Chapter 18 Refusal_1

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"Kami Village is also besieged by monsters, I suppose it's about sending troops to lift the siege," Darren said with not a trace of fear on his face. All he showed was eagerness, seemingly wanting to join in the sortie.

The great victory at Nort Castle, coupled with the ease of battling monsters along the way, had infused the Nort army and civilians with powerful confidence. Without the Nort Militia, without Zalanda, there wasn't a difficulty they couldn't overcome. They were brimming with confidence about safely reaching Darama.

This was a good thing. High morale could double the efficiency of many tasks, even if they had to march all night, each of them was filled with vigour.

Gaven nodded to show he understood, then gave a command, "I have a small task for you."

"What task?" Darren perked up upon hearing this.

"Help me keep an eye on the wagon and don't let anyone near it. If someone gets close, shout."

"Mission will be accomplished," Darren saluted with military precision.

"Remember, do not let anyone in, including Lord Rogan. Do you dare to stop him?" Gaven reminded with emphasis.

"Dare! What is there to not dare! This is a mission entrusted by Young Master Gaven. Even the captain must have the young master's permission," Darren declared, puffing out his slender chest.

"Good," Gaven nodded with satisfaction and called out to the inside, "You, come with me."

The Goblin Sorcerer quickly hopped down from the wagon.

Although he had been acting like an obedient slave these past two days, Gaven still wouldn't trust a half-grown kid with the task of watching over things. He felt more at ease with the Goblin by his side, reminding himself never to underestimate any professional.

When Gaven arrived, Zalanda had already gathered most of the militia captains for a military meeting, which was nearing its end.

Darren's information was quite accurate – indeed, there were issues in Kami Village, and they were also surrounded by a goblin army.

Judging from the relatively relaxed atmosphere of the meeting, the issue didn't seem to be significant.

After all, Kami Village is a village, not a town, or a castle. If the army besieging them had been too powerful, they would likely have fallen already, long before their arrival.

The tactics discussed by Zalanda and her colleagues weren't centered on simply defeating the enemy but on completely crushing them, especially the dozen or so hobgoblins mingled among the goblins. These would be the primary targets for their Cavalry Squad.

"You're here," Zalanda nodded to Gaven, "Are you interested in joining me for another charge?"

"Not interested," Gaven refused without a second thought.

"Oh? Why not?" Gaven's response caught Zalanda off guard, and not just her, all the militia captains turned their heads to look at him, each with a different expression in their eyes.

"You're enough," Gaven gave a reason that wasn't really a reason, "I'll stay here, just in case." As for the real reason, he planned to keep it to himself, not telling Zalanda now and not intending to in the future.

Zalanda cast a meaningful glance at the Goblin Sorcerer behind Gaven and nodded, "All right then, everyone, proceed with the plan!"

"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back now." With that, Gaven, accompanied by the Goblin Sorcerer, hurried back. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to proceed with his next plan.

"This is Young Master Gaven's carriage, no one is allowed in!"

"Lord Rogan sent me here, and you dare to stop me?"

"Even if Lord Rogan himself comes, he can't enter. Young Master Gaven gave specific instructions,"

"You little runt, get out of the way! Believe it or not, I will chop you up!"

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Gaven heard a commotion from far away, a sound all too familiar to him, one of them was Darren who was guarding his carriage, and the other was the ever-persistent Oster.

Without asking, Gaven could guess what had happened. It must have been his seclusion in the carriage over the past few days that piqued the curiosity of the servant-master duo. Taking advantage of his absence, they sought to enter the carriage and spy on his secrets.

What they hadn't expected was that Gaven had assigned a guard, and a rather competent one at that. Even though Oster had invoked the name of Rogan, the guard had not allowed him entry.

The Nort Castle folk crowded around to watch the development. Although everyone wore expressions of indignation, very few dared to speak up in Darren's defense. As the Guard Commander under Rogan, Oster held a certain intimidation factor, as after all, Rogan had the power of life and death over them.

Seeing Gaven returning, the crowd parted to let him through while whispering, "Young Master Gaven, the Guard Commander has gone too far. He actually tried to enter your carriage, and when denied access, he resorted to violence."

"Darren was merely carrying out his duty and did nothing wrong. You should uphold justice."

"The fault doesn't lie with Darren."

Assessing the situation, Gaven's face turned iron blue.

Both of Darren's cheeks were swollen like steamed buns. At that moment he lay on the ground, desperately clinging to one of Oster's legs, refusing to let go, his body covered in footprints.

Oster's other large foot was still kicking Darren's body.

"Oster, dare to kick one more time and see what happens!" Gaven's teeth were gritted, expelling a chill aura.

What really made Oster hold back was the Gnome Fire Trench pressed against his forehead.

Although he had never witnessed its power firsthand, he had heard rumors.

The story of how Gaven turned a Hobgoblin Warlord's face into a sieve with a Fire Trench had been wildly circulated among the Nort Castle folk.

Whether or not there was any exaggeration in the tale, Oster certainly didn't want to test it with his face.

Oster slowly raised his hands, a forced smile on his face, "My lord, Young Master Gaven, this is a misunderstanding. We heard that there was a Goblin here capable of the Fireball Technique, worried about potential accidents. But this kid here doesn't know what's good for him. Kid, maybe you could let go now!"

Oster carefully attempted to move his foot, trying to distance himself from this dark, ominous barrel.

"You think you can just walk away like this?" Gaven said coldly.

"What now, Young Master Gaven, are you going to kill me in front of all these people?" Oster challenged, his neck stiff. He seemed certain that Gaven wouldn't dare to kill him in the presence of such a crowd, just as he wouldn't dare to do so. After all, they both had to consider Zalanda's reaction afterward. Oster began to back away more quickly, even dragging along the unyielding Darren with him.

"Want to bet on that!" Gaven's taut face suddenly broke into a smile, which was a display of extreme rage. His finger twitched slightly, mimicking the action of pulling a trigger.

"Wait! Wait!" Oster was the first to buckle, displaying a posture of surrender, "You win, you've won, how would you like to proceed?"

Gaven snorted coldly, seeming very dissatisfied with Oster's sudden show of cowardice, "Leave your combat belt behind."

"You're being too unreasonable... Ah..."

Boom!

A loud blast exploded right beside Oster's ear, making him cover his ears and scream in agony, blood flowing as his right eardrum burst.

Gaven, not willing to listen to his nonsense, had pulled the trigger, but before doing so, he moved the barrel about a dozen centimeters to the side, firing a blank into the air.