A crowd of soldiers and spirit manipulators gathered by the side and were shocked when they heard
what Rocky had said. Disbelief was written on their faces, and they exchanged looks, as if saying that
Rocky had overestimated his skills.
"Did I hear that right? Rocky claimed that he could treat and cure Commander Marin's spirit-
manipulated beast? He has to be lying! Everyone can see that it is hurt beyond any help. Even
Sheridan has said that it is incurable, and he knows what he is talking about because he has seen and
healed so many cases of severely injured spirit-manipulated beasts. Then, who does Rocky think he is,
to say that he can do what Sheridan says is impossible? He is simply showing off to feel big!"
"I agree with you. I bet he wants to ingratiate himself with Commander Marin. And he is doing that
because he is desperate that she recalls him to the spirit manipulator squad from the beast farm.
"If he can cure it, then so can I."
All of a sudden, everyone started protesting and the atmosphere at the training ground quickly turned
tumultuous. It became crystal clear that no one present, believed an iota of what Rocky had claimed he
could do - that he could treat and cure Verdanim.
Marin, who had always relied on Sheridan to make her war-damaged spirit manipulated creatures
healthy, and ready to go to another battle, was no exception. She too, like the others present, had
misgivings about Rocky's claim.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Rocky asked Marin. He didn't care about what people thought of him
or what he said, but he respected Marin, and wanted to know what she really thought.
"Rocky, can you really help Marin, to make Verdanim well? I hope this is not a false claim." Sheridan,
who had been silent all this while, asked, as he was surprised at what Rocky had said. Although he
knew that Rocky came up with novel ideas from time to time, not knowing how truthful or skilled Rocky
was, he was genuinely intrigued and wanted to know how he planned to cure Verdanim, for, in his
eyes, that was a formidable task.
"Yes, but what I have in mind is untested and can be dangerous. Yet I think, I should try my approach. It
is possible that it might endanger Verdanim's life even more. However, in my opinion, that is the only
option we have at this point," Rocky said in a serious tone. His way was to operate on Verdanim, and
that came with risks. Also, till then, Rocky had performed surgeries only on small spirit-manipulated
beasts, not on any gigantic creature, like Verdanim was. This being his first, it would surely be a high-
risk procedure.
"How can I trust you? Even Sheridan said that he could not help Verdanim, as his condition is beyond
help," Marin said sceptically.
"Well, it is up to you to trust me or not. Obviously, it is your call," Rocky spoke calmly. It seemed that he
did not care whether or not Marin believed that he could treat Verdanim and restore his health.
Marin was torn. Sheridan had run out of solutions and she did not know if she could trust Rocky. In her
heart, she did not believe that Rocky knew what to do to make Verdanim regain his health and
strength. Finally, she looked to Sheridan for help, for being in a state of panic, she could not decide
what to do - give Rocky the go-ahead or deny him permission to treat Verdanim.
Sheridan immediately understood from the way Marin was looking at him that she wanted to know what
he thought and whether she could trust Rocky. Then he turned to look at Rocky and observe his body
language. Sheridan found that Rocky's demeanor spoke of confidence, and did not communicate any
hesitation at all. Seeing that, it seemed to him that Rocky might have solutions. Also, he knew that
things could not get worse, so he decided to take a chance with Rocky.
"Marin, I would say, let him try, he might succeed where I cannot," sighing, Sheridan said to Marin.
Now that Sheridan had given his opinion, Marin looked to Rocky and told him that she was entrusting
Verdanim in his care since Sheridan had said that she could trust him. But she would never forgive him
if there was a slightest problem, and Verdanim's condition worsened because of Rocky's treatment.
"You will pay, remember that."
"What if I succeed and make Verdanim well?" Rocky asked, smiling, with his arms crossed in front of
his chest.
"In that case, I will grant you one wish - you can ask for anything, and I will give it to you," Marin said,
after hesitating, briefly. If Rocky could do what he had claimed he could, she would do anything for him.
Moreover, she knew that he would never make unreasonable requests. After all, she was the military
camp's commander and no one would dare to cross their limits with her.
Now that Marin had given her consent, Rocky took charge and told some of the people who were with
Marin to get some soldiers to carry Verdanim to the beast farm. Further, saying, "I'll be back soon,"
Rocky turned around and left to prepare for the surgical procedure.
Verdanim's stomach was hemorrhaging profusely, which most probably the rupturing of a great artery
had caused. Rocky knew that if the pressure in the abdominal cavity were to increase any higher, it
would cause a multiple organ failure, which in turn, would render operating, and saving Verdanim, who
would die because of the shock of the excessive bleeding, impossible.
Therefore, Rocky had to start the surgery on an urgent basis, without any delay, as Verdanim's
condition was quickly becoming alarming. But as it was a gigantic creature, Rocky understood that he
would not be able to take Verdanim into the operation theater. Therefore, he would have to operate in
the beast stable.
As there was no time to lose, Rocky ran to fetch the surgical instruments he needed for the operation,
from the lab. Once there, he gathered them quickly, put them in a sterile basket, and hastened back to
the military camp with it.
Some soldiers and other helpers had already taken Verdanim to the stable, by the time Rocky reached
the beast farm. There he saw that many people, including Marin, had formed a circle around Verdanim,
surrounding him completely.
Seeing such a large crowd, Rocky shouted from afar, "Sheridan, ask them to leave the stable," as he
entered the place.
"Hey, Rocky, I am your teacher. Show respect. How dare you shout at me and order me," Sheridan
objected to Rocky's tone of voice.
"Do you or don't you, want me to make Verdanim better for Marin?" Rocky asked Sheridan impatiently.
Rocky's irritated way of talking affected Sheridan, and he immediately looked dejected. He also knew
that Verdanim's survival solely depended on Rocky now. Besides, he was tense as he was not aware
of what Rocky's method would be. Having known Marin since she was a child, Sheridan's heart ached
at seeing her so sad. For her happiness' sake, he wished that Rocky would succeed in treating
Verdanim. Then, in a loud voice, he chased away all the people who were crowding outside the beast
stable.
"Are you happy now? I told everyone to disperse. Look, they have gone," Sheridan addressed Rocky,
when he came back.
"I can see one person standing there." Rocky pointed at Marin, who was standing outside Verdanim's
stable.
"Do you think it is possible for her to leave?" Sheridan rolled his eyes at Rocky in exasperation, sure
that Marin would not leave until she had seen that Verdanim was safe.
"You have to take care of the situation, don't you. I won't do anything unless she leaves," Rocky said
arrogantly. He knew that watching him operate on her dear Verdamin would be tortuous for Marin, and
she would shout at him for causing it further pain and distress. That, in turn, would distract him and
prevent him from doing a perfect job.
Sheridan frowned. However, he knew that he had no choice but to convince Marin to leave, for
otherwise, Rocky would not start treating Verdanim. So, he went out and approached Marin, who was
standing looking forlorn and worried, and persuaded her to leave for Verdanim's sake.
"Are you satisfied? Now, can you tell me how you will treat Verdanim?" Sheridan asked, as soon as he
had joined Rocky in the stable.
"If I tell you, then I will be your teacher, and you will have to respect me as one. Leave this job to me. I
can handle it by myself. You go, and drink your wine. Remember to come back tomorrow morning,"
Rocky pushed Sheridan out of the stable and shut the door in his face, because he was running out of
time.
"I wonder what he will do? He is so young and inexperienced," perplexed, Sheridan murmured to
himself. But he was reassured on seeing Rocky, who was standing in front of Verdanim, looking like a
picture of confidence. Then he left the beast stable.
After Sheridan had left, Rocky brought the sterile basket of surgical tools into the stable, where
Verdanim lay on the soil floor. After clearing and leveling a small area, he spread a white cloth on the
ground and placed the tools on it, symmetrically one alongside the other. After that, he dipped a rag
cloth into one of the two buckets that he had fetched and placed near Verdanim. Finally, Rocky started
cleaning the blood from its wounded body with the wet rag.
By now, Verdanim's condition was rapidly deteriorating. Nearly unconscious, it was struggling to keep
its eyes open, and having trouble breathing. It seemed that the pressure in its abdominal cavity was so
much that it would explode.
After scrubbing and completing the pre-surgery procedures, Rocky started operating without any
further delay. He first suctioned out the hematocele from Verdanim's abdominal cavity, to reduce the
pressure on other organs.
"Sleep well," Rocky said, and fed Verdanim some diluted Centipede-snake venom to anesthetize it.
Seeing that the anesthesia had taken effect on Verdanim and it was completely unconscious, Rocky
immediately took the largest scalpel and cut open its lower belly. He repeated this move three times to
completely rip it open. Immediately, a pool of blood was all over the stable floor.
When Verdanim's abdominal cavity was totally drained off the blood, using tweezers, Rocky started
tucking the loose flesh so that he could find the ruptured aorta. Moreover, that was easy to spot, as it
was gargantuan in size.
Rocky then, quickly found the bleeding aorta whose diameter was the size of a small water pipe. Its
condition was much worse than what he could imagine or had expected it to be. As more than one
segment was ruptured, it was difficult to fix it. Also, he knew that if anything were to go wrong during
the operation, the aorta might rupture again, and Verdanim would not survive that.
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