We walked back to the village by following the river banks. We passed the small pond and I could see everyone staring at me. I told them through the soul transmission to ignore me and continue hiding. It wasn’t long before we approached the rocky area where the turtle laid. However, there was no sign of him.

“Where is Mr. Black?”

The brat with the monkey looked back over to me with a questioning look.

“I’m sorry?”

“There used to be a pretty large turtle here.”

“Hmm…I haven’t seen one.”

The warriors whispered amongst each other while trying to support their three weakened allies.

“Does the monster refer to the mystical Black Turtle Guardian?”

Not upset with how they portrayed me, I replied,

“He did say he was a guardian of the lake.”

The warriors returned to hurriedly whispering to each other.

The boy looked out towards the lake and seemed to glare at it. The butler was busy cleaning and disciplining the monkey that decided to take a dump on his foot.

The monkey itself kept coming back to me and staring me in the face before jumping away while howling. I wasn’t sure why he kept doing that since he wouldn’t respond to my soul transmissions. In fact, he felt pretty stupid. I know that some of the lesser frogs could only mimic conversation, so that must mean this monkey isn’t really old enough to understand how to communicate.

We walked towards the village and I could finally see that it was quite close. I was surprised by how big I was compared to humans. I was taller than most of the children. Only those that were currently training to be warriors could contend with my height.

The looks I received from the tribe members weren’t the best. But, at least I was doing better than Arthur. The possibility of having fresh food was a welcoming idea. The massive frog was probably being eyed more than I was.

And besides, any person who ate him might actually gain some good powers.

“You! What the hell?! Why did you do this to me?”

“I already told you. You lied to me and my family, putting them in danger. This is only fitting.”

He started to thrash around again until a hunter knocked him out using a club. He wasn’t dead, since I still saw him breathing, but he probably wasn’t going to live for long.

We made our way into the large open area where there was a big building. From the entryway, since there was no door, came several old men and one old lady. I guess these are the Elders the hunter said.

Many of the tribe members walked up as well to watch. I noticed several beefy men wearing painted markings and holding sharp swords. The power coming from them dwarfed these weaklings that went hunting for frogs. I wonder how the hierarchy is since the weak guys aren’t being treated like dirt.

It can’t be a might is right, nor can it be political. No, if only old people are at the top, then there can be a possible situation. They rely on knowledge or tradition. They hold their ancestors in deep reverence. The graveyard in the center of the lake is a good sign of that respect.

If this is the case, I wonder how come this kid and his butler managed to force these guys to wait on them hand and foot.

Could the kid’s family be supporting them? I wonder what the kid and his family could want from this place.

Then the old lady walked up. She had wrinkles that seemed to cover her eyes and she was shorter than I was. She hobbled forward, not towards the boy, but to me!

“Young Master, why did you bring this strange one here?”

She, while shaking, placed her wrinkled hand on my slimy forehead. She wasn’t disgusted, in fact, she seemed content to just rub her hands all over me. Was she blind? Maybe that’s it.

“Hehehe, Granny, this funny thing can speak and fight! He’s much stronger than any of the kids from here. All we need is a warrior from the immediate area, right? Even my brothers and sisters are taking advantage and having their respective tribes adopt some powerful people.”

The old lady, Granny I guess, stopped rubbing my head before wiping her hand on her shirt. For some reason, she never turned from facing me.

“Well…If your father found out we had no powerful warriors in our tribe, we might face some difficult problems in the future. We must win this tournament with our own power.”

“Pardon the interruption, but what is this tournament for?”

Granny was surprised by my voice but began to smile calmly again.

“This tournament is to help decide which tribe that lives in this region receives a discount on the tax they have to give to the Marshall Family.”

“I take it this is a Young Master of the Marshall Family?”

I gave a suspicious look to the boy.

“Hehe, he is indeed. The youngsters of the Family will select a tribe to back. If they made a good decision, then”

“Then Father will give me something nice!”

“Hmm, from what you said, this seems more like which child has the ability to raise a tribe to be number one. It’s not about finding the strongest one, but creating the strongest one. What are the rules of this tournament?”

Young Master Marshall suddenly snapped his fingers in delight.

”Ah! That makes much more sense!”

Granny started nodding her head before continuing on.

“We must send five strong warriors contend with the seven other tribes. Most should be true members of the tribe and the tribe that has the most victors will emerge the winner.”

“Hmm…So we need a team of five strong warriors? How long until the tournament?”

The boy had run off with the monkey before even finishing the conversation. It seemed to me that he was all over the place. What a spoiled brat. Looks like this was an errand his father sent him on.

Granny answered once more while the butler went to watch over the kid.

“We have one more month.”

“Oh, that’s enough time. How about this, I teach you a way to get stronger?”

Out of nowhere, the boy was instantly by my side.

“I knew it! Tell me!”

I stared at the boy, surprised at his apparent teleportation.

“But first, I need several things.”

The boy stopped in his tracks and his face darkened. The butler glared at me and the Granny just continued smiling. So I continued.

“I still want to make sure that I and my family will be guaranteed safety no matter what.”

The butler narrowed his eyes, some idea dawning on him.

“Next, I want knowledge. I have no understanding of the world and wish to know more.”

Granny’s smile got wider for some reason. I guess seeking intelligence is a sign of wisdom. Or a feasible object to manipulate little frog guys with.

“And finally, you have to keep what I am about to tell and show you a secret.”

Everyone sort of leaned in to hear better as I began to whisper.

I looked over at the tree line and motioned for the others to come out. When 4 large frogs and three more beings like me walked into the village, everyone’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

I knew that these guys weren’t going to follow my orders, but I was glad to see Hu Lao was still at the pond.

I turned back to the butler and child to see them getting a little angry.

“You lied to us!”

“Of course. I didn’t want to risk their lives.”

“So why do it now?”

“Because this way, we have leverage to use.”

The butler’s eyes widened and his mouth started to turn downwards.

“You mean to blackmail us!”

“No, I mean to keep you to your words. With my help, I can increase the strength of the people here just like I increased the strength of those behind me. And if I am still the strongest when a month passes, I will join the tournament. And now, with this many, we can even bring in another one. Only three of your people will have to join.”

The Granny began to ponder. I had no idea how she was remaining calm since the other Elders practically had their jaws on the floor.

“This sounds really good, but only those under the years of 16 can join.”

“Well, Elder Granny, I am only about six months old. And so are they.”

I think I heard some people faint.