Chapter 888: The Gathering Site, Torito Cunzi Special Brewed Ale, Discussion

As soon as Jier appeared, the gathered crowd began to whisper, swarming forward in a rush to get a look at what was happening.

But there was no need for the villagers to do so; Jier strode toward the center of the gathering, letting the light from the surrounding bright torches and bonfires illuminate him.

The crowd widened their eyes to observe him at close range. Those in the back rows, their view blocked, couldn't help but stand on tiptoe or step onto something to get a look at this foreign Knight.

So young!

This was the first impression everyone had upon seeing him. Judging by his face alone, some of the foolish and simple young men in the village appeared more mature than this Knight. If not for the fact that this young Knight was wearing armor, no one would have believed that such an overly young lad could stand against a Dwarf.

Fortunately, Jier, who was not wearing his Helmet, wore a look of confidence and a smile after leading the men to defeat the Dwarf soldiers. This made his face, though young, look quite different from everyone else around him.

It was easy to tell; the villagers of Torito Cunzi, even the older immigrants from the Empire, had spent so much time in this narrow Valley ruled and managed by Dwarves that their faces unconsciously carried a lack of confidence and a look of constant humility toward the Dwarves.

It was rare, or rather, one could not see a single person among them with a confident smile.

Furthermore, after seeing Jier's face, many people subsequently felt, "So this young Knight actually looks quite average."

Indeed, while Jier's face held a rare sense of confidence and a smile, beyond that, it was just a very ordinary, average face.

This face could not be called ugly, but compared to some of the handsome young men in the village, it was lacking. This left many feeling somewhat disappointed; after all, he was a foreign Knight capable of bringing great change to the local village, a man who had been creating victories since this morning that they wouldn't have dared to imagine.

In the minds of many, such achievements should belong to a perfect young Human Knight.

To the villagers of Torito Cunzi, Jier's plain, young face simply did not seem to match the series of things he had accomplished.

The young Knight himself had no extra thoughts about his own face; he rarely encountered reflective surfaces and didn't care much about it. So, at this moment, he smiled and waved at everyone. After attracting everyone's attention, he pointed his thumb at the string of "spoils" being dragged on the ground behind him and said loudly to everyone looking over: "Come and see this! Ha, I guarantee it will surprise you! You'll feel that coming out tonight was not a wasted trip."

Following Jier's gesture, the villagers who had participated in the ambush and were the last to enter the gathering site dragged large nets, tied tight with Rope, into the villagers' line of sight. The things inside the nets were not as big as a normal person, but they were much larger than the animals in the Forest. They were bulging, and where they were exposed through the nets and Rope, they reflected the light of the surrounding Torches.

The three Tusi brothers also took the opportunity to loudly announce the identities of these "spoils."

Datus lifted his chin: "These things on the ground are Dwarves! And they are the professional soldiers among the Dwarves!"

Tusi the Second smiled proudly: "See clearly now, under the leadership of Sir Knight Jier, we have captured the most powerful batch of soldiers among the Dwarves!"

Tusi the Third, the youngest and most talkative, explained in detail: "Just a moment ago, right nearby! Sir Knight personally fought while moving, luring these few Dwarf soldiers from the center of the village to the place he had personally set up an ambush. We assisted him and captured these most powerful guys among the Dwarves in one fell swoop!"

Not only were the three Tusi brothers proud, but the brave villagers who had participated in the ambush and were dragging the nets to guard the Dwarves also puffed out their chests proudly, one after another telling their familiar friends about the thrilling battle just now.

The watching villagers were first surprised, then realized what these people had done, and exclaimed one after another.

Their faces were filled with expressions of pleasant surprise.

The Dwarves in the village were far superior to the Humans in the village in terms of strength, weapons, protective gear, and combat training. The Humans in the village only had a slight advantage in numbers. Not to mention the period decades ago when the first group of people in the village had many conflicts with the Dwarves, even now, an ordinary Dwarf Miner could chase ten or so Human males around while drunk.

Because Dwarves were short and sturdy, with strength several times that of an average Human, the villagers, who lacked armor-piercing weapons, were no match for any Dwarf in a conflict once the Dwarves put on their armor. Fortunately, the Dwarves were somewhat reasonable and rarely bullied the Humans in the village, and didn't even pay much attention to them; otherwise, Torito Cunzi would have been a different place before Jier arrived today.

Therefore, although everyone had gathered tonight to resist the Dwarves, the vast majority had no idea whether they would actually succeed.

The foreign young Knight being able to fight was one thing, but whether the villagers could fight was another; they could not be evaluated together.

However, at this moment, looking at the sturdy Dwarves in the nets—some armored and glaring at them, others unconscious—people couldn't help but realize one thing.

So, we aren't actually unable to beat these Dwarves?

The atmosphere gradually became high-spirited after the captured Dwarves were dragged to the center of the gathering. Some villagers were so excited that they even gathered around the bonfire and started dancing.

More people gathered around Jier, either introducing themselves or curiously asking Jier questions.

Where did he come from?

What exactly happened in the battle during the day? Especially, what was that terrifying change in the center of the village this afternoon?

Now that they had gathered tonight, why hadn't any Dwarves come to stop or drive them away?

They said they had ambushed and captured these Dwarves, but what was the specific process?

Could they interrogate or harm these core forces among the Dwarves?

Jier ignored the other questions; those would be answered by others who had participated in the ambush. He only answered the last question: "Interrogation is fine, if those captives are willing to answer your questions. But harming them is not! I still have use for them."

A middle-aged man who had asked that question asked curiously: "What are you going to use them for? Can you tell us?"

Jier supported his right elbow with one hand and stroked his chin with his right hand. After pondering for a moment, he nodded: "I can tell you, but I don't know if you will be able to understand or support it."

An elder in the village who was gathered around Jier tapped his walking stick and said: "Knight, then why don't you tell us quietly first." After speaking, he scanned the crowd, looking at the people gathered around the foreign Knight; they were all middle-aged and elderly villagers with some prestige and intelligence in the village, no young people, at least all of them were the Liege or head of a household.

Jier didn't speak directly. He led these people to the center of the gathering, pulled out the long table and wooden chairs set up there, sat down, tapped the wooden table, and said loudly: "First, bring some food and drink. Although the battle just now wasn't long, it was quite intense. Those Dwarf soldiers are really not easy guys to deal with; the armor on their bodies is too powerful, and my usual methods couldn't hurt them at all. And their weapons were also too powerful."

At this point, some villagers immediately called for the food and water that had been specially prepared in advance. Jier pointed to a young villager in the surrounding crowd who was helping him carry the Dwarf soldiers' Soldier Spear; that villager was currently showing off the Dwarf soldier's spear he held high to the people around him. Jier then said to the people around him: "This Dwarf weapon is truly too powerful. My armor is actually quite good; at least it has accompanied me through many harsh battles, but the front of the armor on my thigh couldn't even block a single thrust of the spear."

Pointing to a small wound on his thigh, he added: "It pierced through the thick Metal Armor Plate in one go; under the sharp edge of the spear, the metal was no stronger than freshly baked Bread. What's even more magical is that after it wounded me, the mysterious patterns that were already on the spear began to glow, and it seemed to have some new changes. Of course, that thing isn't glowing now; it seems the magical change faded away after lasting for a while."

Then Jier said loudly: "With such a powerful weapon, those five Dwarf soldiers each had one! Just thinking about it, you know it's hard to deal with. Haha, fortunately, you don't need to show such nervous expressions. Haha, I thought of a clever, tricky way at the time and confiscated all their spears."

"Without their handy weapons, the strength of these Dwarf soldiers dropped significantly. After that, as long as I was careful to avoid the Small Iron Hammer they threw during the battle, it was fine."

An elderly man nearby coughed twice and said with a serious expression: "Their projectiles are also powerful. When our batch of immigrants was detained here decades ago, many people who resisted them were killed or crippled by the Throwing Iron Hammer they threw."

Several middle-aged villagers looked surprised, as if hearing this for the first time. Jier waved his hand: "It's alright. If there were many of them, this thing would naturally be very dangerous, but as long as you pay attention to the number of Dwarves you are fighting at one time before the battle, you can react in time during the battle and dodge the flight path of the projectiles in advance."

Speaking of this, the food and water Jier asked for arrived; they had been specially prepared before the gathering and were delivered quickly.

A middle-aged farmer carried a small barrel of wine to the wooden table, opened the lid, and filled a large wooden cup with the locally brewed wine.

"Knight, try our brewed wine."

The wine was delivered to Jier. The specially prepared cup was quite large, and the ale brewed with wheat inside had surprisingly few bubbles. After the cup was pushed in front of Jier, a faint scent of apples and pears drifted around.

Jier took a sip. The taste was very different from the ale he had tasted in the outside world. Although the basic taste was similar, because of the extra aroma of the fruit—which could not only be smelled but also tasted in the mouth—it was a bit strange at first, but after another sip, he felt it wasn't bad and was surprisingly suitable for sipping.

"Whew, not bad. If you opened a tavern in a big city outside, this wine would definitely make you all rich," Jier praised.

The villagers gathered around also took some normal cups and had some, sipping a little and not drinking much. After all, this was not the time for heavy drinking; they all knew they had to stay calm and sober.

"You should also drink less; there will likely be more fighting after dawn," an older person advised.

Jier waved his hand: "This is what I wanted to say earlier. In my opinion, the battle for Torito Cunzi should be over."

"Over!?"

"Over?!"

People exclaimed in low voices one after another. At this time, a basket of Bread with crispy crusts was brought up by a middle-aged farm woman and placed on the table with a thud. Although the farm woman's movements were rough, she rubbed her hands embarrassedly and said: "Sir Knight Jier, it's too late, we don't have freshly baked Bread, we could only pick out the freshest Bread from the kitchens of the surrounding houses and toast them for you on the bonfire. Remember to use a small knife to scrape off the charred black parts before eating."

Jier nodded and smiled at her: "Thank you for the trouble, this is enough. By the way, please provide some food and water for the other villagers who participated in the battle. After all, battle is dangerous, and it would be too pitiful not to have enough food and wine to fill their stomachs after winning."

The middle-aged farm woman clapped her hands proudly: "Don't worry, we have prepared enough food and drink for everyone until dawn, ensuring everyone fills their stomachs. We also roasted a few chickens, they'll be ready soon, and I'll bring them to you as soon as they are!"

"Then I am very grateful; fighting always makes one's stomach a bit hungry."

After this high-spirited middle-aged farm woman walked away to busy herself with the Roasted Chicken, the Villagers with various expressions around them lowered their voices to ask Jier: "Knight Jier, what do you mean by this 'end' you speak of?"

Jier was in no rush to answer them; after all, it was still very early before dawn, and they had plenty of time to discuss everything for tomorrow.

Jier was a bit thirsty, so he stopped sipping the Torito Cunzi specialty ale in his cup and instead took a large gulp, drinking down more than half the cup. After chugging down the ale, Jier picked up a piece of dark Bread that was still steaming on the surface, reached toward his waist with his right hand, and after a moment of hesitation, drew a Dagger from his waist.

This was a gorgeous Dagger with a large red Gem embedded in the center of the hilt; both the blade and the handle were made of special materials. Under the illumination of the surrounding firelight, the entire Dagger seemed to constantly emit a faint red glow and a scorching heat that one could feel just by looking at it.

That's right, this was the Magic Dagger 【Heart Fire】. At this moment, besides Jier, no one realized that Jier was about to use a Magic Dagger to scrape the charred bits off the surface of the baked Bread to assist with his meal.

The surrounding Villagers took a few extra looks at the beautiful Dagger Jier was using to scrape his Bread, all quietly waiting for the young Knight to explain their previous question.

Scraping off the charred skin of the Bread caused by the reheating with the Magic Dagger, Jier didn't care that the inside of the Bread was scalding hot; he took a large bite, and while chewing, picked up his cup to wash it down with the cool, fruity-scented ale.

It seemed that either the wheat seeds or the soil in Torito Cunzi were poor, or perhaps the village women's skills were lacking, as the Bread tasted truly mediocre. Fortunately, it seemed the people here had learned a thing or two about brewing from the Dwarves, as the ale was exceptionally delicious.

With a bite of Bread and a sip of ale, Jier finished the plate-sized piece of Bread in his hand in a few bites. Without him needing to do anything, the cup he had just finished was immediately refilled by a Villager next to the cup with a ladle.

Jier picked up another piece of charred, reheated Bread, and while using the Magic Dagger as a table knife to scrape the surface of the Bread, he began to speak to the Villagers listening to him.

"Although this is my first time here, I have stayed here for at most less than a day."

As he spoke, the people around him listened quietly. Outside their circle, the brave Villagers who had succeeded in the ambush were loudly describing the entire process of the battle to the other Villagers. Although most of them had only followed orders to lie in wait around the ambush point and had seen little of the actual battle, the Villagers, who longed to defeat the Dwarves, still listened very intently.

The three Tusi brothers had even more to say. Not only were they the organizers of the ambush, but because they were on the roof of a house during the ambush, they had seen a good portion of Jier's battle. Combining this with some guesses about the combat, they described most of the battle between Jier and the Dwarf Soldiers, which made the Villagers around them widen their eyes just from listening.

"But I don't know if you understand or not, the act of fighting allows both sides of a battle to possess a far more efficient understanding and comprehension than ordinary means."

Jier's words left most of the middle-aged Villagers, who had grown up in Torito Cunzi and never left, feeling completely confused; only a small number of elders who were the first generation of migrants could understand such words.

"Even if it is only for a day, the observations and dialogues brought about by the battle have allowed me to have some of my own understanding of this 'small' place."

The middle-aged Villagers who didn't understand the young Knight's words looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion. As for the few elders in the village who organized tonight's gathering and participated in the ambush, they didn't need to speak; they just exchanged glances and, combined with the young Knight's series of actions since his arrival, guessed what he was about to say.

Some of the elders frowned, some clenched their withered fists, some nodded slightly, and some picked up their cups and took a small sip.

Jier began eating the Bread again after peeling off its charred outer coat, taking a bite of Bread and a sip of ale, and finished the large piece of Bread in a few bites.

It was unknown how Jier's stomach was built; for a piece of Bread that would satisfy an average young person after eating half, Jier had eaten and drunk two of them and still looked as if he hadn't had enough.

"To put it plainly, after direct combat and a full day of observation, I have discovered."

"What have you discovered?" an old man asked with a serious face. He was not asking for himself; the few elders had already guessed the young Knight's intentions, so this question was asked on behalf of the surrounding middle-aged Villagers.

Jier looked around and said: "I have discovered that, compared to the Human Villagers within Torito Cunzi, the problems faced by the Dwarves here are even greater."

"They are almost at their breaking point."