They had expected the trip would take a long time, but unexpectedly, they left one day and returned the very next.
Genasa didn’t go back to the Crystal Palace either. He stayed behind, busying himself with the farmland, and was genuinely surprised to hear they had returned so soon.
From the direction of the forest, a group of excited lizardmen could be seen, each leading a rope. Trailing behind them was a string of centaurs, all bound at the upper body.
These centaurs were tall, standing over two meters from head to hoof, with the tallest nearly reaching two and a half meters—taller by two and a half heads than even the sturdiest lizardman.
Although tied up, their faces were full of defiance, looking ready to fight at any moment.
When he saw them, Genasa was stunned. Hadn’t they agreed to bring them back peacefully? Why were they tied up like this?
Before Genasa could voice his doubts, the priest came running over to report:
“Lord, we have fulfilled your command. We captured the entire centaur tribe and brought them back!”
“Uh… Didn’t I ask you to invite them? What happened? Tell me everything in detail.”
The priest spoke without hesitation:
“Here’s what happened. We made our intentions clear, but they kept shouting about pride and freedom and then charged at us. We thought there would be heavy casualties, but suddenly… that necromancer who persecuted us appeared. He actually helped us, Lord—did you send him?”
He asked cautiously in a low voice. Genasa only nodded, saying nothing more.
“All right, since that’s the case, I’ll go talk to them myself.”
The priest nodded, surprised that Genasa had actually managed to subdue that terrifying fellow, and felt his resolve to follow Genasa grow even firmer.
With a rough idea of the situation, Genasa headed toward them, organizing his thoughts as he walked:
From the looks of it, this group of centaurs must be the kind who are neutral but lean toward evil, or else their reaction wouldn’t have been so intense—unless the priest’s words had somehow offended them.
By the time he finished thinking, he was already standing before them.
The centaurs looked at Genasa, frowning in confusion. Clearly, they didn’t recognize the dragon either.
But they didn’t speak, waiting for Genasa to address them.
“Ahem, I’ll keep it simple. There may be some misunderstanding between us. My intention was to hire you to work the fields for me. We can talk about compensation. If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. But launching an attack on my people—that’s going too far.”
As soon as he finished, the tallest, most muscular male centaur snorted and said,
“You insult the proud and free will of centaurs. You deserve to be punished!”
Genasa stared at the robust, hairy, and hormone-filled centaur for a moment before beckoning with his claw to the side.
The priest hurried forward obsequiously. “My lord, do you want me to teach these fools a lesson?”
But Genasa shot him a speechless glare.
“I wasn’t calling you. Go wait over there.”
The priest’s disappointment was plain on his face, but he said nothing more.
Just then, the lich’s silhouette gradually materialized at Genasa’s side, listening as Genasa asked,
“What exactly did the lizardmen say to them to cause such a big reaction?”
The lich looked a bit reluctant, but facing Genasa’s question, he answered honestly:
“Nothing much, really. We introduced you, then extended an invitation. The centaurs got furious, shouted stuff like ‘never slaves’ and attacked.”
“Oh~”
The lich had no vested interest with the lizardmen, so there was no reason for him to cover for them. It seemed the story checked out.
“Hmph, untie them for now.”
The lizardmen obeyed. Once the centaurs flexed their wrists a bit, the centaur leader spoke with interest:
“Hmph, looks like you’re a reasonable big lizard. All right then, tell us: what are your terms to hire us?”
“……”
The centaur chief had enough sense to know they couldn’t win, so he agreed to the so-called employment.
But that arrogant attitude showed just how wild their natures were—these would not be easy to handle.
Suppressing his irritation, Genasa negotiated calmly:
“Plenty of food, safe housing, and additional compensation. If you’re willing, we can even provide a good education.”
The simple answer made the centaurs somewhat tempted.
After all, life in the forest was far from stable, and wild monsters were a constant threat.
Seeing their interest, Genasa continued:
“All you need to do is cultivate crops as I require. After the harvest, I’ll come to take what I need from time to time. The rest is yours—as long as you don’t waste it, you can eat as you please.”
The centaurs swept their eyes over the freshly tilled fields, piecing together the situation from Genasa’s words.
So that’s it. These guys want to farm for food but don’t know how, so they need us. Heh, this could be interesting.
He licked his lips, feigning composure:
“Not bad. All right, I agree.”
As soon as he accepted, Genasa was about to say something, but the centaur chief gave a wild grin.
“But let’s be clear. We are a free people, with our own rules. You can’t impose your rules on us, especially about work. You can’t force us.”
“Oh~ what a piece of work.”
Genasa couldn’t help but sigh at that.
In short: I eat your food, do your work, take your pay, but I refuse to listen to you—I’m just here to act like a boss.
“Then you might as well go back. I can’t afford to hire you. See yourself out.”
He waved his claw to dismiss them, but the centaurs refused to leave.
The centaur leader, temper flaring, pointed at Genasa and cursed:
“You damned lizard! You ask us to farm, and now you just tell us to go? Fine, we’ll leave. Let these guys do it themselves. As if we care about this worthless dump!”
But just as he turned to leave, he seemed to think of something, spun back, and said to Genasa:
“Don’t think I can’t tell—you need us because you don’t know how to farm. Either you promise now that we centaurs get seventy percent of the harvest, and have these lizardmen who offended our free will kneel and apologize—especially that pitch-black one—or you can starve for all I care!”
The nearby lizardmen couldn’t take it anymore. Tensions rose; they looked ready to fight.
The centaur knew he couldn’t beat them with the lich present, but that didn’t stop him from being arrogant.
Seeing the lizardmen’s reaction, the centaur chief pointed and continued to curse them:
“Tch, you bunch of cowardly weaklings. Keep looking at me like that and see if we don’t just…”
Before he could finish, a shadow dropped from the sky, illuminated by the sunlight, and landed right in front of him.
PAK——
A loud slap rang out, and the towering centaur chief was sent sprawling to the ground. Another blow followed immediately.
“Damn it, giving you face and you don’t want it. Who do you think you are? Seventy percent, my foot! Where’s your shame? Beat him! Beat him till he’s smoking!”
Two slaps were enough to leave him unable to fight back. Instantly, the lizardmen around Genasa surged forward.
The lizardmen, who had endured up till now, finally gave the centaur chief a thorough beating.
“Stop! Stop!”
Hearing their chief’s miserable cries, the rest of the centaurs were stunned. A few tried to resist, but without weapons, they were quickly subdued by the lizardmen.
After a while, Genasa walked over to the centaur chief, the lizardmen surrounding him on all sides.
“I’ve changed my mind. Now, either you live and farm for me, or you die and farm for me!”