As Lin Ke's voice just fell, cheers erupted both inside and outside the carriage, from the guards.
Gold coins!
So many gold coins! Enough to be distributed among them all!
The surrounding servants cast envious glances.
Being a guard is so good!
You can get so much money this way!
They completely forgot their weakness when they saw the giant tiger, and some were even knocked unconscious by its roar.
"Go, throw Roosevelt's body out," Lin Ke nodded to the leader of the third group, and then returned to the carriage.
At this moment, in the jungle, in a place where no one could see, a figure dressed in luxurious red clothes flashed by, seemingly chasing in the direction of the giant tiger.
Meanwhile, in the woods where they stood, the guards had just thrown Roosevelt's body to the ground, where it lay while the blood slowly seeped into the soil.
Not too deep in the soil, there was a small black bead, and the blood gradually seeped into it.
It seemed to be absorbed by the bead.
...
In the carriage, Lin Ke plopped down.
"Whew..." He exhaled deeply, "John, help me change my clothes."
Too tired, mentally and physically exhausted.
At six years old, his body was too weak, his internal organs and other parts hadn't fully developed, hormone levels were low, and it was also his first time experiencing combat across two lifetimes.
He also wanted to scream, he also wanted to run away, he also wanted to faint.
But doing so would surely mean death.
Luckily, he had decades of rationality and experience from his past life to suppress some instinctive reactions.
John, beside him, was helping him change clothes, and they had prepared several sets of clothes for this trip.
They were going to the city for a few days. For a noble outing, clothes were certainly important, as they were a matter of face.
Rabbitman Knicks quietly sat on the side without speaking, appearing very well-behaved.
Lin Ke wasn't in a hurry to ask why Knicks was chased by two blue giant tigers or how he got here, instead, he closed his eyes and contemplated quietly.
This battle revealed too many problems.
Firstly, the issue of weapon lag!
Not that cold weapons were lagging behind guns and ammunition, but even basic bows and spears were absent; only swords were available, not even great machetes.
Anyone with knowledge of war would know that swords are particularly impractical on the battlefield.
So, on his return, he'd be asking about the situation to see if more weapons could be procured.
The second point was the power disparity!
According to Knicks, those two giant tigers weren't above second-level.
And Knicks was just a Rabbitman child, so it wasn't necessary to send the most powerful professionals to chase him; it's highly likely they were just "hounds".
Yet these "hounds" left the three hundred guards with no recourse.
If not for Lin Ke dividing the guards to combat the tigers at the last moment, the outcome might have been just a panicked scattering.
Two giant tigers against three hundred adult human males!
This was the power of professionals!
And those tiger pursuers of Knicks surely had a reason, who knows, they might even threaten the castle eventually.
Besides, there were many problems, but Lin Ke was aware of them all.
He looked at Knicks and inquired about his situation: "Knicks, can you tell me?"
Can you tell me?
John paused while changing Lin Ke's clothes, not understanding what it meant.
However, Knicks seemed very smart and nodded, then said, "Sir, I'm from the Gray-haired Tribe south of the Great Marsh, suddenly attacked by a powerful..."
"Wait!"
Lin Ke interrupted, puzzled, "You live... south of the Great Marsh? South of the southern Great Marsh?" He pointed south.
Knicks nodded: "Yes, sir, have you been there?"
Lin Ke shook his head, then said seriously, "In my home, we never knew there were other sentient beings south of the southern Great Marsh..."
There were Rabbitman tribes south of the Great Marsh?!
And... isn't the Great Marsh vast and endless? How did Knicks get here?
Knicks also hesitated: "Sir, you live north of the Great Marsh? There are human territories outside the Great Marsh?" he said, glancing around at the roads and realizing.
Goodness.
It seems neither side knew of the other's existence.
Lin Ke nodded slowly: "It seems the Great Marsh holds many secrets... Alright, continue."
Then Knicks continued, "There are more than fifty tribes south of the Great Marsh, including us Rabbitman Race, the Raccoon Cat Race, and the Shenglu Bird Race, and sometimes we trade with those human nations to the west..."
Western human nations...
Lin Ke only knew about many countries to the north, not knowing there were also to the west.
Hmm... maybe an extension of a certain country?
He knew nothing now, having learned neither geography nor history, only having gleaned a bit from those around him.
And those around him, farmers, servants, and slaves, might assume the whole world was only as big as the Viscount's Domain.
"...But yesterday, a very powerful professional attacked us!" At this point, Knicks' face turned sad, tears quickly streamed down:
"...That professional killed so many of us, so many, our Rabbitman Race can only become [Sensitive Walkers] once mature, very fast, but still couldn't escape... Now, now there's only me left of the Rabbitman Race... boo-hoo..."
[Sensitive Walker]? It indeed sounds like a fast profession... Lin Ke slightly nodded.
"Did you see clearly? What profession attacked your tribe? How powerful?"
Although sympathizing with Knicks, Lin Ke still needed to ask, otherwise, what if that strong person had a brain glitch and chased Knicks over to destroy him?
"I don't know... but our tribe's strongest fifth-level [Sensitive Walkers] couldn't stop him..."
Knicks rubbed tears off the fur at the corner of his eyes.
Stronger than fifth-level [Sensitive Walkers], back home I must ask Uncle Billy if Azanen Castle could withstand them.
Lin Ke thought for a moment and then said to John, "Go and tell the servants that we must hurry back today, make every effort to rush, and speed up buying things this afternoon."
John had just finished changing Lin Ke's clothes and rushed out quickly, notifying carriage by carriage.
Leaving only the sleeping mother and Knicks beside them.
"Knicks, in the future just follow me closely, by the way, can you talk about how to awaken bloodlines, choose professions? Also, have you already awakened?"
Lin Ke's voice was gentle, slightly soothing Knicks' sadness.
At least the gentleman named Linke Azen he met was very gentle... Knicks felt secretly glad, thinking he must follow this gentleman well in the future.
He recalled from time to time that warm glow during his most strained moments just now.
"Sir, I haven't awakened my bloodline yet..."
Knicks' voice was very light, afraid of waking Lin Ke's sleeping mother beside him: "But I've seen their method of awakening bloodlines, just a press on the head is enough."
"A press on the head?" Lin Ke was astonished.
"Yes, I saw the [Awakening Teacher] from the humans just pressing the heads of other Rabbitmen, then their bloodlines awakened." Knicks confirmed.
Lin Ke suddenly realized that Knicks' voice sounded like a Rabbitman boy!
He asked: "Knicks, how old are you this year?"
Knicks thought about it, rolled his eyes, twitched his small nose, a bit uncertain: "It should be four months and ten days? Or fifteen days? I'm not sure... My mom had a litter of ten, and everyone couldn't remember the exact time..."
Lin Ke was speechless.
Great, it looks like the Rabbitman Race and human maturation cycles are different.
ps: Cry, make a fuss, threaten to hang, give monthly and recommendation tickets!