Chapter 195: Time to leave Rosewater.

It was time for the Beast Valley team to leave Rose Water Village. The team did not want to stick around for the flood.

Hunter stood in front of the village elders, giving a respectful bow. "Elders, your hospitality over these past few days has been top tier," he said, his tone warm but firm. "However, the road ahead is long, and we cannot stay any longer."

He reached into his shirt, pulled out a spare Link band, and handed it directly to Krugger. After Hunter patiently demonstrated how to use it. The eyes of every villager in the crowd lit up like glowing lanterns.

"I want one! Mr. Hunter, let me try it!" Koji shouted, leaning over Hunter’s shoulder with a foolish grin.

If anyone had told Koji three days ago that he would be looking at Hunter with eyes full of worship, he would have spat on the ground. After all, Koji was the undisputed number one fighter in Rose Water Village. But yesterday, he had foolishly challenged Hunter to a "friendly" sparring match. Within three seconds, Hunter had delivered a swift, backhanded slap that landed so cleanly on Koji’s jaw that the poor guy was left spinning in circles, babbling complete gibberish about flying pink rabbits.

Now, Koji scratched his nose, looking at Hunter with sheepish respect. "Mr. Hunter, please_ when you have time, you must return here! I_ I would really love another sparring match!"

Before Hunter could even reply, the crowd of villagers erupted into loud laughter.

"Koji, my boy, do you have a secret wish to die early?" His father hollered from the back.

"Yeah! Last time you couldn’t speak for two hours! Next time, Mr. Hunter might slap your soul right out of your body!" The village nurse Gertrude chimed in.

More boisterous laughter rose into the air, making Koji’s face turn as red as a ripe apple.

Hunter chuckled, shaking his head. "Don’t worry, Koji. We will definitely be back. After all, _ " He glanced over at the giant wooden barrels loaded onto their cargo carts. "_ we still need to buy more of your Green Plum wine."

Mr. Krugger stared at the mountain of wine barrels with a face full of complicated emotions. On one hand, he was thrilled; Hunter had paid them with enough high-grade enough stones that could buy enough grain to feed the village for two years. On the other hand, Krugger wanted to slap his own thigh until it bruised for all the losses they had made over the years.

"Hmm! Mr. Hunter, you are too generous!" Krugger sighed, half-praising Hunter and half-cursing his own lack of vision. "We’ve been selling this wine for pennies and thought it was worthless! If I had known its true value earlier, I wouldn’t have used it to wash my boots! With the energy stones you gave us, our Rose Water Village will never go hungry again for a very long time! This feels like we have been sitting on a gold mine all along and letting rats carry out the nuggets." He slapped his chest. "I am in pain. I am in so much pain."

"Capitalize on this wealth, Elder Krugger," Hunter advised gently, tapping the old man’s shoulder. "Buy better medicine, train the kids, and build stronger perimeter walls. A village with money needs strong fists to protect it so you cannot relax on the security. And don’t show off your wealth or tell the other merchants that you know the secret about the wine. They could lead others back to raid you. Instead, claim that you sold the recipe to a strong guild. I will be visiting to see the progress."

Krugger nodded vigorously, his eyes misting over with gratitude. "We will! We will!"

As Hunter stepped back to let his men say their final goodbyes, he noticed Nathan off to the side, looking utterly miserable.

Nathan_ who usually boasted about being a cold-hearted, unshakeable warrior_ was currently having his sleeve tugged by a sweet local young woman named Mara. Tears rolled down her cheeks like breaking strings of pearls.

"Nathan_ must you really go?" Mara wept, wiping her nose with her apron. "When will I ever see you again? What if you forget about me?"

"Hey, hey, don’t cry, little apple," Nathan stammered, his face bright crimson as he awkwardly patted her head. His usual brave aura had completely vanished, replaced by the panicking energy of a boy who had accidentally stepped on a cat’s tail. "I won’t forget you! I’ll come back! I swear on my warrior heart! If I lie, let lightning strike my_"

"Don’t swear such scary things!" Mara sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

Hunter smirked at the sight, shaking his head. He pulled out his personal Link Band and dialed Zyra back at the beast valley.

The screen hummed, and Zyra’s face appeared. "Hello Hunter."

"Hey," Hunter said, leaning against a wooden post. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, not much. Just feeding Spice," Zyra replied casually.

In the background, Hunter could hear terrifying crunching and hissing sounds, followed by the satisfied burp of a tiny, mutated creature.

Hunter winced, rubbing his temples. "Zyra_ what on earth are you feeding her this time?"

"Just some poisonous ring-beetles I found near the swamp,"* she said blithely. "She loves the crunch!"

"At the rate you’re feeding her those dark-attribute toxins, her belly is going to turn into a lead ball," Hunter groaned. "She won’t even be able to crawl, let alone fight."

Zyra let out a bright, bell-like laugh over the line. "If she gets too fat to crawl, I’ll just roll her around like a basketball! Anyway, why are you calling? Are you guys on your way already?"

"Yeah," Hunter said, watching his men finish securing the last cart. "I don’t think those bandits are coming. The transport beast probably died on its way back to their main camp."

Zyra nodded on her end, her tone relaxing. "That makes sense. In that case, wrap things up and come home. We have a flood and a mission to prepare for_"

Hardly had the words left her mouth when a sharp, ear-piercing sound shattered the air on Hunter’s end. It was a metallic, panicking screech_ a sound that only transport beasts made when they arrived their destination.

Hunter’s beast link suddenly flared violently, flashing red as rapid warning pulses echoed out.

Hunter’s smile instantly vanished. His eyes narrowed into cold, sharp slits. "Tyrant is in distress!"

"Hunter?! What’s happening?!" Zyra’s voice yelled through the holographic video, her casual tone completely gone.

Hunter didn’t answer right away. He slowly raised his head, looking up at the sky above the village entry path.