Chapter 613 - Plague
"I... Is that really alright?"
"Of course! Why don't you try asking the others for the opinions?" Leon suggested casually.
Lilith hesitated for a moment, but the answer was already clear in her heart.
After making her resolve, she spoke to the group with a firm look, "This might be selfish of me to ask of you all, but please help me save my clan, everyone."
"I don't mind. I have nothing to do anyway," Duna spoke before nonchalantly stating, "However, this Desolate Netherbird Prince better pose enough challenge to keep me entertained."
"…"
Beastkin warriors were immediately speechless.
"Do you even understand what you are saying? The Desolate Crow Clan's problem isn't something that can be solved with bravery alone! We are talking about facing multiple Mid-Rank 2 Transcendents here!"
Jorn clenched his fist and continued, "And if we hurt the Second Prince, the Desolate Netherbird King will not be pleased! The wrath of a Paragon is not something anyone can endure, let alone an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent like you!"
Although he was unsure what kind of being Duna was, he could at least vaguely sensed her strength to be around the Early-Rank 1 Transcendent, according to the aura she emitted.
Nevertheless, Duna's expression became cold once again after listening.
"Although I don't need to prove anything to you, your ignorance pisses me off. Perhaps, I should just erase your existence from the face of the earth?"
A wisp of Destruction Law gathered on the tip of Duna's fingers as she spoke, "Paragons are nothing to me!"
Her Destruction Law could even destroy the fabled Celestials that exist beyond the Transcendent Realm!
Of course, it is a different matter entirely whether they would just let Duna strike them with the power of destruction.
Leon blew a wisp of Nihility Law over and snuffed out Duna's Destruction Law before he chided, "Don't use your Destruction Law so casually. It's troublesome to heal."
"Don't I have you?" Duna grinned slyly with a hint of flirtatiousness.
"..."
Leon's lips twitched.
What he meant was that it was troublesome for him! Not her!
'Am I your emergency first-aid kit or something?' Leon thought speechlessly.
"What was that power just now? Did you just call it the Destruction Law?" Jorn inquired with shock. He felt all his hair rising the moment the power came into existence.
Nevertheless, Duna was too lazy to explain it to the beastkin warrior.
At the same time, the rest of the beastkin warriors all looked the group in a new light.
They realized that everyone in the group was extraordinary in their own way, whether it was status or power.
Meanwhile, Aria turned to Lilith and spoke with a smile, "A friend of Leon is also a friend of mine. Of course, I will be willing to help a friend out."
"Thank you, Aria..." Lilith expressed her gratitude for Aria's willingness to lend a hand.
However, shortly after, her brows slightly wrinkled with doubt, not sure whether it was just an illusion, but Aria seemed to have emphasized the word "friend."
"Don't worry about it, friend," Aria waved it off as a small matter.
'No, no, no, she is definitely emphasizing the word "friend" to me,' Lilith thought speechlessly.
Shortly after, Lilith turned her head to seek Soft Feather's opinion.
However, before she could say something, Soft Feather spoke first.
"Don't look at me. I am just a ride. I will follow wherever he goes," Soft Feather said lazily while throwing Leon a glance.
"Thank you..."
"I don't know whether I can be of any help at all, but I will do my best," Darlene quickly spoke with a humble attitude as soon as Lilith's gaze fell on her.
Leon noticed Darlene's hidden troubles and concerns before he made a mental note to help her increase her cultivation as soon as he can.
"Well, there you have it."
Leon eventually clapped his hands after everyone voiced their opinions to Lilith before turning to Jorn.
"Looks like we will be staying after all," Leon smiled slightly.
"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into here," Jorn stated with a deep frown.
"Oh, but I think I know very well what I am getting myself into. It's precisely because I know that I cannot leave."
Leon spoke coolly before urging, "Let us not waste any more time and enter the clan. I'm sure there's a lot of sick people in need of help."
"How did you know that?" Jorn widened his eyes in astonishment, not understanding how Leon knew what was happening in the clan.
"Well, I am a doctor after all," Leon explained before commenting casually, "It would be weird if nothing is wrong when your entire clan is living in an enclosed area under this heap of carcasses."
At the same time, Lilith was startled before asking with a frown, "What exactly is going on in the clan, Uncle Jorn? What are you hiding from me?"
"Well..." Jorn smiled bitterly before saying, "It is as Prince Leon said. Everyone in the clan is currently sick."
"Only Transcendents haven't been affected yet. However, the plague is getting worse. It'll only be a matter of time before it affects everyone."
"This... you wanted me to leave because of this?" Lilith asked.
"Partly the reason. I did not lie to you, Little Princess. The Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent will capture you if he finds out."
Jorn shortly turned to Leon and inquired with a solemn look, "How do you planning on dealing with this?"
"We will see how bad the plague is first before I decide on an efficient treatment method. If that Lord Ballsacks wants to interfere, then we will simply just kill him," Leon stated calmly.
Jorn was immediately taken aback before correcting Leon, "It's actually Lord Bahlzacs..."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"No, never mind... It's nothing."
Jorn decided to keep silent and observed from the side for now.
Although he did not believe this group of people could overturn the whole situation, there was some faint hope in his heart after witnessing their mysterious abilities.
Perhaps he will be able to witness a miracle.
Shortly after, everyone made their way over to the entrance into the Desolate Crow Clan before the ladies all furrowed their brows in disgust.
Without needing to enter the Desolate Crow Clan, they already understood that the place reeked with a pungent stench—and most likely very unsanitary.
"This place reeks… No wonder there's a plague..."
"Rats are known for being carriers of diseases. If you don't clean up after you are done with the battle, then you are asking to be stricken with the plague…"
The ladies commented.
The beastkin warriors all wore helpless looks before Jorn explained with a sigh, "Everyone was already worn out from the battle. Before we could recover some strength to clean up the mess, it was already too late."
"I doubt the mutant rats would have come close if you had just set fire to the place. That would have definitely given your people some room to breathe," Leon shrugged.
Shortly after glancing at the size of the entrance, he glanced over at Soft Feather's huge body before saying, "I'm afraid you will have to stay outside, Soft Feather. Will you be fine waiting out here?"
"Of course. Why would I want to squeeze myself down that filthy hole?" Soft Feather responded with disgust. "I wouldn't go down there even if you kill me."
"Haha, alright. Call me if something happens."
…
Sometime later, Leon arrived inside the Desolate Crow Clan with Duna, Lilith, Jorn, and the other beastkin warriors while Aria and Darlene thoughtfully stayed back to keep Soft Feather company.
"The situation is worse than I thought," Leon frowned deeply while looking at all the bodies littering the streets of the Desolate Crow Clan.
Among them, there were some that no longer had any breath left in them. In other words, people were already dying from the plague within a mere span of a few days.
"As you can see, the situation is quite bad," Jorn introduced while leading the way.
Duna expressed little emotion regarding the sorry sight within the Desolate Crow Clan. On the other hand, Lilith was completely shocked.
"Quite bad? That's an understatement! How did the situation degrade to such a state?! It's only been a few days since the Cataclysm started!"
"How indeed…" Leon muttered in deep contemplation before his eyes flickered in realization, "If the rats can mutate, then so can the diseases it carries…"
The situation was much trickier than he had hoped for.
Pre-existing diseases all had treatment solutions, but if they mutated into variant diseases, then he would have to conduct research to develop new treatment methods for them.
Fortunately, he had the Divine Book of Life. Otherwise, he would not have any confidence in treating variant diseases brought by the Cataclysm.
"Little Princess, please use a clean and wet cloth to cover your face while breathing. The plague is quite contagious and spreads really quickly. Although this doesn't help much, it still lowers the risk of you contracting airborne diseases."
Jorn warned while offering a few wet cloths for Lilith to choose from before she accepted with a nod, "Alright…"
Shortly after, a sickly boy made his way over and tugged on Leon's clothes before pleading weakly, "Big brother, can you please help my mother? She is very sick and refuses to eat…"
Leon was surprised for a moment before he realized why he was chosen from among their group. The child naturally feared the beastkin warriors while he was a new face.
As expected, without any surprises, Jorn's expression changed abruptly upon seeing an infected child touching the human prince.
"Filthy child! Get your hands away from, Prince Leon!" Jorn barked, causing the little boy to tremble with fear.
"Uncle Jorn! How could you raise your voice against a child?!" Lilith immediately chided.