Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Chapter 244: Settling scores Part1

Without realizing it, Tang Yue ended up spending the entire day in the backyard practicing her sword technique.

Only when it became dark outside, she stopped her training and wiped the beads of sweat away.

"Hmmm The old man is not back yet?" She dismissed her soul sword and went inside.

Charlotte, as well, was not in the house, but she could see the sacks filled with Nebulum ores neatly arranged in rows.

Everything was perfectly arranged, not a single sack out of line.

Tang Yue chuckled at the sight. "She must be getting really bored."

She looked around and no one else was in the house, except for the wolf cub.

"Should I take Little Blue out for hunting?"

She whistled lightly and the small furball immediately came running towards her.

The duo quickly headed out in the direction of the forest to hunt some beasts.

Tang Yue knew that she wouldn't be staying in this village for much longer now.

So she also wanted to hunt some game and make sure that the old dwarf had plenty of supplies.

When the duo neared the forest, Little Blue immediately howled and dashed into the trees at full speed.

The huge forest bordering the village was brimming with demonic beasts and monsters that typically terrified the villagers but not the wolf cub.

Little Blue snarled and dashed inside after having already spotted its first opponent.

Tang Yue smiled and casually followed behind the cub. Keeping pace with the small thing was not a big deal to her.

As she ran behind the furball, little blue had already provoked a bear thrice its size and was growling at it.

The bear growled back, almost making the small wolf cub lose his balance.

"Why won't you just pick an opponent who is your level?" Tang Yue bitterly smiled and shook her head.

But the little wolf seemed very resolute, so she silently stood back and watched the two fight with each other.

In a mere few seconds, Tang Yue was already forced to eat her words back.

The bear might have the advantage in terms of the overall size but Little Blue was extremely agile and completely dominated the bear.

The small cub was like a flying bite machine and kept leaping about here and there.

The bear was barely able to keep track of the little thing and collapsed on the ground both from the wounds covering its body and the sheer dizziness.

"Why don't you enjoy your kill and have a nice meal? Let me quickly finish up a few things." 

Tang Yue patted the little cub and took a small stroll through the forest.

It only took her a few minutes to slaughter a bunch of low-grade beasts including some more black bears, sharp-toothed rabbits, and golden deers.

It barely gave her any experience points but that was not the goal here, so Tang Yue didn't mind.

By the time she returned back, the cub had devoured more than one-quarter of the bear meat.

"What a glutton!" Tang Yue rubbed its head. 

If someone else was present, they would have rolled their eyes hard at that statement, but the cute thing loved her too much to do so.

It simply licked her hand and pushed the meat towards her, offering her some as well.

Tang Yue chuckled. "How about we finish this later? Time to head back home." She smiled.

The duo left the forests but instead of going back home, they made a trip to the mines.

Tang Yue wanted to see what was taking Charlotte so long and wanted to help her with the menial chore.

But when she walked closer, she could already feel that something was not right.

A small crowd had gathered in front of their quarry and a bunch of dwarfs were sitting around on makeshift earth mounds.

And at the center of the crowd were three familiar figures. One sitting and two standing.

"We are not asking for much, Lord Kosa. It's just a slave. What are you thinking so much for?"

"Besides, isn't it customary to give the groom an engagement gift?" 

Barton's father, Byron patted Barton sitting next to him and smiled.

Apparently, the word had spread around that a new slave girl was carrying a bountiful harvest to the chieftain's house from the mines.

Everyone knew that Kosa didn't employ any help. 

So they assumed that the slave had some good mining capabilities.

Hearing about this, Barton and his father immediately rushed over.

They couldn't care less about one measly slave, but at the same time, they couldn't afford to give the old dwarf Kosa any breathing room.

If the dwarf wasn't pushed into a corner, he might back out of the engagement and then their big plan would collapse.

So the father and son pair quickly walked over to the quarry and confronted Kosa. 

They even shamelessly demanded that he hand over their newly acquired slave.

"Ah I was indeed negligent on my side. I apologize. Old age you see Ha Ha." Kosa weakly chuckled in response.

"As for the slave" Kosa looked at Charlotte who stood still with her head bent down, "I really need to talk to my daughter before making any decision."

"This is her slave. Ha Ha. I don't have the authority to command her." He scratched his head.

"Oh, I see." Byron groomed his beard with a nasty grin on his face.

"I agree. I agree. Talking about your daughter, how is the pretty Yana doing these days?"

"Lord Kosa, don't you think that these two have been engaged for a while now?"

"We should get them married soon." He chuckled and glanced at the huge mine entrance on the right.

Barton, as well, nodded and smiled warmly. He understood why his father was doing this and played along.

It was not wise to leave such a good deal wide open for too long. 

Sometimes unknown variables could randomly show up and mess everything.

So it was better to finish this marriage soon and kill Yana immediately.

Everybody was well aware of just how much the old dwarf loved his daughter. 

So, once that good for nothing dies, the father, of course, would be heartbroken and almost dead.

They didn't even have to do anything to him and waste their time. It was a perfect plan.

Moreover, unlike Kosa, Barton's father didn't do anything stupid like paying additional taxes and lightening the load of their village dwarfs.

So even after the two villages merge, the new chieftain wouldn't have to pay anything extra. They were literally set to come out on top from every angle.

Kosa, however, for the first time, felt slightly reluctant to answer the question.

The old man was not totally clueless about the vile nature of the Barton family.

This was why he was postponing the marriage talks as much as possible.

And looking at this conversation today, he was even regretting betrothing his daughter to these jackals in the first place.

He didn't realize that the situation was so bad. 

These people barely did anything to even hide their greed and their main motive.

Kosa didn't care that they were strong-arming him and pushing him into working so hard all by himself.

He also didn't care about their obvious interest in his family's ancestral mines.

But his bottom line was his daughter.

If it means that harm would befall his daughter, he wouldn't mind giving up everything in order to keep her safe.

"This Why don't we talk about the marriage later?" The old dwarf smiled.

"This child has just joined the smithy in the city. He should concentrate more on improving his talent."

"There is no rush for the wedding now." Kosa kindly spoke, trying to ease the tension in the group.

"Lord Chieftain, what are you saying?" Barton's father sat up straight and mockingly blurted out.

"To me, it looks like you are going back on your word."

"I am sure you are well aware of the punishment for going back on your words."

Huh? Barton turned around and looked at his father.

The man nodded and signaled him wordlessly to play along.

Barton may have been too young and naive to notice it but his old man could already see that Kosa had no intentions whatsoever in continuing this charade.

It was only a matter of time before the engagement officially broke.

So in a split second, he decided to end this once and for all.

"Lord Kosa, you need to pay us appropriate compensation." 

"If we don't receive appropriate compensation, then I have no other choice but to lodge a complaint with the royal palace."

Kosa shivered. This was what he was scared of and this was why he had tried his best to talk in a diplomatic fashion.

Since Barton was an apprentice to a smithy in the city, their family had a lot more influence and sway with the royal family or at least the court officials.

This was precisely why Kosa was trying to bide his time and wait for a suitable chance.

Unfortunately, not only did any chance arrive, but they were also at the end of the road now.