Chapter 40: Awakening from the Dream

The crescent moon, curved like a hook, gradually rose high into the sky. A layer of transparent gray clouds faintly veiled the moonlight, creating a mist-like effect over the fields. After the clouds drifted away, the fields were bathed in a clear light, washing over the gentle autumn night like water.

The valley wind carried a strong chill, driving the white mist down the mountainside. The shadows of the peaks quickly enveloped the village, becoming denser and merging with the night. Soon, however, the moonlight turned them a silvery gray.

After being expelled from Sheep Horn by the angry old village chief, the adventurer team "The Last Defender of the Way" chose to camp in the wilderness outside the village.

They set up makeshift tents and a stove, lighting a fire to cook a meal.

The warm flames licked the blackened soup pot, where chunks of lamb, sliced potatoes, and turnips simmered, bubbling up with a soft "gurgle". Barrett chopped some green onion and sprinkled it into the pot, enhancing the tantalizing aroma that reached the hungry campers nearby.

A wooden spoon scooped up a bit of the boiling soup, and after blowing on it gently, Stella took a small sip. The soup was rich, tender, and delicious. Stella had to admit that Barrett, a mithril-level adventurer in his thirties, not only excelled in combat and had more adventure experience than she did but was also a better cook.

On the other side, EeDeChi grabbed a black pottery bowl, snatched the wooden spoon from Stella, and began ladling the boiling lamb soup and meat chunks into the bowl.

She then bit off a large piece of oatmeal bread, took a big gulp of the scalding hot soup, and started chewing vigorously, her cheeks bulging as she exclaimed, "Delicious! Delicious!"

Sean and Stella, standing around the campfire, were both stunned. Barrett, the cook of the lamb soup, stood frozen with a bundle of green onions in his hand.

The fragrant lamb soup had just finished cooking, and its temperature was probably close to boiling water. The plan was to reduce the fire and wait until the soup was cool enough to eat slowly. Anyone else eating like EeDeChi would have had a mouth full of blisters by now.

Barrett cautiously glanced at EeDeChi gulping down the boiling soup and, seeing she was unharmed, heaved a sigh of relief. He waved a hand at Stella, who was about to cast a healing spell, saying, "Don't worry, it seems the captain's flame resistance is as high as a lava monster's."

Sean used a piece of pine wood to poke the dancing flames smaller, picked up four pottery bowls, and distributed them to Stella, Barrett, and the pair of twins who Barrett considered "dead weight."

Each of the five took a bowl of the meat soup, scooping up chunks of meat and potato slices, and paired it with thick slices of bread smeared with butter, eating slowly and savoring the meal.

The soup pot was empty. Stella grilled eight skewers of beef slices over the campfire, brushing them with a dark marinade and sprinkling them with spices. The group feasted heartily and finally felt full.

After cleaning up the dishes and cooking utensils, everyone sat around the warm campfire. Sean and Barrett chatted and bragged, while Stella, with her arms around the well-behaved twin sisters, listened quietly to their stories, occasionally chiming in.

The three talked about everything from the magical power of adult black dragons to the legends of the Eight Greed Kings from ancient times. Eventually, the conversation drifted back to Sheep Horn, located near their campsite.

"Are all the people in the Re-Estize Kingdom this unfriendly? Or did they just pick up on our Baharuth Empire accent?" Sean wondered aloud, looking at the distant lights of the village across the hills.

"I think that shepherd girl was very kind," Stella said, poking the glowing embers in the fire with a stick. "It was just the village chief who hated us."

Sean nodded. "Yeah, there are good and bad people everywhere. I didn't expect the village chief to go to the market to sell things; otherwise, the uncle wouldn't have encountered him."

Barrett didn't like being called 'uncle' by Sean. At 35, I was only 12 years older than Sean and still young!

Of course, he liked it even less when EeDeChi, who was younger than Sean, called him 'young man' or 'kid.' Compared to that, being called 'uncle' was something he could barely accept.

The 'uncle' added a pine log to the campfire and said, "The problem isn't the village chief's attitude towards us; it's that there are too few young men in Sheep Horn. They can't even organize a militia with any fighting power. If we wanted to kill and rob, those farm women and old men wouldn't be able to stop us. Their high level of vigilance comes from their fear of inviting wolves into the house."

"I see. You're quite experienced. But where did all their young men go..."

EeDeChi didn't join their chat. She sat cross-legged, flipping through a book thicker than the Imperial Annals, titled "The Mystery of Magic."

This was a magical book she had obtained from Peyton Manor, written by a group of self-proclaimed high-tier human wizards. It documented many 4th and 5th Tier spells, the origins of magic, and the exploration of even higher-tier magic.

EeDeChi had once recommended this book to Stella, hoping she would learn from it. But the cleric girl, who barely mastered 2nd Tier spells, couldn't understand the magical incantations in the book at all, so she gave up.

A heavy drowsiness gradually overtook them, and the four prepared for sleep. Sean extinguished the campfire, and Stella cast a simple protective spell around their campsite.

Since they were camping near the village, they decided not to set a night watch. Each of them crawled into their tents. The chilly autumn night air penetrated the thin linen tents, and they wrapped themselves tightly in their blankets, drifting into a deep sleep.

The Milky Way stretched across the night sky, with the crescent moon hanging high. Unknown nocturnal insects chirped softly.

Barrett slowly fell into a dream...

The dream was a hazy pink, with a girl in a white dress standing amidst black thorns.

Her burgundy hair fell casually over her shoulders, with bangs just brushing her eyelids. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her watery eyes seemed to speak. Her small nose was perfectly proportioned, and her pink face and moist lips made one want to take a bite.

"Raye..." Barrett murmured in his sleep. In the dream, he instinctively walked towards the girl but was blocked by the dark thorns.

"Damn it..." Barrett reached for his waist to draw his sword to cut through the thorns, but his hand grasped nothing. However, the leaves of the thorny bushes began to wither, and the thorny branches turned into dead twigs, falling to the ground.

Barrett pushed aside the thorns and walked towards the girl. But at the same time, her face changed. Her slightly pointed chin became rounder, turning into a lovely oval face.

A pair of narrow-rimmed glasses rested on her fair nose, her burgundy hair turning jet black, styled into a bun atop her head. Her white dress darkened, transforming into a maid outfit. Her large, expressive eyes seemed to ripple with water.

She smiled gently at Barrett, her elegant and intellectual beauty captivating him.

It was the iron fist maid he had fought at Peyton Manor. Barrett swallowed hard. But this time, the maid's hands were free of the dangerous wolf tooth gloves, showing only her delicate hands under the lace-trimmed cuffs.

She lightly adjusted her glasses with one hand, elegantly lifted her maid skirt, and walked through the thorns towards Barrett.

Barrett felt his heart pounding loudly, like the sound of horse hooves on the ground.

Thump, thump, growing louder and louder, thump, thump, thump...

Wait! This wasn't the sound of his heart! Barrett's eyes snapped open, waking from the dream, his sleepiness gone.

He rolled over, grabbed the sword from under his oak pillow, and cautiously peeked out of the tent.

In the direction of Sheep Horn, there were flickers of firelight, the sounds of horses neighing, running, shouting, and crying. All kinds of noises shattered the night's silence.

Barrett woke the other three one by one. The four of them grabbed their weapons and ensured the twin sisters were safely tucked in.

EeDeChi let out a long yawn. They left the campsite, blending into the inky darkness, and quietly approached the village with flickering firelights.