As all the warriors cheered around him, Shang only released a deep sigh.
He had come too close to death too many times in the last couple of seconds.
Shang only looked at the dark sky above him.
'The two Mages that killed George and Mattheo are dead.'
'Duke Torrent and Duke Mithril are dead.'
'The Council is dead.'
'Susan is dead.'
'Everyone that was involved in George's and Mattheo's murders is dead.'
Then, Shang looked to the place where George's spear had died.
'I guess it didn't have much reason left to live. It only lived for revenge, and when it saw that the revenge would soon be completed, it went in to attack Susan on its own.'
Shang sighed.
"Count Sword, you saved my life! I can't thank you enough!"
Shang looked to the side as one warrior ran up to him, some tears in his eyes.
Shang didn't know who this was.
"Count Sword, I don't know how to repay you! You saved my life!"
Shang looked over and saw another warrior approach him.
Shang also didn't recognize that one.
"Count Sword, you saved my life!"
"Mine as well!"
"Count Sword!"
"Thank you so much, Count Sword!"
"You're our hero, Count Sword!"
One warrior after the other arrived near Shang, everyone standing around him.
They were all shouting their thanks at him.
'Right,' Shang thought. 'I guess I saved a couple of lives while getting involved in the other battlefields.'
"You saved my life as well," Sylvia said with a smile.
"I think you saved mine as well, Shang."
Shang looked with surprise at Jerald, who was also walking over.
For the first time in a long while, Jerald's warm smile was back on his face.
"Susan was giving me a lot of trouble. I think, if you didn't distract her, I would have died to her in the end," Jerald said.
Jerald was the most powerful person here.
Jerald was the one that declared the war and led everyone to victory.
Jerald was everyone's leader.
Yet, everyone was crowding around Shang instead of Jerald.
Shang wasn't sure what to do in this situation.
He had never been in such a place before.
"Ehm," Shang slowly said. "No problem, I gue-"
However, Shang couldn't finish his sentence as several warriors grabbed him and lifted him up.
"Three hip-hips to Count Sword!" one of them shouted.
Shang felt quite embarrassed at this point. "Can I maybe put on some pants first?"
Since Shang's armor had been destroyed and since his body had been blasted apart several times, all his clothing was gone too.
Yet, the warriors didn't give him any opportunity to do so and threw him in the air.
"Hip, hip, hooray!" they echoed.
As Shang flew through the air, he felt very awkward and embarrassed.
But as he saw all the smiles on the warriors' faces, he decided to just go along with it.
If it made them this happy to throw him in the air, he should let them.
Clank!
Shang's half-destroyed helmet clattered on his face, making him take it off.
The Spirit Senses of all the warriors and Mages homed in on Shang's face.
This was the first time they saw it.
When they saw his uncomfortable expression, their smiles only widened.
Whenever they had seen Count Sword, he had seemed like an ice-cold machine.
It was like Count Sword was an emotionless construct only made for killing Mages.
Seeing such a relatable human expression on his face made him much more likable in everyone's eyes.
After throwing him in the air three times, the warriors put him down, and Shang finally got an opportunity to put on some clothing.
His clothing simply consisted of some black pants and a black shirt.
And then, the warriors swarmed Shang again with their thanks and well-wishes.
The remaining Mages only looked with smiles at the group of happy warriors.
They had seen the warriors fight with everything they had, and the warriors deserved their newfound freedom in the Mages' opinions.
At that moment, Shang looked through everyone that was alive.
A lot of people died.
Originally, there had been 65 True Path Stage warriors.
Now, there were only 17.
Originally, there had been 30 High Mages.
Now, there were seven, including Sylvia.
There were three Mid High Mages, and three Initial High Mages left, the latter three being the ones that had supplied Shang with Mana and healing water.
There had been nearly 100 people under Jerald at the start of the battle.
Now, there were less than 30.
The battle had been bloody and brutal, and if Shang hadn't interfered in so many battlefields, he, Sylvia, and Jerald might have been the only survivors.
Shang was probably responsible for saving every survivor's life in some way.
No wonder they were this thankful to him.
During the battle, Shang's actions seemed like they had lacked any impact.
He had attacked some Mages here and there, but it felt like he hadn't made a big difference, especially since his two opponents had still been alive at that point.
Only after the battle did the true impact of Shang's actions show itself.
As Shang was bombarded with thanks and questions, he only gave short and uncomfortable answers.
It felt weird that the warriors had such intense feelings of gratitude because of actions that had been easy for Shang.
He had only thrown a couple of attacks.
Yet, who could fault them?
These simple actions from Shang saved their lives.
Jerald only looked at Shang with a smile as he was being swarmed by warriors.
'You're always so isolated and don't want people to get close to you.'
'But this time, you can't avoid it.'
'I hope you find more friends and companions, Shang,' Jerald thought.
"Alright, that's about enough. You can party later."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they looked at the sky.
A person was slowly floating down and landed a bit outside the gathered group.
The warriors and Mages immediately became nervous again.
They weren't sure what would happen now.
Jerald only smiled.
Then, he bowed respectfully.
"My King," he said.
The warriors and Mages saw what Jerald was doing and copied his actions, also bowing politely.
"My King," they echoed.
Of course, Shang did the same thing.
King Skythunder looked around the gathered group, a smirk on his face.
Then, he looked at Shang.
"Whatever Spell you used to keep your real identity secret has worn off. You should reactivate it soon," King Skythunder transmitted to Shang.
Shang's eyes widened.
Since he had used up all the Mana in his mind, Humanity had worn off.
"Thank you, my King," Shang transmitted back.
King Skythunder's smirk only widened.
"Shang, Jerald," he said after throwing a glance at both of them. "You two have fought impressively."
"Thank you, my King," both of them said.
King Skythunder nodded. "Walk with me. I want to talk to you."
Shang and Jerald rose and approached King Skythunder.
Then, King Skythunder turned to the rest of the group.
"Do whatever you want, but I don't want any Spirit Senses listening in on the conversation."
Everyone bowed once more.
Then, Shang, Jerald, and King Skythunder walked away.
