Chapter 355: The Sage in the Forest
Eindoak Town.
A town located in a vast valley plain.
However, in the original work, to stop the riot of the Dragon Veins, the King controlled the Sword of the Vale to move from the valley plain to a high mountain.
And the town of Eindoak was moved accordingly.
So in the anime, it can be seen that Eindoak Town is a special city located on a high mountain.
But now.
Eindoak is still a prosperous kingdom developing on the plain.
This is the power center of the Kingdom of the Vale, the ancestral home of the People of the Vale, and the location of the Sword of the Vale.
And the land under the feet of Eindoak is the Hometown of the Vale (Earth's Hometown).
Dresa (King of the Vale, potentially inspired by movie king character or original), the current King of the Kingdom of the Vale, is over forty years old and once had a wife.
Eight years ago, the Queen died of dystocia.
Dresa was bedridden for a month, sleeping for ten days out of thirty.
Fortunately in misfortune, the two children in the Queen's womb were saved.
And these two children were the reason Dresa survived back then.
If not for these two children.
Dresa might not have walked out eight years ago, maybe gone with the Queen then.
But even if he survived, Dresa's body was left with some hidden ailments. Whenever he was emotionally agitated or upset, his chest would throb with pain, making him very miserable.
Doctors in the Kingdom of the Vale had no clue about this.
Dresa didn't blame them.
If they had a clue about this, his Queen wouldn't have died of dystocia back then.
The medical skills of the Kingdom of the Vale are not good.
This is something known to everyone in the whole country.
Can't say that exactly.
After all, in the era of magical beasts a thousand years ago, how good could human medical skills be?
Not only the Kingdom of the Vale, but even the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles and the Kingdom of Plenty, their medical skills weren't much better. Just for some reasons, the medical field in the Kingdom of the Vale was indeed difficult to develop.
In short, Dresa didn't anger the midwives and doctors at that time because of the Queen's death.
But he no longer held expectations and trust in them, letting them go home to farm.
In the hearts of the People of the Vale, Dresa is a quite perfect monarch, second only to the status of the first King. He is benevolent internally, cruel externally, clear in rewards and punishments, measured in policy, capable of leading troops to charge on the battlefield, and also capable of strategizing in the palace. So far, no black material has been exposed.
Even if Dresa killed someone in the street.
Others would consider first whether that person was a spy from other kingdoms, instead of fearing him or guarding against him.
So far.
Whether it is an invasion war or a defensive war, the Kingdom of the Vale has never been defeated, only one draw.
That draw.
Was ten years ago when Dresa personally led troops into the hinterland of the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles.
Didn't expect the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles and the Kingdom of Plenty to join forces secretly at that time.
The Kingdom of the Blessed Isles acted as bait in front, and the Kingdom of Plenty ambushed from behind. This was a conspiracy specifically targeting the Kingdom of the Vale. But even so.
Dresa still escaped with one-third of his men and turned around to kill the younger brother of the King of the Blessed Isles who kept pursuing them, that is, the "Prince" of the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles.
Although the Kingdom of the Vale suffered heavy losses.
But the plan failed, and the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles acting as bait also suffered heavy injuries.
Moreover, the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles no longer trusted the Kingdom of Plenty and never cooperated again since then.
That's why there was a talk of a draw.
Just that since Dresa suffered from hidden ailments.
He no longer had the energy to personally lead troops to invade the territory of the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles.
Let alone invasion.
Just commanding defense would often make his chest ache faintly.
This day.
Sword of the Vale, also the castle and royal palace of the Kingdom of the Vale.
Dresa looked at the battle report in his hand in the study, frowning tightly while his chest began to ache again.
He raised his hand to press on his heart, but it had no effect.
Took a deep breath.
Dresa put down the battle report in his hand, leaning back in the chair to empty his mind.
This is also one of the reasons for the slow development of the Kingdom of the Vale in recent years.
Whenever the heart aches, Dresa has to stop and rest.
In a day, at least a small half of the day is spent emptying the mind.
Just then.
A knock on the door sounded.
Knock knock.
"Your Majesty!"
"Enter."
Dresa leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes to rest.
"Your Majesty, recently a rumor has appeared in the city and the army."
"Hm?"
Dresa frowned, opened his eyes, and looked at the close minister standing in front of him,
"Small tricks of the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles?"
"This time it should have nothing to do with the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles."
The close minister bowed, and after receiving Dresa's signal with his eyes, continued to speak,
"The content of the rumor is that there is a mysterious and benevolent Sage in the forest to the south. Whenever injured and unconscious people or magical beasts appear there, they will receive the Sage's help."
"Hm?"
Dresa's gaze was calm, looking at the close minister in front of him.
This person has been with him for more than ten years, knows his temperament, wouldn't, and dared not use an elusive rumor to entertain him.
He believed the other party specifically running over to say this seemingly ordinary rumor should have some other ideas or insights.
"My Lord, I once specifically sent someone disguised as a wounded person to enter it, preparing to investigate, but gained nothing;
However, according to the hunters and disabled soldiers in the city, there should indeed be such a Sage in that forest."
"So many people, not a single one has seen the Sage?"
"Yes! I understood one by one; they all have a commonality, that is, entering the forest alone, fainting in the forest due to injury, losing consciousness. Originally prepared for death, but inexplicably came back to life."
The close minister nodded seriously, took out a small bottle from behind when speaking here,
"According to my judgment, that Sage might not want others to see him; perhaps only by going alone and fainting is it possible to be treated by him."
There was some green mud in the bottle.
Looked like moss.
"Herbs?"
Dresa took it and opened it to smell.
"Yes! This was obtained from those wounded people saved by the Sage. Even the top doctors in our Kingdom of the Vale can't prepare medicinal mud with such good effects."
The close minister nodded solemnly, pointing to the small bottle in Dresa's hand.
Dresa was dazed for a moment upon hearing this.
So that's it.
Is this close minister aiming at this medicinal mud?
Or...
"This mysterious Sage should have quite high medical skills and rich pharmacological knowledge. Maybe, there might be a way for your illness, Your Majesty?"
The close minister's eyes burned when speaking here.
He believed His Majesty had understood his intention.
Dresa turned the small bottle in his hand, pursing his lips in deep thought.
"Your Majesty! Even if not for the Kingdom of the Vale, not for the two young princes, just for yourself, you should pay more attention to your physical health."
Seeing Dresa hesitate, the close minister spoke again in a low voice to remind him.
Beautifully named, "for yourself."
But actually.
The focus is "Kingdom of the Vale" and "two young princes."
Once this talent is recruited into the Kingdom of the Vale.
Then the medical skills of the Kingdom of the Vale can make huge progress.
The two princes won't need to worry about health issues in the future either.
These.
Dresa certainly considered.
"What do you think?"
Dresa looked up at the person in front of him.
He knew clearly about the other party's little thoughts and wasn't angry.
Having such a subordinate who tries his best to offer strategies for the future of the kingdom is his blessing.
"Please send someone to cut off one of my arms, send me alone into that forest. Leave the rest to me."
The close minister cupped his hands, eyes firm.
"Have you thought about the consequences?"
"Naturally. The worst consequence is nothing more than losing an arm. I am not a brave warrior myself; only this brain and glib tongue have some trivial use hard to present in elegant halls. Losing an arm is harmless to me. Being able to attract a sage for the kingdom, that is a merit for a thousand years."
The close minister pretended to be calm and said a sentence.
But if possible.
Who wants to lose their arm?
Not to mention how life will be in the future after losing an arm, just the pain at that time is not something ordinary people can endure.
Dresa looked at the person in front of him, shaking his head gently.
He waved his hand.
Signaling this person to leave.
"...Then this subordinate will retire first; please consider it again, Your Majesty."
The close minister paused, cupped his hands and retreated until he exited the room and closed the door.
Inside the study.
"Sigh..."
Dresa sighed, raising his hand to press on his chest again.
Just heard what the close minister said.
After thinking about the pros and cons, his heart was inevitably agitated, leading to chest pain.
"The Sage in the forest..."
Dresa glanced at the battle report aside, then got up and walked out the door.
Half an hour later.
A middle-aged man wearing old cloth clothes and carrying a long bow on his back walked out of the Sword of the Vale.
He was exactly the King of the Vale dressed as a poor hunter, Dresa.
At this time, Dresa's face was smeared with a lot of mud and dust; no one could recognize him as the King of the Vale, only thinking he was a poor household living on hunting at the edge of the kingdom.
He left a letter on the desk in the study.
Lest the close minister find him missing and panic.
Prepared everything.
Dresa headed towards the southern forest mentioned by the close minister.
Along the way, Dresa strode forward, very cautious.
Not being careful of people from the Kingdom of the Blessed Isles appearing here, but being careful of those magical beasts.
Humans seeing magical beasts likely won't initiate an attack.
But magical beasts seeing humans is different.
Many wild magical beasts treat humans as food.
The past Dresa wasn't afraid of encountering magical beasts outside at all.
Dresa before getting the hidden ailment was really brave.
Alone, shaking a huge rock magical beast hard was no problem.
The People of the Vale are all brave and skilled warriors, and the royal family of the Vale even more so.
At that time, many magical beasts in the kingdom were captured by him personally; those magical beasts were also extremely respectful to him.
But since getting sick, he stopped training.
It has been ten years now; physical fitness is long gone.
But even so.
Meeting magical beasts, he won't feel afraid; even if he can't beat them, running is no problem. Moreover, the ruler of a country can't be without some special self-defense items on him.
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