Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 88: Chapter 88

Maxi’s face grew flushed. It was not long ago that she had feigned fearlessness, and now she was embarrassed. Yet, the blood-chilling sight of this unfamiliar, enormous monster made it hard to look unfazed.

The wyvern was sprawled on the ground with its tongue lolling from its mouth. It was at least forty kevette (approximately 12 meters) tall. Its massive body was as black as charcoal, its head akin to a crocodile, and its broken wings were bat-like.

And dragons are… ten times bigger than wyverns.

The thought made goosebumps prickle her arms. Just how terrifying was the monster Riftan had faced? The reality of the battle she had only vaguely imagined dawned on her and seized her with terror.

“You look pale, my lady. I really think you should return-”

“I-I am all right. I-I will be fine… once I’ve replenished my mana.”

Concealing her fear, Maxi turned and instructed the sentries to light a fire and to boil water. Some of the sentries on duty came to help unload the wagons.

“Where… a-are the injured?”

“This way, my lady. We couldn’t leave them in the open since that could expose them to another wyvern attack, so we’ve moved them to a place where they could be hidden by the trees.”

“W-Where is Ruth?”

“The sorcerer is currently in Cabro Valley, aiding the lord. A horde of wyvern apparently migrated there during the winter. The other mages had to join the raid as well after at least twenty of them were spotted.”

“T-Twenty?”

Riftan was currently battling twenty of these colossal monsters. Maxi felt her heart drop, and stomach-churning anxiety settled in. She fought the urge to rush to Riftan and barely managed to force out her question.

“Does that mean… there is no one else here… capable of healing magic?”

“We’ve brought an herbalist, but there are simply too many patients for her to treat alone,” the sentry said, pointing to an old woman tending to the wounded in a corner of the camp.

“I-I understand. I-I’d like to see… the patient in most need of treatment.”

Maxi scanned the surroundings as she walked and noted the men sprawled on dirty sheets laid out on the ground.

“He was the sentry on guard,” said the sentry, pointing to one of the wounded men. “A rock hurled by the wyvern hit the side of his head and he was knocked unconscious. He’s still breathing… but his body has been growing colder, which is worrisome. Please take a look at him first, my lady.”

Maxi knelt beside the sentry and inspected his wound. A gash ran down the man’s head all the way to his temple, and his shoulder was heavily bruised.

With careful movements, Maxi made sure no bones were broken before placing her hand over the wound and dispersing her mana. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as heat streamed out from her palm. Sensing that she would not have enough mana to tend to the others if she fully healed the man, Maxi stopped the spell mid-way.

“I-I’ve done what I can for him, for now… Please clean his wound, and give him w-water when he wakes up. The sentries should bring you boiled herb water soon.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I-It would be… impossible for me to h-heal everyone. Is there… anyone else in d-dire need of treatment?”

“There are two more who are unconscious…”

Maxi suppressed a sigh and steeled herself.

“L-Lead me to them.”

***

Maxi was spent after healing the two unconscious men. Was it normal to be this exhausted after using magic? Having never felt this dizzy before, Maxi began to fret.

“My lady… are you all right?”

“Y-Yes. I am merely tired from using too much mana… I-I will be all right soon. P-Please do not worry.”

Praying that she was right, Maxi leaned against a tree and took a moment to gather her breath. While she had been treating the wounded, the sentries had unloaded all the wagons, raised a tent among the trees, and were now transporting patients on a makeshift bedroll.

On the other side of the camp, others were boiling water over a campfire, and those well enough to walk stood guard around the perimeter.

Maxi watched them moving methodically around the camp as she waited for the dizziness to subside and staggered to her feet once her vision gradually cleared.

She could not stay idle when she was the one who had insisted on coming. After moistening her parched lips with lukewarm water from a pot, Maxi resumed tending to the wounded.

Fortunately, owing to her previous experience, she was able to treat the patients more efficiently than she had thought.

Small wounds required thorough cleaning, application of powder coagulants, and a tight dressing, exactly as Ruth had taught her. For broken bones, she realigned them with the help of other soldiers and bound them with splints. She also made sure all the injured were given water infused with herbs to alleviate fever and for detoxification. They could suffer from hyperthermia later on, even if they currently did not feel feverish.

“He is the last one, my lady, but his wound is rather severe. Will you be all right?” a middle-aged soldier with a bushy beard asked as he led her to an injured man at the edge of the camp.

Maxi was alarmed when she saw the long gash on the soldier’s shoulder. Even at a glance, it was obvious that applying ointment alone would not be enough to treat the wound. She would have to stitch it up with a needle and thread like Ruth had shown her, but she did not think she was capable of it.

“Is… Is this man the last… of the wounded?”

“Yes, my lady. Everyone else has been tended to. We intend to send those who can walk back to Anatol as soon as the scouts return to camp.”

Maxi looked around her. Sentries and workers covered in white bandages sat together on one side, eating watery herb soup. She did not think any of them would lapse back to an unstable condition. After a moment of consideration, Maxi summoned the last of her mana to heal the sentry.

Her vision went white as the last bit of mana drained from her body. Much to her surprise, she felt surprisingly normal again soon after. With a sigh of relief, Maxi rose unsteadily to her feet, wondering if she was getting used to magic after all. Ulyseon had been pacing around her, and he quickly approached.

“My lady, this place will be more dangerous once the sun goes down. You must return to the castle.”

“I-Is there… still no news from the Remdragon Knights?”

“It seems a few wyverns are giving them a hard time by hiding deep inside the valley, but I’m sure it won’t take long for the knights to find them.”

“Th-Then… I shall wait for the knights. I-I think it would be safer… for me to return with them.”

Maxi could see that Ulyseon was conflicted.

“Would it not be better for you to return sooner so you can rest, my lady? You are as white as a ghost.”

“I-I will be all right… o-once I’ve replenished my mana by the fire. I won’t do anything else. I am too w-worried about Riftan…”

Ulyseon’s eyes grew wide at her words as if he thought it absurd that anyone would worry about Riftan Calypse.

Most people probably did not think it necessary to worry for the knight who had bested a dragon, but having heard how reckless he could be, Maxi was beside herself. Even Riftan was not invincible.

“I-I shall go back to the castle… if they do not return by nightfall.”

Looking down at her adamant expression, Ulyseon let out a resigned sigh.

“If you insist… my lady.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“But you must truly return to the castle if the knights fail to return by nightfall. Monsters will-”

Just then, Ulyseon pushed Maxi, sending her rolling across the ground as he drew his sword. A shadow fell across them from overhead before the ground shook with a heavy thud.

Maxi slowly crawled over the ground. A massive monster with burning red eyes was standing in the camp. Its jaws were open, its razor-sharp teeth on display. How had such an enormous creature been able to fly into their camp without so much as making a sound?

Half the camp had been blown away by the flapping of the monster’s silent wings. If Ulyseon had not pushed her, she would have been blown away like dust.

“Take cover, my lady!” Ulyseon shouted.

The blade of Ulyseon’s sword gleamed blue. He swung it at the wyvern, slashing through its shoulder joint. The monster’s gigantic body lurched sideways. The surrounding trees fell, and the ground shook as if in an earthquake.

The wounded screamed as they ran for cover, and even the sentries standing at a distance cried out and dispersed.

“Protect her ladyship!” Ulyseon bellowed.

“This way, my lady!”

A soldier roughly pulled her up by the arm and began to run. Staggering, Maxi tried to keep up with the man as they fled from the monster, but her foot caught on a rock and she once again fell to the ground. The arm the soldier had grabbed was throbbing, and her scraped knee felt as though it were being split open.

“My lady! A-Are you all right?”

Maxi hastily tried to get back on her feet, but she suddenly felt woozy and her stomach twisted painfully. Unable to bear it any longer, she dropped to the ground and hurled.

Her heaving chest felt as if a dagger had been plunged into it. Maxi struggled to her feet while gasping like a person who had forgotten how to breathe. Suddenly, a golden flash lit up the surroundings.

Maxi turned and looked back in terror to see a raging fire consuming the monster.

“Riftan!”

Princess Agnes’s sharp voice rang through the air like a whip, and a figure leaped into the air, swinging a sword at the monster thrashing in the flames.

The colossal monster’s head, at least fifty kevette (approximately 15 meters) in size, flew into the air like a butchered chicken’s head. The monster’s body collapsed onto the ground, which once again shook as if the earth were opening up. Maxi helplessly watched the scene with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“My lady! Are you all right?”

Ulyseon rushed to her side and helped her to her feet. Her limbs felt limp as if all her bones had melted away. Her whole body trembling, Maxi leaned against the young man and tipped over like a scarecrow as she lost consciousness.