Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 129: Marcus’ grave condition

Though she often complained about him, worry inevitably surfaced now. After all, they were friends.

Zora fell silent for a moment. The beast tide had taken too many lives. Had it not been for Shihtzu at that critical moment, even she didn’t know how she would have survived.

"I hope he comes back safely," she said quietly. "His strength isn’t weak."

"I hope so." Reesa sighed. "These days, the atmosphere in the academy has been terrible. Every time news spreads that another student has fallen, everyone feels it."

Zora nodded. She understood that feeling all too well. Life and death were never far apart on the cultivation path.

Reesa stayed the night, and the two rested together. By morning, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor, accompanied by anxious, muffled voices.

Zora and Reesa exchanged a glance, unease flickering between them. They rose at once and opened the door.

Baldwin’s room stood open, with Raphael and the others gathered inside.

"You’re here."

Raphael turned toward them. His usually warm face was now shrouded in gloom, heavy with worry and uncertainty.

"Baldwin is back?"

The moment those words left Zora’s lips, a tightness gathered in her chest. If Baldwin had not returned, there would be no reason for everyone to crowd into this room, their expressions so heavy and restrained.

Raphael nodded slowly, his face lacking its usual warmth. "Marcus and Baldwin both made it back, but their injuries are severe. Tiffany is in slightly better condition... as for the fourth one—he didn’t make it."

Even though Zora had prepared herself mentally, hearing that someone had fallen still made her heart sink. No matter how many life-and-death scenes she had experienced, the loss of a living person was never something one could hear calmly.

"How serious are Baldwin’s and Marcus’s injuries?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"They’re very serious," Raphael replied in a low voice. "Especially Marcus. The vice-principal is treating them personally right now. We can only hope they pull through."

Vice-principal.

At those words, a spark of realization flashed through Zora’s eyes. Gerrad, the legendary four-grade alchemist. Until now, she had only heard his name and never seen him in person.

She exchanged a brief glance with Reesa, then quietly stepped toward the inner room. She wanted to see their injuries with her own eyes. Perhaps... she could help.

Alaric Von Seraph and the others noticed her movement, but no one stopped her. This was not the time for idle conversation.

The moment Zora entered and saw Baldwin and Marcus, her pupils contracted sharply.

Baldwin lay on the bed, his face deathly pale, his clothes torn and soaked with dried blood. Every patch of exposed skin was marred with wounds, as though his body had been dragged through a battlefield of claws and fangs. There was scarcely an inch of uninjured flesh left.

Most shocking of all was his right shoulder.

A large chunk of flesh was simply gone, leaving behind a jagged, horrifying wound. It was obvious at a glance that it had been torn away by a monster’s bite. That Baldwin was still alive after such an injury could only be described as a miracle.

Yet, compared to him, Marcus’s condition was even worse.

Marcus’s face had taken on a dark greenish-black hue, and the skin across his chest was visibly rotting, eaten away by poison.

The toxin had already spread throughout his body. Large areas of festering flesh were exposed, and even the blood seeping from his wounds had turned black, releasing a faint, foul odor that made one’s scalp prickle.

Alaric Von Seraph clenched his fists. "Vice-principal... will they survive?"

Gerrad’s expression was grave, his brows drawn together tightly. "If Baldwin can endure this critical period, he will live. As for Marcus..." He paused, his tone heavy. "The poison in his body is extremely vicious. Normal detoxification potions won’t work. We need to make a Supreme detoxification Potion, and it will take a lot of time to make it. Judging by his current condition. Sigh..."

Those words fell like a stone into still water.

The room grew oppressively quiet.

Tiffany’s legs went weak, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "It’s my fault... Marcus was poisoned because he shielded me from the poison beasts. I’m the one who killed him!"

Her sobs echoed painfully through the room.

Sylvandria stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Tiffany’s shoulder. "Tiffany, no one wanted this. Don’t torture yourself like this."

But Tiffany shook her head violently, her voice breaking. "It’s because of me! If someone had to lie there, it should be me!"

"Syl," Gerrad spoke again, his voice calm but authoritative. "Take a Restoration Pill from my medicine box and give it to Baldwin."

"Yes, Master," Sylvandria replied immediately.

She opened the medicine box, selected a jade bottle from among many others, and took out a golden pill before carefully feeding Baldwin.

Staring at the pill, Zora’s eyes widened, "The Restoration Pill?"

Restoration Pill is different from a Healing potion. Its origins lie with the Eastern Continent that is located on the other side of the world, and acquiring even one such pill costs over 100,000 gold coins. Yet, the Vice Principal didn’t hesitate to use it on Baldwin.

At that moment, a strange light flickered through Zora’s eyes as something clicked in her head. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

So that was it.

The vice-principal... was Sylvandria’s master.

No wonder Sylvandria had already become a second-grade alchemist at such a young age. With a master who was a fourth-grade alchemist, her achievements suddenly made perfect sense.

A special-enrollment student of Imperial Academy, a talented alchemist, and the vice-principal’s direct disciple. With so many identities layered upon her, it was only natural that Sylvandria enjoyed such an exalted reputation within the academy, revered by countless students as the goddess in their hearts.

Gerrad’s gaze shifted toward Tiffany, his expression turning grave. "You said Marcus was attacked by a poisonous beast. What did that creature look like?"

As long as he could identify the source of the poison, there was still a chance to prescribe the correct medicine. Detoxification was never a one-size-fits-all matter."

Tiffany wiped her tears hastily and replied, her voice trembling, "It was around twenty meters long, thick as a water vat, and its entire body was covered in green scales."

"Green-scaled python..." Gerrad narrowed his eyes, his tone sinking.

Zora instantly understood as well. The green-scaled python was a notorious, poisonous beast of the White Mountain Range. Its strength was terrifying, and the toxin it carried was both violent and deeply invasive.

Under normal circumstances, students would never encounter such a monster in the outer regions. Only during a beast tide, when the balance of the mountains collapsed, and monsters poured out en masse, would such a creature appear.

That explained everything.

The poison of the green-scaled python was infamous. Once it entered the body, ordinary detoxification methods were almost completely useless.

Gerrad let out a long sigh, helplessness surfacing in his usually calm demeanor. "Even as a fourth-grade alchemist, the I have on hand are limited."

In ancient times, alchemy had flourished, and countless potion formulas existed.

Back then, curing the green-scaled python’s poison would not have been impossible.

But now... those formulas had long been lost to time.

Even he was powerless.

Seeing the vice-principal’s expression, everyone’s hearts sank. Tiffany’s face turned deathly pale, her hands shaking as she asked, almost pleading, "Vice-principal... does Marcus still have a chance?"

"I can only do my best," Gerrad said slowly. "But... the odds are very slim."

That single sentence was like a death verdict.