Chapter 92: Emergency Surgery (1)
The aftermath of the Breath had melted away parts of Selonia Castle, which was quite a distance away.
However, the Boen Dragons Breath failed to melt the beings in front of it.
Surrounded by a bluish spherical barrier, Ray glanced slightly towards the shield.
Crack
Ray frowned as he noticed the small crack that had begun to form and waved his hand.
Cancel.
Is this what it means to be a dragon after all?
A shield that even a Swordmaster couldnt break now had a crack.
It was an unprecedented event during his use of magic.
Ray directed the enormous amount of mana he had gathered in his left hand towards the main dragon.
Heal!
Roaring sound
The dense mana shot out in an instant, creating a huge resonating sound.
The main dragon began to writhe and suffer from the immense mana it received.
Dragons roar
Its wingbeats shattered the ground, and its body rolled, tearing through the village.
As the pouring mana was enough to push back the magic that composed the body of the main dragon, its wingtips were torn away.
Snap- Crash!
The bare, gaunt wings seemed so heavy that when they fell to the ground, the sound shook the earth.
With the main dragon in such a state, the dragons fury that had been pouring over the three of them gradually subsided.
Pia and Iriel, now able to move freely, immediately ran towards Zik.
Zik, who was evidently in a life-threatening state, seemed to have lost half his consciousness, still clutching his sword tightly even as he spewed out blood.
At that sight, Pia choked up.
Though they always bickered, in truth, they were quite close.
They fought more because they were honest with each other, and they made up as if nothing had happened.
Seeing Zik, usually so strong, helpless and vomiting blood made Pias heart drop.
Could it be that hes going to die like this? She thought, despite the Saint and the Holy Woman being nearby, she could only think of the worst-case scenario.
Iriel quickly placed her hands on Ziks abdomen and chest.
She drew upon her tremendous divine power, using it all to manifest holy magic.
Restoration!
Whoosh.
A giant halo of light burst from Iriels fingertips and struck Ziks body.
The high-level holy magic, said to reattach severed limbs, was cast on Zik, but it didnt seem to have a very good effect.
Iriel let out a sigh of concern.
The magic energy
The undeads magic energy, which had penetrated the wounds, prevented healing.
Of course, she could push it out if she willed it, but forcibly doing so might cause the wounds to burst open due to the clash of magic energy and divine power.
At times like this, all she could do was keep pouring holy magic until the magic energy dissipated.
If she neutralized it indirectly rather than directly pushing it out with divine power, the treatment would be slow, but it was possible.
The problem was whether Zik could endure that time.
The time for the magic energy to neutralize and the wounds to heal. For Zik, already pierced and torn apart by a sword, even that would be difficult.
Ray glanced at the scene and pressed on against the main dragon again.
That looks pretty dangerous.
Even patients in the emergency room usually arent that bad.
Ziks condition had surpassed that of a critical patient and could be deemed near death.
The golden hour had already begun!
A time more precious than gold to save a patient.
To shorten that time by even a moment, one must quickly bring down the Bone Dragon.
However, even with all the mana from the atmosphere gathered in his hand, he only managed to knock down a single wing.
It was clear that healing magic was particularly effective against the undead.
Hadnt it been said that the Bone Dragon nullified all magic below the 7th circle?
Then he would make sure it lost its life to a 1st circle healing spell!
Ray created a sword out of mana and charged towards the Bone Dragon.
Heal!
The harmony of swordsmanship and magic existed.
The mana of swordsmanship and the circles of magic were present.
Those who could wield both harmoniously were called magic swordsmen since ancient times.
But such magic swordsmen were considered no more real than urban legends.
After all, how could one person control mana that should follow entirely different paths?
Yet Ray was capable of this. He had reached a superhuman level of mana control, established his unique mana circuit, and possessed a brain that could internalize every possible pathway of mana movement.
The Bone Dragon began to gather magical energy and started to use magic.
Kuooooo-
The surroundings became shrouded as if covered by a fog of magic energy, and within it, a black orifice formed.
Ray quickly swung his hand.
Cancel!
Shush-
The magic that the Bone Dragon unleashed was suppressed.
The unique magical technique he invented and developed was known.
Known as the Magic Cancel Technique!
A skill anyone could perform with basic mana control was this.
Of course, this assumed they could instantly calculate and deduce where the magic would manifest.
The Bone Dragon tried to manifest its magic several times thereafter.
But each time, Ray forcibly collided his mana with the intended path of the magics emergence.
Cancel!
With his left hand, he continually canceled magic, and with his right, he sliced at the Bone Dragons shin.
Starting with a sparring session with Eil and collecting only the strengths from the battle with Duke Jahad, Rays distinctive sword technique attacked the Bone Dragon.
Screech-
The Bone Dragons bones, which were said to be unscratchable even by an Aura Blade, were gradually sliced.
Kraaaaaaa!
Ray once again canceled the lightning shot by the Bone Dragon.
What followed was his relentless attack.
He precisely aimed to slice the same spot on the shin, without any deviation.
Realizing that its magic was ineffective, the Bone Dragon began to attack Ray with its body.
Its tail, sharp like a spike, swept through the spot where Ray had been.
Shield!
Koooung!
The sound of heavy metal falling to the ground echoed as the Bone Dragons tail was blocked by the shield.
Even in that brief moment, Rays sword continued its assault on the Bone Dragon.
Kagagagagak-
Little by little, the sliced shin, no longer able to bear the weight, snapped.
The Bone Dragon let out a painful scream, lost its balance, and collapsed.
Kuong-
In a frenzy, it thrashed its tail and ungainly limbs, attempting to strike Ray, but he was not one to simply take hits.
Blocking and dodging ordinary attacks, Ray continued to cast spells.
Heal! Heal! Heal!
At that rate, even the Bone Dragon, which could boast of having the strongest endurance, could not avoid being hit.
The magical energy composing its body was gradually purified, and its limbs slowly blurred as if melting away.
The breath flowing from the corners of the Bone Dragons mouth poured out once more.
Khahaaaak-!
It seemed as if it was trying to melt everything in one final attempt, the toxicity of its breath stronger than before.
Ordinary people would die just from breathing the air.
Extensive Cure! Heal!
Ray continued to attack the Bone Dragon while purifying the air.
Even if it was purified, Selonia would still suffer aftereffects.
The village had melted to the extent that it was unrecognizable from before, resembling a marshland.
Even if priests and clerics tried to purify it, it would take years before livestock could be raised again, and agriculture could not be properly conducted.
And then there were the troops.
The rebel forces and the Holy Kingdoms forces had all melted away from the initial breath released by the Bone Dragon.
If the military force had this much of a gap, the plan to make the Holy Kingdom the strongest nation on the continent might have already gone awry.
With that thought, Rays mana-infused sword gained strength.
Gguuk-
Continuous attacks and healing spells brought the Bone Dragon to its limit.
Its wings fell off, so it couldnt fly, and its legs broke, so it couldnt run away.
Moreover, its magic was canceled as soon as it manifested.
Eventually, the Bone Dragon met its end with a scream as if it was clawing its own throat.
Purseok-
With no more magical energy to constitute its body, the bones of the Bone Dragon began to crumble away.
Ray exhaled as he watched the remains of the Bone Dragon slowly disappear like scattered ashes.
Hoo
Had he ever been this exhausted since he learned magic?
He ran to the border to catch a necromancer, and came back to Selonia to catch a Swordmaster and the Bone Dragon.
Even Iriel and Faiamar lost their words at his feat.
After all, how could a human stand in front of the strongest of the undead species, the Bone Dragon?
Moreover, it was not just a delay; it was completely extinguished.
Iriel muttered to herself unwittingly.
Dragon Slayer
A title that had appeared only once in history.
Of course, unlike that time, now it was an imperfect dragon that was caught, but the Bone Dragon was nonetheless a match for humans.
Ray, having killed the Bone Dragon, thought he had to find the necromancer.
He spread his mana widely, attempting to search.
Woong-
A mana large enough to encompass the whole village started to seek out all lifeforms, but strangely, he could not detect the necromancer.
Has he already escaped?
It seemed that the necromancer had fled while Ray was distracted by the Bone Dragon.
If he couldnt catch him, it would surely become troublesome.
There was nothing that could be done about a missed opportunity. Besides, it was the Holy Kingdoms job to chase after the necromancer.
Since they caught another necromancer at the border, interrogating him might yield some information.
Ray watched as the bones of the Bone Dragon he had caught gradually disappeared and then tilted his head in confusion.
Isnt there still magical energy remaining?
The bones were disappearing, the body was blurring away, but he could feel a massive crystallized magical energy within.
Ray walked into it without hesitation and pulled out something the size of an adults head.
That hardened rock-like thing somehow felt familiar.
Ray frowned slightly as he examined it and managed to think of something similar in his mind.
Heart?
It wasnt just a heart, but one as big as a watermelon.
Moreover, it wasnt shriveled up, but it seemed like it had definitely been beating just moments ago, tender to the touch.
A heart that had just been beating in an undead?
Wasnt that a bit too unbalanced?
As Ray took it and headed towards Iriel, she and Pia were looking at Zik, who was lying down.
Ill check his condition.
Ray spoke as he examined Ziks wounds.
Goodness the organs arent just a mess
The intestines visible through the wound in the abdomen looked like they had been stirred several times with a sword, turned completely to mush.
And the chest wound, what about that? Fortunately, the lungs seemed to be unharmed, but the heart, precisely targeted, was tattered.
It was a miracle he was still breathing with such injuries.
With such serious wounds, Ray himself doubted if he could heal them.
There were holy and healing magics, but seeing the state of Iriel and Pia, even that seemed challenging then.
There were no medical devices, and they had to rely solely on experience and skill to treat this.
Theres no time to move Zik to the sanctuary. Well have to minimize the surgery time and proceed
Several possible life-saving surgeries flashed through Rays mind before being dismissed because they all required state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Its going to be tough moreover
Ray sighed as he looked around.
Sigh In such unfavorable conditions
Performing surgery in this place, where melted flora and fauna, toxic fumes, and untold numbers of unknown bacteria thrived, was daunting.
If even a speck of dirt entered that gaping abdominal wound, Zik would die.
Perhaps he would die if the surgery didnt go well, or in the worst case, during the surgery itself.
But it still had to be done. A doctor couldnt just give up on a patient, could they?
Ray cast a spell on his weary body.
Clean.
Holy one lets move Zik to the sanctuary first.
No. It must be done here.
What? Zik is now consumed by magical energy, we cant revive him with holy magic. It would be better to treat him at the sanctuary
We dont have the time for that. Hell likely die on the way.
As Ray shook his head, Pia felt her heart sink.
Die?! You mean Zik is going to die!
Hell die if we move him to the sanctuary as he is.
That cant be true! Zik is strong!
Ray frowned at Pias words.
As if we have time for this.
Do you think a Swordmaster is some kind of Lich? Or a Dragon? Even a dragon would die if its heart was as shredded as this. I stake my name on it, if we dont act now, hell die.
The holy man made his declaration.
At that, Pia covered her mouth with her hands, choking back tears.
Zik had always been strong since childhood.
She had believed that he could do anything, knew everything.
When Zik became a Swordmaster, that belief only grew stronger.
But the reality she faced was that Zik was just a person.
The fact that he could move amidst the Dragons Fury was due to his exceptional mental strength.
What about her?
She was just a crybaby who could only cry.
Still, the tears wouldnt stop.
Ray, looking at Pia, shook his head and turned his eyes back to Zik.
There was no time for Ray to comfort her tenderly.
Zik was dying at that very moment.
If there was another interruption, he was ready to freeze her with mana and proceed with the surgery.
Fortunately, there were no further interruptions from Iriel and Pia after that.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com