Chapter 26：Returning to the Forest Patrol

That night, Allen slept soundly on the wooden bed under the watchful eyes of the maid sent by Little Obion.

All night, Allen remained defenseless.

The maid, holding a sharp blade close to his neck, observed his steady breathing and snoring.

Little Obion, peering through the window, finally felt reassured.

If someone could wake up from a drunken stupor in the middle of the night to a murder attempt, it would be suspicious.

With this, Little Obion felt he could trust Allen completely, at least until the potion was successfully made and proven effective.

"Damn! What a miser! Is this the strong liquor he accepted last time? It's almost spoiled. Where did he even find this stuff?" Allen's snores filled the room, but he was acutely aware of the blade and the watching eyes outside the window.

His heightened senses, as a transcendent being, and the little lizard in his pocket kept him alert.

The small creature, having absorbed Allen's Awakening Toxin Mist, intrigued Allen more and more with its unusual traits.

Though it spent most of its time eating and sleeping, its sharp senses rivaled Allen's.

Combined with their mysterious soul link, the lizard could instantly alert Allen to any disturbances.

With the lizard, Allen could truly sleep peacefully.

On the way back to the estuary rainforest, Allen had closely observed the lizard.

It wasn't a simple lizard. Its growth rate was extremely slow, unlike typical small lizards that change daily from birth to maturity.

But the lizard in Allen's pocket showed no changes even after three or four days.

It ate the insects Allen caught and then slept.

Its body didn't grow, but its scales grew harder.

Unfortunately, its vibrant structural colors were fading, turning into a deep green like the leaves of a banyan tree.

Allen even used his spiritual sense to give the lizard a full-body check-up.

Not only was the lizard healthy, but its life energy was also stronger and purer.

This was not the life energy of an ordinary animal!

But Allen, not being a system-trained mystic, lacked the foundational knowledge required before delving into the mystical arts.

This left him unable to identify the lizard or determine its growth and cultivation path.

Allen realized he needed to find an opportunity to contact other mystics to gain systematic and comprehensive mystical knowledge.

For example, he was particularly interested in the dragons of the Gondwana world.

These highly legendary creatures were something Allen hoped to find information on, even illustrations, in the black market.

But Allen found nothing in the black market.

He even wondered if stumbling upon the magical brain mushroom had been sheer luck.

Allen suspected he had a stroke of luck with the goddess of fortune.

As Little Obion had mentioned, anything related to mysticism was incredibly valuable, even taboo for ordinary people.

"I'll have to wait and see. Once I control Little Obion, maybe I can leverage his family's resources for some mystical knowledge."

The little lizard, now resting in the soft pouch on Allen's chest, chewed on the honey bee larvae Allen had caught for it, while vigilantly monitoring its surroundings.

It faithfully followed Allen's orders, occasionally pressing against Allen's skin, seemingly drawn to the toxic aura of the Plant Mage.

...

The next morning, Allen was rudely awakened by the maid assigned to watch him.

Little Obion was practicing swordsmanship on his antlered deer in the training field.

"You're late. No breakfast for you!" Little Obion sneered.

Allen smirked inwardly at the miser's need to find an excuse for not providing breakfast. Such a person would never achieve great things.

With a leader like this, Allen felt more confident about his secret plans to build his own power.

After flattering Little Obion's swordsmanship, Allen followed him to the deer pen.

There were thirteen antlered deer, nine adults, and four fawns.

In Redwood, or the entire western continent, there were no high-quality horses.

Thus, various animals like camels, cattle, sheep, and deer were used for transportation.

The antlered deer, a unique species in the rainforest, resembled a cross between an elk and a sika deer.

Medium-sized with long limbs, the males had antlers that never shed and were sharp enough to be used as weapons if trained.

However, due to their body structure, their load-bearing capacity was limited, with carrying an adult man being their maximum.

Hence, they were used as mounts for knights, while water buffalo were used for transport.

These antlered deer were the forest district's property, but Little Obion had naturally claimed them upon arrival.

As a former ranger team captain, Allen had ridden antlered deer to chase poachers.

Coming here wouldn't be a wasted trip.

Little Obion allowed Allen to choose one of the four unselected antlered deer.

The miser wouldn't be so generous. While each ranger team member could choose a deer to ride, the ownership remained with Little Obion.

Moreover, due to patrolling the forest, the deer were often unavailable for riding.

But once chosen, the generous Little Obion would require the rider to cover the deer's feed costs.

After all the deductions, the cost of keeping an antlered deer could rival a ranger team captain's salary.

This arrangement was something the captains disliked but couldn't change.

Allen was troubled because only four adult female deer were left, and they had no antlers.

They weren't as aesthetically pleasing and lacked the stamina of the males.

Little Obion noticed Allen's reluctance and said, "The male deer belongs to the central ranger team captain. He rarely rides it, so you can have it, but you must pay the monthly feed fee!"

Impressive, Allen thought. Little Obion sold the same deer to two people, a master of exploitation!

"Thank you so much, sir!" Allen accepted the "favor" with a smile.

"Let's go. Ride the antlered deer, and I'll take you to your duties to meet your old friends." With that, Little Obion led Allen on a ride.

The ranger team camp was abuzz with members awaiting the arrival of their new, yet familiar, captain...