Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 392 A Bloodbath Caused by a Barbecue

Most of the elven vanguard died far from home, as they were intercepted as soon as they landed, and almost none of them made it back alive.

Except for the elven warrior Hazabi.

As the only elven warrior to return to his home planet alive, Hazabi received a grand welcome. This was partly a reward for the warrior, but also because of the information he had seen.

Hazabi is the only survivor and the only one who has seen the other planet with his own eyes. Therefore, the information about the other planet is something that all the elves need.

"So, I wrote."

In the dimly lit room, two elves took a roll of parchment and handed it to Hazabi.

Write down everything you see.

"I already wrote it..."

Looking at the paper and quill pen in front of him, Hazabi was speechless for a long time. Although he had expected that his people would need intelligence, he never expected that he would have to write more than thirty times in just two days.

For two days, apart from eating and drinking, he wrote reports about his experiences. His fellow tribesmen, who had been welcoming him, didn't even give him time to sleep.

It shouldn't be like this.

He did manage to come back alive, and was even welcomed as a hero.

How could these fellow tribesmen treat their hero like this?

"Write quickly."

When Hazabi looked up, he was met only with a cold, icy gaze.

"Think about your family, think about your descendants... Your son is going to learn magic soon, isn't he? Do you want to cause trouble for your child?"

"I……"

Hazabi was speechless for a long time.

Write it down. Maybe it will be fine once you've written it down. It's just a matter of writing it again, which won't take much effort.

But the quill pen in my hand just wouldn't move.

He was so tired, he was really exhausted. He hadn't rested for two days and two nights, and he was almost fainting.

"Can I take a nap?"

Suppressing his emotions, Hazabi made his request to the two elven warriors before him.

"Let me sleep for a while, just a little while..."

"tired?"

The two elves in charge of the interrogation exchanged a glance, then waved towards the door.

Immediately afterwards, an elven mage walked in and tore open the bird-skin scroll in his hand in front of Hazabi.

The scroll, named "Fountain of Mana," was originally intended for mages to use as a trump card to boost their spirits after exhausting their mana. However, it was now being used on Hazabi. When the confusion in his brain caused by drowsiness was swept away by the surge of clarity, Hazabi could feel as if something was being drained from his body.

Forcibly boosting one's spirits comes at a price; overusing the Fountain of Mana depletes one's own life force.

Even so, Hazabi's lucidity lasted only a brief moment.

"The effect doesn't seem to be very good; it's probably because too much Mana Spring was used."

The elven mage frowned as he looked at Hazabi, who was still half asleep.

"How about we use something more potent? I happen to have some potions I got from the alchemist; let's just give him an injection..."

"this is not OK."

The two elves in charge of the interrogation stopped them immediately.

"He's a hero, he can't have any scars, not even a pinprick." So you guys still remember I'm a hero?

Listening to the words of the two interrogators, Hazabi felt utterly absurd. No matter what, things shouldn't have turned out this way—he was a hero, he had done great service to his home planet, he had brought back messages from afar, why should he be treated like this?
"The biggest problem is that you came back alive."

One of the two interrogators, after a moment's thought, finally spoke.

"All the vanguard soldiers died on the front lines, only you came back alive... Why are you the only one who came back alive? Isn't this evidence that you colluded with the enemy?"

"I……"

Hazabi spoke instinctively.

"We were never enemies to begin with..."

"He admitted it."

Upon hearing this, the two interrogators immediately nodded repeatedly, then took out their notebooks and quickly wrote it down.

"Anything else? Please continue."

"I……"

Hazabi immediately shut up.

Even though he was exhausted, the reactions of the two interrogators made him realize that he was probably wrong no matter what he said—especially about the giant snake's hospitality. He was probably being interrogated because he had written down everything in detail.

After all, even from another perspective, if he were the interrogator himself, he would probably find it hard to believe his own story.

Everyone else died on the front lines, but you were treated to a good meal and drinks by the enemy and came back alive. You say you didn't betray them? Who would believe that?
"I……"

Hazabi tried to think of something, but excessive fatigue made his brain as stiff as a stone.

Even because of this brief moment of thought, his consciousness became completely blurred.

In a daze, Hazabi thought of his father, his son, and his son who was about to start school. When he went to war, his family cried so sadly, they all thought he would never come back—and he had promised his family that he would definitely come back.

In fact, Hazabi was aware that his wife and children had always been dissatisfied with him, since he had devoted almost all his energy to his work and inevitably neglected his family life. But on that day, when he set off for war, his family still gave him their greatest support.

That brief moment was also his happiest time.

But this so-called greatest happiness is also the most dangerous for a soldier.

Happiness is both a cure and a poison; it's a kaleidoscope of memories, and a moment of impending death...

"hiss!"

Hazabi suddenly awoke.

It was at this moment that Hazabi realized that he had actually taken a nap without realizing it.

"I am..."

Before Hazabi could ask how long he had slept, he saw the ink stains on the parchment that were still wet.

It must have been accidentally spilled on the paper while he was asleep. Judging by the time it takes for the ink to dry, he probably didn't even have time to drink a cup of tea while he was asleep.

"Keep writing."

The two interrogators didn't even notice that Hazabi was sleeping, thinking he was just spacing out.

This caused Hazabi to clench his fists instinctively.

"It's all because of that evil serpent..."

Hadzabi had never hated it so much, and he vowed to give the snake the most vicious revenge.

(End of this chapter)