Chapter 145 It’s Firing Up (7)
It had been a good day. I had expected an ambush while I was going to the neighboring village, and I had planned my trip thinking of thieves and the princess as my possible enemies. I gave extra tips to have the things I bought sent so there would not be much trouble as I quickly bought everything I needed. I also managed to have my revenge against the egg seller who had sold my daughter a dragon egg.
I could not tell the truth and just told him that a bug monster had come out and wounded my daughter. I hit him with the metal bat and refused his offer of giving me thirty eggs. I had a sudden image of thirty dragons coming out from them. While the Metal Bat did not believe me, the egg seller said that he had picked up the dragon egg in a mountain.
He would be telling the truth as he was being beaten by the Metal Bat, and that meant there was a possibility of another dragon egg coming my way!
I had played with the egg seller for thirty minutes and then took care of my luggage to go back to my village. I had not been ambushed once and thought that this would be another peaceful year as I approached the village.
“Master, isn’t that smoke?”
I had placed the Metal Bat next to me in case of a sudden attack, and she now pointed to where the village was. I saw black smoke and wondered if someone was burning a field. People burned fields after harvests often to remove tied sprouts, bugs, and their eggs.
“However, people do that after the harvest with magicians.”
“That’s true.”
I did not know whether this method really worked and just watched others do so. I had seen magicians our landowner had sent to stop the fire from spreading. As this kingdom was cold, people needed a lot of firewood. Landowners sent their magicians in order to prevent the possibility of losing this precious resource. That was the law here, and the punishment for not following these regulations was extremely severe. Therefore, field burnings were planned a week ahead, and I would have known if our village would do it.
“That means that a fire broke in one of the houses, right?”
“Yes, but you live there, and that means…”
“Maybe our house is the one burning?”
“I think so too, Master! That’s the most probable house!”
I whipped the horse that was pulling my carriage and started to go faster. I saw the direction of the smoke and noticed that it was from our house. One of the few soldiers in this village looked at me with surprise.
“Merln! There was a big explosion from your place!”
“What happened to others?”
“They could not approach your house and actually have all evacuated.”
“It’s all right. Steon would have taken care of any big problems.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
The soldier looked sincerely sorry as I nodded.
“I will be getting on.”
“I cannot stop you, but how about leaving your child with me?”
The soldier was being kind, but he was about to take my most potent weapon.
“I’m going to meet my sister, so it’s all right!”
“It’s dangerous, kid.”
She could go against the evil god, but I could not say that.
“It’s all right!”
“Merln.”
“It really is.”
After a few more tries, the soldier wished me luck, and I rushed with the carriage right after he opened the gate. The streets were empty, which meant I could run faster. The horse whinnied as I whipped it.
“Wasn’t there a hill over there, Master?”
“There had been quite a big one.”
I had to shake my head as I stared where the Metal Bat had pointed and thought I should just grab Alice and run. The hill had completely vanished, which was an ill omen.
“Master, your fields!”
“……”
I could not say anything after I turned around due to the shock at seeing the golden wheat fields burning.
“My daughter and I worked so hard…”
We toiled in heat and cold, but everything had disappeared. I also saw that there was nothing left of the potato field and remembered that Alice had hoped to eat them during the winter.
“The corn…”
The long cornfields were also burning, and I had been hoping I could make popcorn this year. I almost cried.
“Master, are you crying?”
“What did I do wrong?”
“Too much.”
“That’s because this world’s a mess! I just wanted to farm in peace!”
I had only joined that evil syndicate because my village had burnt down due to that idiot landlord. I would have lived a peaceful life as a farmer if that had not happened.
“I cannot imagine that…”
“No, I would have been a happy farmer if no one had bothered me!”
“You know that you’re not persuasive, right?”
How did the Metal Bast see me? I remained silent.
“Do you really want me to say it out loud?”
“I did nothing wrong!”
“You know that if you keep this up, the horse will jump at the flames.”
“That means I will share the same fate as my precious produce!”
“You have gone crazy!”
I could see someone sitting on the ground far away as I hurried the carriage.
“Someone’s over there.”
“It’s an enemy.”
“If it’s not?”
“I will have to apologize!”
“You have no plan!”
However, no sane person would rest in someone’s burning house, and that had to be an enemy.
“Let’s ambush!”
I had whipped the horse to the extent that it started to run out of control, and I threw myself with the Metal Bat from the carriage.
“Damn!”
The carriage and the strange human shape clashed, and the carriage splintered with a flash of light.
-Poor horse!
-Don’t forget that we may have shared the same fate!
“Damn, humans still bothering me!”
I heard a voice filled with anger next to me.
“What’s a doghead talking about?”
“What?!”
The dogheaded creature turned around as its eyes had been blocked by the carriage, but I had already started to beat it up.
“Horns? A demon! Why are you burning my house?”
“What? I…”
“You did? I know!”
“Wait…!”
“Why should I?”
I saw that it was a demon from the horns, which meant that they were after my daughter.
“Why did you come here? Speak!”
“Give me a chance to, you human…!”
“How can I when I know that you will attack me?”
“Then, don’t make me…!”
I started to beat the demon up faster with the Metal Bat at its weakening voice.
“Let’s see how long you last!”
“I didn’t…!”
I attacked its mouth, and my anger was building like the still burning produce! I did not stop beating the demon as it fell down on the ground.
“I was going to stay in this village after coming here four years ago…did you have to do this?”
I had no words to express my anger more and started to beat it up again.
“No excuses. Just say what you know, and I’ll send you in peace.”
I hit it between its legs, which gave a new response.
“You devil, you’ll be cursed by one and die…!”
“I found it ineffective.”
I had received some in the palace without any harm.
“You evil god’s seed!”
“I heard that once too often. Anything new?”
Those beaten by the Metal Bat all gave the same response at the end.
“Please, kill me.”
“I will, so just tell me what you know! Where’s my daughter, what happened to the old man, and what are your comrades’ weaknesses?”
The Metal Bat sat on the demon with a smile to beat him up. I took out some farming equipment and other necessary items to start operations next to its head.
I stabbed it with a hoe, and the important thing was that the Metal Bat’s attacks would inflict more pain to heal the wounds.
“I will say all!”
“Do!”
“Stop hitting me, then!”
“Nonsense.”
It took me ten minutes for me to know everything the demon knew.