Chapter 21: Sharp Broken Sword
Chapter 21: Sharp Broken Sword
At this moment, Jack completely lost trust in Charlotte. He believed that Charlotte was just toying with him and could not treat his arm.
"What are you planning to do? Are you going to switch to an axe?" Jack asked with a stern face, his menacing aura unreserved, making him appear fierce.
"No, I have an even sharper sword that should be able to cut through your scales," Charlotte calmly shook his head.
"If you lie, I will kill you," Jack threatened, his vertical eyes glaring fiercely at Charlotte.
The air in the operating room seemed to have turned colder.
Vivian watched in a mix of shock and fear, clearly not expecting the previously seemingly amiable patient to suddenly become irritable and dangerous.
In the Imperial Capital, doctors held a high position, and even high-level magicians would show some politeness when encountering them.
Charlotte felt like he was being targeted by a venomous snake, but his expression remained calm. This was the norm in the Abyssthere were no benevolent beings; danger lurked everywhere. Even those who appeared honest and kind were mostly disguises. Kind-hearted individuals couldn't survive in the Abyss.
Even Vivian, a mid-level healing mage, had almost starved to death on the streets.
Jack stared at Charlotte for a while, somewhat surprised by the human's demeanor. Despite his threats, there wasn't a hint of fear in Charlotte's eyes.
"I'll give you one last chance. If you're still playing games with me, I'll snap your neck," Jack said coldly, sitting back on the operating table with a stern expression.
However, Charlotte smiled and looked at the lizardman with a hint of cruelty. He spoke in a low voice, "It seems you've misunderstood. When you walked through that door, it was you who sought medical treatment, not me begging to treat you. If you believe that even with a severed hand, you can continue to be a mercenary and survive in the Abyss, you are free to leave at any time."
"I..." Jack hesitated, his face changing from cloudy to clear, but he didn't dare to make any more harsh remarks.
"Since you want to heal your hand, then you have to abide by the rules of this clinic and show basic respect for the doctor. That's the first rule," Charlotte glanced at him and turned to leave the clinic.
Vivian watched Charlotte's departing figure, her mouth slightly agape. At that moment, Charlotte's image in her mind suddenly grew taller.
Facing the fierce and terrifying orc, his composure and calmness exceeded her expectations.
Was this the same person who had been stopped by her the day before, pretending to be a humble beggar?
Charlotte walked out of the operating room, and his calves couldn't help but tremble. He felt a chill on his back.
It wasn't that he was particularly brave or unwilling to show weakness in front of any patient. This was one of the survival rules left by his predecessor.
Patients who entered the clinic were the ones seeking help from him. As a doctor, you had to be in control of the situation in this clinic.
Once you let the patients lead you by the nose, you would lose the foundation for survival in the Abyss.
Despite the numerous records of debts in the diary, Charlotte had done a tally, and they were allowed by female patients.
He didn't believe there was no trickery involved.
But he didn't have any expectations of being able to recover those old debts.
People died in the Abyss every day, be it men or women.
Where could he find those who owed him money?
As for this lizardman, judging from his strength, he was probably at the Third Rank. If things went awry, Charlotte still had a life-saving magic talisman, which would be enough to deal with the situation.
Of course, that was a last resort.
Open the door for business, prioritize making money, and there will be an additional 200 copper coins credited upon completing the task.
Jack sat on the operating table, feeling the pain in his arm gradually making him irritable. When he heard a sound, he looked up towards the door, and his vertical eyes instantly froze.
Charlotte returned with a black longsword in his hand.
The sword was slender, and its sharp edge seemed almost substantial. Even with a broken tip, it still filled Jack's heart with boundless fear.
What a terrifying weapon! Even in the hands of a human-like Charlotte, it seemed to instantly transform into an invincible war god.
"What... what are you going to do?" Jack quickly shrank into the corner, his voice trembling, his body trembling.
In the face of this sword, he couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance.
"What am I going to do? Of course, I'm going to cut you," Charlotte said as he entered the operating room with the sword.
"Don't come any closer!" Jack raised his hands in front of him, his voice trembling, almost crying.
Charlotte stopped and looked at the broken sword in his hand, then looked at the trembling lizardman huddled in the corner, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't expect this broken sword left by Joseph to have such a powerful intimidating effect, completely extinguishing the fighting spirit of a third-ranked orc.
"I've got the tools. The surgery will continue. Lie back on the operating table," Charlotte dipped the sword in a cleaning solution, performing basic disinfection while speaking.
Jack lowered his hands and looked at Charlotte, who was wiping the sword. It seemed that Charlotte didn't have any intention of charging at him to kill him. Only then did he relax slightly.
Vivian looked at Charlotte, who had instantly subdued the lizardman, with surprise. She recognized that sword; she had even used a cleaning spell on it last night.
She had even made up her mind that if Charlotte failed to heal the lizardman, she would quietly use her healing magic to fix his arm and prevent him from causing trouble.
Charlotte approached the operating table with the sword in hand. His gaze became calm and sharp as he gestured towards the lizardman, then swung the sword.
The scales that were as hard as stone in front of the short knife met the black longsword called 'Judgment.' It was like peeling the shell off an egg white, and he didn't even feel it.
Thud! A small piece of the tail fell to the ground.
The three people in the operating room turned their heads simultaneously to look at the twitching tail on the floor.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.
"Ah..." Jack couldn't help but cry out in pain, his expression filled with agony, but he didn't dare to move.
Vivian looked at the lizardman, whose tail was now half gone, with some pity. She didn't believe that he had no personal grudges in this matter.
Charlotte remained calm, glancing at the neatly cut tail on the ground. It was just a short piece, without even a drop of blood. This lizardman probably had a performance-oriented personality, right?
Wasn't it said that a lizard's tail would grow back if it was severed?
"I'm just testing the sharpness of the surgical knife. I hope you don't mind," Charlotte said, looking at Jack.
"N-No... I don't mind..." Jack was on the verge of tears. He regretted coming to this dark clinic now!
"Well, that's good. It's better than accidentally having an amputation surgery," Charlotte nodded and turned his gaze back to Jack's fractured left hand, raising the longsword once again.
"Please... please be careful. My hand won't grow back..." Jack said cautiously. At this moment, he truly experienced what it meant to be lowly.
This human who appeared kind and easy to deceive was not someone to provoke!
Just this sword, brimming with a murderous aura, had probably claimed the heads of countless people.