Klaus suspected something was wrong the moment the dust cloud cleared. It allowed him to see the whole picture, and he didn't like it. In the place where a moment ago there was a thick curtain, there was complete chaos. The earth had changed its usual landscape, there were corpses everywhere, but the worst thing was the reinforcements.
Hundreds of horsemen were approaching the battlefield from the opposite side, and Klaus was afraid he wouldn't make it in time. The noise, the neighing of horses allowed the prince to approach unnoticed. It also helped that the soldiers' attention was riveted to the center of the ring they had formed. And then he heard it.
The shot rang out like a bolt from the blue. He didn't know who was shooting, but a bad feeling told him it was definitely not the owner of the weapon. He didn't see what was happening in the center. His attention was distracted for just a few seconds by a lone rider running away towards Anatodom.
Abel. That was definitely his younger brother. Klaus cursed. Now was not the time to catch him. He was slipping away, but right now the prince didn't care much about that.
The first to be struck by lightning were those standing on the edge. Those who decided to turn around at the sound of hooves. Then panic began. Some of the soldiers turned their attention to the uninvited guest, the rest continued to guard what was in the center.
Klaus was afraid to use the trick he pulled during the execution at his mother's estate. His people could also be hit. Therefore, he methodically destroyed only those who were approaching.
It was still a long way to go. It was too long. How he hated it. Now the prince had to restrain himself. Now he had come to save, not to destroy. He had to use his magic wisely.
Lightning lit up the sky. The smell of burnt flesh grew thicker. He had managed to completely destroy the formation, and he saw them. August's body, bent in half, lay on the ground in a pool of blood. He was conscious and clutching a small knife tightly in his hand. Egor's body, wrapped in cloth blackened with blood and dirt. The young man was unconscious.
Klaus found them. Jumping off his barely moving horse, he was breaking through to his goal. Nothing could stop him now. "It's him," the soldiers shouted. "It's the former crown prince." "Don't let him break through." But it was all useless. He was already nearby. He grabbed Egor and, not caring about his comfort, threw the unconscious body closer to August.
As soon as the three of them were close, Klaus erected an electrical barrier around them. There was little time. This barrier was burning too much strength.
"Hey, August, how are you?"
"I have no strength left. What are you going to do, bugger?"
"Here," Klaus handed one of the stimballs to his brother. "Use it to do the same trick you did when you were presumed dead."
"It won't work. They know I'm an earth mage and they'll either start digging the ground or wait for us to crawl out ourselves."
"Do what I say. We don't have time to argue."
August squeezed the stimball in his hand. Magic began to flow through his veins again, filling him with strength. August threw the used artifact away and touched the ground. The three people smoothly went underground, as if sinking into the sand. When the lightning barrier disappeared, there was no one in its place.
There was no air underground, and the small gap August had left wouldn't provide enough oxygen. Klaus knew the risk of his plan, but they didn't have many options. He could have asked August to make a tunnel, but the prince saw his brother's condition. He couldn't stand it.
Klaus imagined the ground above him. He sent lightning bolts through his entire body and directed the energy upward, stretching it like a web. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, but he didn't let himself get distracted. They only had one try.
Once the web had stretched far enough, he focused on the points where the energy intertwined and released it upward in one powerful jerk.
They held on for another half minute before August lifted them up and passed out. Klaus was barely breathing, everything was swimming in his vision. He had run out of magic. He clutched the stimulator in his hand. It should be enough to carry the two wounded from here to the portal.
The entire ground turned black. Not a single living person, horse or even sparse vegetation remained. He destroyed them all with one blow. After feeling the pulse of the men and making sure that both were still alive, he went to the broken down cart, picked up one of the relatively intact walls, tied it with a rope he found there and dragged the improvised stretcher to the victims.
He carefully laid the two bodies down next to each other, picked up the pistol and slowly dragged his load towards the forest. Right now, his only reserve of strength was from the stimulant, he hoped that it would be enough and he would not collapse halfway. If that happened, they were doomed. Klaus knew that the next squad would arrive soon.
***
Brod had had too much work these last few days. Constant skirmishes with the king's army had worn down the rebels, and the infirmary was overcrowded.
Now the chief physician was even glad that there were enough former slaves and ordinary peasants who wanted to learn healing, and that made the task much easier.
Today was a particularly difficult day for Brod. A few hours ago, three very important patients appeared near the big tree and two of them were in critical condition.
Only yesterday, another room was allocated for the infirmary, but the doctor still decided that ordinary soldiers should not see their leaders in such a state. He ordered that two nearby rooms be prepared as wards. In one, he placed the seriously wounded August and the completely exhausted Klaus. The second was intended for Egor, who came to his senses for a few minutes and, sobbing, begged him to make it so that Klaus would not see him in such a state.
There had been rumors about this love triangle for a long time, thanks to the wing of the pleasure house, or rather, as the inhabitants called it, the rest home. Therefore, Brod was initially surprised by such an unusual request. He thought that this boy, on the contrary, would want to be closer to the prince, but after examining him, he understood the reason.
The boy had suffered greatly physically and mentally. Beating, rape, dehydration and exhaustion. There was not a single living place on him, and Brod was sure that this patient would stay in the ward for a couple of months for sure.
As for the captain, he was luckier. The unknown weapon did not damage his vital organs, but the severe blood loss and the use of the stimulator in such a state weakened him greatly. The doctor had to pump Augustus with painkillers and cut out the strange iron object from his body. Now the captain's life is no longer in danger. In a couple of days, he should come to his senses.
The prince was luckier than everyone else. He simply thoughtlessly spent all his magic reserves and used two stimulators. He was very lucky that he ended up in Brod's hands before the second stimulator wore off. Otherwise, he would have died.
Having given orders regarding the other patients, Brod made himself some tea and went to Egor's ward. The young man lay with his eyes open and looked at the ceiling. He did not turn his head when the door opened. He knew that the doctor would not let anyone in here.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tell me, Brod, how bad is it?"
"What exactly are you asking about?"
Egor looked at the doctor with such a look that he immediately understood what was being discussed.
"Not as bad as it seemed at first glance. If you allow it, we will do a small operation to restore the damaged tissue. After that, you will need to do compresses and infusions into the passage itself for a couple of weeks and everything will fully recover."
"How soon can the operation be done?"
"As soon as you gain strength. I think a couple of weeks will be enough."
"Can it be done earlier? And can I… Can I ask you not to tell Klaus about anything?"
"You are my patient and I am not obligated to discuss treatment options with anyone but you."
"Thank you!"
"Can I assign someone to you who will help you recover faster? I can't handle everything. The number of patients is only growing now."
"The main thing for me is that Klaus doesn't find out about this part of my injuries. The rest is at your discretion."
Brod left the room and sighed. This boy was raped an unknown number of times. He received terrible injuries and is now in severe pain, but the only thing that worries him is the prince's feelings? If everything is as rumors say, then Egor is right in some ways. If Klaus finds out what was done to him, he will lose all reason. He will definitely go for revenge.