Chapter 30 The Old Man and the Child
"What did you say?" Yara asked, puzzled.
"You inhuman hyenas!"
"They don't even spare children..."
"Despicable Argos!"
He spread his arms wide, like a withered branch, blocking the entrance to the camp.
The old man's gaze was resolute, though his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Get out of here, Argos! You're not welcome here!"
Seeing this, Yara quickly explained loudly—
"No, I am not an Argos!"
You misunderstood...
After a pause, Yara came up with a more persuasive wording.
"I used to be a villager who lived here!"
Upon hearing this, the old man paused, looked Yara up and down several times, and only after seeing the sincerity in Yara's eyes did he begin to believe the answer.
However, his vigilance hadn't completely disappeared, and he stared at Yara and the others with suspicion...
"I've been fooled before... and paid a heavy price..."
"Please forgive me, this is for the children's safety..."
The old man's tone was tinged with sighs and sorrow.
Yara sensed something was amiss. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and asked:
"What exactly happened?"
Why are you living in these ruins?
What happened to those children?
"Explain yourself...maybe I can help you."
Behind Yara, Pan and old Tyr remained silent.
Dick, on the other hand, looked even more solemn. As someone who had worked his way up from the bottom in Argos, he knew all too well what kind of filth lurked beneath the shadows of that seemingly grand city.
In short, he had a bad feeling.
The old man sighed, glancing at Yara and his group, who were armed with swords and even armor. He knew very well that if they truly harbored ill intentions, his resistance would be futile...
He was just an old man nearing the end of his life...
Things have come to this.
We can only pray that these people are not driven by malice or greed.
The old man stepped aside to let Yara and the others enter the ruined camp.
Several people sat around the campfire.
Seeing that the children posed no threat, they cautiously peeked out from the back of the house...
They were a little scared, but children are always curious.
After realizing that Yara and the others were not as terrifying as he had imagined, he mustered his courage and approached them.
They poked at Yara's lion skin, boldly touched the lion's mane, and then carefully touched the lion's teeth.
Some children touched Dick's longbow, their thin little hands secretly tugging at the bowstring. Dick liked children, so he took the bow down, held the children in his arms, and let them play.
Pan and Old Tyr looked somewhat intimidating; the Golden Warriors always possessed a chilling aura that instilled fear. The children only dared to hide behind the old man, secretly observing Pan's armor and Old Tyr's longsword...
No one hates children, and the atmosphere eased considerably when these little creatures, like cubs, came out.
On the campfire in the camp, there was a broken earthenware pot with a chip on the side.
However, it was forcibly blocked with mud, like an awkward patch. The patch was not secure, and it might break under slight pressure, causing the simmering soup to leak out.
To prevent this, the old man cleverly tilted the earthenware pot slightly toward the intact side to prevent the fierce campfire from burning the mud patch.
This is their only cooking tool and container.
They use this place to hold water and eat.
Yara glanced at the stew inside.
As expected, it consisted entirely of wild vegetables and unknown plant roots and stems, with no meat whatsoever.
The murky water boiled in the pot, and a slightly bitter smell filled the air.
The children, however, stared intently at the food in the pot.
They haven't had a full meal in a long time.
"Cook these too, for the children."
Yara couldn't bear to see the children so thin and frail.
He took all the dried meat out of the package and threw it into the pot.
This jerky is made from the flesh of the Nemean Lion.
While skinning the meat, Yara dried some of it to make food for the journey.
Seeing Yara's reaction, the old man was slightly surprised, and the last bit of resentment in his heart dissipated considerably. He said gratefully:
"Thank you, young man..."
"The children haven't eaten meat in a very, very long time..."
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Yara spoke again:
So what exactly happened?
After Yara repeatedly inquired, the old man sighed.
Without further hesitation, he slowly recounted what had happened along the way—
"We came from the north..."
"The land where the Nemean Lion resides..."
"The young people have all left, leaving behind a bunch of old guys..."
He remained silent for a moment, while the soup in the pot boiled.
"We are too old, it's time for us to die."
"But while we waited for death, we heard a child crying..."
"Some children...were also abandoned by their parents."
Some of the children, tired from playing, sat quietly by the campfire, hugging their knees and waiting patiently for their meal.
"It's okay if we die, but the children are still young... they shouldn't have to wait to die with us..."
"So we old guys got together and discussed it—"
"Let's go! Take the children with us and go south! Let's find a place for the children to settle down."
"..."
As they were talking, the old man's eyes inexplicably dimmed, and he lowered his head.
"What's wrong?" Yara asked.
The old man glanced at Yara and the others and said sadly:
"We were wrong, the South isn't safe either..."
"Those slave traders were utterly depraved...they seized refugees and enslaved them...and even preyed on children!"
"They used all sorts of means—deception, plunder, intimidation... Many children were branded as slaves, locked in cages like beasts... and transported to Argos..."
"And several of my old friends who were with me also paid with their lives for this..."
"I'm all alone now."
At this moment, Dick sensed something was wrong, and he quickly interrupted, asking, "Something's not right..."
Why are they grabbing the children?
"Among slaves, children were generally the least valuable..."
"They are not as capable as adult slaves...they need a lot of time to train them..."
"Instead of wasting time on this, it would be more practical to arrest a couple more adults."
The old man's eyes were desolate as he sighed, "No, sir... you don't understand the current market..."
"King Argos recently issued an order—"
"One child will be chosen from all the children in the city, including slaves, to serve as a temple priest."
"His decree caused the price of child slaves to skyrocket..."
"A few days ago, I heard a traveler say..."
"A boy of average appearance is already selling for 100 gold coins in the market!"
"Furthermore, it's available at a price but not in demand!"
The old man recalled what the traveler had told him, and he repeated it:
"Some people in the city even dressed their own sons up beautifully and sold them to slave traders..."
"Just for that little bit of gold..."
Yara was horrified.
A strange discomfort rose in his heart, as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat.
His fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
He couldn't imagine what kind of beast would be willing to sell its own child for a price...
Suddenly, he remembered Perseus the Younger.
Little Perseus is being fostered by someone else!
A sudden shock ran through me.
Yara involuntarily looked at Dick...
Dick stood there, stunned.
The old man's words struck Dick's mind like a series of heavy hammer blows...
His mind was buzzing, his pupils were contracting, his breathing was becoming rapid, and his heartbeat was becoming increasingly clear.
I couldn't help but tremble all over...
And at that very moment.
Suddenly, an arrow shot out from outside the ruins and struck the campfire in the center of the camp.
Mars is churning.
Everyone was startled.
At the same time, an unpleasant sound came from not far away—
"I've been waiting here for days... and it's finally here!"
"Boss, we're going to strike it rich!"
"More than a dozen good products!"
Dick stood up silently.
His eyes were bloodshot.
...