Chapter 365 Desperate Display of Remorse

Silvia looked pained, her face a mask of sorrow and worry, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Her usually radiant hair was matted, and dark circles underlined her dull, weary eyes. Her lips trembled as though struggling to form words, the memories of the attack clearly weighing heavily on her spirit.

"I... I’m so sorry, Helen. I don’t know everything, but I’ll tell you what I can. It all started about a week ago. I was in the middle of a lesson with the new hatchlings—they were so eager, so full of energy. It was just another normal day. And then..."

She paused, swallowing hard as if trying to force down the memories that clawed at her throat.

"I heard shouting. Screaming. It was chaos. I rushed out of the hut and saw a group of goblins dragging Jacob. His head—" Her voice cracked, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, taking a moment to steady herself.

 "It was covered in blood. There was so much blood, Helen. It was dripping down his face, soaking into his clothes. He wasn’t moving."

Her hands gripped the fabric of her dress tightly, her knuckles white with the force of her grip.

 "I ran to help, but before I could even reach them, I saw them—the Bloody Wolves. They were everywhere, tearing through the goblins like they were nothing. I’ve never seen anything like it... the speed, the savagery. They didn’t just kill—they ripped, shredded. The air was filled with their howls and the screams of the goblins. I was paralyzed, Helen. I didn’t know what to do."

Her voice broke again, and tears welled in her eyes. 

"Thorin was the one who acted. He grabbed Jacob and told me to help him carry him to the barn. Dwalin—he stayed behind to try and rally the others, to give us time. But it was a mess. The goblins... they panicked. They were running in every direction. Most of them make it to the barn. I saw who didn't make it... I saw what the wolves did to them. Their screams..."

She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking as the memories overwhelmed her. After a moment, she lowered her hands and continued, her voice heavy with guilt and sorrow.

 "We got Jacob to the barn, but he was in such bad shape. I tried everything—the healing crystal, the potions—but nothing worked. The crystal needed his mana, and he’s been unconscious this entire time. The potions... they slowed the bleeding, but they weren’t enough to heal him. His injury is just... too much."

Silvia looked up at Suzuka, her eyes pleading.

 "I’ve stayed here with him ever since, trying to keep him stable, but every day he’s gotten weaker. I don’t think he has much time left, Helen. If we don’t get him proper help, I... I don’t think he’ll survive."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, thick with emotion. 

"Please, Helen. He’s a good man. He’s helped me so much... he’s helped all of us. It would hurt me—hurt all of us—to lose him like this."

"Don’t worry about Jacob. Leave him to me. He’s tougher than he looks, and I’ve come prepared for situations like this. While I was in town, I stocked up on all kinds of potions. I’ve got something that’ll help him recover, something strong enough to pull him through."

She stepped closer to Silvia, placing a hand lightly on her shoulder. 

"You’ve done everything you could, Silvia. You’ve been here for him, and that’s more than most would do in your place. But now, I need you to focus on something else. The other goblins—they’re in a pitiful state. Scared, hurt, filthy. They need someone to look after them, to show them that they’re not alone in this mess."

Suzuka gave her a firm nod, her crimson eyes meeting Silvia’s. 

"Please, take a look and do what you can for them. Patch them up, calm them down—whatever they need right now. You’re good at that, Silvia. You always have been. Leave Jacob to me, I’ll get him back on his feet."

Silvia nodded, her eyes filled with hope and gratitude.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll see to it. Please, Helen, help Jacob. He’s been very kind to me. Losing him would be... sad.”

With that, Silvia left the room, her footsteps echoing with a mix of urgency and concern. Suzuka wasted no time. She reached into her magic item storage and pulled out a vibrant red potion, its contents swirling with potent energy. With a swift, decisive motion, she drew her dagger and sliced it into her arm, letting a few drops of her healing blood drip into the potion. The blood mixed with the potion, causing it to glow with a fierce, pulsating light. This infusion aimed at boosting Jacob’s recovery.

She carefully poured the potion into Jacob’s mouth, watching intently as the liquid was absorbed eagerly by his parched lips. The effect was almost immediate - the wound on Jacob’s head began to knit together at an astonishing rate, the once-gaping injury now closing up, and the blood ceased to flow as the torn flesh mended.

While waiting for Jacob to fully recover, Suzuka’s gaze snapped to Hermit, who had fallen to his knees in a desperate display of remorse. His body shook with uncontrollable sobs as he squealed out apologies, his voice a high-pitched wail of guilt. Suzuka’s eyes flashed with anger as she watched his pitiful display.

 Hermit continued to thrash and bow, his head slamming against the ground with desperate, frantic thuds.

“Master! Please, forgive us! No punishment, please! We did not mean to! Mercy! We will work ten times harder, day and night, with no rest! We will, we will! We swear we will! Just please, do not punish us or kill us! We beg you, mercy! Do not crush us with your mighty power! We will be your humble, loyal servants, we will!”

Suzuka’s eyes blazed with fury, her patience at its breaking point.

“I heard your worthless begging the first time! Speak, you little shit! Tell me everything! What is this all about? What did you do!?”

Hermit’s scrawny frame shook as he dared to lift his head, his bulging eyes darting nervously to Suzuka's fiery glare. His voice, a high-pitched, wavering whimper, spilled out in a torrent of panicked words, each sentence punctuated by desperate, trembling breaths.

“Master! Oh, master, please hear me! W-we tried! We really tried!” He pawed at the dirt with his gnarled fingers as though trying to burrow away from her rage.

 “When you left us, everything was fine at first—really fine! No, better than fine—great, even! The camp, oh, it was buzzing, Master! Goblins chopping, hauling, planting—so much planting! The crops were growing, green and juicy, like we was doing real good work! The crops even started to bear fruit! Big, juicy, green things! Oh, so proud we were!”

He let out a pitiful sniffle, wiping his snot-covered nose on the back of his filthy hand. He gulped, his voice rising into a frantic squeal as he continued. 

“But then… oh, master, then came the bad things. The terrible things! BIG tracks! Pig Wolf tracks! Horrible, nasty, fat-footed tracks! All over! Every morning, they were closer and closer to us! And the next day... oh, the next day, we saw them—they came! Staring at us with their awful, hungry eyes!” 

His hands shot up to clutch his big, meaty ears in horror.

“Them filthy beasts, the Pig Wolves, they were in the woods, in the shadows! Creepin’ and lurkin’, their ugly snouts sniffin’ our scent! Oh, we got scared, master! So scared! We said, ‘Build the walls! Build 'em high, build 'em strong!’ That’s what we said! But there weren’t enough hands, master, not enough strong ones! The hatchlings can’t hold hammers! And the others, they was shaking too much to swing an axe!”

Hermit’s voice cracked as tears, thick and grimy, streaked his filthy cheeks. He clutched at his chest, rocking back and forth as his voice rose to a panicked pitch.

“And Master Jacob, oh, Master Jacob! Master Jacob, he said it was fine, told us not to worry! Said he could squish those beasts with one hand! So we believed him! We kept working! Stacking, hammering, building! But we knew, master, we knew! It wasn’t enough! Them beasts—they got bold! They got hungry! They attacked us while we were working’—right while we were workin’, master! Goblins screamin’, running everywhere! And Jacob—oh, Jacob! He stood tall, ready to fight, but then—”

Hermit’s voice cracked into a high-pitched wail, his thin hands tugging at his big ears.

“But then! THEN, Master! A disaster, Master! A DISASTER! Master Jacob—he was standing there, so strong, so fearless! He was ready to use his great, divine power! But—but...”

Suzuka snaped, "GOD DAMN IT! Spit it out already!"

He gasped for breath, his voice breaking into a mournful wail.

 “Yes! Yes, master! Then it happened, master! It was awful! One of the goblins on the wall—they panicked! A goblin... a stupid, clumsy goblin! He tripped, Master! Tripped over his own stupid feet! Fell face-first into a pile of bricks! And—and then!” Hermit’s words dissolved into a shriek.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek!"

 “One of those bricks—oh, cursed brick!—it hit Master Jacob! Right on his head! Smashed him down! Blood everywhere! Oh, Master! We ruined him! RUINED HIM! It’s all our fault! Please, mercy, Master! Mercy! We are sorry! We dropped a brick, a big one! It came crashin’ down—SMASH! Right on poor Jacob’s head! Oh, the blood, master, the BLOOD! It was everywhere, so much of it! Jacob fell, and we… we ran! Oh, we ran, master! We couldn’t do nothin’! We were scared, so scared!”

His words tumbled out in a frantic rush, each one punctuated by desperate sobs that choked his breath.

“It was chaos, Master! Utter chaos! The Pig Wolves—they were everywhere! Snarling, biting, tearing into us like we were nothing but scraps of meat!” Hermit’s voice cracked as he clasped his bony hands together, pleading with wide, watery eyes.