Artie alongside Terra immediately ran towards the village.
Her heart was pounding in her chest with each step, and the closer they got, the sicker she felt.
’How did this happen?’
Eliron had been working in that part of the forest for five days and throughout, there had not been a single monster attack.
Why did it have to be now?
The thought of him losing his life when there was so much he could have accomplished did not settle well with her.
’Eliron, please be alive—’
When they arrived at the village square, it was packed to the brim with dozens of elves who had gotten the news.
But when they saw Artie, they all respectfully gave way, some bowing as she walked by.
Drakili was also behind her and the elves parted as well, although it was not out of respect but rather born out of fear.
There was a large carriage in the center of the elves she had never seen, with a dark tarp covering its back.
Eliron was seated on the cart, his body tilting forward slightly while Yennefer was beside him, unconscious.
Artie’s eyes widened when she saw the blood.
He was soaked from head to toe, his face, arms and even the seat covered in the crimson liquid.
She had many questions. What happened? How was there a cart? How did he escape?
But right now, all she wanted to do was know if he was alive.
She ran over to him, much to the surprise of everyone present, and held his hand. "Eliron, Eliron??"
Artie could tell that he was still breathing, but his breaths were shallow and his body seemed very weak.
Drakili’s smile broadened as he watched them. "Don’t bother, Lady Artie, can’t you see his injuries? He can never survive this."
He pulled out a dagger from his waist. "The best we can do is end the young lord’s suffering, don’t you agree?"
Artie glanced at him, her gaze sharp. There were no words needed to pass her message.
’Touch him, and I’ll skin you alive.’
The crowd began to whisper.
— Why would the chief say such a thing?
— What do you mean? Aren’t you seeing his wounds? He must be in severe pain if not dead already.
Some of the villagers were already in tears. Eliron was the only prodigy they had in years, and now they had lost him to such an unfortunate incident.
"My lord!!!" Ash tore through the crowd, his eyes wide and searching.
When he saw Eliron’s state, he fell to his knees and screamed at the top of his voice.
"AHHHHHHH!" He tore his shirt, tears rolling down his eyes.
He had been busy following Eliron’s orders so he was not with him during the attack.
Just like that, another lord he was meant to take care of had met such a tragic fate.
He screamed once again, when—
"Shut up!" Yennefer stood up and glared at Ash. "I almost got eaten by large cats and I can’t even sleep properly? What the hell are you doing..."
Her voice trailed off when she saw the crowd that had gathered.
"Heh?"
Artie grabbed her shoulders, relief flooding her voice. "Lady Yennefer, please heal Eliron, I beg of you, he is dying."
Yennefer blinked. "What?" Then she glanced at Eliron.
To everyone’s surprise, she raised her hand...
And smacked his head so hard that it resounded over the entire village.
"What—the—fuck?!" Eliron sprang to his feet, his eyes wide. "What did you do that for?"
Yennefer frowned. "How can you fall asleep while riding? Were you trying to get us lost??"
Eliron grabbed her cheeks and pulled them so hard that he left his fingerprints on them. "Say that after fighting five monsters, you lazy oaf!"
The whole crowd stared at them with wide eyes, completely stunned by what was going on.
Then Eliron noticed them and froze. "And what is going on here?"
Artie stared at him for some time, then suddenly began to laugh, folding her arm across her abdomen as she did.
’What did I expect?’ She chuckled to herself.
"The young lord is alive!!!!" Ash screamed and the elves cheered loudly. He rushed up the carriage and pulled Eliron into a bear hug, his tears staining his clothes.
This only made Eliron even more confused. "Artie, what happened?"
She smiled. "Well, we thought you were about to die..."
Eliron’s eyes narrowed. "What?"
Artie then told him how he had come here unconscious and how everyone thought he was dead because of the terrible state he had been in.
They had no idea that he was only that exhausted because he had used his energy and mana to build the carriage.
Yet, there was still one question on everyone’s mind.
"But why are you covered in blood? I’m guessing it’s not yours?" Artie asked.
Eliron stared at his body. "Oh, this?" Then he grabbed the tarp at the back of the carriage and pulled it off.
The elves grew silent.
Stacked on the back of the carriage atop each other were a number of corpses, monsters no elf would dream of encountering alone.
Whispers began to spread.
"Isn’t that a pulse jaguar?" came a low voice from the crowd.
"How does the lord have so many jaguars with him? How does he even have a cart?"
"Maybe he found them dead and took them? That is the only possible explanation."
Pulse jaguars were deadly monsters that could be found in the forest. It often took more than seven adult elves to take one down, and even then the risks were high.
Artie on the other hand had a different reaction. "Eliron, did you find these monsters dead on your way back?!"
If a monster capable of killing them was around, then it could spell disaster for the rest of the village.
Eliron shook his head. "Nope."
Artie was completely shocked. "Then how did you get them—"
"Oh, they attacked Yen so I killed them. This should serve as food for the next few days, right?"
Stunned could not explain what Artie was feeling at that moment.
"You... killed them..." Artie muttered.
She ran a hand through her hair, still trying to process his words.
’How could he have grown to the level of killing so many monsters all by himself in such a short time?’ she mused.
Meanwhile, Eliron smirked. "Who wants some meat?!"
"WOOHOOO!"
The elves burst out in a cheer.
The villagers who were meant to have gone hungry today were now getting fed because of Eliron.
They didn’t care about how impossible it sounded, all they cared about was that he had done it, and that they would not sleep hungry that night.
To them, he had risked his life just so that they would not starve, and that alone earned him their respect.
While the cheers grew louder, Artie glanced at Drakili and smirked, making him seethe with rage.
’Fuck, fuck, fuck!!! How did he kill five pulse jaguars?! How is that even possible?’
His jaw was clenched as he stared up at Eliron.
Then he gritted his teeth and cursed. ’No, it has to be something else, he must have cheated in some way.’
Still, it didn’t matter if he had cheated, what mattered was that the elves were slowly growing fond of him.
If he could change their notions of him built over 18 years in just less than a week, what would happen if he was given another one week before the confluence?
There were no two ways about it...
’Eliron has to die!’