Joan led him through several clusters of people, arriving at a clearing filled with torches. On the ground were about twenty stretchers, upon which lay the wounded. They clutched their abdomens or chests, emitting weak groans, and the air was thick with the scent of blood.
"Commander, please don't worry about us..."
"Yes, you should leave quickly, the enemy may be chasing us soon."
The injured saw Joan approaching and gritted their teeth, advising her.
She clenched her fists, saying nothing.
It seems the situation is indeed very severe. Chen Xuan decisively said, "Pick the seven most serious cases."
The surrounding soldiers looked at each other.
"Do as he says," Joan ordered.
With the commander's directive, everyone began to move.
During this time, he also finished browsing through the life records of the Holy Maiden.
In less than a quarter of an hour, seven severely wounded individuals were moved to Chen Xuan's presence. They were either pierced through the torso by spears or had their heads smashed by hammers. If not treated immediately, it seemed difficult for them to survive the night.
Of course, given the medical level of this era, even if they could recover, it wouldn't be possible for them to return to the battlefield. Now they were a burden on the entire army. Most commanders would abandon them immediately, but Joan insisted on marching with these severely injured troops, which is why she could quickly gain immense prestige within the army.
Chen Xuan took out all the Blood Orange, breaking them in half one by one, and then handed them to Joan, "Swallow half, and crush the rest to apply on the wound. If there are any exposed organs, put them back first."
Joan still did not doubt and immediately began treating the soldiers as instructed.
At first, the others looked incredulous, but soon their expressions turned to shock and disbelief.
"Oh my... this medicine works!"
"Lord bless us!"
There were also astonished murmurs among them.
"The wound is closing, how is this possible!?"
Chen Xuan stepped forward two steps, bending down for a closer look—only to see the wounds treated with medicine beginning to consolidate at a visible speed, as if a layer of white frost was growing on the skin surface. The constantly flowing blood also stopped, or perhaps... it was this blood that was the main reason for the formation of the white frost. They quickly faded, solidified, resembling tap water left outside in midwinter, soon freezing into ice.
This effect was undoubtedly much stronger than ordinary healing herbs!
No wonder it's a formula used by Cultivators.
The soldiers' conditions improved drastically in a short time; their contorted, painful expressions eased, and their groans gradually abated.
Now other people's gazes toward Chen Xuan changed noticeably.
Some were grateful, some admired, and even some were in awe.
Joan was also greatly shocked, "What kind of medicine is this you used? I've never seen a medicine with such incredible effects."
"It's an Immortal Pill," Chen Xuan intentionally exaggerated, "something only people from the heavens can use."
Unexpectedly, the other party immediately understood.
"…Are you referring to the Lord? If it is something blessed by my Lord, all is explained." Joan murmured, "May I ask, how many more of these pills do you have? I am willing to pay any price to purchase them!"
This miraculous medicine for warriors was akin to a second life; owning it would be enough to sway the situation on the battlefield.
Chen Xuan could also guess the other party's thoughts; however, for him, the Pill was just an auxiliary means to raise customer goodwill, the real focus still needed to be on the trade of abilities.
The trade with Liu Shuyue made him understand one thing, that how much ability the other party was willing to display, and how many abilities they wished to exchange, was up to the trader themselves. Precisely because of this, the attitude and goodwill of the stranger before the trade were quite important. If the other party harbored misgivings, what they offered would certainly be the lowest abilities, so raising customer satisfaction before sitting down to discuss business was indeed the way to get twice the result with half the effort.
This is the same principle as the practice of the representative accompanying the client for a meal, karaoke, and massage before signing a contract.
Besides, Chen Xuan also noticed a detail.
This troop did not set up camp.
At this time, it was late at night; even with torches illuminating the road, it was dim and unclear. Riding on horseback during the march was clearly a high-risk action. The surrounding environment was far from being open, the paths were flanked by woods two to three meters high. In the era of cold weapons, armies generally did not choose such places to engage because it was inconvenient for cavalry to charge.
Rather take the risk of traveling at night to transfer overnight, combined with the advice of the wounded soldiers, this troop should be in the danger of being pursued.
After browsing Joan's brief biography, Chen Xuan had a faint guess in his mind.
"I only have this much medicine in my hands... can't accumulate new ones in a short time." He stared at Joan, saying, without waiting for her to show disappointment, he immediately added, "But defeating those enemies isn't the only way... by the way, have you been to Compiegne city? Or are you just escaping from there?"
This time Joan was truly surprised, "How would you know—"
At that moment, she clenched both fists tightly, her expression no longer as calm as before, her green eyes seemed to hold a dark flame.
So it was.
Chen Xuan thought, according to records, a small battle near Compiegne city was the last battle Joan experienced; if the Holy Maiden hadn't been defeated and captured, it wouldn't have left a splash in history.
This should have been an inconsequential encounter battle; Joan, when leading troops to attack the United Kingdom, got ambushed by pro-English Burgundians. She immediately ordered a retreat to Compiegne city, but the city garrison, fearing the Burgundians would follow them into the city, closed the gates before all troops could retreat; Joan, who was personally covering the retreat, couldn't get back inside and was eventually surrounded and captured by the enemy.
There isn't much content about this battle online, basically skimming past it with a sentence, but seeing Joan's reaction, Chen Xuan suddenly realized that day, to those involved, would never be brief and peaceful.
It took her a few seconds to control her inner anger, "Our action route should be a secret, but how is it that even you are so clear about my troops' movements?"
Even me?
Chen Xuan caught the underlying implication; even if a store owner knew military intel, it was trivial; but what if the enemy knew?
"The things I can see are far more than you imagine." He said calmly, "This strike has been off from the start, right? It was like the enemy already received the intel, leisurely waiting for you to appear in the suburbs. Despite your brave fight, the enemy was numerous, attacking front and back, so you had to order a retreat. You've actually started suspecting, isn't there a traitor in the city leaking military information... until the gates closed prematurely, completely ignoring the highest commander still outside the city, you only then realize this battle was actually a trap..."
"I never said anything like that!" Joan interrupted loudly.
Her unusual reaction drew the troops' attention.
"Of course you wouldn't say that because there's no evidence and it would shake the morale."
Chen Xuan noticed she didn't refute the process but instead refuted the conclusion, indicating she fled from the direction of Compiegne city. Even if the defeat was certain, Joan didn't give up easily; instead tried to break through, but ultimately couldn't escape the enemy's pursuit.
This also meant that, at this moment, the Burgundians' forces were still advancing minute by minute.
"What you fear most isn't the traitor, but delving along this line of thought, who truly wishes for you to fail or even disappear completely. In doubting and disappointment, you pray for someone to answer your questions or reach out to pull you... then you encounter a small shop in the wilderness where there shouldn't be any shops; its emitted glow was softer than you've ever seen, making the desperate night less dark. So even in such a dangerous moment, you stop, intending to see inside the shop..."
Chen Xuan paused.
"Do you now understand who I am and why I know all this?"
Joan stared blankly at him, "This... isn't possible..."
"Whether or not it is doesn't matter; what matters is I can help you defeat the enemy and turn the tide." Chen Xuan took out the scanner gun—this thing is wireless and works as long as it's within the WiFi range—and pressed the scan button facing the bewildered young maiden.
Feedback appeared on the remote desktop on the phone instantly.
He selected the Spirit Sword Technique and dragged it into the transaction bar.
In the meantime, Joan's eyes widened, looking as if she'd seen a demon!
"Lord above... what are these things? Floating text... glowing?"
"Do you see this ability? It is how I say you can defeat the enemy." Chen Xuan persuaded patiently, "But in order to gain something, you must lose something, even if you're the Holy Maiden. Let me see, how much are you willing to sacrifice for victory..."
Before he could finish his words, all four boxes on the screen instantly lit up.