A Hospital in Another World? Chapter 995: First Catch One Hundred Mosquitoes, All Alive
Previously on A Hospital in Another World?...
The Plague Lord shouted, and the Golden Eagle Warrior who had come to take the man immediately bowed his head.
He did not dare be disrespectful. The last Golden Eagle Warrior who was disrespectful to him was struck down on the spot with a plague spell and fell instantly.
Even the White Eagle Warriors behind him fell, despite being injected with the holy medicine bestowed by the Plague Lord. They had to recuperate for ten days or more.
Upon returning to Tenochtitlan, he was immediately confined in the lower levels of the pyramid to atone and deprived of the divine grace for the coming year.
Had there not been a great war that required the contribution of every Golden Eagle Warrior, that man might still be imprisoned...
However, future disasters were also very terrifying. This Golden Eagle Warrior, after much thought, decided to pass the buck:
"Honorable Plague Lord, it is not that I doubt your judgment. But these people are to be sacrificed to the Serpent God, and I do not have the authority to decide on the rituals... Please wait a moment, and I will fetch a Snake Woman for you."
Without waiting for Garrett's response, he took three steps back and quickly waved his hand. Then, Garrett saw the wind sweep up before him as a Golden Eagle Warrior, accompanied by ten White Eagle Warriors, ran off... ran off... ran off...
The speed at which they ran left the Black Eagle Warriors they brought along standing stiffly in place, unsure whether to follow.
If they did not follow, it would seem disrespectful to their superior; if they did, they couldn't keep up due to the speed.Fortunately, the place where the magicians lived was not far from the Serpent God's pyramid.
Before long, a woman with ordinary looks, dry and pale skin, and intricate golden, black, and red runes at the corners of her eyes came forward, accompanied by warriors, walking slowly toward Garrett and the others.
It was Chivacoatl herself. She approached, bowed respectfully, and spoke with a smile:
"Honorable Plague Lord, the children say these people are sick and do not need to be sacrificed to the Serpent God. Of course, we do not dare to doubt your power, but..."
She stopped mid-sentence, knowing there was more to say. But Garrett, not one to strike a smiling face, nodded politely, waiting for her to continue.
Chivacoatl turned halfway, gestured backward with her arm, and made a semicircle toward the plaza:
"Sacrificing those who bring disaster is a tradition passed down for hundreds of years in the Eagle God's Kingdom. Breaking it would cause panic among the people. We beg the Plague Lord to show mercy to these ignorant people and provide enough proof to calm their fears..."
She wisely avoided saying, "The Serpent God demands these people be sacrificed," or, "Without the sacrifices, there will be no protection."
The Serpent God resided in the pyramid. If these people did not believe her words, they could directly ask or demand the Serpent God change his mind—
The key point was that they truly couldn't defeat him! Either the Son of Thunder or the Son of Death could easily subdue their Serpent God... the divine oracle was quite ambiguous...
Garrett took a deep breath and stared at her. Asking for proof was a reasonable request. Besides, he would have done it even if no one demanded it—
Science!
This is science!
Without research and empirical evidence, there was no firm ground to stand on. What if there was a disease in this world that resembled yellow fever?
What if yellow fever in this world could be transmitted not only by mosquitoes but also through magical vibrations?
What if...
To prevent the sick from being sacrificed, he had hastily invoked the name of the Plague Lord. Now that it was time to act, results from experiments were needed.
"Of course, I can provide evidence," he nodded slowly.
"But it requires time and some conditions. For example, I need to gather all those who returned this time, whether sick or not, and keep them in a house of my choosing..."
"This..." Chivacoatl wanted to say that some people had already been taken to the pyramid for sacrifice. However, seeing Garrett's gaze, she lowered her head obediently:
"I will have them all brought out. What kind of house do you need? Just let me know, and I'll arrange it."
"Secondly, I need some animals, some healthy adult animals like monkeys, to verify how this disease is transmitted."
Chivacoatl's expression immediately showed difficulty. She hesitated, looked back at the Golden Eagle Warrior who had brought her, saw his rigid face, but no sign of refusal, and reluctantly answered:
"This... might take a lot of time... If you want to verify transmission, couldn't you use humans?"
"Humans?"
"Yes, humans!" Chivacoatl looked at him as if it was obvious:
"Whether it's the Serpent God Temple, the Eagle God Temple, or any noble house, they can provide you with enough slaves!"
Seeing Garrett's displeased expression, she quickly added:
"Of course, your charitable heart might not want to use slaves. In that case, the prisoners captured in the recent war are at your disposal!"
They were to be used for sacrifices anyway... if not today, then in a few days, depending on when the gods were hungry...
Garrett was speechless. Using humans for experiments was a last resort. Why use people when there were monkeys available?
Monkeys were plentiful; they could be caught in the jungle!
"Agree to it."
Suddenly, Senior Brother Byerbo's voice sounded in the mind link. Garrett was reluctant:
"Senior Brother..."
My research principles...
"Agree to it! Agree, and we'll deal with canceling the sacrifices afterward!"
Given the council's overall strategy, Garrett couldn't argue and had to agree. Fine, he thought, he would just use the "Remove Disease" spell on each patient, which would at least be ethical...
He added one last request:
"I also need things from the jungle where the disease started. Mosquitoes, flies, various poisonous insects, leeches, snakes... all brought back alive! Including soil and water samples, I need everything!"
Chivacoatl's face twisted. All of this, alive?
Honorable Plague Lord, you ordered it, but have you considered how difficult it is to catch all these alive and bring them back from the lowland jungles?
Leeches and snakes were one thing, but mosquitoes? Would they need to build cages for them?!
"Alright... we will get them to you as soon as possible..."
She thought it would have been easier to agree to using monkeys!
Catching one or two monkeys was much easier than catching mosquitoes!
"Oh, and if you catch monkeys, do not keep them with the poisonous insects..."
Chivacoatl staggered, her steps unsteady, as she took her leave. Once she was gone, Senior Brother Byerbo walked out, grabbed Garrett, and asked:
"Why did you ask her to catch mosquitoes? Haven't you learned the 'Summon Swarm' spell?"
Both the council's library and Thunder Horn's library had scrolls of this spell. Besides, wasn't this spell used by the priests of the God of Nature?
"I did..." Garrett said with a bitter face:
"But the standard template summons locusts... I don't know how to summon mosquitoes, let alone a specific type of mosquito!"
"Then learn it!" Byerbo's forehead veins bulged, nearly casting a magic missile to knock some sense into him:
"Go research it! Practice it! Why are you still standing here?!"
Garrett fled, covering his head.
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