Chapter 4 The Real Protagonist, Ulyan

As soon as Leo leaned into the tent, he was forced out by the nauseating stench inside.

The strong smell of hair oil, foot odor, mold, and decay almost suffocated Leo.

This is even worse than a dog's kennel!

What a pigsty!

Leo's face was distorted by the stench. Even with the tolerance of the original owner, the stench on his body was approaching his limit. He never expected the living place to be so terrifying.

Leo threw out all the stinking furs in the tent and rummaged through them, picking out two snow bear skins, one large and one small. These two furs were the only ones that were relatively intact.

Leo threw the smaller snow bear skin to Little Mouse and waved, "Come with me!"

Seeing that he didn't move, Leo reached out and pinched the back of his neck, easily lifting him up, and carried him like this to the riverbank.

It was noon at this time, and the sun was shining, adding a bit of warmth to this chilly winter day.

Leo found a sheltered spot behind a huge rock. He threw the snow bear skin into the water and stomped on it a few times. Immediately, he saw sewage gushing out of it as if vying with each other, and a layer of colorful oil slicks floated on the water surface. He couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

Untying the splint on his left hand, he then struggled to take off his clothes. Leo glanced at Little Mouse who was standing beside him in a daze and said, "Come and help!"

Little Mouse walked forward woodenly and helped Leo take off his clothes and trousers.

Standing naked in the river and shivering, Leo picked up a rag, scooped up some water, and wiped it on his thighs a few times.

Watching the blackened sewage on his body constantly spreading in the water and his blackened skin color obviously fading, Leo felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

"When was the last time I took a bath?"

Well, there was simply no such memory fragment in the original owner's memory.

With limited mobility, Leo sat on a rock in the water, threw the rag to Little Mouse, and promised, "Come and scrub grandpa's back. If you do a good job, I'll reward you with a black bread."

When Little Mouse heard the words "black bread", his eyes brightened up a lot. He jumped directly into the water, picked up the rag, and scrubbed Leo's back with great effort.

His trousers got soaked in the water, and the thick layer of dry and hard mud on them was dissolved by the water and fell off as mud.

From the original owner Leo's childhood life experience, it was known that this thick layer of mud was Little Mouse's warming device. After all, that thin layer of clothes couldn't block the cold wind at all.

Maybe after taking a bath, Little Mouse would roll in a mud puddle again while the sun was shining.

After scrubbing for a few minutes, Little Mouse was out of breath and his hands and feet felt weak.

Leo looked at his reflection in the water, with golden hair, a well-defined face, and well-proportioned muscles. He had the standard build of a barbarian from the Northern Region.

Although he was only seventeen, he could already be called a strong and sturdy man.

Although the original owner grew up wild, fortunately, he was tough enough and "hardworking" enough.

Whenever there was something delicious at someone's place, he'd show up as soon as he smelled it. Not a single piece of smoked meat could be hidden until spring.

The forest outside the village was full of traps he dug, and the mice and rabbits in the vicinity were on the verge of extinction.

He ate until the food chain broke, and even large beasts had to move and migrate.

When it came to the amount of meat eaten, no one in the village would dare to claim the first place if he said he was second.

Looking at naked Little Mouse, who was dripping black mud into the water, Leo said in disgust, "You take a bath too. You're all black and stinky. While the sun is strong, wash your clothes too."

Little Mouse stood there stupidly and didn't move.

"A real man, what's there to be afraid of cold? Just jump into the water and you'll be warm!"

"..."

"Take off your clothes!" Leo threatened impatiently. "Otherwise, no bread for you!"

Only then did Little Mouse slowly take off the tattered clothes and trousers whose original color was no longer distinguishable. Inside was a yellowed silk nightgown.

After taking off the nightgown, the two stood naked facing each other. The strong muscles and the bony thinness formed a sharp contrast.

Leo bent his arm and showed off his biceps, saying proudly, "I tell you, I can take on a hundred of you..."

As he was talking, he froze. Where the hell did you go?

He quickly picked up the small snow bear pelt on the shore, wrapped Little Mouse in it, and snapped, "Where the hell did you go?"

Then he realized how silly it was to ask such a question.

Little Mouse still looked dull. Only after Leo carried her ashore did she ask feebly in a low voice, "Will you still give me the bread?"

...

Carrying Little Mouse under one arm, Leo returned to the camp. He found the busy Olivia, scratched his head, and asked innocently, "Can you boil me a pot of hot water?"

"What do you want it for?" Olivia asked curiously, moving closer to Leo. She sniffed with her little nose and nodded in satisfaction. "You've already finished washing, haven't you?"

"This little girl hasn't washed yet. I'm afraid she'll freeze to death if she washes with cold water."

"Humph, you feed her, house her, and even give her a hot bath. You're really looking after her well!" Olivia snorted softly, turned her head away, but still pulled Little Mouse towards a tent on one side.

Little Mouse obviously knew Olivia. When being led by her, she quickly snuggled up to show her friendliness, but Olivia casually let go of her hand and kept a distance.

Little Mouse, who was being ignored, didn't seem to care at all and obediently followed into the tent.

Leo didn't feel it was appropriate to follow her in, so he could only duck into Uncle Ulyan's tent on the other side.

As the leader of the convoy, Ulyan had the biggest tent in the whole convoy.

There was even a partition in the tent. Besides the inner sleeping area, there was a round table in the outer area. A map was nailed to the table with a dagger, and a group of people were gathered around it.

Ulyan was making arrangements, and several main leaders of the convoy were listening obediently.

Those who were called by name stood up and replied yes. Throughout the whole process, no one raised the slightest question, creating an atmosphere somewhat like a military council meeting.

Ulyan, a retired imperial soldier who had returned home, within a year, with his knowledge and judgment far exceeding that of ordinary villagers, successfully won everyone's hearts and became the one who had the final say in the village.

Even from the perspective of a time traveler, Ulyan's series of actions were really admirable. It made people wonder if he was the real protagonist.

Shortly after returning to the village, Ulyan, after figuring out the current situation and circumstances of the village, immediately took out all his savings to purchase food, recruit militiamen, and forge weapons. In a short period of time, he gathered a militia of about fifty people.

After a few months of getting them in shape and training, he led them to start clearing and expelling the nearby beast lairs and alien tribes, expanding the village's living space.

And he successfully persuaded a small merchant convoy to change their route. They took a one-day detour to pass by his village, and the furs, animal teeth, and herbal medicines stockpiled in the village were sold.

Unfortunately, the small village, which had only enjoyed a few good days and was showing signs of prosperity, immediately faced the invasion of a scouting team from the Beast Race.

After a period of resistance, many neighboring villages had been reduced to ruins. Ulyan knew that holding on any longer was pointless.

Then, he resolutely rallied the refugees and expanded the militia. Meanwhile, relying on the connections he had made during his ten - year military service, he managed to get an exploration permit with great difficulty.

After that, he put in a great deal of effort to eliminate a wolf den and successfully hunted a herd of bison, turning all of them into dried rations and warm tents.

Finally, he burned down the village and led everyone on a migration.

Before burning down the village, he had sent people to the town several times to seek help from the knight lord to whom their village was subject. As expected, he got no response.

When the refugee convoy, with the tale of "their homeland destroyed by orcs", showed up outside the town, the knight lord, looking utterly disgusted, blocked them outside the town and dumped a cart of bran, leaving them to fend for themselves.

The "hopeless" refugees could only keep migrating southward, towards the beautiful new homeland described by Ulyan.