Chapter 366 Blinded By Arrogance
Lyrian and the other three followed this old man into the village even further, as the majority of the crowd followed them.
While walking up the hill on which the village was built, Lyrian noticed that most of the villagers looked poverty-stricken.
Torn clothes and dirty faces were prominent in every single person that he seemed to look at.
Before long, Lyrian and the others were led to a fairly large hut near the top of the hill.
The old man pushed a door to the side and entered, gesturing for the adventurers to come in as well.
After them came as many villagers as could fit. The rest stayed outside, wanting to get a look at or hear what was going on inside.
As soon as Lyrian entered, he noticed a man who seemed slightly younger than the one that had brought them there sitting on top of an elevated dirt square.
His eyes were closed, brows furrowed, and he maintained a cultivating lotus position.
'Is he cultivating?' Lyrian mused as the old man who had led them there stepped forward,
"This is my older brother, Outimbe." As soon as he said this, the old man which he was referring to on the dirt platform opened his eyes.
'Older brother huh? Looks far younger to me...' Rothis mused, slightly surprised by this.
Lyrian had the opposite reaction, 'If he cultivates, no wonder he will age slower. His vitality is most likely increased.' He surmised.
"Brother!" The first old man exclaimed, "These are the adventurers, they have received our call for help and have come to assist us." He said with a hopeful tone.
Lyrian glanced at him as he spoke, and then turned his attention to the Outimbe.
"Kaio..." Outimbe spoke in a low tone, "Didn't I already tell you to not put out any help quest fliers? How much did you pay for it..."
"Paid? Well... we paid 2 gold coins to enlist the quest and 20 more as a reward." The first old man addressed as 'Kaio', spoke timidly.
Outimbe's eyes widened with a mix of shock and anger, "You did what!?" He shouted, causing Kaio to wince slightly.
Enraged, Outimbe stood up.
"Damn it, Kaio! You truly want this poor village to fall to ruin! Why would you waste all our money like that when I already told you that I am dealing with the Orc situation!?" Outimbe exclaimed, looking to the side.
He murmured under his breath with worry, "Damn it! How are we going to financially recover from this!?"
The crowd seemed even more worried now, with injured limbs, sorrowful faces, growling stomachs, and even hungrier children in their arms.
Lyrian looked at them in this state and was slightly surprised that despite all of this, they kept their mouths shut.
"Brother!" Kaio responded, "We needed help, you could not have done it by yourself!"
"Done it by myself? Done what by myself!? Go ahead, tell me!" Outimbe exclaimed in a fit of rage.
Lyrian could sense the tension in the air, as the crowd behind him was muddled in emotion.
"Defeat the Orcs! You can't defeat the Orcs by yourself--" Kaio was abruptly interrupted.
"Of course I can! Fool! Why do you think I have been cultivating all this time! Didn't I tell you that I have it under control!? Instead of trusting me, you go and waste all the money left in our village. What kind of brother are you, huh?"
Kaio stayed silent for a moment after hearing this, as Lyrian could sense gritting teeth and clenched fists in the crowd behind him.
There were fathers amongst that crowd, those who wanted their children to sleep at night knowing that no Orc would come and eat them alive.
There were mothers, who wished for a full and content family once again.
These people had put their trust in Lyrian and the others, giving up their fortunes.
As silence made itself comfortable within the hut, Outimbe's angry pants calmed down.
He walked over to Lyrian, who was in front of the other three adventurers and the crowd.
"You all are not needed. This quest is canceled, you hear?"
As soon as he said this in a slightly dismissive tone, Lyrian could feel the urge of the crowd to speak.
'They sacrificed their livelihood for their families, and yet this fool wants to throw it all away.' Lyrian mused, slightly irritated with the old man in front of him.
"Why are you leaving yet!? I said it's canceled, did I not!? Scram already! And you all, back there. Get back to your homes damn it! Don't you know we have to defend the Orc attacks tonight as well!?"
At that moment, Lyrian spoke, "How silly..."
"What? What did you just say, brat?" Outimbe dialed in, walking closer to Lyrian with furrowed brows.
"No, great adventurer! Do not argue against my brother, he is of an uncontrollable temper. He won't hesitate to--" Kaio tried to speak, but was cut off by his brother again.
"What did you say!?" He ignored his brother and shouted at Lyrian.
"Don't you find it silly as well, the irony of it?" Lyrian looked the man straight in the eyes.
Outimbe's entire body shook with anger, as the crowd behind Lyrian couldn't believe what was happening.
No one had ever gone against Outimbe's wise words before.
"Say another word..." Outimbe voiced his anger, ready to unleash his fury.
"You probably think you are selfless, don't you?" Lyrian questioned, throwing Outimbe off slightly, "Well sorry to break it to you, but I haven't met a much more selfish bastard than you in a while."
At that moment, Outimbe abruptly yelled, "That's enough!" He reached back and attempted to slap Lyrian in the face.
However, with one millisecond of piercing bloodlust through Lyrian's eyes, the old man froze in place, his hand hovering in mid-air.
Lyrian, dressed in his cloak, walked past Outimbe as he spoke.
"Outimbe... why do you think these people have willingly given their own riches up? You don't know, do you? It's because, for them, no amount of riches in the world is worth more than seeing their families live in peace."
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