Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 176
Lingling immediately reached out her hand and slapped Mo Fan's head when she saw him feeling down. "How stupid are you! If we can't get close to West Ridge, we could simply ask this guy to catch some poisonous rats and dissect them! All we need to do is to prove that the poisonous rats are the source of the plague!"
Mo Fan's eyes flickered. He quickly hugged the tiny Linging and kissed her chubby cheek, "HAHA, why didn't I think of it… kid, what's your name, go and catch me some poisonous rats. No, I'll go with you. It will probably take you half a day to kill one."
"You can find one in the woods just ahead. Come with me, I can lure them out," said Wang Xiaojun.
Mo Fan nodded. He Summoned the Swift Star Wolf without hesitation.
If the young man was saying the truth, it would be a tremendous breakthrough to finding the truth about the plague!
Chapter 385 - The Alert
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: Aelryinth
Following Wang Xiaojun's guide, Mo Fan and Lingling quickly made their way to the woods, and caught a poisonous rat beast that Wang Xiaojun had mentioned.
Lingling was rather an expert with demon beasts. She immediately recognized it to be a subspecies of the demon rats living in burrows in the jungle.
These Malicious Epidemic Rats were one of the weakest of all Servant-class demon beasts. Mo Fan did fight some of them along the way, and the demon beast was a lot weaker than the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat Mo Fan had encountered in Bo City.
Lingling quickly dissected one of the Malicious Epidemic Rats on the spot dexterously. Both Mo Fan and Wang Xiaojun wore weird looks on their faces, as they could not believe it was something that a little girl looking barely over ten could do.
"Strange, it's the Mutated Blood. Am I really that lucky?" said Lingling. She glanced at Mo Fan and pointed deeper into the woods, "Go catch some more of these here, and see if they contain any Mutated Blood."
Mo Fan followed her instructions. Killing some of the rats did not require any effort. To Mo Fan's astonishment, each of the Malicious Epidemic Ratshad Mutated Blood in them.
Mutated Blood, only a few drops would appear after killing over a hundred demon beasts. It was an important material that had always been low in supply. Hunters had risked their lives in the wild to hunt the demon beasts, just to obtain some Mutated Blood, Mutated Bones, or Mutated Skin from them. Mutated Bones or Mutated Skin were the main crafting material to forge magical equipment, while Mutated Blood was widely used in other areas. The blood serums for healing purposes were refined from Mutated Blood.
Mutated Blood was incredibly rare, hence it was rather unbelievable that every Malicious Epidemic Rat had Mutated Blood.
Mo Fan reflected the findings to Lingling, who was busy dissecting the demon beast. Lingling seemed to have arrived at a conclusion, whose lips curled slightly upward as she spoke, "We finally have a clear picture of the whole incident."
Mo Fan and Wang Xiaojun sat down beside one another, fully prepared to listen to Lingling's explanation.
"The Malicious Epidemic Rats are very unique. It's a rare type of 'disastrous' species. They are weak, to an extent that they can't even protect themselves, as they are placed at the bottom of the food chains. When I read about them in the recordings about their species, I always wondered why they aren't extinct yet. It turns out that they have a special way to reproduce.
"First, their bodies contain a kind of Diseased Blood, which is very similar to Mutated Blood. It's impossible to tell the difference without a detailed dissection. Therefore, recalling the series of events that have taken place lately..."
Mo Fan had already noticed how the incidents were linked. He took over and continued, "Someone has been using the rats' Diseased Blood to mass produce the blood serums, which resulted in the outbreak of the plague."
Lingling added with a nod, "From the information sister has given me, it turns out that the two rotten corpses in the city bought blood serums from White Town beforehand. The first batch of patients caught the virus from the blood serums made with the Malicious Epidemic Rats blood."
The production line of the blood serums was strictly handled by the Magic Association. It was almost impossible that someone had retrieved the wrong ingredients to produce the blood serums. Therefore, it was most likely that someone had colluded with the Magic Association to mass produce the defective blood serums.
The blood serums would have the same effect as the ordinary blood serums, but they never thought that the Malicious Epidemic Rats' blood would hide in the patient's body before breaking out as a disease. Somehow, the disease had further mutated into an epidemic. As such, it instantly activated the virus in the bodies of those who had consumed the defective blood serums, allowing the plague to spread rapidly, and resulting in the disaster for Hangzhou City.
They had finally discovered the source of the plague!
The whole incident had nothing to do with the Black Totem Snake. The so-called natural disaster was actually man-made!
Their next step was to discover the people responsible for using such an inhumane method to earn a great profit.
Leng Qing and Mo Fan reflected their findings to Leng Qing, who told the two her discoveries, too. It turned out that the person in charge of supervising the first batch of blood serums was Vice Elder Wang Yi's wife.
Furthermore, even Wang Yi would not have the guts to use the Disease Blood as an alternative ingredient to produce the blood serums. As they investigated further, there was only one person likely to be the culprit… Councilman Luo Mian!
If Councilman Luo Mian were guilty, it explained why he had suddenly colluded with Councilman Zhu Meng!
After all, they needed a scapegoat for the plague. The Black Totem Snake happened to be the perfect candidate, thus he could not wait to execute the Black Totem Snake, just so he could blame it all on the already dead Black Totem Snake.
It was an astounding discovery, which involved an absolutely terrifying conspiracy!
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Mo Fan, Lingling, Wang Xiaojun, Leng Qing and Tangyue regrouped at West Lake. When Mo Fan told everyone the truth, Tangyue was flushed with rage, her c.h.e.s.t rising heavily. She never thought that Councilman Luo Mian was responsible for the plague, and instead of confessing his wrongdoing took advantage of the people's fear and Councilman Zhu Meng's strategy to frame the Black Totem Snake. How vicious and devoid of conscience was he!?
"Since we've already learned the truth, we should arrest Councilman Luo Mian as soon as possible, " said Wang Xiaojun.
"A Councilman has far greater power than an Elder of the Magic Court. Arresting him won't be easy. We should find a way to let Councilman Zhu Meng spare the Black Totem Snake's life first. The totem beast is already extremely weak. He won't hold much longer if the torture continues," said Mo Fan.
Leng Qing nodded. It would be quite difficult to overthrow a Councilman. Besides, they had no solid evidence to prove that he was the mastermind behind the infectious blood serums. They would have to wait until the Elder Li Tian to acquired some important evidence.
Tangyue clenched her fists. Even though they knew who the culprit was, they still could not bring him to justice!
As they were discussing, Leng Qing received a call. A hint of helplessness surfaced on her face as she said, "Vice Elder of the Magic Court Wang Yi has committed suicide to avoid punishment. The news has spread quickly through West Fortress."
"The blood serums that were transported to West Fortress are defective. The outbreak of the plague is inevitable. If we knew the blood serums were the reason for the plague, we would've stopped the blood serums from reaching West Fortress," said Mo Fan.
"It doesn't make any difference, even though we've learned the truth. Councilman Luo Mian has sacrificed the rook in order to save the queen, blaming it all on Vice Elder Wang Yi. The entire fortress is affected by the plague, thus our defense has tumbled. The army of White Magic Falcons might attack at any time... Hangzhou City is going to have a serious problem," said Leng Qing.
In the midst of her speech, Leng Qing raised her eyes, staring into the west.
A moment later, an ray of light could be seen in the distance. It was absolutely striking as it sprang into the sky.
The sun was setting in the same direction, the sky was dyed crimson. The combination of the two colors served as a reminder of the upcoming terrifying situation...
Chapter 386 - The Truth Behind the Invasion
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: Aelryinth
As the sun fully set, the White Magic Falcons made use of the darkness that slowly covered the land and flew out from their perches.
The sky, dimly lit by what was left of the sun was covered with white feathers. They looked like clouds, huge enough to shroud the entire sky while slowly approaching the fortress. The spectacular view immediately sent chills down everyone's spine.
The White Magic Falcons had just launched an even fiercer attack. The countless White Magic Falcons seemed to have found a delicacy. They had turned into white ghastly demons with a strong bloodl.u.s.t, descending upon the human world.
They flew across the mountains and the woods west of the fortress. Meanwhile, the most important line of defense on the human side was currently trapped by terror due to the plague.
The Battlemages gathered themselves, standing on the defense towers in lines. Most of the Basic and Intermediate Magicians were unable to do any serious damage to flying demon beasts. As a matter of fact, the main firepower of West Fortress was made up of the huge number of Basic and Intermediate Magicians.
Currently, the humans had no choice but to send the elites among elites to station the scattered defense towers. The fortress itself was no longer part of the line of defense. The towers were the actual barrier stopping the White Magic Falcons from invading human territory.
Many Magicians were flying in the sky above West Fortress. Without the Heavenly Eagles, some of the Advanced Magicians could not even join the battle. Everyone was wearing a stern expression. They would be lying if they claimed they were not afraid of facing the overwhelming army of White Magic Falcons. They were just too many of them. Even Advanced Magicians were at risk of dying in the battle.
It quickly turned into a standoff between humans and demon beasts. The numbers on the human side were too few. The battle felt rather one-sided on the surface. However, the humans did not dare take a step backward. There were too many helpless civilians behind the line of defense. If the White Magic Falcons crossed the line of defense, they would bring a true massacre to the city.
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In the main meeting room of West Fortress, Councilman Zhu Meng stood in front of the window providing a clear view of the sky. The expression on his face was extremely grave. He took a puff of a cigarette and extinguished it with a pinch straight away, "Wu Pingjing, follow me to the battle."
"Councilman, how can you join the battle yourself?" said Royal Guard Li Jin.
"We are left with no choice. If I don't go, who's going to handle that Ruler-level beast?" replied the Councilman.
"That's right, not only do we need to deal with the large numbers of White Magic Falcons, we have to find a way to stop the Ruler-level demon beast, too. Councilman, Wu Pingjing, Elders Tang Zhong and Li Tian, please handle the Ruler-level creature," agreed Army Adviser Yun Feng.
The four nodded heavily. They were prepared to fight the Ruler-level demon beast to the death.
Elder Court Li Tian glanced at Councilman Zhu Meng before looking at Army Adviser Yun Feng and said, "The White Magic Falcons are deadly serious with their invasion this time. Does anyone not wonder why the demon beasts who stayed at West Ridge peacefully would attack our city all of a sudden?"
"These assholes are intelligent, too. They are simply taking advantage of our situation, since our defense is severely impacted because of the plague. They wouldn't let such a great opportunity slip past them. They have always wanted to take over our city. The peace we had was just so that we would let our guard down," said the Army Advisor of West Fortress, Yun Feng.
Councilman Zhu Meng glanced at Li Tian and asked in a serious tone, "Elder Li Tian, you sound like you know something?"
"My subordinate Leng Qing has learned the truth of the plague from several young and brave Magicians. It wasn't a natural disaster, but man-made!" said Elder Li Tian in a heavy tone.
The plague was not a natural disaster, it was man-made!
The words echoed in the meeting room, leaving everyone in astonishment.
"Elder Li Tian, what do you possibly mean by that?" asked Army Advisor Yun Feng curiously.
"Surely everyone knows that the source of the outbreak at West Fortress was the blood serums that were transported here from White Town. The blood serums contain a kind of Diseased Blood retrieved from the Malicious Epidemic Rats. As the virus broke out in the patients' bodies, it eventually turned into an epidemic disease..." said Li Tian.
The goateed Councilman Luo Mian interrupted before Li Tian could finish, "Our first priority now is to deal with the White Magic Falcons. We should worry about the plague later."
Elder Li Tian glanced at the guilty-conscious Councilman Luo Mian and said with a hollow laugh, "Everyone might not know this, but the White Magic Falcons are only invading us because of the plague!
"The Malicious Epidemic Rats are the White Magic Falcon's favorite food. Also, they can utilize the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats to improve their bloodline!
"Therefore, when the White Magic Falcons smell the Malicious Epidemic Rats, they hunt them down at all costs. Many people in the city are infected, thus the blood in their bodies has become the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats!"
Li Tian paused for a brief moment, his gaze never leaving Councilman Luo Mian. Everything was happening because of his greed, yet he was still inside the meeting room while Vice Elder Wang Yi had become his scapegoat. He had also put the blame on the Black Totem Snake. Such an evil-hearted person, Li Tian felt a strong urge to execute the Councilman right on the spot!
"The White Magic Falcons have launched such a heavy attack because they assume every infected patient is a Malicious Epidemic Rat, a delicacy, a resource that will make them stronger!" Elder Li Tian finished furiously.
The others were absolutely astounded when they finished hearing his words.
"Are you telling me that the White Magic Falcons are only attacking us because they are targeting the people affected by the plague?" Councilman Zhu Meng asked in disbelief.
"That's right! Didn't you realize that the White Magic Falcons are not trying to destroy the fortress? After we moved all the infected from White Town and the fortress to Hangzhou City, the demon beasts have already set their eyes on the city instead!" Li Tian said heavily.
Hangzhou was currently in a grave situation. Li Tian could not care less about sparing anyone's sensibilities. He was determined to reveal Councilman Luo Mian's conspiracy to everyone during the meeting, so they would realize the true cause of the battle!
As a Magician, Li Tian strongly believed that every Magician had the obligation of stopping the demon beasts from infiltrating their territory with their lives at stake, but it did not mean that the Magicians would have to sacrifice their precious lives for a man-made disaster resulting from one man's greed!
Chapter 387 - There's Still One Heavenly Eagle Left
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: Aelryinth
"Luo Mian... It seems like you're hiding lots of things from me?" Councilman Zhu Meng seemed to be aware of something. His eyes fixed on Councilman Luo Mian.
Councilman Luo Mian continued to wear a smile. There was hardly any sign of fear on his face. "We'll settle it later, but right now we have more urgent matters on hand. Our enemies are right before us, should we waste our time further with infighting?"
General Yun Feng nodded. "The army of White Magic Falcons will arrive at our line of defense in two hours. Our defense can mostly hold on for another three hours before they break through and invade Hangzhou City. We have five hours left to either stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, or eliminate the Ruler-level demon beast!"
"Precisely!" Councilman Luo Mian quickly nodded, as if he were afraid that someone else would bring up the blood serums again.
Leng Qing stepped forward and said, "If the White Magic Falcons are invading because of the plague, I believe that our first priority is to find the cure to the plague instead. The White Magic Falcons will lose their targets, and it would be easier for us to drive them back."
"It sounds like you've already found the cure to the plague?" said Councilman Luo Mian with a weird grin.
"That's true. Even Mr. Lu was clueless about how to deal with the plague. How could we possibly find the cure within five hours to resolve the situation?"
"We've already found out what the antidote is. It's a special type of herb which only grows on West Ridge, the Red Falcon Herb. If we could pluck some of them, we can quickly find a cure for the infected," said Leng Qing.
The crowd immediately focused on Leng Qing, especially Councilman Zhu Meng. His eyes flickered with excitement as he blurted out, "Are you sure that the Red Falcon Herb is the cure for the disease?"
Leng Qing nodded, "Absolutely."
"Hehe, let's say the Red Falcon Herb could possibly be the cure for the plague, how can we possibly set foot on West Ridge in the current situation? It's roosting place for the White Magic Falcons. Are you stupid enough to assume that it's safe because the White Magic Falcons have all moved out to invade us? Even a battalion would have trouble reaching there in one piece. Do you seriously think we have extra men to spend on such ridiculous speculation?" Councilman Luo Mian laughed grimly.
Leng Qing and the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian glared at the gloating Councilman Luo Mian, especially the former, who swore heavily in her heart that she would send him into jail right away after the situation was resolved.
