Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 359 - 48: Black Death

Crack——

An iron boot stepped on the ground covered with white rat bones, crushing a rat’s skull to pieces.

Jeanne frowned tightly, flipped onto her horse, and galloped towards Constantinople.

Along the way, she saw many fallen beasts, most of which belonged to the Royal Garden, and a few were livestock raised in ordinary civilian homes.

As she neared the city gate, the area became bustling again.

The long queue of people waiting to enter the city were talking with lingering fear.

"The rats in my master’s granary went completely mad; they not only aren’t afraid of people but even dared to bite me—Ronia’s poor cat was bitten to death by those rats."

"I also encountered those crazy rats and got bitten by them. It really hurts!"

Someone complained in a low voice, "This year’s harvest wasn’t bad, and after taxes and food were set aside, there was rarely a little left. I was planning to offer a bag of grain to Father Malgannis so he could officiate my son’s wedding—now those damn rats destroyed everything."

People whispered to each other, not daring to stir up much noise.

Citizens of Constantinople had more confidence than these tenant farmers looking for work in the city. It was said that when the Emperor lost a battle before, those citizens even had the courage to tie up municipal officials and parade them through the streets in protest.

Jeanne looked nervously at a tenant farmer, suddenly stepped forward quickly, and grabbed his arm.

"Lord, what are you doing?"

The tenant farmer was terrified out of his wits and asked in a panic.

Jeanne didn’t respond but rolled up his tattered linen sleeve, revealing an arm full of black sores.

She paled slightly and instinctively stepped back two steps.

"Bl...Black Death?"

The tenant farmer heard a female voice and still dared not forcibly withdraw his grabbed arm.

After all, it was likely a noble Knight in a complete set of exquisite silver armor and a majestic warhorse.

Even a Female Knight was someone a common tenant farmer like him dared not provoke.

"Lord... Miss Knight, please let poor Barry go; he still has two poor children to feed."

The tenant farmer’s companions came over speaking good words.

Jeanne didn’t know what to do for a moment.

This man infected with the Black Death was beyond saving, and no one knew how many among these people were carrying the deadly bacteria.

Besides, they were about to enter the city—a densely populated city.

Perhaps she should stop them, but it was meaningless because who knew how many people had entered the city before them.

Moreover, the Theodosius Wall could stop an army, but how could it stop burrowing rats and fleas jumping onto humans?

A strong sense of powerlessness rose in her heart.

Even though she was an Elite, she had no means to resist such a terrifying natural disaster.

"What happened?"

A group of knights in bright clothing and gallant demeanor were about to leave the city and came toward the commotion.

"Crown Prince Henry?"

Jeanne spoke.

"Is it you?"

Crown Prince Henry’s face was a bit awkward; he had only found out later that Jeanne was actually a Female Knight.

Losing to her in the Great Arena had tarnished his reputation.

However, for some unknown reason, he couldn’t muster any resentment; instead, seeing her filled him with a faint sense of anticipation.

"You’re just in time; I need your help with something!"

Jeanne removed her helmet, and her golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall: "I am Jeanne, the Chief Knight under Marquis Losa."

She let go of the tenant farmer’s hand and grabbed Crown Prince Henry.

The Crown Prince instinctively tried to dodge, but he was no match for Jeanne and was directly pulled close by her gripping his shoulder. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Stop, what do you want with our lord?"

The knights behind him all drew their swords, glaring at Jeanne. They had no fondness for this Female Knight, who had killed many of them in the Great Arena and brought them great humiliation.

However, this woman was quite beautiful.

Some of them couldn’t help but soften their originally stern gazes.

"What do you want?"

Crown Prince Henry looked at Jeanne with a dull expression, gulped after a long time, and asked softly: "I mean, what do you need my help with? Can you let go first?"

He only felt that Jeanne’s hand gripping his shoulder was like an iron clamp, completely unyielding.

"Immediately inform Empress Ragaya to close the city gates, be wary of those damn rats; a terrible plague is about to happen. Believe me, I’m not joking, this will be a disaster more terrifying than the Justinian Plague!"

Seeing the skepticism on Crown Prince Henry’s face, Jeanne intensified her tone.

"I swear by the name of Dark and the name of my lord, Losa, that I speak the truth. This disaster is not limited to Constantinople; once it spreads, your Germania, the distant Gaul, Apennines... the whole world will be engulfed in disaster."

Henry was unsure if he was intimidated by Jeanne’s serious tone or attracted by her beauty, as he remained silent for a long time.

Indeed, if talking about beauty, she was slightly inferior to Empress Ragaya.

But a Female Knight as valiant and spirited as Jeanne was a first for Henry.

He wasn’t one with a narrow perspective; after the establishment of the Witch Tower, his father’s forces included Female Knights, but they were crude and more brutish than men.

There was no comparison to Jeanne.

Jeanne furrowed her brow, increasing her grip strength: "I’m not joking; go see Empress Ragaya immediately and tell her what I said. I need to find my lord."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Crown Prince Henry, feeling the pain in his shoulder, quickly replied.

Watching Jeanne’s departing figure, Crown Prince Henry paused momentarily, sighed lightly.

He regretted marrying so early, even though his wife brought him a kingdom’s claim as a dowry.

"Lord, are we just letting her go?"

"Hmm..."

Henry remained silent for a moment, then mounted his horse: "Everyone, follow me back into the city; we’re going to see the Empress."

...

In the dark underground palace.

Compared to Jeanne’s Holy Flame, Anna’s Flame Magic was much more straightforward.

In the dark corridors, now covered with a layer of black ash, every step on it produced a creaking sound.

Although Losa’s mastery of magic and knowledge was very limited, he was officially a Wizard now, yet he couldn’t detect anything unusual from these rats.

It was just his Beast Intuition warning him that these little creatures inhabiting the sewers were quite dangerous.

Losa frowned and said, "Why would someone research something like a plague."

Can such a thing as a plague be tamed by humans? Aren’t they afraid of backlash?

"The fact is, someone has,"

Anna’s tone was very grave: "Moreover, that person likely has truly tamed the plague and infused Magic Power into it, and that’s our opportunity."

"Killing that person, will it truly make the plague disappear?"

Although Anna said so before, he still had doubts.

After all, this matter was immensely significant.

Anna hesitated for a moment and shook her head: "It might not be a person; it could also be an object—the Source of the Plague. No one has ever seen it before. In Constantinople’s archives, I’ve only seen similar suppositions."

"We’ll have to hope it’s the former that proves true."

The group continued down the corridor.

Following her gaze, Losa could see a few remaining wisps that looked precisely like the pattern on Li Yena’s red dress.

Although Losa’s knowledge and skills in magic were still limited, he was formally a Wizard.

Losa frowned and said: "How could someone research the Source of the Plague?"

Plague bearing creatures could burrow tunnels and hop onto people.

Inside, she couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of helplessness.