Chapter 165: False beast alert.

The people of Rosewater were going on with their daily activities as usual under the bright and hot sun.

The men were busily hammering logs together to build more community shades for the village because it was only getting hotter. Nearby, the women were carefully laying out strips of meat and salted fish on big bamboo mats, letting the heat sun-dry them as a classic way to preserve their precious food for the winter.

The small children were screaming and giggling as they played tag, running in wild circles around the drying racks. Suddenly, one little boy stopped mid-sprint, raised his hand, and pointed a trembling finger at the sky.

He saw the giant flying beasts soaring toward them first.

"Bandits are back!" the boy shrieked at the top of his lungs, diving straight behind the nearest adult’s legs to hide his face.

That single alert sent the entire village into frenzy like someone had kicked an anthill! Instantly, the weak, the elderly, and the little children scrambled into the houses slamming doors and locking windows. Meanwhile, the strong men and women who were determined to fight rushed into the main courtyard with weapons tightly gripped in hand. People who didn’t have knives just grabbed whatever could act like a weapon_ rakes, heavy wooden clubs, and ladles.

Fisher and Krugger, the top protectors of Rosewater, burst out from the village hall, their faces dead serious. After the small previous victory, they were determined to stop being cowards. There would be no more bowing to bandits, not if they wanted to survive in the wild lands.

"Everyone, stay calm and form a circle like we practiced!" Krugger roared, drawing the only gun in the village, which he had inherited from his father. He stood tall beside Fisher, puffing out his chest. "We are armed and ready to fight!"

However, when the flying beasts landed with heavy thuds strange shadows appeared on the ground. It was not ordinary the bandits, something about them was weird, that it made Fisher’s eyes narrow into tiny slits.

A brave woman standing near the front line was holding a wooden rolling pin like a war hammer. Her hand started shaking violently as she pointed it at the newcomers. "We don’t care what you are, just leave us alone."

"Are__ we going to die?" Another squeaked, her voice cracking in absolute terror.

Someone in the back panicked and fainted.

Fear instantly spread through the crowd like wildfire.

"Why are the transportation beasts carrying crocodiles with legs!" A child asked.

The panic doubled. It was a not a simple bandit attack but beast wave too! What kind of operation was this?

Just as the villagers were about to scream and hurl their weapons, the leader riding the front beast reached up and pulled off his helmet.

"Wait! Don’t attack! We are not here to hurt you!" the man called out in clear human speech, waving his hands defensively. "We are from the neighboring village! We came all this way to help because we were worried you might be in deep trouble!"

Fisher and Krugger exchanged stunned gazes, lowering their blades slightly.

Krugger squinted his big eyes, looking closely at a man standing beside the leader. Suddenly, Krugger snapped his fingers and pointed his sword at him. "Hey! I know you! You’re Nathan! "He turned to Fisher and added, "He is one of the poor lads our hunting party rescued from those giant meerkats some days ago!"

Nathan let out a huge sigh of relief, stepping forward with a friendly, bright smile. He nodded respectfully toward the villagers.

"Yes, Uncle Krugger! It’s me!" Nathan said loudly so everyone could hear. He gestured toward the handsome man beside him. "This is Hunter, my boss! We came in peace, and we request an official audience with you leaders!"

Krugger turned back to the hyperventilating villagers, waving his arms dismissively. "Put the weapons away, everyone! Relax! Lower your sticks! These intruders are actually friends!"

The villagers let out a collective, breathless sigh. The woman with the rolling pin wiped cold sweat off her forehead, muttering, "Thank goodness__ I thought I was going to have to wrestle a beast."

Hunter turned to his men, who were sitting proudly on their transport beasts. "Stay put right here. Keep the beasts calm and don’t scare the locals."

"Boss," Nathan cut in nervously, stepping close to Hunter’s elbow. "Are you really going alone with them? We do not really know them, I will come with you."

Hunter gave Nathan a small pat on the shoulder, a calm, confident smirk touching his lips. "I’ll be fine," He said smoothly, his eyes flashing with faint calmness "They don’t have enough rolling pins in this whole village to hurt me." He casually tucked his hands behind his back and followed Fisher and Krugger.

Hunter was led into an open wooden shade, which Krugger proudly introduced as the village main hall. Shortly after they sat down on rough timber stools, two other elder village figures joined the meeting__ a sharp-eyed woman named Gertrude and a hot-headed young man named Koji.

Hunter gave a polite nod, placing his hands flat on his knees. "My name is Hunter. I am from the neighboring village__"

"Does this village have a name?" Koji interrupted sharply, leaning forward with crossed arms. "I mean we have to know where you are coming from at least. We won’t be tricked. When the bandits first came here, they also claimed they were from a neighboring village and just wanted to get to know their neighbors. We welcomed them with open arms. The next time they returned, it was to loot and--"

"Koji, this is not your place to talk." Mr. Krugger cut in. "We can trust these people. They are the ones that helped us fight the bandits."

Koji pursed his lips and crossed his arms on his chest. It was evident that he was unhappy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Hunter raised his head, letting out a long, heavy sigh that made the wooden rafters vibrate slightly. He looked straight into Koji’s suspicious eyes.

"You don’t need to worry about the name of my village," Hunter said calmly. "What you should worry about is the intel I brought you."

Koji’s face flushed red, and he opened his mouth to bark back, but Krugger immediately raised a heavy hand, motioning for him to zip his mouth. Krugger leaned in, his gaze serious. "What intel, Mr. Hunter?"

"Have you been attacked by bandits in the past few days?" Hunter asked directly. He asked like as if he was not already aware of this.

Koji huffed. How slow is this guy, he asked himself.