Chapter 254 The Aftermath of the Battle
Nicholas looked around the ground that had turned into the battlefield to look for any signs of werewolves that were still breathing. Most of the bodies on the ground lay unmoving, a few were still struggling and were trying to get back up on their feet.
“Don’t let anyone escape from here. Finish them off,” Nicholas shouted out the order to his worn-out soldiers.
All of his soldiers had put up their best fights. More than half of them had to fight two werewolves at once. And fighting while also defending themselves from the attack was very challenging for them.
A few of those who still had their stamina walked up to the enemies who were still breathing. And they all did what their leader ordered them to do.
Nicholas spat on the ground and thought, ‘Their stench mixed with the smell of their blood is making me nauseous.’
He pinched his nose and kept on ranting in his head as he walked around to make sure that his soldiers didn’t miss anyone, ‘I guess their stench was nature’s way of protecting them from us. Ugh! I wouldn’t go near them even if they were the last species on the planet to quench my thirst. I would rather die or go into eternal slumber.’
Nicholas nodded his head after examining all the bodies. All of the werewolves that were lying around were dead.
He then thought of returning to the place where all of his soldiers had gathered.
After taking a few steps, his toe hit something. He looked down to see a pistol. He fisted on his hips and then mumbled, “These things didn’t kill as many of those filthy things as I had expected. That was such a waste of silver. We all need to train properly before we can make good use of these.”
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He picked up the pistol and then put it inside his pocket. He then headed back to check up on his soldiers.
“Is everyone here? How is–” Nicholas suddenly clenched his teeth and grimaced when he saw three of his soldiers lying on the ground.
They all had their mouth muffled with a piece of their own clothes. They did that while the battle was still ongoing to keep their fellow soldiers from hearing their painful screams and to not let their morale down.
Now even though the battle was over, and even though all three of them were visibly in a lot of pain, they all were still trying their best to hold in their scream while their fellow soldiers were giving first aid care to their wounds.
Nicholas went near them and looked at them closely. Two of them had bite marks on their neck, while the other one had a bite mark on his palm. Those with bite marks on the neck were in a much more serious condition.
One of the soldiers who was helping to clean the wounds noticed how Nicholas’ face was full of worries. So, he reassuringly said, “Sir, they are going to be okay.” He quickly looked at one of the soldiers who was smashing some dried herbs in a bowl, and then said to Nicholas, “I ran inside and got that from the maids.”
“Is that the wolf’s bane?” Nicholas asked with a slight sense of relief on his face. He was proud to see how his soldiers weren’t just relying on him to take important decisions that were in the best interest of everyone.
The soldier turned to look at the Sergeant and replied, “Yes, Sergeant. You don’t have to worry about us.”
Nicholas gave a nod and sighed in relief. “Good. Treat their wounds. The sooner they take the medicine the better. And take them all inside after you finish administering those herbs to them.”
He then looked around at all his soldiers. “Is anyone else hurt?” he asked.
“No, Sergeant,” the soldiers replied simultaneously.
Nicholas still darted his eyes around at his soldiers and found a lot of them with several scratches on their bodies.
He went to take a closer look at one of their scratches. It didn’t look that bad as compared to the bite marks, it wasn’t even close to the scratches that they would get while sparring among themselves, but it didn’t look like it was healing as it should have.
He frowned and then asked that soldier, “Are you sure that this is okay?”
That soldier looked at the scratch marks on his arm and replied, “I think it will take longer to heal than the normal wounds. Other than that, I think it’s going to be okay.”
Nicholas wasn’t convinced though. So, he asked all of his soldiers, “Everyone, drink and put that herb on your scratches. I don’t want you all to leave anything to chance. What if it gets worse as time passes? Don’t be careless and treat it right away.”
“Yes, Sergeant.” The soldiers were happy to see how their leader cared for them.
The Sergeant then decided to go inside and inform everyone that the battle had finally come to an end. “I will go inside and see the situation. And I will let you all know our next move. We will probably be moving from here soon. So, wrap everything real quick and get as much rest as you can before we get the order from the King.”
He looked at one of the soldiers and ordered, “Also, don’t leave any weapons behind. I have two with me.”
Nicholas then quickly ran inside the inn to find someone with higher authority than him. “They all must be in there,” he mumbled as he headed in the direction of the King’s room.
He felt a chill and widened his eyes when he saw a corpse lying on a pile of broken shards. He narrowed his eyes and ran at an even faster rate, worried that some werewolves could have headed for the King’s room as well.
He felt somewhat relieved when he didn’t encounter any more bodies on the way. He then hastily knocked on the door of the King’s room and announced, “Your Majesty. It’s Nicholas.”
Unlike what he had expected, Vincent opened the room and asked hurriedly, “Is it over?”
Nicholas darted his eyes inside the room to see the scared handmaid of the Queen. He answered while his eyes were fixated on Tilla, “Yes, everything is over.” He then turned his gaze to Vincent and asked, “Where are the King and the Queen?”
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