"Chief, this is the place!"
In the mountain forest, a hunched, headless body stopped in its tracks. It held a head with a wispy goatee in one hand, the mouth opening and closing as it spoke fawningly to the burly man behind it.
The man called Chief raised the head in his hand high and surveyed the area ahead. His thick brows furrowed, and he waved a hand at the men behind him.
The dozen or so men carrying heads immediately split into two groups and spread out to either side, forming an encirclement.
Then he brought his enormous head up close to Goatee's and asked in a rumbling voice, "Are you sure? There really is something strange here, but it had better not be some monster's den. Are you trying to get me killed?"
Goatee immediately protested his innocence. "Chief, how would I dare get you killed? Even if you lent me a hundred sets of guts, I wouldn't dare! They aren't monsters. I watched from a distance, and there were just two people. Both were wrapped up tight, with bulges on their backs. They're probably the treasure thieves you're looking for!"
The chief's eyes instantly turned vicious. "Damn it! They stole my treasure and think they can run? In their dreams!"
Then he looked at Goatee. "You did well, you old bastard. I'll make it quick for you!"
With that, before Goatee's terrified eyes, he smashed his head into a lump of pulp with one palm.
Afterward, the chief reached into a leather pouch at his waist and took out a handsome young head. He grabbed the cord in Goatee's hand and stuffed it into this new head.
"Hmph, pretty boy, this Great King keeps his word. I said I'd spare your life, and I have. I even