novelraw Chapter 341: You're on Your Own (Two-in-One, Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)
Chapter 341: You're on Your Own (Two-in-One, Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)
"What's going on?! Why is there no way to stop the bleeding?! If this continues, Lar will die!"
Under the illumination of the faintly shaking flames on the nearby wall, Raphaela's roar, like the breath of a giant dragon, continuously echoed and reverberated within the underground palace. Letting the doctors of various races listening to her words all lower their heads in deep regret. Within the giant cave where Raphaela resided, in front of that strange carriage, a blood-soaked, on the verge of death Lar lay paralyzed upon a bed spread with cloth.
Her blue scales continuously fell off. From her flesh and blood shattered by the intense artillery fire, scorching blood continuously gushed out, soaking the cloth spread below. Healing herbs were spread on her body, and the light of several precious rings of Healing Magic also flickered within. However, none of the Healing Magic they could acquire surpassed the Fifth-Ring. The Healing Magic humans brought to the Southern Continent themselves wasn't enough, let alone allowing them to capture it.
But Lar was directly hit head-on by Schwalian artillery fire. She was already near death when brought back. Raphaela had already ordered all races to try their tribe's bottom-of-the-box methods, yet they were still unable to heal her...
"Lady Raphaela, Kexir just rode a horse out of Sunset Valley, preparing to head to the Treant Race's tribe in the northern forest to request their tribe's high priest for help."
The Bat-kin Clan Leader Emre stepped closer from behind and spoke softly like this to Raphaela, who was sitting beside Lar's bed.
"Treant Race? They are a three-day journey away from here, and they have no way to ride horses. Even if their high priest is willing to come over, Lar won't be able to hold on for that long..."
The scorching twin horns on Raphaela's head grew increasingly bright. She looked down at Lar gasping with all her might on the bed. Drops of scorching tears fell from her emerald green pupils.
Lar was very young, not even an adult yet. Although she had always done very well during the time she followed her to build the New Dragon Court, she shouldn't have let her follow the other Dragon-kin to notify the Sheep-kin to retreat today. If not for her orders, she wouldn't have...
Beside the bed, Lar's mother, a dark blue Dragon-kin, also covered her face, not having the heart to look at the tragic appearance of her child injured by the heartless artillery fire. She merely continuously sobbed, but the words she spoke to Raphaela maintained a fragile calmness under her forced support. She lowered her head and gripped Raphaela's trembling shoulders, shedding tears and saying,"Raphaela... this isn't your fault. Lar always wanted to help you, even if it was just a simple task. It was her honor that you entrusted a mission to her; she was so happy last night. If there's anyone to blame, it can only be the humans' artillery fire. Other Dragon-kin who went along were also injured, and many more of the Sheep-kin attacked by humans died. As one of them, there is nothing special about Lar. You have already tried your best, Raphaela."
The dragon tail behind Raphaela drooped powerlessly to the ground. She looked down at Lar, whose life was continuously slipping away on the bed. The anger transformed from that feeling of powerlessness surged like raging flames, but her rationality constantly reminded her that now was not the time to avenge Lar and those demi-human compatriots who died due to the human invasion.
Sometimes, the greatest pain for intelligent living beings is nothing greater than the contradiction between sensibility and rationality, or sensibility and Reality. That torture of being powerless and unable to make a change has long troubled every life that tosses and turns at night, shedding endless tears...
Even if Raphaela was the Dragon Queen, the appointed World-Destroyer, a powerful leader; she was also powerless toward this.
Feeling the Queen's silence, everyone present lowered their heads: the Bat-kin Clan Leader couple, Mill who had reunited with her husband, Lar's mother, the guard Faxir, and doctors of various races, the Royal Guard...
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly deathly silent, a dense sound of running and urgent cries suddenly transmitted from the road above the cave,
"Lady Raphaela, I found a doctor who can save Lar! Lady Raphaela!"
The silent Raphaela hurriedly turned her head. So did everyone else present. However, on the road above, they saw Kexir pulling a demi-human wearing strange fabrics running madly towards this side, followed by the Brain Demon Race Kelili responsible for translating.
Even with the Bat-kin Clan Leader Emre's experience, he had never seen what kind of demi-human the one following behind Kexir was. All of them looked in shock at the bizarre demi-human behind her. The continuously cast evaluating gazes made Jasmine somewhat embarrassed. She awkwardly waved at everyone present, yet received no response.
"What's going on, Kexir? Didn't you go to the Treant Race's tribe? Why did you bring this..."
Faxir frowned and stepped forward. She first cast a glance at Jasmine behind Kexir, and only then softly asked Kexir like this.
"It's a long story. This one is a demi-human from the ocean whom Kelili and the others met on the road when they went out to pursue traitors yesterday. Supposedly a Whale-kin... Miss Jasmine. She said she could heal Lar, so I..."
"A demi-human from the ocean, and a person whose background is unknown outside the Dragon Court? Just what are you thinking?!"
"But even rushing to the Treant Race's tribe at maximum speed, let alone whether they have a method for such severe injuries, even if they do, the round trip time is simply insufficient!"
"You!"
Right at this moment, Raphaela, sitting beside the crowd, suddenly raised her hand. Formless pressure instantly enveloped the entire cave, making the arguing Kexir and Faxir instantly fall silent. They retreated to both sides of the road, exposing the rather reserved Jasmine standing behind them.
Jasmine pursed her lips, looking forward quite curiously with her large azure eyes. However, she suddenly saw an exceedingly beautiful woman with twin horns growing on her head, entirely different from other Dragon-kin who only had a single horn. Her height was quite tall, taller than Jasmine by quite a bit. Based on the difference in terrain, she quietly evaluated Jasmine just like this.
This Dragon-kin caught Jasmine's eye the moment she appeared. She possessed a graceful posture of Peerless Grace and Beauty. But those emerald green eyes holding faint tears caused a rift to form in her strength, instantly making her image much more approachable.
"You can help me save Lar?"
Raphaela opening her mouth jolted Jasmine out of her evaluation. She hurriedly nodded, then shook her head, saying somewhat embarrassedly,
"Yes... Can I take a look at the patient first?"
"..."
Raphaela hesitated for a second, then turned sideways to yield the path, revealing that fragile life lying on the bed covered in blood. Jasmine lowered her head and said a "Thank you," then hurriedly walked to the edge of Lar's bed, observing her condition,
"There are fragments of human projectiles inside her body. Fortunately I arrived now, otherwise she probably wouldn't survive past this evening. I'll help her stop the bleeding and restore her vitality first. Next, I still need to manually extract the fragments inside her body... I need two sessions of treatment: one now, and another to extract the fragments tonight."
Jasmine's reserve was instantly put away after seeing Lar's condition before her. Her azure eyes focused as they flashed across the wounds on Lar's body. Following that, she gently placed her finger on Lar's body. As the light of the Blessing unique to her alone lit up, streams of pure life force were transmitted into Lar's body.
That miraculous power took effect the instant it entered Lar's body. Coordinating with the Healing Magic and herbs used by the doctors of other races, the blood continuously flowing from Lar's body halted at this moment. Her breathing, which had seemingly been a struggle, also instantly became steady and powerful. That power resembling a Divine Miracle deeply shocked everyone present.
The dying Lar was truly revived before their eyes. Rescuing her from the Grim Reaper's hands relied entirely on this strange demi-human from the ocean...
"Phew, this treatment is just about done. Tonight I'll..."
Jasmine exhaled and stood up. Ever since she mastered her Curse, this level of life force healing was no longer a big deal. It merely made her feel slightly fatigued; she would no longer be half-dead like before.
But what Jasmine hadn't expected was that the moment she stood up, Raphaela beside her suddenly embraced her in her arms. This excessive action scared Jasmine into freezing on the spot. But when she felt the other party's scorching body trembling slightly while continuously saying "Thank you" to her, Jasmine smiled and patted her back,
"It's fine, this is what I ought to do. As a believer of Ramastia, I cherish the preciousness of every life."
Raphaela released Jasmine. Although she was slightly puzzled as to what the so-called "Ramastia" was, she still quickly turned her head and spoke to the doctors behind her,
"Please examine Lar's condition again, everyone. Please. I need to confirm she is out of danger."
"Yes, truly miraculous! Although the injuries on Lar's body haven't fully healed, her vital signs are very stable now. There is no major issue anymore. It's just that we also cannot determine whether projectiles still remain in her body as this Miss Jasmine said..."
Raphaela let out a sigh of relief. Turning her head back to look at Jasmine before her, she instructed the others around her,
"Miss Jasmine, I ask that you continue to help Lar overcome this difficulty tonight. If you have any demands, you can raise them now too. I will do my utmost to satisfy them..."
Jasmine hurriedly waved her hand, smiling at Raphaela,
"Not at all. I don't rescue lives for any reward. Seeing her smoothly continue to live is the best compensation for me. I'll make preparations here. If possible, I request the Queen to prepare my evening meal and tools for me. Ah, I need fire and sharp blades..."
Looking at the serene Jasmine before her, Raphaela, who had been quite flustered and fragile just now, also calmed back down. For some reason, she kept feeling the person before her could be trusted. Even though this was clearly their first meeting, the other party gave her a sense of intimacy, just as if the other party and herself shared some indescribable connection...
But she merely turned her head with trust in Jasmine to have her subordinates prepare the items Jasmine needed. She herself continued to stay here, preparing for the upcoming surgery together with Jasmine.
"Clang..."
At night, the crisp sound of shrapnel colliding rang out continuously within the cave. The surgery, which lasted for several hours, finally drew to a close.
By now, only a few people who were closer to Lar and Raphaela remained in this cave: Kexir, Faxir, Mill, Lar's mother, and the translator Kelili. They all focused their gazes entirely upon Jasmine, who was sitting on the edge of the bed continuously wielding a blade. Amidst her nimble movements, the shrapnel remaining in Lar's body was peeled out one by one. This also symbolized that Lar had completely escaped from danger.
"Finished, everyone."
Jasmine sighed in relief, wiped the blood from her hands, put down the blade, and inputted another stream of pure life force into Lar's body to help her internal wounds heal better.
"It's a good thing she's unconscious; otherwise, without anesthetics here, the pain would be unbearable for her. But it's fine now, she's alright. She'll probably recover after a few weeks of rest."
Raphaela and everyone behind her sighed in relief. Raphaela went forward again to verify Lar's breath from her nostrils. After confirming her breathing had become steady, she then turned around and spoke to the several Dragon-kin who had stayed here all day behind her,
"Alright, Lar is fine now. We must thank this Miss Jasmine from the ocean for this... Leave Lar here with me to recuperate first. You all go back and rest; I want to converse with Miss Jasmine."
"Yes, Lady Raphaela."
Even Lar's mother chose to leave after taking one more look at Lar. After Kexir and Faxir also left, Kelili looked at Jasmine and Raphaela with dumbfounded amusement, saying,
"Lady Raphaela, if I am not here, you probably won't be able to understand the language she speaks. After all, I've never heard the language she speaks."
Jasmine, who had just been smiling and preparing to chat with Raphaela, Realized After the Fact and patted her head, muttering softly,
"Crap, I forgot this is the Southern Continent. Why would anyone speak the language from the bottom of the sea? Besides that, I only know the Nari Language. If only Lord Ramastia could teach me the language used in the Southern Continent..."
However, Raphaela beside her was slightly surprised. She suddenly spoke to Jasmine in the Nari Language,
"You know how to speak the Nari Language?"
"Ah, ah! I-I do. Wait, no. Why does Miss Raphaela also..."
Raphaela stared blankly for a moment, then revealed a somewhat reminiscent expression,
"That's a long story."
But Kelili nodded after seeing they could converse in the Nari Language. She left this cave where Raphaela resided, preparing to go rest. With the final person, Kelili, gone, the only ones remaining conscious here were Raphaela and Jasmine.
Raphaela pointed a finger at a seat on the ground nearby and invited Jasmine,
"Have a seat. The Dragon Court's conditions are still quite crude right now, I hope you don't mind... Right, do you want to drink?"
"Ah, no need, no need, no need! I don't know how."
Jasmine waved her hand. From childhood to adulthood, she had never tried this sort of thing before. There was no wine in the sea, nor was it needed. Meanwhile, in Naris, she also rarely attended student drinking parties. It's said Xuan Shen had tried it, but wasn't very fond of the taste.
It was also during this kind of declining that Jasmine suddenly caught a glimpse behind Raphaela where a carriage with obvious human characteristics actually stood. Furthermore, looking at the style, it was a model from Naris. This seemed to explain why the Dragon Queen could speak extremely fluent Nari Language... Could it be she was once well-acquainted with a Nari Person?
Raphaela uncorked a wine jug emanating a strong aroma of alcohol. Under Jasmine's terrified gaze, "Glug glug glug," Raphaela swallowed the entire jug of wine into her stomach just like drinking water. What was most crucial was that her face hadn't even changed in the slightest, just like a person unaffected...
Could it be that all Dragon-kin were this good at drinking?
"Apologies, I haven't drunk wine for a long time. It was only today... I felt a bit apologetic having you help as soon as you arrived because of Lar. I heard you helped Kelili and the others catch the traitors. Although there were some accidental factors, I still sincerely thank you for your help... Right, forgot to ask. You also know the Nari Language. Could it be that you have been to Naris before?"
Even Raphaela herself didn't realize that her tone uncontrollably revealed some hopefulness. But Jasmine grew somewhat nervous after hearing this, because she suddenly thought that the Dragon Court before her was a demi-human organization rising up to resist human colonization, and the vanguard of colonization was Naris... Oh no! Would she think she was a human spy?!
Connecting it to Ramastia's reminder earlier, Jasmine hurriedly waved her hand, explaining,
"Um... although I've been to Naris, I didn't stay there for very long at the time, and I'm not familiar with the people there, so worry not."
Raphaela was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. She looked at the torches on the wall and did not speak for a long time. Only after a good while did she smile and say,
"It's fine. I just wanted to know for news of someone, it has nothing to do with whether you've been to Naris or not... May I call you Jasmine?"
"Uh, yeah, you can... Then, can I also call you Raphaela?"
"Of course you can. So, Jasmine, what did you come to the Southern Continent for?"
Jasmine immediately spoke Without Thinking upon hearing this,
"In order to become stronger, I... have someone I very much wish to protect, but I currently lack sufficient strength to protect him. Therefore... Therefore I left the ocean and came to the Southern Continent seeking trials, hoping to grow stronger on a long journey, so that only then..."
Jasmine's words made Raphaela stare blankly for a moment. Because at this exact moment, hearing the other party's words actually gave her a quite sorrowful feeling, instantly evoking empathy.
Ultimately, Raphaela's goal was to allow the demi-humans bullied by humans in the Southern Continent to live equally, so the land they lived on for generations would no longer be tainted by artillery fire... But returning to herself, her working so hard was naturally also to one day stand equally beside that man and have him declare her existence to the world.
However, she could only bury such thoughts deeply at the bottom of her heart. During these days of separation from Fisher, apart from those few demi-humans connected to her previous journey, no one knew the true identity of Raphaela's Husband. They only knew their Dragon Queen already had an unchanging Tail-Compatible Partner, yet no one had ever seen the true body of that partner.
Some people even began to suspect that the Dragon Queen's husband had already died when humans invaded the Dragon-kin tribes, which was why she used such fierce willpower to resist the invasion.
Raphaela couldn't tell anyone the identity of her Tail-Compatible Partner being a human. Now was an extremely sensitive time. When the rebellious consciousness of all demi-humans was about to awaken, the husband of their very own Queen actually being a human they resented; this news would be destructive to the New Dragon Court.
Therefore, naturally, she wouldn't tell Jasmine the details about her husband. However, hearing the other party's words at this moment made her slightly sad again. She heavily drank another gulp of wine, attempting to use that faint spiciness to wash clean the bitterness in her heart. Regretfully, Dragon-kin were extremely tolerant of alcohol, which also meant they rarely got drunk.
Jasmine, however, noticed Raphaela's expression. She opened her mouth with considerable concern and asked,
"What is it, Raphaela? You seem... very sad."
"...Mhm, a little bit. Mainly because I haven't seen my husband for a long time, so I miss him very much now."
Jasmine also pursed her lips upon hearing this. She too hadn't seen Teacher Fisher for a long time. When they parted, he was still suffering the pursuit of Her Highness Elizabeth, yet she simply abandoned him like that. She didn't know if he was living well now either. Just thinking about Fisher painfully drifting around right now made Jasmine want to become even stronger even more.
"Raphaela, I understand... I also haven't met the person I miss for a long time. Although I don't know what having a husband feels like, I know the urge of urgently wanting to become strong for him. If one day I truly have to choose a husband, I would also definitely choose him. This sense of providence leads to the agony of separation. I understand it."
Jasmine's words injected immense courage into Raphaela. It was as if two lonely Soul found a similar objective at this moment. That feeling of mutual understanding put Raphaela in a much better mood. She merely raised her head and suddenly looked at Jasmine, saying,
"Jasmine, although my speaking now is somewhat selfish, the words I speak are entirely sincere... Can I invite you to join the Dragon Court under my personal name? Although I'm not sure if staying here can help you achieve your objective, I will do my utmost to assist you, even if it is for your similar purpose as mine... However, such a request isn't mandatory. If there comes a day when you must leave, or I fail and die, you can leave at any time."
Jasmine nervously held her breath. But upon seeing Raphaela's emerald-green resolute eyes, she immediately let out a sigh of relief as well, extending her hand towards Raphaela,
"Raphaela also has such a goal, no? Since our goals are similar, althugh for different people, I am also willing to help you achieve your wish... I am willing to help you, even if it is just to let you see your husband sooner."
Raphaela straightforwardly grabbed Jasmine's hand. Scorching body temperature transmitted along their touching palms, as if making them deeply understand each other,
"Also, so you can become strong sooner to protect the person you wish to protect."
"Mhm!"
Two scorching souls formed a tight connection here in this not-so-luxurious cave. Erupting with dazzling light, making any observer have the urge to shed tears. Even in any story, such a scene would be relished by people...
Of course, this premise is conditionally based on entirely not knowing that the target both of them were pursuing happened to be the same person.
Unfortunate for Fisher, Ramastia, who had silently spectated the entire process beside them, was exactly this kind of existence. Even as powerful as He was, at this very moment, He actually felt a little bit like He couldn't bear to watch any longer. If He could speak right now, what He would definitely say would be:
"Fisher, you're on your own."