Supreme Magus novel Chapter 144

Lith didn’t like at all the turn the events had taken. In hindsight, it was an easily predictable outcome. Driven by his desire to stand out among the masses, he had provided them too much information, giving them hope.

His plan to give them just enough to solve the problem on their own, letting him go back to his daily life, had actually backfired.

- "Damn, I underestimated them because of my Earth standards. Back in my world, any prime minister would have turned this scenario into a black op, removing the threat in front of him with extreme prejudice.

Instead, they are willing to put everything at risk to save these people. They could have just turned the infects into guinea pigs, using their bodies, dead or alive, for research purposes." –

"Since no one outside this room knows that we made a breakthrough..." The King continued. "I hereby decree all the new information pertaining the crisis and their source a state secret.

We will divulge them bit by bit once all our assets are in place, using a cover story to avoid Mage Lith becoming a target. Officially, he’ll be here only as a consultant. He will convey any further findings only to Captain Kilian, which in turn will share them with the other healers."

The three men nodded, yet Lith kept racking his brain to find a way out.

- "If I refuse, best case scenario I will get expelled from the academy and my family will lose the corps’ protection. Heck, I’d be lucky to avoid being charged of treason.

I would be alone versus the Crown, the nobles that I offended in the past and whoever sent those mercenaries to kill me. If their contactor didn’t hesitate despite I already was under the Queen’s umbrella, there’s no telling what he’ll do next.

Once again, I can only grin and bear it. The only silver lining is that if I get properly rewarded, I’ll not have money problems for the rest of my life." –

"Before we proceed any further, I’d like to know why Mage Lith thinks these parasites are a product of Alchemy." Queen Sylpha’s curiosity had been piqued by that particular statement, since she shared the same opinion.

"Because I can’t think about any other mean to infuse magic in a poison or parasite." He lied through his teeth. One of the details he had not shared, was that the worm-like parasites he had identified didn’t alter the mana flow directly, but by secreting an unknown substance.

Not only that made them living alchemic labs, but was also deviously brilliant. Even with Invigoration, Lith had struggled to overcome the mana distortion effect and identify the real source of the trouble.

Any other mage would have fallen for that trick, devising a spell to cleanse the toxin, only for the "healed" patient to fall ill again in a matter of days.

The reason why even Lith would need time to cure the plague, was that first he needed to find a way to remove the toxins without killing the patient, and then remove the parasites safely.

He suspected that killing them while inside the host, or removing them forcibly would prove to be lethal for the infected.

"Also, I read from the Captain Velagros’ file that the plague spread right after the explosion of Coirn Hatorne’s alchemic lab. I think is highly unlikely for it to be a coincidence."

The Queen nodded, disappointed from the answer. She had hoped for more brilliance and less logic, more Manohar and less Marth. Geniuses were hard to come by, and even harder to keep.

"As for you, Colonel Varegrave..." The Queen’s voice was filled with ill restrained wrath. If glares could cut, the Colonel would have already been turned in pieces not bigger than a postmark.

"I hope you haven’t forgotten your bet with the King, because certainly I have not. Your earlier blunder is inexcusable. The only reason why you’ll keep your rank and position, is because we cannot afford the time to change the ownership of the Small World.

When the current emergency will be solved, prepare to face the consequences of your foolishness. This conversation is far from over!"

The conversation ended so abruptly, that Kilian checked the gemstone to make sure the magical item wasn’t broken.

The truth, though, was quite different.

"I told you not to mention the bet!" King Meron still couldn’t believe his fiery wife had forced him to hung up the call.

"We had yet to listen to Lith’s requests and find a way to sweeten the deal! In case you forgot, we need more than his services, we need his loyalty! We have to correct the situation as soon as possible, otherwise he will resent us and leave the Kingdom." _{frёewebnoѵēl.com}