The High Wall's South City Gate was always guarded by the Southern Guard Army.
Kob was the captain of the Southern Guard Army. He had guarded this place for fifteen years, yet he had never seen such a lively scene outside the High Wall.
The refugees queued up neatly to pay for registration. Some who couldn't afford the fee signed labor contracts, agreeing to pay off their debt with their work, all just to gain the status of a citizen of the territory.
This wasn't a simple name registration. At Lian's request, they even had to register their birthplace, education level, special skills, and life experiences, which was equivalent to filling out a personal file.
This was to make it easier to arrange suitable jobs for them in the future. If they had no skills, they could only be sent to farm the fields or haul bricks on construction sites. Green Shade Territory certainly had many places that needed to be built.
Meanwhile, Lian was inside a small tent, "examining" the patients one by one.
Sophie, Anna, and Annie accompanied Lian inside the tent, playing the roles of bodyguard, nurse, and recorder.
Two rows of Guards stood at the entrance to prevent any accidents.
This was a feast for the eyes of the patients being treated, especially the male ones.
If the doctors and nurses at the hospital were all as beautiful as them, they'd willingly get poked in the butt for an enema.
The patients entered the small tent one after another, and were then carried out by the Guards one after another.
To prevent them from seeing his treatment methods and growing suspicious, Lian would first use a knockout drug that he had Anna prepare beforehand to render them unconscious.
After all, anesthetics didn't exist in this world yet, so he had to make do with knockout drugs.
Then he would start dealing with those mischievous red items.
After clearing the items, he would use an Ice Blade to cut their hands and let them bleed.
The bloodletting was just a cover for his real treatment method.
So basically, the patients all walked in upright and were carried out horizontally, looking even weaker than before the treatment.
Besides Lian, the church aid team he had invited, Father Simo and Sister Sally, were also busy.
Father Simo was experiencing the pain of being blackmailed. The dark circles under his eyes were even heavier, as if he were working endless overtime.
Inside the tent, Anna wiped the sweat from Lian's forehead, and Annie handed him a hot coffee.
Lian held the coffee with trembling hands, took a sip, and slowly let out a breath.
"How many has it been?"
"Lord Lian, you've already treated 46 people. You should rest."
Lian had earned a total of 9,200 Points, but he hadn't reached his limit yet.
When his Physical Strength was 9, he could clear 26 ordinary red items in a day. Now that his Physical Strength was 20, he should be able to at least double that.
Lian decided to challenge himself, break his limits, and get the Physical Strength bonus!
"How many more refugees are there?"
"There are 52 registered refugees remaining, and by visual estimate, another two to three hundred who haven't completed registration."
Anna said gently.
Lian nodded slightly. "Let them in."
That day, a total of 367 people were registered at the South Gate. Lian treated 54 people, 200 received baptism with Holy Water, and the remaining 113 would wait for treatment tomorrow and the day after.
The moon had climbed high into the sky before Lian finally left the small tent-turned-treatment-room. Supported by the Maids Anna and Annie, he boarded a horse-drawn carriage.
Watching the Lord of Green Shade Territory exhaust himself to save them, the refugees from Blue Moon Territory felt an indescribable sense of being moved and a feeling of belonging.
It was as if, after being abandoned by the entire world, they had finally found a sanctuary, passed through the darkest dawn, and welcomed a new ray of hope.
And the one who gave them that hope was Lian.
"Praise Lord Lian!"
"Praise Green Shade Territory."
"We will follow Lord Lian forever!"
Amid the cheers and praises of the refugees, the carriage moved slowly forward.
In reality, the carriage Lian was in was the last one to return to the High Wall. The two ministers had returned to the inner city much earlier as they had other matters to attend to, and the Priest and Nun had also left an hour ago.
"Lord Lian, you've gained a group of loyal followers. They will spread word of your virtues throughout Green Shade Territory."
Anna said with a smile.
Lian leaned against the carriage wall, his eyes half-closed. His face was deathly pale as he asked,
"How much money did we collect today?"
"A total of 200,000 Copper Coins."
Anna replied.
"They are just the beginning. Soon, the nobles who fled from Blue Moon Territory will also learn that they can find refuge here. When that happens, you'll be able to collect even more in treatment fees."
Anna added.
"Not treatment fees. Residency fees."
Lian emphasized.
He didn't want people coming to him with all sorts of strange and complicated illnesses in the future; he wasn't a real Doctor.
'It's highly unlikely that all diseases have red items. Only illnesses caused by the influence of Extraordinary Power would have them. For example, with the Witch of Blue Moon Territory losing control, the people were infected because of her. The source of the red-itch Plague isn't a real virus, but Magic. That's why I can cure them.'
"Sophie, thank you for today. Without you, I would have had to use a lot of disposable blades, and that would have been another expense."
Lian looked at the silent Sophie.
Sophie sat up straight and adjusted the flower crown on her head with a deadpan expression.
'She probably means this is her way of saying thank you—for the new flower crown I gave her today.'
Annie always felt that the Ice Witch's Magic was being put to trivial use; using Magic to create an Ice Blade not for killing, but for "treating" people by letting their blood.
"Sophie, you should talk more. Learn from Annie, she's willing to say anything."
Lian said weakly. His vision was blurry; he could only make out Sophie's silhouette. Even at this close distance, her facial features were indistinct.
'I'm in really bad shape.'
"I can teach you how to talk."
Annie looked at the Ice Witch Sophie. "Starting with how to curse."
"Uh, forget it. Pretend I never said that."
Lian covered his forehead with one hand. 'It would be better if Annie were a little quieter.'
He took stock of his earnings for the day: 200,000 Copper Coins, 347 free laborers, 10,800 Points, and 1 point of Physical Strength.
'Just as I'd guessed. My limit was clearing 52 ordinary items. Since I pushed past that limit and cleared two more, my body feels like it's about to collapse. I'm mentally exhausted, dizzy, and disoriented.'
He opened the Item Mall that no one else could see and spent 5,000 Points to redeem [Two-star Assassin].
[New Item Acquired: Two-star Assassin]
[Current Stats: Physique 25 (21+4), Swordsmanship 16 (16+0), Assassination Techniques 35 (19+16), Speed 41 (25+16), Power 23 (19+4), Shadow Bonus 10%]
[You have firmly stepped onto the path of the Assassin and have journeyed some distance along it. You are now capable of assassinating a Two-star Knight.]
As he acquired the new item, Lian's Physical Strength was finally replenished, and his spirit was re-energized.
The vitality returned to his eyes, which had been struggling to focus, and he once again saw the [Combinable] option.