At this moment, in a temporary camp within Pucheng, Tens of thousands of civilians were crowded together, many of them injured or infected with the plague.
When the zombie army invaded, there was no time
to deal with the plague --- it was a matter of survival first.
Although the zombie army in Pucheng had been
wiped out, the threat caused by corpse poison could not be eliminated in a
short time.
Among these threats, the plague was the biggest
hidden danger. Amidst the chaos, it had spread rapidly.
What started as a few hundred infected had now
grown to several thousand.
And this was already a controlled outcome,
thanks to Margaret’s preventative efforts. Without the aid of medicine, the
situation would’ve been far worse.
Even so, Pucheng was still in the best
condition compared to the others.
The other three cities were already in complete
turmoil --- even without the threat of corpse poison, things would not calm
down anytime soon.
When Dustin returned to the temporary camp,
stepping through golden light, he found Margaret kneeling in a tent, feeding
medicine to a four- or five-year-old child.
The child had already been infected with the
plague, suffering from a persistent high fever, and the situation was not
looking good. But there were countless others like this child, and even the
best physicians couldn’t treat them all.
All they could do was use herbal medicine to
stabilize symptoms, and treat them one by one.
“You’re back?”
After feeding the child, Margaret gently laid
him down and led Dustin out of the tent. “Did you find the remnants of the
White Bone Sect?”
“All eliminated. Even their main stronghold has
been destroyed. In the short term, the White Bone Sect shouldn’t be causing any
more trouble,” Dustin said.
“You’ve done well. Destroying their base has
given the people of the cities a chance to breathe,” Margaret forced a smile.
“How’s the plague situation?” Dustin asked.
“Although it has spread quite a bit, thanks to
your prescription, the situation in Pucheng is still under control,” Margaret
replied.
Compared to the disaster and panic caused by
the red mist and the zombie army, the plague was actually the lesser issue now.
“That’s good,” Dustin nodded.
Though exhausted, he had at least saved
countless lives --- a merit that couldn't be ignored.
“Boss!”
At that moment, Su Lan rushed over, her
expression urgent. “We just received a report from Liyang City --- Li Juntang
has burned down the entire slum, claiming to purify evil spirits. Everyone
infected with the plague died in the fire!”
“What? How could this happen?!” Margaret’s
expression changed drastically.
To burn all those infected with the plague alive
--- what an atrocity!
“According to the report, the plague in Liyang
has mutated. Li Juntang couldn’t cure it, so he resorted to burning them all,”
Su Lan said.
“How many people died?” Margaret frowned.
“Tens of thousands,” Su Lan said hoarsely.
Margaret staggered, grabbing the wooden post of
the tent to barely remain standing, her knuckles turning white from the force
of her grip. “How dare he?! Those are citizens of the Dragonmarsh! How could he
kill them so casually? Treating human life like dirt? He’s a prince of the
kingdom --- how could he be so cruel? It’s unforgivable!”
“It wasn’t just Li Juntang. Li Guanglong is
just as brutal,” Su Lan continued. “He claimed the mutated plague was due to
evil possession. He not only burned down the quarantine zones, but also buried
alive every civilian who had contact with the infected --- saying it was to
prevent the spread of the plague.”
“Beasts! They’re both beasts!” Margaret roared,
her eyes bloodshot.
They had already overcome so many crises. If
everyone had worked together, they could’ve survived this disaster.
But at the critical moment, Li Juntang and Li
Guanglong chose the cruelest path just to save themselves trouble. In their
eyes, human lives meant nothing. They had ruthlessly slaughtered countless
innocent civilians in the name of efficiency.
Such crimes were truly outrageous and
abominable!
“How about Li Wenxing?” Dustin suddenly asked.
Li Juntang was selfish, and Li Guanglong was
cruel. Their actions stemmed from their very nature.
Li Wenxing might be a hypocrite, but at least
he shouldn’t be as ruthless.
“Things aren’t much better in Wugang City under
Li Wenxing,” Su Lan reported. “Though he didn’t resort to mass killings, he
confined large numbers of civilians together --- both infected and healthy.
After locking them up, he didn’t provide any medicine or relief. It’s as if he
just wants them to die on their own.”
“He’s no better!” Margaret’s face darkened.
Compared to Li Juntang and Li Guanglong, Li
Wenxing may not have committed direct slaughter, but he still stood by and did
nothing.
For ordinary people, that might be
understandable. But he was the eldest prince of the Dragonmarsh, a role model
among the court, and responsible for protecting the people of Wugang City.
And yet, after the plague mutated, he simply
abandoned his duties and became a hands-off ruler.
He was no better than the others.
She couldn’t imagine what kind of chaos Dragonmarsh
would fall into if ruled by any of these princes.
At that moment, she finally realized how wise Dustin’s
earlier words were.
Not one of the three princes could be relied
upon.
Rather than handing over power to these
gluttonous fools and letting them bring disaster to the people, it would be
better to hold that power firmly in her own hands.
And without even realizing it…
A seed had been planted in her heart. - Ton
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