Chapter 182

Chapter 182

The mage who had come with them had used the Eye of the Mage early on.

An invisible, floating eye hovered above the heads of the crowd.

Meanwhile, on the high platform of the fortress, a gentle projection was relaying every movement of the scene in the aid room below to everyone.

Lindbergh, watching the screen filled with white light, couldn't help but nervously press the corners of his mouth.

The Eye of the Mage, which seemed to be malfunctioning, captivated everyone's attention.

Except for a few who were currently fighting, everyone on the platform had their eyes tightly fixed on that screen.

As the light dispersed, the screen finally showed a different scene.

Everyone gazed intently, not wanting to miss a single second of the scene.

Lorant didn't want to miss it either.

The healing light of the Holy Light Peafowl was rich but not dazzling; it was a soft yet bright light, and those enveloped in it felt a very comfortable warmth.

For Lorant and others, they simply felt a warm and comfortable sensation all over, but for those who were wounded, the sensation was even more pronounced.

As the light spread, people with various wounds could feel a stronger life energy than ordinary Healing Light spells.

The gentle energy enveloped them entirely, healing them without restraint, causing their wounds to rapidly heal.

The light lasted for about a minute, and when it faded, the adventurers with healed wounds stood there in a daze.

They were experienced adventurers, not of low level, either.

They clearly saw the white light emanating from the central beast pet, one they had never seen before!

What did this mean?

A healing beast pet!

Even though they had gradually become accustomed to beast pets being involved in their lives, these adventurers were still incredibly astonished.

Could it be that, starting today, this miraculous healing beast pet could remain in the fortress like the Devouring Frogs outside, providing large-scale healing regularly?

If that were true!

The healed looked at each other, seeing the uncontainable delight in their eyes.

Ed nervously licked his lips.

"Everyone, if your injuries have healed, please raise your hand to let me confirm."

The adventurers, like obedient children, raised their hands one by one. Normally a group of rebellious individuals, they were now complying obediently.

One after another, a forest of arms appeared in the center of the aid room.

Standing among them, Ed stared at the scene, lost in thought.

With the Holy Light Peafowl at the center, all the injured within a nearly fifty-meter radius had fully recovered!

The injured in this area, while not as severely wounded as those outside the aid room, were still significantly injured by comparison.

Individually, wounds as long as several centimeters were considered minor among these people.

Even lighter injuries weren't worth the time for these physically strong adventurers to come here.

And in this moment, all of these people's wounds were rapidly healed.

The healing light seemed to carry a muffling effect, instantly silencing the scene.

Lorant, concerned for his Holy Light Peafowl, immediately checked the little one's condition.

The beautiful Holy Light Peafowl affectionately nuzzled its head into Lorant's palm in response to his concern.

Seeing that the little one was still in good shape, Lorant finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, these little ones had only just been born, and Lorant was worried that they would be too weak to be of much use in such a short time.

But now, it seemed that the ghost spider, born with immense power, and the Holy Light Peafowl, also an A-grade beast pet, were equally strong.

Even though the Holy Light Peafowl was still very young, it was already a significant help to the fortress.

As the Holy Light Peafowl continued to grow, Lorant had every reason to believe it would bring him even more surprises.

"Alright, those who have recovered, please move outside and let others come closer," Ed snapped out of his daze, made eye contact with Lorant, and seeing Lorant nod, continued to call out.

The adventurers present snapped out of their daze and began to consciously make room for other injured individuals around them.

They also realized that the range of the light emitted by the beast pet corresponded to the extent of its healing abilities.

Those with friends quickly brought them over, and to save space and allow more people into the healing range, everyone even made an effort to prop the injured up.

Seeing several stretchers with the injured propped up, Lorant felt a bit helpless.

Under better conditions, no one would want to endure such hardships, right?

"Little one, can you use your healing light again?" Lorant asked, stroking the little one's smooth body.

The little one nodded earnestly and buried its head in Lorant's neck, rubbing affectionately.

It was clever enough to realize that when it pressed its head against Lorant, it wouldn't detect those strange smells, so as soon as its skill ended, it clung to Lorant, swaying and acting spoiled.

Lorant held it, happily stroking the little one's satin-like body. Being loved by a beast pet never gets old!

The effects of this healing light were even more astonishing.

Among those who were severely injured and supported by others, the most severely injured individual had a gash on his left leg that ran from the outer side of his calf all the way to his thigh.

At first glance, it looked as if his entire left leg had been sliced open by a sharp blade.

But after the white light dissipated, his left leg was almost completely healed, leaving only a shallow cut with minimal bleeding.

Although it hadn't fully healed, everyone knew that his leg was saved.

His teammates, standing behind him, were moved to tears, two towering, burly men over two meters tall hugged each other, tears streaming down their faces.

If that leg had been lost, his career as an adventurer would have ended.

But now, he had the chance to continue fighting and advancing.

After undergoing the healing light three more times, a quarter of the less severely injured in the entire aid hall were directly cleared.

Seeing the Holy Light Peafowl appeared somewhat tired, Lorant called a halt to the first examination.

These results were quite satisfactory to both Lorant, and Lindbergh, who was observing through the Mage's Eye.

Carrying Hanh Han, who had already fully recovered after the first session, Lorant left the aid room. Looking back, he noticed the sudden decrease in numbers behind him, and the patients, who now had more hope and were less despondent, putting him in a good mood.

When he returned to Lindbergh's reception room, the chief of the fortress was already waiting there.

He bent down, staring at each other with a newly awakened Holy Light Peafowl. His somewhat fierce expression didn't seem to scare the little peafowl.

The young one tilted its head, carefully examining the human who had crouched down, and didn't feel any malice.

After a brief consideration, based on its brief time with Lorant, the Holy Light Peafowl concluded that this human was staring at it because he wanted to get close!

The kind young peafowl, after a moment of hesitation, stretched out its neck and rubbed its soft, fluffy crest against Lindbergh's nose.

Lindbergh froze, just as Lorant and Lancelot entered the reception room. He quickly straightened up, coughing to pretend nothing had happened.

The little Holy Light Peafowl had no idea what was going on and still tilted its head in confusion, watching this odd human.

Wasn't it basic politeness to return a rub after receiving one? What an impolite human!

Lorant held back his laughter, placing the slightly tired young one next to its siblings, then gently rubbed the head of the confused young peafowl.

The little Holy Light Peafowl quickly forgot its confusion and happily rubbed against Lorant's head, enjoying the caress.

"How is it, Uncle Lindbergh?" Lorant asked with a smile. "Are you satisfied with the little one's performance?"

Lindbergh didn't try to hide it—he wasn't cut out for the cutthroat business world. "I'm extremely satisfied. I couldn't be happier!"

His face lit up with unmistakable joy. "Now, let's talk about your terms."

"I've already sent the recorded footage to the other forts. They should show up soon after watching those videos."

"Once they arrive, we can thoroughly discuss the Holy Light Peafowl."

As Lindbergh expected, the response from the leaders of the other four forts was quite swift.

The might of the Holy Light Peafowl was beyond dispute. Everyone could see how crucial this beast pet was to the entire fort.

Last time, Lindbergh had secretly kept the Devouring Frogs, which had already stirred considerable discontent among his peers.

The forts, linked by the wall, could interact with each other.

The towering walls, hundreds of meters high, also functioned as a fairly wide path.

Since the news of the Devouring Frogs spread to the other forts, their operatives had been flocking to Lindbergh's fort. Walking on the wall's path, these operatives, especially ranged ones, would inevitably cast a few spells.

Consequently, the pressure from the beast tide on Lindbergh's fort became the least among the five forts.

Some less tightly controlled forts even found that some of their operatives had secretly moved into Lindbergh's fort.

Despite their frustration, they had no better solution to the problem.

Although the military had stricter management compared to regular organizations, it was still fundamentally an operative organization.

All professional organizations shared a common weakness: their members were inherently loosely organized and independent.

Facing this situation, as long as the numbers weren't too excessive, the other generals could only hold their noses and reluctantly accept it.

But this time, the usually stingy Lindbergh unexpectedly handed over the information about the beast pet directly to them. Naturally, these individuals weren't about to miss such an opportunity.

It didn't take long before all five of the military department's top brass arrived at Lindbergh's fortress.

"Lindbergh!" A booming voice came from outside, a perfect example of what it meant to have a 'voice like a bell.'

"I'm here! Where’s the little thing you mentioned?"

Lindbergh sighed and shouted back equally loudly, "Here! Don't shout so loudly! Come in!"

With no one else around, these top military leaders were acting rather informally, none of them maintaining a formal demeanor.

The owner of the voice was a towering man nearly three meters tall, Nicole, the sole shield warrior among the five generals. His fortress was at the farthest east, while Lindbergh's was at the farthest west, but the two were the best of friends. After all, one was a shield knight and the other a sword knight, and they had even worked together during their younger days.

"Where's the animal companion?" Nicole began searching as soon as he entered, looking for the little creature Lindbergh had shown him in the footage, showing a strong sense of ownership.

He wandered around the grand reception hall, looking here and there.

Lindbergh was exasperated with this old friend of his. He gently stroked a Holy Light Peafowl that had been startled by either Nicole's voice or his own. He then watched leisurely as Nicole searched around.

Nicole was just joking around. He casually grabbed a bottle of red wine from the shelf in Lindbergh's reception hall, sat down opposite Lindbergh, and held the bottle in his hand.

"Is this the only one?" He couldn't help but suspect, looking at the Holy Light Peafowl in Lindbergh's arms.

Lindbergh let go, allowing the mischievous little creature to jump onto his shoulder and settle down, acting quite haughty. Lindbergh's expression was so kind and doting that he looked like a doting grandfather.

Nicole looked at Lindbergh with a strange expression in his eyes. "Does this beast pet have the ability to change people's minds or something?"

Lindbergh rolled his eyes. "Stop blabbering, Nicole! Haven't I told you already? There are fourteen Holy Light Peafowl in total! Could you please be quiet for a few seconds and not disturb this little one?"

Watching the little beast on Lindbergh's shoulder tremble slightly at his voice, Nicole couldn't tell if it was him or the shameless 'foolish grandfather' who had disturbed it.

"Where are the others?" Nicole asked, puzzled.

The other Holy Light Peafowl had naturally been taken below by Lorant and Lancelot to treat the injured.

They needed to test how long it would take these little ones to fully recover after fatigue. So, Lorant simply took all of them down to clear out the infirmary in one go.

This time, he was smarter and didn't go into the treatment room itself.

Even with protective measures, the air inside was still far from good. The smell of blood mixed with mud made Lorant wonder if, without magic in this world, these wounded soldiers' injuries would have already become infected and rotted long ago.

Thomas's team was busy again.

They found a 25-meter-long rope and, using a high-legged table as the vertex, drew several circles with a diameter of about 50 meters.

Holy Light Peafowl stood proudly on the high-legged tables like exquisite ornaments, quiet and elegant.

The injured were tightly gathered within the circles according to the arrangements made by Mo'er and Thomas.

After just a few rotations of four Holy Light Peafowl, all the wounded accumulated throughout the day in the fortress were healed.

For the more severely injured, the curious young priests observing the beast pets continued their work.

They were quite clever. Now, for those with severe injuries, they would first perform partial healing to control the injuries so that they could be cured by the Holy Light Peafowl or keep them alive until the peafowl could use their abilities a few more times.

Compared to before, the pressure had significantly decreased.

While waiting for the minor injuries to be treated, Lorant turned his attention to those who were severely injured.

He was quite curious about how 'Life Infusion' worked.

Since they were running tests, it was only natural to try out various skills.

"What is this? A brand new healing beast?"

Leaning against the gentle and sturdy giant Devouring Frog, Lorant watched as the Holy Light Peafowl displayed its brilliance for the first time in this world, just like a father watching his son succeed in the imperial examination.

"Yes," Lorant cheerfully replied to the nearby question. "It's a brand new healing beast. If you're injured, you can go there and wait in line for treatment."

"Oh, thank you. I'm fine for now. Can these healing beasts only heal external wounds?"

"External wounds, curses, and poison can all be treated. But for now, we should prioritize those who are injured. The rest can wait."

"Yes, that's right."

After exchanging a few words, Lorant suddenly realized and turned around to look at the person who had asked the question behind him.

The person who had spoken was a young-looking man. Lorant estimated that he couldn't be much older than Lancelot.

He was quite handsome, with black hair and black eyes—a rare sight for Lorant, who rarely met someone with the same hair and eye color as his.

Noticing Lorant sizing him up, the man smiled slightly and politely extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Michael. I've heard a lot about you. You must be Lorant, the owner of the Animal Pet Shop, right?"

Lorant regarded the man warily, finding him somewhat suspicious. Many people had tried to strike up conversations and get close to him over the past few days, but this man gave off a strange vibe.

When facing this man, Lorant felt as if he were facing Jacqueline.

Though the man was very friendly, Lorant felt like he was facing a dangerous beast, his body tensing up involuntarily.

Suppressing his strange thoughts, Lorant also extended his hand. "Hello, Michael. I'm Lorant."

Michael was dressed somewhat peculiarly, wearing light knight armor with a staff and a longsword attached to his waist.

Lorant had only seen such attire on Lancelot before. It would be hard to use both types of weapons simultaneously unless someone was trained in both magic and martial arts.

"Oh, by the way, this must be the Devouring Frog, right?" Michael shook hands with Lorant and then pointed to the large creature behind him.

Lorant nodded. "That's right, it's the Devouring Frog. Aren't you from this fortress? Haven't you been empowered recently?" He looked at the man in front of him with some suspicion.

The fame of the Devouring Frogs should have been well-known throughout the fortress by now.

Recently, these ugly giants have been the most popular, and everyone wanted their weapons to be empowered by them to boost their strength.

Lorant couldn't imagine anyone in the fortress asking such a question.

Michael didn't hide anything. He nodded. "I'm not from this fortress. I've been posted in other fortresses before, so I'm not very familiar. However, I have seen weapons that have been empowered by them. Although it’s time-limited, it’s indeed very powerful."

Hearing this, Lorant felt no suspicion and proudly patted the Devouring Frog's large leg. "Of course, our children are all very capable. If it weren’t for the beast tide, I wouldn’t have brought them all here!"

"It’s too hot and dry here. It’s not suitable for these children." Lorant said, looking with concern at the slight crack on the edge of the Devouring Frog's drooping paw.

"Mo'er, who had been busy helping Thomas, quickly responded and ran to fetch the special moisturizing spray and drinking water Lorant had prepared for the Devouring Frogs."

"By the way, why do you prefer to keep these Devouring Frogs here instead of distributing them to all the fortresses? Wouldn’t that be better?"

Lorant gave Michael a look, feeling that this guy’s oddness seemed to overflow. In addition to what Baby had mentioned—that it dared not approach this man too closely—and after some thought, he felt that this guy could pose a serious threat to him.

The appearance of such strength at this moment made Lorant form a vague suspicion.

This individual was probably one of the four other generals, one of the commanders of the other four fortresses.

However, considering the man’s currently friendly demeanor, Lorant patiently explained to him, "Voracious Frogs also have combo skills. The effects they produce when separated are significantly reduced compared to when they are together."

"The benefits of individual empowerment pale in comparison to combo empowerment."

"Moreover, these combo empowerments are mostly specific to certain targets. Take for example, three Voracious Frogs can perfectly empower a shield knight, and another four can empower an archer."

"Therefore, there’s no practical way to separate them. We can’t have one fortress only empowering archers and another only empowering mages, can we?"

"Thus, I’ve decided to keep them together. Moreover, the daily empowerment capacity of these voracious frogs is limited. Even this fortress cannot be fully covered, so it’s not worth complicating things further."

"Furthermore, these large creatures need constant human supervision. We are understaffed at the Beast Companion Shop, so we’ve had to temporarily abandon the idea for now."