Chapter 573 - Unexpected Praise

"We'll finish the design after visiting the dwarves and clearing the wandering undead hordes," Eldrian stated before leaving his soul. 

Sure he wanted to become stronger as quickly as possible. But there were some things that had to be done before he could take the time he felt he would need. This project wouldn't take just a few hours, it likely would extend to a day or two of constant work. 

But for now, he first had to go to the mass funeral. 

Walking through the empty streets, the aftermath of the siege could truly be felt. Every now and then Eldrian would pass someone in tears, struggling to move towards the gate. 

Due to the amount of deceased, it was simply impossible to bury them. The undead monsters and animals had long since been burned, sadly, the deceased will follow in the same manner. 

Climbing onto the wall, Eldrian joined Evale and the other nobles overlooking the mass of people outside. 

Eldrian wasn't someone to micromanage, as such the sight before him was a surprise. Pyres stretched through the fields, loved ones moving between. Placing a few prized or cherished items with their lost loved ones. 

'She did a wonderful job.' Eldrian thought as he watched how carefully the dead had been arranged, only four to six people on a pyre. It appeared that they were grouped as families and/or close friends.

It certainly would have made the cost and time investment all that much more. But watching how families could actually find their loved ones, were able to say goodbye and stand with them as they turned to ash. 

There was just something about it that tugged at Eldrian's heartstrings. 

Jannet also gave the prayer and speech for the funeral, her words didn't reach to atop the wall but it seemed to truly touch those who it did reach. Many fell to their knees in anguish, while some clutched their fists till they bled. 

But no one interrupted, no one said a thing. 

Everyone stayed until the final pyre had burned out, supporting each other and sharing their grief they slowly moved back to their homes. An anger unlike any brewing in many. 

"Wonderful job." Eldrian said as Jannet joined them atop the wall. "I was right to leave it to you."

"Thank you," Jannet nodded politely but her tone was very firm as she fought through her own pain. 

"Take the rest of the day and tomorrow off. You deserve some time to mourn." Eldrian clasped her shoulder, "And when you are ready, call those who want to fight."

Fighting her own tears, she said in a cracking voice, "Explain."

"I believe many will be unable to go back to their lives. I do not want them to rush out into danger through blinding rage. Call them to fight, and start training them."

Jannet nodded, not able to ask anything more nor think any further. Turning around, she headed home to finally let herself mourn. 

"Eldrian... What are you planning?" Evale moved up beside him, she hadn't heard what they had said but Jannet's reaction had been strange. 

"I'm planning to help," Eldrian replied, leaving Evale with her questions as he headed home. 

...

"Are you sure this is fine?" Sanja asked as Eldrian mounted his agima (demonic creature - eight-legged horse) called Chestnut after its golden-brown coat. 

There were only two agimae left after the siege and now they were being taken on a journey to the dwarves, through lands no longer safe. That however wasn't why Sanja was asking if it was fine. 

"Yes, as a small group we should be able to slip past and through easier. Besides, if worst comes then I will stall them." Eldrian wasn't foolish in thinking he could defeat a thousand undead, a hundred he might be able to kill with Incinerate but currently, he wasn't particularly angry. 

While he didn't think he would be able to slay a thousand undead, he felt confident he could survive them. 

"Besides, Ganalin is only two hundred kilometers away. We should be able to reach it in less than a day, depending on the road and our obstacles." 

Sanja nodded, what the centaurette was most worried about was if they took more than a day. 

Setting out, the agimae quickly picked up speed and had to actually slow down to not leave Sanja in the dust. As a noble who had never liked fighting, Sanja had only reached Tier 2 almost secondhandedly. 

Compared to the agimae who were bred for speed and stamina, she was having a hard time keeping up as time passed. 

'Didn't think she would be holding us back this much.' Eldrian mumbled as the agimae had to basically trot. He was constantly scanning the environment and his map, ensuring that they wouldn't run into the undead. 

Half a day later, they had crossed the 90km (56mi) mark and Sanja had to stop. Finding a nice place a bit off the road, they set up and Eldrian pulled out some food and water for Solvi and Sanja. 

For this journey he would be the packman, hence he had emptied his inventory. In the future, depending on talks, players would also make the journey and set up a teleportation point. With his inventory emptied he should be able to bring back enough metals for a few days. 

"I'm actually really impressed by you," Sanja said as she enjoyed the fresh pie that Maia had prepared for their departure. 

Eldrian simply frowned before returning to his thoughts. 

"No really, you handled the situation extremely well. You never fell into the nobles' traps, always taking the high ground and ignoring their arguments and jabs. You also managed to stabilize the city and secure our defenses while even thinking of the future."

"I had plenty of help." Eldrian countered for it was true. Outside of Aspen basically doing all the work with Eldrian only giving him a few ideas, Erik and Elizabeth had also been amazing. 

Erik seemed to have a good grasp of how to handle the aftermath and recovery of a city and its people. Eldrian had simply handed it to him as a result, giving Erik the title of medical head. A made-up title, but an effective one. 

It allowed Erik to organize the few healers and priests who were left effectively. Ensuring that the best survival rate possible would be achieved.

Elizabeth on the flip side was truly magnificent with organizing people. Eldrian would have loved to make her the mayor, but instead, he settled on having her organize most of the talks with nobles and citizens alike. 

The players of Phoenix were now working as policemen. Whether that was a step up from communication relays, Eldrian couldn't say. 

"Maybe..." Sanja smiled, "But being able to accept that help and to trust the people around you. It is rare."

"Indeed," Solvi added, "You never asked for an oath of loyalty nor did you forge contracts to ensure it. Instead, you simply trusted those around you. Even the nobles, you gave them all a job and left it to them to do or to fail."

"But you didn't do so blindly, you assessed them first and only gave them tasks that they would be able to do and if their personality was lacking then you gave them tasks that could fail without much problem," Sanja added. 

Eldrian smiled while cursing himself, 'You idiot! How did you forget about the oath system!?'

AN: A big thank you to everyone who continues to read and support the story on WN.