Warma's Three Questions

Du Chen scrutinized Old Warma from head to toe. Though the old man had miraculously escaped with his life amidst the chaotic skirmish, he was utterly disheveled. His long robe was tattered beyond recognition, its original color obscured. His aged face was caked with sooty bruises from gunpowder, and his white hair bore numerous singed marks. Yet... Old Warma’s eyes remained as profound and enigmatic as ever, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts!

Du Chen chuckled, “I still have many military affairs to attend to. Esteemed Elder, please rest for a while, partake in a hearty meal, and cleanse yourself. Tomorrow morning, I shall host a banquet in my commander's tent to soothe your spirits! Adams, this elder is my friend; do not neglect him!”

After speaking, Du Chen watched Adams courteously escort Old Warma away, a flicker of doubt stirring in his heart.

This tomb guardian, no matter how he looked at him, seemed to possess no peculiar or mysterious traits. Yet, Du Chen couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. This sensation... was truly strange!

Post-battle duties naturally fell to Dud. Du Chen settled his family, then secluded himself in the central commander's tent, using his Divine Sense to check the progress of his Precious Lotus Scripture!

Today's battle could be described as a resounding victory. Though the final casualty count hadn't been tabulated, Du Chen estimated that he had eradicated at least twenty to thirty thousand of Thornwood Valley's forces, right?

Eliminating twenty to thirty thousand evildoers... how much Merit would that accrue for him!? Heh heh!

But to Du Chen’s dismay, upon inspection, the final lotus in his Fifth Trigram had only bloomed a faint sliver! What was going on? Could it be that today's victory wasn't as significant as he had imagined? “Order Dud to tally the battle results as swiftly as possible! I demand to see the final war report before dawn!”

After pressing for it three times, Du Chen finally received tonight's war report. In this engagement, Thornwood Valley had deployed approximately fifty thousand troops. Ultimately, over twenty-eight thousand were annihilated, and more than sixteen hundred were captured—Old Warma being among them. Du Chen's Beastkin slave army, however, suffered losses of merely twelve hundred... a number that would further decrease after Dus administered Holy Light healing! Truly, a sweeping and exhilarating victory!

But twenty-eight thousand people... even if the Fifth Trigram's lotus progression was calculated in increments of one hundred thousand, performing the Great Benevolence of annihilating twenty-eight thousand evildoers certainly wouldn't result in just a “faint sliver” of bloom, would it!?