The Herb King

In the camp of the main army in Lion City, Duke Baron kept his Communication Rune with a cold smile on his face.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Sir Baron. What did Sir Ramiel say?" Prince Renz looked at him with an amused expression.

Duke Baron turned his gaze to the prince and chuckled as he nodded his head. "Your Highness, Sir Ramiel told me that we are now executing the next part of Sir Aethelwolf's plan."

Hearing this, Prince Renz also started laughing coldly. "So it's finally time for us to make a move, huh?" He couldn't wait to decimate the Dustin Empire who came with malicious intentions. He was also eager to show the world his true power!

"Let's see who would dare to attack our empire after we drive off the Ford Empire and the Dustin Empire! I believe the other neighboring empires are also watching from the sidelines. If we win this war, no one would dare to take us lightly anymore." Duke Baron snorted.

Prince Renz nodded his head in agreement. "You are right. This war will be beneficial for us, but we must not forget that without the sacrifice of our soldiers, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. Make sure that the soldiers are properly compensated and the families of our comrades will get three times the compensation and they will receive more benefits from the Leone Imperial Family! I will also make sure that their children will be admitted to the Mystic Arcana Institute of Magic."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Duke Baron answered without hesitation. He was happy that Prince Renz was placing more importance on their warriors. He also admired the prince for his benevolence and depth of mind. Once the news about the benefits received by the soldiers was made public, the citizens would be more loyal to the Leone Empire and the Leone Imperial Family would be respected by everyone. He was certain that more soldiers would apply to the main army when that happens. It was like killing many birds with just one stone!

The next day, thirty thousand soldiers from the Lion City army camp marched in the direction of Vale City. They marched in broad daylight so some travelers and merchants saw them.

This news immediately entered the ears of the spy sent by Lexter Ford and he hurriedly reported it to the Grand General.

As soon as the call connected, he eagerly reported. "Grand General, Lion City sent thirty thousand soldiers to Vale City! They left early this morning! I have already confirmed this and they are indeed headed to Vale City. The person leading them is Prince Renz, the indolent first prince of the Leone Empire! He even brought their elite force, the Black Lion Army!"

Meanwhile, Lexter Ford who heard this news abruptly stood up from his seat in his excitement. He then started laughing. "Good! Good! Good!"

"Good job! Monitor their movements and send me another report tonight."

"Yes, Grand General!"

Lexter disconnected the call.

There was a cold smile on his face as he muttered. "I thought I still had to go to Lion City after this, but it seems like there is no need for such troubles. That damnable fool of a prince is actually sending himself to my doorstep."

The real reason why the Ford Empire initiated this attack was that the Divine-Rated artifact in their possession was destroyed in an accident. They even tried to restore it, but the restoration failed. After the failure to restore their Divine-Rated artifact, Lexter Fors suggested hiring the service of a Level 5 Blacksmith from another empire, but this was immediately rejected by Emperor Ludwig Ford because it was very dangerous for this news to be exposed. Once the other empires learned that they have lost their Divine-Rated artifact, the Ford Empire would face their covetous eyes and they would even be potentially attacked. Before it would come to that point, the only option left for them was to attack another empire and steal their Divine-Rated artifact. It just so happened that the Leone Empire was the perfect prey for them.

"Grand General! I'm here for a report!"

Lexter Ford came back to his senses when he heard the voice of his subordinate.

"Come in." He said.

A soldier entered the tent and reported. "Grand General, our Iron Elephant Army is already in formation. They are only waiting for your command to make a move."

Hearing this, Lexter nodded his head. "Tell Gustavo to lead the Iron Elephant Army!" He commanded in a stern voice.

"Yes, Grand General!" The soldier nodded his head respectfully before he left the tent.

As soon as the messenger left, Lexter took a seat and adjusted into a more comfortable sitting posture.

Soon, his laughter echoed inside the tent and even the soldiers outside could hear this.

***

In the medical room of Ramiel's army, Aethelwolf and Aenwyn decided to visit the injured soldiers. Their arrival sparked the curiosity of the Doctors and nurses on duty, but they were too busy to ask them questions.

Aethelwolf stared at the soldiers with a calm look, but he inwardly sighed. Despite the current advantage they hold, there were still some casualties on their side.

At this moment, hundreds of soldiers were inside the medical room and all of them had varying degrees of injuries. Some only had minor wounds, but there were also those with serious injuries.

Seeing this, Aethelwolf shook his head as he muttered. "Let's help them. I know that you high elves could borrow the power of nature to use a healing skill."

Aenwyn looked at him in surprise. "You know a lot of things." She said.

Aethelwolf chuckled in his heart. 'How could I not know? I know all your skills...' He thought to himself in amusement.

He then grabbed an idle Doctor and handed him a big box which surprised the man.

"What is this?" The Doctor asked him.

"Just some pills. Give them to the seriously injured soldiers. We will handle the ones with relatively minor injuries." Aethelwolf replied to the Doctor before grabbing Aenwyn with him.

They then started helping the soldiers. Aenwyn used her healing skill, while Aethelwolf took out his spare medicinal herbs.

In truth, Aethelwolf could also use a healing skill to treat the soldiers, but he didn't want to use up his world essence in case an emergency comes up. He could only use the medicinal herbs he saved up.

Their presence lessened the burden of the Doctors and nurses.

Aenwyn could borrow the power of nature to heal others, but it consumed a lot of world essence so she was quite slow in treating the soldiers. However, the soldiers who were healed by her treated the elven princess as their goddess and thanked her repeatedly. Their previous misconceptions about the elves also changed after receiving her help.

Meanwhile, Aethelwolf was leisurely smearing medicinal pastes to the soldiers. He already knows a lot about the herbs of this magical world so treating these soldiers who were only mildly injured was just a piece of cake to him. If he couldn't even treat these guys, he would be ashamed of his identity as the herb king in his previous life.

"Thank you so much, sir! Thank you so much for saving my life!"

Aethelwolf smiled at the grateful soldier. "You don't have to thank me. I'm merely doing this as a citizen of the Leone Empire." He said.

The surrounding soldiers looked at him in admiration when they heard his words.

"Sir, could you please tell us your name? We really want to thank you." One of the soldiers asked. Most of the soldiers here weren't from Lion City so they could identify who Aethelwolf was. They only thought that he was a skilled Doctor because of his proficiency in using medicinal herbs.

Hearing this, Aethelwolf gave them a warm smile as he replied. "My name is Aethelwolf. Aethelwolf Lassiter."

"Aethelwolf? Why is this name so familiar..."

"Right. I seem to have heard this name somewhere..."

Suddenly, the eyes of the Doctors and nurses bulged as they looked at Aethelwolf. "Are you Sir Aethelwolf Lassiter from Lion City, the youngest Level 4 Alchemist in our Leone Empire?!"

Aethelwolf nodded his head as he chuckled. "That's right."

After seeing him nod their heads, everyone gasped in surprise. A Level 4 Alchemist actually came to the medical room in person to treat the injured soldiers! It was so hard to believe it, but the evidence was already in front of their eyes.

"So it's Sir Aethelwolf! Now, I finally remember!"

"Thank you so much, Sir Aethelwolf!"

"Thank you so much, Miss Elf!"

Everyone thanked Aethelwolf and Aenwyn once again.

Aethelwolf turned his head to the elven princess and whispered to her. "These guys are grateful to you."

The elven princess didn't say anything, but she suddenly let out a smile that dazzled everyone inside the medical room. Her smile was so beautiful that they had even forgotten the injuries in their bodies.