Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

Fine-bred warhorses don't need much whipping to maintain their top speed. Sweat soaks the saddle pads, and the pungent smell of livestock fills the air. Dust and grime cling to the warhorses' smooth coats, making their once-groomed hair dull and gray.

They sped across field after field, passing through village after village along the straight road that stretched into the distance. Everywhere they went, they attracted large crowds of onlookers, but those nosy folks often didn't even get a good look before they had already galloped past.

By the time they finally left the mainland and rushed onto a smooth path—a whole morning had passed since they left the famous bronze gate of the capital, and even their warhorses were exhausted.

The soldiers guarding the city gate sounded their horns, and the chevaux-de-frise were moved aside, their sharp metal spikes gleaming coldly. As they rushed onto the drawbridge, the massive camp gate, constructed of thick logs, slowly opened, allowing them to rush in at the same speed.

When the black double-headed eagle banner was once again raised in the center of the camp, Tersolius, as always, announced his arrival.

....................................

Tarina suddenly stopped what she was doing, and a quick-handed woman wiped the sweat from her forehead with a clean white cloth.

The girl's hair was neatly tied up, with braids and long hair coiled into a bun at the back of her head. A clean white cloth was wrapped around her hair from her forehead upwards.

The women of the medical team were busy around, boiling blue-green medicinal liquid in large pots, cleaning up bloodstains and peeled dead skin on the ground, and preparing clean bandages and other supplies.

A copper bowl sits atop a small stove, filled with boiling water. Inside the bowl are sharp knives and tongs, constantly tumbling in the boiling water.

After simmering for a while, a woman deftly used wooden tongs to retrieve the knife and tongs, handing them to Talina while they were still steaming hot.

Tarina was highly focused. Before her lay a horrific scene of wounds: charred flesh with a filthy mix of black, yellow, and red, and clearly visible blood vessels in the pink muscle beneath the cracked skin, rising and falling with each breath as if it might shatter at any moment.

Large areas of skin and flesh on his chest and back were burned off, his facial hair was completely shaved off, leaving a bald scalp, and there were two palm-sized burns on his neck...

Such severe injuries are generally beyond saving in the military. The only thing to do is to give him a clean and quick kill, rather than let his comrade suffer and die from festering sores all over his body.

But Tarina knew how to do it to save this man's life.

The knife and clamps in his hands were so precise and powerful that he slowly peeled away the necrotic flesh, revealing the still-living parts underneath.

This process is destined to be unpleasant—to put it bluntly, it will bring terrible pain. The only saving grace is that the patient is currently in a deep coma, and although his face is still twitching from time to time, he is not suffering horrible pain.

Simply peeling away the necrotic flesh wasn't enough to save his life; what needed to be done next was of utmost importance...

At the girl's command, the women of the medical team immediately sprang into action—they carefully transferred the wounded to an open wooden frame. The frame, made of hardwood, had a sturdy net woven from ropes, just the right size to support the weight of a person.

The medicinal broth, boiled in a large pot, was cooled to a suitable temperature and then slowly poured by strong women onto the burns, washing away the festering and broken wounds.

A large basin was placed under the wooden stand to catch the leftover medicinal liquid. With continuous rinsing, the originally horrific wound became much cleaner, and at this time, Tarina would pick up her small knife, which gleamed with a bluish light, and gently run it across the wound...

The moment the blade touches the wound, a faint blue light spreads out like a thin film, and the muscle fibers move faster, as if they have been injected with extra vitality in an instant.

Working together in this way, the large wounds were quickly treated, and the strong aroma of herbs filled the entire house. Meanwhile, Tarina's face grew paler and paler, and by the time the last cut was made, she was even swaying precariously.

The strong mountain woman immediately reached out and supported Tarina's shoulder, preventing the weak Hols girl from collapsing to the ground.

"Hurry up, don't worry about me! Hurry!"

The women worked efficiently and calmly, immersing long strips of cloth into another large pot that was boiling a black, paste-like substance that emitted a pungent odor.

Talina struggled to her feet, raised her knife again, and pressed it against the edge of the pot. As a few rapid syllables flowed from her pink lips, and a few gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd, the black, paste-like substance that had just been steaming began to emit a faint coolness, with tiny ice crystals emerging from it in clusters.

A few more syllables were uttered, sounding crisp but indistinguishable. A faint blue light, like ripples on water, spread across the paste in the pot, flickering a few times before disappearing completely.

The women of the medical team rushed forward; they had already washed their hands thoroughly and soaked them in a special medicinal solution.

As the cloth strips were pulled out of the pot, they were evenly coated with a black paste. The strong herbal smell was unpleasant to the nose, but the women wore linen-lined masks with charcoal and other fillers in between to block out the unpleasant smell.

The nimble mountain women began wrapping the strips of cloth, covered in ointment, around the unconscious wounded man, layer upon layer, until the strong man's upper body was completely mummy-like. Except for his eyes, nose, and mouth, no skin was exposed. Even his hair and eyebrows had been thoroughly shaved off earlier, leaving not a single hair stump.

After doing all this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the unconscious wounded man's breathing become steady, they were completely relieved.

Led by Tarina, they cleaned up the mess and left the house, leaving it to the unconscious wounded soldier.

Exhausted, Tarina removed her headscarf and apron, and took off her cloth gloves.

Her work seemed effortless, but only the girl knew how exhausted she was; she could fall asleep on the floor at any moment.

The treatment she had just received had exhausted her strength, and the discomfort she felt throughout her body reached its peak at this moment. Her ears were ringing, her head felt like it was filled with a swarm of wasps, she was dizzy and lightheaded, her sense of balance was disrupted, and her legs were going weak.

"How are you, doctor? What's the situation?"

A familiar voice came from beside her, and Tarina, her eyes half-closed, mumbled a reply:

"I'm temporarily... out of danger. I... used a special medication to suppress the intense pain... The technique I applied should also prevent the wound from worsening... As long as there are no problems in the next two weeks... I'll be able to..."

Before she could finish speaking, the girl could no longer stand and fell headfirst forward. Her limbs were weak and powerless, and she couldn't even stretch out her arms to support herself on the ground.

Extreme exhaustion had brought her body to a standstill, and falling like that would surely result in a head injury, but the girl was no longer able to react.

Thesolius reached out and caught Talina steadily, letting the girl fall directly into his arms. Even with such a collision, she remained motionless, her eyes tightly closed, breathing evenly, and she had fallen asleep in his arms...

Chapter 111 Mollusks

Tersolius lifted the tent flap and went inside. The heavy cloth curtain blocked most of the light, but the two windows on the side of the tent made up for it. The setting sun shone through the windows, bathing everything in a dim yellow light.

Natamus was holding his wife's hand, squatting by the bed talking to her. When he saw his brother come in, he tried to let go of her hand and stand up.

But Christina held his rough, calloused hand tightly, showing no intention of letting go, which made him seem a little awkward.

"Perhaps I came in at the wrong time."

Tersolius raised an eyebrow, giving his elder brother a narrow-minded look. He shifted slightly in the ground as if to retreat, and the teasing smile on his lips made Nathamus blush.

"Stop talking nonsense! You came here to talk to us, so don't do these pointless things."

"Alright, let's get this straight quickly, and then I won't disturb you two from getting to know each other."

Nathamus, whose hand was being held, launched a kick, but Tersolius easily dodged it, spun around, dragged a chair over from the side, and sat down.

The three of them immediately became serious. Even Christina struggled to sit up. After a moment of hesitation, Tersolius spoke first:

“I have examined those corpses… not just Hols, but also Imperials, Giles, and Asseles. Their weapons had no markings, so I couldn’t tell where they came from, but they were all of good quality… not something that could be made in an ordinary place.”

Natamus nodded, then, as if remembering something, said:

“There’s something you might not know: we deliberately captured a few alive, but before we could interrogate them, they all became idiots… and they didn’t have tongues in their mouths.”

"Like that one in the south?..."

"That's right, it's the same as the one in the south."

"You haven't killed them yet, have you?"

"No, I had them put in wooden cages, which were originally used to keep game."

"I'll have the doctor take a look later; maybe they can figure something out."

"Have you seen the horses they're riding? Which horse farm did they buy them from?"

Christina suddenly had a bright idea and asked this question.

She asked this question because horses produced within the empire are branded with the brand of the horse farm. It would be difficult to transport such a large herd of horses from other countries. If there were specific brand marks, more information could be found by following the clues.

"We've investigated. The horses they're riding aren't exactly top-notch, but they're still up to warhorse standards. The horses' teeth are badly worn, indicating poor feed quality, and there are no branding marks, so they're not warhorses from the Imperial Horse Farm... Besides, no horse farm would sell so many warhorses without permission, unless the owner doesn't want his head."

“The surrounding villages and towns have already started investigating suspicious persons. They should be able to find some clues, as long as these people didn’t fly over.”

"So many horses could only have been brought by foreign caravans... or they might have bought them piecemeal in various villages and towns... This also explains why the quality of the warhorses varied."

“Then there’s no way to investigate.” Natamus shook his head. “Nobody knows where those horses came from. Horse trading is rampant everywhere; nobody can find out. And even if someone did know, they’d definitely keep quiet under these circumstances…”

“This is the second thing I want to talk about…” Tersolius scratched his eyebrows, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly. “Christina was attacked near the capital of the Empire. The effects of this have not yet been seen, but it is destined to be a bad thing.”

“Not only the Senate, but even His Majesty will surely issue the corresponding orders... This is something that must be done, even if it's just to show the people of the Empire... But we can take this opportunity to accomplish some things.”

A thoughtful glint appeared in Christina's eyes; she keenly realized one thing:

"Others might have the same idea, and some might even try to take advantage of the situation... There will definitely be a lot of trouble ahead."

"That's right, so we need to make a good plan..."

————————————————————————————

"Doctor, you need to be mentally prepared. What you're about to see won't be pleasant."

Tarina nodded silently, but her face was pale and slightly flustered.

Thesolius continued without turning his head:

“We might have to open our heads and take a look… If you can’t handle it, I’ll take over.”

“It’s alright, sir.” Tarina shook her head firmly, her lips pale, but she still followed. “I was prepared. I’ve read the teacher’s books… Although I was very scared at the time, I knew it was valuable knowledge… to save more people.”

Tersolius turned around with some curiosity:

"What kind of book is it? Does it have pictures of people cut up?"

“Yes.” Talina looked at Tersolius with some surprise. “And the drawings are exactly like the real thing… They’re frightening to look at, but it’s also because of those pictures that I learned what human bones and internal organs look like, which is how I was able to heal patients…”

Tesorius stroked his chin thoughtfully. As they spoke, they arrived at their destination, which was covered by white tarpaulins. Several black-clad figures were huddled in wooden cages.

A small squad, fully armored and armed with swords, guarded the place, and there were even several archers on the nearby tower, making it a well-guarded area.

Tersolius told them to step back for the time being, and led Talina to a cage in front of which a lean man in black was huddled up, with a bowl of cold porridge in front of him, which he hadn't touched.

These people have become like zombies, having lost even their basic instinct to eat. Even if food is placed in front of them, no matter how hungry they are, they will not think of eating it.

Tersolius reached out and opened the cage, then grabbed the man in black by the neck and dragged him out. The strong, thin man offered no resistance, moving obediently like a frightened sheep.

The black cloth that had covered his face had been torn off, revealing a gaunt Kiel man with small, cloudy white eyes that had lost all their luster, like a corpse that had been dead for several days.

Reaching out, I slapped open his jaw. His moist, whitish mouth was smooth, and his tongue, which should have been on his lower jaw, was nowhere to be seen, as if it had never been born.

His decayed, yellowed, and blackened teeth indicate that he lived in harsh conditions and ate coarse food in the past. His rough, spotted, and sunburned skin also proves that he is a pure Kiel, and these marks are the result of his life of hardship in the northern wilderness.

Grabbing his hair and tapping it lightly with my hand, the sound produced a distinctly hollow echo, definitely not the groan a normal person's head should produce.

"Can you see anything, doctor?"

"Sir, judging from his eyes, he's completely dead... but he has a heartbeat and pulse, his body is still flexible, and his blood is still flowing. I've never seen anything like this before, and the voice coming from his head..."

The girl looked confused, but also a little curious, surprised by what she was seeing.

Thesolius nodded, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword, a gold-inlaid blade adorned with scrolling patterns, so sharp it could cut through iron like butter, capable of splitting a human skull without causing any damage.

"Then let's open his head and take a look, see what's inside."

His expression was calm, showing no emotion even when he was about to pry open a person's head... He had seen countless bloody brains and internal organs on the battlefield, many of which he had exposed himself.

"Step back a bit, Doctor, don't get splashed with something."

As the sound of the blade scraping against its sheath filled his ears, the gleaming sword was in his hand. After slightly adjusting the direction of the blade and the position of his fingers, Tersolius was about to cut off half of his head.

Just as the blade of the sword was about to be used after rotating slightly and adjusting to the right position, Tersolius suddenly heard a strange sound—a sticky, wriggling sound came from the head of the Gil man in front of him.