Savage Village

Chen Cheng, having lived with Samlet for over a decade, was witnessing the strong man cry for only the second time in his memory. The first time was when he was born and Samlet had fled with him.

Seeing Samlet in tears, Chen Cheng felt a pang in his heart, but he knew this wasn't the life he and Samlet were meant to have.

He harbored no ambition for restoring his kingdom, claiming a throne, or dominating the world. At the same time, Samlet should have been a super-expert revered by all the humans on the continent, not someone living as a hermit and a nanny in the mountains with a child.

Chen Cheng stepped forward and helped Samlet up, saying:

"Uncle Sam, you know I have no desire to restore the kingdom. The Thornflower Empire is a thing of the past. History teaches us that life must move forward.

Thanks to your care over the years, I've been able to grow into adulthood.

Now, I can support myself. And you, as the continent's strongest legendary warrior, shouldn't be by the side of someone like me, who lacks ambition.

You deserve a broader horizon. You are the one at the pinnacle of power in this world. You should be enjoying the fame and accolades that belong to you, not living in these desolate mountains as a hermit with me."

This was the first time Chen Cheng had truly voiced his lack of ambition to restore the kingdom, and upon hearing it, Samlet's crying intensified.

In his eyes, he believed he had failed in educating Chen Cheng, that he was incompetent, forcing his liege to hide in the wilderness and stifling his kingly spirit.

It was all his fault.

After a period of sorrowful weeping, Samlet made a firm decision. He would go to the City of Chaos and raise a powerful elite army. He wanted to give Chen Cheng hope, to show him that many people in this world still yearned for the Thornflower Empire.

The next morning, Chen Cheng woke up and threw off the animal hide blanket. He intended to call out "Uncle Sam," but when he saw the empty stone cave and the animal hide on the stone table, he was speechless.

He picked up the animal hide and read the farewell letter Samlet had left for him. It stated that he was going to the City of Chaos to assemble a powerful army for Chen Cheng, to let Chen Cheng know that there were still many people in this world who yearned for the Thornflower Dynasty.

Although Chen Cheng was a little worried about Samlet, he was also extremely happy to see that Samlet could let go of him and truly go out to forge his own path.

As for raising an army, Chen Cheng didn't feel anything was wrong with it.

After all, he was still a wanted criminal to the outside world, and he needed some subordinates.

As for himself, Chen Cheng had no intention of truly returning to Samlet's side to take over any team.

Chen Cheng looked at the cave he had lived in for over two years. He walked to the wooden rack where the Divine Sword was placed and bowed. Then, he reached out and took the Divine Sword from the rack, carrying it to the primitive smelting area outside the cave.

Chen Cheng's Shotgun had been hand-forged and shaped here. Now that he had abandoned the grand plan of restoring his kingdom, having this divine golden sword by his side was a bit too conspicuous. He might as well melt it down into gold and use it as money.

Of course, if his ancestors in this life truly had spirits in heaven, they would surely want to beat him, their unfilial descendant. Chen Cheng couldn't help but smile as he thought about this.

"Ancestors, I'm going out to make my way in the world now. It's hard to get around with no money, so please bear with me."

Chen Cheng used the animal hide bellows to increase the furnace fire, then clamped the golden sword and slowly melted the tip into the crucible.

However, after half a day, the crucible had been heated to a bright orange, bordering on white porcelainization, yet the golden sword showed no signs of melting, not even a hint of being scorched red. He picked up the golden sword, and the tip was still at room temperature.

But logically, the temperature should have long surpassed the melting point of gold. Moreover, metals conduct heat very well. This immediately put Chen Cheng in a difficult position.

Seeing that the sword wouldn't melt, Chen Cheng sighed for a long time. His much-needed startup capital was gone just like that.

Finally, for the sake of secrecy, he could only pour a layer of iron over it, encasing its original golden sheen.

This was completed three days later. In his hand was now a simple, ancient, mottled, and somewhat pitted iron sword, of the most common and inferior quality.

Satisfied with his creation, Chen Cheng sheathed the sword and then extinguished the furnace fires at the makeshift smelting site. After all, he knew that setting a mountain on fire could lead to a lifetime in prison.

Then, Chen Cheng tidied up the items in the cave, put on the Level 14 Magical Beast leather armor he had collected over the years, and set off with his flintlock shotgun and his great sword.

As he traveled through the deep mountains and old forests, the occasional roars of powerful fierce beasts filled him with a sense of eager anticipation.

At this moment, he felt as if the invisible shackles on his body had been removed, and he was in a state of relaxation and joy.

Of course, Chen Cheng was also acutely aware of his own capabilities. He strictly followed the teachings Samlet had imparted to him over the years, moving stealthily through the forest with great care. Furthermore, to prevent him from being attacked by powerful fierce beasts alone in the cave, Samlet had previously procured a lump of dung from a peak Level 16, half-step Level 17 super Magical Beast, a Black Dragon, to create a Beast Repellent Pill.

Don't be disgusted by the mention of dung. Of course, Chen Cheng initially thought the same. But when he saw the Beast Repellent Pill, he dismissed the thought.

The peak Level 16 Black Dragon was already one of the most powerful creatures on the continent. The energy contained within its body was beyond imagination. Naturally, its excrement, after digestion, was not only clean but also emitted a unique fragrant scent.

This was akin to how humans on Earth use the dung of the sperm whale to create the finest ambergris.

Of course, these were all things Samlet had told him, along with his own optimistic interpretations. After all, no one wanted to carry around something that was truly just a pile of dung.

With the Beast Repellent Pill on his person, even if fierce beasts discovered Chen Cheng, they would flee far away upon smelling the scent emanating from him.

For several days, Chen Cheng advanced in a straight line through the mountains. The forest was dense with tall trees. If he hadn't lived in the forest since his rebirth, and if Samlet hadn't frequently taken him into the deep mountains and old forests to train his wilderness survival skills, he would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.

Finally, as Chen Cheng crested a hill, his vision suddenly opened up. Before him, within the vast forest, a large clearing appeared.

Here, a clear mountain spring flowed, and by the stream, a small wooden village had been built. Outside the village, more than a dozen natives dressed in coarse hemp clothing were busy working.

Chen Cheng knew these people were considered "wildlings" who were not officially governed.

When the children playing in the fields saw Chen Cheng, they immediately ran into the village shouting. The adults who were working, upon seeing Chen Cheng, immediately picked up their farming tools and slowly retreated to the village entrance, watching him warily.

Soon, Chen Cheng saw more than a dozen men, women, and children armed with weapons emerge from the village. Leading them was a gaunt old man wearing leather armor made from Blood Wolf hide and leaning on a wooden staff.

Chen Cheng understood immediately what was happening. These native wildlings had mistaken him for an enemy.

Then, Chen Cheng heard the old man at the forefront speak in very broken official language:

"Our village has nothing to trade. Leave our village quickly..."

This old man repeated these few sentences. When Chen Cheng explained his purpose, the old man ignored him and kept urging him to leave.

There was no other way. Since communication was impossible, Chen Cheng had no choice but to leave. After all, his goal was to reach the true towns of this world, not these wildling villages where people wore hemp clothing and were half-naked.

Only after seeing Chen Cheng leave did the old man finally breathe a sigh of relief. If he hadn't seen the sword at Chen Cheng's waist just now, he would have already ordered the villagers to attack and kill Chen Cheng.

These wild villages deep in the mountains are extremely xenophobic. Furthermore, because they lack systematic knowledge to learn, external slave-catching teams particularly enjoy finding villages like theirs to slaughter and capture people.

Chen Cheng bypassed the village and went downstream along the creek. He then bent down, cupped his hands, and drank his fill of the stream water. After filling his leather pouch with water, he intended to continue on his way.

However, after walking less than two miles, he heard a massive explosion, followed by a plume of smoke rising into the air.

Chen Cheng looked in the direction where the smoke was rising and knew that the native wild village he had just passed was likely on fire.

Initially, Chen Cheng wanted to leave, but seeing the smoke grow larger and larger, he eventually turned back.

Since he had encountered them in these mountains, it could be considered fate with this village. Now that the village was in disaster, he could go back and help them put out the fire. Moreover, there was a chance he could find a good place to stay for the night there.

Although he had the Beast Repellent Pills on him and wasn't afraid of the Magical Beasts in the mountains, those low-intelligence mosquitoes didn't care about that and would still come to suck his blood.

What Chen Cheng didn't know was that his decision to go back this time would truly change the course of his life, and his life as a slave would begin from this moment.