Edward stood out of the toilet in the rain and winds of the dying storm. Clutching the bottle of gel, Arthur had given him. All surrounded by the storm, he felt weak and open, like he was naked in the open.
He went back and sat inside the toilet once again. He could not bear to stand in the open, he knew eyes were watching him. He leaned against the wall and thought scrambled his mind to get answers to his questions.
To think he was lying unconscious on the ground in front of Arthur. He lived right now due to Arthur's wishes because he was a part of his plan but still, Edward had to continue fighting, and the night wasn't over yet.
Edward now understood why Isabella was questioning when the suitcase was opened, it was Arthur, he took the meat from the case and applied the gel on his arm to make him heal more quickly in part of his plan to consolidate the Italians in one place.
Then he blew up the bridge while the army crossed the bridge to kill as many as possible, and he blew the bridge to make sure none of them escaped.
The Italians were growing aggressive against Ethereo for some unknown, or so Edward had heard. Now, he knew due to the rising tensions between the French and Italian kingdoms. The Italians must have disliked the woods trade Milize Asina had done and signed a contract with the assassin to get gold from here.
" A devil with the devil indeed." Edward thought. The Italians paid dearly with their lives for that.
For Arthur's history, Edward knew that Rage was the only survivor of Arthur's betrayal of his allies. Edward could talk him in to help him deal with Arthur or learn more about their mission in Lynx. He felt a connection between Arthur's knowledge of such secrets could be related to that.
There was a traitor in Lucius's cabinet who leaked Edward's information to the assassins. The assassins included Edward in their overall plan as they knew about Edward's orders. Also, there was another traitor present in the city running free.
" Jonas is a traitor alongside Henry. The two worked to open the gate of the city and hide the city troops at the same time, it was nearly impossible to manage both things at once. That is why Arthur did not mention his name, unlike Thomas and Isabella."
There was a mysterious feeling about the relationship between Henry and Isabella but Edward knew it was.
"There is some relationship between Jonas, Arthur, Isabella, Henry and his brother. An event or person that connects all of them. Isabella knew Henry, while Arthur knows Henry's brother..."
Something that Edward did not know, Edward had Isabella, Henry and soon Jonas. He would soon know.
Edward got himself straight and calm while he had lost the battle today but, not the war, and there was still much more he could do now.
Edward opened the bottle of gel and began applying it over his shoulder.
The gel calmed down his skin at the site of the wound, and the gel made his skin burn from the cold that came with it, but the burns gave him relief.
Edward exited the toilet and threw the bottle of gel on the floor. He began walking now, ready to find Jonas and take him down.
The darkest hours of the night had passed, and the morning was soon arriving. The time to reap what was sowed in the dark of the night, there were Italians alive roaming in the city, and if they reached outside, sheep slaughter would happen.
With all this on his mind, Edward carried on the path to the barracks. He walked faster now, his belly filled with a delicious meal. Hopefully, it's not poisoned. The men at security near the warehouse greet him. He left them behind and began approaching the barracks.
More and more men crossed him, and Edward greeted them and kept moving. The situation felt calmer and well-settled to him.
"It shouldn't be like this."
A thought came to Edward, why are people not running around? The captives should have arrived by now, Where are they? Did Arthur not free them?
Amidst all the negativity, he reached the barracks once again. People were swarming in that place like a Tarvern or free beer bar. People had ransacked the food armoury and devoured the rations.
It was fair for 137 thieves who were in the den. Holding their lives against the enemy and nearly killing themselves for the sake of their kingdom.
Two had died due to suffocation, five had fainted already by the time Edward had arrived. Had he arrived a bit more late the death count would be much more. In the city, he came to know as lawless and a haven for thieves, those thieves cramped and locked inside the building choking themselves to death. Edward felt the irony.
Nolan came into Edward's view, he called him for discussion and progress about their plan to liberate the city from chaos. Their plans were already made and set in motion.
"Is Isabella doing well? I don't want her hurt in any manner."
"She is doing good. We had a female medic remove her knife and tie a cloth around it. We ate well and rested on the hay bed inside the food armoury. We will need some sleep but the weather has improved and the winds and rain have nearly died, so any disease is unlikely."
Edward nodded to the response. Isabella needed to rest and heal. She had done enough work that night.
"What about the river and city centres, are they clean?"
"We have killed every enemy man we have seen. The bodies are overflowing in the river, we have killed the few that survived the bridge bombing. The city is yet to clean, and we have taken hold of much of the area near the barracks. The city remains. Percy had taken men with him to accelerate the process."
Edward checked the boxes on his list. 2 tasks were completed, Isabella was safe, and the city was well-secured. Still, more work remained till the morning sun arrived.
"Tika!"
"?!"
A white pigeon flew from the sky and fell into Nolan's arms. Nolan was bright with a smile and he held the bird most gently. He checked under his body for any wounds and noticed something.
"There is a note tied to his leg," Edward said.
"The bird is not mine, it belongs to the soldiers who use it to transfer messages. We have a good relationship with them and meet Tina quite often." Nolan removed the letter from Tina's legs, and Edward noticed how gentle he was with a bird.
"Gentleness and love can heal great sorrow, even the ones we could never imagine to happen and the ones that we just imagine would happen." The words echoed in Edward's mind.
"Could the love for an animal bring them out of the delusions that ruin their lives?" Edward wondered if he was lucky enough to be helped by an angel. Were the thieves fortunate enough?
Edward shrugged off the thoughts and focused on the letter's words. That was more important now.
Nolan took the letter and sent Tina into the sky. Nolan unrolled the message into a small paper sheet with something written in red. Nolan read the message, and his eyes twitched in surprise, and he raised him to speak with Edward.
"Jonas is lynched. He was working with the enemy for this attack. He was a traitor."
"?! Shit!" Edward had not thought this would happen, the assassin had released everybody but they relieved the secret that Jonas was a rat and surrounded by deluded thieves and soldiers who lost hundreds of their comrades. He was not going to survive.
"Go find where this letter came from. If Tina brought that, it must mean that men are present on the other side of the city. Take as many able as going, and send a message through Tina. We need to avoid any disasters."
Nolan acted fast. He called out men, arming them and leaving the barracks with at least 30. They left while Edward stood there calmly looking around, and he looked at the corpses lying around him. The visibility had been better than before, and Edward could see the burned-down shops near the barracks. Piles of bodies taking up ashes, he looked behind him into the stream where the water did not flow as body parts and corpses blocked their way.
So much blood had flown, but there was no time to feel sad. Edward needed to prepare in case Thomas was incapacitated. It was all on him to see no hidden ploy to attack the regional lord. The events of the lawless city should not affect the world outside, so the function should take place today.
In amidst such destruction, the event should still take place unless...
"Edward!!" Screaming thieves came running from the side, unrest blowing on his face.
"What happened?"
" The anti-Christ! God finally punished the anti-Christ in our favour. God is real and true, I knew it."