After that, the night-long commotion died down and everyone went back to their quarters to sleep except the maids and some guards. They still had work to do.

They had to clean the scene and wash the dead body. They also had to prepare a suitable coffin for the young lady late at night.

A few shopkeepers were forcefully awakened by Rokas guards deep at night and a suitable coffin was bought.

The entire city was disturbed that night. Even the two other clans were aroused out of their sleep and they readied their defences in case the Rokas clan tried anything funny.

They did not have great relations with the Rokasians so they did not try to help them in their actions. They simply minded their own business.

They were also well aware of the vulnerable position the Rokas clan was in right now. It was the least guarded right now since most of its force was searching for a medic throughout the city.

But they could not take any kind of advantage of this. They were too guarded against each other. They were restraining each other from taking any kind of risky step. So their hands were bound and they could only watch the opportunity pass while gritting their teeth.

It was also not the first time such a thing happened. Such opportunities came in the past. But as always, they restrained each other from doing anything. They also had to praise Rokas's guts each and every time. It was as if he was taunting them by doing such things.

It was not that Rokas was a fool to expose such a flaw. He had his fair share of scheming throughout his life. That was also the reason his clan was able to survive in Worlen.

As for why he did it, it was just that he was well aware of the situation his opposition in the city was facing right now. So he was able to act so recklessly without worrying about any possible consequences.

The next morning, everyone including the soldiers gathered in front of the main hall of the clan lord. All of them were standing there in silence under the lead of the clan lord. They were donned in black clothes. They all had sad expressions on their faces.

Black clothes were synonymous with sadness and death traditionally. The coffin of the young lady was in front of them. They stood there for a few minutes in silence.

Rosa was also there carrying the baby. The baby boy was asleep. She had black circles around her eyes. She did not sleep last night due to sadness and pain.

Her back was carefully bandaged. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. In addition to her, the other ladies were also sobbing silently. While all the men had a slightly sad and forlorn expression on their faces.

James was also there. His eyes were lifeless and hollow. He looked as if he had aged a few decades in a single night.

He was being accompanied by two strong guards. They were flanking him and stood just a step behind him. They had their eyes trained on him. They were in a state of constant alert. If James tried anything slightly funny, they would take him down real quick and real hard.

Rokas was a bit worried about the state his son was in. But he could not deny his son the final rites of his most beloved. He was a bit strict but was not a cruel person.

He knew that his son needed time to take a hold of himself and adapt to the new reality without his wife. He could not help his son in this.

His son had to cross the step himself. All Rokas could do was give his son a little push with some harsh words and isolate him. But he would deal with that later. They had to perform the burial ceremony first.

An old couple was crying while hugging the coffin. They were old and had wrinkles on their face. Their clothes were also black in colour but were of lesser quality than the clothes being worn by the rest of the people there.

They were Cassandra's patients. They just had a simple shop in the market. They were informed of their daughter's demise just after her death by the Rokas guards.

They rushed to the manor quickly after that. When they first heard the news, they could not believe their ears. It was too sudden for them. They had just met her a few days ago. It was as if their entire world had crashed in a minute.

They also had a son. But he was currently trying his luck in business in another newly made city in the north.

They were not able to immediately inform him about his sister's demise due to a lack of means. They could only send him a letter that would arrive there who knew when.

After a few minutes of silence and inactivity, clan head Rokas stepped forward and stood just a foot away from the coffin. He put his hands on the crying couple and then they looked up at him.

He nodded to them and they stood up without saying anything. Cassandra's mother from the coffin while looking at it with wet eyes without uttering anything.

As if on a cue, all the males stepped forward towards the coffin. Two of them stepped further than the rest and flanked the coffin from behind. They were Kai and another of James's elder brothers, Conan.

Only James with his hollow eyes kept standing at his place, staring into the coffin. Nobody had any idea what he was thinking right now.

A guard came running after that with a horse cart in tow and arrived near the gathering. The cart was empty. Rokas and Cassandra's father came to the front of the coffin and all four of them lifted the coffin and carefully put it on the empty cart. It was the time for her burial.

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"Proceed." Rokas ordered and the procession started.

The guard held the reins of the horse, turned towards the main entrance of the manor and started walking slowly. Everyone moved and started following the cart from behind.

This time even James could not help but move because his eye contact with the coffin was interrupted and it was slowly being taken away from him.

He was still slightly in a daze and wanted another miracle. He wanted his wife to get up from the coffin and come back to him. But alas, it was just a silly daydream from his side. He was fated to be disappointed.

The proceeding exited the manor and started moving towards the southern city gate. The commotion quickly caught the interest of the people.

They all came to know about Cassandra's demise last night after asking around for a bit. right now. They could also guess what the commotion the last night was about.

(They were trying to save someone's life most probably.) This was the thought in most people's minds. They all stood whenever the proceeding passed by them. Some of the city folk even joined it on the way.

Just when they were near the city gates, the Leo clan head along with his sons joined it. He nodded towards Rokas and Rokas nodded back.

The same thing happened a few paces away and Storm clan's head along with his sons also joined it. It was a common tradition during times of peace.

When clans were not at war, they had to join each other's burials as a sign of human peace and unity. It was a custom all over the world.

This privilege only extended to the clan heads and their direct progeny. The progeny's other halves were also included.

No matter the hostility between them, no matter the blood feuds between them, if they were not in a state of war, they would have to join each other in happiness and sadness. They had no other option besides that.

It was a consensus among humanity for the last thousands of years. This kind of thing had a deep ancient history behind it.

Humanity was able to stand up to face any kind of threat just because of their one quality. It was the quality to learn from mistakes.

That was the reason they were very hard to eliminate even after facing many calamities. The only thing that could make them extinct was absolute power.

They stepped out of the city after passing through the city gates. The gate was not that big but was able to accommodate three wagons standing side by side.

They gradually exited the city in an orderly fashion. After that, they moved towards the Rokas cemetery one kilometre away from the city gates. A small mud road was leading the way towards it. They followed it and arrived at the cemetery a few minutes later.

The cemetery was not that old. A couple of decades ago, a large plot of land was fenced from the surrounding area and was named "Rokas Cemetery".

As the name indicated, it was a special cemetery designated only for the Rokas clan members.

Rokas entered first after the cart and took in the sight. There were a few graves there with slabs. The graves of his wife and his two sons were also included in them.

He first looked lovingly towards the grave of his wife. He had three wives. All three had passed away.

He married two before he entered the second level and married the third one after his breakthrough.

He used to live in the city of Agoross. A big city to the west of Worlen. Most of the antiseptics and other medicinal powder came from there.

Maria also used to live there. It was almost two weeks away by foot. But by a horse, it could be reached in barely four days.

After he broke through and entered the second level, he travelled to Worlen to start a new clan. His first two wives were already dead by then.

He had married the third one here and she gave birth to his last three sons. A few years after James was born, she also passed away. All his daughters had already been married in Agoross hence their absence.

Then, he moved his gaze towards his sons. A sad smile blossomed on his face. He had lost them to the front lines.

They had joined the sects and fought the beasts until their last breath. Their bodies could not be recovered from the beasts but he still made their graves in remembrance and love.

They were brave, very brave. He was a coward and he knew it. He could not be like them. He loved his children and his noble life. He loved his life dearly. Maybe he would join the front lines when he would be near the end of his lifespan.

He could also repay some of the debt to those people who were fighting with their lives on the line just because people like him could lead relatively peaceful and worry-free lives in human territories.

He was well aware that such thing as going to the battlefield when he was about to die in the future was too disgraceful and cowardly but everyone was doing it. He was not the only one thinking about it.

The remaining procession slowly trickled inside the cemetery and the burial procedure started on his command. A new grave was dug in a matter of minutes and the coffin was put down.

Incense sticks were burned near it and the aroma wafted around the air. They stood silently as the procedure took place.

The only unusual event that took place was that when dirt was being poured into the grave, James tried raising his hands towards the grave but they were quickly held down by the guards flanking him.

"Cassie. Come back." James said in a barely audible husky voice. He was about to lose what was impossible he had in his mind when he saw the coffin of his wife being buried. So he could not help but call out to her.

Since there was complete silence except for the sound of the rustling of leaves, it was heard by everyone present there, including the other clan parties. That barely audible voice was heard by everyone at the scene.

None of them had any kind of response towards it except the two clan heads. They had barely held back smiles on their faces. Their faces went back to normal just a few seconds later but everyone was aware of what just happened.

The entire city knew how Rokas adored his youngest son. Seeing his son in this state, they could not help but laugh out loud in their hearts and make a mockery of the father-son duo by smiling a bit. They never missed such opportunities. They thought it to be a great sin to do so.

Rokas also caught the sight of them smiling and looked at his son with an incomprehensible expression.

(DISGRACEFUL.) He roared silently inside his heart. That was a direct slap to his face. He was fuming at the disrespect but could not show it outside.

He wanted to slap his son real hard at the moment. But the time was sensitive. He forcefully calmed himself down immediately and acted as if nothing had happened.

He would deal with his son later. He had to be patient otherwise he would become a laughing stock in the entire city.

He had invested too much time and effort to found a respectful standing in the city and gain the other clan's recognition. A single blunder from him and everything would be gone. He along with his entire clan would become laughing stocks.

After the burial, they all returned to the city the same way they came. After entering the city, the other clan heads bade farewell to Rokas and headed back to their manor. This time, they were serious.

After returning to the manor, everyone went back to do their duties. Due to the recent death, the atmosphere of the clan was gloomy and sad.

Rokas also went back to the main hall along with his sons. After entering, he sat on his little throne and his sons also took their seats. He then ordered the guards present there to bring his youngest son in front of him.

"Bring James here immediately."

Now was the time to deal with some pending matters from the last night. He had waited long enough. He also had to deal with his son.

But after remembering the smiling faces of the opposing clan heads at the cemetery, he could not help but become angry. He was barely able to keep his rage from erupting and waited for his son.