Green Monster Epic

Chapter 346: That Familiar Place

Green Lake Village was a scene of joy. Outside the village, the continuous green waves rippled like flowing water under the caress of the breeze. More than a dozen diligent gnomes weaved through the wheat stalks, which were almost as tall as they were, carefully tending to the crops.

In Green Lake, a small boat glided slowly. A delicate net, guided by the skilled movements of the gnome fisherman on board, spread out and fell into the water. When it reappeared, the net already contained several struggling lake fish.

Clang! Clang clang clang!

Suddenly, the village watchtower rang a series of urgent alarm bells. Accompanied by the chaos of chickens flying and dogs jumping, the gnomes outside the village shouldered their tools and fled back to the village in a panic. Their usual training allowed everyone to know how to respond when the alarm bells rang. In a short half-magic hour, the north gate of Green Lake Village slammed shut. At the same time, countless gnome warriors in the village put down their laboring tools and instead took up sharp, gleaming spears, heavy axes, and other weapons, arranging themselves into a somewhat organized formation, awaiting the order from the acting village chief, Flower Snake.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Black Head, Dog Egg, and other village leaders, though showing some panic on their faces, were relatively calm. They hurriedly arrived at the village square, fully armed in heavy armor, and questioned Flower Snake, who was solemnly inspecting the warriors of the clan in the square.

"The scouts from the village reported that a team of about 300 people is heading towards our tribe, more than 30 miles south of our village."

Below, Stoneborn, as the small leader of the village hunting team, quickly stepped forward to report the situation to the two elders.

"Only 300 people, is there any need to make such a fuss?"

An arrogant voice came, and the figure sauntering towards Flower Snake and the others was none other than Boban, the Gnoll, who was temporarily living in Green Lake Village. Compared to his appearance more than two years ago, Boban had gained a lot of fat, and even his short, thick wolf face was as fat as a wild pig.

Boban's status in Green Lake Village was somewhat detached. Because he was not a Gnome, although Boban and his clansmen had been living in Green Lake Village, Boban actually had no power in the village. At most, he was only equivalent to a hunting team leader, usually leading his Gnolls to patrol the plains or take turns hunting.

However, before Allen left, he told Flower Snake to keep an eye on Boban and not let him and his Gnoll clansmen leave the village. Therefore, in order to win over Boban and his people, Flower Snake usually treated them very politely, without much difficulty.

Over time, these Gnolls from the Ivan tribe became accustomed to the Green Field tribe's life, and they got along very well with the Gnomes in Green Lake Village. They had no choice but to get along. Although they treated Boban fairly politely, when it came to dealing with disobedient Gnolls, Da Shan, who had previously been in charge of security and defense in the clan, was not polite at all to these outsiders, often kicking, beating, and scolding them, wishing he could skin these guys alive.

No matter how crazy and arrogant the Gnolls' personalities were, they had to behave obediently under Da Shan, who had already advanced to a high-level Berserker. Over time, the Gnolls' personalities became much more docile, at least they couldn't straighten their backs in front of the Bear Goblins. After all, this was the wilderness where strength spoke.

"No matter what, it's better to be careful!"

Flower Snake shook his head, not agreeing with Boban's opinion. The village scouts only dared to keep a distant watch on the slowly moving team and did not dare to get close to observe. After Eileen, the Shadow Walker, was no longer in the village, the tribe now only had a child who had just turned 8 years old and awakened his shadow talent, but was unable to serve the tribe.

"I don't believe it, there are still guys who don't have eyes, dare to run to the Green Field Plain to run wild!"

Boban still didn't care. Life in Green Lake Village was really carefree. Every day, he had all kinds of delicacies to eat, and he lived in a spacious and grand stone house, without having to worry about safety at all. His quality of life was much better than when he was in the old Ivan territory. If Boban had been thinking about returning to his homeland to become independent before, he had long lost that ambition now. Although his power in Green Lake Village was not great, compared to the benefits he received, that little power was nothing.

Anyway, with Boban's current strength as a level 12 Berserker, as long as Flower Snake, the Bear Goblin, wasn't crazy, he wouldn't possibly not win him over.

"Isn't your tribe's mine recently complaining about a lack of labor? Now is the perfect time, let's take a team of warriors out and directly capture these guys and send them to the Auro Mine!"

"The situation is not clear yet, there is no need to take risks, let's wait and see."

Flower Snake was not afraid of this suddenly emerging team, but felt that it was best to choose stability when the situation was unclear. This was the style of dealing with things that he had been consciously or unconsciously imitating Allen's way of thinking.

No matter what the purpose of this team was, if they were coming for the Green Field tribe, then with the high walls protecting the village, the tribe warriors would suffer fewer losses; and if they were just a passing trade caravan, they would naturally send an envoy to negotiate, and it would not be too late for him to send someone to discuss the issue of transit fees.

Of course, there would definitely be trade caravans that would take a chance and secretly detour after discovering the Green Field tribe. At this time, the scouts arranged by Flower Snake to follow and keep watch would play a role and report back, and it would naturally be less risky to send out a team to pursue them.

"Whatever you want, then it seems there's nothing for me to do!"

Boban shrugged his shoulders, replied boredly, and rubbed his belly.

"Ah, looking at the sky, it's time for lunch, you guys are busy with your things, I'm going to eat!"

This stupid Gnoll, Boban, didn't notice Flower Snake's somewhat distorted face, wiggled his butt, turned around, and went down the mountain to find something to eat.

"Tch!"

Tony, the Gnome behind Flower Snake, spat at the Gnoll's back. These Gnolls were quite nice to the powerful Bear Goblins and Earth Goblins, but when facing the weaker Gnomes, they would always open their big mouths full of fangs to intimidate and bully the Gnomes, making the Gnomes' lives somewhat difficult.

It was just that leaving the Gnolls in the village was arranged by Allen, the former tribe chief, when he went out to travel, in order to increase the tribe's protection, after all, the tribe's main combat power had been reduced by more than half after the war with the demons, and the Gnolls were urgently needed to help.

With the growth of the tribe's new generation in the past two years, as well as the sporadic purchases and subjugation of Goblin warriors, although the tribe's warrior team had not fully recovered to its peak three years ago, it was not far off.

"Chief, it's time to drive these harmful guys out of the village!"

Seeing Flower Snake's face unhappy, Tony immediately leaned forward to give Boban a bad word, whispering a few words in Flower Snake's ear.

"They are getting more and more excessive now, they don't even put you in their eyes!"

Flower Snake turned his head and glared at Tony, scaring him into stopping immediately, retreating back to his original position, his eyes flickering shily.

"Chief, it's, it's Chief Allen who's back!!!"

Finally, the scout sent back news again. At the same time, a long snake appeared on the plains to the south, slowly wriggling towards the location of Green Lake Village.

"What? Chief Allen is back??"

"Wow!!!"

"……"

The scene suddenly lost control. The previously solemn and dignified team was now filled with whispers, which began to spread, and more and more people joined in. Some people looked excited, constantly looking into the distance; some people didn't know why, completely not understanding how a chief suddenly appeared; and some people had awkward smiles on their faces, but their eyes revealed complex emotions, and their hearts were somewhat anxious.

Flower Snake's expression was complicated, looking into the distance at the not-so-clear horizon to the south, without speaking for a long time.

"Chief, are we going to welcome Chief Allen?"

Dog Egg and Stoneborn saw that Flower Snake had not moved for a long time, and their excitement could not hide their surprise, so they spoke up and asked.

"...Well, then you go and welcome Allen."

Flower Snake nodded slowly, then watched Stoneborn and Dog Egg take steps and rush towards the north gate. With them were half of the warriors gathered in the square, and no one gave them any orders, so they chased after Stoneborn and the others' figures and ran out of the village.

"Chief Allen is back??"

Boban, who had just walked halfway up the mountain, shouted again, his voice also full of joy: "Then what are we waiting for, children, come out with me to welcome Chief Allen!!"

At this time, Boban had put the matter of eating aside, chasing after Stoneborn and the others' figures, fearing that if he was one step late, he would lose favor in front of Allen.

On the square on the top of the mountain, still more than half of the Goblin warriors did not move. Some were looking blankly at their compatriots and Flower Snake, who had been the leader for many years, while others lowered their heads to the ground, completely ignoring the surrounding movements, as if they did not care about this suddenly appearing chief.

Seeing this scene, Flower Snake's heart finally calmed down a bit. Most of the warriors who remained in the square recognized his control over the village in the past few years. At least because of their actions, he felt some comfort in his heart.

"Chief Flower Snake, wha, what should we do?"

Don't look at how nicely this Gnome, Tony, spoke before, and how loyal his attitude was, but when Allen, the real leader, appeared, his heart was also somewhat uneasy, and he had long lost his momentum just now.

"What should we do, we'll do. Since Allen is back, we have to go and welcome him."

Flower Snake said lightly, then turned to the remaining few leaders of Black Head and the others and ordered: "Gather the team, we will go outside the village to welcome Allen and the others back!!"

"By the way, go and tell Tea Flower to quickly prepare more lunch, prepare something more sumptuous!!"

"Okay!!"

In the village, there were also people who had been paying attention to this scene, but they did not move to walk in front of Allen or Flower Snake, still doing their own jobs.

"In human civilization, there are many powerful kingdoms..."

Although he was teaching, Philip's mind had already drifted outside the village, wondering what kind of turmoil would occur in the village next. Thinking of this, Philip lost the mood to teach. He tapped the desk with his pointer a few times and waved his hand, saying, "Today's class ends here, go home! !"

"Whoa! !"

In the not-so-small classroom, a group of youngsters scrambled out, disappearing in a blink of an eye.

"Sigh! !"

Philip sighed deeply, his heart filled with worry. His good days had only just begun, and his little ones hadn't grown up yet. He hoped nothing would go wrong! !

The reason Allen didn't let the faster Irene run back to the village to report the news first was that he wanted to give the old folks in the village a surprise. At the same time, he also wanted to see if the village had maintained at least a basic level of vigilance during his absence.

Now it seemed that, at least in terms of vigilance, these goblins had not degenerated due to a stable life. The crowd cheering and running towards him on the northern ground indeed made his sudden return a pleasant surprise.

"Chieftain Allen! ! When do we strike! !"

Behind Allen, the hobgoblin Augqi, along with a group of goblin warriors, had eyes burning with fighting spirit, looking eager to move.

"Strike?"

Allen was a little confused, but then he realized that these guys probably thought that the ones coming towards them were troublemakers again. After a hearty laugh, he waved his hand and said proudly, "The guys running towards us are all my people! !"

"Welcome to my territory, Allen's territory! This will be your home from now on—Greenfield Plains! !"

During their journey, Allen's team had grown to over 350 people, with about two hundred hobgoblins and the rest bear goblins. It was just a pity that he didn't have much food and grass prepared, and the larger the team, the greater the impact on the surrounding areas. Several times, they were on the verge of a bloody battle with the local powerful tribes.

In the end, Allen personally stepped forward and challenged the strongmen of the opposing tribes, forcing them to give up chasing Allen's team, but they remained vigilant and wary of Allen's actions.

"Chieftain! ! !"

"Chieftain ~ ~ ~"

From afar, a group of goblins of different heights shouted and waved their hands at Allen, trying to attract his attention.

Cole, Bush, and the other teenagers also broke away from the crowd and rushed out, colliding with the welcoming team. Many of their childhood friends were embracing them, cheering and excitedly telling each other their longing.

"Chieftain, you're back! !"

Dog-egg was the least experienced among the middle-aged leaders of the tribe, but he was also promoted by Allen himself. At this time, he excitedly bowed his head to greet Allen.

Behind him, Shi Sheng, Allen's student, didn't rush to tell Cole and the others how much he missed them. Instead, with a nostalgic look in his eyes, he also excitedly greeted Allen.

"You've worked hard these past few years. Where's Flower Snake?"

Allen nodded repeatedly, a rare warm and amiable expression on his face. He patted Dog-egg and the others on the shoulders and then looked for Flower Snake's figure.

"Flower Snake Chieftain, Village Chief, is waiting for you at the village entrance. He asked us to pick you up first! !"

Dog-egg originally wanted to continue calling him Flower Snake Chieftain, but then he temporarily changed his mind. Now that Allen was back, Flower Snake was no longer their leader.

"Then, has anything major happened in the village these past few years? Have those demons reappeared in our territory?"

Allen nodded, not feeling anything about Dog-egg's change of address. He didn't think about anything else, just wanting to chat with Dog-egg and Shi Sheng about whether anything major had happened in the village during his absence.

"Wow, is that Little White's partner?"

In the distance, a group of teenagers surrounded Cole, Linnaeus, and the others, looking at the dire wolves who were staring at them warily, wanting to step forward and say hello, but they were afraid of being attacked by these dire wolves, so they couldn't help but turn their eyes to Cole, expecting her response.

"That's right! ! Let me tell you, this little guy is called Ye Yun. He's the pet I take care of. Whoever dares to bully it, I'll beat them up, you hear?"

Cole responded heroically, while pulling out the head of the black, fluffy dire wolf cub that she could barely hold in her arms to say hello to everyone.

Cole and Irene each took one of the three little dire wolves as a pet, and the remaining one was reserved by Cole for her sister, Martha. Allen had already told them that the tribe could support these dire wolves in the future, but they also had to obey the arrangements and become partners of the tribe's warriors, serving the tribe. Allen had reached a consensus with the wind-type magical beast Little Grey through Linnaeus. In order to be with his partner, this magical wolf didn't mind his subordinates becoming mounts and partners of the Greenfield tribe from now on, as long as they could be treated equally by Allen and these goblins.

Whether it's a mount or a partner, for wilderness races, there's no discrimination. And the dire wolves don't feel any humiliation in being ridden.

"Ah, Sister Cole, I want one too! !"

A group of teenagers made a lot of noise, acting spoiled with Cole and the others, and a joyful atmosphere floated in the sky.

"Chieftain, who are these people…"

After a round of greetings, Augqi and the others were left aside. If Dog-egg hadn't turned around to ask, Allen would have even forgotten to introduce them.

"Oh, these guys will be members of our tribe from now on, so pay more attention to them."

"Also, those with their hands and feet bound are prisoners who haven't surrendered yet. Find something for them to suffer a bit. You don't need me to tell you what to do, right?"

"Oh, leave this to me."

Shi Sheng responded softly. After the teenagers of his generation in the village went out to travel with Allen, Shi Sheng became the leader of the younger generation, and in the past two years, he had gradually become familiar with how to manage the tribe.

"Okay, good."

Allen nodded with satisfaction. Letting Shi Sheng stay in the village instead of taking him out to train wasn't because Allen looked down on him, but because the village needed a rising star like him to hold down the fort. Otherwise, those restless and hot-blooded youngsters would definitely cause a lot of trouble in the village.

At the village entrance, there were far more people waiting for Allen's return than those who went to greet him. Countless familiar and unfamiliar faces stood on both sides of the entrance. The mighty and majestic goblin warriors were arranged in two rows according to their height and size, holding sharp or heavy weapons, quietly waiting for Allen and the others to return.

Flower Snake stood at the north gate, followed by Black Head, Tony, and other village leaders, looking at Allen, who was gradually approaching, with a smile on his face.

"Formation! !"

Swish! ! Swish swish! ! !

The goblin warriors raised their weapons unevenly according to the command, but because of the grand scale, these actions seemed very imposing.

"Roar!"

Thump!

"Roar!"

Thump!

… Every time the warriors shouted, their weapons slammed heavily on the ground, and the fierce and powerful aura directly frightened the group of goblins that Allen had captured and incorporated along the way, causing their hearts to jump and their faces to turn green.

Allen frowned slightly. In his opinion, this kind of welcome was a bit of an overreaction. The strength of the tribe never needed this kind of superficial thing to prove it. Moreover, vaguely, Allen could feel a faint aura of threat, which gradually made him feel uneasy.

"Allen, welcome back! !"

Flower Snake only walked forward two steps and hugged Allen after Allen reached the village entrance.

Only after Flower Snake made a move did the several leaders behind him greet Allen with smiles.

Allen nodded one by one, as a response to the greetings of these familiar tribesmen.

"Did you gain anything from this trip?"

Flower Snake released his arms from hugging Allen and patted Allen on the shoulder, asking kindly.

"It's okay, I did gain something."

Facing his most trusted partner and subordinate, Allen was naturally very close and humble after many years of absence, so as not to make the other party feel uncomfortable.

"What about you, you've worked hard these past few years! !"

"This is nothing. Nothing major happened in the village."

"Dad! !"

Cole, who was just close to a group of young teenagers, suddenly plunged into Flower Snake's arms, regardless of the eyes of others around her. Allen watched the warm scene with a smile, not disturbing them. Several teenagers who went out with her were now reunited with their relatives, and a pair of eyes were filled with crystal-clear tears of joy.

Only Bush and Kerry, the two young men, were able to stabilize their emotions because their elders were not around. They were leisurely watching the embarrassing scene of their partners, waiting to tease them during the next gathering.

Of course, there were also goblins who had lost their relatives, looking sadly into the distance, instantly dissipating the joy in Allen's heart. The ashes of the 6 teenagers were still in Allen's dimension bag. Allen originally intended to take them out immediately and hand them over to these goblin tribesmen, but he pressed them back.

The location and time were not suitable opportunities, so he could only wait until the emotions of everyone's reunion subsided before arranging the burial of the teenagers.

With Cole's interruption, Flower Snake's emotions finally became more lively, and he didn't bother to chat with Allen. He pulled Cole aside and whispered, asking her about her situation in the past few years, whether she was injured, and so on.

A joyous gathering lasted for a long time, but Allen did not join the gathering. Instead, he took a group of leaders back to his stone castle on the mountain. He needed to understand the changes in the village in the past few years.

Down the mountain, Augqi and the others looked apprehensive. Under the greeting of Shi Sheng, the young bear goblin, they slowly walked into the clean and tidy Green Lake Village, as if they had come to a paradise on earth.

Outbreak Day 1