Green Monster Epic

Chapter 492: Reunion

When the wayfinder she had always cherished and worn around her neck suddenly pulsed with light, hope blossomed on the face of the solitary Kouer.

All along, Kouer's belief that her tribe and her teacher wouldn't abandon her had sustained her survival in this desolate valley.

Although, she herself had never entertained the thought of giving up on life.

This conviction, held for over a decade, was largely thanks to Kouer's resilient spirit and cheerful nature; anyone else might have long since collapsed and sought death.

Survival was arduous. Earthworms with their earthy stench, disgusting cockroaches, and gray rats were all staples of Kouer's diet. To ensure no energy was wasted, she mostly ate them raw.

Occasionally, finding a few ghost mushrooms or spider lilies, ingredients for magical potions, was the highlight of her day. At least these plants were more palatable than cockroaches and earthworms.

Unfortunately, such plants were scarce, and those surviving in the negative energy-rich Graveyard Valley had adapted to absorb the valley's negative energy for survival.

When Kouer ate these plants raw, their negative energy naturally permeated her body.

Negative energy, born from death and filth, was inherently incompatible with any vibrant life. Upon entering Kouer's body, it inevitably damaged her internal organs.

To survive, Kouer, lacking food, could only use her robust physique and inner rage to confront and eliminate this toxic effect.

Consequently, Kouer's once-dark and lustrous hair, which had been gradually recovering, turned gray again. Her body also underwent some mutations, accumulating hidden injuries.

Of course, there were benefits. For example, the total amount of rage accumulated within Kouer's body had surged in recent years, its potency rivaling that of legendary figures who had cultivated for decades or even centuries.

The wayfinder's signal gave Kouer hope of escaping the desolate valley. Without hesitation or nostalgia, she strode purposefully towards the valley where the bone dragon blocked her path.

If the tribe truly sent someone to find her, they would eventually encounter the bone dragon. Waiting for them outside the valley was the best course of action.

As expected, after Kouer had lurked a dozen miles from the bone dragon's valley for over half a month, her mood growing increasingly anxious, the valley finally stirred.

Kouer rushed over without hesitation. When she saw the familiar, imposing figure from afar, locked in fierce combat with the powerful bone dragon, she could no longer suppress her pent-up grievances and loneliness.

"Teacher! ! !"

Kouer's voice trembled with intense emotion, the vulnerability and attachment only revealed to the closest and most respected elders.

From afar, Allen, sensing the sudden appearance of a figure, was about to prepare for defense when the somewhat familiar, yet somewhat strange, cry transformed into a surge of joy on Allen's originally cold and emotionless face.

"Kouer? ?"

Allen was somewhat incredulous, his tone filled with complex emotions as he sought confirmation.

"Yes! !"

In firm response, Kouer slowly removed half of the skull mask from her face, revealing a face that had matured considerably but still retained much of its youthful beauty, and showed Allen a line of excited tears.

Originally, Allen had prepared himself for the worst, believing Kouer had perished. His trip to the Graveyard Valley was merely to sever Allen's remaining hope, while also hoping to find Kouer's corpse and bring it back to the Green Lake for burial.

But when Kouer appeared before Allen, alive and well, the heartfelt excitement and joy finally made Allen seem like a living goblin again, filled with warmth.

"Get out of here! !"

The tactless bone dragon, returning at the wrong time to interrupt the reunion between Allen and Kouer, immediately enraged Allen. With a fierce roar, the flames on the Bonecleaver's burning blade surged once more.

The Heaven-Opening stance, now fused with the unmatched fury in Allen's spirit, slashed out seemingly slowly, yet incredibly fast.

Boom! ! !

Although the bone dragon's claws blocked Allen's strike, the violent energy exploded at the point of contact.

The massive bone dragon, its claws engulfed in burning orange light, was sent flying backward until it was stopped by the gray-brown cliff face.

Accompanied by a muffled impact and the trembling of the ground, Allen stabilized himself from the recoil and swiftly appeared beside Kouer.

"Go! !"

With Fury activated, Allen had no desire to strike a drowning dog. Instead, after finding the protagonist of his southern journey, he grabbed Kouer's wrist and retreated along the path he had come.

"Roar! ! !"

For the first time, Allen sensed emotional fluctuations in the bone dragon's roar, but he couldn't concern himself with the bone dragon behind him. Before it could extricate itself from the cliff face, Allen had already carried Kouer out of the valley.

Soon after, the bone dragon, roaring with earth-shattering rage, chased after Allen and Kouer's scent, crushing anything that obstructed its path.

Unfortunately, the objects it was pursuing had already traveled dozens of miles away, showing no intention of stopping.

"...Teacher, I, I can fly..."

Being carried by Allen in flight after so long, Kouer felt both touched and embarrassed. She shyly spoke to Allen, who was staring intently ahead.

"Now is not the time to show off..."

Allen frowned and began to scold her softly, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized the meaning behind Kouer's words.

With a release, Allen, without any warning, let go of Kouer's hand in the middle of their rapid flight.

Kouer was startled but reacted quickly. The rage within her resonated with the formless energy in the air, smoothly supporting her in the air as she continued to fly forward.

"Good! Very good! ! !"

Allen was greatly gratified, the smile that had never left his face now even brighter.

Only when they left the valley and returned to the vibrant world did they slowly stop.

Kouer was very excited, looking up at the setting sun, not afraid of the sunlight burning her eyes, and greedily opened her arms, feeling the warmth brought by the sun.

Allen did not disturb Kouer's actions, just looked kindly at the goblin female in front of him, who looked several years older than him.

Her head was full of gray, messy long hair, the armor on her body was not intact, some parts were even replaced by gray and white bones, and occasionally when the wind passed over her body, a strong smell of putrefaction always floated to Allen's nose.

Her once plump and sturdy body now appeared thin and frail, with a faint, gloomy aura subtly emanating from her.

Who knows what hardships this girl endured in the valley for these past dozen years, what kind of torment she experienced!

Whenever he thought of these things, a boundless sense of love and pity would well up in Allen's heart, making it hard to connect him with the shrewd and composed tribal leader he appeared to be in front of outsiders.

"Gurgle!!"

Only when the sound of her stomach rumbling reached her ears did Kouer awkwardly snap out of her reverie and look at Allen with gratitude.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Although she was filled with unwavering faith that her teacher would send someone to look for her, the warmth and gratitude she felt when Allen himself appeared before her was immense.

A thousand words were ultimately compressed into these five short words, but the emotions contained within were so full and rich.

Allen didn't reply, but instead reached behind him to take off the dimensional bag he carried close to his body. He rummaged around inside for a moment, and soon some simple dried meat and flatbread appeared before Kouer.

"Gulp!"

These simple foods might have seemed ordinary to Allen, but to Kouer, who had been eating cockroaches and earthworms for over a decade, they were an incredibly delicious feast!

Saliva uncontrollably began to secrete, and Kouer's eyes were filled with greed. She couldn't wait to snatch the food from Allen's hand and stuff it into her severely malnourished stomach.

"Here!"

Allen naturally saw the change in Kouer's eyes and, feeling both amused and heartbroken, handed her the food.

Kouer eagerly took the food from Allen, glanced at him apologetically, and then opened her mouth wide, chewing without any regard for her image.

The rough, bland dried food tasted so delicious to Kouer at that moment that she couldn't help but chew each bite greedily and carefully, not wanting to waste a single crumb.

"Eat slowly, don't choke!"

Allen gently reminded Kouer with affection while continuing to pull other items from his dimensional bag.

A grill, spice jars, a whole frozen leg of a magical beast…

Aside from when he was inspired in his dreams and would tinker alone in the kitchen, Allen hadn't displayed his culinary skills in front of outsiders for a long time.

Although Green Lake Town's reputation as a gourmet paradise had gradually grown, and Allen himself, as the protagonist of the 'Allen' gourmet series, was respectfully called the God of Food by the world, in reality, only a handful of gourmand guests had ever eaten food made by Allen himself.

Skillfully thawing the raw meat, Allen began to prepare a barbecue on the spot while casting his gaze on Kouer, slowly starting to inquire.

"Tell me, why have you been staying in this Burial Valley all these years?"

"…"

Kouer, who had finally eaten a full meal after more than a decade, looked up at Allen with an indescribable grievance in her eyes when she heard his question, her cheeks bulging.

"Teacher… you, you don't know how I've been living these years…"

Kouer continued to gnaw on the food in her hand, stuffing several days' worth of Allen's rations into her mouth, while intermittently recounting the various experiences she had gone through over the years.

"…I really couldn't beat that big guy blocking the way. One swipe of its tail almost killed me…"

"…Since I couldn't get out, I could only live in this valley. Everything else was okay. Most of the undead here weren't that strong, but occasionally encountering a few skeleton mages could be troublesome…"

"…The water problem was also easy to solve. There's a cave deep in the inner valley that goes hundreds of meters underground, and some groundwater drips inside. If I used it sparingly, it was enough for me…"

"…The only thing that was more troublesome was food. This valley is just a pile of bones and another pile of bones. Finding something to eat required a lot of luck…"

"…Sometimes I was lucky, and I could catch a nest of gray rats in a day. The plump little pups tasted the best, one bite at a time, so crispy…"

Listening to Kouer casually recount her experiences over the years, Allen couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness, almost shedding tears in front of his student.

Allen quickly looked up. He absolutely couldn't lose his composure in front of his student. He hadn't cried many times since he was a child. The most profound memory was when his mother was snatched away by a wyvern.

After he became the tribal chief, he only secretly hid in front of Stone's grave and grieved after Stone passed away.

As for the other tribesmen, they had never seen Allen weak. At all times, he either wore a confident expression or a solemn and dignified face in front of them.

"You've really suffered, my child!!"

Allen reached out his large hand and gently stroked the girl's graying hair a few times.

Kouer looked up, her eyes filled with affection and comfort.

"I knew you would come to find me, Teacher!!"

Yes, just as Allen had always been worried about this student of his, Kouer had always firmly believed that her teacher would come to find her. This deep bond ultimately allowed both of them to receive a precious gift.

"Sizzle!!"

The barbecue made a sizzling sound, and a rich aroma slowly spread out. Kouer, who was gnawing on simple dried food, raised her head with a whoosh when she smelled the fragrant barbecue and looked over eagerly.

"It's all for you. It'll be ready soon!!"

Allen lovingly stroked Kouer's small head, which wasn't so small anymore, and said comfortingly.

"Hehe!!"

Kouer just smiled coyly, then returned her gaze to the barbecue, but didn't forget to quickly finish off the remaining dried food in her hand, while also licking the slight oiliness and residue on her hand.

"Eat!"

Finally, as Kouer was eagerly awaiting, the barbecue was completely cooked. Allen didn't leave any for himself and directly handed the entire leg to Kouer.

"Eat quickly. After you're done, Teacher will take you to get revenge!!"

"Yeah!!"

With a pillar of support, Kouer nodded fiercely and then wholeheartedly devoted herself to the huge barbecue in her hand.

Before long, Kouer burped contentedly and discarded the leg bone, which no longer had a single trace of meat on it. When she looked up again, the emotions on her face were gradually replaced by determination and seriousness.

"Let's go!!"

Allen was already prepared. He had to do something for his student, otherwise he would feel very uncomfortable.

And the closest target for venting his emotions was the bone dragon in the valley that had prevented Kouer from returning to her hometown for more than a decade!!

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, I hope everyone has a happy holiday!!