Valley (3)
#30 Valley (3)
2021.11.11.
Maroon Baron gnashed his teeth in anxiety.
He kept his head bowed low, clutching at his hair as if trying to tear it out, frozen in place.
"Damn it... damn it...."
Everything had gone completely sideways.
He couldn't even figure out how it had come to this.
After fleeing the dragon stable that day like a coward, he'd tried to intervene somehow.
But Bobert Count had blocked him as if he'd anticipated it all along.
"Fuck...."
Once the special advisor had made his decision, Maroon Baron had no legal way to meddle in the affairs of the 5th Dragon Stable.
With the legitimate path closed off, his thoughts naturally turned to darker options.
"Should I resort to extreme measures?"
He shuddered with unease, his foot tapping wildly under the desk.
If John so much as squealed, he was in deep trouble.
"How far I've come... I can't let this end now...."
He'd been nothing but a lowly rural baron.
Through relentless scheming, he'd finally carved out a sliver of influence under Surpuk Duke.
And now, some lowly scum threatened to take it all away?
It was an unacceptable reality.
"Maroon Baron, sir!"
His secretary called from outside the office.
Snapped out of his anxious daze, Maroon Baron came to his senses.
Glancing down at his desk, he saw clumps of hair scattered everywhere—he had no idea when he'd yanked them out.
He hastily swept them away and growled back.
"What is it?"
"A letter from John."
"What!"
Maroon Baron shot to his feet, bellowing.
"Bring it in right now! What are you waiting for!"
"Yes, sir!"
He snatched the letter from his secretary's hand and tore it open in one swift motion.
The crude handwriting inside was unmistakably John's.
The man could read and write—a rarity for a commoner—but his sentences were a mess everywhere.
Still, the contents were more than enough to grab Maroon Baron's attention.
"No way...."
John claimed he was imprisoned but had bribed a few of the breeders loyal to Owen.
The letter itself had been smuggled out through one of them.
"Heh...."
As Maroon Baron just scowled, his secretary asked.
"What's it say?"
"Various details about where he's being held. With the bribed breeders' help, he says he can sneak out at night."
"Oh, that's good news! But what happens after he escapes?"
"You're right. He wants us to help him hide in the barony. Wants me to take in his whole crew."
The secretary's eyes gleamed coldly as he replied.
"Perfect chance to take care of them all. Lure them to the barony, then silence them for good."
His words mirrored Maroon Baron's own thoughts, which had already veered toward the extreme.
Maroon Baron nodded.
"This is our opportunity. We can't let it slip. Luckily, the letter says he hasn't spilled anything yet. But he warns Owen might bring in a torture expert soon, and he doesn't know how long he can hold out."
"We'd better hurry."
For a moment, the secretary wondered if it was a trap.
But knowing his master would act anyway, he kept that suspicion to himself.
Instead, he pointed out the practical issue.
"What about the bodies? There are too many to bury carelessly—we'll need a good spot."
Killing them would be easy, but cleanup was key.
Surprisingly, Maroon Baron seemed confident.
"Don't worry about that."
"You have a plan?"
"We've got a decent dragon knight in the family. His mount's a gluttonous pig—always eating too much has been a problem. Who knew it'd come in handy like this."
The secretary instantly grasped his intent and marveled.
"He could gulp down ten men in seconds!"
"Exactly. It's the kind that eats human flesh too. Shove it back in the dragon scroll afterward, and it's the perfect crime. Useless scum like them might as well turn into dragon shit to fertilize the land."
With the solution in place, the rest of the plan fell together quickly.
"Prepare wagons to sneak them out."
"Understood."
"Kuhuhu, they won't even know those wagons are headed to their graves."
Maroon Baron sent a reply to John.
The moment John got a secret meeting with Owen, he showed it to him right away.
"Here it is, Sir Leire."
That's right.
John had already taken Owen's outstretched hand.
The letter he'd sent was written at Owen's direction.
There were no bribed breeders to begin with.
"Hm... Maroon Baron's prepared quite thoroughly."
The reply detailed the escape route, rendezvous point, and method.
"It says he'll load you onto disguised wagons and take you all to the barony."
John asked cautiously at Owen's explanation.
"What if I just flee to the barony for real?"
"You idiot. Go there, and you're dead. Think Maroon's gonna shelter you just like that?"
"P-please spare me!"
"Depends on you. Do exactly as I say."
John could hardly believe this was real.
Just days ago, he'd been embezzling from the 5th Dragon Stable's budget and living it up.
Now it was life or death.
"How did it come to this...."
As John muttered dazedly, Owen clicked his tongue and smacked him on the head.
"Snap out of it. You brought this on yourself. Only you can save yourself now."
"Understood."
John nodded, steeling his resolve.
'Yeah, I've lived by my guts all this time.'
Once decided, he returned to the warehouse prison and told his crew.
Of course, his deal with Owen stayed secret.
He only mentioned escaping with Maroon Baron's help.
"We can get out?!"
They'd been trembling at the thought of being shipped to the mines—no need to say how relieved they were.
Though already on Owen's side, John played it cool on the surface, acting tough.
"Yeah! I told you to trust me, John!"
"Ooooh!"
"We slip out tonight. I've bribed all the guards. Wait for the signal—they'll let us go. Follow me and stay quiet. Anyone makes noise gets killed for real!"
"Got it!"
The stifled excitement filled the warehouse. And that night,
they slipped out under cover of darkness.
John led his crew along the predetermined route.
The breeders on night duty had been tipped off by Owen and ignored them.
John warned them harshly, fearing anyone might bolt alone.
"We've snuck out of the stable, but now's the real test. Hide in the barony or we'll get caught quick. No stragglers—stick close."
"Got it!"
Soon they crossed the fields stealthily. From the highest point in the stable compound, someone watched it all impassively.
Owen himself.
Under the faint moonlight, he spotted black dots moving in a line.
But sharing senses with Grenville beside him made John and his crew crystal clear.
Amazed by the dragon's senses once more, Owen mounted up.
"Follow quietly, Grenville."
"Eung."
As Owen took the reins, Grenville smoothly descended the fortress-like stone walls of the stable. Then it glided silently over the fields.
The perfect picture of a Tokay dragon as a nocturnal hunter.
https://booktoki469.com/data/file/novel/5895/41790/16549820670886.jpg
About two hours in, John's group reached the rendezvous.
A band disguised as merchants waited there.
But the swords at their waists and their menacing glares marked them as anything but ordinary traders.
They approached with gleaming eyes, making John's crew flinch.
John blustered to cover his fear.
"You from him?"
No answer—just a fist flying at him.
"Shut it! Do as you're told."
His voice alone suggested he'd killed plenty.
The threat worked; John and his men cowered.
The fake merchants bound them swiftly and tossed them into wagons.
"Hey, this ain't right...!"
"Shut your trap! Keep quiet if you wanna live!"
Unable to resist properly, John and his crew were carted off somewhere.
No clue where.
They just rolled their eyes in anxious silence.
After three hours, the merchants hauled them out.
Looking around, John and his gang realized one thing.
"Where are we? This ain't the way to the barony!"
"What the—!"
They were off the road in a gloomy valley.
A place where anything could happen without raising eyebrows—they trembled.
But what followed was merciless beating.
"Quiet, we said!"
"This is fishy!"
"You're dying here tonight anyway. Shut up!"
"Aaaagh!"
The fake merchants were all vicious; John and his crew took it helplessly.
Thwack! Thud!
It was a proper thrashing.
Fierce types themselves, they tried to fight back, but without even a stick, they were powerless.
Soon they lay bloodied and sprawled. From the valley's shadows emerged a figure of hefty build.
John bit his lip at the sight.
"Maroon Baron!"
"Oh, John. You look like hell."
"I trusted only you to come this far. Ugh...! What is this?!"
Too fat to stand long, Maroon Baron plopped onto a nearby rock.
"John, you're a real idiot."
"Please, have mercy!"
Maroon Baron snorted at the begging.
"Hmph! Can't let scum like you live. At least you came quietly—saved me the hassle."
He beckoned to his side.
A stern-faced knight approached.
He was the dragon knight employed by House Maroon.
Maroon eyed the terrified group and asked the knight.
"Kill 'em first, then feed? Or live? Which is better?"
"Either works, but feeding live is easier."
"Good. Live it is. Should make for a fine show."
The dragon knight nodded at Maroon Baron's words.
"Indeed. Watching a man slide down a dragon's throat is unforgettable."
John's crew fell into horror hearing this.
"W-what? Dragon food?!"
"Let us go! Untie us!"
They thrashed to escape.
Maroon Baron scowled and gestured to rough them up more.
Thwack! Thud!
This time, no mercy.
Soon screams rose as limbs snapped here and there.
"Aigoo! Aigoo!"
Maroon Baron issued his order calmly amid the misery.
"Summon the dragon."
"Understood."
The dragon knight unfurled the dragon scroll.
Magic activated, and a massive dragon burst forth.
Its sheer size filled the valley.
Body length alone: over 40 meters.
Even John and his whimpering crew fell silent in terror.
Maroon Baron had gone all out with the dragon to erase every trace of them.
"D-dragon!"
"Oh god!"
The beast was a Blue-Tongue Dragon, epitome of medium dragons.
Dim-witted head was its flaw, but it boasted durability, stamina, and more.
Sausage-like elongated body and huge head defined its look, with a striking blue tongue like it held venom.
Suddenly appeared, it peered down at the humans, flicking its massive blue tongue.
Like inspecting prey before devouring.
Under those indifferent giant eyes, several in John's crew soiled themselves.
"Ugh...."
Some lost their minds to fear, shaking uncontrollably like madmen.
Maroon Baron grinned in satisfaction.
"Worth keeping that dragon after all. Feed 'em all. Make 'em vanish clean."
"Understood."
The dragon knight bowed and commanded the Blue-Tongue Dragon.
"Eat all the bound ones there."
Well-tamed and docile till now, the Blue-Tongue Dragon advanced eagerly at the promise of a full belly.
https://booktoki469.com/data/file/novel/5895/41790/16549820670891.jpg
https://booktoki469.com/data/file/novel/5895/41790/16549820670895.jpg