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Vick's way of eating perfectly demonstrated what it means to wolf down one's food.
He even chewed chicken bones with a loud crunch, tilting his head back to swallow them whole, and despite choking and rolling his eyes, he didn't seem to care.
As Gaven was halfway through his half chicken, Vick had polished off the food in his embrace, his Yin Hong gaze circling over the piece in Gaven's hand before finally settling on the chicken bones Gaven had thrown nearby. Without hesitation, he pounced on them, ready to put them in his mouth.
"Wait." Gaven's voice, attempting to halt Vick, was far slower than Vick's speed of eating. With a few crunches, the bones were gone into Vick's stomach.
It was only then that Vick turned his head to look at Gaven.
On Vick's ugly face, Gaven could clearly see a hint of triumph, as if to say, "You called too late, I have already eaten, this is mine."
Gaven sighed, "There's plenty of food here, if you haven't eaten your fill, you could just say so."
As he spoke, Gaven tore off a rabbit leg, not much bigger or smaller than the half chicken from earlier. This time he didn't hand it directly to Vick but watched him.
Vick glanced at the rabbit leg, then at Gaven, and then back at the leg, first with a hint of confusion, as if remembering something, then tentatively whispered, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Gaven, teaching by example, handed over the rabbit leg.
After taking the leg, whether it was because his stomach was no longer so empty or he couldn't believe the food came so easily, Vick looked at the food in his hand, then up at Gaven, and back to the food before cautiously saying again, "Thank you."
With annoyance, Gaven said, "Don't get too smart for your own good, I haven't eaten my fill yet, I can't give it all to you. Let's talk after you've finished."
Seeing no more food forthcoming, Vick immediately resumed his voracious eating, quickly stuffing the large rabbit leg into his stomach. Whether he was full or the bones of the rabbit leg were too thick to chew, he didn't gnaw on them together this time.
After licking the last bit of meat off the rabbit leg, Vick looked at Gaven with a puppy-dog expression and said, "Thank you."
This time, Gaven said nothing. He simply twisted off the meatless rabbit head and tossed it over.
Even with a big appetite, Vick was limited by his size. He probably weighed no more than two rabbits, and having stuffed so much food in, he was already well-rounded and lacked the energy he had at the beginning. Now, he chewed slowly and carefully, pushing the food into his stomach bit by bit.
His insistence on more food was purely due to past experiences of irregular meals and the fear of going hungry, driven by greed.
Sure enough, even with the meatless rabbit head, Vick took a while, eating bit by bit. By the time he finished with it, Gaven had mostly eaten his fill as well. Nearly half a wild rabbit remained, along with half the baked potatoes and sweet potatoes. It was just enough for a midday meal, thanks to Gaven having prepared extra. Otherwise, he would have had to start another fire at noon.
Gaven packed up all the food and handed it to Vick, saying, "You'll take care of the food."
With a full stomach comes civilization. Gaven believed that as long as Vick understood that there would be enough food in the future and he wouldn't go hungry, his bad eating habits would gradually improve.
Vick, carrying the food, still seemed somewhat in disbelief.
"Don't just stand there; we have a long way to go, so hurry up and get ready to move." Gaven urged, worried about falling behind schedule and encountering the military and civilians from Nort Castle again, which would be embarrassing.
The road Gaven was taking was also the inevitable way for Zalanda and her group.
The only major path to Darama was this one, and Darama was the largest city within hundreds of kilometers.
If Gaven wanted to reach the Northern Lands, this was the only place where he could find enough large caravans.
Traveling alone, even as a Legendary Warrior, was something Gaven always tried to avoid in his past life. In the wilderness, no one knows what might be encountered next. Facing monsters that come and go freely from the Ether, or from the Shadow and Starry Realm, even a Legendary Warrior might be at a disadvantage.
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Traveling on the main road with an armed caravan was the best choice for most travelers in Felen.
Before reaching Darama, Gaven always kept a distance of twenty to thirty kilometers from the Nort Castle's military and civilians, moving forward in parallel.
If he truly encountered an insurmountable deadly danger, Gaven would not hesitate to retreat immediately to seek refuge in Zalanda, even if it meant dying in front of her or ensuring she got the message, because in this world, she was the only one who might spend a great deal to resurrect him.
Fortunately, up until now, there had been only minor troubles, especially today; not a single goblin group or highwayman had been encountered after half a day's journey. Instead, they came across several carriages heading in the direction of Darama, which seemed more like refugees fleeing, similar to the military and civilians of Nort Castle, rather than merchants.
The eyes of those on the carriages were filled with wariness as they looked at Gaven, involuntarily gripping their weapons tighter.
This was a normal reaction when encountering strangers in the wilds of Felen, as one could never be sure whether the stranger was friend or foe, a passerby, or a bandit.
The presence of a goblin at Gaven's side only exacerbated the situation.
This distrust was mutual; Gaven also had no idea of their origins and preferred not to stir up trouble.
The best choice was to quickly put distance between them.
This situation also indicated something else: they had already entered the sphere of influence of Darama City, where patrols would often come to inspect the area.
Having confirmed this, Gaven no longer stopped as he had the day before but instead quickened his pace.
Arriving a day earlier than Zalanda gave him a better chance to find an appropriate caravan; things might not coincide perfectly to find the right one,
If there was no suitable caravan by the time Zalanda arrived at Darama, Gaven would have to risk traveling alone with Vick, heading to the next city to try his luck.
At noon, Gaven and Vick encountered the first patrol cavalry from Darama.
This patrol cavalry clearly had a mission, giving only a brief glance at Gaven and Vick before galloping away at full speed.
Gaven could guess, more or less, what that patrol cavalry was headed to do.
Not far behind him, a large procession was following—a procession that grew larger as it moved.
It wasn't just Nort Castle that suffered from the goblins of the Marching Mountains; although due to Mir Forest, the eastern regions were relatively less affected, the mere presence of those who fled over had people on edge.
Many harbored the thought of fleeing to a large city like Darama for refuge, but they hesitated.
Some lacked the decisiveness of Zalanda, who had abandoned her home and livelihood.
Others lacked the strength to set out on the road alone.
When Zalanda led her large troop past, she helped the indecisive ones make up their minds, especially those who felt they lacked the strength of Nort Castle—most joined the retreat, and even if the local lord didn't leave, some lieges would also follow. At least, the entirety of Kami Village, which had been previously rescued by Zalanda, had joined the great retreat.
Now the procession led by Zalanda, if not five thousand strong, certainly numbered three thousand, including people and carriages, creating an even greater presence, stretching out for a kilometer.
Even if Zalanda hadn't communicated with Darama City beforehand, such a large group approaching would cause unrest for the rulers of Darama, even if arrangements had been made.
This was yet another chain reaction triggered by the flapping of Gaven's small butterfly wings.