I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

Because the orcs intercepted her halfway, Xia Lin was unable to deliver the final, fatal blow to the chicken-snake beast.

Now, judging from Griffin's words, he could still salvage the gains from this battle by taking a small amount of blood back.

Xia Lin naturally had no reason to refuse the other party's kindness.

He nodded, his gaze then falling on the chicken-snake beast's claws, which still gleamed with a bluish-black luster.

"These claws look quite sharp; they might be useful for making special tools or weapon materials."

As he spoke, in keeping with his good qualities of diligence and thrift, he drew a dagger from his body and deftly cut off the two claws at the joints, wrapped them in an oilcloth and put them away.

Seeing this, the guards nearby followed suit and crowded around to collect the "souvenirs" of the battle, plucking the longer, metallic feathers from the tail of the chicken-snake beast.

"Hey, take this back, we can brag about it for ages in the tavern!" A guard said smugly, waving the long feather in his hand.

With everyone taking turns pulling off one, the chicken-snake beast's rear end was soon completely bald, looking particularly desolate in the evening breeze.

Xia Lin glanced at the chicken that had first lost its head, then had its claws "confiscated" and its tail feathers plucked.

"That was a very unseemly way to leave."

Griffin directed the group to drag the remaining corpses to a distance and burn and bury the internal organs that could contaminate the water source.

As night fell, the group found a dry spot to set up camp.

Sitting around the newly lit campfire, several people chewed on tough jerky and black bread.

The old pastor Far looked at Griffin with a hint of curiosity in his eyes: "I remember that the Druids regarded creatures like the 'Cockatrice' as 'Earth Guardians'."

They believed that hunters would suffer natural punishment such as a "petrification curse"...

He didn't continue speaking, but his meaning was already self-evident.

As a Druid of the Earth Society, Griffin's behavior is clearly inconsistent with the doctrines of the Druid sect.

Griffin tore off a piece of bread and replied slowly, "Doctrine is doctrine, and reality is reality."

It ambushed us first; my actions were in self-defense.

He took a sip of water and added, "First and foremost, we are the victims."

Furthermore, from the perspective of natural balance, ending it decisively is tantamount to fulfilling the doctrine's principle of returning to nature.

To summarize the Druids' words, their meaning is very direct—the final interpretation rests with the sect.

The old pastor, Far, paused for a moment, clearly "moved" by the other party's progressive ideas, and then chuckled: "The natural way you believe in is... quite flexible."

Xia Lin, who was standing nearby, was greatly inspired.

One is never too old to learn.

The experience of the older generation is indeed practical and flexible; there is still much for me to learn.

The conversation naturally shifted to the possibility of domesticating chicken-snake beasts.

The orc Garu glanced at the old priest's slightly weary expression and said in a low voice, "If... you could tame one as a mount, your journey would be much easier."

Old Pastor Far smiled and shook his head: "Garu, I appreciate your kindness. But this journey is nothing to my old bones. Besides—"

He winked humorously. "Those old fogies in the church administration probably aren't generous enough to pay us the extra expenses for raising a chicken-like creature."

Woody, preening his feathers on Xia Lin's shoulder, interjected, "If you ask me, if this big guy skips one meal, the food expenses saved might be enough to feed another one."

What's the difference between having one pet and having two?

Xia Lin, who was drinking water, almost choked on Woody's comment that he "had already found a way to die."

Having just witnessed the orc's clean and efficient moves, he didn't want to offend this burly professional in front of him.

Fortunately, orcs are generally thick-skinned, and Garu, whom Woody treated as a priest's pet, didn't do anything too extreme.

At that moment, the old pastor Farr's gaze fell on Woody.

"Xia Lin, your crow... seems particularly intelligent? It even crowed out to warn us just now."

"I've seen many contracted magical pets, but few can communicate so clearly, and even possess such individual thought."

Seemingly intrigued by Woody's words, the old pastor Far even inquired about its habits.

"Does it have any other special talents?"

All eyes were on them, since it was rare to see an adventurer taking two "birds" on a mission.

Xia Lin thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Besides being talkative, gossipy, and prone to spouting nonsense... it also especially loves eating French fries."

As he spoke, he took out a small bag of French fries wrapped in oil paper from his bag and spread it out in his palm.

Woody immediately perked up and began pecking at the fries without any hesitation. The crisp "crunch crunch" sound as his beak collided with the fries was particularly clear in the quiet camp.

Everyone fell silent as they watched the crow munching on fries while simultaneously talking.

Talkative, greedy, and full of fallacies...

The old pastor, Far, was silent for a moment, then finally said softly, "...Indeed, it is quite special."

Phrases like "This child looks honest" or "The child looks just like his parents" are polite compliments made by relatives and elders to an ordinary child who has no outstanding qualities.

Looking at the speechless old pastor, Xia Lin had reason to suspect that the pastor most likely couldn't find any redeeming qualities in Woody.

The campfire crackled, illuminating the diverse expressions on everyone's faces.

A few faint hoots of owls echoed from the depths of the swamp, making the clearing in the woods even quieter.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The campsite was filled with the faint smoke from burning damp firewood and the crisp scent of dew in the early morning.

The group silently packed their belongings, carefully burying the traces of last night's battle, leaving only a charred ring around the campfire.

After a simple breakfast of hard bread and cured meat, plus a few sips of hot water, the team set off again, heading deeper into the swamp.

The road ahead is becoming increasingly difficult.

The solid ground was gradually replaced by soft, water-soaked mud, and every step made a muffled "plop" sound, making it especially difficult to pull one's feet out.

Muddy puddles were everywhere, with a layer of oily iridescence floating on the surface and unidentified bubbles churning at the bottom.

The smell in the air, a mixture of rotting plants and faint sulfur, grew stronger.

They had to slow down, with the druid Griffin leading the way, using his keen sense of the terrain to choose paths that were relatively solid, a mix of tree roots and rocks.

As the orc Garu took the lead, his heavy footsteps seemed to cause the nearby makeshift ground to tremble slightly.

Perhaps it was this behemoth-like presence that had the effect.

As we walked through a relatively dry oak forest, a rustling sound came from the bushes to our side.

A tall, lithe, dark yellow figure quietly appeared; it was a spotted leopard, about the size of a foal.

Its amber pupils contracted in the morning light, scanning the ranks, lingering for a moment, especially on Garu and the giant axe on his shoulder.

The two sides stood facing off for about three or four seconds.

"It's making comparisons in its mind," Woody's lazy voice echoed in Xia Lin's mind. "Especially that big green guy, he doesn't look like a target that can be easily taken care of."