Siege on Yongtein: Ambush (11)

During the battle, by double-casting Verdant Apathy, Three-Pointed Barrier, Formless Step, and Wind Edge, he and Elizabeth supported the Royal Guards and Grand Knights in fending off the enemy Imperial Sentinels and Perception Realms. However, they soon realized they needed more help to escape the encirclement. The situation was dire, forcing Freon to break through into Low Condensed Drop in the heat of the battle. With the arrival of Benedict and Shirley, and the return of the Ten Dawns, they unleashed their large-scale tactical spells. Sentinel Kong had no choice, but to issue a retreat after suffering heavy losses. Later, he and Elizabeth maintained their spells on everyone as they travelled through the forest, and even during the last battle. And finally, thanks to Elizabeth's Gale Shockwaves and Freon's Thirty-Six Falling Stars, they had escaped the pursuit of Sentinel Mao. Their achievements were no less impressive than Benedict and Shirley's. It was a frightening testament to their abilities! If everyone could survive this battle, it would be truly remarkable. Unfortunately, this was their biggest challenge yet.

Shirley eventually managed to push herself up. She was always gifted with a strong vitality, so this was not much of a surprise. Her arms and legs shook though, as blood poured from her wounds. It was clear how hard and painful it was. Although she would have loved to rest and take a breather, she knew they did not have the leeway. Their enemies were hot on their trails, so they needed to gain as much distance as possible. They could not afford to enter another battle! Benedict saw her resistance and resolved to do the same. Despite his bones threatening to shatter under the pressure, he mustered the courage and strength to sit. That little exertion winded him. It was not just because of their enemies that they were impatient, but rather, there was a more pressing issue… Elizabeth was unconscious and bleeding out currently, having received three direct flying strikes. Her wounds were extremely severe and life-threatening. And to make matters worse, she had overstrained her Core and Channels to cast four consecutive Gale Shockwaves. That meant she had both internal and external injuries. Her body was a total mess. Forget reaching the main army. Elizabeth would not survive the trip back. Therefore, they needed to save her now.

But the question was… what could they do? They lacked the medical tools or the knowledge to do something. The wilderness that surrounded them was filled with enemies too. There was no chance in getting help. Ten Dawn Runenda, one of the remaining Ten Dawns, could theoretically do something since she boasted the greatest repertoire of spells in the Zino Kingdom, except she was wounded and unconscious. Her outlook was poor. As for Ten Dawn Yvonne, she had no more Magic Energy left. It would be dangerous, if she had to use World Energy. This left Freon. Sadly though, most of his methods were either offensive or defensive in nature. He had nothing to heal someone with. Shirley tightened her fist in frustration. Were they forced to watch Elizabeth die in front of them? There must be something they could do! The group fell deathly silent. Ten Dawn Yvonne closed her eyes, while Freon looked down. It was unknown what they were thinking.

It was Benedict who spoke after hesitating, "I might have a suggestion. Her biggest problem is that she's losing blood too quickly. What we need to do first is seal her wounds until she can get proper treatment; however, we cannot do it clumsily. Any infection will kill her. We'll need to do it carefully and thoroughly."

"We don't have any tools. This is going to kill her," Freon stressed.

"We won't need them," the knight replied. "You can use your fire magic to seal her wounds."

Freon furrowed his brow, because it did seem like a good idea. His magic had zero impurities. It was essentially a ball of energy, held together by his Magic Circle. There was no risk of infection. Furthermore, he would have complete control over its intensity. At the slightest sign of danger, he could extinguish it. On paper, it seemed like the perfect idea. On paper, anyways. In practice though, it was still risky. He had no guarantees that he could properly control his spell in his weakened state. He was right to be cautious. A single slip-up could inflict irreversible damage to Elizabeth or himself. It could also kill them! This type of delicate work was best left to a professional like Ten Dawn Iris.

Benedict seemed to sense his aversion and said, "Don't worry. I can use my Martial Perception to monitor the situation and intervene should something go wrong. You won't be alone."

"That's easier said than done. She has three massive deep cuts. I would need to maintain a perfect concentration and control throughout the process. If she moves or twitches at any point due to the pain, it could cause problems. She can't even give consent. This is hopeless."

"I can keep her calm," Shirley suggested. "Leave it to me."

Seeing Elizabeth's blood continue to drain, Benedict shouted, "Freon! Hurry up! We don't have much time!"

Freon clicked his tongue and cursed. "Don't blame me if this goes south!"

Meanwhile, Ten Dawn Yvonne was sat against a tree, too weak to say or do anything else. It had taken an incredible amount of willpower on her part to stay conscious. Anyone else would have succumbed to their exhaustion and passed out already. Ten Dawn Runenda was the best example of this. Their body, mind, and soul had reached their limits, so this was the natural outcome. That was why… when she looked at Benedict, Shirley, and Freon, who were up and about, planning to rescue Elizabeth, she could not believe their resilience. It was honestly unfathomable! It felt like they were not humans anymore. She smiled bitterly, thinking that her age might have caught up already. The next generation had overtaken her before she knew it. The woman prayed for their success.

"Forgive me for this, Elizabeth." Benedict exhaled and carefully tore apart her clothes, revealing her naked body underneath. Everyone drew a cold breath. Finally, they could see the severity of the cuts.

The first cut was the largest one, extending from her left shoulder, across her chest, and down to her right waist. It was surprisingly uniform, like a perfect cut, since it came from a flying strike. Bits of cloth and metal from her armor mixed in with the crimson red liquid, making it hard to see the depth of the damage. However, even a simple man could tell things were bad, given how much blood she was losing. To be frank, she was quite lucky. The soldiers who attacked her did it in haste, using a random amount of Martial Energy in their strikes. Furthermore, the surrounding interference strength, which had grown greatly, had hampered the blows. These two factors combined reduced the cutting potential of the flying strikes from fully bisecting her to heavily wounding her instead. That said, it was still grim. Thankfully, the second and third cuts were smaller, but not by much. She would need all three sealed.

Freon took a deep breath and focused. Like the Ten Dawns, he had no more Magic Energy left, meaning he would have to use his World Energy instead. Fortunately, the spell was a very simple flame. The expenditure of energy should be little. The only issue was that… World Energy was wild and untamed. He would need to exercise utmost caution in using it. He began to summon his World Energy when… Bang! Freon spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Are you alright?" Benedict and Shirley panicked.

"I'm fine…" he said through bloodied teeth. He did not expect the rebound from his damaged Core and Channels to be so strong. The sudden spike in pain made him lose concentration. "I was caught off-guard. That's all. Let me try again."

"Be careful," Shirley said.

"I know."

Normally, he could cast a spell this simple near-instantly. He was a Low Condensed Drop Arcanist, the equivalent of a Ten Dawn, now after all. However, he took more than a full minute to cast the Magic Circle this time. That was how careful he was being. His efforts were rewarded by a tiny flame. The boy acclimated to the pain before nodding to Benedict and Shirley. He was ready to start. Shirley squeezed Elizabeth's hand to comfort her, while Benedict started using his Martial Perception. Freon pressed the flame into the first wound, scorching the flesh and blood black. Elizabeth immediately jolted awake, thrashed, and screamed. The pain was beyond unbearable! Shirley was quick to act by stuffing her forearm into Elizabeth's mouth, thereby stopping her from screaming. Although their surroundings seemed empty, a scream could propagate far. A Perception Realm Expert like Sentinel Mao would have no trouble in hearing it. Sadly, Elizabeth would have to bear it without screaming. Benedict kept her still, while Freon moved quickly. They had limited time. The foul stench of burnt skin and blood soon permeated the air.