Lord of the Oasis

“Where are we now?” Devitt looked at the surrounding and panted as he asked Claremont.

“Gilbert took us around the shortcut. I guess we’re halfway there.” Claremont replied as he looked at the map.

“So fast!” Devitt was a little surprised.

Claremont said helplessly, “In order to keep up with his speed, we’ve also increased our speed.”

“Fortunately, under his guide, we have already covered more than half of the distance today. Otherwise, if we continue to be led by him like this, the strength of the soldiers will be wearing out.” Devitt took a deep breath and said.

“Yes.” Claremont nodded. “But after the order to rest just now, I haven’t seen Gilbert. where is he?”

“He probably went back to Austin and stayed by his side.” Devitt speculated.

Sure enough, after a while, Austin brought Claremont over.

Austin was helping everyone set up their tents, while Gilbert quietly followed by his side.

“Go sit under the shade and rest.” Austin said to Gilbert.

Gilbert shook his head without any emotion in his eyes.

This was the third time Austin had tried to persuade him to go back and rest, but he had failed.

“Yo!” a tall and strong soldier walked toward the two of them and greeted them with a bright expression. “Gilbert.”

Gilbert looked up at him and looked away without saying anything.

“My name is Brian. I’m the captain of the fifth squad in this army.” The soldier didn’t give up and introduced himself. “You ran very fast today.” then he reached out his right hand to touch Gilbert’s head.

Gilbert took a step back and avoided his hand gesture. He looked at him coldly.

Brian took back his hand resentfully and smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, I offended you.”

Seeing this, Austin quickly shielded Gilbert behind him. He smiled and tried to smooth things over. “Captain Brian, I’m sorry. This little guy is a bit shy. Don’t mind him.”

“Of course not.” Brian raised his head and said, “I just want to try to get to know him. After all, his performance today was really amazing.”

“Haha.” Austin laughed and said, “In the future, he will follow us until we return to our hometown. We’ll be friends in the end.”

“You are right. I’ll keep visiting this little guy.” Brian nodded. After waving to Gilbert with a smile, he returned to his team.

“I don’t want to know him.” A low voice came from behind Austin.

Austin sighed, he turned around and squatted down to carefully exhort Gilbert, “In the human world, whether you like it or not, it is important to be polite. In the future, when others come to talk to you, you can’t be as rude as you are today.”

“Okay.” Gilbert stared at Austin’s eyes for a while and nodded in agreement.

“You’re so sensible.” Austin smiled again. “If you smile at others, they will smile at you and won’t make things difficult for you. Isn’t that good?”

Gilbert pursed his lips and didn’t say anything.

The tent was built very quickly. Because Gilbert was so energetic when he led the way today, it was already very late when everyone was organized and settled down. In order to prepare dinner, the cookers stayed in front of the stove at the back of the camp and did not show up.

There was little smoke in the kitchen. The soldiers had their dinner at ten o’clock in the evening.

“It’s great that we didn’t meet the snake-women after crossing this plateau,” Claremont said to Abel as he drank a mouthful of soup from his bowl.

“Why? Are you afraid of them?” Abel asked with a smile.

“I’m not that afraid. However, when I think of their heads and tails, I get goosebumps on my arms.” Claremont held onto his arm and said with a twisted expression, “Don’t you think so?”

“Hmm? I don’t think so.” Abel shrugged and answered.

“Eh?” Claremont looked at Abel with a puzzled expression.

Under the care of Austin, Gilbert sat on the small bed in the tent and ate the porridge in his bowl.

“I’m not eating anymore.” Gilbert looked up and said to Austin.

Austin’s eyes widened. “Why are you eating so little? Have a few more sips.”

“I’m full.” Gilbert said, pointing at his bulging stomach.

“I don’t remember your usual appetite being this small.” Austin was puzzled. “Is this vegetable porridge not to your liking? I’ll go to the kitchen to see if there’s anything else to eat.”

Saying that, Austin stood up, placed the porridge bowl on the table, and turned to walk to the kitchen.

After watching him leave, Gilbert got off the bed and put on the shoes that Austin had given him. He slowly walked out of the tent. After avoiding the place where the soldiers were gathered, he climbed over the fence of the camp.

“Come out.” Gilbert stood on the loess-covered plain and shouted at the dark night.

“Sizzle –” something passed through the grass and approached him.

“You killed half of our tribe, and you still dare to come here.” A cold voice reached Gilbert’s ears.

“I killed them because they wanted to kill me,” Gilbert said with a calm expression. “The human and elven soldiers in this camp are not to be trifled with. If I tell them that the snake-woman tribe has been weakened, you might not even be able to defend your own home. How dare you lay an ambush here and prepare for a night attack. Where did your courage come from!”

After saying the last sentence, the spiritual power in Gilbert’s body gathered in his palm, and his fingers suddenly became sharp.

“Stop scaring us.” A snake-woman said sharply, “The news that this army is going to the volcano has long spread across the entire island. Do you think we don’t know what they are capable of?”

“Oh?” upon hearing this, Gilbert chuckled, “Then you mean, you want to give it a try?”

“Humph! As expected, he is a b*stard gnome born with a rebellious nature in his body.” A snake girl mocked, “Even his words are so arrogant.”

Upon hearing the word ‘b*stard’, the corners of Gilbert’s mouth stiffened for a moment, after taking a deep breath, he said to the snake-women, “Anyway, if you want to besiege this place today, you’ll have to go through me first. I advise you to think it thoroughly before you come back.”

Seeing the surging spiritual power in Gilbert’s body, the snake-women showed a hint of fear.

However, as long as the leader did not say anything, they could not retreat.

The snake-woman leader narrowed her eyes and said, “You may be the first gnome who protect humans like this.”