Caesar continued to stare at the scythe for a few moments, however, contrary to his expectations, it didn"t react in any way shape or form. Instead, it remained placid and unmoving, vastly different from how it acted when he had been on deaths doorstep.
Following a few seconds of simple deduction, Caesar figured that it had perhaps used an excessive amount of mana, as such, it was no longer capable of conversing with him at the moment. This caused Caesar to simply chuckle and turn his head to the door that was being knocked on.
It was a gentle knock and Caesar didn"t recognize the mana being exerted out from the individual behind the door. However, he could tell that whoever it was, didn"t plan on harming him. Thus, he raised his upper body and opened his thin lips, "come in," he called out.
In response, the door immediately creaked open and a middle-aged man walked inside. He had a thick, ungroomed beard, a balding head, and a deep scar running across his face. His eyes were closed as he slowly knelt in front of Caesar.
"I had been walking by the halls when I happened to see Ahri rush out of here with an excited smile plastered on her face, thus, I knew of your awakening" The man explained whilst kneeling on the floor, both of his fists gripped tightly as he bowed his head.
"I see…" Caesar paused for a moment as he scrutinized the kneeling man, "do you require something of me?" he continued after a deep sigh. It was very rude of a mere soldier to barge into the room of the king, however, Caesar didn"t mind such insignificant details and decided to temporarily pardon the middle-aged man.
"My lord, you are a somewhat new addition to our clan, so you may not know of our traditions. However, after a war, the clan leader usually holds a grand funeral in honor of those that perished in battle…"
The middle-aged man"s words paused as two streams of tears fell from his face, "Both my wife and son fell in battle, and it"s not just me, many others have had friends and family that have fallen in the war… please grant this old man one last wish," he pleaded.
Caesar remained silent on the bed, his wounds still hurt and he could barely move, let alone hold a funeral. However, how could he remain unmoving after witnessing a grown man beg before him?
"Very well," Caesar replied curtly after a long moment of hesitation and tore the blankets off of his body, fully showcasing his wounds, scars, and bandaged body. He then slowly crept out of bed and stood up, still fully nude.
The only thing he still adorned was his beautiful storage ring, in which he used to pull out a luxurious suit that was comprised of a black, long-sleeved shirt, black blazer, white gloves, red handkerchief, black boots, and an intricately knotted red cravat.
He then, with much difficulty, dressed without agitating his wounds. He patted his hair down and slightly stretched his limbs before slowly walking toward the still kneeling man, "you may rise," he said softly as he patted the man"s shoulder.
"T-thank you," he replied whilst standing up. Although he was quite apologetic for asking a favor from such an injured man, he couldn"t stand still knowing that his wife and son hadn"t had a proper funeral.
Caesar, of course, knew of this, which is why he didn"t hesitate to stand up and host a funeral for his people. Though he was injured, his responsibilities as the current clan leader could not be ignored.
With this in mind, He pushed open the wooden door and slowly trod across the lengthy halls. His dazzling figure garnering the attention of all those who caught a glimpse of him. They even started to follow after him, after all, he was their clan leader.
Soon, Caesar, with a large group of fox-kin, exited the huge palace and appeared at the large podium in front of the palace entrance. His prominent figure, alongside the large group of fox-kin, grabbed the attention of all those present.
Even the wounded stood up and congregated below the podium, paying respect to their leader who had nearly sacrificed himself for their victory. Even Ahri, who was returning with Joe, stood there in shock after seeing Caesar"s figure standing there in the middle of the troll-stronghold.
Although he was clearly injured, and even some blood had penetrated his clothes and revealed his pitiful state, he still stood straight with a strong back. His eyes were half-open and his normal smile was nowhere to be seen.
"My lord, your orders?" Falthor, who happened to be on the podium, asked with a deep bow. His words resounding into Caesar"s, and everyone else"s ears. They were curious as to why he had chosen this random time to show himself, even though he was still gravely injured.
"Gather the coffins, bodies, and any other form of identification from the fallen… we will be holding a funeral for the brave soldiers that are no longer with us!" Caesar ordered sternly. The fox-kin near him were first shocked and then relieved as they rushed to complete his orders.
Ahri wanted to rebuke her rash husband, however, after hearing his words, she could only bite her lower lip and patiently wait below the podium. Even Joe, who was excited to talk with his best friend, resignedly waited.
The fox-kin citizens who had been happy for Caesar"s awakening became sad once again. All of them had been subtly ignoring their losses, holding on to a few strands of hope. They were relishing in the victory of defeating their longtime rivals, the trolls. Even Ahri was trying to stay focused on Caesar, attempting not to wallow in sadness.
However, Caesar"s appearance brought them back into reality. They knew that their losses were enormous, and they also knew many of their acquaintances, friends, and even lovers had fallen in the battle.
It around two hours for the vast amount of coffins, bodies, portraits, weapons, and other memorable objects to be gathered just below the stone steps. They piled the objects and the pedestrians, and warriors alike surrounded them.
Grey clouds blocked the sunlight and a depressed atmosphere slowly formed. A quiet and sad breeze coursed through the air and carried the moment of silence. The warriors then looked toward Caesar, awaiting his words.
"No warriors life is expendable, every single one of them possesses a family behind them, supporting their back, as they support the clan. The warrior that have fallen can never be replaced, whether it is in our memory, or in numbers."
Caesar"s speech paused as he looked up, gazing at the cloud filled sky, "all of us here have lost someone we loved, someone we cherished. The cruelty of war persists even in the lightest of times, and even my great friend, the one who had been the backbone of the entire clan for centuries, sacrificed himself for us to stand here today."
He paused as he wet his lips and closed his eyes, "we have won the war, but at a costly price. As we move forward, we must never forget those who have died for us, and perhaps, we will thrive as those who have fallen wanted us to," as he spoke to here, small droplets of rain fell from the sky and small puddles formed at their feet.
No one talked, and silence enveloped the entire area. Suddenly, loud wailing appeared at one corner of the plaza, and like a spreading fire, more and more weeping echoed out. Even Ahri dropped to her knees and cried in front of a large portrait of Musashi, resting in the middle of the pile of precious belongings.
The people knelt and cried whilst Caesar was the lone man who stood. He clutched his fists in anger at his powerlessness, he wasn"t even capable of witnessing Musashi die, no, he didn"t even know if, or how Musashi had fallen.
He wasn"t superman, and even he, himself, walked a fine line between life and death. He, who had expected smooth sailing, suddenly hit a roadblock whilst fighting a mid-tier race in the dark continent. Even with his superior intelligence and modern knowledge, he still wasn"t capable of saving some of the people closest to him.
He expected that maybe his physique would upgrade and he could miraculously come out on top, however, reality soon hit. His foolish ideas were blown out of the water when his fight with Zul"thar commenced.
As such, he couldn"t protect many of the fox-kin warriors, nor he could even protect himself. However, the thing that annoyed Caesar the most was Alexander, the man that shielded the trolls from Musashi"s sun technique.
"If only that man didn"t exist…" Caesar whispered while grinding his teeth, his nails embedding into his skin. An unfathomable hatred for the church slowly rose within Caesar"s heart as he clenched his teeth and gazed upon the countless families with missing members or crying mothers.
"Burn it," Caesar suddenly ordered, to which Falthor nodded his head and cast a strong flame toward the pile of precious belongings. The fire slowly spread and the pedestrians could only watch and continue wailing.
The fire was unfazed by the rain and continued to rage on until only ashes remained. Such a scene was deeply engraved into the hearts of all those present. They would remember this moment for the rest of their lives.
Caesar stood there for a few more moments before turning back and headed into the palace, his teeth were clenched and his eyes cold. He figured that it was no longer necessary for them to linger in the dark-continent, as they were still far too weak to start a conquest and regain their strength.
As such, Caesar wanted to return to Rahvin kingdom and progress his business, supplying the elves, humans, fox-kin, gnomes, furbolgs, and even kobolds advanced weaponry. Besides, the fox-kin could slowly heal their wounds with the help of the citizens of Rahvin kingdom.
Caesar, however, had plans to visit the bigger kingdoms in his home continent to expand his business, influence, and army. Only then, could he return back to the dark continent and conquer it.
His reason for doing so was, of course, due to the fact that there was no other way he could compete with the mighty church. He needed to expand his influence greatly if he wanted to fight such a behemoth, subjugating the dark continent was the first phase of that plan.
Thinking to here, he applied pressure to his chest and entered into his room, "but first, I need to heal my wounds" he whispered with a wry smile and stripped himself, revealing his opened and bleeding injuries from tedious movements.
Even his superior regenerative abilities were rather lackl.u.s.ter when healing such intense wounds.