"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"Oh, Big Sister, don't move, I'm applying medicine for you…"
Late at night, a harmonious and loving scene unfolded in the Legion Commander's villa bedroom of the Seventh Legion.
Rin had removed all her clothes, exposing her snow-white, luminous perfect body to the air, lying on her side like an injured kitten on her luxurious, exquisite bed's brocade quilt.
On the side of Rin's delicate, jade-like body, four bruised claw marks appeared, left by the Black Qilin's initial sneak attack that shattered the Demon God Dragon Armor during their confrontation.
Although the shattered armor blocked all direct attacks, the impact of the claw sneak attack still left its mark on Rin's body.
It was truly the first time in Rin's life to have such internal bleeding and bruises.
Not only the skin surface, but that blow also to some extent shook Rin's internal organs.
If Rin had not sealed her sensory nerves with the freezing attribute of the Essence of the Demon, the pain would likely have affected the subsequent battle.
But for Rin, as long as it wasn't missing an arm or a leg, or her internal organs weren't shattered into a pulp, it was a minor injury.
Now, lying on the bed pretending to be severely injured was entirely to act cute and gain sympathy, feigning weakness to flirt with her dear adjutant.
And Zhi Feng, powerless to resist, fell for Rin's trick.
Seeing Rin injured for the first time, Zhi Feng was instantly heartbroken, but such bruises could only be alleviated by applying some blood-activating, stasis-dissolving healing potions; there was no other way.
Rin's body was comparable to a mythical beast, with extremely outstanding recovery abilities, but no matter how strong the recovery power, it wasn't like the immortal characters in anime or the biological Imperial Arms in this world that recovered instantly.
As long as it was a normal creature, healing injuries would take a process.
The still-aching bruised claw marks undoubtedly sounded an alarm for Rin; in this world without magic, severe human injuries could not be treated with magic.
Therefore, both she and those she cared about must avoid injury as much as possible.
"Oh, Zhi Feng, be gentle~"
"…Big Sister, please don't be like this… you make my hands go soft."
At this moment, it seemed as if the relationship between Rin and Zhi Feng was reversed; Rin, instead, lay on her side like a lazy cat that had been accidentally injured and sought care.
But Zhi Feng dared not act as the cat owner; at most, she could only be considered a cat servant who looked after the cat.
Although she didn't think the medicine would work on Rin, the two of them being there together was probably to enjoy the feeling of still being able to see each other after such a great battle.
It's truly wonderful that you're alive and back… This was probably the sentence that echoed in both Rin's and Zhi Feng's hearts when they met again after quelling the Danger Beast riot.
The battlefield was dangerous, and crises were unpredictable.
Even though Rin had personally guided Zhi Feng, she couldn't fully guarantee that Zhi Feng would return safely from among thousands of troops.
It was truly good that she hadn't died.
Zhi Feng knelt on the bed, gently stroking Rin's injuries.
Rin lay motionless, as if asleep.
"Zhi Feng, you must live well in the future too.
It would be too tragic if I got injured again someday and didn't even have someone to apply medicine for me."
"Yes, I will follow Big Sister until the very end!"
If the first trial, the slaughter of death row inmates, was a mere warm-up, then this battle against the Danger Beasts was no less than a decisive war to destroy a nation.
The new Seventh Legion's combat effectiveness was already evident, as it managed to hold its ground without showing any decline until Rin slayed the Black Qilin, and then launched a full counterattack after the enemy leader was killed.
Thus, Rin finally no longer had to rely on her personal martial prowess or a rogue attitude of shirking responsibility when dealing with the Imperial Military Department.
An army, after all, is judged by its legion's combat effectiveness; no matter how it's led or what methods are used, producing combat effectiveness is what gives it leverage.
"…That's roughly the situation."
It was the second day after the battle, and a post-battle summary meeting was being held in Rin's office.
After the last company commander finished his report and returned to formation, Rin, with her hands propping her face, fell into a silent contemplation.
The entire office was plunged into silence.
Although they successfully resisted the Danger Beast's offensive riot, the losses of the Seventh Legion were also unacceptable.
At this time, the entire legion had only 6,520 soldiers left; over 13,000 people had died under the fangs and claws of the Danger Beasts.
Only eighteen of the colonel-ranked officers responsible for intercepting the Special Grade Danger Beasts returned.
Therefore, it was truly good that Zhi Feng returned safely… Although Rin successfully slayed the Black Qilin on the battlefield, she herself had to withdraw from the battlefield due to the heavy magical expenditure from using the secret technique of Essence of the Demon and converting the Black Qilin.
Without Rin's support, the Wind God Winged Dragon also could not continue fighting, and the Danger Beasts in the sky, losing their suppression, were unleashed.
The subsequent battle, which lasted until dusk, was truly a river of blood, and it wasn't until sunset that no more Danger Beasts emerged from the forest, and the offensive finally receded.
"What are the results of the battlefield cleanup?"
"It's still ongoing.
The battlefield is too bloody, and working through the night is too dangerous.
Additionally, all the soldiers are wounded, so it only resumed this morning after daybreak."
"Very good…"
The meeting lasted an entire morning, finally dispersing after all post-battle matters were decided.
Afterward, Rin gave Zhi Feng some instructions and then sat alone at her desk, deep in thought.
To be honest, this was Rin's first time experiencing such a real war with mutual casualties.
She had seen scenes of mountains of corpses many times before; in Type-Moon's Shinto (New City) central building, when all the worlds evils erupted and the city was submerged by the aftermath of her clash with Gilgamesh, Rin should have been used to such sights.
Indeed, she was still somewhat unaccustomed.
After all, these were the soldiers she had led.
Although they had only followed her for two months, she still cared about them… Looking at the casualty statistics on the paper, Rin still unconsciously felt a blockage in her heart.
Many more people will die because of my decisions in the future, but no matter how much blood this path eventually stains, I will not turn back, for I do not belong to this world… Battlefield cleanup was carried out by the auxiliary troops; at this moment, the severely depleted Seventh Legion soldiers were all in a state of recovery.
Now, it was probably hard for a soldier to claim to be from the Seventh Legion if he didn't have several bone-deep wounds on his body.
"They can only be given a month off now.
There's no other way.
Anyway, the basic training has been completed; let's start preparing for the third and final assessment."
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