Gray Dwarf

Dragon Tooth Village.

A room adorned with greenery.

The area outside the room was filled with people looking anxious.

An aged voice drifted from inside the room:

"Slowly, slowly."

"Don't let her blood flow too quickly. Who knows if there's any neurotoxin on it."

It was an old woman with hundreds of fine braids woven into her hair.

Roger noticed that each braid was adorned with a different type of leaf at its end.

Under her direction.

Several youngsters clumsily placed the injured person onto a wooden bed.

"Help me hold this down, I need to treat the wound first... Damn it, that's not how you hold it!"

"Can't I get someone with nimble fingers?"

Seeing a young man holding the wound in a way that caused blood to spatter, the old woman trembled with anger.

"I'll do it."

A gentle voice called out from the crowd.

Roger took the opportunity to push aside the blood-splattered and bewildered young man. He then picked up a roll of bandages and quickly performed preliminary treatment on the injured person's wound.

"You're a new face. How come I haven't seen you in the village?"

The old woman's expression softened slightly.

"I'm a traveler. I've been waiting outside the village for news from Master Rachel these past few days."

Roger answered truthfully.

"Oh, so you're that outsider who single-handedly wiped out the Jackal Beast settlement."

The old woman shuffled over, carrying a pile of jars emitting a rotten smell. "Do you understand medicine?"

Roger shook his head.

"I only know a bit about Herbalism."

The old woman nodded. "That's still better than these useless people."

"Hold the wound for me, I'll deal with those arrowheads first."

"All of you, get out!"

"This isn't a place for gawking!"

The others exchanged glances and could only leave the room, which was filled with the scent of herbs, one by one.

Before long.

With Roger's assistance, the old woman successfully removed all the arrowheads from Rachel.

This process caused Rachel to lose a lot of blood.

She was currently in a coma.

Fortunately, the four arrowheads embedded in her body were located in her shoulder, waist, hip, and arm, none of which hit a vital spot.

The arrowheads themselves were also not poisoned.

After obtaining the old woman's consent, Roger applied several sheets of "Basic Hemostatic Ointment" to Rachel.

Based on Roger's limited experience, this stuff had a miraculous effect on arrow wounds.

Since he was asking for a favor, he felt he should do something in return.

After treating the wounds, he also chatted with the old woman for a while.

Only when the old woman started yawning due to fatigue did he take his leave.

Because of this minor incident, Roger temporarily gave up on the Lei Ze Whale hunt.

He wandered around Dragon Tooth Village for a bit and noticed a shift in the atmosphere.

Rachel's attack had caused panic among the villagers.

The originally peaceful and serene atmosphere of Dragon Tooth Village was gradually being replaced by anxiety and unease.

This sentiment did not affect Roger.

He simply had an instinctive aversion to risks and trouble.

"Looking at Rachel's condition, even if she wakes up, she won't be able to control a Flying Dragon Beast anytime soon."

"I wonder if there's any other way to cross the southern part of the swamp."

Roger rested his hands behind his head, idly contemplating his next move.

Through his explorations on Yellowstone Island these past few days, he had gathered enough information.

The southern part of the Great Wetland was the most dangerous area! Lakes and swamps crisscrossed the land, with hidden currents and monsters lurking – a place truly no living soul dared to tread.

To venture in rashly would be certain death.

As far as he knew, only Rachel's Flying Dragon Beast could traverse that region with relative safety.

This was Roger's biggest concern.

Even Rachel, with the protection of a Flying Dragon Beast, had suffered such severe injuries.

Whoever attacked her must have been a fully formed army!

"Eric mentioned that Dragon Tooth Village had been peaceful for over a decade. Surely, it won't erupt into war the moment I arrive?"

"No way, right? No way?"

The more Roger thought about it, the more unlucky he felt.

At sunset.

Cindy found Roger, bringing the good news that Rachel had woken up.

Roger quickly followed her to the medical hut.

Inside the hut.

The old woman was nowhere to be seen.

Rachel, lying on the sickbed, had clearly regained some color.

This recovery ability amazed Roger.

When she had been unconscious before, he had already used Appraisal.

The short girl before him was actually a Wetland Druid, not some Beast Tamer.

It was an uncommon profession, and no one else in the village had it.

This meant she must have had some extraordinary encounter.

"Angelina told me you saved me."

The girl on the sickbed said earnestly.

Just like her height, Rachel's face was very small.

Perhaps it was due to living in seclusion for a long time, but despite her delicate features, her face gave off an impression of lacking expression.

Roger gently shook his head. "I only did a few insignificant things."

"This ointment is very effective. I can feel its effects. Thank you."

Even when expressing her gratitude, her small, stern face showed no change.

If he hadn't been sure he wasn't hard of hearing, Roger felt that her expression would be perfectly fitting even if her lines were replaced with, "When are you going to pay back the money you owe me?"

As expected of a reclusive Beast Tamer.

Roger knew that at this point, all he needed to do was maintain a smile.

"I heard you're going south?"

Rachel asked.

"Yes."

Roger nodded.

"I can't ride a Flying Dragon right now, but Misha knows the way. She's the leader of the Flying Dragon Beasts. I'll have her take you to Paramount Manor, and then you just need to prepare some rations for her, and she'll fly back on her own."

Rachel spoke fluently.

Roger couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

It was that simple? Wasn't Rachel's request supposed to be more troublesome...

Roger's eyelid twitched. He knew Cindy had tricked him again.

Every word Cindy had spoken was true, yet she had deliberately hidden this one piece of misinformation.

As expected, the Dragonkin Priest by the bedside couldn't help but complain:

"Can't you just tell a little lie?"

Rachel's small face remained stern, but her tone was clearly a bit timid. "I can't lie."

"My Flying Dragon Express has always been free."

"Besides, he helped me too."

Cindy shot Rachel a helpless glare.

The two seemed to be on good terms, as Rachel showed a rare expression of embarrassment.

Roger felt the atmosphere was a bit off.

He quickly said, "Thank you very much."

"If there's anything I can do to help, I definitely will..."

Cindy interjected, "Help me kill Hanfulan!"

Roger coughed, "Maybe next time."

The Dragonkin Priest became furious again, his chest heaving dramatically, a startling sight.

"By the way, what happened to your injuries?"

Having booked the Dragonkin Priest's dragon, Roger felt it was necessary to inquire about how Rachel got injured.

"It was the Gray Dwarves."

Rachel said, "Hanfulan has colluded with the Swamp Gray Dwarves. This is a Gray Dwarf crossbow bolt. Hanfulan's subordinates used it to attack me and my Flying Dragon Beast."

"I saw their marching route. They are already very close to Yellowstone Island."

"They are coming for Dragon Tooth Village."

"It's wise for you to leave now. Soon, this place will become a new battlefield."

"How about this, tomorrow I'll... never mind, help me up. I'll go find Misha right now and have her take you away."

Rachel struggled to stand up.