A rush of coughing came from the room, the sound was like a bellows torn, and it sounded full of a sense of dilapidation and weakness.
Standing outside the room, several court attendants in linen robes lowered their heads nervously, looking terrified.
In the corridor, only those court warriors in golden armor still held their heads high.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from the corridor, and the court medical officer in white trotted all the way under the guidance of the waiter. After a while, another priest and magician invited from the church also came quickly.
In this huge palace, on the candlesticks with thick arms all around, all the candlelight seems to be concentrated on the huge bed in the middle of the room! On that gorgeous big bed, on the bed base made of jewels and gold, in the thick soft couch as soft as a cloud, the most honorable old man in the empire was struggling to breathe.
In the thick curtain, his figure was a little blurry, and there were some spells depicting strange symbols hanging on the high bedposts all around.
Emperor Cantos' face was as pale as that of a dead man, his cheeks had been deeply sunk in, and his gray complexion had a strange cyan color.
He looks thinner, the gorgeous robe covering his body, but the wrists exposed from the sleeves are like dry bones! His original majestic body, but also the skeleton...
The emperor's face was very painful, it seemed that every breath became a great burden for him, and the severe pain tormented his body.
"Take... candles, candles..." The emperor spit out vague words with difficulty: "All, light! All!" After he shouted hard, he murmured to himself: "It's too dark here...too It's dark...like a goddamn grave...so dark."
Several close-fitting servants quickly found candles and lit them on the surrounding tables. The candlelight of dozens of huge candles, but the emperor seemed still not satisfied, and continued to shake his head and mutter: "It's too dark... It's too dark... like a grave…”
Finally, after almost hundreds of candles were lit, the beating of hundreds of candles, while bringing light, seemed unable to dispel the cold smell in the room.
The court medical officer first walked to the emperor's side. He carefully supported the emperor to lie down, then swiftly untied His Majesty's robe, stretched out his hand and pressed a few times on the emperor's already skinny chest, and then carefully He grabbed the emperor's wrist and neck, checked the frequency of his heartbeat, opened the emperor's eyelids, and finally took out a thin needle from his sleeve and gently pierced the skin of the emperor's chest. At one point, a drop of blood appeared.
The doctor quickly threw the needle tip with the blood bead into a transparent bottle. The bottle originally contained some transparent liquid, but when the blood bead was submerged, the originally pure and transparent liquid inside suddenly suddenly disappeared. There was a ripple, and it quickly turned into a faint blue at will...
The doctor's face suddenly became extremely ugly. He looked at the emperor lying on the soft couch, hesitated for a moment, his lips moved, but he didn't seem to know how to speak.
At this time, finally, the magician and priest arrived.
As soon as the court magician in the red robe came in, all the servants in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, this court magician is the person everyone trusts.
The court magician quickly walked to the emperor's side, just glanced at the emperor quickly, and quickly took out a small wooden box from his sleeve, opened the box, and gently twisted a piece of it from the inside with two fingers. This green leaf is so green, crystal clear, slender and long, it looks like it is full of vigor!
With a calm expression, the magician held the leaf and brought it to the emperor's mouth. He gently squeezed the emperor's chin and helped Emperor Cantos open his mouth before sending the leaf into the emperor's mouth...
The leaf was spread on the emperor's tongue, and soon, a "chichi" sound was made, and a light mist emanated from the emperor's mouth, as if the leaf began to melt at a rapid speed!
The emperor was sent to lie down, and in his mouth, the voice of "chichi" continued to come.
Finally, quickly, a group of faintly flowing rays of light quickly emerged from the emperor's face, and then quickly flowed all over his body.
A miracle happened!
The cheeks that were originally thin and deeply sunk in, at this moment, the muscles are suddenly full of miracles, and the complexion that was originally blue-grey and white like a dead person suddenly turned rosy again!
The difficult wheezing sound like a broken bellows finally calmed down, and the heart-wrenching coughing sound finally subsided!
The emperor finally opened his eyes, with a hint of relief in his eyes, looked at the court magician beside him, and sighed softly: "Thank you, Your Excellency Ayippur, you can always save me from fire and water. ."
The court magician didn't say anything to the emperor, but just turned to look at the priest behind him and nodded to him.
The priest came over, saluted the emperor, and said slowly, "Your Majesty, please lie down, and let me start casting spells for you."
After speaking, the priest took out a small bottle from his bosom, poured out some holy water gently, swirl a few drops, sprinkled it on the emperor's forehead, and was about to sing a spell...
"Wait, wait a minute!"
The face of the court medical officer finally changed, he strode up and grabbed the priest's sleeve: "Wait a minute!"
The palace medical officer looked anxious: "No! It can't be like this again!"
The emperor opened his eyes, looked at the court medical officer, and frowned, "What's wrong?"
The medical officer looked a little hesitant, but in an instant, as if he had made a decision, he raised his head, looked directly into the eyes of the emperor, and said loudly: "Your Majesty! You can no longer use magic to heal! This method is fundamental Not to help you recover, but... but to harm you at all!!"
The emperor frowned and his face sank.
"Stupid guy, get out of here!"
The court magician sneered and waved his sleeves lightly, and the body of the court medical officer fell backwards. When it fell to the ground, two servants next to him hurried up to help him up.
"Stupid?! You are stupid!!" The court doctor's face was decisive, and after breaking free from the support of the court attendant, he struggled to stand up, pointed at the court magician and said loudly: "You are murdering at all. This is a murder against His Majesty!! It can't continue like this!!"
When the gift of "murder" came out of the medical officer's mouth, a few figures of court warriors appeared silently in the corner of the room. The middle-aged man who had always been silent, also seemed to be a shadow. Usually in the corner.
The palace medical officer gritted his teeth, took off the hat on his head, threw it on the ground, and then threw himself down on his knees, shouting to Emperor Cantos on the bed, "Your Majesty! I really can't go on like this. These goddamn gods are deceiving you at all!!"
Saying that, he held up his bottle high: "Did you see the color of the water in this bottle! Once your blood is stained, it turns blue! This shows that you have been deeply poisoned. It's very deep!!"
"Nonsense." The court magician shook his head and stared at the medical officer with a sneer: "You incompetent fellows cannot cure your majesty's illness. But the brilliance of magic can dispel your majesty's pain! Your ignorant mind cannot understand. The mysteries of magic, but slandered with these hateful words..."
"I really don't know magic!!" The medical officer stubbornly raised his head and stared at the magician, and said loudly: "Perhaps! In the eyes of a noble magician like you, someone like me is indeed a small existence! All you need is With a flick of a finger, I can easily take this humble life from me!! But I am a doctor! Although I don't know magic, I know the human body! I know medicine!! I admit the greatness of magic And the mystery! But... Magic, after all, is not omnipotent!! It is impossible to solve all problems!!"
He was covered in sweat, moved forward with his knees, knelt in front of the bed, facing Emperor Cantos on the bed, and said loudly: "Your Majesty! You dispel these diseases... But this is not the incompetence of medicine, but... There is no one thing in this world that can solve all problems! Your disease, medicine can't solve it, but equally, magic can't solve it!"
"Can't solve it?" The court magician sneered: "If you are not blind, you should see that His Majesty's complexion is much better now."
"Indeed!" said the medical officer loudly, "Yes! But it's a deception! It's a... a murder!!"
He took out a booklet from his arms and said loudly: "Your Majesty! As your medical officer, my duty also includes recording your illness! From this noble magician's first treatment for you At that time, I have recorded all the records after that! A few months ago, when he used magic to dispel the pain for you for the first time, that time, the effect of the treatment lasted for half a month, Your illness relapsed! But then, the second magic treatment lasted only ten days! The third treatment lasted only seven days! The fourth time was four days! Today, you have to perform it almost every day Only one treatment is needed!! The effect of each magic treatment is getting shorter and shorter! But the magician, the magic leaves you are taking, the dose is getting bigger and bigger! I remember the first time During the treatment, he only gave you a quarter of a leaf! Today, even taking a whole leaf will only stop your pain for less than a day!"
He threw the booklet on the ground, pointed to the priest next to him, and said loudly, "Even the most ordinary person knows a truth: Healing techniques cannot be used multiple times! Because healing techniques are not real In fact, this kind of spell is only used to stimulate the rapid growth of human body functions and self-recovery!! But this kind of spell, used too much, is actually harmful to the human body! It consumes a lot of one's own vitality! Such a simple truth, let alone this noble magician, even a magic apprentice should know such common sense! But this magician will allow the priest to give you every time Perform healing... Isn't this murder!!"
Emperor Cantos was sitting on the bed, his face was calm, and he didn't seem to see any fluctuations, but in those eyes, it seemed that he didn't know what kind of light was flashing...
The face of the court magician was very ugly. He stared at the medical officer and said angrily: "Ignorance! How can you understand the magic potion I prepared!"
"I really don't understand! But I am a medical officer!" The brave medical officer said proudly: "No matter how miraculous magic is, it cannot reverse the laws of the world! Or... even if it can be done, it seems that it is not you. This level can do it! Although I don't know your magic potion, I at least know medicine! I know what is good for the human body and what is harmful to the human body! At least... What is poisonous, I can still I can tell!"
As he spoke, a look of absoluteness flashed in his eyes, and he paused forcibly: "Your Majesty! I know that you are eager to get rid of this painful disease, so you have gradually stopped trusting medical skills! But please believe that magic is not Almighty! It is impossible to solve all problems with magic! To cure diseases, you have to rely on medical skills! I know what I say, but you can't completely believe me... "
He gritted his teeth hard, held the bottle of blue liquid, and said loudly: "You took those magical leaves, and your body is full of toxins!! This toxin is enough to kill people! If you don't believe it, please see it. !"
After speaking, he took the bottle and put it to his mouth, and was about to drink the blue liquid in the bottle!
The emperor's eyes changed, and he whispered: "Stop!"
The middle-aged man in the corner suddenly appeared beside the medical officer with a flickering figure. He gently stretched out his hand and snatched the bottle from the medical officer's mouth. The medical officer was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the mysterious expert beside the emperor.
"If you want to prove it, you don't need to seek death." The emperor sat on the bed and slowly shook his head: "Bring two dogs here!"
Soon, a servant brought two dogs into the room. The dogs in the palace are naturally majestic.
The medical officer looked at the middle-aged man and said firmly: "Give the dog a drink, if the dog doesn't die! I will commit suicide to apologize!!"
The middle-aged man looked at Emperor Cantos, closed his eyes, and nodded.
…
Soon, the bottle was filled with the blue liquid of the Emperor's Blood Drops, and a dog drank less than one-third of it. After a few minutes, the dog suddenly whimpered a few times, twitched, and immediately froze. He fell to the ground, shivered a few times, and then died! !
In the room, the surrounding servants and guards were all shocked. Many guards had already drawn out their weapons and surrounded the palace magician in the middle!
The magician looked ugly, but still said loudly: "No! There was this doctor's own potion in the bottle, maybe the potion was poisonous!"
The medical officer immediately said loudly: "If you don't believe me, you can try again! This time, I will only ask Your Majesty to cut the skin, just a few drops of blood, nothing else, and then give it to a dog... It will be clear!"
The emperor opened his eyes, a flash of sharpness flashed in his eyes, but he immediately touched a silver knife from the head of the bed, and quickly cut his thumb! He then threw the blade stained with his own blood to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man nodded, took the knife, and gently cut the skin of the remaining dog...
five minutes! !
But after five minutes, the dog suddenly twitched all over! In less than a moment, he howled a few times, white foam flowed from his mouth, and then fell to the ground! !
This time, even the emperor himself changed color! !
The middle-aged man turned back and looked at the emperor, and there was a strange and complicated meaning in his eyes.
"Everyone go out, Ayipur, and the medical officer stay."
The emperor raised his hand.
The emperor's order made all the guards stunned, but when the emperor's majestic eyes swept over, everyone finally retreated.
The medical officer raised his head blankly and watched everyone go out, but the magician was already kneeling on the ground, looking at the emperor with a hint of helplessness on his face.
"Okay, get up." The emperor smiled bitterly: "Get up."
"Your Majesty, please forgive my incompetence... I..." It was the magician who spoke.
"I don't blame you." Emperor Cantos shook his head: "From the beginning, you told me that this method of treatment is poisonous, and it can't really cure my disease, it can only make me recover in a short time. The state will greatly shorten my lifespan... I know it's my own choice, I don't blame you."
The doctor was stunned!
After all, he has been in the royal family for a long time, and his thoughts turned in an instant, and he realized that he might have done something bad with good intentions!
"You also get up." The emperor looked at the medical officer: "I don't blame you either. You did this because you were loyal to me. I will only appreciate your loyalty and will not blame you." After a pause, The emperor smiled bitterly and said, "However, you owe the Mage an apology."
The medical officer immediately bowed his head to the magician: "Your Excellency, I..."
The magician smiled bitterly: "Okay... I was not careful, and you saw it out. I don't blame you... You are loyal to Your Majesty, of course it's good."
"I need a little time, I need to show my subjects a healthy emperor! I need to show the soldiers on the city walls that their emperor is still alive! I can't let outsiders see me as weak! This will reduce the morale of the army and the cohesion of the people.”
The emperor said slowly: "I know this method will only make me die faster, but... I have no other choice."
After a pause, he looked at the magician and medical officer in front of him: "What I want to know now is... How long can I live?"
Seeing that the two were hesitant, the emperor immediately said solemnly: "I don't need any boring comfort! I don't need any white lies! Your answer will have a huge impact on the fate of the empire! I must know accurately. How much time do I have left! I need to make the most of it so I can deal with some of the most important issues!"
"About half a month." The doctor said his answer: "There are too many toxins in your blood, although I don't know what method Your Majesty Mage used to prevent these toxins from killing you for the time being... But with the The increase of toxins has already begun to damage your body functions! And... It seems that this toxin has already begun to damage your body, and the speed will be faster and faster. So... My judgment is that as short as fourteen or five days, the most Long, but only twenty days."
The emperor raised his eyebrows.
"Your Majesty." The court magician shook his head: "My opinion is not so optimistic."
He glanced at the medical officer beside him: "This gentleman's judgment is based on the toxin content of your blood... Unless you stop my treatment from now on. Then the days he said are reasonable... But, You also need to continue the treatment to keep you sane... Every additional treatment like this will shorten your life again. By my calculations... If you want to stay sane for the rest of the time, you need to Continue to continue treatment... So, according to my calculations, your remaining time will not exceed... ten days at most. The shortest... is about seven days."
"Seven days..."
The emperor's expression was full of gloom, but soon, he suddenly laughed: "Okay! It is better to know exactly when you will die than to suddenly fall and leave a mess."
He immediately shook his head: "What does it feel like to wait for death... Hmph, I don't have time to cherish this!"
Having said that, the emperor stood up from the bed and looked at the two of them: "Thank you for your honest answers. Please believe that your answers have brought great benefits to the empire."
After speaking, he looked at the middle-aged man: "Now, I need to see our prime minister... It's time to make a will - send someone to invite our prime minister... Oh, Adric just No need, let him continue to deal with those Lantis people."
※※※
In the afternoon of that day, the emperor personally climbed the city wall, which boosted the morale of the defenders who had just repelled a rebel attack at noon!
The emperor himself planted an imperial flag on the tower of the Arc de Triomphe, and then pointed to the imperial flag and said loudly: "I swear here!! After this battle, if you can win, all of you will be new to the empire. Your honor! My Karenma family will never lose each other in one day!”
Looking at the cheers of the soldiers on the city wall, among the crowd, there was a person sitting under the root of the city wall, leaning there lazily, gently wiping a spear in his hand.
A majestic figure, full of short hair like a steel needle.
Ye Lin looked up at the people on the city wall cheering with weapons, and looked at the focus of everyone, the emperor like a star holding the moon...
"hypocritical."
A sneer.