Chapter 23: Encountering little Obion Again

The swamp dragon's attack on the village made the damage to the houses understandable.

However, according to Bernice, that creature was a water-dwelling overlord, capable of spitting water but definitely not fire.

Eliminating that possibility left only one explanation: it was man-made.

Since his house had been burned down, Allen resolved to rebuild it and wasn't disheartened.

To uncover the reason, Allen and Bernice ambushed a small path, waiting for half an hour.

Allen then pulled a scrawny boy carrying a basket into the bushes.

"Hey, kid, don't be scared. Do you remember me?" Allen tried to appear kind and approachable.

Despite Allen's perfect acting, anyone would be frightened if suddenly dragged into the bushes, especially a child.

The boy was clearly terrified but, after a moment, cautiously nodded, "You're Captain Allen of the ranger team?"

Allen didn't correct the boy's mistake but instead asked, "Was there a giant snake that attacked the village recently?"

Hearing Allen's question, the boy's face showed a look of terror, as if the horrific scene was still unfolding before his eyes.

"Yes, there was a big snake that attacked us. You weren't here that day, you didn't see it... it was huge, as big as several houses!"

The boy's limited vocabulary couldn't adequately describe the swamp dragon's terror.

But Allen gleaned the events of that day from his words.

A swamp dragon over ten meters long, with hard scales and a massive body about eighty centimeters in diameter, chased some frightened river wolves into the village.

Then it caused havoc, collapsing houses, and even eating some people in its frenzy.

On the day of the attack, Little Obion had led the ranger team to the scene.

That reckless fool tried to attack the swamp dragon with bows and arrows, aiming to kill the beast.

However, the swamp dragon, having caused enough destruction and intending to leave, ignored these ants as it saw them.

Arrows fell on its hard scales as if scratching an itch.

Little Obion was lucky; a single strike from the swamp dragon could have shattered his body.

Perhaps the dragon was full, allowing him to escape unscathed.

"What happened to my house? Do you know?" Allen continued.

The boy's eyes flickered, hesitant and scared.

Allen took out two copper coins, waving them in front of the boy.

"Tell me, and these coins are yours." Allen's tone was like a devil tempting a human into corruption with money.

Two copper coins—more than the boy's mother, eaten by the swamp dragon, could earn in two days.

The boy immediately nodded, eyes fixed on the coins, and said, "It was that bastard. He brought people to burn your house and told us not to tell you."

He quickly grabbed the coins from Allen's hand.

Patting the boy's head, Allen let him go, "Alright, nothing to worry about. You can go home now..."

Before the boy could rejoice, Bernice knocked him out with a swift chop.

Allen looked at Bernice reproachfully, "What are you doing? I know this kid; he's no threat. What's the point of knocking him out?"

Bernice stared at Allen in disbelief, unable to speak.

Just now, Allen had winked at her, signaling her to act.

Allen ignored Bernice's resentful gaze and sighed, "Well, since you're already out, you'll have to bear with it for a while..."

Soon, Allen brought the boy back to the boat.

The blacksmith and others were setting up a temporary shelter, but Allen stopped them upon his return.

With his house gone, there was no need for a temporary shelter. Allen decided to establish a base, like in Bacha.

He handed the boy over to Bernice to watch and had the others continue working while he returned to the village.

This time, Allen appeared openly.

Though he still wore cheap linen clothes, they were new and without holes.

Walking along the main road, the ragged villagers looked at him with envy.

"Brother Allen, where have you been these days? Struck it rich?"

"You never wore such good clothes when you were captain."

"Brother Allen, you..."

"..."

Indeed, people needed clothes and accessories to dress up. Along the way, Allen occasionally took out a piece of white bread to eat, making the impoverished villagers even more envious and changing their address from "brother" to "big brother" and "you" to "sir."

Allen responded loudly to everyone, "Hey, I didn't strike it rich, just went fishing with some brothers and made a little money. I just got a good treasure and plan to present it to our officer."

The officer he referred to was Little Obion, who oversaw this part of the rainforest.

Hearing this, the villagers were even more envious. In their ignorance, they believed that presenting a treasure to a noble would bring rewards, promotions, better food, and a better life.

Allen needed this effect, spreading the news so that he didn't have to seek out Little Obion; instead, Obion would come to him.

The news spread quickly, and Little Obion's lackeys rushed to inform him.

One foolish fellow even tried to drag Allen to see Little Obion directly.

Allen made an excuse, saying he needed to rest at home.

The man, almost in tears, thought, "Your house was burned to ashes by that stingy bastard..."

Seeing Allen's reluctance, he ran to report to Little Obion.

Allen estimated that with Obion's greedy nature, it wouldn't be long before he came to find him.

...

Allen's guess was correct; the obsessive miser wouldn't miss any opportunity.

Soon, the sound of hooves announced Little Obion's arrival with a dozen men, stopping at the ashes of Allen's house.

"Well, you dare to come back! Tell me, what treasure do you plan to present? If I'm not satisfied, I'll whip you to death!"

Little Obion, not one for pleasantries with a lowly commoner, pointed his whip at Allen from atop a large antlered deer, looking down at him.

Allen hid his displeasure, showing a fawning smile as he approached his miserly superior...