holding on so tightly even in his sleep—there was truly no Method. She complained sweetly, and seeing the look of Attachment on his sleeping face in her arms, her Heart was filled with joy and pride.
There's really nothing I can do about the Lord, nothing I can do. Since it's like this, I can only do this... Her Brain was a bit messy with thoughts. Then she gently climbed onto the bed, slowly lay down, covered them with the blanket like a Mother holding a child to sleep, and then slightly propped up her own Head, looking at the sleeping face in her arms.
Lord, Velas had a dream that day. How anxious the Lord was then. Was he anxious about me? I was really happy, even after I died, I was very happy and content...
She gently touched the Man's Hair in her arms. Under the dim lamplight, a dazzling Smile, just like that time, bloomed on her serene face.
I slept for two days and one night again in this sleep. Of course, Velas told me this after I woke up. After getting up, I felt that my Body had recovered quite a bit. At least I could get out of bed and walk. Maybe I could even escape from a few Fallen.
Although having such a comfortable Idea is something to be ashamed of for the person I used to be, who was still at ease even when facing hundreds of Fallen, I genuinely felt joy from the bottom of my Heart. It seems that in this regard, I am really similar to Velas; we are both Types who are easily satisfied.
With my Bones itching from sleeping for so long, it was naturally impossible for me to choose to continue loafing around and freeloading in bed. As I thought this and planned to go outside to look around, an unexpected person walked in.
Blind Sister Akara?
What is she doing here? Could it be that the Rogue Encampment has been occupied by Belial, and she came here to seek refuge? No, that's not right. Leaving aside the fact that Belial wouldn't resurrect that quickly, just Fara and Kashya, those two freaks, either one of them is enough to Instant Kill it.
However, the confusion in my Heart quickly got an answer. Akara was just here to inspect the Villages. Although a very detailed Battle Report had been compiled for this Monster Attack, as the head of the entire Rogue Encampment, Akara still needed to come out personally for a careful inspection. This is what is called the Leader personally visiting the countryside to offer condolences, I suppose. She truly is someone involved in Politics.
And today, she happened to come to Vita Village. If I had slept for one more day, she might have left. I woke up at just the right time.
"Wu, you performed very well in this Battle."
Akara said with that kind Smile. Well, I guess Kashya and Fara had already explained my situation clearly. She probably knows more details than I do.
"Hehe, Lady Akara, I can't take such praise. Look at my current sorry Appearance." I weakly swung my arms a few times.
"Hehe, don't be discouraged, Wu. For a newcomer, your performance is already unparalleled. As long as you appropriately strengthen your Willpower with some Training in the future, I dare say you will definitely become the most Powerful Warrior in the history of the Rogue Encampment."
"What was the Result of this Monster Attack? Ah, of course, I'm just curious. If it's inconvenient, then forget it..."
After chatting with Akara for a few minutes, I asked curiously.
"Ah. There's nothing to hide about that." Akara still had a smiling face. It seems the Politics of the Rogue Encampment are quite open.
"A Total Number of 10 Villages were attacked by Monsters this time. The Total Number of fallen Warriors was 986, including 743 Soldiers, 221 Mercenaries, and 22 Class Changers. The injured were even more numerous..." Akara read out a string of Stats with a hint of sadness.
"Afterward, during the Foul Crow's Sneak attack, a Total Number of 1139 people were captured from the 10 Villages. Among them, 983 were rescued by Fara and Kashya. As for the others..." Akara's words that followed were self-evident. She wasn't like Kashya, who liked to keep people in suspense and tease them.
"I see..."
I lowered my Head and pondered. Although the Stats seemed significant, I didn't feel much emotionally. That's natural. Let alone a World like Sanctuary, filled with War, even in my original World, hearing about tens of thousands of people dying in typhoons and tsunamis probably wouldn't make many people sad. Humans are like this; they always show a bit of indifference towards disasters they haven't witnessed firsthand.
"Which Village had the most deaths... Uh, I mean, which Village performed the best in this Battle?" I felt a bit ashamed of the question I asked. At a time like this, I was concerned about such a Matter.
However, these Stats did make me very curious. I remembered that before I left, the Casualties in Vita Village had already reached 144. And after I left, there might still have been minor Casualties. Looking at Akara's Stats, our Vita Village's Casualty Rate was actually above average?!
I asked myself if I hadn't tried hard enough. Before the Battle began, I eliminated Blood Raven and the most threatening Crippled Fiend. Bishibosh was handled entirely by Sister Sharna. Druv's Command Ability was also commendable. Even if our Vita Village wasn't the most outstanding, we shouldn't have ended up with such a Result.
"It's not your fault. Vita Village performed very well. Among the several Villages with similar Plain Terrain, it had the fewest Casualties." Akara naturally wouldn't blame me for my hot-blooded question as a young man.
"Plain Terrain?" I noticed a rather special word in Akara's sentence.
"Yes, Plain Terrain. Among the 10 Villages this time, Harulu Village and Leilan Tribe were both located on high Ground. So they simply leveled off a layer of the high Ground outside the Village, forming a steep slope Terrain. As long as Sorceresses used Ice Magic on top to make the entire slope a bit slippery, those stupid Monsters couldn't climb up at all. Therefore, the two Villages ultimately ended the Battle with less than 50 Casualties..."
Akara explained to me with a Smile, giving me a Realization. It wasn't that our Vita Village performed poorly, but rather that those two Villages had the full Geographical Advantage.
"Oh right, what about Belial? Everyone seems to know that Belial appeared, right? Didn't it cause any commotion? Did the Third World not react at all?"
I could understand why Belial didn't cause any commotion, after all, what appeared here was just Belial's Projection. The real Belial was still in the Third World. The psychology of being far away from the center of power is relatively easy to understand. But for the higher-ups like Akara, Belial's appearance is something they must worry about.
"It's nothing, Wu, you don't need to worry about this..." Akara sighed and said.
"Ah, it doesn't Matter if I tell you. According to reliable Information, Belial's descent from Hell to Sanctuary this time doesn't seem to be aimed at us. You know, the Four Demon Kings and Three Prime Evils of Hell have been in Internal Strife. I think the main reason for Belial's descent to Sanctuary is probably for this! Of course, it's not ruled out that Belial deliberately released a smokescreen to mislead us, but it doesn't Matter anyway. If Hell is truly determined to occupy the Third World, then the five who have already descended to Sanctuary—the Three Great Demon Gods plus the other two Demon Kings—are more than enough if they unite. Now, one more Belial doesn't add much, and one less Belial doesn't subtract much... Ah... Let the Angels worry about it..."
I could understand Akara's Mood. This is probably what is called the feeling of a dead pig that doesn't fear boiling water. The Destiny of the weak caught between two powers is probably like this. It's really hard on these Leaders.
"Compared to that, I'm more worried about the future situation of the Rogue Encampment." Akara changed the topic and said, rubbing her Head in pain.
"Didn't the War end? And with Kashya and Fara here, what is there to worry about in the future?" I asked strangely.
"Wu. War is not as simple as you imagine. You only saw the Victory of this Battle and the Casualties, but you didn't see the Hidden Danger behind it..." Akara looked at me and shook her Head with a bitter Smile. After all, I was still too young.
"Huh?" I waited for Akara's answer with a confused Gaze.
"Let's talk about the Consumption of this Battle first." Akara sighed heavily, as if the words deeply touched her pain point.
"Tens of thousands of Adventurers participated in this Battle, and their food and drink were all provided by the Rogue Encampment."
As soon as she said this, I immediately understood. It was Logistics. How could I not have thought of it? I've read so many military novels.
"As for Grain transportation, it wasn't a big problem because of the Inventory. The problem is that last year's Harvest wasn't very good, so the Consumption of tens of thousands of Adventurers over these past few days is not a small amount for the Rogue Encampment."
"Moreover, tens of thousands of Adventurers couldn't participate in the Battle for free. Before this, we had already promised that all Warriors participating in the Battle would receive Rewards. Although such Rewards might not be much in the eyes of Class Changers, for Soldiers and even Mercenaries, they are very much needed and have to be paid. And the families of the nearly thousand fallen Warriors also need to be given more Subsidies. For the Rogue Encampment, this is simply like a major drain..."
"The previous few problems are not difficult to solve. The most serious problem is—because of this Monster gathering and Attack, many Civilians missed the planting season, and Livestock also suffered significant losses. This means that the Rogue Encampment's Harvest this year will be reduced by at least 40%. This is the biggest Hidden Danger!"
After Akara's careful calculation like this, even I realized the seriousness of the problem.
"If I had known this, wouldn't it have been enough to ask Kashya and Fara to exert a little more effort back then?"
"Hehe, wouldn't that have lost its Meaning? Although this Battle caused us great losses, and how to overcome this Difficulty will be a great Trial, our Gains are also not small. I believe that doing this was completely worth it." Akara said with a meaningful Smile.
"Lord, you must have your Principle for saying that." I never doubted Akara's wisdom. Since she said it was worth it, I had nothing more to say.
"Oh right, I still have a lot of Gold Coins here. Anyway, I can't use them all. If needed, I can take out some. Although it might not be of much help." I thought of the Gold Coins piled up like a small mountain in my Inventory and Stash. Anyway, I can't use them all, so taking some out to provide disaster relief and make some contribution is good, lest they get moldy inside.
"Hehe, no need to rush. There will be plenty of times in the future for you to contribute to the entire Rogue Encampment." Akara's Smile made me feel a chill.
"As for the Gold Coins, we'll talk about it later. If it's really not enough, then this Old Woman can only shamelessly ask you Class Changers to borrow some."