He retraces his path backwards and was able to bring Andrew back to the village. Seeing Andrew being carried by Michael, a lot of people had questions on their minds about what could have happened this time around that got him to this kind of situation with blood stains all over his body.

Some hunters who were close to Michael couldn't resist coming up to ask Michael what was wrong but Michael ignores them all while running straight down without pause towards the house of the village doctor, hopefully, he was at home and hasn't gone out for any outside treatment.

Luckily on getting to the apartment, the doctor was just about to step out and he was stopped on his track, seeing Andrew on Michael's back, the doctor understands that the situation is urgent and since he was not going out for any urgent treatment, he quickly ushered them into his compound. Even if he was going for an important treatment, he was not sure Michael would let him go though, so he just ordered one of his assistants to go in his stead. This has been the second time Andrew has been in a critical situation and this even seems worse than the one of the former in which he was cut. His heartbeat was so faint that it could go out at any minute. Michael was just hoping for another miracle as he nervously walks outside the house of the village doctor, the doctor has been with Andrew for close to twelve hours now and there has still been no news from inside. Although not the best, the village doctor was good to some point in surgeries and the like and was the best option since he wouldn't be able to take Andrew to the capital, he would most definitely die before they would get there. Although the village was not too far from the capital of the kingdom, it doesn't mean that it was a few hour's journeys. At most a week would go down on the speed of carriages and if, on a horse, it would take four to five days at most. So it was a long run to bring Andrew to the capital and the capital is the closest place with the best and top medicines with the best doctors situated over there. This village was one of the best in the kingdom, probably the best, if not Cornelius would not have gone out of his way to secure being the village head here in such a remote place.

It takes another two hours before the doctor comes out, entirely fatigued and drained of strength. He didn't even take a look at Michael although being the strongest warrior in the village before heading towards his apartment to get some rest.

Where the operation was being held on Andrew was entirely different from where the doctor stayed, although they were both in the same compound. Michael gets in front of the doctor and tries getting out the condition of Andrew from him, "Doc, what's the situation with him? Talk to me. Why aren't you saying anything? Is he going to be alright?", he keeps on throwing questions toward the doctor expecting a response but seeing that the doctor was ignoring him, he was anxious and annoyed at the same time.

He was resisting the impulse to just land a blow squarely on the face of the doctor. It seems like the doctor understands that not answering Michael won't stop the question so he just beckoned him to follow him.

On entering the apartment, he puts on a lantern as the day was dark and the room was brought into view, it seems like a library as books were littered here and there but that doesn't affect them from making their way towards a desk before them as the books create a space for them to pass through.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Just a bit more time from the sun rising through, but everywhere was still quiet due to the curfew imposed.

The doctor rests on the chair and tells Michael to take a seat, "Just spill the beans already. Am not in the mood to take a seat, would he survive or not?", says Michael angrily while staring at the doctor as if he was going to pounce in him any moment from now. But the doctor paid no attention to his countenance and just stared at Michael without saying anything seeking to wait for him to take his seat.

Finally, as he couldn't take it anymore, Michael draws a seat out before sitting on it while staring at the doctor as he draws out a cigarette and lights on. The doctor was messy right now with his hair all scattered, the shirt he was putting him was covered in blood, and he had huge eye sacks and dark circles around his eye from lack of rest and sleep. If you were to pass by such a person on a normal day, you did think he was a drunkard or madman cause one look at the doctor and you could see how haggard he was right now.

He has after all been operating nonstop without break for up to fourteen hours which needed his utmost concentration and he couldn't have a lapse of judgement at any time. Although he had a few assistants with him, he couldn't allow them to help him since he knew the importance of the person he was operating on to Michael. Just a single mistake could ruin everything and he won't be able to explain it to Michael and even Michael's retaliation wouldn't be something he could handle. The scenario of him smoking just added a bit of something to the already haggard appearance of the doctor, but this time around, Michael does not interrupt him. He seemed to have calmed down and just let the doctor continue with his stuff maybe he realizes that screaming at him won't enable him to get the answers he needs at a short notice.

A while passes by before the doctor is through with smoking the cigarettes, then he clears his throat before saying while having a smile on his face which made him look like a ghost from some horror movie, "That kid is strong. Normal people would have died of such injuries but he seems to be hanging on to something to not have died. This isn't just the first time but the second time this has happened, just that this time is much worse but he still came out strongly though". "Yeah, I know he is strong. So he was able to survive huh, that is a relief then. I thought he was gone this time around but he always seems to create miracles", says Michael sighing in relief as if a huge load has been taken off his back. If not for the fact that he was in the doctor's house perhaps he would have slept off by now, he has been tensed for a long while now. He fought a long battle in the forest, used up his strength to a huge amount and his mind was never at rest all through the period Andrew was being operated on, he couldn't help the feeling after all.

"But....", the doctor sighs in pity all of a sudden and this tenses up Michael's already eased heart, his heart was pumping so hard that it seemed it wanted to come out from his body at any moment. "But what?", Michael asks, the doctor was quiet for a while which increases the rate at which Michael's heart was beating, Michael was having a really bad feeling about the pause in the doctor's statement. The doctor sighs again before saying, "The kid is really strong as he was able to perform extraordinarily well for someone of his age. But the injury this time around is of no joke and has thus turned him into a lost cause".