Only Buffs (1)
Only Buffs (1)
Ketamine. A drug used as a general anesthetic.
I grabbed the emergency kit and headed to the treatment center.
As I drew closer, the screaming grew louder and louder.
It was so horrific that I wondered if scraping someone's innards with bone would produce this kind of scream from a human throat.
The moment I entered the treatment center, the screaming stopped.
A cleric in white priestly robes, beads of sweat on his forehead, muttered.
"Great grace comes with great pain. All of this is for complete healing, so bite down hard and endure to the end."
"P-Priest-nim... it's too agonizing... euhh...."
"This is all for your recovery, brother. Rest a moment, and we'll resume."
I found myself stepping forward before I knew it.
"Priest-nim! Just a moment!"
There's no time to explain.
Intestines spilling out through the split abdomen.
How on earth did he manage to run here from Marquis Oltain territory in that state?
"Endure it, messenger."
I jammed the Ketamine kit straight into his muscle as an injection.
As the drug began to take effect, the dying messenger's face started coming back to life, little by little.
"Th-this can't be! I don't feel any pain!"
At that, the priest became urgent, clasping his hands together as he prepared a heal.
"No pain, you say! The blade of the reaper has touched your uvula, brother! O Lord, bestow your blessing upon this poor lamb!"
Ooh, so this is healing.
The intestines that had protruded outside the abdomen were being sucked back inside... no, that's not it.
Like a lizard's leg that's been severed, the stump writhes and contracts.
'Could it be that the healing blessing works by freshly regrowing the injured area while the person is still alive?'
I instantly understood why the pain is proportional to the severity of the injury.
Cutting away the intestines that protruded outside, then creating new tissue internally and reconnecting it — there's no way that wouldn't hurt.
Is this medieval fantasy-style surgery?
The fact that only the strong survive the pain of surgery is exactly the same as medieval Earth.
***
Priest Tauriel flinched at the expression of the messenger receiving the healing blessing so comfortably.
He'd thought the pain had vanished because the man was on the verge of death, but that wasn't it.
'The moment Major Piel stabbed in that magical device, the pain disappeared.'
Of course, there are methods to reduce the pain of healing.
But the established doctrine was that none of them worked against the extreme agony caused by the healing of internal organ reconstruction.
With injuries of this severity, ordinarily four out of five men die unable to withstand the pain of healing.
"Brother, you feel no pain?"
"Yes! It doesn't hurt at all! It's as if this isn't even my body!"
"Good. Then I shall proceed stronger and faster."
Priest Tauriel, who had been bestowing the grace 'gently' to minimize the pain as much as possible, now poured out the healing in earnest.
At last, the healing light ceased.
The patient sprang to his feet, examined his body all over, and cheered.
"I'm completely healed! It didn't hurt at all! Thank you! Truly, thank you! What kind of blessing on earth did you bestow upon me?"
The patient grabbed hold not of him, but of Major Piel, and poured out his thanks.
Priest Tauriel watched that scene with a gentle smile.
'With that magical device alone, we could save countless severely wounded soldiers who die unable to overcome the pain of healing.'
Commander-in-Chief Hildea, her eyebrows fluttering, grabbed Piel's shoulders and shook him.
"Major Piel! What on earth is that magical device? Why does the wounded man not let out a death scream while receiving healing?"
"It's a drug that reduces pain. Since it's as potent as it is effective, it's hard on the body, so it must not be abused."
"With that, it should be fine, Major Piel."
Priest Tauriel stepped forward with a benevolent smile.
"The healing grace inflicts great pain, but at the end of endurance, sweet blessing follows.
Whatever side effects that drug may leave behind, this soldier has recovered completely to a pristine state."
"Is that true?"
"Has he not returned alive from the threshold of death? Surely it is God's providence that a reward befitting that is granted, is it not?"
The knights' eyes went wide.
"Then from now on, even if we suffer terrible severe injuries, we don't have to worry about dying from excessive pain while receiving healing?"
"To be honest, the scary part of the healing grace is that the pain is too severe, right? But if that pain can be suppressed with the Supply Department head's magical device...!"
"Major Piel! Why weren't you by my side when my leg was severed!"
"I'd like to ask you that, Commander Hildea-nim. How on earth did a Sword Master sustain such an injury? Just how powerful an entity did you fight to...."
"It happened while I was experimenting to see which is stronger, Aura Armor or Aura Blade."
Piel pressed his hand to his forehead and staggered.
Priest Tauriel, wearing a subtle smile, gazed at Piel surrounded by the commanders.
'Piel Marshall, you are truly a grace sent by God to deliver Ainschwan....'
The lightly wounded do not die while receiving the healing grace. That's because the pain is minimal.
Moreover, such people recover even without receiving the healing grace. It just takes a little more time.
In contrast, among the severely wounded for whom the healing grace is the sole recourse, eight out of ten die in agony.
But.
'There is hope now.'
Priest Tauriel quietly made the sign of the cross.
***
Priests really are cheat characters after all.
They even cleanly reset drug side effects.
Anyway, to think the culprit who cut off Hildea's leg was Hildea herself. This girl is driving me crazy.
"Messenger! What became of the Military Inspector General? And why did you set your route to Marquis Oltain territory west of the Baltics River instead of east?"
Hildea pressed him sharply, and the messenger answered calmly.
"The travel route was chosen that way to confirm what happened to the vineyards of Marquis Oltain territory."
"Foolish. And?"
"The vineyards were safe. Everyone was resting under the shade of large trees, eating the portable rations they had brought with them, when suddenly the branches attacked and stabbed His Excellency the Military Inspector General."
"The Ancient Tree Legion!"
A knight shouted, and the messenger, his face gone pale, continued as he recalled that moment.
"The trees that had been spreading shade all across the vast vineyards pulled up their roots and rose, then surrounded and attacked us.
We fought back bravely under the command of Penal Unit Commander Luna, but we were too outnumbered...."
"Wait? Penal Unit Commander Luna? Vice-commander Luna Rosenberg was alive and not executed?"
"All the 1st Army knights who caused the disturbance were given the chance to atone through the Penal Unit. They were to be assigned here to the 3rd Army under the control of Her Excellency Commander-in-Chief Hildea."
Hildea staggered, her face gone slack.
Her pale face filled with a relieved smile.
"Luna, you were alive. Thank goodness...."
"The nobles must have wanted her dead by any means. His Majesty truly made a great decision."
"They say that Count Anbelrum bastard desperately tried every trick to kill the 1st Army knights...."
Why is everyone stealing glances at me the moment they badmouth Count Anbelrum?
I spoke with a slight edge of irritation.
"My surname is Marshall. It has been so ever since I was in my mother's womb."
"Ahh, Major! Of course you are a man of the great Marshall family. We know that full well."
Right there, Hildea urgently issued orders.
"Time is pressing. I shall take the Supply Department head and depart immediately for the rescue. Sir Basel, organize a follow-up force and come after us."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief-nim."
"Commander-in-Chief, what about me?"
"The 4th Corps Commander should come as well. You are a necessary force for the airbursts."
"I shall go too!"
The messenger also stepped forward urgently, but Hildea lightly restrained him, telling him to rest here.
And so, the emergency advance party with Hildea in command departed toward Marquis Oltain territory.
With time so short, I couldn't ride in the palanquin.
Instead, Hildea carried me on her back and ran.
"Major Piel, it will be uncomfortable, but we must rescue the Penal Unit, so please endure it."
"...I have never once requested to be carried in the palanquin."
"I merely feel sorry. After all, expending stamina from the jostling during travel like this will surely interfere with your supply planning."
I clearly understood why knights don't use warhorses for combat.
It's genuinely insanely fast. And they don't rest.
"Ha ha ha, Major Piel! So long as we have the glucose compression biscuits, we can run without stopping!"
"These really are great! Feels like it converts directly into strength the moment you eat it!"
While being carried on Hildea's back, a past memory suddenly resurfaced.
The memory of the two of us wandering the wilderness.
「Uh, is it not that way either...? Where is this...?」
「It doesn't seem to be this hill, Lieutenant.」
I whispered into Hildea's ear.
"Commander Hildea-nim, but aren't you directionally challenged?"
"Worry not! I may be weak at reading terrain, but my ki sense is the keenest of all! A battle is underway in that direction!"
Her spirited voice reassured me.
Afraid I'd fall off at such extreme speed, I hugged Hildea's neck even tighter.
In doing so, our cheeks rubbed together, and her skin, with no moisturizer applied, was remarkably smooth and soft.
"We arrive soon! Everyone, your final calories!"
"Yes!"
Everyone once more popped the glucose compression biscuits I'd distributed beforehand into their mouths, chewed, and kept running.
"Major Piel! Prepare to pull out the 60mm and 105mm!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief-nim."
"Piel, prepare to pull out my Browning heavy machine gun too. I'm perfectly ready."
"Of course, Commander Rebecca-nim."
At last, we climbed to the top of a low hill.
The endlessly sprawling vast vineyards below the hill came into view.
In one part of the wide vineyard, a countless Ancient Tree Legion had formed a circular encirclement.
At the center, hundreds of knights had formed a defensive square and were fighting desperately.
If they're tangled up like that, we can't use mortars.
"The Ancient Tree Legion! So this is where all the ones missed by the southern subjugation force went!"
Still carried on Hildea's back, I observed the battlefield through the latest model tactical binoculars.
The portable tactical PDA's computer began analyzing the binoculars' observation data.
【Targets: 1,987 entities】
"The current Ancient Tree Legion totals 1,987 entities!"
Rebecca countered with a dumbfounded expression.
"Piel, don't the numbers not match? Considering the thousand taken down by the southern bastards, shouldn't there be about a thousand over there?"
"If the report that the southern subjugation force took down a thousand was false, then the numbers add up."
I knew this would happen.
There's no way those bastards actually killed 1,000 of the Ancient Tree Legion. I thought it was suspicious.
Hildea ground her teeth.
"Those fools! If they were too busy running away to kill even one, they should have at least refrained from concealing their report!"
"I never trusted those bastards from the start."
Because those damn bastards covered up their disgrace, my precious rank-shuttle is isolated over there.
Lord Deville urgently advised.
"Commander-in-Chief-nim, the Penal Unit has already exceeded its limits. It seems they've chewed on Mandrake Root."
"Lord Deville, is that true?"
"Yes, I'm certain from watching their movements."
Shock erupted from all around.
"Even Mandrake Root? The Penal Unit is determined to kill at least one more before dying!"
"Crazy, I absolutely don't want to meet my end like that!"
The atmosphere was so grave that I hesitated before asking.
"Lord Deville, what exactly is that?"
"If you chew Mandrake Root raw, it can explosively unlock all the body's latent potential.
Time slows down, your senses sharpen, and a Sword Expert-level knight can exhibit Imperial-level combat power."
Dvil's expression was grim.
"The price is utterly horrific. Once the effect ends, senses sharpened beyond their limits transform into excruciating pain that covers the entire body.
Even if you survive, you end up dying in pain worse than death, in a state where the living envy the dead...."
The military chaplain added somberly.
"Because of that, in cases where someone has ingested that Mandrake Root, the healing grace is used for the purpose of amplifying the pain and bringing about euthanasia...."
"So, while the drug is active, you become more powerful, but once it ends, you die in extreme agony. To the point that applying healing would kill you instantly."
"That's right..., huh?"
"Wait just a moment?"
"Major Piel?"
"Supply Department head?"
If pain is the problem, then you just administer a painkiller, right?
And since the healing grace cleanly resets even drug side effects, it should be fine to use something even more potent than Ketamine.
【Requesting supply of Fentanyl field emergency kit (for oral absorption).】
"Fortunately, if it's a 'Pain Blocker,' I have plenty like this."
Suddenly, Dvil pulled out what looked like a plant root from his chest and chewed it up right then and there.
Seeing that, the other knights also all pulled out plant roots and swallowed them.
"Wait a moment, what you just swallowed, could it be...."
"A soldier always carries Mandrake Root on his person. Heh, I feel the power rising...!"
"This is the explosive sensation of liberation that Mandrake Root grants...!"
The knights trembled, their faces intoxicated with euphoria.
"I didn't show you that to tell you all to eat the root."
"There's no choice! In a situation where mortars can't be used, to save even one more ally, we have no choice but—"
"—to explosively unlock all our potential as well!"