I arrived back at the village at a fast pace thanks to my newly added agility points.
Speed is my life. I won't die as long as I can run away!
Hey, I'm not a coward, I just don't enjoy partaking in unnecessary violence. Ahem.
Right as I returned back to the village Whit came out of his house and happily greeted me.
"So? How was your scouting? They're pretty strong huh. Did you manage to catch sight of their chief?" He hopefully asked with shining eyes.
Hmmm....how should I break the news to him.....slowly and understandable.....
Screw it. It takes too much time. Being direct is my motto.
"Mhm. He's dead."
.
.
.
Whit and the villagers who overheard me all froze for a second.
"S-say that again? I think I've gotten so old that my hearing has gotten a bit messed u-"
"He's dead. Thanks to your very potent poison."
"...You didn't just look around and come back to make plans? You actually killed all of the barbarians?!" Whit questioned whiled trembling.
"No, I didn't say that. Only the chief and his two guards are dead, all the other barbarians are still alive."
Whit suddenly started panicking.
"WHAT?! Then won't they come to us for revenge?! We need to get the villagers out of here before they realize wha-"
I sighed and calmed him down.
"Village Chief, if I'm right then it should be fine. The barbarians are really stupid but their boss was just killed mysteriously and his two guards were brutally stabbed to death. There's a pretty low chance that they would actually go looking around for revenge instead of running from the unknown killer as fast as they could. I could tell that they weren't a loyal bunch in the first place seeing how the tent was lavishly decorated and the food the chief ate was good while the barbarians all shared one pot of soup and had to sleep on the ground." I explained.
Whit just kept looking at me with doubt in his eyes.
"Well, you can't be absolutely sure that-"
"Just listen. Although all of them were over 40, I could tell that most of them aren't used to harming innocent people. Nothing happened to me at all. They didn't even look at me. The chief himself told me that he used to be a general or something of some kingdom. I'm guessing that all the other "barbarians" used to be knights from his squad. Most are still morally uptight but were forced to follow him after he was corrupted and they were all branded traitors."
"That sounds reasonable.....the first kingdom that comes to mind is the Kingdom of Kalbern, they're known for being cruel against their enemies but also towards their own subjects. It wouldn't be surprising if someone defected. It's pretty far away though...."
I nodded. Just gonna remind myself to never go there in the future.
"I'm guessing that the soldiers can't go back to their families for some reason or another. Few might hold a grudge against me for killing their leader but most of them probably don't care. They're in their current situation because of his actions after all."
The old village chief finally gave out a long sigh before looking at me with a complicated expression.
"In such a short time you actually took care of the problem which was looming over us for days....little Lynx, boy, we're thankful for what you've done."
I forced a smile with a twitching eyebrow as I looked at Whit and the surrounding villagers who were bowing in gratitude.
I'm. A. Freaking. Girl. I have XX chromosomes. I'm 100% genetically female okay?
But that would ruin the mood. I'm someone who knows how to read the atmosphere. I'll just keep talking. They can't see my face anyway.
"It's fine. I would advise you to try and win over the deserted soldiers. There are around 50 of them who are all over level 40 so their strength could be used to defend the village against situations like this in the future. If anything goes wrong then I'll take the blame and do whatever you want me to."
"Of course, I'll trust your judgment. Even in a few disagree the majority will probably join us if what you said was true. Everybody wants a place to belong after all. They are probably sick of being ruled by fear and force under their chief for so long. I'll be sure to promise them a peaceful life here."
I nodded again in satisfaction. At least this guy knows what he's doing.
"Well then, I'll be goi-"
"To think that you would even help us with such a matter. How would we ever repay you?"
[Quest updated: Save the Village has been extended
Description: Successfully get the deserted knights to join the village and create suitable accommodations and jobs for them. Expand the village and build walls to increase protection.
Reward: Who knows. Good job. Now you have more work to do.]
. . .
Dammit. I never said that I would help. Don't jump to conclusions like this.
Sigh....extra work....
I guess I have no choice now...