Chapter 169: Delayed Reward

It didn’t take long before Roderic and his newly recruited priest, Oswald, arrived at the Whitemane estate.

Roderic came to a halt in front of the entrance.

’’Well then, Your Eminence,’’ he said, still smiling. ’’You can find my father inside. He’ll take you to the knight who needs treatment.’’

Oswald turned back with a frown.

’’You’re not coming with me?’’ he asked, confused.

Roderic shook his head right away.

’’Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to,’’ he replied. ’’Just make sure you tell him I sent you.’’

The old man’s mouth twitched.

After everything he’d been put through, this little bastard couldn’t even be bothered to escort him inside?!

However, after thinking about it for a moment, he simply snorted.

’Whatever. The sooner this imp disappears, the better. Lest I get lured into another deal of his.’

’’Fine, fine,’’ he grumbled, waving his hand dismissively. ’’Go do whatever you need to do.’’

Roderic simply smiled.

’’Great, I’ll leave everything in your hands then.’’

Without waiting for a response, he turned around and walked away.

Oswald watched him leave with a complicated expression.

’That little bastard...’

Shaking his head, he made his way into the estate.

Meanwhile, Roderic let out a long sigh.

Already walking back towards the front gate, his gaze couldn’t help but settle on the setting sun.

’I got a little sidetracked there,’ he thought. ’But it was needed.’

For a moment, he fell completely silent.

Although the battle had ended quite some time ago now, there was still an enormous amount of work to do.

’And there’s barely any daylight left as well.’

Roderic clicked his tongue.

His body was drained from the constant work.

Even so, he knew this just wasn’t something he could miss out on.

’So much to do, so much to do.’

...

Time passed quickly after that.

Roderic first sought out his retainers, checking on their conditions and exchanging a few words before continuing on.

Fortunately, they had made it through the battle without suffering any serious injuries.

With that out of the way, he turned his attention toward the cleanup.

Throughout the city, soldiers and civilians were working tirelessly to restore some semblance of order.

All the wounded, whether enemies or their own, had already been carried to treatment areas.

Those who’d already received treatment were resting wherever they could find space, most roasting some food over small firepits.

Meanwhile, several blacksmiths and carpenters had gathered near the damaged gate.

Hammers and shouts rang out as they worked to restore the battered remains.

Others were busy clearing away broken weapons, shattered shields, and the countless arrows scattered across the streets.

Roderic didn’t hesitate to join them.

At first, several soldiers stared at him strangely.

But after remembering how often he’d done stuff like that, they quickly accepted him among them.

As the hours passed, the remaining daylight steadily disappeared.

Even so, neither the civilians, the soldiers, nor Roderic stopped working.

In particular, the corpses, blood, and body parts scattered across the battlefield required immediate cleanup.

Despite living in medieval times, even the common folk understood the dangers of leaving the dead to rot.

...

Several more hours had passed.

The cleanup had temporarily come to a halt as the moon hung high in the sky above.

Roderic had made his way up the city walls, his legs dangling over the edge.

His clothes were covered in dirt and dried blood, while his muscles felt like they were on fire from everything.

For once, he wasn’t doing anything.

He simply sat there, staring out across the battlefield.

’What a fucking day,’ he thought, closing his eyes. ’I’m glad it’s behind us now.’

He leaned back slightly, resting his hands against the cold stone.

In the distance, the Deres encampment was still visible under the moonlight.

Or at least... what remained of it.

A large smile flashed across Roderic’s face almost immediately.

’Everything is moving perfectly according to plan now!’

As it turned out, they weren’t the only ones who’d been busy all night.

The Deres army had split their forces and stationed them outside every entrance to Whitemane City.

In other words, they were completely cut off from the rest of the world.

Roderic pushed himself up, nearly chuckling to himself.

’With the future recruitment methods inside the Archive and our miracle victory,’ he thought, turning back to Whitemane City, ’it’s finally time to grow.’

For a moment, he just stood there, imagining the future.

Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

’’Speaking of the system...’’ he muttered, frowning. ’’What the hell happened to the recalibration? It’s been far fucking longer than an hour!’’

A red system panel immediately unfolded in front of him.

Roderic’s gaze locked onto it.

[System recalibrating...]

[Progress: 96%]

[Time remaining: 00:02:34]

For several seconds, nothing changed.

No matter how long he stood there, the countdown didn’t tick down.

Then the screen began flickering.

[Progress: 9?6?%]

[Progress: 96%]

Roderic’s mouth twitched.

’’You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’’

It had been recalibrating for literal hours!

Yet it was stuck like some failed Windows update?!

’’Come on, you useless piece of shit!’’ he cursed, punching out towards the panel.

Naturally, his hand passed straight through it.

Roderic’s expression only darkened further.

’’Oh, you mother...’’

Just as he was about to unleash another string of curses, the panel suddenly flashed.

[Progress: 97%]

[Time remaining: 00:02:04]

Roderic immediately forced himself to calm down.

’About damn time,’ he thought.

The screen flashed once more.

[Progress: 96%]

[Time remaining: 00:02:34]

’’YOU FUCKING BASTARD!’’ Roderic burst out.

His sleep-deprived, exhausted mind just couldn’t stand the broken system anymore.

There was nothing more he wanted than to punch it!

Unfortunately, that just wasn’t possible.

Just then, the screen began flickering rapidly.

[ERROR...]

[RECALIBRATING...]

[99%]

[100%]

[Ding!]

[System Recalibration Complete!]

Roderic froze.

’’Huh?’’

The red panel disappeared for a brief moment.

Then, with a loud chime, another notification appeared.

[Congratulations!]

[Host has achieved a miraculous victory against the Deres siege!]

[Would you like to claim your rewards?]