On the evening of August 9th, at Holy Radiance Hospital, the best medical facility in Black Flame City...
When Leibniz arrived at the hospital, it was already past 8 p. m. The fully armed soldiers of the 39th Division had already occupied all the hospital's passageways before Leibniz arrival. Not only the hospital, but the entire Black Flame City was now tense.
The assassin who killed Zhang Tie was the father of a classmate who went missing during the trial with Zhang Tie. Before the assassination, the man believed that Zhang Tie had killed his son during the trial, so he wanted Zhang Tie to pay for his missing son's life.
If we disregard Zhang Tie's and Gelis's father's identities, this is a minor matter. But if we add their identities to the mix, the situation becomes complicated.
Zhang Tie was an officer in the Iron-Blood Battalion of the 39th Division of the Iron Horn Legion of the Norman Empire, and the father of Gelis. The guy who was already dead was the captain of the guard of the Gregory Family in Black Flame City. The Gregory Family was once one of the most powerful Lineage in the Black Flame City Coal and Steel Union. About one-seventh of the wealth in the entire Black Flame City belonged to the Gregory Family.
On newly incorporated empire territory, the fact that a captain of the guard from a fallen ruling Lineage dared to assassinate an imperial officer in public has serious consequences. Who knows if there's some conspiracy against the empire behind this?
In particular, the Three-eyed Crossbow used by the assassin of the imperial officer, and the poison coated on the crossbow bolts, both originated from the Gregory Family, making it even more impossible for the Gregory Family to absolve themselves of responsibility for the incident.
The violent thugs of the Iron-Blood Battalion had already surrounded one of the Gregory Family's Lineage castles in Black Flame City, ready to storm in and wipe out the entire family at any moment. The other Lineage in Black Flame City were trembling with fear. To prevent any further accidents, Colonel Leibniz had declared martial law in Black Flame City. Now, fully armed and menacing Black Flame City soldiers were patrolling the streets outside the hospital.
For these soldiers, the only reason they knew for the martial law was the news that an officer from the Iron-Blood Battalion had been assassinated by guards from a wealthy Lineage in Black Flame City —that was enough.
Colonel Leibniz hadn't originally planned to come to the hospital because he'd heard Zhang Tie was dead. Upon hearing the news, Colonel Leibniz simply sighed inwardly. He remembered Zhang Tie, the young man who had caught the attention of the God of War and looked so dashing in the Norman Empire's uniform. This young man had been the subject of many interesting stories at Nottingham Leibniz and salons. His sudden death felt like losing a fun toy, a delightful object. His feelings upon hearing the news were like those he'd felt two years ago when his cat had knocked over and broken his incense root pipe from his desk.
Zhang Tie was poisoned with Blue Frost, a rare and deadly poison often applied by assassins to weapons or crossbow bolts. This poison is extremely difficult for ordinary people to obtain; even in Black Flame City, only wealthy families like the Gregory Family might possess some. The weapons and poison used to assassinate Zhang Tie also originated from the Gregory family's armory.
Once blood is drawn, Blue Frost's lethality is generally within a minute, and most of the time there is no antidote. This is not to say that there is no antidote for Blue Frost, but rather that the antidote for Blue Frost Blue Frost is a hundred times more precious, rarer, and impossible to find in a place like Black Flame City. Therefore, when Colonel Leibniz heard his staff officer report Zhang Tie's condition and confirm that Zhang Tie had been poisoned by Blue Frost, he already considered Zhang Tie a dead man.
At that time, the Iron-Blood Battalion was like a powder keg that had been lit, full of murderous intent and ready to seek revenge against the Gregory Family.
He hadn't blamed the cat then. But today, he had to make a big fuss about it. Because he was the commander of the 39th Division, and the assassin was one of his subordinates. In Black Flame City at this moment, every Norman Empire soldier represented the prestige and honor of the Norman Empire. Especially when this matter might involve some political motives, he could no longer take it lightly.
All afternoon, he was completely trapped in his office by the prominent lobbyists from Black Flame City who were pleading for the Gregory Family and a group of furious officers from the Iron-Blood Battalion. One group was defending the Gregory Family, while the other wanted Leibniz to order the Iron-Blood Battalion to massacre the Gregory Family's Lineage.
The Gregory Family has actually sent assassins to openly assassinate an imperial officer. If this crime is proven true, the Gregory Family will be wiped out.
Faced with this situation, the Gregory Family panicked. Therefore, at dinner, the patriarch of another once-powerful Lineage in Black Flame City invited Colonel Leibniz to a private club in Black Flame City. During the dinner, the Gregory Family, through an intermediary, expressed their "sufficient sincerity" in resolving the misunderstanding amicably. This sincerity greatly moved Leibniz, Leibniz couldn't help but marvel at Leibniz immense wealth these Lineage, who had been mining in Black Flame City for decades, possessed. While their Lineage foundations weren't particularly deep, and their Lineage strength wasn't noteworthy, their overflowing riches made even the Noble of the Norman Empire pale in comparison. Heaven knows how much wealth these Lineage had accumulated after so many years of mining in Black Flame City.
On the one hand, Leibniz was moved by the Gregory Family's "sincerity," but on the other hand, the matter was indeed somewhat thorny, and it would be difficult to handle it in a way that satisfied all parties. Colonel Leibniz was also a bit scratching his head.
At that very moment, Colonel Leibniz heard some truly surprising news— Zhang Tie, who had been poisoned by Blue Frost, was still alive.
So, seeing the hope of a satisfactory solution to the matter, Colonel Leibniz, filled with immense curiosity, arrived at the hospital where Zhang Tie was being treated.
Zhang Tie lay on the hospital bed, his shoulders and lower abdomen bandaged. His face and skin were a terrifying indigo blue, like a large blue eggplant. Zhang Tie remained unconscious, but his breathing continued, and his chest and abdomen could be seen rising and falling slightly every few seconds.
Leibniz had seen many strange and unusual things in his life, but looking at Zhang Tie like this, he had to admit that this was definitely among the top three strange and unusual things he knew—a person had been poisoned by Blue Frost for at least seven hours, and without taking the antidote, that person was still alive? With the toxicity of Blue Frost, even a Devil Beast should have collapsed and died by now.
"Are you sure he really has been poisoned by Blue Frost?" Leibniz asked the hospital doctor.
Seemingly anticipating this question, the doctor brought out a small bottle containing blue liquid and a white mouse. Then, in front of Leibniz, he stirred the liquid in the bottle with a syringe needle and then injected the mouse.
Under Colonel Leibniz's watchful eye, the white mouse that had been pricked by the needle jumped twice in panic, then slowly went still. Ten seconds later, the mouse was lying in the cage convulsing. After another ten seconds or so, the poor mouse's skin began to turn blue. A minute later, the mouse's body began to stiffen, like a piece of frozen meat.
Colonel Leibniz no longer had any doubts.
"This blood sample was taken from him for testing! It's 100% confirmed to be Blue Frost Poison! The hospital doesn't have the antidote, so we can only bandage and treat his wounds. Compared to Blue Frost, his two wounds aren't fatal; we originally thought he was going to die. But for some reason, this person's body seems different from ordinary people. Someone else in his condition would probably have died hundreds of times over. But Blue Frost didn't inflict as much damage as we expected, allowing him to hold on until now—it's practically a miracle!"
Colonel Leibniz's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered Zhang Tie telling him about being struck by lightning. Could this be another special ability Zhang Tie possessed after being struck by lightning?
"This person was once struck by lightning. After the lightning strike, he also developed Acquired Electrocution Syndrome. His strength became very great, and his cultivation speed also increased rapidly. Could it be that the lightning strike gave his body the ability to resist Blue Frost?"
"This person has acquired Acquired Electrocution Syndrome?" The hospital doctor was also surprised. After thinking for a moment, the doctor nodded. "It's very possible. Our bodies are incredibly mysterious, like a treasure trove. No one knows how much his body changed after the lightning strike!"
"Will he wake up?"
"Because the combat suit he's wearing has excellent protection against arrows in the abdomen, the wound on his lower abdomen is very shallow. Only the wound on his shoulder is a bit deep, but it's not fatal. Judging from his breathing rate, the damage Blue Frost inflicted on him has been contained within a certain range by his body. I can't tell you for sure that he'll wake up, but it's certainly possible!"
"Very well, please give him the best treatment. This man is the Empire's most outstanding officer, with a bright future!" Colonel Leibniz instructed.
"We will do our best!"
Colonel Leibniz then left Zhang Tie's hospital room. Before leaving, he instructed a small squad of soldiers to remain at the hospital to prevent anyone from disturbing Zhang Tie's treatment and to keep Zhang Tie condition confidential. He was to be notified immediately if Zhang Tie woke up. Meanwhile, as he left the hospital and got into his car, Colonel Leibniz sent his staff to the Iron-Blood Battalion to inform the Iron-Blood Battalion members that Zhang Tie was still alive. The martial law in Black Flame City was thus lifted. Colonel Leibniz didn't want to escalate the situation too much, so he subtly sent a signal of de-escalation to certain individuals in Black Flame City ...
Shortly after Colonel Leibniz left, a large group of officers from the Iron-Blood Battalion, led by Battalion Commander Reinhardt, rushed to the hospital and arrived at Zhang Tie's ward.
Seeing Zhang Tie, who was still breathing despite being poisoned by Blue Frost for so long, a group of Iron-Blood Battalion officers were dumbfounded.
Knowing that this could also be a side effect of Acquired Electrocution Syndrome caused by lightning strikes, Reinhardt asked Guderian very seriously this time, "How about I give it a try..."
"If you unfortunately die from a lightning strike, there will be no one else in the entire 39th Division who has cultivated the Iron-Blood Battle Qi -Iron-Blood Battle Qi. Without someone to take over your position, the Iron-Blood Battalion of the 39th Division will have to be disbanded! This would be a huge blow to the Iron-Blood Battalion and the entire 39th Division. The 39th Division would become the only unit in the Iron Horn Legion abandoned by the God of War. Not only us, but Colonel Leibniz would not agree to you doing this..." Guderian replied calmly.
Reinhardt could only sigh. Everyone looked at Zhang Tie lying on the bed with envy. Then they noticed that in the short time everyone had been in the ward, the blue mark between Zhang Tie's eyebrows seemed to have faded considerably...
Within Zhang Tie's consciousness, unseen by anyone else, a message appeared directly in Zhang Tie mind...
" The Manjusaka Tree of Causality and Myriad Destinies has completed the analysis and reconstruction of the toxins within the body. The toxins are being cleared, and bodily functions are recovering. At this moment, the Poison Refining Fruit can be generated. Shall we generate it?"
"Yes!"