Chapter 122: Injured Person Appears

As the sun climbed higher and lunchtime drew near, the hunting parties that had gone out began to return one by one.

“Ouch! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Mother, please let go quickly!” This was a young man who had previously tried to hide his arm injury. He let out a wail amidst his mother’s excited hug and happy tears.

His slightly turned body, the left arm that had been touched, and the twisted expression on his face all pointed to the location of his injury along with his words.

In fact, if he were a tough warrior who had walked off the battlefield, he might have been able to endure such pain. But in reality, he was just a filial young man who didn’t want his family to worry too much, and this slip-up had exposed him.

Knight Val moved with lightning speed and vanished from beside George in an instant. When everyone came back to their senses, he had already rescued the young man from his mother’s embrace and pulled him toward the medical station that had just been organized.

The herbalists were all experienced hands. They skillfully pulled open the young man’s sleeve right away. Sure enough, a bandage soaked in blood was found on his lower right arm, hastily wrapped earlier.

“Young man, what caused your wound?” The question came from Baron Walterson himself. Even at a time like this, the Court Nobility might still adopt a non-violent non-cooperative attitude toward medical staff for the sake of so-called dignity. Especially for this young man who had just been exposed, it would have been considered well-mannered if he hadn’t lost his temper on the spot. Therefore, only Baron Walterson’s identity could be used to suppress them; otherwise, there would have been no need for him to appear personally.

“It seemed to be an animal about three or four feet long. I didn’t see exactly what it was. The fox I shot at pretended to be dead and almost escaped from our hands as it flipped over. I had already gotten off my horse at that time, but I got carried away and jumped on it to grab it. Who knew a black shadow suddenly darted out from the nearby bushes and hit me,” the young man said somewhat evasively. There was something untruthful in his words, as if he was deliberately hiding something.

The herbalist nearby first soaked the bandage that had been wrapped around the wound with warm water that had been boiled and then cooled down. Then, using a silver sword-knife, they cut it open. It was inevitable that this would touch the wound, causing the young man to twitch and make “hiss! hiss!” sounds with his mouth.

The wound on the lower arm had already stopped bleeding. There were two large and two small cuts on the upper and lower sides of the forearm. The wound was not smooth and was accompanied by tearing of the nearby muscles. The women who had been watching from the side and the male nobles who had returned, except for the companions who had hunted with this young man, all gasped in shock.

The middle-aged woman who had hugged him earlier, who was likely his mother, even began to cry out loud. However, due to the setting, except at the very beginning, she had been covering her mouth with a silk lace handkerchief while sobbing.

The Court Nobility, who had looked down on him before because of the sounds he made and the actions he took when his wound was touched, now felt a deep respect for him. George and the others standing at a distance, due to the higher ground and better vision, could see everything clearly.

“I never thought this guy had such a hard bone,” Hiren said while nodding.

George turned to look at Craig, who was completely distracted, and patted his head. “You little one, take a lesson from him.”

“Learn what? George, let’s go back to the tent first! Then you can give me that bag of Sugar Cubes faster. I can hardly wait anymore,” Craig started grabbing George’s arm with both hands and shaking it again.

“It will probably take several more years before this crybaby who can’t stand hardship becomes what you hope for,” Hiren said while shaking his head and holding his head.

‘Different people, different fates?’ Somehow, such a thought suddenly popped into George’s mind. Enduring pain was a required course in Knight training. However, in Bolerum Territory, only Craig had not yet passed this item to this day. When he dislocated his arm during that night battle, if it had been George or Hiren, they would have set it back themselves long ago, so why did he have to be like that?

In a sense, although Craig, who was overly spoiled by Sir Bart, had not become a lawless little tyrant like “Nezha,” he was somewhat like the “Little Sun” often found in only-child families before George traveled here. So, in terms of character, this guy was simply not presentable. He was the first to complain during training.

If not for his good aptitude, plus the good teaching and learning environment he received, and if Sir Bart had not bought or searched for many items that helped improve strength for him, he might not have gotten this far. You know that before the Black Lead Rank, there were quite a few practical items to improve strength—like the Abee honey that Thomas liked best, which was one of them. Similarly, ointments made from the marrow and muscles of the Fierce Tiger also had good effects.

Even so, Craig, who could train with full force, still entered the Red Iron Rank later than George, who was busy with daily affairs. Although George spent a lot of time on tempering and refining his Divine Soul, most others didn’t know much about it. Perhaps Knight Val had noticed some clues, but given his personality, he would never go around gossiping. Others thought George spent too much time governing the Territory, which dragged down his own strength.

From this, it can be seen that although Craig could not be called uneducated, he just barely stepped through the threshold of the golden age to enter the Red Iron Rank. If this had happened in an ordinary family, they might have celebrated with gongs and drums.

Just like the earlier Mannae Pan, who was seen by the allied families as one of the hopes for rising. But in the Knight class of Nohan, although no one directly said it in front of everyone, Craig was probably the one at the bottom in this generation. Perhaps because everyone saw that Craig basically had no hope of becoming a Formal Knight if things continued like this, that was why there was the earlier three-way meeting between George, Knight Val, and Sir Bart.

Let’s turn our eyes back to the medical station under the awning. After checking a few times, the elderly herbalist said, “Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Young Master, you actually wanted to hide this injury. Look at your skill in treating this wound; it’s likely to start suppurating before the Autumn Hunt ends. You didn’t even clean the wound properly before wrapping it up. I really don’t know what to say.”

Hearing this, the young man immediately turned his head and glared angrily at the other noble youth of similar age standing beside him. The latter lowered his head shamefully and explained softly, “I didn’t have any special tools on hand, and by the time you got hurt, the water had almost been drunk up. Doing this much is already good enough.”

Perhaps feeling that the other’s words had some point, or maybe the pain of the wound distracted him, he finally withdrew his angry glare.

“Endure it, I will clean your wound thoroughly,” the elderly herbalist said, gently wiping the wound with a clean piece of linen cloth soaked in water. He kept wiping from the inside out, occasionally stopping to carefully remove sand grains stuck by the blood with silver tweezers.

The young man’s expression, as the wound was constantly touched, could really be described as gritting his teeth! At this moment, Baron Walterson, perhaps to distract him, spoke up, “This wound seems to have been bitten by an animal with big front teeth, like a rat or a rabbit. Didn’t anyone in your hunting team see what it looked like?”

“I told you it was a rat! You kept doubting and asking where such a big rat could come from,” the noble youth who had just lowered his head looked up and argued.

Hearing this, Baron Walterson suddenly ran excitedly to the other side, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him while asking, “Are you sure what you saw was a rat?”

Then Baron Walterson pointed to the one being bandaged and said, “Based on his description, it must have been a rat about three or four feet long!”

“Yes, yes. I saw it very clearly; that was indeed a super-sized rat,” the young man, not knowing why the other was so excited, replied stutteringly. “Al-although I haven’t seen such a big rat before, I haven’t even heard of it.”

Getting a positive answer, Baron Walterson quickly turned to Knight Val and asked, “Mr. Val, did you prepare the Divine Arts to cure diseases today?”

“I didn’t expect this to happen beforehand. Baron Walterson, so I can only say sorry now,” Knight Val said helplessly, shrugging his shoulders.

Learning that this path was blocked, Baron Walterson said to the younger herbalist nearby, “Go to my tent and get my small calfskin medicine box. If anyone asks, say that Baron Walterson needs the medicine inside to treat the patient.”

Then the herbalist ran off in a flash and disappeared among the tents in the camp. At the same time, hearing Baron Walterson’s words, the surrounding nobles who were bored and watching also felt the seriousness of the situation.

The mother of the injured person, worried, asked first, “Baron Walterson, is my son’s injury really very serious?”

“Madam, it’s not just the wound problem. The creature that bit your son seems to be a Fierce Rat. If bitten by this animal, it is possible to contract a disease called Fever Plague. Once it starts, it will cause high fever, pain in muscles, bone marrow, and joints all over the body, and extreme fatigue. In severe cases, bleeding and lumps may appear under the skin, and even death is possible,” Baron Walterson explained while stroking his beard. However, in this environment, his enthusiastic and detailed explanation gave people the feeling that he was showing off his knowledge.

“You! You must have a way, right? You must save my child!” The lady said, grabbing Baron Walterson’s hand.

Baron Walterson felt very embarrassed by the lady’s action. He quickly explained, “Didn’t I just send someone back to get the medicine?”

As for the noble lady herself, she could be described as a middle-aged woman with lingering charm. If it were a different time and place, Baron Walterson might have even welcomed such behavior, and if given the chance, he might even discuss life with her further. But never in front of such a large crowd, especially in front of her son.

In George’s opinion, the lady was simply too worried to think clearly. Fever Plague, if untreated, was indeed a disease that could take lives. But for those who had entered the Red Iron Rank, it was more like a cold in The East—uncomfortable, but definitely not fatal. For Formal Knights, it was something they could ignore.

Like the injured young man in front of him, although his exact strength was unknown, just from the fact that he was bitten by a Fierce Rat and still managed to escape safely, he was definitely not of the Red Iron Rank. However, judging by his young and strong appearance, even without specific medicine, he had a good chance of surviving on his own.

Besides, for noble families, the specific medicine to treat Fever Plague could not be so poor that they couldn’t afford it. Even if no one brought such medicine during this Autumn Hunt, wasn’t Knight Val there? Although he didn’t prepare such Divine Arts today, Divine Arts are prepared once a day. What about tomorrow? Fever Plague has a specific onset time; it’s not like you will die immediately.

However, the injured person seemed very calm. At least after hearing it was Fever Plague, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief. After all, Baron Walterson’s previous performance always gave people the feeling that being bitten by a Fierce Rat was a terrible thing.

“This young man looks quite good!” Suddenly, Knight Val’s voice came from behind George.

George, Hiren, and Craig reacted differently to Knight Val’s ghost-like behavior. George remained calm with his well-cultivated breathing. Hiren, who had likely been teased by Knight Val before, was rolling his eyes at his father. Craig, however, was startled and was waving his fist at Knight Val!

“Father, for him, this young man is young, but for us, he is not. His age is a bit old; if he really wants to walk the Knight path, there is no chance left,” Hiren, who had rarely been praised by Knight Val, started to contradict him right in front of him. It looked like he was jealous.

George thought for a moment and said, “If this character is cultivated well, it will be useful in the future. You don’t have to stick to the Knight path only! Everyone has their own life trajectory. Besides, whether he was like this in his childhood is still debatable! People always change; when the character becomes suitable later, it might be too late.”

George’s last words were completely for Craig to hear. Whether Craig could understand how much was not George’s concern. If it really didn’t work, Sir Bart could still raise him for a lifetime. Even if he couldn’t become a Formal Knight, he would at least reach the peak of Red Iron.

The performance of the young man below also caught the eyes of many people present. Not to mention others, just Knight Val behind the three and Baron Walterson in charge of treatment were enough. After spreading through their mouths, this young man entered the sight of the higher-ups of the Duchy of Nohan to a certain extent. This was much more effective than self-recommendation, making connections, or using backdoor channels. So in this aspect, it might be a blessing in disguise. Without this injury, how could he have had such an opportunity to show himself? In fact, many people are not inferior to others, but they simply have no chance to show themselves.

At the same time, the herbalist had already cleaned the wound thoroughly. Then, he used a silver spatula to scoop ointment from a white porcelain medicine jar and applied it to the wound. Next, he wrapped it with Linen bandages in a circular method, fixing it with several layers, with each layer covering one-third of the previous layer in a spiral shape. This series of movements was smooth and fast, accurate, gentle, and secure. Fast meant agile and quick movements; accurate meant precise and tight positioning; gentle meant soft movements without touching the wound; secure meant the bandage was firm, not too tight to affect blood circulation, and not too loose to fall off.

After finishing the work, the herbalist didn’t forget to add, “Okay! Be careful for the next few days and don’t let the wound touch water. You can remove the bandage after about seven days.”

The young man whose wound had been treated turned his gaze toward Baron Walterson. It seemed he was quite expecting the medicine to treat Fever Plague. After all, anyone would be worried about such a thing.

Fortunately, not long after, the young herbalist finally brought Baron Walterson’s medicine box. Baron Walterson took out a crystal bottle from the box, which contained a brown-green liquid.

Baron Walterson walked to the side of the injured person and shouted, “Tilt your head up and open your mouth!”

After the other person did as told, Baron Walterson opened the crystal bottle and poured the liquid inside all at once into the person’s mouth.

Next, a scene that left everyone speechless appeared. The injured young man opened his mouth wide, his face twisted. Then he grabbed his own neck with both hands and kept gagging.

Baron Walterson, probably having foresight, quickly moved away from the person as soon as he finished pouring the medicine. That speed was not slower than George dodging the Fierce Tiger.

Facing the strange looks from the people around, he could only smile awkwardly and say, “This potion I prepared, if drunk before the illness starts, will definitely cure Fever Plague instantly. Even after the illness starts, it will take effect within a day. However, the taste is really terrible. But I think, compared to the suffering caused by Fever Plague, this small taste is nothing.”