Messages were flooding the [Regional Channel: Light of the Emperor].
[The Emperor's Will is Unstoppable]: "Fuck! What the hell was that explosion?! Did anyone see what happened?"
[Loken Did Not Betray the Luna Wolves]: "I'm near the palace's main entrance. That fireball was massive! You could feel the heat from at least three kilometers away!"
[Thirty Years a Centaur Gold Ring]: "Don't tell me something actually happened to Lone Wolf..."
[I Don't Eat Bear Biscuits]: "Shut the fuck up! Don't jinx it! That bastard Lone Wolf is way too stubborn to die!"
The username [I Want to be the Imperial Regent] lit up in the channel.
His messages were short and direct.
"Lone Wolf? You there?"
"Respond if you see this."
"What's happening on your end?"
"What caused that explosion?"
After his messages appeared, the channel fell into an uneasy silence.
Everyone stared at the screen, waiting for a response.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Just as [I Want to be the Imperial Regent] was about to send another message...
A new notification appeared.
[Undying Silver Lone Wolf]: "Still alive."
Just two simple words.
But they were enough to send the entire channel into an uproar.
[The Emperor's Will is Unstoppable]: "HOLY SHIT! LONE WOLF, YOU ABSOLUTE LEGEND!"
[Loken Did Not Betray the Luna Wolves]: "THANK FUCK! YOU'RE ALIVE! THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!"
[Thirty Years a Centaur Gold Ring]: "What about Sejanus?! How's Sejanus doing?!"
[I Don't Eat Bear Biscuits]: "Enough talking! SEND US YOUR LOCATION!"
Another stretch of silence followed.
Then a set of coordinates appeared in the channel.
It was a complicated string of galactic coordinates that, when translated into a location within the false Emperor's palace, pointed to an underground storage room three hundred meters behind the ruins of the eastern side halls.
[Undying Silver Lone Wolf]: "Get here. Fast."
"Sejanus is critically injured."
"I can't carry him any farther by myself."
[I Want to be the Imperial Regent] stared at the messages, his heart skipping a beat.
He didn't hesitate.
He immediately issued an order over the channel.
"EVERYONE! DISENGAGE FROM YOUR CURRENT BATTLES!"
"I'VE SHARED THE COORDINATES! FOLLOW ME!"
"MOVE!"
More than fifty figures simultaneously rose from behind their respective positions of cover.
Ignoring the false Emperor's soldiers who were still exchanging fire around them, they sprinted toward the coordinates.
The enemy soldiers were momentarily dumbfounded.
Why had these ferocious Imperial troops suddenly abandoned the battle?
But they had no time to figure it out.
More Luna Wolves were already pouring through the palace's main entrance.
--
Behind the eastern side halls of the false Emperor's palace, deep inside an underground storage room, two badly injured figures lay hidden.
It was a forgotten corner of the palace.
Thick dust covered stacks of wooden crates, cobwebs filled the corners, and a damp, moldy smell hung in the air.
The only light came from a flickering fluorescent fixture on the ceiling.
Its sickly white glow illuminated two horribly burned faces, making the scene look almost nightmarish.
Lone Wolf leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Not a single patch of healthy skin remained on his body.
His scorched muscles trembled slightly with every breath, exposing the raw red tissue beneath.
His hair was gone.
His eyebrows were gone.
Even his lips had been completely burned away, leaving two rows of white teeth permanently exposed.
The skin on his hands had also been charred black, revealing the pale bones of his fingers underneath.
His personal guard uniform had long since been reduced to ashes.
But he was alive.
And because he was alive, he could still feel pain.
Agonizing pain.
The kind that made it feel as though every inch of his body was still burning.
Even with the game's pain reduction system, the sensation was so intense that his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Yet Lone Wolf merely gritted his teeth.
With his badly burned hands, he gently supported Sejanus's head.
The Luna Wolves captain lay beside him, his eyes closed and his breathing so faint it was almost impossible to detect.
His once-pristine white master-crafted power armor was completely deformed.
Cracks covered the breastplate.
Half of one shoulder guard had shattered, exposing a gruesome wound beneath.
His face was pale as paper.
His lips had lost all color.
Only the faint rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still alive.
Lone Wolf lowered his head and looked at him.
His ruined lips moved slightly as a hoarse whisper escaped his throat.
"Brother Sejanus..."
"Just hang in there..."
"My brothers are coming..."
"They'll be here soon..."
Sejanus's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't open his eyes.
Instead, his hand moved.
With what little strength remained, he slowly lifted it and rested it against Lone Wolf's hand.
The touch was incredibly light.
As soft as a falling feather.
But Lone Wolf felt it.
It was trust.
The kind of trust that came from placing your very life in someone else's hands.
Lone Wolf felt a sudden sting behind his eyes.
He wanted to cry.
But no tears came.
His tear glands had already been destroyed by the fire.
Just then...
BANG!
The storage room door was kicked open.
More than fifty figures rushed inside.
At their head was [I Want to be the Imperial Regent].
But the moment he saw the two figures against the wall, he froze.
What kind of horrifying sight was this?
Two blackened bodies.
One lying on the floor.
The other leaning against the wall.
Neither had a single patch of unburned skin, and the exposed muscle tissue beneath their injuries was still faintly twitching.
The room smelled of burned flesh.
They looked like two corpses that had somehow crawled out of a crematorium.
"Lone Wolf..."
[I Want to be the Imperial Regent] spoke, his voice suddenly hoarse.
"You..."
Lone Wolf raised his head.
His lips had been burned away, exposing those two unsettling rows of white teeth.
But his eyes...
Those eyes were still astonishingly bright.
"Cut the crap."
His voice sounded like two pieces of sandpaper grinding together.
"Save him."
"Brother Sejanus is barely hanging on."
[I Want to be the Imperial Regent] drew a deep breath and immediately opened the system store.
He entered a search term.
Super Medical Kit.
A second later, a silver-white medical case materialized in his hands.
[Military-Grade Comprehensive Medical Kit (Battlefield Edition)]
Type: Medical Item
Function: Contains hemostatic gel, tissue regeneration agents, bone stabilization equipment, and Nano-Repair Agents ×10. Capable of treating most battlefield injuries.
Price: 220,000 Imperial Coins
Note: As long as you're still breathing, we can drag you back from death's door.
Without hesitating, he crouched beside Sejanus and opened the kit.
Hemostatic gel was sprayed over the wounds, instantly hardening into a protective layer.
Tissue regeneration agents were injected into his bloodstream.
The edges of his wounds began visibly contracting as damaged tissue slowly regenerated.
Nano-repair agents were applied to his fractured bones, and the cracks gradually began sealing.
More than fifty Imperial faction players formed a circle around them, silently watching the treatment.
Nobody spoke.
Every expression was solemn.
The only sounds were the faint hiss of medical fluids being dispensed and Sejanus's breathing, which gradually became steadier.
Ten minutes later...
A hint of color had returned to Sejanus's pale face.
His breathing was deeper and more regular.
Although the wounds that had exposed his bones were still there, they had stopped bleeding.
More importantly, they were no longer immediately life-threatening.
--
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