Becoming The Strongest Using My Would-You-Rather System!-Chapter 30 - Medics

Theo stood frozen on the battlefield, staring at the unknown soldier dangling under the D-rank’s claw.

Blood leaked down from the crushed leg, painting his entire body red.

’...What?’

Just like that, someone was near death right in front of him.

And he couldn’t do anything but watch.

The Ironclaw slowly raised the soldier above its mouth. Its claw trembled immensely, likely from the severe blood loss.

’’No!’’ the other soldier with the flaming sword shouted, dashing towards the crab.

Just before the crab got the soldier above its mouth, a green wind disk shot through the air.

Everyone who saw it could only hope it was enough to cut through its claw.

However, to everyone’s shock, it didn’t hit the crab at all.

Instead, it sliced through the soldier’s crushed leg, severing it completely.

’’Catch him!"’ the wind-affinity soldier shouted, his voice raw.

Only then did the other soldier recover from his shock.

He dashed forward, catching his comrade and dragged him back with all his might.

After getting to a safe distance, the soldier looked at his comrade and the trail of blood left behind from the severed leg.

Finally, he lowered himself and held his hand against the wound.

A small flame burst out, slowly melting the wound shut under the soldier’s screams.

Theo watched the scene unfold, his grip slowly tightening around his spear.

’They... cut off his leg intentionally,’ he realized. ’And it didn’t look like he hesitated at all.’

It might’ve been the only way to save that soldier, yet Theo couldn’t imagine what choice he would’ve made in that situation.

’Concentrate,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’I need to retreat so I can be of more help.’

Having pushed aside his thoughts, he dashed towards the soldiers.

While he ran, his eyes were stuck on the D-rank creature.

It still stood on its legs, though it barely moved.

As for the other E-rank creatures? They ran back towards their leader at full speed.

’We’ve practically cut their numbers in half,’ he calculated. ’But I don’t have the mana to kill the remaining seven.’

Just as he was about to regroup with the soldiers, a loud crack echoed across the battlefield.

Theo looked up, raising an eyebrow.

The massive D-rank Ironclaw’s hind legs had given out, swaying on its remaining legs like a drunk man.

For a moment, a hoarse bubbling sound echoed out of its throat.

Then it collapsed onto the sand with a loud thud.

The battlefield went quiet for a moment as everyone stared at the fallen creature.

’’Finally...’’ the wind-affinity soldier muttered through gritted teeth.

His gaze immediately shifted to Theo.

’’You,’’ he said, voice trembling. ’’You’re out of mana, right?’’

Theo nodded slowly but remained silent, his eyes sweeping across the battlefield for a moment.

Iris was already making her way toward them, retreating across the sand with her spear held ready.

’’Can you take our comrade back to a medic then?’’ the soldier asked, voice low and hoarse. ’’We’ll take care of the remaining creatures.’’

Theo turned back to him, hesitating for a brief moment before nodding.

"That’s alright."

The soldier nodded once, a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

Then he dashed towards the remaining E-ranks.

Theo immediately moved towards the injured soldier, knowing time was of the essence.

Up close, the damage looked even worse.

The man’s face had turned pale, sweat covering his forehead as his body trembled violently.

The fire magic had sealed the wound, but he had already lost a tremendous amount of blood.

"Easy," he muttered, crouching beside the soldier.

The soldier barely even reacted, his breathing shallow and uneven.

Theo hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do.

’How do I carry him without causing more damage?’ he thought, his chest tightening from the anxiousness. ’I need to be quick too. It doesn’t look like he has much time—’

’’Hey,’’ a voice shouted out behind him.

Theo glanced back, spotting a familiar face grinding to a stop behind him.

’’Iris,’’ he said, a hint of relief running through him.

Iris quickly took the situation in, her gaze hardening as she scanned the soldier’s body.

’’Help me lift him,’’ she said, grabbing hold of one of the soldier’s arms.

The soldier let out a scream, clearly in immense pain.

Theo froze for a fraction of a second.

This was nothing like anything he’d learned or experienced before.

’No,’ he thought, clenching his teeth together. ’I need to move.’

Without another word, he followed Iris’s lead and grabbed the soldier’s other arm.

The wounded man cried out again as they raised him from the sand, his body shaking violently.

"Sorry," Theo muttered under his breath.

"Lift his arm over your shoulder," Iris said quickly, adjusting her grip.

Theo nodded and shifted closer, letting the soldier’s arm hang over his shoulders as he supported the man’s weight.

Iris did the same on the other side.

"Ready?" she asked.

Theo tightened his grip, then nodded.

’’Let’s go then.’’

Together they began moving across the beach, the wounded soldier hanging heavily between them.

The man only groaned weakly this time, the tremors in his body slowing down too.

’’We don’t have much time,’’ Iris said, narrowing her eyes. ’’Emergency medics should be set up where we entered.’’

Theo swallowed hard but kept moving, slowly increasing their pace.

The walk was only several hundred yards, yet it felt like hours passed as they dragged the soldier along.

Finally, a makeshift military tent entered their sight with several figures moving around it.

’’Medics!’’ Iris shouted.

After only a few more steps, two soldiers sprinted towards them with a stretcher in hand.

No words were said as the soldiers reached them.

They quickly threw the stretcher on the ground while Iris slowly started lowering the man onto it.

Theo followed her example, only letting go once the man was fully settled on the stretcher.

"Good work," one of the soldiers said as they slowly lifted the stretcher off the ground. "Both of you are out of mana, right?"

"Yes," Theo said, letting out a deep breath.

"Once you can move again," the soldier said, "report to the medic dispatch."

With that, the two soldiers broke out in a light but stable jog towards the medic tent.

Both Iris and Theo remained standing, catching their breath for a little longer.

Now that they had stopped moving, the exhaustion hit all at once.

Sweat slowly began to form on Theo’s forehead as his chest rose and fell heavily.

Beside him, Iris wiped the back of her hand across her face, her breathing just as difficult. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Behind them, the sounds of battle still echoed across the beach as distant explosions shook the air and spells lit up the horizon.

Theo exhaled slowly, barely registering the chaos behind them anymore.

’’We survived,’’ he muttered. ’’For now...’’

Iris nodded once, flashing a small smile that disappeared just as quickly as it came.

Both of them knew the night was far from over.