The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 38: The Martial Arts Tournament (4)

“The next event will be the team mock battle!”

Trees, boulders, and various terrain features began to emerge inside the arena.

The court magicians used relocation magic to bring in pre-prepared terrain from nearby locations.

Apparently, since it only moves existing objects rather than teleporting them, the magic is fundamentally different and not particularly difficult to cast.

“I thought it would just be a flat brawl, but with terrain in play, strategy becomes viable.”

Tanya offered her thoughts as she looked out at the arena, now transformed into a forest.

I had just come down to the waiting room with Asella to check on the knights participating in the mock battle.

Asella looked over the knights and gave her orders.

“Command will proceed according to training. The captain will lead overall. Make full use of Tanya at the front line.”

“As you command.”

Gathered before us were a total of 140 knights.

Regiment 2, Company 1 was joining the battle today under Moonlight Palace’s banner as per contract.

I spoke to the company commander.

“You remember the terms of our contract, right? If I see even a hint that you’re working under orders from Tojin Palace, it’ll become very troublesome for you.”

“Pfft, come on now. Don’t go crushing morale before we even start. We owe you too, don’t we? You think we’d pull something that scummy?”

The Company 1 knights were brimming with energy, loosening up with enthusiasm.

Thanks to the aspirin I gave them, they’d been enjoying a few rare days of good health.

“Just sit back and watch. We’ll show you what we’ve got.”

“Good. Follow our knights’ lead.”

I clapped him on the shoulder in encouragement.

Looks like I don’t need to worry too much.

“Still, 140 is a bit short compared to the other factions.”

The others each fielded about 200 knights.

With all factions deploying their entire fighting force into the arena at once, a chaotic melee was inevitable.

We didn’t have enough ampoules to distribute to everyone.

“This should be sufficient.”

In cases like this, it’s best to go for the most efficient, easily understood method.

I pulled a book from my coat.

“Oooh, is that the scriptures?”

“No, it’s a novel. Got a recommendation and started reading it when I was bored. It’s actually pretty fun.”

A romance novel Lauga had mentioned.

Even if it wasn’t a holy text, it looked close enough to pull off the prayer act.

“Ah yes, dear Goddess or whatever—you know the gist, listen up.”

I recited the prayer, and a bright surge of holy power burst from my body.

“Let their bodies be imbued with strength. Amen.”

When I finished casting, the ground sparkled, and the knights’ bodies were enveloped in radiant light.

“A blessing!”

“This feeling... I’m overflowing with strength!”

The knights cheered and jumped with excitement.

I had cast a Strength Blessing. Muscle-bound folks like them would enjoy anything that thickened their biceps.

My divine power was completely drained in exchange.

But since I don’t use divine spells that often anyway, it didn’t matter.

“To think you’d even use a large-scale blessing—of course, you’re the royal physician!”

The company commander flexed a now-bulging bicep and laughed.

“I usually charge for that.”

“Haha, if war breaks out, I’ll pay any amount to stick by your side. Honestly, I thought you just didn’t know healing magic since you never used it.”

“What the hell? Who says I can’t use healing magic?”

There were probably only a handful of healers in the entire Imperial Medical Institute who were better than me.

“Well, since you’ve got even better techniques, there’s no need to, right?”

“Exactly. Don’t go spreading dumb rumors.”

“Whoa, I wasn’t the one spreading them!”

The commander craned his neck out like he was being falsely accused.

I’d only meant it as a joke, but was that rumor actually going around?

Who the hell started it?

“Your Highness, the command to deploy.”

The Moonlight Palace’s knight captain stepped forward crisply, placing one arm vertically across his chest in salute.

Asella raised her chin and gave her order with regal authority.

“Achieve victory.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The knights surged out toward the arena.

The clanking of their armored limbs rang loud in my ears.

Once we watched them leave, I returned with Asella to the spectator seats.

On the way, she turned to me and said:

“Physician, so you do know healing magic. That blessing spell—I’ve never seen one before.”

“Ah, I see.”

“...Are you not using healing magic because of me?”

No, I just got sick of it.

Try spending day after day being the healing-slave of a hero’s party and tell me if you’d still want to cast it again.

All I have are memories of dying while casting it.

It was an extreme situation, with overwhelming odds stacked against us, but still.

Whenever I cast healing magic, it pulls me right back into that moment.

And those aren’t memories I care to relive.

Still, Asella’s question gave me the perfect excuse.

“As Your Highness says. I am Your Highness’s physician. Skills you do not require are also skills I have no need for. Even dedicating my life to perfecting treatments solely for Your Highness doesn’t give me enough time.”

“I see.”

Asella took my answer without any particular reaction.

Thanks to that, I gained a very convenient excuse I could keep using.

After this event comes the Magic Tournament. Asella plans to participate directly.

Now that I thought about it, where was Seymour?

I hadn’t seen a single trace of him all day. Maybe he didn’t come to the tournament at all.

Asella would probably know.

“Your Highness, may I ask a question?”

“...”

For some reason, Asella didn’t answer.

“Your Highness?”

“...Ah, yes?”

She finally turned her head, startled, as if she’d just realized I was talking.

“Is the Sage not attending today?”

“No, he’s not... huuuh.”

Wait a second—did Asella just use the wrong honorific?

She took a deep breath, then returned to her usual expression and narrowed her eyes at me.

“You dare ask me such a trivial thing while I’m in deep thought?”

“I have committed a grave sin.”

She looked like she’d taken offense again, so I immediately bowed my head in apology.

...She didn’t respond.

I tensed, wondering if I’d crossed a dangerous line—when her now-composed voice reached my ears.

“Raise your head.”

“Am I forgiven? Will I not be executed?”

“No. Because if you died—”

Asella trailed off, muttering to herself again.

“...There’d be no one left to heal me.”

***

“Now look closely, and witness the glorious might of Tojin Palace’s knights! Each suit of armor is crafted from thorium by dwarven artisans! And we’ve got two hundred of them! Of course we’ll be the last ones standing!”

Georg roared with pride from the spectator stands, puffed up with confidence.

Indeed, his knight corps, including Regiment 2 from the southern garrison, looked exceptionally well-prepared.

“Oppa, you’re gonna get wrecked again if you keep showing off like that. My Geumseo Palace knights are strong too, y’know?”

“Please. They’re still wheezing their way into the arena post-plague. My knights, on the other hand, got special care from the Medical Institute.”

“You’re so petty.”

“Haha, it’s all about what you can pull off before the match even starts. His Majesty values influence inside the palace, after all.”

Georg wasn’t wrong.

The condition of one’s knights—including the quality of their armor—was a reflection of the faction leader’s capabilities.

“Falkenhein! There won’t be any screw-ups this time, right?!”

Georg snapped, and Falkenhein stepped forward.

“Yes, Your Highness. The knights have been strictly managed and are in perfect condition.”

“Good.”

With the booming of a giant drum, the battle commenced.

The knight corps’ roar shot into the sky with enough force to punch through the clouds.

Over a thousand knights stormed into the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) arena.

Each faction started from their own base camp, navigating treacherous terrain to strike the enemy.

There’s no way we can win in a head-on clash with Georg’s knights.

The gap created by his wealth and resources couldn’t be closed by skill alone.

Even though the weapons were standardized for non-lethal use, taking a hit still caused injury.

And armor quality played a huge role in sustained combat.

To make matters worse, we were using Company 1, who’d only been hastily trained. Tactical superiority wasn’t easy to establish.

No matter how strong Tanya was, she was still just one person.

Which is why we need Lauga.

Boom!

Dirt flew in the distance. The impact of dozens of shields clashing at once echoed like a drumbeat.

The real skirmish had begun.

Formations were already collapsing, with knights falling left and right.

“What the hell?! That unit—!”

Georg peered through his binoculars and ground his teeth.

His banner was already tumbling in the dirt.

“Lauga! That’s your unit! Why are they launching a preemptive attack on my knights?!”

Lauga giggled behind her hand at the sight of a flustered Georg.

“This is still the scouting phase. You won’t win if you just charge in blindly, y’know?”

“I don’t need to win. Festivals are fun as long as they’re entertaining. Oppa, just sit back and enjoy it.”

Georg sighed in disbelief at her shameless attitude.

“Anyone can see that was a malicious attack!”

“Oh, come on. I do have strategy, you know.”

“What about that is strategic?!”

And to be fair, Georg’s reaction made sense. freēwēbnovel.com

Lauga’s knights hadn’t even drawn weapons. They were just charging recklessly while carrying giant barrels.

Inside the barrels: sticky slime mucus.

It didn’t have any special effect—it was just gross.

Caught off guard, Georg’s formation began to crumble.

“Who are these lunatics?! All they do is charge!”

“Get back! Get that sticky crap away from me!”

Lauga’s knights clung to them like zombies, smearing them with slime.

“You jerks! You’re the only ones who got cured—so unfair!”

“We got dragged here with burning fevers! We’ll give you our plague!”

Forget honorable battle—this was a drunken street brawl.

The Emperor roared with laughter at the sight.

Clearly not because he was impressed by Georg.

“My knight corps!! What did I do to deserve this from you, Lauga?!”

“You stole the cake that was delivered to me last month. You forgot already?”

“Cake?! You ruined this whole tournament over a cake?!”

“‘Just a cake’? It was a rare cake made by a royal pâtissier, only twenty a day!”

“It was imported from an enemy nation! For heaven’s sake!”

Georg clutched his head and collapsed into his chair.

I turned my eyes to the field.

The Moonlight Palace knights steadily claimed the high ground, avoiding other factions and minimizing losses.

Up front, Tanya was mowing down enemies like autumn leaves.

At this rate, we could expect a pretty solid result.

I walked up to Asella and struck up conversation.

“Your Highness, the Second Prince appears to be suffering from a headache.”

“Indeed he does.”

“Shall I lend him some aspirin?”

Asella chuckled at my joke.