To Die Namelessly
"Honorable Your Excellency, Utors thanks you for saving my people!" the barbarian warrior said, coming forth to Murphy. He was more than two meters tall and had muscles that looked like they were made of steel. There were several wounds on his back, and they were still bleeding, but he came toward Murphy as if he were completely unaware of this. The barbarian warrior kneeled down on one knee in front of Murphy and placed his right hand on his chest. He slowly lowered his head.
The fresh blood that had coagulated on his back looked like a red cape!
Following behind Utors, the other surviving barbarian warriors, who were also struggling to stand up, took turns kneeling in front of Murphy.
In the end, all the surviving Psaiyans went down on one knee and kneeled to Murphy!
At that moment, under the moonlight, Murphy seemed extremely tall, as if he were an ancient king accepting his subjects' worship!
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Because the injured Psaiyans were accompanying them, the team's return speed was slowed down quite a bit.
The lives of the soldiers whose wounds were too serious to be treated were ended by their companions, while the remaining soldiers were simply bandaged. The seriously wounded and dying horses had their throats cut open, and the General Guards filled their bottles with the hot horse blood to feed the wounded Psaiyan warriors. The didn't bring a lot of Holy Water along and only used it to treat those who were more seriously injured, while those with more minor injuries had to hold on until they reached the town.
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They were less than 50 miles away from town, so if they moved fast enough, they could reach the territory by the wee hours of the morning.
The left ears of those who had lost their lives in battle were cut off by their companions. For Psaiyans, a dark blue tattoo was inked onto the left ear of every man by the shaman priest once they came of age. It was a special symbol that represented the character of each warrior. The left ears would be collected, sprinkled with lime, and carried by their brothers in arms until they returned to their hometown or brought another soldier's left ear back with them.
In the southern plains, barbarians who took up lifelong careers as mercenaries would likely be unable to transport their bodies back to their hometowns after the war. As such, their companions would cut off their left ears and take it back. Then, the shamans would take their left ears, which symbolized their souls, into the burial place of their ancestors.
Subsequently, the bodies of those who had died in battle were buried, although everyone knew it was a wasted effort.
In the wilderness, even if the body was buried deep into the ground, it would still be found by the wild wolves. The wild wolves would dig up the burial place and devour the corpse! They would devour the body until no trace of meat could be found on its bones!
These surviving warriors couldn't stand for the corpses of their brothers in arms, who had fought side by side with them until death, to be treated so violently by the wild wolves!
They used their weapons and their hands to dig holes in the grassland to bury their companions.
Murphy watched quietly, as did the knights of the General Guards. They had absolutely no intention of helping.
This was because they knew that if they themselves had to bury their comrades, who they had fought side by side with until death, they wouldn't want anyone to intervene. Murphy couldn't understand these feelings in the past, but he could now understand them a little bit.
These were emotions and feelings that man hid behind his stolid appearance. They were never expressed, nor did they demand the understanding of others.
There were small mounds side by side on the ground. Just like the soldiers of Athens, there were no gravestones, and there were no words left behind to mark who they were.
They were born nameless and would die nameless.
But what could never be buried was that they had fought!
In the past, weak humans had also fought for survival with those alien-like creatures under the command of the famous ancient heroes! They had used their lives in exchange for soil! They had spilled their blood for glory!
. . . . . . . . . . . .
These barbarian warriors were far more powerful than ordinary mercenaries.
They had won Murphy's respect and had gained the appreciation of the General Guard cavalries.
On their way back, the knights gave the horses to the injured barbarian warriors. The horse corpses had been abandoned in the wilderness.
The group was silent. They borrowed the light of the moon and rushed back toward their territory.
At about one in the morning, Murphy returned to the territory. The Psaiyans were arranged to stay in the barracks, and Holy Water and doctors were appropriated. Murphy arranged for them to be treated. With the powerful healing effects of the Holy Water, they would be able to recover in a few days.
It was already three in the morning after he finished all this.
The night wind was blowing, and the cold moonlight fell on the ground, dividing their shadows.
It was quiet all around him. The residents of the town had long been in deep sleep. Only the sound of the horse hooves of the General Guards could be heard as they trudged forward. They didn't want to disturb anyone's good dreams.
Murphy saw a faint light as he passed the temple.
He suddenly froze in his tracks.
Only then did he remember that before he'd left, he had told the high priestess that he would return the very next day.
The temple usually closed after sunset, and there hadn't been any exceptions to this.
He handed the horse over to the General Guards behind him. Then he picked up a wide cloak, covered his blood-stained clothes, and slowly walked toward the temple.
He saw the high priestess.
The gentle woman was kneeling in front of the statue of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and praying. As if she heard his footsteps outside, she slowly stood up.
She turned around. Her soft and watery eyes fell on Murphy, and she watched him for a moment. She crossed her hands on her chest and nodded. Then, the two new priestesses gently closed the gates of the temple.
As the gates of the temple were about to be closed, she looked at Murphy's face in the darkness. She smiled softly, and her eyes curved into crescent moons.
The lights went out, and there was the sound of the soft footsteps of the other priests as they left the temple.
She had been waiting for his return…
The gentle smile of the high priestess was stuck in his head.
At that moment!
Murphy suddenly burst into inexplicable emotion. This fierce emotion even made his hands tremble slightly. He couldn't help it!
He felt a warm feeling in his chest. As the temple door was closing, and the high priestess was gradually concealed from view, Murphy suddenly felt a strong impulse to rush over to her!
He wanted to push open the door and tightly hug the gentle woman in his arms!
However, he resisted this urge.
Murphy looked intently at the magnificent temple and turned around and walked toward the Governor's Mansion.
The night was deep…