Night of Slaughter

The cave entrance was extremely narrow.

Even a slightly overweight adult would have trouble passing through.

But inside the cave was spacious, at least a hundred square meters.

Unlike the generally damp and humid climate of the marshlands, the cave was very warm and free of insects.

Laying down some dry reeds would allow one to sleep on the ground.

For life in the wild, finding such a shelter was already very fortunate.

After all, for the past half month, Roger had been sleeping in damp tree hollows, cold bushes, or on ant-infested tree trunks.

At those times, he always intensely missed the small bed in Tongma Town.

"Rustle, rustle..."

The Quicksand Lamp swayed slightly, emitting a dense rustling sound.

Dots of white light slowly illuminated every corner of the cave.

Roger crouched down, preparing to get something to eat.

He didn't start a fire.

This wasn't due to ventilation concerns, but because the heat from a campfire could easily be detected by sensitive monsters.

Roger always tried to avoid trouble whenever possible.

For this meal, his food consisted mainly of dried meat strips, fresh water, and a plant called "Sand Yam."

The dried meat strips were brought by Roger when he left Tongma Town; only a little remained.

The Sand Yams and fresh water were obtained through trade with Dragon Tooth Village.

Roger quite liked eating Sand Yams.

Their appearance was more akin to taro, looking like the tuber of some plant.

They had a crisp, sweet taste and were very filling.

Most importantly, they could be eaten raw, without much processing, which was perfect for a traveler like Roger who lived in the wild year-round.

After consuming two Sand Yams, the energy that had been depleted began to slowly return.

He stretched and lay down on the reed mat, contemplating the current situation.

Since he had decided to intervene in this war, Roger had to be fully prepared.

From a normal perspective, the aggressive Gray Dwarves were far stronger than the villagers in Dragon Tooth Village.

The people Roger had seen in the village were all farmers, with very few capable fighters.

These people, facing Gray Dwarves armed with short crossbows, would likely shatter upon contact.

Furthermore, there were Hanfulan's refugees lurking nearby, watching covetously.

This appeared to be a one-sided war, but things were definitely not that simple.

"The people in the village are farmers? Then where do the fields and farms come from?"

Roger chuckled softly.

He had actually noticed this question long ago.

But at that time, his identity was that of a traveler, and he simply didn't care about such things.

Thinking back, it was already an incredible feat for Dragon Tooth Village to have established itself on Yellowstone Island.

First.

There was not much suitable land for cultivation on Yellowstone Island.

Yet, when trading with Roger, the villagers could generously offer good things like Sand Yams.

This meant that in this world of extreme food shortages, Dragon Tooth Village did not lack grain.

Second.

Dragon Tooth Village severely lacked combat personnel.

Hunters like Eric, who were only half-trained, were considered experts.

And besides the mysterious Cindy, only Rachel and her Flying Dragon Beast possessed any fighting capability.

So, how had they managed to survive amidst the surrounding monsters and the covetous gazes of the Marshland Refugees?

Third.

Rachel had once said that the Swamp Gray Dwarves were coming for Dragon Tooth Village.

Then, was there something in the village that was worth such a large mobilization by the Gray Dwarves? Roger thought about it but found nothing unusual.

"Sand Yams? That's definitely a possibility."

Roger didn't ponder it further.

Without sufficient intelligence, the deeper he analyzed, the more likely he was to err.

He only needed to confirm that "Dragon Tooth Village wasn't as simple as it appeared."

Cindy surely held some trump card that could awe the Marshland Refugees.

Otherwise, Hanfulan wouldn't have needed to ally with any Gray Dwarves.

As long as Dragon Tooth Village didn't lose too quickly, Roger would have ample opportunities to hunt.

He stood up and stretched his muscles.

Under the faint light of the Quicksand Lamp, Roger began his work for the night—

He was carefully disassembling the arrowheads of the Penetrating Arrows.

These arrowheads were embedded, with a thin, short iron needle at the rear of each.

This meant that suitable arrow shafts could be adapted.

Roger planned to transfer all these arrowheads to White Feather Arrows.

Although he could also use bolts, the efficiency was too low, and they were prone to failure.

Moreover, a crossbow was far less flexible than Purple Bindweed.

Thus, the quiet mountain cave began to fill with the tinkling sound of metal.

Before long, Roger had completed this part of his work.

He had captured a total of 67 Penetrating Arrows from the Gray Dwarves. He kept only 7 as spares, dismantling the rest.

Next, he embedded these arrowheads one by one into the shafts of the White Feather Arrows.

"You have crafted a new arrow. Please name the new arrow!"

"White Feather Arrows plus Penetrating Arrows... how about calling them..."

Roger pondered for a moment before completing the naming: "Let's call them 'White Feather Piercing Arrows'!"

"Successfully crafted White Feather Piercing Arrows. Total crafted: 3 White Feather Piercing Arrows."

"Your Life Skill: Bow Maintenance and Crafting (39) has increased."

Just like that, Roger crafted 60 White Feather Piercing Arrows in one go.

His luck tonight was quite good.

Not a single one failed out of the 60, and his related life skill points increased by 5 as a result.

When the balance test for the last arrow was completed, some faint light was already shining in from above the cave.

Day was breaking.

Roger yawned and put down the tools in his hands.

He checked the mechanisms at the cave entrance three times before finally lying down to sleep with peace of mind.

At dusk.

Roger slowly woke up.

His stomach empty, he grabbed two Sand Yams and gnawed on them.

He instantly felt refreshed.

He didn't rush out but waited patiently for a while.

He waited until it was completely dark.

Only then did he leave his cave, fully armed.

During the day, Roger had heard the noisy sounds of the Gray Dwarves marching.

He estimated that the number of Gray Dwarves on Yellowstone Island must be much higher than yesterday.

And after a day's time, the bodies of the Gray Dwarves he had killed should have been discovered.

Once the enemy was on guard, it would be unlikely to achieve a surprise attack and kill easily like yesterday.

Relying on Ladder Cloud Steps for a quick kill would also be very dangerous.

Fortunately, he had prepared new gifts for the Gray Dwarves.

Tonight was destined to be a true Night of Slaughter.