Chapter 121: Six, the Razor-Boar Rider!

"Six, come out here this instant!"

Olivia scolded with a flash of annoyance, stooping down to grope beneath the lord’s throne until she finally dragged out the little kobold hiding within.

Every day, once the bustling village construction came to a close, Olivia would busy herself feeding and caring for the kobold whelps that Leo had brought back. Unlike Leo, who was often careless, she could not bear to ignore the hungry, whimpering creatures. Kind-hearted Olivia truly raised these kobold whelps as if they were her own children; she not only ensured they were fed and clothed but also taught them language and literacy, supervised their bathing and sleep, and cultivated good character in them.

Back in the Northlands, Leo had once captured a fawn, which Olivia had also treated like a daughter, raising it for a full month and naming it Little Flower. Unfortunately, when she returned home one day, only two deer legs remained of the fawn—the rest had been given away by Leo to the starving villagers. Though Olivia had secretly wiped away tears, she still ate the meat with gusto. Countless such incidents had occurred, and Olivia had grown accustomed to them. She had her own brand of kindness, and Leo had his; they did not conflict.

Over the past few months, Olivia and Little Mouse had named all thirty-something kobold whelps. Sadly, only they could tell the little ones apart; Ulyan and Leo could barely distinguish the largest among them. Half of them could no longer be called whelps, having evolved into young kobolds. The biggest, Number One, was over a year old; though less than a meter tall, he already weighed more than Little Mouse. While he was no match for an adult kobold, he was quite the strapping lad by kobold standards. He now served as the vice-captain of the Third Militia Squadron, responsible for the combat training of the younger ones.

The little kobold currently dangling in the air, held by the scruff of his neck by a fuming Olivia, was named "Rambo Six Dog." Held fast by his fate-determined nape, his limbs went limp and his eyes darted around. Under Leo’s curious gaze, he stammered, "Six... ride... ride pig."

Olivia gave the back of his head a light slap. "Is that all you did, just ride a pig?"

"Also... broke the pen."

"And then?"

"Trampled the farmland."

It turned out that the young kobold, spurred on by his companions, had climbed onto a unicorn boar. The crazed beast then charged, smashing through the pigpen. Several other unicorn boars followed, charging into the fields in a frenzy of trampling before running a wide lap around the Riverbend Peninsula, only to be driven back by the arriving militiamen.

Had it not been for the river and the irrigation canals blocking their path, these unicorn boars would have bolted into the wilderness and returned to the wild. The simple taming techniques Bobak had taught the villagers could only barely soothe the boars, keeping them from becoming violent or attacking humans. However, these beasts remained as untamable as wild boars; to this day, they could only be let out into the pens for a bit of air, never allowed to roam free in the jungle like domestic pigs. The kobold whelps lived with them daily and were familiar with them, but only to the extent of being able to reach out and touch them.

Leo burst into gleeful laughter, teasing, "I never expected someone as timid as you to be so brave! Six the Boar Rider, you really are a piece of work!"

Hearing Leo’s praise, Six wagged his tail furiously, tongue lolling out in a goofy grin. Olivia gave him another swat, scolding, "Look at you, so proud! What if you’d hurt someone? What if you’d been killed? Will you dare do it again?"

Six clearly understood the severity of the situation and immediately wilted. "No more..."

The unicorn boars were heavier than wild boars, with a foot-long horn on their snouts, making them essentially half-grown rhinoceroses. If they truly entered a battle state, three or five Riverbend infantrymen would be unable to withstand their charge, and ordinary villagers would be completely helpless. Previously, because there was no rock salt to preserve meat, the boars were kept and fed antler-cassava, waiting for the day the meat supply ran low so they could be slaughtered.

But ever since the ambush on the gnolls, the food reserves in Riverbend had not decreased; instead, they had grown. The Wolf-Tooth wildlings and the Great Waterfall wildlings were both fishing and hunting tribes. They hunted incessantly, and nearly half of the meat and hides they acquired were sent to Riverbend in exchange for grain and cloth. The cloth woven by the wildlings was far less durable and warm than the rough cloth brought by merchants, and meat was not as easy to store as grain. Furthermore, trading fresh meat and hides for relatively cheap grain allowed the wildlings to ease the pressure of hunting and focus their energy elsewhere. Even the ogres had caught on to this, often lugging freshly caught salt-marsh giant crocodiles, elk, brown bears, and saber-toothed tigers, completely intact, to Riverbend to trade for large quantities of grain. The ogre tribe’s skinning skills were limited, and many prey items were tossed into the pot with their fur still on; those unwanted hides could now be traded for more grain than the meat itself.

The six unicorn boars had lived until now, eating and sleeping in total comfort. Because Six had caused such a disaster, Olivia kept the incident a secret, fearing that Ulyan and Leo would be angry enough to slaughter the pup. However, private punishment was inevitable. Leo didn't mind much; had his modern, graceful soul not been in control, the original Leo’s personality would never have allowed a kobold to become a boar rider.

"How is it that I didn't know about such an interesting event?"

As he stroked Six’s head and spoke to Olivia, he hypocritically lectured the pup: "Did you hurt yourself falling? If you ride a pig again, I’ll crack your dog skull open!"

Little Mouse answered for Olivia: "Leo is a big lazybones, he was still sleeping in!"

Six, bolstered by the fake fatherly comfort, regained a bit of courage and whispered, "The dog head... wasn't hurt by the fall..."

"Then what are you whining about?"

Six fell silent again. Leo looked suspiciously at Olivia and Little Mouse. The two girls, one big and one small, looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. Leo easily found his opening; he grabbed Little Mouse and tickled her under the arms, conducting a harsh interrogation.

Little Mouse struggled, shrieking with laughter, and immediately turned traitor: "Sister Olivia knows spells!"

"What?" Leo was stunned; he hadn't expected this. He looked at Olivia and burst into laughter. "You know spells? I’m a transcendent, then!"

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Olivia felt the scorn. She pouted and ignored him, snatching Little Mouse from his clutches and holding her close in silence. The two girls huddled together, whispering. When Leo wasn't looking, Olivia chanted softly and pointed a finger at him. "Strike!"

"Damn it!" Leo was warming himself by the fire when a sharp pain suddenly struck his forehead, as if he had been whipped hard. The lash didn't just strike his skin; it stung deep into his brain. Leo nearly face-planted into the fire, terrified. *Am I about to die of a sudden illness again? I wonder if I can transmigrate back and play a game of 'Wilderness and Condemnation 6'?*

Fortunately, the pain came and went quickly, fading away, leaving only a dull ache in the back of his head as proof that it hadn't been a hallucination. Leo clutched his head and stared at Olivia and Little Mouse.

"Hee hee."

The two girls hugged each other, looking left and right, pretending they had seen nothing.

"Good heavens, she really does know magic!" Leo jumped up, instantly realizing what it was. "Did the pup commit a heavenly crime? Is he really worth you using a Mind Blast on him?"