Chapter 1323: 81. Injuries

"I have never seen......injuries this horrific and brutal."

The pure-white hospital room was quiet and solemn.

Even the birds outside the window had been driven away, while defensive formations condensed from magic isolated the room from all irrelevant outsiders.

This was the Empire's finest public Royal Hospital, an institution that had shouldered the vital responsibility of safeguarding the royal family's health ever since its founding.

After the previous Emperor expanded and rebuilt the hospital, opening most of it to the public, it had unquestionably become one of the finest medical facilities on the entire continent.

Countless rare and difficult illnesses had been treated here. It was said that even patients with one foot already in the grave could still fight for a sliver of hope within these walls.

Aside from the Holy City's Holy Sanatorium, there were probably very few medical institutions that dared claim they clearly surpassed it.

And yet, inside this very top-tier Royal Hospital, the old doctor who had once treated three successive Emperors wore an exceptionally grave expression. His aged face was tightly furrowed, the wrinkles so deep they looked as though they could crush a fly to death.

"I've practiced medicine for more than sixty years and seen countless illnesses and injuries. When I was young, I even served as a military doctor on the battlefield. Severed arms, severed legs—those are nothing more than ordinary minor injuries to me."

"But......"

He lowered his head and looked through the small window into the hospital room, a trace of melancholy appearing in his eyes.

"I have never even heard of an injury like this."

"I-Is it really that serious?"

Beside him, a travel-worn man who had rushed here in a hurry sharply sucked in a breath. Even his lion's-mane-like beard trembled.

"Isn't that a little exaggerated? His head and everything still look perfectly fine, don't they?"

"That's only his upper body!"

The old doctor said helplessly, "But when his lower body was brought to our hospital, it could no longer be described with a simple word like 'miserable.' It looked as though an entire mountain had rolled over his lower half. Especially......I truly cannot imagine what kind of situation could possibly inflict that much damage there."

Even he had been badly frightened when the patient was first brought in.

If the situation had not been so absurd, he might even have suspected that this fellow had been......run over by some legendary colossal creature like a giant dragon.

"Then......"

The man's shock deepened, and even his voice trembled slightly.

"Is there still any way to save him......?"

"At least, there is nothing I can do."

The old doctor glanced at the man, seeming to understand something, then patted him on the shoulder.

"Once the situation has reached this point, any external treatment is useless. From here on, it all depends on him."

"But if even you can't......"

"I already told you, it depends on him now. Instead of pestering me here, you'd be better off going inside to see him while you still can. Perhaps......sigh."

The old doctor sighed and said nothing more.

The world was like this.

There were simply too many things that could not be helped.

As a doctor, he had already seen through that long ago.

But there would always be people who could not.

The man......Lorne, stood frozen in place for a long time after hearing those words.

Only after taking a deep breath did he finally summon his courage and slowly push open the door.

A strange incense permeated the air, seemingly made from some kind of medicinal herb.

At the center of the room, the blond young man lay quietly beneath clean white sheets, his expression peaceful, as though he were merely asleep.

It should have been an extraordinarily serene sight.

Yet as Lorne looked at him, he felt his entire heart trembling.

"My son......my precious son."

He walked to the bedside and slowly crouched down. He wanted to reach out and grasp that pale hand, yet hesitated, unable to bring himself to move any closer.

"I'm sorry. This is your father's fault. It's my fault. If I hadn't sold you out back then, how could you ever have ended up like this?"

"I never imagined things would develop this far. I failed you as a father, allowing you to suffer such a terrible disaster at such a young age."

Lorne was overwhelmed with anguish.

To allow the heir of House Campbell to end up in such a state......

Even if he killed himself in apology, once he reached the afterlife, he would surely still have to endure the condemnation of his ancestors.

Unfortunately, time was cruel and could not be reversed.

He could not go back and change the choice he had made.

For the rest of his life, this matter might become an enormous scar he could never overcome......

"Don't think like that. What you did really was a tiny bit wrong, but who could possibly have known something like that would happen?"

Suddenly, a broad bear paw reached over and patted Lorne on the back.

At some point, Pink Bear had also entered the hospital room and was now standing beside Lorne, comforting him.

However, none of his usual frivolous air remained. Over his bulky mascot suit, he wore a specially tailored little black formal jacket, making him look remarkably solemn and dignified.

He held a bouquet of flowers in his arms, his voice filled with regret and lamentation.

"Really, that brat himself deserves some blame too. Who told him to flirt with women everywhere? Fooling around with human girls is one thing, but he actually extended his claws toward nonhumans too? That's just way too bold. Well, look what happened now. He finally played himself, didn't he? I heard he got straight-up run over by a dragon cart? Such a shame I wasn't there to watch the show......no, I mean, to stop this tragedy from happening!"

"No. I still underestimated just how serious this was."

Lorne's expression remained grief-stricken.

"I am unworthy of being a father."

"Sigh. What's done is done. There's no point obsessing over the past. People have to look forward eventually. Let the sad things remain in the past."

Pink Bear casually placed the flowers on the hospital bed, then wrapped one bear paw around Lorne's shoulders.

"Look at you. So this account got ruined. Don't you still have another account? No matter what happens, House Campbell isn't going to lose its bloodline......I heard she's adorable?"

"Of course!"

The moment his alt account was mentioned, Lorne's eyes instantly lit up, and all traces of sadness vanished.

"I'm telling you, she's not merely adorable. She's the cutest child under heaven! She perfectly inherited her mother's beautiful mouth and nose, while her eyes are every bit as bright and spirited as mine. The first time I saw her, I knew immediately that she was my most precious treasure in the entire world!"

"She'll be returning to Belrand soon?"

"Very soon."

"Heh. When she gets back, you have to let me be the first one to hold her. I've long since gotten tired of looking at that brat. He's got those shifty eyes and that dissolute look, not like you at all."

"Hahaha, definitely. But speaking of that......"

Lorne rubbed his chin.

"I should start preparing some transfers and divisions of property ahead of time. I can't let my precious little daughter suffer any grievances in the future."

"You bastard!"

Pink Bear slapped his paws together in mock anger and laughed.

"So you were already planning to reroll your account!"

"Hehehe......"

Lorne scratched his head "shyly," his beard trembling along with the motion.

"Well, House Campbell has been weak and insignificant lately, with storms raging all around us. Of course I have to prepare in advance."

"Tch. You old bastard look honest on the surface, but you're actually pulling tricks like this behind everyone's backs. That's really underhanded." Pink Bear clicked his tongue.

"Hey......life forced my hand. Look at how far the situation has developed. For the sake of House Campbell as a whole, how could I possibly not make preparations like this?"

As he spoke, Lorne seemed to finally remember the tragedy before him again and raised a hand to wipe away the hot tears at the corner of his eye.

"Sigh, my poor main account......no, my son. In the end, he still......"

"I'm not fucking dead yet!!"

Before he could even finish wiping away his tears, a pillow smashed violently into his face.

Pink Bear stared wide-eyed in shock, his expression as though he had just witnessed the strangest thing in the entire world......

And then a familiar bouquet of flowers smashed into his face too.

"You two shameless old bastards, what kind of bullshit act are you putting on here? Even if you came here to pretend to be sad, could you at least make it look convincing? I've been lying in bed with my eyes wide open staring at you two for ages!"

Muen was panting furiously.

"Did you two come here because you're worried about me, or because you wanted to laugh at me?"

"Can't it be both?"

With an utterly serious expression, Pink Bear pulled the flowers off his face.

"We can care about you while also enjoying the spectacle......after all, getting your lower body almost crushed into meat paste by a giant dragon is probably something you couldn't find a second example of even if you searched the entire history of the continent. No matter what, I had to come witness this historic moment."

"You!"

"Don't worry, my precious son. I absolutely did not come here to laugh at you."

Lorne hurriedly waved his hands, then hesitantly added:

"I was merely worried that House Campbell might lose its bloodline because of this......so I came to confirm your condition and make preparations early. Let me emphasize this again: I absolutely did not come here to laugh at you."

"You two!"

Muen trembled from head to toe with rage.

These two shameless old bastards!

However......

This time, once his anger reached its peak, he instead calmed down surprisingly quickly.

He looked toward Pink Bear and sneered.

"You're here to laugh at me? I suppose someday in the future I'll get to laugh at you too. After all, Miss Dragon already knows that you're the bastard who spread all those ridiculous rumors about the two of us. She already said she'll let you experience what it feels like to become the front-page headline yourself......in the physical sense!"

"What?"

Pink Bear's expression changed.

"And you! Father!"

Muen turned toward the other man, his smile growing even colder.

"So you actually know that you sold me out. But it's fine. An injured child usually needs his mother's comfort. It has nothing to do with you, Father......which is why I already wrote Mother a letter earlier describing all of Father's glorious achievements. Judging by the time, it should almost be out of the city by now......"

"What?!"

Lorne's expression changed as well.

The two old men looked at each other.

Without the slightest hesitation, they turned around and flashed out of the hospital room.

One hurried off to destroy the evidence, hoping there might still be some way to save himself, while the other rushed off to intercept that letter.

After all......

A woman protecting her cub really could be even more terrifying than a mother lion!

That damned brat.

How utterly despicable!

"Phew......finally, some peace and quiet."

After the two left, Muen lay back on the hospital bed and let out a long breath.

But before he had enjoyed the tranquility for long, he suddenly sat up, carefully lifted the blanket, and glanced downward.

Good......

It had recovered.

Thank the Love God, thank the Moon God, thank the Mother of Abundance, thank Brother Withering......for giving him such terrifying regenerative ability.

Otherwise, after being squeezed and crushed by Miss Dragon earlier, he might genuinely have had to say goodbye forever to happiness below the waist.

"So how the hell did this story even develop into something like this?"

Muen covered his face.

In truth, he still had not completely recovered mentally from everything that had happened earlier.

After all, there was one thing those two bastards had gotten right......

This really might have been the first absurd incident of its kind in the entire history of the continent.

Fortunately, he had not actually died from it.

Otherwise, he would definitely have gone down in history.

Muen Campbell——the first man in history to be fucked to death by a giant dragon.

How tragic.

Just thinking about it made his scalp go numb.

"Muen, you there?"

While Muen was still thinking, the hospital room door was pushed open once again, and a figure with an outrageously arrogant stride swaggered inside.

Muen spread his fingers apart and looked up through the gaps.

"May I ask......who exactly is this young lady looking down at people through her nostrils?"

"How rude. Address me as Lady Hero!"

Ariel stood with both hands behind her back, brimming with confidence.

"......"

Muen's cheek twitched.

"Hero? What kind of hero?"

"Hmph. Not long ago, I wielded the holy sword, defeated the evil dragon, and successfully rescued you. If that doesn't make me a hero, what does?" Ariel cast him a disdainful glance. "Show some respect to your savior!"

"Wielded the holy sword? What kind of holy sword was that supposed to be?"

The moment Muen remembered that so-called "holy sword," his teeth began itching with anger.

The reason he had ended up this miserable was largely because of that damned thing!

He had clearly already calmed Miss Dragon down back then. If that thing had not suddenly struck Miss Dragon from behind, none of this would ever have developed into such a disaster!

"Muen, you're too hung up on appearances!"

Holy Light flickered, and Liya appeared from who knew where, her little face solemn.

"The reason a so-called holy sword is called a holy sword is not because the sword itself is especially powerful or extraordinary. It is because of the great feat it accomplishes.

So even if it wasn't a holy sword before, now that it has successfully defeated the evil dragon, it has already become a genuine, indisputable holy sword!"

As she spoke, light flashed in Liya's hand.

Buzz——

Beneath the radiance of sacred Holy Light, the holy sword, currently covered by a mysterious mosaic, began vibrating fiercely......

Displaying the mighty power with which it had thus far remained undefeated in every battle!