Primitive Man

The trees beside the road were casting long shadows over the winding dirt road that connected Garnt's village to the mining outposts of Kiriah village and the other mining village.

It could have been a relaxing scenery for the suppliers of the metal that Garnt appointed, if not for the chaos behind them that almost threatened their lives.

The rhythmic clatter of hooves echoed through the air as Baktou's menacing men on horseback closed in on the creaking carts laden with iron ore that belonged to Garnt.

"Look at all this bounty, lads! The leader would be happy to see this many irons." shouted one of Baktou's henchmen, a brutish figure with a twisted grin. "These pathetic villagers won't know what hit them. Follow me, lads"

The drivers of the carts, simple folk from Garnt's village, gripped their reins nervously, their faces etched with fear. Baktou's men circled the carts like hungry wolves, revelling in the impending plunder and finally, they managed to get close to these carts with their weapons aimed at the people.

"Off the carts, you worthless maggots!" bellowed another of Baktou's lackeys, brandishing a menacing blade. The drivers, trembling with anxiety, hastily complied, abandoning their precious cargo.

Laughter and jeers filled the air as Baktou's men revelled in their apparent victory.

"Haha! This is a big one. We have been attacking the small cargo recently, but this will be enough for Baktou."

"Yeah! He promised that he would promote my rank if we could get this mission right. We can get rid of all those inferior seaside villagers and take back our mining village if we follow him. I'm sure our people are waiting for us to come and rescue them."

They kept talking with each other while searching the cargo for the iron. Upon seeing what they were searching for, they felt relieved. Unbeknownst to them, however, danger lurked in the shadows.

Suddenly, a melodic voice cut through the chaos grabbing everyone's attention. "Enjoying yourselves, are you?"

Baktou's men froze, their celebrations halted as they turned to face the source of the voice. Emerging from the shadows was a woman with a steely gaze and a presence that struck fear into the hearts of those who recognized her, as Baktou's men were able to identify her.

She was one of the women who were personally trained under Garnt, having undergone the same training as Baktou. The woman looks exactly like their leader—none other than the sister of Baktou.

Unami, the formidable wife of Garnt. Clad in dark attire that blended seamlessly with the dusk, she stepped forward with a pair of gleaming daggers in her hands.

"Who's this, bitch?" mocked one of Baktou's men, attempting to mask his unease. "A village woman playing hero? Get lost, woman!" Even though he was putting up a brave front, he was looking around him to find a way to escape because he knew this woman was not going to forgive them. MVLeMpYr-novel-source

They knew anything that had to do with Baktou, this woman would completely destroy them as if she had ten generations of accumulated hatred.

Unami's lips curled into a confident smile. "You might want to reconsider your definition of hero," she replied, her voice dripping with contempt. "Heros in Garnt's stories would not brutally kill their enemies, and I'm certainly not one of them because I'm going to cut all of you into thousand pieces and send them to your traitorous leader,"

In a swift and calculated motion, Unami moved among the startled men, placing her daggers at their necks—the cold steel pressed against their skin, sending shivers down their spines.

"You see," Unami continued, her tone unwavering, "I've had my fill of your kind. Attacking innocent villages, causing pain and suffering by stealing our things. It ends here for you and soon I will send your leader to meet you."

The once-celebratory atmosphere among Baktou's men dissolved into an air of tension. Fearful eyes darted between one another as Unami held them captive.

The rest of the crowd tried to run away in fear, as Unami slit the throat of the man she held but before they could even step any further, Kara also emerged from the trees and using one of her powerful crossbows, she pierced the head of the remaining men with precise headshots.

"Unami, you should have kept the leader alive. We could get information from him," Kara suggested as she climbed down from the tree she was in.

She didn't take her words seriously, instead, she showed an angry look on her face. Kara obviously knew why she was angry, after all, every time she heard the word Baktou, it almost felt like she was some kind of a volcano that was waiting to be exploded.

"They are getting bold to attack our carts like this. It seems that the traitor is getting desperate to do something that requires iron. We better warn Garnt about this. It had almost been two or three months since we started to build the machines that Garnt wanted to create before attacking the seaside village," She muttered and touched her belly knowing she was hiding something important from everyone.

Kara noticed her behaviour and questioned why she wanted to finish their attack on the seaside village so soon, but she failed to notice one important thing about Unami.

Meanwhile, the cart drivers and the workers quickly got onto their carts and decided to return to the main village to provide the supplies under Unami and Kara's protection. Garnt was promptly notified about what had happened.

But before all that, Kara suddenly looked back into the forest with confusion, which also puzzled Unami.

"What happened?" Unami asked, a little concerned about her sudden behaviour. Kara just nodded her head, as if indicating that nothing was wrong. "Nothing! I thought I saw something moving, but it might be my paranoia as an archer; I always have to keep my eyes sharp," she explained.

Both Unami and Kara shrugged their shoulders and continued their journey back to the main village with the metal supplies. Meanwhile, a woman with violet-coloured hair observed everything happening around the path with a stern expression on her face.

'Damn it! Things are moving fast, but I can't even find the proper strength to fight against these two. If Professor Eva and Garnt reach the meteor after defeating Baktou, it would be a huge disadvantage for me. But also-'

She thought, contemplating a possible future where Baktou killed Garnt. She knew something like that wouldn't happen unless he went crazy, and she sensed he was on the verge of heading towards that future.

***

The village was a hive of activity. Garnt, fueled by determination, worked closely with the blacksmiths to create the necessary tools for extracting crude oil from the seabed.

The villagers, inspired by his vision, joined forces in preparation for the impending confrontation with Baktou knowing it was crucial for their advance.

In the heart of the village, a gathering took place. Garnt stood before the assembly, a makeshift map of the seaside village and the land around it spread out before him.

"Listen, everyone. We've decided to harness the power of crude oil to advance our community. It's time to reclaim what's rightfully ours and make humanity flourish even more," Garnt declared, his voice resonating with confidence.

The blacksmiths who were working tirelessly presented the tools they had crafted – sturdy drills, reinforced pipelines, and improvised pumps. Garnt inspected each piece, ensuring they were robust enough for the challenging task at hand.

"These tools may not be the most advanced, but they're solid and reliable. We're not aiming for perfection; we're aiming for progress," Garnt explained, rallying the crowd.

He had to prepare to distil the crude oil, so there was a whole other different team that was studying on that subject, so the whole village was busy and none of them was complaining, after all, they knew if they wanted to survive they had to work.

Gundo, ever the supportive presence, chimed in with the knowledge she gained from Eva,

"Remember, it's not just about the tools. It's about our unity and determination. Together, we can overcome any obstacle. Our patriarch is indeed the reason why were able to overcome this many challenges, but if none of you had supported him we wouldn't have come this far as humans."

The villagers nodded in agreement, their eyes reflecting the same determination that burned in Garnt's gaze. They began preparing the boats, reinforced with makeshift contraptions to lower the tools into the seabed and made cages that were able to provide oxygen from the surface.

It was a non-conventional way of extracting crude oil, but Garnt knew this was sufficient for the time being because he needed kerosene most of all.

"Now that we are ready with our equipment, the only remaining process is to ensure that the seaside village is under our control. Listen, my dear villagers," Garnt addressed the crowd, indicating that the battle was getting rather close to their village, a battle that would decide the fate of the main village. "I promise in front of all of you that Baktou will regret betraying our trust and going against us. I will personally make sure he is dealt with so that none of you have to worry about him."