System vs Rebirth

After his wounds were wrapped neatly, Noel then stated, "We can use that gap to get some water. Although both of you need to hold the gallons so that they won't be thrown away by the water velocity, you can hide behind the dam itself to avoid the demon's sight. Meanwhile, I'll stand in front of the gap so that they will see me first.

"This way, they won't be too focused on you. What do you think?" Noel asked. The fact that he was asking their opinions just showed that Noel wasn't a dictator. He also wanted them to participate in saving the villages.

Both of them exchanged looks before nodding to Noel. "We'll do it according to your instruction."

"Good. Also, if you want to, you can bring back the corpses here. Although they've become a demon, their corpse still can be eaten. I'll just remove their crystals and you're good to go.

"I know that the villages have a hard time surviving, so this might be the time for you to make a little party to cheer everyone's up. Just take away the burned parts and you're good to go. With their size, it should be able to easily feed the people, right?"

"This…" They were surprised. It seemed they had underestimated Noel's magnanimosity. Noel was not only a savior, but a hero. He truly thought everything for them and wanted to help them to the best of his ability.

"How can we thank you…" The farmer lowered his head. He wanted to cry from his kindness. The hardship they had endured in the past few weeks were truly too much. Some had even died due to the lack of water. So, he was thankful that the one liberating their village was Noel.

"Just do your job immediately. It's been too hard for you, so you should hurry." Noel smiled. "Anyway, I promise that the problem will be solved within two to three days."

"Y-yes." They nodded with a serious expression as they immediately worked according to Noel's instruction.

While hiding themselves behind the dam, they held the gallon below the flowing water.

The gallon was filled to the brim in just a few seconds, so the job itself wasn't as dangerous as it seemed.

At the same time, Noel had just eliminated all the demons nearby, so there wasn't a single demon coming out of the dam for the time being.

Ultimately, the two guys returned to the village with a smile on their faces. After that, they brought two more people to cut the fishes and beavers so that they could eat them.

In the meantime, Noel kept standing in front of the dam, waiting for a demon to appear.

After several hours, another beaver demon emerged from the water, trying to fix the dam. Noel gained its attention easily and the beaver immediately chased after the injured him.

Because he was injured, Noel was relying on his traps. The trap was just some simple spikes or ropes to trip them. There wasn't a need for more complicated traps for the time being because Noel's strength was already between Mid Level Demon and Advanced Level Demon.

Another few hours of peace was gained after the beaver's appearance before Noel could hear the falling tree from a distance. He immediately checked the area and eliminated another beaver demon.

It was a smooth progress because Noel could see the water going down slightly.

Since the flow rate decreased a bit, Noel cut down another portion of the dam, increasing the flow rate. He also needed to make sure he didn't cut too much to the point the dam would crumble since it would be catastrophic.

Eventually, the night fell and Noel retreated back to the woods next to the dam, watching the gap while biting his dried jerky.

'Still, to think that I'd gotten used to the meal that Anna made…' Noel thought while clicking his tongue. 'I feel like eating dried jerkies for days are a torture itself. That must be Anna's plot… She must be trying to conquer my stomach to the point I can't live without her. Screw her.'

Noel kept eating even though he was annoyed.

Suddenly, he felt a movement coming from the village's direction.

"Hmm?" Noel hurriedly raised his sword, trying to see what kind of demon was approaching him.

But he soon saw light among the woods. It was clear that the light came from the torch, meaning a villager was visiting him.

"Who are you?" Noel's voice resounded in the area, giving away his location. As if responding to the sound, he soon found the farmer among the woods. "Why do you come here?"

The farmer also spotted Noel and immediately came to him. "I finally found you."

"What's wrong? Is there something happening to the village?" Noel frowned, feeling something ominous.

However, the farmer brushed that feeling away with a smile on his face. He placed down the bag he carried earlier and opened it. "No, no. I'm here to bring you this."

"This is…" Noel widened his eyes when he took a glimpse of the bag.

It was food, a piping hot one as the steam was still coming out.

"You told us to use them to cheer us, but you're the one fighting for us… We can't really allow you to suffer like this when we're happy." The farmer smiled. "This food should be able to keep you warm right now."

"O-oh?" Noel didn't expect that someone would risk his life in this darkness just to bring him food. He couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

"No, no. We should be the one thanking you." The farmer scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed to receive Noel's thanks. "Actually, if you're going to remain here during the night, the guy, who came during the day, wants to take your position in watching the dam. He wants to help you watching over the dam during the night. He'll alarm you when he spots a demon. This way, you can take some rest since you're injured…"

Noel truly felt gratified by how they repaid the kindness. He didn't expect them to repay it, but it was truly amazing to see people's bonds like this.

"No, no. There's no need for you to worry about that. I can easily go through two to three days without sleep. After that, just let me rest for a bit before I leave the village after the mission completion." Noel politely denied their offer since it was too dangerous.

"I understand. But please… Let us bring you food later so that you won't be in empty stomach." The farmer looked at him with a serious face.

After rejecting the previous request, Noel felt bad for declining this one too, so he nodded his head. "Alright. But you need to be careful."

"Yes. Thank you, Sir Knight."