"Can we… talk about this later? I'm going to be sick."
Shirley felt the world spinning in her eyes and grew nauseous. Initially, it was not so bad, but as the long conversation went on, she felt increasingly sick. Her vision was littered in a myriad of colors, her hearing was too sensitive, and her sense of touch was overly delicate too. Everything hurt like millions of tiny blades as all her senses went crazy! Even the slightest act was painful! That was not too surprising. During the battle, she had overexerted herself far too much by using both Mock Perception and Martial Energy continuously. Mock Perception was simply entering a deeper level of concentration to explosively heighten her sensory abilities. It was by no means a simple task, nor one without drawbacks. Like a spark to a dry stash of firewood, her body would feel the strain eventually. She had never used it as frequently as she did then.
Tackling onto that, her careless usage of Martial Energy, and her backlash multiplied. She was too inexperienced in using it, especially in the heat of battle. At some point, she began using it subconsciously, infusing every attack with Martial Energy! Although Martial Energy replenished faster than Martial Energy, it was not endless. When it ran out, she had nothing more to give, unless she expended her World Energy too, which was exactly what she did. She burned her lifeforce to beat her opponents! When she thought that no one would survive unless she gambled everything, she did not hesitate to. However, that self-destructive effort could not topple a Perception Realm Master like Reverent Monk. It only expediated her downfall. Without their savior's help, she would be dead by now. It was a miracle that she survived at all!
Freon nodded as he massaged his jaw. The conversation helped distract him from it, but whenever he remembered what Reverent Monk did to him, he cringed. That damned monk smashed his arms, chest, and face in! Freon could still feel relentless blows as if it were happening to him now. His body was in endless agony. Especially when his jaw was shattered and his teeth were pulverized, it was hard to forget about such an experience. Although the training with his uncle to awaken his Bloodline was horrible too, it was not like his uncle was physically beating him. The difference was big and even though he was healed now, his trauma remained. There was also the matter of his other backlashes. Just like Shirley, he had overtaxed his Core to an extreme level, far beyond what it could do! Furthermore, he was also feeling the aftermath of his Bloodline Ability's backlash.
Fundamentally speaking, he should be unable to use his Bloodline Ability until he was a Condensed Drop Arcanist. He could force it through with his training, but some things could not be avoided, especially when he wielded his most powerful spell, Infernal Dragon, multiple times throughout the battle. His Channels and Core were ravaged beyond description, the pain a dozen times more intense than any training could do! That was the price he had to pay to imitate a Ten Dawn! Even then, he preserved and used his new experimental technique to forcibly isolate his Bloodline Ability's backlash to fight again. While he succeeded, it only delayed the inevitable and in a final last-ditch effort to take down Reverent Monk, he detonated a spell at point-blank range. He unleashed everything he had! Freon was glad that he survived, but he dreaded to imagine what his Channels and Core looked like. He was not in the mood to investigate.
"What about you, Benedict? Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.
Benedict shook his head before coughing violently. He had been holding it in to not worry her, but his wounds were too severe. There was no way he could stay silent anymore. Whenever he coughed, it would aggravate his injuries more, which would induce him to cough again. It was an endless cycle! Elizabeth ran out to fetch water when he started coughing blood. In truth, his body was a total mess. He could barely feel his limbs, much less move them. It required all his energy and focus just to drink water without spilling it. Anything more and it was beyond him. He was bedridden! However, he expected this result. Like Shirley, he exerted himself to an outrageous extent, using Martial Energy as if it were free. At that level of intense battle, he could not hold back anything. He had fought with his life on the line!
The only difference between him and Shirley was that he wielded the Hawken Style and the Cloud Sea Style interchangeably in a high-speed battle with multiple Perception Realm combatants… It was something where the slightest hiccup would lead to death! Shirley leveraged her immense combat instincts to close the gap, but Benedict fought with pure sword techniques. His direct killing potential was much higher, but so was his exhaustion! Although the battle lasted barely more than five minutes, he felt like a day had passed, it was that eventful. Once the tension drained from his body, he finally realized how hard he had been pushing himself. It was truly insane. He was probably one step away from death when Reverent Monk beat him unconscious… No, maybe it was one toe away, he was that close. He looked down and realized his fists were clenched so tightly that they bled. The tension of the battle had yet to fully fade. It would take time for him to relax and recover.
"You three should rest now. I'll take care of everything else," Elizabeth said resignedly.
She took several days before she could properly unwind too; the Battle of Liguang was that terrifying to recall! Her friends immediately agreed, having been swept up in the conversation. Before long, they went back to sleep. Elizabeth was a little sad that their reunion was cut short, but there was nothing to be said about it. It was unavoidable. She returned to normal routine until two more people woke up. Unfortunately, they were people that Elizabeth wanted to talk to the least… It was Imperian Qiang and Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing.
Imperian Qiang was a non-combatant, and he sustained the least number of injuries, so his quick recovery was expected; however, Elizabeth was angered by that very fact. With how desperate things became in that battle, any helping hand was appreciated. Even Freon, someone who could barely swing a sword, fought against Reverent Monk! He might not have accomplished much, but he did try, which was more than what she could say about Imperian Qiang. In a sense, Freon took the hit for Imperian Qiang! If not for their savior's intervention, then Freon would have died instead! Elizabeth's opinion of Imperian Qiang thus fell to rock bottom. If not for his special position as the Li Family's patriarch, then she would have ignored him completely.
Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing was also a tricky case. He was the Captain of the Imperial Sentinels and the Four Cardinals, a man widely considered to be the strongest sentinel, and someone who stood at the apex of Perception Realm Master. During the battle, he proved pivotal in foiling Poisoned Widow and Reverent Monk's plan to capture the Imperial Princesses, and his master-level archery helped alleviate a lot of the pressure off Elizabeth and her friends. And because he remained on the fringes of the battlefield, his injuries were light by comparison. It was normal for him to wake up before Sir Winstin or Lady Mingyu. However, Elizabeth remained cautious. She was glad to have tied him up, yet her hand remained on her bow, ready to launch a fatal strike should the need arise. It was better to be safe than sorry.
Imperian Qiang observed his surroundings quietly, trying to make sense of what he saw, except confusion was written across his face. There was no way he could rationalize being saved in that type of scenario. It defied logic! Cardinal Hui, on the other hand, immediately focused on Elizabeth holding her bow, sensed her killing intent, and realized he was bound. He captured the situation in an instant, his battle instincts were that terrifying to behold! The three of them remained silent in this awkward standoff. Elizabeth was the heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom, Imperian Qiang was the patriarch of the Li Family, and Cardinal Hui was the Captain of the Imperial Sentinels. Prime Minister Pon-Wai aside, this was the closest one could get to assembling the leaders from every side in the war. In addition, Elizabeth controlled the situation. Neither Imperian Qiang nor Cardinal Hui wanted to say anything unnecessary. Elizabeth clutched her head in annoyance. This was one reason why she disliked them.