On a picturesque plain, in a small village surrounded only by a simple fence:
A young man in tattered clothes was walking quickly with his head down, holding a dagger.
In this small village, all the houses were constructed of wood.
The roofs were simply covered with a layer of withered straw and a few enormous leaves.
Around the houses, busy figures were shuttling back and forth;
And so elderly were sitting in front of their hos, picking unknown vegetables and doing simple chores;
anwhile, children were chasing each other playfully on the makeshift streets;
Laughter and joy filled every corner of the village.
But the pale-faced young man in tattered clothes ford a sharp contrast with the pure smiles around him.
An old lady sitting at the door, stitching and nding, saw the young man and smiled with a face full of wrinkles.
"Brant, weren't you out hunting with the hunting party?"
"Why are you back so soon?"
"Where are the others?"
However, the young man seed not to hear the old lady's inquiries, leaving only a thin back for her to see.
The old woman was greatly surprised:
"What's up with Brant today?"
"Why does he look so troubled?"
Nevertheless, the old woman didn't pay it much mind and continued her work.
The man nad Brant appeared absent-minded, ignoring the villagers' warm greetings around him.
Just then, a sweet-looking girl stood in Brant's way and said:
"Brant, I'm calling you, why are you ignoring ?"
With his head down, deep in thought, Brant suddenly felt soone blocking his path.
His gaze suddenly fell on a pair of worn grass shoes in front of him.
Though patched, they couldn't hide the delicate feet within.
Noticing Brant's gaze, those tender feet involuntarily retreated two steps, and then a soft reprimand ca to his ears:
"Brant, where are you looking?"
At that mont, Brant reacted and looked up at the girl blocking his way.
Though her clothes were sewn from coarse linen, they couldn't conceal her extraordinary beauty and ethereal aura.
Brant looked at her in surprise:
"Belica, why are you here?"
The girl nad Belica pouted angrily:
"Aren't I the one who should be asking you that?"
"Weren't you hunting with Uncle Warren? Why are you back so soon?"
At the ntion of this, Brant seed to recall sothing, his expression changed:
"Belica, I have an urgent matter to report to the Clan Leader."
"I'll explain to you later when I have ti."
With that, Brant bypassed the girl and continued towards the Clan Leader's residence.
It was the largest building in the village, two stories high.
Located in the center of the village.
"You!"
Belica watched Brant's back in surprise and then chased after him without hesitation:
"What happened?"
"Where's Uncle Warren, why did only you co back?"
"Hey, wait for ..."
Brant hurried to the Clan Leader's house and knocked on the door loudly:
"Clan Leader, sothing big happened, hurry out."
Belica, appearing behind Brant, anxiously asked:
"Did sothing happen to Uncle Warren and the others?"
"Creak~"
The door suddenly opened, and an elderly man stepped out:
"Brant?"
The elder looked displeased:
"Do you want to dismantle the newly repaired door?"
This elder was Sigmund, the village's Clan Leader.
Brant quickly apologized:
"No, no, it's not that, Clan Leader, I..."
"Alright, alright!"
Seeing Brant stamring, Sigmund quickly interrupted:
"Tell what's happening."
"What's so urgent?"
Brant then rembered his purpose for coming, urgently said:
"On our way to the Shadow Forest, we encountered a Beastman tribe that had been lying in ambush."
"Our entire team was captured by them."
Upon hearing this, Sigmund and Belica were both shocked:
"What!"
Hearing Brant's words, Sigmund's face turned pale instantly.
Sigmund quickly brought Brant into the house, saying:
"Co in quickly."
He also glanced at Belica:
"You too, co in."
The three rushed into the house, and Sigmund, after ensuring no one else was around, closed the door tightly.
Then Sigmund asked Brant with a steady face:
"Quick, tell us."
"What exactly happened."
Brant could only succinctly explain:
"As we were about to enter the Shadow Forest, Warren and I were quickly overpowered by them."
Belica anxiously asked:
"How did you escape?"
Sigmund stopped Belica, saying:
"Let him speak."
After explaining, Brant had cald down sowhat.
Then he continued in a steady tone:
"They deliberately let go back."
"Their goal is to have tell you, Clan Leader: By noon tomorrow, ten sacks of grain must be taken over to exchange for our n."
"What? Ten sacks."
Sigmund, upon hearing this, was furious:
"Those bastards are trying to kill us!"
Belica turned red with anger and said:
"Why don't they just rob us!"
"Ten sacks of grain is our tribe's food supply for a hundred days."
No matter what, Sigmund, as the Clan Leader, had seen many ups and downs in his life.
His emotions quickly ca under control.
Sigmund turned to Brant and asked:
"What if we don't give or can't produce it?"
Brant painfully closed his eyes, his voice trembling:
"One person will be killed for every length of the sunset."
"Those beasts!"
"Bang!"
Sigmund punched a nearby pillar, causing dust to fall from above, yet the three remained standing as if unaware.
After a while, Brant looked up at Sigmund with hopeful eyes, asking:
"Clan Leader, what should we do now?"
Though Sigmund appeared elderly, his words and actions remained vigorous.
He now showed a fierce expression, clenching his fists with veins bulging.
Several tis, Sigmund's fists clenched and unclenched, again and again.
After repeating this several tis, Sigmund let out a deep sigh:
"Prepare the grain, exchange for our n tomorrow."
Hearing this, Belica and Brant appeared conflicted, their faces full of struggle and reluctance.
Finally, Sigmund powerlessly said:
"Even if we lose the grain, going hungry for a while won't kill us."
"But if sothing happens to Warren and the others, our Dragon Tribe would truly be left to be slaughtered."
At this, Sigmund's eyes were filled with determination:
"We cannot let our great Dragon Race head towards extinction."
"Dragon? Haha~"
Standing nearby, Brant suddenly filled with sarcasm:
"Does such a mighty race capable of soaring the skies really exist in this world..."
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