Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 357 - 46: Jeanne and the Swarm of Rats

"Where is this?"

Losa held his head, fighting the intense dizziness as he examined his surroundings.

The teleportation process felt like being thrown into a washing machine on full power. He even felt a strong urge to bend over and vomit.

Anna calmly supported the staggering Eve and answered, "The Western Suburbs of Constantinople."

"Just how many teleportation arrays do you have here?"

Losa felt it was somewhat outrageous.

The inheritance left to Anna by the ancestor wizard who presided over the construction of the Empire Library was certainly abundant.

"Perhaps fewer than you imagine."

Anna clearly had no interest in showing off, identified the direction, and said, "Follow me. Eve, are you feeling better? If you are, cast the Light Body Technique on Losa and me."

The disheveled witch murmured an "Um," still not daring to meet anyone’s gaze, her eyes timidly peering through tangled strands of hair at Losa as she began to chant a spell with a voice as soft as a mosquito.

Losa immediately felt his body become much lighter.

The three quickly ran off into the distance.

Anna, while running, transmitted to Losa and Eve, "Li Yena found a large swarm of rats in the Underground Palace. According to her estimate, it might be related to the Justinian Plague."

"So, stay focused; this could be a terrifying catastrophe that could destroy Constantinople and the Eastern Empire."

Rats, plague?

These two keywords immediately formed a horrifying concept in Losa’s mind—Black Death!

His heart trembled; if it truly was the Black Death, not only was it a disaster for the Eastern Empire, but it could be a disaster for the entire world, except for the distant Eastern Dynasty.

Because Constantinople is the trade hub of all of Europe.

If the Black Death were to spread here, Gaul, Iberia, Germania, the Baltic Sea, West Slavic Country, Rus States, North Africa, Levant...none could escape.

Including Losa’s Transjordan Territory and Limassol military region.

With the world’s crude medieval medicine comprising only enema, bloodletting, and aromatherapy, this is absolutely a catastrophe.

"Anna, Furin also has a crest in hand, connect me to her communication, and immediately have her, Jeanne, Chelina, and Prajna come to support us."

"Thank you."

"No need, if the plague arises, no one can remain unaffected."

As the three spoke, they had reached an abandoned deep well, its mouth mostly covered by waist-high weeds, the vicinity emanating a faint smell of decay.

"Catch."

Anna tossed a bottle of pale blue magic potion, the liquid inside resembling the Blue Moon detergent Losa used in his past life.

A slight shake made the liquid flow gently inside, giving a very viscous impression.

"What is this?"

"A potion for restoring spiritual power."

Losa suddenly realized; he had just used Half-Dragon Transformation, exhausting most of his spiritual power, with his current fighting strength at most exerting twenty percent. Anna also clearly understood this.

"Thanks, do you have a lot of this stuff?"

"Certainly not, it’s quite rare. I’ve only managed to accumulate five bottles over the years."

Anna glanced at Losa, urging, "Quickly drink it, we have no time to waste."

Losa immediately unscrewed the oak stopper and poured the liquid into his mouth.

Much to Losa’s surprise, it didn’t taste particularly difficult to swallow, despite being very viscous.

As the potion hit his throat, he felt a cool sensation rising from his stomach, reaching his brain.

The spiritual power that had nearly dried up began to recover rapidly.

"Let’s go down."

Losa reminded, "Remember to leave a mark for Furin and the others."

...

"No need to see me off, thank you for the hospitality."

Said when bidding farewell to the equestrian competition’s conductor, a Count Commander from Constantinople.

Jeanne placed a heavy bag of gold coins on Grape’s saddle.

During this riding competition, she successfully won the honor of Champion Knight.

But the process wasn’t as easy as she expected, since she had never practiced the skill of mounted archery and ended up losing to a Kuman Knight in archery.

If it weren’t for her perfect scores in throwing spear and lance piercing, she might not have won the championship.

She guided Grape, walking happily on the forest path.

Grape suddenly halted, uneasily stirring in place.

"Grape?"

Jeanne became slightly alert, placing a hand on the sword at her waist.

Could there be bandits?

Grape was a horse with a keen intuition and generally very sensitive.

However, there was no unique sound around.

She listened attentively for a long time but could not identify what made Grape so uneasy.

At this moment.

She noticed Grape’s gaze was fixed firmly on a rat crawling by the wall.

Her expression immediately relaxed, patting Grape’s back: "You, could you have grown fond of eating rats? I warn you, don’t eat just anything."

Horses eating rats wasn’t rare.

Jeanne thought Grape was merely curious, hence acting like this.

However, as she tried to coax Grape to move on, Grape stubbornly refused to budge.

Jeanne’s face grew solemn.

She realized that this rat might be unusual; its fur was wet and clumped, showing clearly visible black pustules.

Grape was clearly not stopping because of a desire to eat it.

At this moment, the rat seemed to notice the pair, raising its head, its small eyes glinting with bloodthirsty red light.

It then, disregarding the enormous disparity in size, charged at Grape, squeaking aggressively.

Bam!

Jeanne swiftly grabbed a wooden stick from the ground, accurately nailing the rat down.

She carefully guided Grape away from the crazed rat, sensing a touch of unease.

This rat was clearly not in a healthy state, possibly carrying deadly pathogens.

She continued leading Grape onward.

The surroundings were unusually quiet, eerily so, as though all signs of wildlife had vanished.

Jeanne suppressed her unease, continuing to walk, suddenly spotting a dead warhorse beside the road ahead.

She dared not approach, a persistent sense of doubt in her gaze.

She had merely been out for a horse race in the suburbs, yet returning, it seemed the entire world had changed somehow?

This thought ran through her mind.

She observed the warhorse from afar, noting its abdomen had a gaping wound, with blood soaking the earth beneath.

Underneath the skin, something seemed alive, wriggling continuously.

Plop—

A section of its skin was bitten through, and a filthy, blood-stained rat emerged.

It, too, was covered in pustules.

"What kind of malice is this..."

Jeanne released her grip on her sword, retrieving the rusty Holy Spear from the saddle.

The blood-soaked rat stared at her with blood-red eyes.

A rustling noise grew denser around her.

Rats broke through the warhorse’s skin, glaring at Jeanne with reddened eyes.

Beside the forest path.

The rat swarm had formed a tide, poised to devour Jeanne and her steed at any moment.