then removed the bread from Caspian's and Nikabrik's mouths.
"Why did you catch him?" Nikabrik said, exasperated, "Trufflehunter is just a badger, no threat to you."
"I knew something felt hairy when I caught him, so it was a honey badger!" Aaron chuckled meaningfully, "He's certainly no threat to me, but what if he tips them off?
What if he calls dozens of people over? Then, besides surrendering, I'd have no choice but to run."
Nikabrik: …That makes so much sense, I'm speechless.
"What exactly is your purpose?" Caspian asked.
"I don't have a reason to tell you, do I?" Aaron shrugged and continued, "Last question, why are those people chasing you?"
Caspian was silent for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, "Because I am a Prince. After my father died, my uncle has always wanted to seize the throne. I think the reason I've lived this long is because he didn't have a son to inherit the throne."
"You mean he has a son now?"
"Tonight, his son was born.
My teacher informed me to flee overnight, to escape to this forest, and handed me Queen Susan's horn." Caspian said in a deep voice, "Can you release me now?
I must leave here. Unless I die, my uncle will not stop.
I cannot bring war to this forest; this is the last refuge for the Narnians."
"I'm afraid it's too late." Aaron poured a bucket of cold water on him, "Trufflehunter, the first dwarf who drew a sword on you, was captured by the Telmarine General and several soldiers.
Without a doubt, they will report to the King as soon as they return to the Castle.
Your uncle is clearly an ambitious man. If he knows there are still Narnians in the forest… what do you think he'll do?"
"Bring an army to attack." Caspian couldn't help but swallow.
"Correct answer." Aaron snapped his fingers, "He will definitely do that.
Actually, my initial thought was very simple: to leave this forest. After all, I'm a living person; I can't always live in the wilderness, can I?
But if the residents of the human kingdom are descendants of pirates, then it would be difficult for an outsider like me to integrate, not to mention the King isn't a good person either.
He would most likely capture me and force me to lead the way to invade other places."
"My uncle would indeed do that, but there's also a possibility that he would simply kill you to prevent you from revealing Narnia's location, which would threaten his kingdom."
"No need to remind me, Your Royal Highness." Aaron rolled his eyes and said, "All in all, I can't go to that Castle, but staying in the forest isn't safe either.
A war is about to break out here, a brutal war, one that could even lead to the extinction of an entire race.
I don't want to get involved, so for me, the best option is to go in a different direction and hide far away."
Saying that, Aaron picked up the sack containing the badger, "You must have heard our conversation. I'm not a bad person, and tying you up was to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
I can release you, but on the condition that you remain calm, don't shout, and don't be hostile towards me."
"It's hard for me to be friendly to a bandit who broke into my home." An annoyed voice came from the sack.
Aaron nodded slightly; he would have the same attitude if it were him.
He didn't say much, just put down the sack, then placed the sword at his waist against it. The action of drawing the sword was very slow, but the sound of the blade was exceptionally clear.
"Wait, noble guest, there must be some misunderstanding between us."
"Tsk tsk tsk! A badger who knows how to adapt always lives long."
Whoosh!
A cold light flashed, and the rope on the sack broke into two pieces.
A badger crawled out of the sack, first taking deep breaths, then cautiously looking at Aaron.
"Um… you don't mind if I untie them, do you?"
"I don't mind; I was going to release them anyway." Aaron said indifferently.
The badger immediately untied Nikabrik's rope. The dwarf's eyes narrowed slightly, quickly locking onto his weapon.
He decisively drew his long sword and lunged at Aaron.
"No, Nikabrik." The badger shouted loudly, "Stop."
Clang!
Aaron knocked Nikabrik's weapon away with one move, and the next moment, the tip of his sword was pointed at his throat.
"Mr. Dwarf, why do you think I let him release you so casually?" Aaron said helplessly, "It's not that I underestimate you, but ten like you couldn't get close to me.
So… please don't make my act of not killing you a joke, okay?"
Nikabrik could only nod blankly and didn't dare to say anything, who made him unable to win?
"Don't misunderstand, he doesn't have a very good temper, especially towards humans." The badger said, soothing Aaron's emotions while untying Caspian's rope.
Then he picked up the white horn on the table, "So… Prince Caspian, you blew the horn?"
"Yes." Caspian didn't mince words, "My teacher told me to only use it in an emergency."
"All right! I think I understand." The badger pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You are here to save us."
"Save?" Caspian was a bit confused.
"Exactly, save." The badger stated with certainty, "We will regain the freedom and peace we've longed for for hundreds of years."
"That's just a myth." Nikabrik said.
"No, Nikabrik, you know that among Narnian badgers, our role is memory.
The memories deep in my brain tell me that Caspian will be our hope. We need a leader now, and no one can unite us better than the one who blew the horn."
"Perhaps." Nikabrik sighed, "But his uncle will soon lead an army to attack the forest, and we don't have much time."
"Notify the others; we leave first thing in the morning."
"A Telmarine might not be able to persuade them." Nikabrik sneered, "Before reaching an agreement, he'll have to face the wrath of the Narnians."
Hearing this, the badger also calmed down.
"He has no choice, and neither do we, at least until the King and Queen return."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Aaron clapped his hands, "Good luck to you all, goodbye."
"Wait." Caspian hastily called out to Aaron, "You can choose to help us. After we win this war, I will be King and can give you a legal identity."
"Heh heh!" Aaron sneered, "Tricking a fifteen-year-old child into fighting a war, doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"You are very strong." Caspian said with a wry smile, "It's quite embarrassing to admit, but among the people I know, you are the most formidable.
And if I'm not mistaken, you must have… killed people, right?"
Aaron's eyes sharpened, but he didn't deny it, "What are you trying to say?"
"Stay and help me this one time. Afterwards, you can live peacefully in Narnia.
If you don't want to, I will prepare a ship for you, and you can also leave this place."
"I don't want to." Aaron refused very directly, "I'm already fed up with war and such. Besides, I am neither a Narnian nor a Telmarine; this war means nothing to me.
However, from my perspective as an observer, I do hope you can win.
Go for it, I'm rooting for you!"
With that, Aaron quickly left the tree hollow.
Are you kidding? Fighting a war? What war?
He almost died of exhaustion on the battlefield in his previous world. Gandalf, that old bastard, practically wanted to use him as a one-man army.
This time might not be as tiring, after all, the enemies are just ordinary humans, no sand worms, vampire bats, trolls, or wargs, those terrifying monsters. And he has already transformed into a Grand Magus, which can be considered a complete rebirth.
But the problem is the choice of faction. Last time, he stood with the human faction, his opponents were ferocious orcs, and he killed them without any psychological burden. This time, if he had to choose a side, he could only choose the Narnians, standing against humanity, which made him feel somewhat… awkward.
He could kill evil alien races without hesitation, but killing humans… with no personal grudge, he couldn't just go on a killing spree because he disliked the Telmarines' actions, could he?
He certainly had a sense of justice, but not much.
After walking for a while, he returned to the pit he had dug earlier.
Adding some branches to the dying campfire, Aaron lay down leisurely.
The next day, the first rays of morning sunlight shone on his face.
Aaron brushed the dust off himself, preparing to leave this forest that was about to become a battlefield. As long as he hid far enough, the war wouldn't affect him.
He couldn't go back to the ruins. The Kings and Queens of Old Narnia might return at any time, but the first thing they would do upon returning would surely be to look for their old equipment.
Until he was sure of their strength, it was better to keep his distance.
The sun slowly moved overhead, and Aaron stopped by a river.
Just as he was about to rest for a while and catch a fish for breakfast, a wooden boat appeared in the distance.
The two people rowing were wearing armor, holding crossbows, and had swords at their waists—standard soldier attire.
"Motherf—!"
Aaron rolled his eyes, exasperated. He had gone out of his way to avoid them, yet he still encountered Telmarine soldiers.
If only he hadn't slept last night; if he had traveled through the night, there wouldn't be so many problems.
But now was clearly not the time to complain. Before the soldiers could spot him, Aaron quickly hid behind a large boulder.