Ch.130Derikson Village Purification (4)

Beeeeeep…..

“Urrrgh…..”

“Stay still!”

Right after the battle, Simon was treating my upper body, which had been severely injured by acid.

Even though I had applied an acid resistance buff, as long as it was resistance and not immunity, I had to accept some damage… I had been hit by more than five acid explosions at point-blank range, literally right in front of my face.

My upper torso was in a horrific state, with skin and muscle completely melted away, and what was even more terrifying was that the acid had dissolved even my nerves, making me unable to feel pain.

It’s fortunate that Simon can use healing spells. Otherwise, it would have taken at least a week to recover using Maintain.

“I’d like to cast a pain relief spell… but as you know, I only have one spell left…”

“I know… it’s just… a bit… painful.”

I was already running Fentin at maximum intensity, so the pain was less than expected, but the tremendous agony spreading across my entire upper body as nerves and muscles were exposed to the air still brought tears to my eyes.

Healing spells were, it seemed, cruder than I had thought.

“By the way, what should we do about your armor…? There’s nothing left to restore with a restoration spell…”

“We’ll have to buy a new one, what else? At least the dimensional storage inscription near my heart is still intact, thankfully.”

I shuddered at Simon’s words.

Never mind the stored food, but to lose nearly 200 gold coins all at once—it was horrifying just to imagine.

With that much gold, one could buy a small castle and live comfortably as a lord.

“There. All done now.”

“Hmm…”

As the healing spell finished its work, I felt my exposed upper body and checked in a mirror to see if anything had gone wrong.

Fortunately, there were no issues, and even all the unnecessary scars that had covered my body were completely regenerated.

“Why did you regenerate the scars?”

“How should I know? Scars are part of the skin tissue, so they regenerated too.”

“Really?”

Well, what could I do about it?

I’m neither an authority on skin tissue nor a spell caster.

I opened my dimensional storage and put on the spare clothes I had bought.

They were sturdy enough to withstand sharp branches or jagged stones, if not blades, and I had deliberately chosen a loose fit, so they would do until I could get new armor.

However, as I moved around, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, the clothes are too small.”

“Well… you’re still growing.”

The last time I measured my height, I was over 170cm, so if I keep growing at this rate, I might even exceed 180cm.

With a bit of luck, I might even reach over 2 meters tall?

“This is quite troublesome, though.”

“What is?”

“The clothes. It’s already the 18th month, so snow will fall soon. Without armor, one set of clothes won’t be enough to endure the cold.”

“…Can’t endure it?”

“?”

“?”

What’s with this strange disconnect?

*

“Party leader, I can assure you that very few people can survive sleeping outdoors in minus 40 degrees wearing rags.”

“I get it….”

Having a stronger and more robust body than others was certainly a blessing, but it was also a curse.

People are subjective beings, and knowingly or unknowingly, they can’t help but set all standards according to themselves or their surroundings.

I survived after killing thousands on the streets, but put differently, other people belong to those thousands who died.

“Well, at least it doesn’t hinder our movement right now, so let’s quickly head to the baby factory. A factory of that size should have urban areas or shopping districts nearby.”

“Indeed. If they can make baby clothes, they can surely make adult clothes too.”

We mounted our horses again to escape the chilly weather.

Although we were delayed more than expected, there was no time limit on our adventure, and while it was getting cold, it wasn’t cold enough to freeze to death.

My wife could warm up with my body heat, the elf sisters could warm each other by rubbing their cheeks together, and Simon could cast a heating spell on his beard to at least keep his head warm.

“Winter already…”

“Do you have something to say?”

“No. Just… I first set out on my adventure around the end of winter. And now we’re facing winter again… time flies so fast.”

“Hehe… I feel the same way.”

I rubbed my wife’s cheeks vigorously.

This warmed both her cheeks and my hands, and before the warmth left my hands, I gripped Bruiser’s reins and left the town square.

The ruins of this Derickson village would soon be buried under snow and frost, and when spring returns, those who escaped and survived would begin to rebuild the village.

Just like when the first pioneers settled here, it would be small and humble but full of hope for the future.

As we were moving from the square toward the village entrance—

“Wait a moment!”

“Hmm?”

Hearing a sudden voice from behind, my party members and I turned around.

Behind us stood dozens of people with minor injuries, and I recognized them as members of the militia who had defended this village.

“Come to think of it, the adventurer party did mention there would be survivors…”

I muttered, steering Bruiser back toward them.

As I approached, they all knelt down and paid their respects to me.

“Rise, soldiers of Derickson Village. You have fulfilled your duty, so do not be ashamed.”

“We thank the noble knight for slaying the necromancer that ravaged our village. We have nothing to offer but our gratitude. And… and…”

“Do you need additional help?”

I noticed from their hesitation that they needed more assistance.

It wasn’t a particularly impressive skill.

Just a kind of ‘social acumen’ that one naturally acquires from wandering the streets.

“It… it’s shameless to ask, but yes. There are many others still alive in this village besides us. Some are buried in the ruins, others too severely injured to move. We need help. Please… please assist us!”

“I see…”

I dismounted and surveyed the completely collapsed village.

Soon the other party members also dismounted, and I divided the standing men into three groups.

“I’ll divide you into three groups. Group 1 will prepare and distribute food. Group 2 will care for and treat the injured. And Group 3 will clear the ruins and rescue survivors. Understood?”

“Y-yes, understood!”

Even a militia needs a minimum hierarchy, so those closer to soldiers or police easily accepted my orders.

We began taking vegetables and meat from our dimensional storage and distributed them to Group 1, ordering them to cook.

“Supplies are limited, so make the broth as thin as possible. Heavy food entering stomachs that have been starved for a long time can cause intestinal problems and death.”

“Understood.”

Next was Group 2, and I, Raisha, and the elf sisters entrusted their management to Simon.

Without medical knowledge, we might do more harm than good, like untrained shamans causing deaths.

“I’ll leave this to you. I’m counting on you.”

“Just trust me. I’ll show you why they call me a sage.”

Meanwhile, I, Raisha, and the elf sisters joined Group 3 to search the ruins for survivors. Due to the nature of the heavy, tangled debris, children had a relatively higher survival rate than adults.

“Sir Victor! Please help over here!”

“Coming right away!”

Raisha and I handled the heavy lifting, while the elf sisters used their keen senses to locate survivors. The number of survivors we found barely clinging to life in the debris soon exceeded several hundred.

We continued rescue and search operations for a full two weeks, purchasing medical supplies, food, winter clothing, and firewood at fair prices from passing merchant caravans.

At the same time, we informed the caravans about what had happened in Derickson Village, waiting for external support. As the third week was ending, professional support teams sent by the Adventurers’ Guild and Relief Knights arrived.

“Thank you for your hard work. We’ll take over from here. Please get some rest.”

“No, we should properly hand over what we’ve been doing. Call for a scribe.”

Finally, after four weeks, we had completed everything we could do, and with only about 20 days left until the end of the year, we were finally able to set out again toward the long-awaited Scofield Plains.

Although we were significantly delayed, we didn’t feel that this time had been wasted at all.