Perhaps There Had Been Love
The hunters began to hesitate, their hands holding bows and arrows trembling. What were they risking their lives to follow the old village chief into the deep forest for? Wasn't it all for a better life in the future?
The noblewoman opposite them, regardless of whether she was a queen or not, her gorgeous dress and elegant sedan chair alone indicated that she had the confidence to fulfill her promise. More importantly, their side seemed to have no strength left to resist the enemy's soldiers.
The opposing soldiers were well-equipped and numerous. If a real fight broke out, the hunters would definitely be wiped out. Meanwhile, their greatest strength, the three large dogs summoned by the old village chief, was being restrained by the enemy's tattered checkered aprons.
In this situation, how could the hunters remain unmoved? They looked around, hoping to get some answers from their companions, when they heard the old village chief shout, "Don't listen to that old witch! She's the best at turning her back on people!"
"She used my power to kill her father and mother so she could ascend the throne as queen. Now that I'm no longer of any use, she immediately discards me. Do you expect someone like that to keep her promises?"
The hunters hesitated again, but then the old witch said, "Don't be so ungrateful. I only refrained from ordering your annihilation because I didn't want to suffer too great losses. Now I'm showing you mercy and giving you a way out. What are you still hesitating about?"
"You damned soldier, if you hand over the Tinderbox now and leave this place immediately, I might spare your life." The old witch actually gave the old village chief a choice.
There's no need to go into the details of what happened back then. It's just that at that time, the big dog pulled the princess out of the castle to meet with a soldier, and the princess subsequently chose to marry the soldier.
Perhaps, most of the story is about the princess being attracted to the soldier's ability to summon a giant dog, but there's also a touch of romance involved.
And so, without realizing it, the old witch's words softened somewhat. "Old man, you're getting on in years. Some things aren't yours to keep, so don't covet them. Let go."
"Those are mine! You always say my success is all luck, but even if I found them, they're still mine!" the old village chief said angrily, oblivious to the hint of sadness that flashed in the old witch's eyes.
Perhaps they once had some love, and perhaps the old witch did want this man to become king, but he was simply too disappointing. As mentioned before, all his previous successes were based on luck.
After becoming king, he became extremely proud and stubborn, refusing to listen to any advice and making a series of wrong decisions. As a result, he was forced to step down after only a few months.
Faced with a choice between profit and love, the old witch chose profit. Their already meager love had long been thwarted by the soldiers' misdeeds. Now, seeing that they were both old, the old witch touched upon some memories and decided to give the other a way out.
But to my surprise, the old witch sneered and said, "I didn't expect that after all these years, you would still be so foolish, refusing to listen to anyone."
"I'll count to three. If you don't hand over the Tinderbox by then, I'll order my soldiers to attack," the old witch said viciously. "Three, two..."
Before the old witch could utter the word "one," a series of unpleasant howling sounds came from afar. Looking into the distance, one could see many white monsters appearing and disappearing in the forest as they charged forward.
"Wendigo! Those are man-eating demons Wendigo! How can there be so many?" The hunters, with their sharp eyes, noticed the antlers on the heads of the white monsters, which made their faces turn extremely grim.
In reality, Wendigo are spiritual beings. They only attach themselves to people who have consumed one of their kind, forming a symbiotic relationship and transforming the human body into their current monstrous form.
So strictly speaking, those Wendigo with physical bodies are actually symbionts of humans and Wendigo. When these symbionts are killed, the spirit Wendigo will not have any problems; they will just need to rest for a while. If they encounter another being that eats its own kind, it can continue to possess that being.
Lu Li also treated these Wendigo as a renewable resource, never using large-scale magic to destroy their Wendigo. The Wendigo were not completely mindless fools; they had several cannibal tribes in the forest that completely worshipped them, so obtaining symbiotes was actually quite simple for them.
These monsters are strange. Although they feed on their own kind as a means of evolution, they also maintain a certain degree of sociality and never actively attack other Wendigo.
However, once Wendigo symbiote dies, the Wendigo go berserk, collecting and consuming it. Of course, some people think this is normal, and that humans are no better, perhaps even more disgusting, but humans have a layer of concealment.
The Wendigo are incredibly fast, and each of their symbiotes is physically invulnerable. Furthermore, because of the Wendigo's possession of them, they can also use massive amounts of mental energy to launch telekinetic attacks and mental pollution attacks on others.
With the strength of the humans here, they probably couldn't kill a single Wendigo even if they fought to the death, let alone the fact that there are now more than ten or twenty Wendigo running towards them.
"Old witch, quickly put away your apron! I can hold them off for a while with the big dog. Give us a chance to escape!" the old village chief said urgently. He knew how powerful these Wendigo were; he had even almost become their meal.
"Give me the Tinderbox! Only I can use it better. As for these monsters, my soldiers will hold them off for me." The Queen, unaware of the Wendigo's terrifying power, spoke Pride. These soldiers were handpicked by her and rigorously trained; each one was a capable fighter, able to take on a hundred men.
"You Pride wretch, your ignorance will ruin you," the old village chief said angrily, then quietly waited for his chance.
Fortunately, Xiangqian's calculations meant he wasn't without a chance to escape. The hunters all carried Wendigo bones, and given the Wendigo's nature, they would only prioritize attacking those carrying Wendigo remains. With these people as shields, he should be able to seize the opportunity to flee.
The old village chief stroked the Tinderbox again, and the three large dogs disappeared. They pretended to walk towards the old witch and offer her the Tinderbox, but in reality, they were preparing to seize the opportunity to immediately escape to the Candy House on the cliff.
As the Wendigo were about to charge, the hunters couldn't help but release their arrows first. Seeing that the distance was about right, the soldiers brought by the queen also released their arrows, making a whooshing sound as the arrowheads, some good and some bad, struck the Wendigo.
This is the third update. There should be another update before midnight. Also, thank you to Tiancang Shuoyue for the second 10,000-yuan reward. It seems I'll have to update four times tomorrow.