Garde's head was pounding.
It was like being hungover and reaching for honey drops to sober up, only to mistakenly grab antibiotics instead, while someone stirred a stick around in his brain.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
It wasn't just his head; as he gradually regained consciousness, Garde realized his entire body hurt, especially his throat and stomach, which burned as if he'd eaten something foul.
He was desperate for water!
Opening his mouth, he found himself unable to utter a single sound. His throat and vocal cords were badly damaged and wouldn't recover anytime soon.
What on earth happened?
He recalled the events in the ancient city: handing the black dragon's blood to Saria and then relinquishing all control, letting Renekton's rage take over his body.
Judging from the outcome, things probably went okay.
At least he wasn't dead, right?
As his consciousness cleared, Garde's powerful crocodile man physiology helped him squeeze out the last remnants of his strength. He felt vibrations beneath him.
Was he rescued?
Did Kal'tsit and the others succeed?
Was Saria nearby?
Garde wanted to open his eyes but couldn't. Even under Renekton's control, it was still his body being used. The stronger the outburst, the harsher the aftermath.
This time seemed worse than when he'd driven off the black dragon four years ago.
Back then, he could at least move freely; now, he couldn't even open his eyes.
At this moment, someone nearby seemed to notice his trembling lips and handed over a water flask.
Cool spring water poured down his throat, and Garde felt alive again.
"Razer, now that I look closely, this crocodile man is actually pretty handsome," a young girl remarked.
"Aren't all Adakrys like this?"
"No, no, ordinary Adakrys folk aren't this tall. Look at his scales—they might seem dirty, but if you clean them up, they're so shiny they reflect light!" the girl said in an exaggerated tone.
"Oh my god, he might be the son of some major tribal chief! If we can send him back to his tribe, we'll hit the jackpot!"
"Is it really that dramatic?"
"Of course! Do you think ordinary mercenaries are this good-looking, have such smooth scales, or such a strong physique? And when we found him, he wasn't even wearing pants. He must've been ambushed by bandits!"
"If you like him, you can take him home," Razer teased.
"No way! If my dad found out I brought a strange man home, he'd break my legs!"
"Then what do you plan to do with him?"
"Razer~"
"No way, I can't fit a big guy like him in my house."
"But we worked so hard to save him. If we abandon him now, we'll basically be murderers."
"..."
On the transport truck, a silver-haired, red-eyed Vouivre girl wearing a thick dust cloak hesitated as she looked at the massive crocodile man sprawled across the truck bed, taking up almost half the space. After a long pause, she nodded.
"I can keep him at my place temporarily, but once he wakes up, you'll have to find somewhere else for him to stay."
"No problem!" The brown-haired Vouivre girl in the truck readily agreed.
"Girls, we're here. Thanks for your hard work this time," came a middle-aged man's voice from the front of the vehicle. The brown-haired girl quickly responded cheerfully.
"Oh, no trouble at all, Uncle Elam! Just make sure you call us next time you need to transport materials—we'll even give you a 10% discount!"
"Haha, I'll hold you to that," the man chuckled.
This was a small convoy transporting mineral materials. Instead of hiring foreign contractors, which was too expensive, the operation had opted for more affordable local family contractors.
The brown-haired girl belonged to one such family, while the girl code-named "Razer" was a temporary mercenary attached to the group.
"Razer, here's your payment for this job," the brown-haired girl said, handing over some money.
"Wait a minute, Darina, this is too much."
"Ah, the extra is for taking care of that big guy. You must be short on cash if you're planning to head to Columbia, right?"
"Even so..."
"Razer, if you don't take it, I won't invite you on missions next time," Darina teased with a grin.
Faced with this, Razer fell silent for a moment before sighing.
"I'll look after him for you."
"Hehe, thanks, Razer!"
Just as Darina finished speaking, a roar came from the distance.
"Darina! You snuck out again! Get down here right now!"
A towering Vouivre man, nearly 1.9 meters tall, stormed over. The moment she saw him, Darina pulled a sour face.
"Please take care of him for me," she whispered to Razer before jumping out of the truck.
In a sugary-sweet tone, she called out, "Daddy~ I was just bored staying home all day! Plus, with Razer by my side, there's no way I'd be in danger!"
"It'll be too late if you run into trouble!" The man tapped her forehead with his finger but couldn't bring himself to truly scold her.
He turned to Razer, nodded, then noticed the crocodile man lying next to her.
"Huh? Who's that guy on the truck?"
"Oh, that's someone Razer rescued on the road. He must have run into bandits..." Darina quickly explained, but her father cut her off before she could finish.
"Cut the crap. Look at that guy's arms—they're thicker than my thighs! Do you really think someone like him would get robbed by bandits? They'd be lucky if he didn't rob them!"
The Vouivre man let out a sigh and continued.
"Razer, my advice is not to get involved. People like him usually don't run into trouble, but if they do, ordinary folks like us are better off staying out of it."
Razer opened her mouth to respond, but seeing Darina behind her father frantically winking, she could only sigh helplessly.
"Uncle Antoine, I understand. Once he wakes up, I'll send him on his way."
"You're more level-headed than my daughter. As long as you know what you're doing."
With that, Antoine turned to scold the others in the convoy for allowing his underage daughter to sneak into the group.
After the group dispersed to begin unloading, Razer reluctantly carried the unconscious Garde off the truck.
"So heavy!"
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Volume 2 Chapter 56: Faith and Truth[2]
Link to the Latest Chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/butcher-of-126110418[3]
https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/butcher-of-126110418
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/butcher-of-126110418
[4] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl