Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Walk Before the Storm

"Clack, clack, clack."

A wooden cart is getting pushed by a man and a woman. Another man is lying in the cart, with the sign of waking up on his face.

"Ugh. What the hell." Leo muttered as he found himself falling again and again due to the rocky surface. 

"Ey! The good ol' man is finally awake." The middle-aged man said. It's indistinguishable as to whether his mud-colored beard is natural or that's truly mud. 

"Good morning sweetie. Unfortunately, I don't have hot milk to pour for you on this cold winter night, but water will do." Elizabeth said as she throws a water canteen at the still dazed Leo. 

After they killed the wolves, Leo had an intense fever that lasted for a whole day. Fortunately, Elizabeth met Gero, a woodcutter. And together with his cart holding minimum woods, decided to help the young lady carry Leo to the town.

Now that he's awake, Leo drops off the cart, decreasing the burden on the two. The back of his head is still hurting but as much as he's concerned, there's nothing wrong with his body. He touched his bare chest under his armor, it doesn't hurt anymore and has much likely healed, leaving Leo with a deeper understanding of his circumstances.

'Wounds that take at least a month to heal were healed in a day. What brought these changes? The seal? Am I still human?' With these newer revelations, Leo couldn't help but drink 7 canteens of water and ate 3 days worth of food supply in the process. Leaving both Elizabeth and Gero dumbfounded.

"Holy Lord of Trees! What happened to your friend!? He's like possessed by a devil!" Gero exclaimed with incredulity.

"Ahahaha... Don't bother, he sometimes does that in a fit. You know he has one of that disease..." She then whispered some words to Gero.

"Oh my God! You have a disease that made you wanna eat everything you see everytime you wake up!? Spare me!" Gero's scared voice sounded as feminine as a cat making Elizabeth laugh like there's no tomorrow as tears form from the corner of her eyes.

Leo on the other hand facepalmed at what he heard, these two have the guts to make fun of him.

After that short drama, the mood finally settles in as the newest arrival Leo has the chance to ask questions to the woodcutter.

"Gero the woodcutter, right? Why do you need to go this deep in the forest just to collect wood if there are closer trees to cut near the town?" Leo finally asked the thing bugging him. That's because the closer they got to the town, the more prevalent the feeling of danger in his mind is.

"Oh. It's because the deeper you are in the forest, the higher the quality of the trees. For example, trees in the periphery of the forest take at least 40 swings of my ax to cut, but trees in this part..." Gero took his old ax from the cart and swung it at a nearby tree. Despite the force and technique used it only nicked so little of the surface.

"Even with my years of experience, I'll still take at least 200 swings amounting to 2 hours of work just to cut this tree here. Still, you're pretty lucky to encounter me at this time and day. As this is the only day this month that I've decided to cut trees this deep in the forest." Gero said with a hint of mystery in his voice.

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"Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that's somehow connected with these qualities of woods you've collected. Right?" Leo asked Gero with a smirk. 

"And how do you know that?" Gero asked.

"Well because these aren't your normal firewoods. This kind of branches can only be found at the top of the trees here. They are light and thin, but harder than iron, their surface is rough with some spikes protruding, if not because of my armor then I would have bled to death now. Say, what type of woodcutter takes the branches but not the tree? Unless the branches are more expensive, which for all I know isn't the case, or much more needed in bulk supplies. So?" Leo announced his observation to the two. In response, Gero nodded while Elizabeth was enlightened.

"You're sharp... Well, I might as well tell for it's no secret. Kobolds. They have been a pest in this forest for a long time now, stealing our crops, animals, and women time from time. But we endured for they are too many in numbers, and their visit not that frequent. But that changed a month ago, the kobolds, started acting unrestrained. They attack the village in broad daylight, they attack us in dawn, there's no difference. But this time, instead of kidnapping women and children, they kill us on sight, even I found it strange for they need women to reproduce. One of their victims is my sister, they did indescribable things to her then killed her." Gero stopped here as his face was filled with fury. 

"But the real reason for this is the Oracle. Just a week ago, Delly sent an ultimatum, she said to further the village defense because the Kobolds, numbering tens of thousands, will attack us in month's time. That's why I'm here, the branches will be used as fence for defense." With Gero finishing his story, Leo has much more questions than answers, but he decided to wait, and instead probe to compromise. 

"How about the Duke's army?" Leo asked.

"They said they can't provide much support other than 20 scraping soldiers. I swear that their arms are as thin as these branches. Surely the Duke is enjoying his time in the castle with 20 sluts flicking his d*ck, while we are here preparing for a f*cking kobold invasion! F*ck nobles!" Gero angrily swore with saliva splashing everywhere.

"Ahem! What about the King? I doubt the King won't do anything on the invasion of this scale!" Elizabeth said, clearly offended.

"Well, despite the ongoing war at the east, the King did good, 1 batallion of soldiers are on their way and will arrive in a fortnight," Gero answered.

Leo contemplated his words. It looks like Green Town also ain't safe, but they have no option but to go there, hopefully, to replenish their supply and buy some things to help them on the road. And so they continued pushing the cart on the bumpy forest road.

Green Forest is situated on the southern side of Liberia Kingdom. It's a huge forest spanning around 1.5 million square miles, housing dozens of towns and villages, as well as monsters, ruins, and mysterious places. They say that a dragon died here in which its blood became nutrients for the vegetation, which is why the deeper one goes, the tougher the trees are. One woodcutter who got lost in the forest even talks about how he saw a group of cultists in black robes having a ritual on an altar somewhere in the forest. Another story is also about a beautiful druid who seduces victims and drains their blood after.

Leo and Elizabeth were mesmerized by the tales which the middle-aged man narrates about. No matter when and where you are born, mysterious myths and fantastical tales won't disappoint to entertain. 

"Ey! You're a pretty good storyteller mate! Had you thought of being a bard?" Elizabeth joked around.

"Hah! My mother often tells me that over a course of a whip. But unfortunately no, I once dreamed of being a soldier though, but my father handed me the ax before the sword. Hey! It's also a good thing to cut trees! And to top it off, green woods are expensive." Gero smirked.

The trio chatted on the trail, Gero led both of them to a cave which he and his fellow woodcutter deems as a shortcut, cutting their time spent on the trail for another day. Soon, they will be reaching Green Town.

And soon, Leo will be put into a tough position.

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