Last Gun Alchemist-Chapter 96: Fifth Trial—Tower Defense Part Twenty

"Ezra... Ezra..."

A small, familiar voice called out his name, at first faint, almost blending into the surrounding noise, but gradually growing louder as the person moved closer, the urgency in the voice becoming more obvious with each call.

"Ez..."

Bobby was about to raise his voice even more when Ezra suddenly lifted his hand and pressed it over Bobby’s mouth, stopping him mid-sentence.

"I can hear you now."

Ezra said calmly, his voice steady as he finished stabilizing the Cognis he had been circulating, bringing it back under control after pushing it to recover.

"You’ve been circulating your Cognis since yesterday morning," Bobby said the moment Ezra removed his hand, his tone shifting into a scolding one as he frowned slightly. "A whole day has passed, and you haven’t eaten anything to regain your strength."

"I didn’t know it would take that long," Ezra replied, stretching his arms slowly as he adjusted his body and shifted his legs onto the bed, letting himself settle more comfortably, but he could feel he was starving.

"You want to change my bandages," he added, speaking plainly.

"Yes," Bobby nodded, already moving closer. "You really strained your arm bones. When I first treated you, it looked like they wanted to crack."

He shook his head slightly as he spoke.

"Make sure you take care of your body, especially with the kind of work you plan to do after leaving here."

He paused briefly, then added,

"And come back every morning so I can change your bandages and apply the lotion again."

Ezra turned his face slightly toward him.

He sounds like a nagging woman...

The thought passed through his mind quietly.

"Okay, okay."

"Good."

Bobby didn’t waste time. He began removing the old bandages carefully, unwrapping them slowly before cleaning Ezra’s arms and eyes with water, his movements practiced and steady, then applying the pain-relief lotion before wrapping everything again with fresh bandages.

"You can go now," Bobby said after finishing, picking up the used bandages and cotton which he used specially for cleaning Ezra’s eyes, moving to throw them away.

"Okay. Thank you again," Ezra replied.

Bobby smiled and gave a small wave, though Ezra couldn’t see it, only sensing from the shift in sound that Bobby had moved away.

Ezra stood up slowly, his body still a bit sluggish from the strain, and instead of immediately using Cognis to enhance his senses, he focused purely on his natural hearing, letting every sound around him come in as it was.

"This has to be a big tent..." Ezra muttered quietly to himself.

He tilted his head slightly and there are about ten camp beds here...

He could tell from the voices coming from different directions and fixed positions.

He focused his hearing to listen to the patients and medics talking, breathing and shifting of posture.

He could hear it all.

He turned slightly to the right, catching the faint murmur of conversation from several beds, then adjusted his focus forward, sensing movement ahead.

He exhaled, then took a step, slow at first, carefully navigating his movement, then another.

Gradually his pace improved as he began to separate the sounds mapping them to form an image in his mind of where things were placed, even though it wasn’t perfect yet.

Still... He bumped his leg against a bed once.

Then again.

"Hey..."

A girl from the medic team looked toward Bobby, who was now attending to another patient.

"Is it okay for him to leave like that?"

"Yeah, it’s fine," Bobby replied without looking up. He was also attending to another patient.

"Ehnn..." one of the patients nearby whispered loudly, though not quietly enough to avoid being heard. "Isn’t that the lowline who said he would handle the back of the castle himself?"

He laughed mockingly.

Three others beside him joined in.

"Look at him... he wasn’t even at the front to face those numbers of Ground Apes or the Colossal Ground Ape, yet he’s this beat up because of a small number of Ground Apes" another added, grinning as he looked at Ezra.

Ezra heard them clearly, but he didn’t react. He simply kept walking more carefully now avoiding the beds and passing people, heading toward the exit.

"Serves him right," another voice said. "If he was in front, he would’ve died quickly."

Laughter followed, louder this time.

"You guys should shut the fuck up."

Tracy’s voice cut through sharply as she glared at them.

"Don’t you realize people are still sleeping?" Linda added, her tone serious as she folded her arms. "If you have time to sit there laughing like three idiots, go outside and help instead."

The three boys froze.

Then looked at each other and quickly got off their beds, rushing out, passing Ezra at the entrance as they avoided eye contact.

"Ahh... they were giving me a headache," Linda muttered, leaning back against a pillow she had brought from her room in the Trial base.

"Hahaha..." Tracy laughed as she sat beside her. "So, how are your hands now?"

"Better," Linda replied, moving her bandaged arms slightly, though her expression tightened from the lingering pain.

"When Bobby treated you, he said your bones had snapped," Tracy said, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "I was really worried."

"Humph... like you really were," Linda muttered, turning her face away slightly as she pushed Tracy’s hand off, clearly embarrassed.

Tracy only laughed again.

"But... do you really think it was possible for him to kill all those Ground Apes alone?" Linda asked after a moment, her tone becoming serious.

"I wouldn’t have believed it either," Tracy replied, exhaling slowly. "But I saw the shot he used to save Sir Veda... the one that pierced through the Colossal Ground Ape’s arm."

She leaned back slightly, thinking.

"The sniper he used... it must have been something like a Lee-Enfield No.4 (T)... or maybe a Springfield M1903A4..."

She rubbed her chin, deep in thought.

"But those snipers are in the Meister Rank and that one seemed higher, I wish I could ask him."

She leaned her chair back and forth slightly.

"Like he’s going to answer you," Linda said, narrowing her eyes.

"True..."

Tracy looked up at the top of the tent.

"When I checked the battlefield on his side..."

She turned back.

"I saw so many bodies. Lesser Ground Apes... twenty Larger ones... and four Giant Ground Apes."

She paused.

"All of them... taken down."

Her voice lowered.

"Almost every one died with a single shot."

Linda stared at her shocked.

"Linda... I think we were wrong about him," Tracy said quietly.

"Humph..." Linda turned away. "I’m still stronger."

Tracy looked at her, then her lips curled, smiling.

"Yes, you are."

She reached out and rubbed Linda’s hair.

"Stop it!" Linda protested, trying to push her away, but her arms hurt too much to move properly.

"Let me go!!"

She struggled, but couldn’t do much.

Tracy laughed as she leaned over her, continuing to mess with her hair while others in the tent watched, some of the boys unable to look away.

Outside...Ezra walked slowly, his steps careful as he relied on memory and sound, his mind mapping out the structure of the castle based on how the wind moved, how sound bounced off walls, how footsteps echoed across space.

He made sure to listen to everything.

The wind, the slight shifts, the distance between sounds.

He used it all, step by step.

He reached the stairs, moved upward, passing people who paused to stare at him, confused by the bandage over his eyes.

When he got up, he used the barricade wall as a guide, his hand brushing against it lightly as he moved past the tower entrance, then reached the back where the five were.

Their voices echoed loud arguing.

"I win!!!" Ann shouted, jumping up as she pointed at each of them, laughing loudly.

"Now I don’t have to be on watch duty today...Hehehe!"

"We should play again," one of the boys said, slamming his cards down.

"Don’t be a sore loser," a girl replied, shuffling her cards randomly.

"Ahh..." Another leaned back, then froze. "Ezra!!!"

The others turned immediately, seeing him they all ran toward him.

"Why are you guys running..." Ezra said, placing a hand against the wall for support.

"Eh...?" The second girl among the five tilted her head slightly, her brows drawing together in confusion as she looked at Ezra more carefully. "Why did you come here blindfolded?"

As she spoke, she lifted a finger to her lips, still trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Fool, can’t you tell he’s injured?" the third boy replied immediately, his tone carrying a bit of annoyance as he reached out and flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!"

She stepped back, her hand flying to her forehead as her face twisted in pain, but before the feeling could settle, she lunged forward without hesitation, her mouth opened as she bit his hand.

"Argh!!"

The boy shouted loudly, his whole body jerking as he tried to pull his hand back, but she held on for a second longer before he grabbed her head and pushed her away, the two of them immediately breaking into a small struggle.

"Hey...let go!"

"You started it!"

The two continued, pushing and pulling at each other, their movements clumsy but fast as they lost focus on everything else around them.

"That’s enough, you two."

The first boy stepped in quickly, placing a hand between them and forcing them apart, his expression turning serious for a moment as he looked from one to the other.

"Ezra is back now," he added, his tone softening slightly. "We should focus on him... and welcome him properly."

"I don’t need any welcoming." Ezra cut in immediately, his voice was calm, but firm.

Without waiting for anything else, he walked forward slowly, one hand brushing lightly against the wall as he moved, stopping near the front where the barricade faced the battlefield.

He stood there facing forward, even though he couldn’t see anything. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"How did you guys take care of the corpses of the Ground Apes?" he asked.

"That was a lucky situation."

A familiar voice came from behind him, a bit farther away, steady and relaxed.

"Veda..."

Ezra turned his head slightly toward the direction of the voice.

"It’s Sir Veda."

Another voice came immediately after, sharper, carrying a bit of hostility as it corrected him.

"Mr. Right-hand man," Ezra said plainly.

"Who are you calling that?" Nickolas snapped, his face tightening as he glared in Ezra’s direction, clearly embarrassed by the title.

"Mr. Right-hand man..." the second boy among the five whispered quietly to the others, trying to hold back his laughter.

A faint puff of sound escaped.

"Who laughed?" Nickolas’ gaze snapped toward them instantly, his eyes narrowing as he scanned their faces.

Without hesitation, the other four pointed at the boy who had whispered all at once.

Their expressions, completely serious.

The boy froze, his eyes widened. "You guys...?"

The four turned their gaze from him, acting like they didn’t just rat him out.

"You..." Nickolas stepped forward, clearly about to deal with him.

"Relax."

Veda stepped in, placing a hand lightly against Nickolas’ shoulder as he laughed.

"Don’t strain your body. Your back hasn’t healed properly yet."

"I know..."

Nickolas exhaled, forcing himself to calm down before turning back toward Ezra, a smug expression forming on his face as his eyes moved toward the bandage covering Ezra’s eyes.

"You look terrible."

His tone carried clear mockery.

"How are you even going to move around like this?"

He folded his arms, shifting his weight slightly as he continued.

"You’ll need someone to help you with things like bathing... since you like being clean... and even moving around..."

He paused, then opened his mouth dramatically.

"Unfortunately, there’s no one who will help you."

He was just about to laugh...

"I will."

"I will too."

Two voices spoke at the same time.

Ann and the other girl among the five both raised their hands immediately.

Then...

They both turned slowly toward the same direction the third boy amongst the five had also raised his hand.

"What?" he looked back at them, completely unfazed. "I also want to get close to Ezra."

His tone remained flat and honest.

The two girls’ expressions changed instantly, glaring at him.

"Huh?! Like hell"

Their voices rose as they turned fully toward him, ready to argue.

Nickolas stood there still, his expression frozen and confused.

I thought people didn’t like him...?

He turned slowly toward Ezra, waiting, expecting some kind of reaction.

A smirk, a counter response. Anything, but...

"No way." Ezra spoke calmly. "I’ll take care of myself."

There was a slight irritation in his tone, but nothing more than that.

Veda burst into laughter, holding his stomach slightly as he leaned back.

"You guys are hilarious!"

Then...

BAWHHHHH!!!!

A horn sounded loud, then another followed, then four more horns followed echoing across the area, their combined sound spreading outward, filling the air with urgency.