LRAB Chapter 87 Stone Raven Town
Chapter 87 Stone Raven Town
On the west bank of the Controversial River, in an abandoned town called "Stone Raven Town," Tiberius and Vito are having a meeting in a room.
A few days ago, after the fall of Broken Sword Fortress, they attempted to escape to the west side of the Controversial River, across which lies Watchtower, which belongs to Rhys, facing Broken Sword Fortress.
Unfortunately, because so many people were fleeing to Wangbao, the boats were all stuck in the river.
To avoid being wiped out by the pursuing Valantis, Tiberius had no choice but to lead everyone downstream, even though they might encounter the ports of New Valantis and Taxpayers' Bay.
Because of Mitristar's erroneous command, a large portion of the Three Daughters Kingdom's main force was torn apart on the east bank. Therefore, when the main force of the Valantis also crossed the Disputed River and reached the west side, how could the defeated soldiers of the Three Daughters Kingdom possibly stand against the Valantis, who were now riding high on their great victory?
And Tiberius knew better than anyone that the Valantis general named Marcus had a very simple goal: to completely annihilate the Three Daughters Kingdom's fighting force. He didn't care about simply conquering cities and territories, but rather about ensuring that no one would dare to oppose Valantis again!
If that was their objective, then Tiberius and his men continuing to flee with the routed soldiers to other western bank strongholds and crossings would be suicidal. Therefore, their only option was to continue inland, attempting to return to the flank corridor area and rejoin Jules and his men.
[Once we reach the flank corridor, we will be safe!] Tiberius thought to himself.
But something even worse happened.
Their patron was shot in the shoulder by a Valantis archer during the retreat. Since surgery couldn't be performed during the escape, his wound could only be temporarily bandaged. This caused the wound on his arm to fester, and he started running a high fever yesterday.
Therefore, in order to avoid his patron dying on the way, Tiberius had no choice but to slow down.
This means they are very easy to catch up with!
Now, Tiberius's task is to completely resolve the problem of Lisandro's arrow wounds. If not, Lisandro may die from inflammation and infection before the Valantis can crush them.
"Tiberius, this is the strongest liquor you can find in this town." Vito pushed a small barrel of liquor in front of Tiberius.
“The byproduct of double distillation of wine is generally called ‘the second best.’ There’s nothing stronger than that,” Vito said, frowning. “But why would you need this all of a sudden? To drown your sorrows? Don’t do that, this is war! I wouldn’t say anything about a little ale or wine normally, but in our situation—” He pointed to the Lightning Legion outside, and the other routed soldiers following them. “You need to stay absolutely sober.”
"Vito." Tiberius shook his head. "I'm not drinking it, I'm disinfecting Lisandro."
Yes, Tiberius suddenly wanted high-proof alcohol to clean his wound.
"Tsk, I've heard that some scholars use maggots to remove rotting flesh, but strong liquor..." Vito shook his head. "I've never heard of that before. By the way, the quicklime you wanted is here too. I really don't know what you're planning to do with this quicklime and liquor. You're not planning to use these to scald Lisandro's flesh alive, are you?"
"You're overthinking it, Vito." Tiberius rolled his eyes at him, then poured the wine into a clean iron pot, placed the pot full of wine into another large iron pot with water, and cooked it on a small stove in the room. Soon it was boiling, and the whole room was filled with the pungent smell of alcohol, which masked the sour stench of blood.
He then inverted the pot lid to condense the steam and collect the distillate, while continuously sprinkling cold water onto the lid.
"Smells delicious! Smells delicious!" Vito swallowed hard. As a seasoned drinker, the aroma alone made his craving for alcohol surge. "If only there were some brown sugar and honey, that would be perfect! Tiberius, could I have a sip later? I really want to know which is stronger, this or Milfire!"
"Don't even think about it. At least, don't even think about drinking this batch of liquor. When we get back to Ries, I'll give you as much as you want!" Tiberius rolled his eyes at him, then carefully poured the distilled liquor into a clean glass container.
After collecting the distilled alcohol, Tiberius took out the bag of quicklime and slowly poured it into the vessel, little by little.
Tippi knew better than anyone that if he poured it all in at once, the violent exothermic reaction between the water and quicklime would instantly shatter the bottle, ruining his entire morning's hard work. It was a delicate task that tested his patience.
This is a task that requires patience!
"Alright, Vito, leave him here for the night," Tiberius said to Vito, brushing the quicklime off his hands.
The next day, Tiberius began the final filtration. Vito watched the clear liquid with longing, and couldn't help but swallow hard again.
"Stop drooling, Vito!" Tippi slowly poured the alcohol from the bottle into the filter, watching Vito's trembling hands. "I'll make you as much as you want when we get back! But keep your hands steady now! Steady! If you spill a single drop, I'm not letting you off the hook!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"
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"Tiberius..." Lisanro stood at the door and saw Tiberius carrying large and small bags. His eyes immediately reddened. "My father... I'm entrusting him to you! He had a high fever last night and kept talking nonsense..." As he said this, large tears burst from his eyes and wet his gilded cuffs.
"Don't worry, Lisandro," Tiberius patted him on the shoulder, comforting him. "Good luck, my lord. Besides, I already know how to treat Lord Lisandro's arrow wound."
"Tiberius, will your method work?" Vito whispered in Tiberius's ear after they entered the room. "Chief Jules didn't dabble in any spirits or quicklime or anything like that..."
"So how does he usually treat you?" Tippi asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Uh, it's very simple!" Vito said confidently. "Arrow wounds, knife wounds, bottomless stab wounds; a red-hot pair of pliers is pressed down hard, 'sizzle,' a puff of smoke, and the bleeding stops; although the person will most likely faint from the pain, and you also have to be careful not to bite off your tongue. Then he pulls out a bunch of herbs and ointments, crushes and grinds them into a paste-like substance, muttering incantations—probably praying to some god—and finally smears that dark, oily stuff onto the wound. After that, the boss gives you some calming herbs and the accompanying ointment, tells you to take your medicine on time, and change your dressings and gauze..."
He then shrugged. "After all, everyone knows your boss knows a bit about witchcraft. Anyway, quite a few who believed in him survived. Many people's wounds were healed that way."
“We don’t have my uncle with us right now,” Tiberius said with a serious expression. “He knows the complete set of witchcraft and herbalism, while I’ve only learned the basics! But…” He turned to look at Lisandra, who was running a fever in the room, and Lisanro, who was standing outside the door, and his heart tightened.
"But he's not here, so we'll have to rely on ourselves. Besides, Vito, think about it: we rescued Lisandro, and once we return to Rhys, won't we be rich and powerful in the future? Alright, get that sponge out!"
"My lord, my lord, wake up!" Tiberius patted Lisandro on the back and removed the wet cotton cloth from his forehead.
"Tiberius..." Lisandro groaned, then asked, "Where...are we?"
"My lord, we are still in Stoneduck Town," Tiberius said. "My lord, we now need to treat the arrow in your arm. If it's not treated properly, your infection will worsen, and you may even risk death!"
[Actually, it's because if you die, we won't get any benefit either. Putting aside everything else, who will pay our commission? Also, how can we carry you on this crazy journey if we don't cure you?] Tiberius thought to himself.
Seeing Tiberius's determined gaze, Lisandro nodded.
"Then let's proceed with the surgery!"
"Alright, sir, please keep breathing." After giving the instructions, Tiberius gestured to Vito, and the two of them wrapped their mouths and nostrils with tattered linen. Then Vito took out a sponge.
This palm-sized piece of natural honeycomb sponge had long been soaked in a mixture of datura leaf juice, tincture of opium, henbane syrup, and a small amount of hemlock juice. After undergoing three cycles of air-drying, smoking, and then air-drying again, its surface turned dark brown and emitted a slightly sweet and spicy odor. He casually placed a small copper pot on the charcoal brazier and poured in hot water and a little wine.
"Sir, please try to inhale as much of the smoke from the lit sponge as possible," Tiberius reminded him. "Theoretically, we should cover your face with linen and use copper pipes and covers to prevent the smoke from spreading, but unfortunately, our current situation only allows us to do this."
Then Tiberius handed over a small glass of distilled spirit mixed with a few bits of henbane and dried rhododendron flowers.
"My lord, please also drink this strong liquor; it will help you remain calm... Unfortunately, we have neither poppy milk nor opium." Tiberius shrugged, and then Lisandro took it and drank it all in one gulp.
He commented with a wry smile, "It's too strong! It's even more intoxicating than the strongest Mildred spirits! But it has no flavor at all, just so-so."
Even at this point, Lisandro still had the mood to appreciate it. Tiberius was somewhat relieved.
People who are truly dying are not in the mood for jokes.
"Vito, light the sponge," Tiberius ordered.
Then, steam began to rise from the small copper pot, and Vito placed the hypnotic sponge inside—the liquid and alcohol were immediately carried away by the hot steam. Lisandro then desperately inhaled the steam.
During this process, his brain gradually became sluggish, his muscles began to weaken, and he started to experience blurred vision and dry lips.
Tiberius looked into Lisandro's eyes and noticed that his pupils were beginning to dilate.
"My lord, can you hear me?" Tiberius asked, waving his hand in front of him.
"able……"
The speaking speed has slowed down, that's great.
"I will disinfect the adult with boiling wine."
"Do it, Tiberius..."
Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Lisangzhuo fell into a deep sleep with his eyelids half-closed, only able to groan softly in response to being called.
"The surgery can proceed, Vito," Tiberius said. "Hold him down and shove a stick up his mouth!"
As the gauze was removed, a putrid stench assaulted Tiberius's senses. He looked at the pale yellow fat and pus, and the arrow deeply embedded in the flesh, and felt a wave of nausea.
Due to time constraints, the only option was to saw off the arrow shaft and then bandage it with gauze.
Tiberius then asked Vito for help, and after washing his hands, he poured strong liquor onto Lisandro's wound for initial cleaning.
Then, Tiberius carefully used a pair of sterilized forceps to slowly "move" it out of the wound, avoiding secondary cutting as much as possible, because pulling it out directly could cause massive bleeding.
Then they filled the wound with ointment and bandaged it again.
By the time Tiberius finished all this, his forehead was covered in sweat.
"If only we had catgut," he said, wiping his sweat. "I've heard that some doctors in Mil can suture wounds; I wonder if that's true."
“It’s true,” Vito said. “The boss offered a lot of money to learn this trade, but they wouldn’t teach him!”
"Uncle Jules wouldn't?" Tiberius asked.
Yes!
"Didn't you say you wouldn't pay?"
"Heavy money won't work. He should understand the logic behind this, right?" Vito chuckled, patting the crossbow at his waist. "Besides, we're exchanging money for teaching. The boss is bleeding money out of his pocket and has sworn not to hand it over to anyone other than his blood relatives."
When Lisangzhuo woke up, he was breathing heavily, both from the pain and a strange sense of relief.
After a while, Lisangzhuo stopped panting and his body gradually began to adapt to the pain.
"You even brought your medicine with you."
"Yes, sir," Tiberius said.
"I should have listened to you back then, otherwise we wouldn't be in such a mess," Lisangzhuo said with great pain.
The battle that day left a deep impression on him: the tenacious Milans, the warlike Tyrossi, the skilled mercenaries hired by Rhys, and the excellent situation...
Why did things turn out like this in just a few days? They lost Broken Sword Fortress, which they had painstakingly captured; Rhys's "Run to the Sea" operation was a complete failure; and the armies of Myr and Tyrosi were utterly routed.
"My lord, please rest first," Tiberius said hastily.
You're injured and you still think so much, you really have nothing better to do!
"Tiberius, my father..." Lisanro asked anxiously as he saw Tiberius and Vito emerge.
"The arrow has been removed and the wound has been cleaned. Your father should be able to mount his horse in a few days," Tiberius said.
Then, Lisanro heard Tiberius's stomach rumbling.
"Uh, I'm hungry," Tiberius said, scratching his head. "This is really hard work."
A moment later, Lisangluo brought him food: dried fruit, pork ribs, steaming hot brown rice, a little bit of green vegetables, and a bowl of chicken soup.
Lisangluo said somewhat embarrassedly, "There's plenty of dry rations, but I imagine you're getting tired of eating bread. This Shiya Town may not have much else, but it does have a fair amount of pheasants. I made a bowl of chicken soup; you can make do with that."
Tiberius didn't stand on ceremony and took the bowl, drinking it in large gulps.
To be honest, although everyone is currently fleeing, the soup that Lisangluo made is really good: because he added a lot of lard, there is a thick layer of oil floating on the surface, and because it is a young chicken, the chicken meat is tender and flavorful; the internal organs have been removed, there are no chicken feathers, and there are mushrooms and yams as side dishes, making it truly fresh and delicious.
Watching Tiberius eat, a scarred Myrian general muttered to himself, "Tiberius, do you think the Valantis might come after us?"
"Probably not?" Tiberius mumbled, his mouth full. "Dmetrius, our current stronghold, Raventown, is too close to the flank corridor. My uncle Jules's cavalry can get here from their base at Twin Bridges in less than two days! Are the Valantis crazy or what?"
"Moreover," Tiberius said confidently, "I suspect that the first thing that Valantis general will do, rather than directly confront the Riesling defenders on the flank corridor, is to wipe out every single one of our ferry crossings and outposts in the Riesling region!"
"Because if they aren't completely eradicated, their flanks and food supplies will always be threatened!"
"Especially our mighty city of Rys, that watchtower across the river from Broken Sword Fortress—you know, before that pass was captured, that Valantis general Marcus would never have dared to launch a preemptive attack on our flank corridor, which is located downstream and has even stronger defenses!"
Dmitri recalled the fortress as he remembered it: from a distance, it resembled a colossal steel eagle, gripping tightly onto the rocks on the west bank of the river. Moreover, it was not merely a fortress; it was surrounded by watchtowers, towers, riverboats, and outposts. All of this made it appear stubborn, cunning, and difficult to conquer.
"Moreover, behind the Fortress lies our Three Tax Depot of Ries, our most fortified city downstream. It sits on the only solid trade route from the lower reaches of the Controversial River to the heart of Rieslan, situated on high ground overlooking the east-west thoroughfare," Tiberius said with considerable confidence.
"Two such fortified cities: one in the middle reaches facing Broken Sword Fortress across the river, the other downstream guarding the delta region and preventing Watchtower from being attacked from both sides... How could the Valantis possibly reach us all at once?"
"Okay." Dmitri nodded, finding Tiberius's analysis correct. Then he joked.
"Lightning Boy... Ha! I bet you'll become a legend in Essos! At least, I think you're much smarter than that Mithridates, I wonder if he even died under the iron heel of the Valantis."
"I hope something bad happens to him!" Dmitri said in a "prayer".
This is the strongest feeling among the people of Mil, and indeed among everyone who suffered a crushing defeat at Broken Sword Fortress.
If it weren't for that idiot Mitrista, how could they have suffered such a crushing defeat?
[What legend? I just want to live. Stop flattering me. Can you stop talking like a prophet?] Tiberius thought to himself.
If you had just said something auspicious, like "Wishing you a happy and peaceful rest"...
After finishing his meal, Tiberius was exhausted. Lisanro thanked him again after the meal, and Tiberius dismissed him with a few casual words before lying down on the hay and drifting off to sleep...
When Vito hurriedly shook him awake, he had no idea how much time had passed. He glanced out the window and saw that the sky was darkening and about to brighten.
Vito's expression was extremely grave: "An army has arrived outside the city; they are Valantis!"