vncnus Chapter 48 The Filthy Woman
Chapter 48 The Filthy Woman
evening.
Night is about to fall.
Everyone gathered in the village council hall.
In the past, banquets were often held here, and the villagers would sing and dance with great joy.
However, at this moment, everyone looked anxious, worried and fearful, and their trembling eyes would occasionally dart toward the entrance of the hall.
It seems to be anxiously waiting for something...
Natalie was among them when she suddenly saw the pregnant woman and went over to her.
Seeing her sister's gloomy face and her listless gaze fixed on the cracks between the gray stone bricks on the ground, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
Natalie gently took the other person's hands, which were placed below their abdomen:
"Sister, are you alright?"
The woman shook her head, forcing a smile: "Hmm..."
After a moment of silence, Natalie continued:
Please accept my condolences...
"It's okay, I've let it go."
The woman's voice sounded somewhat tired.
"Thinking about it carefully, this may not be a bad thing. In the past, it was like a shackle for me, and now I can take this opportunity to break free of it."
But has she truly let go? Natalie couldn't guess.
Hopefully so, Natalie remained silent.
A moment later, the woman broke the eerie silence:
"Did he say anything before he died?"
If she could, Natalie wouldn't want to recall that scene.
But the woman's husband was lured into the forest by Natalie, where he was killed by the wolf. Moreover, Natalie had even considered killing him herself.
Although the man deserved his fate, Natalie knew she was partly to blame, so even knowing she would be plunged into fear, she had no choice but to recall it.
Natalie closed her eyes, but saw even more clearly.
She saw a wolf from hell, raising its evil eyes.
She saw the monster regard her as an ant and begin to devour the flesh beneath its claws.
She saw her own hands flailing frantically as she fled, and the village growing ever wider as it swayed.
Then, she saw an even more terrifying scene.
She turned around and saw two more hungry and maddened wolves rushing towards her.
At the last moment, she saw several farmers in front of her, and slipped into the crowd, hiding behind them.
Natalie trembled with fear. Before she opened her eyes, the last image that remained in her mind was—
The two demonic wolves, each dragging its prey, disappeared into the pine forest.
Her breathing trembled, and she looked fearfully at her sister in front of her.
My older sister asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Natalie shook her head...
However, I don't remember that man.
Yeah...that's a trivial matter.
Natalie had to recall everything again before she could barely find some clues...
All she remembered was the man's attempt to take advantage of her and his spineless, pathetic state before he died.
But should I really tell my sister?
Natalie didn't consider herself a girl good at reading people, but at that moment, she had no reason to think that lying might be a good option:
"He didn't have time to say anything."
"yes……"
At that moment, someone rushed into the hall, panting.
The village chief hurriedly stood up and shouted:
"Quick! Get me a drink!"
The panting man took the pine wood glass and downed the beer in one gulp.
The village chief asked, "How is it?"
The man shook his head:
"I've been to many places, but... no lord has responded."
Upon hearing this, the village chief's eyes flashed with surprise, and he slumped back onto the stool.
"How could this happen?"
The man explained:
"Our lord, for some reason, recently took all the soldiers away, and the heraldic officer left inside the city walls is unwilling to reveal their whereabouts."
The village chief immediately said:
"Then let's find other nobles. Although they have no obligation, I am willing to contribute grain and silver coins. I think they will definitely agree."
"I went there, and that's how I relayed the message," the man nodded. "But the local lords did the same; they all left with their troops."
Upon hearing this, Natalie recalled encountering several military units on her way to the Lines Plateau.
The man added, "I also made a trip to the town in the south. It seems that the troops there haven't left, but if we ask the lords outside the plateau for help, our village will probably be ostracized in the future."
The village chief nodded, agreeing with the man's idea.
At this moment, a farmer said:
"Village chief, what should we do? Those demonic wolves are ominous creatures! Have you seen them? The land they trampled on instantly withered all the nearby crops. They bring darkness and death!"
It wasn't darkness, Natalie thought, at least it wasn't death.
She also examined the land, and the areas trampled by wolf claws were indeed rotting.
But in the area surrounding the black soil, both crops and weeds are growing well, even though it is only the first day of February and winter still lingers between heaven and earth.
This indicates that the wolf's footprints merely drove away the soil's fertility.
It, they, are nothing but ominous signs.
Someone else said:
"If those lords refuse to help us in our time of need, why should we pay them taxes every year?"
"It's too late to complain now. The beasts of hell have already attacked. They are larger than lions, more ferocious than wild boars, and there are three of them. We will all die under their claws and be chewed up and swallowed!"
"Wolves don't chew," Natalie thought. "I've seen it with my own eyes."
It uses its outward-facing giant teeth to tear off the skin and flesh attached to the bone, then tilts its head back and swallows it whole.
"The only way out is to escape; staying here means certain death!"
But the village chief hesitated:
"Escape? Where to escape to? All we know is farming. If we leave the land, won't we just starve to death anyway?"
"At least we'll leave and hide for a while, and come back after the demon wolves leave."
"How can you be sure the demon wolves will leave? Besides, cunning villains could seize our village at any time,"
The villager waved his arms and said emotionally,
"Once they claim we've abandoned the village, the lord might not even stand up for us. After all, all he cares about is collecting taxes, regardless of whether the recipients are acquaintances or not. At that point, reclaiming our land will be as difficult as climbing to heaven!"
"Then there's only one option: fight!" Natalie suddenly interjected.
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Natalie.
"Fight? How do we fight?"
At Goringburg, Natalie is always forced to learn etiquette and embroidery, while her brothers need to practice horseback riding, archery, and swordsmanship.
Sometimes, their father would personally guide them in troop deployment and battlefield command.
Natalie had overheard a few words and was now trying her best to recall them.
Finally, she managed to squeeze out some advice:
"We should build fences and defensive walls, and ideally, surround them with stakes and even set traps,"
Her mother said that those born under the bloodline of the Red Tree Forest were naturally gifted at setting animal traps, and Natalie wondered why she couldn't.
"And prepare bows, crossbows, slingshots, and long-handled weapons. Those demonic wolves are indeed terrifying, but it seems they can only harm us at close range. If we can kill them before they get close, we can protect the village!"
Upon hearing Natalie's suggestion, the villagers fell silent.
Suddenly someone asked:
"Hey, who are you?"
Who am I? Natalie wanted to know too.
"Just an unwanted little girl..." Natalie immediately denied... No, she's not even a little girl anymore.
It seems someone recalled:
"Oh right, it was this girl who lured the demonic wolf to the village that day!"
Like throwing a pebble into a pond, it immediately creates ripples.
Immediately, someone echoed:
"Before she arrived, the village was peaceful!"
"If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"Yes, she must be a heretical witch! An evil woman! An apostle of hell!"
"Kill her!"
"She should be sacrificed to those demon wolves. Once they eat her, they should stop bothering the village, and everything in the village will return to normal."
Natalie was stunned; she didn't understand how things had turned out this way.
She could only helplessly clutch the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
If anyone dares to approach her, she will kill them!
Suddenly, a hand patted Natalie on the shoulder from behind.
Natalie was so frightened that her face turned pale. She stumbled and turned around, but tripped and fell to the ground.
Only then did she realize that it was the pregnant woman.
She hates me, Natalie thought, I killed her husband.
The woman reached out her hand to Natalie, who hesitated, wondering whether to draw her dagger.
However, the woman pulled Natalie up and roared back at the group of menacing-looking men:
"You're all insane! You actually want to sacrifice an innocent little girl!"
"She is not innocent; the demon wolves came because of her!" someone retorted. "She is a tainted woman!"
The woman, heavily pregnant, shielded Natalie behind her:
"If the demonic wolf truly came for her, then why wasn't she the one who was carried away that day?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's mouths moved, but they couldn't find a reasonable explanation for it.
Seeing that the scene had calmed down, Natalie simply hugged the woman from behind and buried her head in her back.
"I'm sorry..." Natalie thought guiltily, "I killed your husband."
I'm sorry... Natalie thought guiltily, I actually doubted you.
"I'm sorry..." Natalie thought sadly, "I got your back wet."
Just as the situation in the hall was in complete chaos, someone suddenly reminded them:
"Listen! I think I hear a sound!"
Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath and listened intently...
then……
"Awoo~"
A melodious wolf howl reached their ears.
The villagers were immediately thrown into panic:
"Oh no! The wolf is here! The devil wolf is here!"
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
Two more wolf howls rang out, and a terrifying atmosphere began to spread:
"Three! Those three demonic wolves are here!"
however……
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
……
The fourth howl, the fifth howl... the wolf's howls continued in succession, one after another.
There were at least a dozen howls, overlapping and intertwining, indicating that they came from the throat of the same wolf.
The answer is obvious...
There are more than three dire wolves!
Fear, imperceptibly, underwent a subtle transformation, evolving into despair...
The villagers finally came to a conclusion:
"We...will all die tonight!"
Some paced anxiously, some collapsed to the ground, and some wept bitterly.
Natalie, however, wiped her face with her sleeve.
"I can't die," Natalie thought, "and I don't want my sister to die either."
Mermaids always remain calm in the face of danger!
Natalie shouted:
"We cannot sit idly by and wait to be defeated; we must fight back!"
The village chief said:
"Fight back? With what can we fight back? We are just farmers tilling the land and village women washing clothes, while our opponents are terrifying monsters, the embodiment of misfortune and calamity. We cannot defeat them!"
Natalie desperately tried to recall what her father had said:
"Holding the high city walls, even a lame old woman can hold off twenty strong and elite warriors."
"But there are no city walls here," the village chief shook his head in denial.
"No!" Natalie shouted, "Yes!"
She walked out of the hall under everyone's gaze.
It was already dark, and a bluish-green crescent moon hung in the purple night sky.
Thankfully it wasn't a full moon, Natalie thought. In the old nanny's stories, the dire wolf would transform into a brutal, bloodthirsty werewolf on the night of a full moon.
If the opponent is a werewolf, then even Natalie would likely be helpless.
She pointed in one direction:
"That's it!"
That was the place where she met her sister, and also the place where she would soon protect her sister.
The villagers looked in the direction Natalie was pointing, then whispered:
"A mill?"