Michael was exhausted as well, but he decided to purify the Summoning Cores and install them in his Summoning Gate before going to sleep.
Eight additional purified Summoning Cores meant that he would receive eight more daily summons – each with the prospects to be a 2-Star Summon. That meant he could summon 11 2-Star Summons every day if he was extremely lucky. That was amazing!
The gains Michael made from fighting the Kitsun Lord were tremendous. He could make up for the losses of 1,500 combatants quickly. That was, of course, only in numbers. It didn't make up for the fact that three-fourth of his army died in the Elementals Cave.
'I really hope that everything will be alright.' Michael thought as he finished installing the Summoning Cores. The hatch of the Summoning Gate closed automatically, and Michael went to his room in the wooden manor.
He actually wanted to focus on digesting the energy influx and energy shares to refine his War Rune quickly, but he knew that tomorrow would be a tiresome day.
Michael went into the bedroom and fell asleep at once. He fought for two days straight and didn't sleep at all. It was about time to make up for the lack of sleep.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the rays of the morning sun shone onto Michael's face, waking him from the slumber the next day.
He opened his eyes slowly and got up from the bed. Afterward, he washed himself well to get rid of all the dirt, grime and blood that had been stuck to him for the last few days and put on a neat, clean set of clothes after drying. Michael sighed heavily several times in the process of washing up, putting on clothes, and leaving the wooden manor.
His subjects had already heard about his return and that he would be holding a speech early in the morning. Therefore, it was no surprise to find hundreds of Summons gathered in the center of the settlement. Most Summons gathered on the ground, but there were also hundreds of people gathered on the canopy bridge above the ground. Some Forest Elven Summons even decided to sit down on the tree branches near the settlement's center.
Last but not least, Michael found a bunch of Forest Elves sitting on the rooftops of some buildings to make sure that they could see Michael as he held his speech.
Michael stepped in front of the wooden manor's entrance and was just about to start his speech when he heard a voice amid the crowd of people.
"Where are our friends? I haven't seen David and the others even after the Commander, and My Lord have returned. Did something happen? That cannot be. You would never allow anything to happen to them…right, my lord?!"
The voice was not loud, but those words pierced straight through Michael's heart. For a moment he felt helpless, unsure what to say. Tiara and the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team arrived next to Michael a few seconds after the voice died down. Other voices of concern followed up soon, but Michael couldn't hear them. All he could hear and feel was the reassuring words of Tiara and Lilica.
They patted his shoulder to encourage him to stay calm and hold his ground in front of his subjects as they said, "It will be fine. We're here."
"Don't worry. You did everything you could. Nobody could have saved them. It was unfortunate, but you warned them, and they didn't listen. They forced you to take them with you. It was not the other way around!" Lilica said, tightly gripping his shoulder. Her emerald eyes glimmered brightly as she stared deep into Michael's eyes.
"I know," was all Michael could say to Lilica. He then turned back to the crowd of people in front of him, ready to face his own people, face his own fight…and accept that everyone died in the Elementals Cave because of…because of what? His actions? His subjects' desire to fight? Or because of their enemy's sly tactics?
Clearing his throat, he looked up at the hopeful faces as all the voices of concern died down. Michael's lips parted and he began his speech.
"First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone. I didn't expect such a situation to happen. However, it happened because we desired to free the Elementals and because we wanted to get rid of our enemy's biggest source of income. We wanted to weaken him…and ran straight into a trap," Michael took a deep breath, his voice shaking a bit as he said that. Taking a moment to calm himself down, he gathered his thoughts and began anew.
"It all started with the scouts' reporting potential threats and enemies moving slowly into our direction. We found Elementals, controlled by Summons by a race called Kitsun. The Kitsun race is evil…."
Michael didn't know how long he spoke, but the entire settlement was eerily silent the whole time. Not even the younger Summons said anything. They didn't even move. Everyone listened intently to Michael's summary of the battle. He didn't mention that the army pleaded to him to take him with them inside the Elementals Cave because that would sound like a petty excuse.
However, there was no excuse for the death of the 1,500 Summons. Michael didn't want to mock their deaths after they sacrificed themselves by pushing his responsibility onto them. That didn't feel right. That was not how a leader was supposed to be.
Michael even spoke about the events that happened right after the Elementals Cave incident. He didn't go into detail when speaking about the invasion of the main settlement, the destruction of the Beast Ranches, or the actions of the Blood Oath Demon Monkey troupe. Nonetheless, he said more than enough to pinpoint that he, and his people never stopped attacking the Kitsun Lord until he was dead. They had been in danger for two days and only came back once it was safe to say that the Kitsun Lord and his subjects wouldn't be able to stir trouble – not anymore.
But even after telling them the danger he and the others were put in, Michael noticed that the expressions of the people around him grew sour. Their Links of Loyalty took a hit as well. The Links of Loyalty of more than 800 subjects grew fainter, even if it was not by much. It was a clear indicator that their trust in Michael had decreased a little.
"You told us that you would give your utmost to protect everyone. But…now you're unscathed and our friends, and potential future family is dead. Do you have nothing to say about that…My Lord?..." One of the subjects asked, forcing himself to add the salutation 'My Lord' at the end of his question.
"WE trusted you just like your Warriors, but now they're dead. What does that mean, my Lord?"
"How can you expect us to fight for you if you cannot even protect those fighting by your side? They worked so hard to grow stronger, only to die for you? Don't make me laugh…my lord…"
…
..
More and more subjects were pulled along after the first people began to complain to Michael. Most Summons were just sad to hear what happened to their friends and colleagues. They didn't hate Michael, or thought about holding him accountable for what happened. However, they needed someone to blame for their friends' deaths. Michael was their Lord, and he was responsible for taking the army with him inside the Elementals Cave. He was the only one they could curse in their hearts. After all, they had never seen a Kitsun, let alone the Kitsun Lord.
Every time his subjects said "My Lord", Michael felt like someone pushed a dagger deep inside his heart. It was hard to bear, but Michael did it. He silently endured and listened to their complaints and curses without trying to defend himself.
"Ya…is everyone here stupid, or mentally challenged? Is it really that difficult for them to use their brain to think for once?" Tiara asked Lilica in a loud tone. Her vocal cords were enhanced with origin energy to make sure that her voice would overshadow the voice of everyone else.
"I don't really understand them either. Since when is the Origin Expanse a peaceful place? Michael achieved too many impossible feats. Maybe these idiots expect him to be a War God, capable of killing everyone with a snap. Of course, it's sad that so many loyal warriors died, but everyone willing to join the territory's military force knows what awaits them. They're not foolish enough to become Warriors and to expect to never face any danger," Lilica responded even louder than Tiara, the anger in her voice apparent.
"I couldn't agree more. Everyone was willing to follow Michael into the Elementals Cave knowing that they might die. The incident was unexpected and quite misfortunate, but situations like those will always happen during War. The sole reason why Michael focuses on nurturing the military force with most of the territory's funds is to strengthen his Warriors to prevent situations like those from happening. It happened once, and it won't repeat itself again. In fact, I'm sure that Michael hates himself more than anyone because he couldn't do anything about the disaster in the Elementals Cave," Mika said, happy that he could finally slap the idiotic subjects with words.
Tiara took a step forward to make sure that everyone's attention was on her.
"He hates himself for having been too weak. For being unable to protect those who trusted him. Yet, after fighting for two days straight to make sure that his territory would be safe and sound, the same people he wanted to protect with his life on the line are blaming him. To think that such disgraceful bastards exist!" Tiara cursed, her voice growing louder and louder.
However, she was not done yet. In fact, Tiara was just getting started. How dare they attack Michael?!
"This is the Origin Expanse! A place full of war and dangers. It's not a playground where we play war. This is real. We put our lives on the line to protect the civilians and to give them a better life. Don't you dare to blame my Master for something that wasn't his fault! Fuck you all!!"
