Supreme Magus novel Chapter 161

With three out of four parasites wiped out, the camp had been further divided into three blocks instead of two. The third new one was for those that had been cured, to make it easier to check on their conditions in case the treatments had short term side effects.

The second block now consisted only by a few tents, allowing the security to be further increased, since the second one was low maintenance. The survivors were in high spirits, finally free to get out of their beds, pain was no longer a big part of their days.

After Garith’s death, Lith was urgently summoned in Varegrave’s tent. Based on what Kilian had told him, Garith was one of Kandria’s great powers. Killing him like that, in front of witnesses after a small provocation, could have been a mistake.

But it was one Lith would be happy to repeat, if necessity arose. He had never liked Garith Senti, and the fact that he had been willing to assault the only one that could cure him, was a testament of how dangerous he was.

Lith had never left an enemy alive, it would mean to give him the possibility to bite his back. Thanks to his mask and uniform, only two people in the whole camp knew his identity.

Even if the guards took a bribe and told Kandria’s mercenary guild what had happened to their leader, they wouldn’t know where to look. The only problem was Varegrave, being a sucker for rules, he probably wanted to reprimand him.

Lith wasn’t worried, though, he was playing a much bigger role in the crisis than everyone would have expected, even him. If push came to the shove, he could simply ask to add a full pardon to his reward.

The Kingdom owned him, and he wouldn’t let his services come cheap.

Reality, though, was different.

"Lith, thank the gods you are all right!" The Colonel was so eager to check his health, to not even wait for Lith to remove mask and gloves.

"I’m really sorry for what happened. Those soldiers are supposed to be elite, yet reacted too slowly. I’ll make sure they will be heavily reprimanded, and their lack of judgment noted on their personal file."

After making sure Lith hadn’t as much as a scratch, Varegrave went back to his chair, sighing with relief.

"There is no need for that, it is all my fault." Lith replied.

"I should have anticipated his reaction, given his character and the nature of the news I had to inform him. He had always behaved properly before, so we all lowered our guard. The soldiers simply followed my instructions, leaving me space to freely move when I’m around my patients."

"I really appreciate your understanding." Varegrave nodded.

"But you are a healer, and you are doing your job magnificently, so such a slip up is understandable on your side (?). The men I assigned to your detail, instead, are professionals, their only job was to ensure your safety, and they failed.

Even if they got accustomed to the routine, even if given the most boring task, they should always be on their toes. They need to be disciplined, next time, they couldn’t be so lucky. If anything happened, I would have demanded their heads, as the Crown mine."

Varegrave glanced to Kilian for a second, with a mix of scolding and worry. Given the Queen’s fiery nature, his old friend’s live could be endangered as well. If the guards were at fault, Kilian’s situation was even worse, being their supervisor.

"Will there be consequences for me killing a guild master?" Lith was a bit baffled by Varegrave care.

"Heavens, no. Attacking a military officer in a zone under martial law alone is a crime punished with the capital punishment. Considering your role, he had it too easy. We would have tortured him before the execution for a few hours, minimum."

"Then what was the urgency for this meeting?"

"The Crown wants to personally hear your report."

Varegrave stood up, setting the blue communication gemstone above his desk, before stepping away and kneeling, promptly followed by both Lith and Kilian.

The gemstone activated shortly afterwards, projecting again the image of the throne hall. This time, only the King and the Queen were present.

"Please, tell me you have good news, Mage Lith." It was worded as a request, but King Meron’s voice was stern, making it sound as an order.

"I do. Aside from the last parasite, the situation is resolved with minimum losses. I am confident to have devised a treatment that will take care of that too. It’s already in final testing phase.

Once I’m sure there are no side effects, it can be passed to Professor Marth for him to assemble it in a single spell. I’m sorry it’s taking so long, but my capabilities are limited, and I need time to double check every step."

Lith lied. He had devised two possible cures since the day he first visited Lady Zeir, the only reason he had not wrapped up everything and went back to the academy was to make sure that Solus’ worries didn’t come true.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Queen Sylpha intervened.

"Barely two weeks have passed since your arrival, yet it was enough for you to turn the Crown’s predicament from desperate to manageable (?).

You have identified the source of the plague, helped in devising the cure for three out of four parasites, and now you are going to provide the cure for the most dangerous one all by yourself. The Crown and the Kingdom are greatly indebted to you."

"You are overestimating my contributions, your Majesty." Lith lied again.

"The cures are mostly Professor Marth’s doing. I gave him the idea for the first, and then I deconstructed and modified his cure to make it fit the mana blocking parasite."