Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 241 Reception and Treatment

"The abdomen is swollen and there is coughing up blood. There are putrefactive mold spots on the skin. It is contagious through contact..."

Harvey looked at the firsthand information sent by the two forum members from Jackdaw Town, and then compared it with the prompt message sent by Mr. "Fedal" from the forum, and suddenly felt that the situation was not good.

This infectious disease sounds like... a mixture of plague, Ebola, and schistosomiasis, but these three well-known virulent infectious diseases would not cause mold on the body surface while a person is still alive, and even the abdominal fluid would change color after death.

The first thing he thought of was the batch of magic vaccines that he had arranged for Egno and Chris to develop a few days ago. However, these drugs were originally intended for prevention, and they have all passed clinical trials. Most of the residents in the territory have received free injections under the arrangement of the city hall.

Plague vaccine, malaria vaccine, smallpox vaccine, cold epidemic medicine (enhanced version), schistosomiasis vaccine (enhanced version with therapeutic effect)...

Harvey stared at the long list of vaccines and medicines on the hospital's pharmacy list, feeling uncertain about picking out a specific medicine that could cure this strange disease.

Moreover, if the doctor sent over to treat the patient not only fails to cure the disease but also unfortunately contracts the disease, it would be troublesome if he causes a large-scale infection among the local residents after returning to the territory.

Looking at the descriptions of the two forum members of Jackdaw Town, it seems that most of those who fled thousands of miles to Jackdaw Town to seek his refuge are very young magic apprentices. Their physical fitness is definitely not as good as that of strong adults, and they probably won't be able to hold on for long.

He frowned and thought for a while, then sent a reply message to "Magic Shield" on the magic brain instrument.

Kel'Thuzad: Mr. Shield, are these apprentice magicians from Golden City connected to the Union? Or are there any children among them who have close ties to forum members?

The meaning of this statement is very clear. Harvey is dissatisfied with Fadun's practice of acting first and asking for permission later. If this group of people has no connection with the Federation and no relatives or friends with the forum members, why should he take the risk to shelter them?

Forum members always follow the principle of equal exchange when doing things!

[Fallen: I'm sorry to trouble you... but the person who led this group of young apprentices to seek refuge is named Durt Holden. Uh... he is a descendant of Mr. Son of Flame and his only nephew...]

Okay, okay, it turns out that I owe someone a favor, and now they are looking for me to repay the favor.

Harvey gave a wry smile and managed to get up from the bed.

"I have to help with this no matter what..." He instructed Asdalen while getting dressed, "Notify Pierce to dispatch the mountain outpost's defense forces to Jackdaw Town and contact the Federation branch in the town. I need their full cooperation to control the nobles and civilians stranded in the town and prohibit anyone from leaving..."

He paused, then added, "I'd like to ask two forum members to assist the defense forces in controlling the church personnel in town. They're all low-ranking priests and clerics, so it shouldn't be too much trouble..."

Asdalen hesitated and said, "Sir, doing this...will cause dissatisfaction from the church and the Lord of Grizzly Castle. After all, you are only the Lord of the Frontier Territory, and Jackdaw Town is the fief of Earl Feigen..."

Harvey chuckled and said calmly, "Earl Fagan? When those infected refugees from Golden Glory City arrive at Grizzly Castle in a couple of days, I'm afraid he won't have time to harass me..."

As for the Church, they had the audacity to openly antagonize the Union in Saint Valen's capital. Why was there any need to hide behind this facade of peace? Their primary goal right now was probably to attack the Union, and they had no time to bother causing further trouble for themselves.

……

Harvey rarely summoned all the management of the pioneer territory together to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the group of infected magic apprentices who entered Jackdaw Town.

All previously developed vaccines need to be brought over and then undergo clinical drug verification in turn. If they are ineffective, we will have to immediately start developing targeted cures without wasting any time.

For safety reasons, the personnel sent to contact the patients this time must be led by Asdalen and Reiner. After all, they are alchemical beings, and their iron bodies don't care about any virus plague at all.

Pierce could also go along to assist. For the ancient high-level vampires, any toxins and plagues were ineffective against them. At best, they just needed to pay attention to a "food safety issue."

Except for these three people, the rest of the personnel and soldiers must strictly abide by the isolation regulations, wear protective clothing made of rubber fruit coating, and absolutely cannot have direct physical contact with patients.

All those sent there are not allowed to return to the territory immediately after completing vaccine trials and trial treatments. Instead, they need to be quarantined in the warehouse for one week and can only be released from surveillance after no symptoms of infection appear.

...Towards evening, a group of soldiers dressed in strange clothes, led by two mysterious men nearly two meters tall and wrapped in black robes, marched into the town from the foot of Jackdaw Ridge in a mighty procession. Amidst the astonished eyes of the townspeople, they went directly to the Federation branch established in the town.

About half an hour later, more than ten officials from the Federation branch stationed in Jackdaw Town immediately took action, each leading a group of soldiers to the residences of various nobles in the town.

Before nightfall, a roadblock was set up on the only main road in and out of the town, and a team of soldiers set up camp beside the road, completely blocking the entire town.

"What are you doing? This is Earl Feigen's territory! Why would the lord of the pioneer territory outside the border send troops to block this place?" The little nobleman was shocked and angry at the sudden visit. He looked at a group of Federation spellcasters in black clothes and robes, and dozens of strange soldiers wrapped in robes behind them, and asked tremblingly.

"I'm sorry, a strange epidemic has broken out in the capital. The infected refugees have fled all the way to the town. For your safety, please do not leave your residence at will. If you show symptoms of infection, we will send someone to provide treatment..." Tony, the slightly bald clerk of the Federation, explained in a gentle voice.

"No! I don't believe you spellcasters. I want to go to the church and ask the chief priest and the pastor to verify the whole story. Please let me leave!" The young noble seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and his tone suddenly became tougher.

A black-clad officer immediately stepped out from behind the spellcasters. He wasn't wearing the full-body coverings that the others wore. His eyes were crimson, and his tone was cold and sinister. "Going to church? The priests there have all been infected with the plague. Do you want to die by going now?"

Temporary sheds were quickly built in the town's small square. Each shed was equipped with wooden partitions, and a round hole was hollowed out in the middle to reveal a round hole that was only big enough for an arm to pass through. This was a temporary epidemic prevention measure that Harvey came up with. It could avoid physical contact between doctors and patients to a certain extent, and also ensure that they could smoothly inject drugs into patients.

There were not many permanent residents in the town. More than 200 fully armed defense soldiers, led by the Federation spellcasters, began to check house to house. They soon discovered local people who were suspected of being infected. After questioning, they learned that most of them had accidentally come into contact with those mage apprentices.

The mage apprentices with more serious illnesses were placed separately in the vacated warehouse, where Asdalen and Reiner stayed to conduct drug experiments and treatment on them individually.

After everything was ready, Asdalen carried the young spellcaster Durt Holden, who was unable to get up and was in a daze and semi-comatose state, out of the carriage.

He looked to be in a very critical condition. Although he had no obvious symptoms of abdominal swelling, the skin exposed outside his clothes was almost covered with dark green circular mold spots, and even his neck and face had a lot of them.

Reiner opened the box filled with vaccine potions, took out the metal syringe with swift movements, and began to inject him with all the existing types of magic vaccines in turn according to the adult dosage.

The dying red-haired young man in front of him was the one that Lord Harvey specifically requested to save. If the medicine did not work, the soul transformation device would need to be immediately transported to the town and a soul transfer operation would be performed on him on the spot to transform him into an alchemical life with a metal body.

The effect of the medicine was silent. After four or five potions were injected into Durt's body through his arm, Asdalen gave him a dose of recovery potion commonly used by spellcasters, which woke him up from his coma.

"How do you feel now?"

Durt groaned in pain twice and said weakly, "Water... I want to drink water. I'm so thirsty."

Asdalen stretched out a metal finger and gently pressed on his chest and abdomen, finding no signs of swelling or ascites. He then took a pot of water and handed it to his mouth, watching him drink it in big gulps.

"Where are the children I brought with me?" After drinking the water, Durte was obviously in much better spirits. He forced himself to sit up from the bed, looked at the mysterious man covered in a black robe under the dim light, and asked cautiously.

Reiner, standing nearby, whispered, "They've all been housed in another room. You're being reckless. Knowing the plague could be transmitted through contact, you still bought food from the townspeople. Now some of them are infected..."

Duarte lowered his eyes with a hint of apology and whispered, "I had already taken precautions in advance and arranged for the infected and healthy children to move separately... I didn't expect this plague to be so severe..."

He was halfway through his words when he suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation on his face and neck. He couldn't help but reach out to scratch it, and ended up picking off a huge moldy spot on his neck, revealing the pale but obviously healthy skin underneath.

"What...what's going on?" Duarte stared blankly at the scab-like substance in his hand. "What kind of medicine did you use on me? It actually...took effect so quickly?"

Then he immediately felt an intense itching all over his body, and he scratched the skin exposed outside his clothes again, scratching off all the strange mold spots that were originally attached to it.

Asdalen turned and looked at Reiner, his tone full of obvious joy: "The magic vaccine really works!"

"Uh...but I gave him five different vaccines. I don't know which one had the therapeutic effect..."

(End of this chapter)