Primitive Man

Chapter 204: Forest fire

Telvi's heart raced as she approached the door to Toga's room, her mind filled with dread she couldn't shake off. She hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to reach for the doorknob. The whispers of the concerned servants outside her home only fueled her anxiety.

"Is he sleeping right now?" She thought, as she didn't have much interaction with him after the incident since he kept refusing to come out of the room, and Telvi started to regret her action of not properly facing the consequences of Toga's action.

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.

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.