Since the Alzar ship was in such poor shape, everyone joined the Ten Dawns on the Zino Kingdom's flagship. As Elizabeth crossed the gangplank and stepped on the ship, an intensely uncomfortable feeling assaulted her. She shivered all over, as if she was plunged into an icy sea. It lasted for a heartbeat before fading away. Elizabeth staggered slightly, earning Sir Winstin's worry. However, she waved away his concerns, thinking it was the recent events finally taking its toll on her psyche.
Meanwhile, a sliver of surprise flickered across the Iris's face. Iris was amazed that she noticed. The woman instinctively used her Magical Perception on Elizabeth. After all, Elizabeth was the center of all the rumors, the one who used a mysterious, overpowering magic to defeat the emperor! With a power that could rival the Ten Dawn's own large-scale destruction spells, it was hard to restrain Iris's curiosity. Furthermore, Elizabeth had recovered back to full strength, without any obvious shortcomings! It was practically unbelievable.
Iris hoped to gain some understanding by probing her, but Elizabeth had sensed her instead. Elizabeth may have passed it off as fatigue, but it was not easy to perceive a Magical Perception without some accomplishments in Arcania. Most people would not realize it at all. Perception Realm experts like Sir Winstin could notice it if it were directed towards them while Fundamental Realms had no chance at all. However, to truly recognize and trace it, one needed to be a Condensed Drop Core Level! For Elizabeth to subtly feel something was wrong meant her mastery in Arcania was not zero.
As soon as Iris realized it, she restrained her magical Perception. Akin to peeping on them, it was incredibly rude to use it on a fellow Arcanist without their permission. If she was caught doing such a thing to the Alzar Kingdom's heir apparent, there would be no end to trouble. As she thought, the party approached her, and she shifted her attitude.
"Welcome onboard, Princess Elizabeth Etuvel Reindel, heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom. I am Ten Dawn Iris Cisvernia, known as the White Healer, and my partner is Ten Dawn Krogan Jermon. We were sent on behalf of the Zino Kingdom to escort you in your return to the Alzar Kingdom. I do hope you pardon our delay."
"No, your help was much appreciated," Elizabeth replied. "If it wasn't for your help, we wouldn't have survived. It was fortunate that you came when you did."
"We're glad to be of assistance," Iris curtly said.
"We'll need to detour towards the north to rendezvous with the Alzar fleet," General Illion interjected. "Once we have, we can directly make for the Zino Kingdom, then take the South Crown Channel towards the King's Bay."
"That won't be a problem," Krogan replied respectfully.
No matter what, the Zino Kingdom was a vassal state to the Alzar Kingdom. There existed a strict hierarchy in authority. This was particularly emphasized after the Zino Kingdom's army was folded into the Alzar Kingdom's chain of command. General Illion, as Third-In-Command of the Quinvoren Army, naturally had the second highest authority now while Elizabeth occupied the top spot. The fleet fell under their command!
"Let's bring the wounded down to the lower deck. We can begin our treatment there," Iris said.
As Nassandra, Tengon, and the others were brought down, Iris began her inspection of Nassandra. Using her magic, she created a series of complex magical circles as they began to surround the unconscious girl. The concept behind fixing magical injuries was rather straightforward. Arcania utilized a metaphysical network of Channels to direct Magical Energy from the Core. If the Core was like the ocean, then the Channels were the rivers and streams. One way to measure an Arcanist's mastery of Arcania was the total throughput of their Channels. The larger and the more numerous the Channels, the greater the quantity of Magical Energy one could draw.
Injuries here were like blockages on the river, blocking its flow. In its worst case, it could cause irreversible damage and lock that river down forever. Naturally, the power that the Arcanists could draw from would lessen greatly. Tengon was such a case. The damages to his arm ensured that even if it was fully healed, he would never be able to use Arcania through that arm again. It was basically crippling the Arcanist.
To fix a magical injury, one had to run their own Magical Energy through the patient's body while tracking and controlling it through their Magical Perception. They had to run it through the entire network of Channels, to find the blockages and destroy them. However, the process was far, far more difficult to do. It required a very precise and strong perception to control and track every string of energy as it traversed the body. A single lapse in concentration would cause unprecedented havoc. It would be enough to kill Nassandra instantly!
Thankfully, Ten Dawn Iris was extraordinarily experienced. She boasted the strongest Magical Perception out of all the Ten Dawns and with her unique family heritage of magic, she was the most proficient healer in the known world! If she could not succeed, then no one could. Nassandra was a tough patient to fully heal as the damage from unleashing Torrential Blizzard was too great, but it was not impossible.
Sure enough, after an hour of work, Iris retracted her energy and perception. Her body was drenched with sweat, her breathing was ragged, and her composure was frazzled. To maintain that level of utmost focus and control for so long was exceedingly impressive. That said, there was a limit to everyone. Her mental fatigue was so great that it would take her a day to fully recover. However, her efforts were rewarded. Nassandra's complexion had strengthen by a large margin and her breathing steadied. She would regain consciousness soon!
Meanwhile, Benedict, Shirley, and Freon were tended to by others. Previously, they were stabilized in the camp, but that was it. They could not recover. One factor was that their injuries were too severe. With the limited supplies and personnel at hand, it was good enough to be alive. The second was that General Illion was not that interested in making them recover. They were not viable fighting powers, nor were they soldiers in his army. However, the Zino Kingdom's fleet was a support fleet. The injuries of Elizabeth, Nassandra, and Tengon necessitated a capable assortment of physicians and Arcanist specialists. There was similarly a large stockpile of medical supplies and herbs on the main ship. Therefore, the three received the best treatment available.
Elizabeth's shoulders dropped when she saw how her friends reveal relaxed expressions. It took a heavy toll on their bodies to travel across the open waters. In fact, General Illion had specifically decided against leaving the empire before she had recovered, in case the trip was too unbearable for her. Only when she recovered did the generals advance their plans to leave. The circumstances required her to leave, despite her friends had yet to recover. Now though, the worry in her heart was lifted. They were in good hands.
In the meantime, Ten Dawn Krogan was talking with the generals and Sir Winstin to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation. Things tend to be exaggerated when passed through word of mouth so he wanted to hear things first-hand. Sir Winstin and General Gordon repeated the events of Lord Korogin's final battle, and then General Illion told his story. When all was said, Krogan had a peculiar face. His eyes drifted to Elizabeth, who was sat near her friends, with a trace of thoughtfulness. He said nothing in response.