The flight speed of the Cloud Sub-Dragon is trustworthy, though it seemed to scare some people when passing by a Flying Ship on the way.
The trio and the cat heard gusts of wind in their ears, and before they knew it, they flew past their stop.
Rhode simply asked the Cloud Sub-Dragon to find an uninhabited area to land, and they switched to the River Crab to return.
On the west and north sides of Lutus Village are mountains, and to the east, there is a small river. The water is clear, and many yellow daylilies bloom along the bank, making it very beautiful among the grass.
Lucy and Wendy, while tidying up their wind-blown hair, discussed going for a riverside picnic after completing the mission.
The group entered the village from a small road on the south side.
The sight of the large purple crab startled people near the village entrance, making them take defensive stances.
Lucy hurriedly displayed the pink emblem on the back of her hand: "We are mages from Fairy Tail, here to deal with the poisonous bees and help collect herbs."
Wendy showed the emblem on her left shoulder, while Rhode and Carla, one unwilling to roll up sleeves and the other unwilling to remove clothing to show the back, didn't move.
With Lucy and Wendy's emblems and the Delegation Letter, it was enough to convince the villagers.
"Great, it's a mage!"
"Has someone already taken the task?"
"Please come this way!"
Even though the blonde girl, the blue-haired child, and the small white cat didn't look very powerful, Rhode's Ten Wizard Saints Badge on his chest looked very reliable.
Rhode instructed the two River Crabs to wander around the village surroundings while he entered the village with everyone else.
The group soon arrived at a small clinic, where four people lay on two hospital beds.
All four were on IV drips, eyes closed, lips purple, with obvious swelling visible on their faces and arms.
Those accompanying the patients were likely their family members, each with red eyes.
A middle-aged man was comforting them: "Just wait a bit longer, someone has already taken the commission. As long as we can gather the herbs or buy them from outside, they will recover."
However, the old doctor beside him looked worried; he knew that if the antidote wasn't administered by tomorrow, these people would be in danger.
"Village Chief, the mages from Fairy Tail have arrived!"
"Where are they?"
The families looked over with hopeful eyes.
The middle-aged man was delighted and hurried to greet them.
The villager who led the way stepped aside, and Lucy gave a polite smile to the village chief: "Hello, may I ask…"
However, the village chief bypassed Lucy and warmly shook Rhode's hand: "You're finally here! We entrust the rest to you!"
Lucy's smile froze on her face; why was she, a beautiful young girl, always being ignored?
Rhode said, "Are you Mr. Wasp? No need for pleasantries, let us see the patients."
"Ah yes, the critical patients are all here. There are others with milder symptoms at their homes," the village chief said. "Our doctor mentioned a lack of a specific herb, but every time we try to gather it…"
Wendy's anxious voice came up: "Brother Rhode, they need detoxification immediately."
"Can you neutralize this poison directly?"
"No problem!"
Wendy began casting magic on the spot, and Rhode placed the Crown of Insight on Wendy.
"T-this is…" The village chief and the doctor were a bit flabbergasted.
Carla assured them, "No need to worry, if Wendy says there's no problem, there's no problem."
Seeing the first patient's condition visibly improve, with the swelling gradually subsiding, the family members ignored the fact that the cat could talk.
"Unbelievable, their breathing and heart rate have returned to normal, and the poisoning symptoms are gone." The old doctor was a little excited, "Is this a healing class magic? I've heard such magic is very rare!"
The family member of the patient expressed endless gratitude while others anxiously watched Wendy, eager but hesitant to urge.
However, Wendy required no urging and immediately began treating the next patient.
Rhode asked, "Is your Magic Power holding up?"
Wendy nodded, "Yes!"
Carla said, "Don't underestimate Wendy, she's been diligently practicing lately."
Lucy asked curiously, "Mr. Rhode, didn't you also…"
"I don't have magic specifically for detoxification." Rhode shook his head. At most, he could boost his own poison resistance, and even using Alchemy Dragon Soul, he couldn't extract poison like Mira.
So detoxification relies on Wendy.
Under the expectant eyes of the crowd, Wendy treated four people in succession, only then gently wiping the fine sweat from her forehead.
During this process, Carla had not once said 'don't push yourself,' showing that Wendy's progress had truly been significant.
The old doctor re-evaluated the four patients and said in disbelief: "Truly amazing magic. Once this glucose drip is finished, they should be able to wake up."
The families were overjoyed, surrounding Wendy with endless thanks and praises.
"Um, there are more patients, right?" Wendy reminded, "Where do their families live?"
"I'll have someone call them over, you can rest here!" The village chief was about to leave.
Rhode stopped him: "How many people are there?"
The village chief thought for a moment, and the old doctor said directly, "There are 19 in the village, and two mages were taken by their companions."
Rhode nodded and told the village chief: "Have the villagers come in batches, each group of 5, with intervals… about an hour."
Wendy, eager to heal the people quickly, said hurriedly: "It doesn't need to be that long, ten minutes is…"
Carla advised, "That would be too much, follow his plan."
Rhode said, "Then every half hour per batch."
No one opposed, and the village chief left in a hurry.
During the wait, Rhode asked the old doctor about the details of the poisonous bees.
"Very frightening." The old doctor spoke his mind right away.
Realizing this wasn't very professional, he reorganized his words: "They suddenly appeared near the village, black and yellow striped, resembling wasps but at least the size of a fist."
"The two mages from Illusory Butterfly Wings encountered wasps a foot long, and one of them was stung and immobilized immediately, almost unable to escape back."
Rhode looked at Lucy, indicating for her to continue asking questions.
Lucy thought for a moment and asked, "What about their numbers?"
The old doctor said, "It's unknown how many there are; some people encountered only one or two, while others met a large swarm. It's unclear where the hive is."
Lucy asked again, "Where did people encounter the bees?"
"Some met them at the riverside while fetching water, others while hunting and gathering herbs in the northern mountains."
Of course, more were stung during the village's first organized effort to eliminate the bees, though the locations were similar.
Lucy calculated the distances and puzzled, "Is there no common factor?"
The old doctor pondered for a while and said:
"Daylilies, everyone saw daylilies, the bees seem to be attracted to those yellow flowers.
"Yes, these flowers have heat-clearing and detoxifying effects and can be used in medicine."