Chapter 631 - Friend or Foe (Part 1) (1/2)
”It's none of my business.” Lith replied. Phloria's recovery was slow because she had suffered extensive damage and because of her fatigue, Quylla hadn't much life force to spare.
Phloria had several broken bones, punctured organs, and was bleeding out of her head, mouth, and nostrils. She was deadly pale, gurgling more blood with each breath she took.
”I already risked my life to protect you guys from that thing at great personal cost. I will not waste my mana on a stranger when the life of another of my friends is on the line.”
He started to support Quylla's spell, stopping Phloria's internal bleeding before it was too late. He could've fixed her in the blink of an eye, but with Quylla monitoring Phloria's condition he had to pretend to be a normal mage, incapable of recovering his full strength with just a few deep breaths.
”Great Mage Verhen! The duty of all the members of the army is to protect life without giving preferential treatments.” The woman from the Black Griffon was seething with anger.
Her shoulder length grey hair was dancing in the air due to the mana exuding from her body and her eyes were reduced to two fiery slits. Yet she was holding her left arm in pain.
The healing spell from her magic ring would take a while to heal her completely and until that happened, she was unable to cast spells. Fake mages needed both arms and magic words to use magic.
”The Captain performed her duty honorably and with your actions, you are wasting her sacrifice. You should…” Talking about Phloria as if she was already dead made Lith snap.
His right forefinger whipped as a scorpion's tail, releasing a small air bullet that struck the injured shoulder right where it would hurt the most. With his innate skill for deathblows and extensive knowledge of the human body, Lith didn't even need to use Life Vision to find the right spot.
The bullet was weak, barely as strong as a push, yet enough to rattle the bone fragments inside the Professor's body like it was a flesh maraca. It caused her a pain so intense that the woman fainted without emitting a sound.
”That's why I hate academics.” Morok said while treating the Assistant from the Black Griffon.
Healing wasn't a specialization he had learned back when he was a student at the Crystal Griffon, but after becoming a Ranger, he had quickly understood how dangerous it was not being able to treat all kinds of wounds.
It had taken him some time, but the army had provided him with all he needed to become an excellent Healer.
”You think you are so much better than us because of your knowledge, yet when shit happens, you're as useful as a third nostril. Just because we chose to wear a uniform, it doesn't make us expendable.
”Instead of running your mouths for whining, help yourselves. Our lives aren't any less important than yours.”
Quylla felt the sting of those words as well. After leaving the academy, she had neglected physical training, thinking that always being either at her home or at the White Griffon made it unnecessary.
'What good is a Healer that gets exhausted after a long walk? Lith has walked as much as I did, fought for his life, and yet he still has enough energy to help Phloria. I'm no different from that old hag. I'm too dependent on others in times of crisis.' She thought.
Once Phloria's condition was stabilized, Lith helped the others. Every one of those present was able to use tier three healing magic and had plenty of potions, so only a handful of people were still injured.
When the Healers were done, the group in the tunnel looked like war survivors. Their clothes were damaged, their bodies weakened from either performing or receiving the healing, making their breath ragged and irregular.
Except for Lith, who thanks to Invigoration was still at his peak condition.
”What kind of monster are you? How the heck did you survive those black rays?” Morok was proud of his stamina, yet after sharing his life force with the wounded, he wasn't faring any better than one of the old fossils.