"Is this the patient?"
Fang Zheng carefully observed the villagers lying on the sickbeds, moaning continuously, and couldn’t help but ask. Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, the nurse beside him nodded.
"Yes, Hero. Recently, many people here have fallen ill. At first, it was just headaches and fevers, and we thought it was a cold, so we gave them dicine. But the dicine didn’t work very well, and the villagers’ conditions worsened with each passing day..."
At this point, the nurse paused and looked up at the top of Fang Zheng’s head with a puzzled expression.
"Hero, what’s that?"
Hearing the nurse’s inquiry, Fang Zheng’s face imdiately turned black, while Raphtalia and Liphana behind him giggled, even Akemi Homura stood by, smiling but silent.
"Never mind that, continue."
Fang Zheng certainly knew what the nurse was referring to. In fact, along the way, almost everyone who greeted him would ask the sa question.
And the pri culprit was the fat bird currently perched on his head!
At first, Fang Zheng didn’t really pay much attention. After all, when it hatched, the Filo Bird looked like just a larger chick, so he didn’t mind too much.
But Fang Zheng didn’t expect this little guy to grow so fast. They had only taken two days to travel from the King’s City to the commission site, and the fat bird had already grown half as large as his head. Now sitting on his head, it looked like one of those tall hats Siberians wear.
Not to ntion this fat bird’s feathers were pink...
Fang Zheng tried several tis to get it off, but the fat bird was determined to sit on his head and refused to leave. So, Fang Zheng reluctantly let it stay for a few more days.
At its current growth rate, in a couple more days, he probably wouldn’t be able to bear it anymore.
"Ah... okay."
The nurse quickly withdrew her gaze and continued her report.
"Not only that, but after that, even the livestock in the village fell ill, died, and mutated into creatures. It was only then that we realized there was a problem with this plague..."
"So you know the source of the problem, right?"
Fang Zheng could tell there was definitely a secret when he saw the nurse hesitating. At this point, the village chief also stepped forward and spoke to Fang Zheng with resignation.
"It’s like this... Hero..."
According to the village chief, a Giant Dragon was inhabiting the mountains near their village. Not long ago, the Sword Hero and his companions suddenly appeared and defeated the Dragon. Afterward, the Sword Hero and his companions left, leaving the Dragon’s corpse behind.
As a result, the Dragon’s corpse rotted and ford miasma, turning the forest where the Dragon resided into a near-death zone.
So...
"You haven’t dealt with it yourselves?"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, the nurse quickly answered.
"Because after that, many adventurers ca, so we..."
"Ahem."
However, the nurse’s words were interrupted by the village chief’s cough, and hearing this, Fang Zheng chuckled.
"You figured there was profit to be made, so you thought you’d leave it for a few more days, right?"
"... Master, what do you an by that?"
Hearing this, Raphtalia couldn’t help but ask curiously, to which Fang Zheng shrugged.
"It’s simple. The Sword Hero defeated the Giant Dragon and then left, which is normal. After all, he’s not a local. But how could these villagers not think of it? At the very least, they could’ve burned the corpse. But as you heard, many adventurers ca afterward to collect materials from the Dragon’s corpse, right? After all, Dragon Blood, Dragonhide, and Dragonbone are valuable. Even if they don’t use them themselves, they can sell them."
"But what does that have to do with the villagers?"
Hearing this, Liphana also questioned, puzzled. Even if adventurers ca to collect materials from the Dragon’s corpse, what does it have to do with the villagers?
"Heh, look around. There’s only this one village here. Wouldn’t the adventurers stay here, eat here, buy supplies?"
Fang Zheng cheerfully pointed out the window, while at this point, the village chief’s face had beco increasingly unsightly.
"So, they planned to make the Dragon’s corpse a money tree, only... heh."
At this point, Fang Zheng let out another chuckle but didn’t continue. The village chief lowered his head, not knowing what to say.
Hearing this, Raphtalia and Liphana exchanged glances. They had initially thought the people here were quite pitiful, but after hearing Fang Zheng’s explanation, they couldn’t help but feel that the villagers were sowhat responsible for their downfall.
"W-We didn’t know this would happen!"
Upon hearing this, the nurse who was responsible for taking care of the patients was unwilling and quickly retorted.
"Who knew those adventurers were so stupid, unable to properly handle the dragon’s corpse, and end up implicating us! It’s not our fault!"
"I’m not interested in whose fault it is. I’m just saying it casually."
Fang Zheng was indeed not interested in this, but he just pointed it out for Raphtalia and Liphana to see. Akemi Homura was experienced in life, but Raphtalia and Liphana had the minds of children. If not clearly pointed out, they could easily be deceived.
This is also the wisdom of ordinary citizens. In such situations, they would only push the responsibility onto others, presenting themselves as "innocent common folk" to gain others’ sympathy.
But whether they are truly innocent, it’s hard to say.
After this, Fang Zheng didn’t say anything. Instead, he casually cast Holy Light and cured all those suffering from the plague. However, this was only a temporary fix. If the dragon’s corpse couldn’t be dealt with, the plague would break out again sooner or later.
Of course, Fang Zheng wouldn’t just leave them be. Although they could be criticized, these people were indeed blinded by greed, but they weren’t so guilty as to deserve death. After all, they just wanted to gain a little benefit from the dragon’s properties. If these people intentionally wanted the Hero to exterminate the Giant Dragon out of greed, then Fang Zheng would say they deserved it. But since they just wanted to profit from the dragon’s corpse a bit, they shouldn’t be treated so harshly.
However, for Raphtalia and Liphana, it’s a different story.
"I really didn’t expect these people to deceive us..."
While entering the forest, Raphtalia wore a conflicted expression. Her sense of justice was already strong, and having been a slave before, she leaned more toward the common people. She originally sympathized with them after hearing about the disaster, but she didn’t expect these people to turn around and deceive her, still putting on a "we’re not entirely wrong" façade. This left Raphtalia feeling sowhat betrayed and angry.
"This is normal. So in the future, when you hear what others say, you must think more and not let yourself be sold."
Fang Zheng walked ahead, casually responding while looking at the forest shrouded in poisonous mist. At this mont, the forest was filled with poisonous mist, bodies everywhere, mostly animals with a few adventurers who failed to escape. Even the trees here had completely withered.
But Fang Zheng and the others didn’t need to worry. Before entering the forest, Fang Zheng had already applied poison immunity to everyone, so no matter how strong the poisonous mist was, it couldn’t affect the four of them.
"When people speak, they subconsciously say what’s beneficial to them and hide what’s not beneficial. So you have to listen to others, but also learn to think and judge for yourself. Otherwise, it’ll be easy to be led astray."
"I only trust Master. As long as it’s what Master tells to do, I will never doubt it!"
Just as Fang Zheng finished speaking, Liphana hurriedly jumped out to show her loyalty. Fang Zheng reached out and patted her little head.
"I might lie to you too."
"It’s okay, because I’ve already decided!"
Decided what?
Listening to Liphana’s enigmatic answer, Fang Zheng was stunned for a mont. But before he could ask further, they had arrived in front of the Dragon’s corpse situated halfway up the mountain.
"What a tragic sight..."
Looking at the corpse before him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but sigh. The Giant Dragon’s corpse looked sowhat like a whale stranded on the beach and devoured by wild beasts. Most of its flesh had been hollowed out, with exposed bones everywhere. It’s imaginable what kind of treatnt this Giant Dragon received from adventurers after its death.
"What should we do now?"
"Burn it."
Facing Raphtalia’s inquiry, Fang Zheng shrugged and then reached out, picking up the Shield Axe.
However, just as Fang Zheng was about to take action, perhaps sensing a threat, the dragon’s corpse suddenly trembled. Accompanied by a roar, the Giant Dragon stood up!
"What’s happening? Did it resurrect?"
Seeing this, Raphtalia was shocked, while Akemi Homura imdiately nocked an arrow, preparing for battle. Although she could directly use TNT to blast it to the heavens, just like Fang Zheng wouldn’t gain experience if he didn’t use the Shield Axe, if Akemi Homura didn’t use the Sacred Bow, she wouldn’t gain experience either.
"No, it’s probably beco an Undead Creature..."
Fang Zheng raised the Shield Axe, looking at the Undead Zombie Dragon in front of him, and couldn’t help but sigh.
"I can understand, after all, if I were inexplicably attacked by a group of people, and then flayed and skinned by another, I wouldn’t rest in peace either..."
"But Master, you’re not a Dragon..."
"Haha, how do you know I’m not? Besides, aren’t you the sa?"
With Fang Zheng’s retort, Raphtalia and Liphana couldn’t say anything. Their experiences were similar to the Dragon’s; living happily in their villages, only for waves to destroy them. When they were trying to rebuild, human soldiers appeared, plundering the village’s wealth and selling them to slave traders...
From this perspective, they truly empathized with the Dragon’s fate.
"So, Master, should we let it go?"
While nocking her arrow, Akemi Homura blinked at Fang Zheng, who shrugged and raised the Shield Axe.
"No way, burn it."
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