Chapter 679: Fighting Poison With Poison (1)

Third Person’s POV

Edhan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He immediately understood the reason behind Erius’s sudden change in attitude.

There was no genuine generosity behind the prince’s proposal.

He simply wanted to borrow the strength of Arlene’s party now that the situation had become far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

He was more contemptible than he had expected.

Arlene, however, didn’t expose his intentions.

Instead, she smiled calmly.

"I accept your offer, elder brother."

Her voice remained polite, though she was quietly sneering inwardly.

’So he finally stopped acting imperious.’

The moment Erius realized that there were more powerful enemies hidden within this realm, and that Ethan’s current condition had made his own party’s strength considerably weaker, he immediately abandoned his previous arrogance.

He was suggesting this cooperation because he needed her party’s strength.

And because Eryndor’s current status was unknown, he clearly didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

Arlene understood her scheming half-brother perfectly.

Still, his sudden decision had actually solved a problem she had been worrying about.

Ethan had specifically asked her to take care of his mother and Aurelia.

If Erius had insisted on separating Ethan from them and forcibly taking him back under his control, the situation could have become extremely troublesome.

She would have had to choose between directly confronting him or allowing Ethan’s family to be separated from him while he remained unconscious.

Neither option was desirable.

This alliance, however, eliminated that problem for the time being.

"So, when do we move toward the Night Valley?"

Erius asked with a plain expression after hearing Arlene’s agreement.

There was no longer any trace of the arrogance he had displayed moments earlier.

"We will move after Senior Eryndor’s condition stabilizes somewhat and he regains consciousness."

Arlene answered calmly.

Hearing her quick answer, Erius’s eyes twitched slightly.

He didn’t want to remain in this place any longer.

After witnessing the terrifying strength of those two creatures, staying in this ruined city felt like an unnecessary gamble.

There was no telling when their allies might arrive.

If there were truly many more creatures like them hiding somewhere within this realm, remaining here while Ethan was unconscious would be extremely foolish.

But Erius glanced toward Edhan.

The latter’s eyes were slightly narrowed, yet he showed no intention of objecting to Arlene’s decision.

Erius immediately understood what that meant.

With his strongest helper currently incapacitated, he couldn’t afford to challenge Edhan over something as trivial as their departure time.

He could only swallow his dissatisfaction if he wanted to travel with them.

’Shit!

All of this happened because of those two bitches.’

His gaze briefly moved toward Eleanor and Aurelia before returning to Ethan.

’And now I am in this situation because that bastard acted on his own.’

His fists tightened slightly.

’I knew I couldn’t rely on him, no matter how strong he was.

Mother was wrong this time.

I learned a lot from this incident.’

Erius remained outwardly calm as these thoughts churned inside his mind.

He looked at the unconscious Ethan lying beside his mother and Aurelia, his eyes becoming increasingly complicated.

For the first time, he was beginning to realize that having someone powerful under his command was not enough.

If that person couldn’t be controlled, then his strength could just as easily become a source of danger, and Ethan had just demonstrated that fact perfectly.

While Arlene, Edhan, and Erius were having their discussion, Eleanor and Aurelia were far from sitting around helplessly.

Neither woman had the luxury of simply crying and waiting for someone else to solve their problem.

Eleanor was carefully examining the vial of blue poison blood in her hand, her expression unusually solemn, while Aurelia remained beside Ethan, hurriedly feeding him every healing potion and restorative elixir they had managed to gather.

After several minutes of frantic treatment, Aurelia finally stopped and checked Ethan’s condition once again.

Eleanor’s face was stern, though the faint traces of dried tears still remained on her cheeks.

"Have my son’s injuries stabilized, little Aurelia?"

"Yes, Aunt."

Aurelia lowered the empty potion bottle in her hand and glanced at Ethan’s unconscious figure with an ashen expression.

"I have managed to heal most of his external and internal injuries.

His organs are no longer in immediate danger, and the wounds caused by the battle have also been stabilized."

She hesitated before continuing with a face full of despair.

"But the blood poison that has seeped into his body... we can’t expel it."

Eleanor’s eyes narrowed.

"No matter how many poison antidotes we administer, the poison refuses to leave his bloodstream.

It seems to possess a will of its own."

Aurelia’s voice gradually became heavier.

"And with the quality of the potions we have available, we can’t purify his infected mana either.

His mana veins are still being affected."

Her hands clenched slightly.

A dejected expression appeared on her beautiful face, and the hope in her eyes slowly began to fade.

Her words carried an implication that only the two understood but didn’t want to say aloud.

Ethan might survive.

But even if he did, there was a very real possibility that he would lose everything related to his magical foundation and become a cripple.

Eleanor’s expression crumpled slightly upon hearing this.

For a moment, the pain of hearing such words regarding her son almost overwhelmed her again.

But she quickly suppressed it, as she knew that she couldn’t afford to break down, especially not now.

Instead, Eleanor isolated herself from the others and focused all of her attention on the vial in her hand.

If ordinary methods couldn’t cure Ethan, then she would simply have to find another method.

The group had gradually moved into a large, relatively intact house within the ruined city after they arrived at a common consensus to stay in this ruined city for a bit.

It was one of the few structures in the surrounding area that had suffered comparatively little damage during the battle.

Ethan had been placed inside one of the dilapidated rooms, with Eleanor, Aurelia, and Arlene remaining by his side.