BXBX NOVEL Chapter 204: Forest fire
As the door creaked open, a gasp escaped Telvi\'s lips. The sight before her shattered the fragile pieces of hope she had left. Toga lay motionless on the floor, surrounded by a chilling pool of blood with his hand cut. A sharp cry escaped her throat, echoing through the walls of her once-safe haven.
"Help! Someone, please help!" Telvi\'s desperate plea cut through the air, summoning villagers who rushed to her side. Panic and concern etched across their faces as they took in the distressing scene.
Baktou, alerted by the commotion, swiftly arrived. His eyes widened in shock at the sight before him, but his training kicked in. With a calm demeanour, he approached Toga and assessed the situation.
"Clear the way! We need space," Baktou commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. The villagers stepped back, allowing him room to work and Baktou quickly acted upon the directions he received from his system.
[Doesn\'t look fatal? He must have fainted from the blood loss and it was lucky that he avoided the veins. Quickly treat him!]
Telvi, trembling and tear-stricken, could only watch as Baktou, with the assistance of his advanced system, examined Toga\'s condition. The tension in the room grew with every passing second.
"He\'s lucky," Baktou finally announced, relief evident in his voice. "The veins are intact. He didn\'t cut them correctly."
A collective sigh swept through the room, but Telvi\'s heart still pounded with fear. Baktou, his face a mix of concern and determination, began administering first aid. As he worked, he glanced at Telvi, offering a reassuring nod.
"Get some clean water and bandages," Baktou directed, and a few villagers rushed to comply.
In the midst of the crisis, Telvi couldn\'t help but feel a mix of emotions. The guilt and shame that had haunted her were momentarily replaced by a surge of gratitude for Baktou\'s timely intervention.
"Telvi, you should stay with him. I\'m going back since I want to quickly end this and acquire the stone so I can recreate everything we did wrong. I will make things better for all of us." After saying those confusing words to Telvi, Baktou left the room with a determined look on his face.
[Are you sure? I thought you were just going to take that stone and keep it under your safety. If you really want to use it, we might need more than just drilling tools that you operate with your hands.]
"..." Baktou listened to his system\'s warning, but then he addressed her in a way that it felt more closer, which he had never done with his system before unlike Garnt and Eva because he always thought about these voices as people who wanted to feed on them as parasites for their own advantages.
"Was it Mia? Should I call you that?" He asked in a tone, which sounded much more resolute.
[Yes, my name is Mia Becker. It feels strange for you to call me that but I guess with how long we have been together it is normal. So what do you want to know, Baktou?]
It was a question the same old question that Mia always asked from Baktou, but this time it had even more weight to it since Baktou called his system by her own name.
"Why don\'t you use that stone to turn things around? I don\'t understand why you\'re just asking me to keep Garnt and his system away from it. I know that you hate a woman called Eva, but if you use that stone you could turn around many things and possibly get what you want," Baktou asked confused, because he was starting to see why this meteor was so valued among both beast and human alike.
[Haha! What can I say to that... I guess I\'m just different. I just want to stop Eva from getting this meteor no matter what.]
Mia laughed, but then her voice got serious as if her personality changed. see-MVLeMpYr-for-more
[I don\'t want to turn things around. It\'s not like I\'m satisfied with my current situation, but I don\'t want to use something external to make my life better. Unlike Eva I have no such desire, but why do you ask?]
"And what if I said, I want to use that meteor to make my life better? Would you agree or would you stop supporting me?"
[...]
Mia paused when she heard what Baktou said, but she also knew this wasn\'t strange after all, things have not been going great for Baktou since she knew sooner or later he would go berserk because of his dinosaur DNA since he doesn\'t even have proper medication anymore.
[Do whatever you want, I don\'t care but I just want you to stop Garnt from getting that meteor. It will save both your brother and me from that bitch who only thinks about her own advantages and use people for that.]
***
Days passed, and the main village plunged into a flurry of activity. Garnt, despite his lingering pain, took charge as a leader, determined to ensure the well-being of his people.
In the heart of the village, workers laboured tirelessly to cut down the surrounding forest. The sound of axes and saws echoed through the air as trees fell one by one. The wood, essential for various needs, was carefully carried back to the village by dedicated individuals.
The main purpose of clearing out the forest was to isolate the village from the part of the forest that Garnt wanted to burn down.
Garnt, with a solemn expression, watched as the forest he had known for years was slowly disappearing. He knew that sacrifices were being made, but it was a necessary step to secure the village\'s survival.
Eva said to Garnt, who was still not feeling good about this process,
[Don\'t worry! These trees will be useful for us, and unlike in my day and age, this is like giving the forest a haircut since it doesn\'t even damage the amount of oxygen these trees are going to produce. Sooner or later, this forest will turn into a city, but for now, let\'s just hope we can enjoy this beauty.]
He smiled at her words, knowing she was concerned about him.
As the piles of wood grew, Garnt gathered a group of villagers to a secluded part of the forest where the dead bodies lay. With determination in his eyes, he started a controlled fire. The flames roared, devouring the remains of the unfortunate creatures. The hope was that by burning the bodies, the stench that plagued the forest would decrease, offering relief to the suffering villagers.
At the same time, he expected to get rid of the wild animals or the dangerous dinosaurs that might be around the meteor, so he could take it back when the time was right, but he knew at some point they would come back for it, so he was ready to fight.
"These wood will be useful to make more balliista and many more weapons. Also, we are going to need a huge amount of metal. Luckily, I asked Kiriah and my other mining villages to increase their supply, so sooner or later, I will have more than tons of metal in this village,"
Garnt thought while looking at the flame that kept soaring through the forest.
The hardworking individuals, under Garnt\'s guidance, faced the challenges with resilience. Some constructed masks to shield themselves from the lingering gases, while others toiled to ensure that the wood was distributed for various purposes within the village.
In the medical area, Unami and Kara, still recovering, observed the village\'s transformation with a mix of gratitude and concern. They couldn\'t actively participate, but their thoughts were with their fellow villagers, and they shared words of encouragement whenever possible.
Garnt, despite his own physical discomfort, stood by his people, offering support and guidance. He took on the responsibility of a true leader, understanding that tough decisions had to be made for the greater good.
Eva, observing the developments, continued to provide counsel to Garnt.
[It\'s tough, but we\'re making progress. The masks will help, the wood will sustain us, and the fire will clear the air. We\'re resilient, and we\'ll get through this together.]
For the next few months, Garnt had to keep his eye on the seaside village while building the necessary equipment he needed. The part of the forest that had been filled with bodies was cleared out by the wind as it carried away all the remaining remnants of the burnt forest, so the condition of the air started to improve.
But in the midst of all this, there was one woman who was not satisfied with everything that was happening, and that woman was none other than Kalina, who wanted to quickly kill both Baktou and Garnt.