Chapter 26: Law of the Jungle

Vic's manner of eating was a perfect illustration of what it meant to wolf down food.

Even chicken bones were crunched loudly between his teeth; he tilted his head back and swallowed them whole, unbothered even when the struggle to swallow made his eyes roll back.

Gawain had only eaten half of the chicken in his hand when Vic had already polished off the food in his arms. His crimson eyes darted toward the half-chicken in Gawain's hand, finally settling on the chicken bones discarded nearby. Without hesitation, he lunged toward them, intending to shove them into his mouth.

"Wait." Gawain's voice to stop him was nowhere near as fast as Vic's eating speed. With a few loud *crunches*, Vic had already swallowed the bones.

Only then did Vic turn to look at Gawain.

Gawain could clearly see a trace of smugness on Vic's unsightly face, as if to say: *You were too late; I've already eaten it. It's mine.*

Gawain sighed and said, "There is enough food here. If you aren't full, you can simply say so."

As he spoke, Gawain tore off a rabbit leg. It was larger than the half-chicken from before. This time, he didn't hand it directly to Vic but watched him instead.

Vic looked at the rabbit leg, then at Gawain, then back at the rabbit leg. At first, there was a hint of confusion, as if he had remembered something. He whispered tentatively, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." This time, Gawain used practical action to teach him, handing the leg over.

Taking the rabbit leg, Vic—whether because his stomach was no longer so empty or because he couldn't believe food could be obtained so easily—looked at the food, looked up at Gawain, looked back at the food, and then said tentatively again, "Thank you."

Gawain said crossly, "Don't try to be too clever. I haven't finished eating yet, so I can't give it all to you. Wait until I'm done."

Seeing that he wouldn't get more food, Vic immediately resumed his whirlwind-style eating. He quickly stuffed the large rabbit leg into his stomach. Whether he was full or the bone was simply too thick to chew easily, he didn't try to gnaw on the bone this time.

After licking the last bit of meat off the leg, Vic looked at Gawain with the eyes of a begging puppy and said, "Thank you."

This time, Gawain said nothing; he simply twisted off the meatless rabbit head and tossed it over.

No matter how large Vic's appetite was, it was still limited by his physical size. His weight was likely not even as much as two rabbits; if he stuffed that much food in, he would have been bloated long ago. He had lost his initial ferocity and was now chewing slowly, putting food into his stomach bit by bit.

His current begging for food was purely driven by the greed born from the fear of his previous irregular meals.

Sure enough, even with the nearly meatless rabbit head, Vic only took a bite every once in a while. By the time he finished the head, Gawain had basically finished eating as well. There was nearly half a wild rabbit left, and half of the roasted potatoes and tubers remained. As a lunch, it was barely sufficient; it was only thanks to his ample preparations that he wouldn't have had to start a new fire for lunch.

After packing all the food, Gawain handed it to Vic and said, "You keep the food."

Only a full stomach can foster civilization. Gawain believed that as long as Vic understood there would be plenty of food in the future and he wouldn't go hungry, his bad eating habits would gradually change.

Vic held the food in his hands, appearing somewhat incredulous.

"Don't just stand there dazed. We still have a long way to go. Hurry up and pack so we can hit the road," Gawain urged. He was afraid that if they wasted too much time, they might have another "accidental encounter" with the soldiers and civilians from Noteburg, which would be awkward.

The road Gawain was currently taking was also the path Zaranda and the others had to take.

There was only one main road to Dalroma, and Dalroma was the largest city within several hundred kilometers.

If Gawain wanted to head to the Northlands, this was the only place where he could find a sufficiently large and well-equipped merchant caravan.

Even if he had reached the rank of a Legendary Warrior in his past life, Gawain had always avoided traveling alone. In the wilderness, one never knew what might be encountered in the next moment; if one ran into monsters that could freely traverse the Ether, the Shadowfell, or the Astral Plane, even a Legendary Warrior could meet their match.

Following an armed merchant caravan on the main road was the best choice for most travelers in Faerûn.

Before arriving at Dalroma, Gawain maintained a distance of twenty to thirty kilometers from the Noteburg group, traveling parallel to them.

If he truly encountered a fatal danger he could not resolve, Gawain would retreat immediately without a word to seek refuge with Zaranda. Even if he were to die, he would die in front of Zaranda or at least ensure she knew. Because in this world, Zaranda was currently the only one capable of resurrecting him, even at a great cost.

Fortunately, so far, there had only been minor troubles. In fact, today they hadn't even encountered minor troubles; they hadn't run into a single goblin group or bandit on the road for half a day. Instead, they had encountered several carriages, all heading toward Dalroma. They didn't look like merchants, but rather like refugees, similar to the people from Noteburg.

The gazes these carriages cast toward Gawain were filled with vigilance, and they instinctively gripped their weapons.

This was the normal reaction to encountering strangers in the wilds of Faerûn, as no one knew whether the stranger was kind or evil, a passerby or a bandit.

The fact that Gawain was traveling with a goblin made the situation even more tense.

This distrust was mutual; Gawain did not know their origins and had no desire to cause trouble.

The best choice was to distance himself as quickly as possible.

This situation also indicated one thing: they had entered the sphere of influence of Dalroma, where Dalroma's patrol and garrison forces frequently conducted inspections.

Once he confirmed this, Gawian no longer traveled in fits and starts like he had yesterday; instead, he increased his pace.

He had arrived a day earlier than Zaranda and her group, giving him a little extra time to find a suitable caravan. However, things were not always so coincidental that one could find the perfect caravan just in time.

If Zaranda did not find a suitable caravan before arriving at Dalroma, Gawain would be forced to take the risk of traveling alone with Vic to the next city to try his luck.

At noon, Gawain and Vic encountered the first patrol of cavalry from Dalroma.

This patrol clearly had a mission; they merely glanced at Gawain and Vic before galloping away.

Gawain could more or less guess what this patrol was going to do.

Not far behind him, a massive group was following—a group that was growing larger and larger.

Not only was Noteburg being plagued by the goblins in the mountain ranges, but although the eastern regions were relatively less affected due to the Mier Forest, the sheer number of goblins fleeing into the area had caused widespread panic.

Many people had developed the desire to flee to a large city like Dalroma for refuge, but they were still hesitating.

Some lacked the decisiveness Zaranda showed in abandoning her home and livelihood.

Others lacked the strength and did not dare to travel alone.

When Zaranda led the large group through, she directly helped those who were hesitating to make up their minds. Especially those who believed they lacked the strength of Noteburg, most joined the retreat. Even if the local lords did not leave, some of the populace would follow; at the very least, the entire village of Kami, which had previously been rescued by Zaranda, had joined the great retreat.

The group led by Zaranda now numbered at least three thousand, if not five thousand. Including the people and the wagons, the momentum was even greater, with the line stretching for a full kilometer.

Forget Zaranda—even if she had communicated with Dalroma in advance, the arrival of such a massive group would still make the rulers of Dalroma uneasy.

This was also a chain reaction triggered by the flapping of Gawain's "butterfly wings."