124: mutation

Linn stood by the window, gazing toward the horizon where the sea met the Sky. He was calculating the defense system of Haige City, the training cycle for the new recruits, and his tenuous relationship with the Aulai Kingdom...

"My Lord! Urgent military intelligence!"

The study door was pushed open violently. Clay ignored etiquette, his chest heaving heavily. His armor was still covered in water vapor from high-altitude flight, and his face was full of urgency.

Linn turned around, his brows slightly furrowed. If it weren't an emergency, Clay would never be so uncomposed.

"Speak."

"The patrol found two people drifting on debris in the northeast sea!" The knight spoke rapidly. "It's Young Lord Payson and an old man! They are severely injured and have fallen into a coma! They have been urgently sent to the Mage Academy, and the Sea God Clan Priest is treating them!"

It felt like a heavy hammer striking his chest.

Payson.

The merchant who offered help when the Star Sea Territory was at its most difficult, the old classmate who took care of him, and the close friend with whom he could always drink and discuss the situation of the continent.

Linn's expression sank instantly. The air around him seemed to freeze, and even the temperature dropped by several degrees.

"Clay!" His voice was as cold as iron.

"Head to the Mage Academy immediately." After saying this, he jumped out of the window and flew through the air!

The guards along the way only felt a gust of wind pass by; they couldn't even see the Lord's figure.

...

Mage Academy, High-Level Healing Room.

The walls of this stone chamber were engraved with complex healing runes, and the floor was a recovery magic circle paved with pure white jade. At this moment, the magic circle was emitting a soft blue-green light—the unique healing Divine Power of the Sea God Clan.

Two priests in sea-blue robes—one man and one woman—with faint scale-like patterns on their foreheads, were pressing their hands into the air. The water-blue light flowing from their palms was like a living thing, slowly seeping into the bodies of the two people lying on the white jade platform.

Elise stood to the side, forming seals with her hands to maintain an auxiliary magic circle that kept mental fluctuations stable. Beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead; she had clearly been casting spells for some time.

On the stone platform, Payson's condition was distressing.

This Young Lord of the merchant guild, who was usually impeccably dressed and full of wit, was now pale as paper, his lips tinged with purple. A ghastly wound ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen. Despite initial treatment, one could still see the mangled flesh and vague glimpses of internal organs. Even worse, the edges of the wound were tinged with an eerie dark green! Clearly, it was poisoned.

The old man next to him was in even worse condition. His gray hair was messy and stained with blood, his chest armor was completely shattered, his ribs were collapsed, and his breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible. Most fatal was the piercing wound in his abdomen.

"How is the situation?" Linn's voice sounded at the doorway.

Elise did not turn back, focusing on maintaining the magic circle: "The external injuries are severe, but the poison and curses are more troublesome. Young Lord Payson has been struck by 'Rotting Heart Vine Poison,' which will continuously erode his internal organs; as for that old man... there are at least three different types of curse power conflicting within him. The Sea God Clan's healing arts can keep them alive, but to completely clear them, we need at least a Rank 6 Purification Divine Art or a corresponding Rank of Life Potion."

Linn did not hesitate, sweeping his right hand in front of him.

Ripples spread in the air, and a rich breath of life, almost condensed into substance, permeated the room. He took out not one, but three potions from the Breath of Life Demi-plane.

Two Rank 6 Life Potions. They were emerald green throughout, with starlight seemingly flowing inside.

"Use them." Linn placed the potions on the stone table beside him. His voice was calm, but his tightly clenched fists revealed the turmoil in his heart.

The male Sea God Clan Priest's eyes widened slightly when he saw the potions. A Rank 6 Life Potion was a treasure that was hard to come by; it was enough to allow a dying Sky Rank powerhouse to recover most of their combat strength within three days.

The priest stopped hesitating, carefully picking up a bottle of Life Potion and using Divine Power to guide it, turning it into wisps of emerald green light mist that slowly seeped into Payson's wound.

A shocking scene occurred.

The dark green toxin churned violently as if encountering a natural enemy, but under the scouring of the life potion's power, it quickly faded and decomposed. The wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye; new flesh intertwined, skin covered it, leaving only a faint red scar.

At the same time, the female priest used the potion on the old man. The moment the amber liquid flowed into his mouth, the old man's body shook violently, and three different colors of curse power—dark red, pitch black, and miserable green—were forcefully expelled from his body, emitting a harsh screech in the air before vanishing into thin air.

Linn took out two more top-tier potions to replenish the source of life and had them taken by both of them.

The treatment lasted for a full hour.

When the last trace of curse power dissipated, when Payson's breathing became steady and strong, and when the old man's chest began to rise and fall rhythmically, the two Sea God Clan Priests were almost exhausted and were helped by Elise to sit aside and rest.

Linn stood by the stone platform the entire time, motionless.

The first to wake up was Payson.

His eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he slowly opened his eyes. His vision went from blurry to clear, and when he saw the familiar face standing by the bed, a burst of light erupted in his gray eyes.

"Linn... Linn..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

Linn leaned over and held his raised hand: "I'm here."

"I... finally... found you..." Tears welled up in Payson's eyes—a complex emotion of surviving a disaster and seeing a close friend. He struggled to sit up, only to be gently pressed down by Linn.

"Don't move, your body still needs to recover." Linn's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "What happened? Who hurt you like this?"

At this moment, the old man next to him also slowly woke up. He first looked around vigilantly. Seeing Payson safe and sound, and then seeing Linn, his tense body relaxed slightly.

"Uncle..." Payson looked at the old man, his eyes full of guilt and gratitude.

The old man, Yilman Lawson, barely propped up his upper body and nodded slightly to Linn: "Lord of Star Sea Territory, I've heard much about you. I am Yilman Lawson, Payson's uncle. Thank you... for saving our lives."

His voice was weathered and tired, but every word was articulated clearly—the steadiness of a veteran who had experienced many battles.

Linn signaled for the servants to bring a chair, let Yilman lean back, and fed them some warm water.

"Speak, tell me from the beginning." Linn pulled up a chair and sat down, his eyes sweeping over the scars on their bodies. "What happened to the Losen Family? What happened to Haige City?"

Payson closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, only icy hatred remained.

"Father... died in battle on the northern front a month ago."

The first sentence made Linn's pupils shrink.

Count Lonsen, the pillar of the North known for his courage and caution, had actually died in battle?

"Less than three days after the news reached Haige City, that woman..." Payson gritted his teeth, "My stepmother, Isabella, united with her mother's clan, the Marquisate of the Golden Peacock, and launched a coup."

Yilman took over, his voice full of sorrow: "Isabella claimed that the Count had made a will before his death, leaving the title to the second son she bore. She controlled the Count's guard, blocked the news, and brought in three thousand private troops of the Marquis Golden Peacock."

"The guard captain loyal to me risked his life to send out the message." Payson clenched his fists. "By the time I arrived at Haige City, the city gates were already closed. On the city walls... hung seventeen heads. They were all the old officials Father left behind, all the uncles who watched me grow up..."

His voice was trembling.

Yilman patted his nephew's shoulder and continued: "I was the deputy commander of the Western Defense Line at the time. After learning the news, I led eight hundred personal guards to reinforce them. But when we arrived, Payson was already besieged in the old fortress south of the city. The eldest son of the Marquis Golden Peacock led the team himself, with five thousand elites, and... two Sky Rank retainers."

"We fought a bloody battle for two days and nights, and my personal guards were almost wiped out." Yilman looked down at his missing left arm! The wound there had healed, but the arm was lost forever. "At the last moment, I used a life-saving magic device to blast a corner of the city wall and took Payson into the Fog Sea."

"They chased us on the sea for seven days." Payson's voice returned to calm—the coldness after hatred had settled. "They sank our ship. My uncle and I held onto a piece of the ship's board and drifted on the sea for three days... until we saw the griffin."