The moment Aurelia’s orders began spreading over the area, the changes were... visible.

A child who had been screaming was taken to one of the ’Healer Stalls’ and suddenly gasped in shock and fell silent, his eyes widening as the burning pain dulled the moment healing magic did its work.

A mother whose skin was blistered and torn stopped shaking as the healer sealed the worst of her bleeding.

And it wasn’t just the Sky Kingdom healers or the Bonds with healing powers, even the normal soldiers, who did not have any healing powers, had become essential.

One Sky soldier pulled out a small artifact from his Sanctuary.

It looked like a metal tube wrapped in carved rings.

He twisted it, pressed it against a deep wound, and the tube hissed—releasing a sticky, pale foam that hardened over the cut like a shield.

The bleeding slowed instantly.

Velmourn healers stared like they were seeing a miracle.

Stonefangs stared like they were seeing witchcraft.

But when the elder who was about to die suddenly inhaled again—

No one argued.

Yes, artifacts.

The Sky Kingdom was one of the richest Kingdoms in Nerathis; almost every soldier had multiple healing artifacts for emergency first aid in an emergency situation.

Sure, it was mere "first aid," but the level between the Sky Kingdom and the Heights was so high that even normal first aid of the Sky Kingdom was far, far better than the primitive healing techniques in the Heights.

And with that—

More artifacts came out.

Bandage rolls that didn’t tear.

Clamps that held broken bones steady.

Powders that stopped bleeding when pressed into cuts.

Tiny flasks that kept a person awake when shock tried to pull them under.

There were multiple such artifacts, artifacts kept to stop the worst, the kind to keep the soldiers alive long enough to fight again.

The Sky soldiers moved efficiently; Aurelia’s commands made everything much faster and clearer.

Once the situation had begun to settle and the Sky Serpent General’s commands held more power,

She began pointing at different Velmourn soldiers and passed more accurate and more efficient orders.

"The ten of you,"

She pointed at the group of ten soldiers.

"Take the Stonefangs with you, gather the ones with the highest bleeding and take them to the healers.

Stopping the bleeding is the priority.

Bleeding kills faster than pain."

Then she glanced at another group and—

"Children first.

Children go into shock faster."

She then turned towards the Velmourn healers who were still working on the injured the Sky healers couldn’t work on, trying to take on some of their load.

The Velmourn healers flinched, but the General did not care; she just gave the orders.

"Do not waste energy sealing bruises.

Seal open wounds.

Stabilize.

Only stabilize."

The Velmourn healers nodded; this went against what they had learned, but right now, that didn’t matter.

The outsiders were clearly much more experienced in this than them, their methods were far more efficient,

So right now—

They listened.

Even the Stonefangs were no different; they too had started to follow her rhythm.

Aurelia’s cold voice created structure in chaos.

And in a time like this—

Structure... was life.

Standing a few meters away from all this, Kael stood, still frozen, still... overwhelmed by what he was seeing.

Lavinia was already there with him; she understood what he was going through the instant she saw his face and had been there since then.

She didn’t say anything, there was nothing she could say; she just gave him company till he required.

A silent company that was more necessary than any other words.

And it was working.

Kael... his senses were finally returning.

He stood at the edge of the lane Aurelia had created, staring at her like in confusion. He did not know if he could trust this woman, but he was... grateful.

He could see the efforts she was putting in, he could see the number of lives she had saved.

And...

When he looked into her eyes, he could tell she wasn’t doing it with some ulterior motive in her mind, she...

The Sky Serpent General genuinely wanted to save people.

She... she was true to her character.

A woman who fought for the people, who had the best interests of the people in her head.

Just when Kael was thinking all this, he noticed the Velmourn Matriarch walking toward him, her cloak dragging through ash.

She had a solemn expression on her face and her eyes were sharp.

"You freed prisoners,"

She said quietly so only Kael and Lavinia could hear her.

Kael looked at her for a moment; Lavinia didn’t interrupt either, a conversation would stabilize Kael’s mind and she knew that.

"I... needed healers."

Kael answered after a few seconds of silence.

"Too many were hurt.

It wasn’t a number our people had the capability to handle."

Morvain’s gaze flicked to a Stonefang child being carried past them, his face wrapped in cloth, blood dripping onto the snow in steady drops.

Then she looked back at Kael.

"Do you understand what you risked?"

She asked.

This wasn’t just about the prisoners being freed, this was... about owing the prisoners.

And as much as Morvain hated herself for thinking it, the thought that this would be used against them in the future couldn’t help but appear in her mind.

And Kael—

"I do."

He nodded, not denying his actions or the possible consequences.

His eyes were still red.

Still... wet.

But still, his tears did not fall.

He collected himself and—

"But if I did nothing... more would die."

He spoke directly, looking at the people.

Morvain’s jaw tightened.

She didn’t say "good" or "bad."

She only watched Aurelia ordering her soldiers like she owned them.

And the strange part was...

She didn’t stop her.

She... couldn’t stop her.

Because the situation was improving, that too, much more quickly than before.

Of course, the screaming didn’t stop completely, the damage was grave, there were still too many who needed healers desperately, but the number of healers just wasn’t enough.

The screams were fewer, yes, the chaos was smaller too, people began to breathe again, mothers began to hold their children and not shake like they were about to fall apart, elders began to be moved inside shelters, wrapped in blankets, watched by healers with clear instructions.

The Dawn of the Dragon kept working at the front, hands red, refusing to rest.

Stonefangs and Velmourns carried people together now without thinking about history.

And in the middle of it all stood Aurelia.

A... prisoner.

A general.

A woman whose voice had turned an exploding quarter into a... wounded battlefield.

Kael watched her for a long moment.

Then he finally moved.

He walked forward, stepping into the lane.

Aurelia saw him coming and she narrowed her eyes.

"You’re late."

She spoke in a strict tone.

A tone that made even Kael gulp; he then clenched his fists in frustration, his mind finally registering that he needed to act.

"What do you need?"

He asked.

"I already have everything I need. The Velmourn Commander has been cooperating well."

Kael nodded.

He then looked around; now that his mind finally began working, another important detail appeared in his head.

For a moment, he froze again and a complicated look appeared on his face; it was as if he was making a difficult decision.

But he did not think for long.

He glanced at Aurelia again and—

"General Aurelia."

He called out.

Aurelia, who was providing an injured Stonefang woman first aid through her artifacts, looked at him without stopping.

"I need to talk to you. Alone."

Kael requested and Aurelia frowned.

"Right now?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"That is correct."

Kael nodded.

"Kael, you see it too, every second is important. If this can wait then—"

"This cannot."

Kael shook his head, interrupting her.

His gaze stayed solemn, showing that he was not joking at all. Aurelia looked at him; finally her hands stopped moving and her expression became graver.

She had seen Kael’s condition with her own eyes; that was half the reason she even came here in the first place.

But for Kael to interrupt her at a time like this...

It wasn’t just the Sky Serpent General; Morvain was confused too. She glanced at Lavinia. The Drakthar Princess seemed to know what this was about, but she had still clenched her fists.

It seemed like she did not like the word "alone."

"What do you need?"

Aurelia spoke, finally done with the first aid and leaving the rest of the injured to her Bond, who had been working tirelessly since the beginning.

Kael paused for a moment, then he glanced at Morvain; the meaning behind his gaze was clear. Morvain’s frown deepened, but for now, she decided to leave.

She glanced at Lavinia, as if she was expecting her to leave with her as well, but the Mage did not move.

Kael looked at Lavinia and nodded; Lavinia nodded back and waved her hand, creating a sound barrier around the three of them.

Kael nodded again, satisfied.

Then, he looked at Aurelia and—

"I need your help."

He spoke directly.