Return of the General's Daughter
Chapter 83: Her Purpose!

Chapter 83: Her Purpose!

The blade hovered inches from her throat, shaking violently in the unsteady grip of the young soldier. His hand trembled as if caught in a storm, fingers barely holding onto the hilt.

He couldn’t be much older than Lara—so young, so inexperienced, yet forced onto the battlefield by the whims of a tyrant leader.

A moment later, the sword clattered to the ground. Before the soldier could react, Aramis had his own blade pressed firmly against the young soldier’s throat.

"Sheath your sword, Aramis!"

Lara’s voice carried an authority that made Aramis pause. For a fleeting moment, it was as if he was hearing Alaric instead of Kane.

But he didn’t move.

Lara looked back and glared at him. Only then did he lower his weapon, though he made no move to put it away.

She shifted her attention back to the trembling soldier.

"If you want your brother to have a chance of going home and see his wife and newborn son, step aside. Every minute wasted is another minute inching to his death."

The young man stiffened as if doused in cold water. Then, without another word, he stepped aside, clutching his wounded arm in a weak attempt to stop the bleeding.

Lara exhaled in relief. The wound on his brother’s abdomen, though deep, had miraculously avoided any major organs, just like Alaric’s injury. But the real danger wasn’t the cut itself—it was the blood loss.

She moved swiftly, cleaning the wound with water before applying a potent hemostatic agent she had purchased from a pharmacy in Calma. Pressing down firmly, she worked to stop the bleeding. Once satisfied, she cleansed the surrounding area with ethyl alcohol and reached for her suturing kit.

The younger brother’s eyes widened as he watched her sew the gaping wound shut with practiced efficiency.

Rustle. Rustle.

Aramis stiffened, his eyes snapping toward the edge of the limestone wall. His grip on his sword tightened. Had the soldiers who escaped returned?

"Kane, hurry up," he urged. "If they’re back, this place won’t be safe for much longer."

The young soldier lowered his head, shame flickering across his face.

Lara didn’t stop. Her hands moved with precision and confidence, her stitches tight and clean. Within minutes, she was done.

"When the wound scabs in seven days, remove the stitches from here," she instructed. "Clean the surrounding area daily with vinegar diluted in water."

She pulled out a small bundle of crushed leaves and spread the paste over the wound. "You recognize this?" she asked. "Yarrow. You can find it in the hills and mountains. Crush the fresh leaves like this and apply it to the wound. Understood?"

The soldier nodded wordlessly.

Lara covered the wound with a clean gauze-like cloth and turned to him. "Do you have a spare bandage?"

The young man hurriedly pulled off a strip of fabric from the cloth tied around his head. With Aramis’s help, Lara secured it tightly around his brother’s abdomen to ensure the wound wouldn’t reopen when he exerted effort.

She met his eyes, her gaze firm. "Did you listen to everything I said? Your brother’s life is now in your hands. Keep the wound clean. Change the dressing daily."

She glanced at his arm. "Let me treat your wound, too. You need to bring your brother home, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re bleeding out."

The soldier hesitated, then nodded. His wound didn’t require stitches, so Lara finished dressing it in minutes.

"Here," she said, handing him a bunch of longans.

Aramis threw a displeased look at Lara. So he was gathering all the longans they came across with only to give them to his patients, an enemy.

"This will help him regain strength and fight infection," she explained. "If you can, find velvet apples or any wild fruit to supplement him."

The young soldier clutched the fruit tightly, his lips pressing together as if holding back emotion.

"May I know your name, Doctor?" he asked hesitantly.

Lara paused.

"It’s Kane. Kane Mendel."

Lara turned to leave.

A weak, hoarse voice barely above a whisper reached her ears.

"Thank you, Doctor Kane."

She froze.

Had he been conscious all along?

She turned back, meeting his gaze. His deep brown eyes were filled with stubbornness, with defiance—a refusal to heed the call of Hades.

"Thank me when you are fully well."

"What took you so long? Hurry up! General Odin was worried, so he sent us back."

Kellan’s voice broke the moment as he and Bener appeared from behind the limestone wall.

Aramis said nothing, only gesturing for Lara to walk ahead. But before following, he stole one last glance at the brothers. The younger carefully fed his wounded sibling, relief plain on his face.

Aramis lingered a moment longer, his gaze flickering toward the bushes beyond.

Meanwhile, Lara stepped onto the edge of the limestone wall, her eyes scanning the river below. The water had washed away the bodies, the crimson fading into the current. In the distance, the Northem army marched in a single file, a striking contrast against the blue sky and emerald-green forests.

She glanced at Aramis, who stood stiffly, lost in thought, then at the two nameless brothers—one gently cradling the other’s head, pressing a water skin to his lips.

She had helped them because she saw the goodness in them. She had heard it in their voices. They were the most pitiful ones—innocent victims, pawns in their king’s hunger for power.

Her mind wandered back to events of the past few days.

Alaric and his twenty-plus soldiers.

The six men she had treated at the infirmary in Hainai.

Logan.

The dozen soldiers from earlier.

And now, these two nameless brothers.

A warmth spread through her chest, radiating outward.

After a lifetime of being trained to kill, to take lives, she had finally found her purpose.

She smiled—genuine, unrestrained.

At that moment, Aramis seemed to come back to his senses. He turned, only to meet Kane’s radiant smile. He faltered. Was he looking at him?

His heart skipped a beat. His face burned.

But Lara had already turned away, facing the southeast where the soldiers marched.

She spread her arms wide as if about to take flight.

For the first time in a long time, she felt truly free.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.