The footprints on the ground were very clear. Wayne and the other two no longer cared about the burning village and soon followed the footprints into the swamp forest.

After learning that Wayne had no experience in operating in swamps, George took the initiative to take the lead, following the footprints while teaching him how to survive in the swamp, such as how to avoid poisonous snakes, how to find water, and how to determine where are mud traps and where are the solid ground to step on.

The group stopped and walked along the way. George was worthy of being a legendary demon hunter who had been active for hundreds of years and was finally able to fight the green dragon alone. The practical teaching along the way allowed Wayne to learn a lot of useful knowledge.

Although footprints in the swamp are difficult to find, the senses of the witchers are beyond ordinary people, and they can always find the right path through clues.

It took about twenty minutes before a ruin made of hard stone slabs appeared before the three people.

"Elf ruins!"

Through the architectural style and some broken elven characters, Wayne immediately recognized the origin of the ruins.

But this is nothing to be surprised about. In this world, you can see the ruins of elves anywhere. That prosperous civilization once spread its footprints all over the world.

Although their civilization has almost disappeared, you can always find their legacy in places where humans have not yet set foot.

The three did not stay outside the ruins. They soon followed the dried mud footprints and found the entrance to an underground ruin.

Before entering the underground ruins, Wayne the Demon Hunter's keen hearing enabled him to hear noisy human voices coming from below the ruins.

"Quick, light the fire."

"The humidity in the swamp is so heavy that the children and the elderly are almost frozen after running here at night."

"I'm hungry, mom, I'm hungry, where are you, dad?"

"Stop arguing. The monster just flew away. Be careful not to lure it back."

Hearing the noisy sounds, Wayne looked at the other two and walked down first.

As soon as I walked down the stairwell, I saw hundreds of plainly dressed civilians crowding in the damp underground ruins.

In the center of the crowd, under the command of a middle-aged strong man, some young men were holding piles of things that looked like ancient books and adding them to the fire like firewood.

Wayne was stunned at first, and couldn't help but walk up to take a closer look, and their appearance immediately attracted the attention of others.

A middle-aged man who seemed to have a high status among the common people walked out of the crowd and was about to ask something.

Wayne suddenly seemed to have discovered something, and shouted to those who were about to throw more books into the fire:

"Put down what you have in your hand and don't burn it."

Upon hearing this, the other young men stopped, but the middle-aged strong man ignored Wayne and was about to throw a pile of books into the fire.

Wayne didn't bother to be polite with him. He just reached out and grabbed his collar and lifted up the burly man, who was about 1.8 meters tall, like a chicken. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't pry Wayne's arms open.

"Did you hear me? I told you not to burn them. These books are quite valuable. They are not meant to be used as firewood."

Wayne's voice was stern and his tall and imposing figure quickly frightened the surrounding villagers, causing them to involuntarily retreat to the middle.

After many upgrades, strengthening by holy water, and strengthening by genetic mutations, Wayne's current physical strength may not be the best among demon hunters, but it is definitely in the top three.

Whether in strength, speed or physique, they have far surpassed ordinary humans, probably about four to five times as much as them.

Without using weapons, he could knock down dozens of poor people even with his bare hands.

Seeing this, some timid villagers immediately put the books in their hands on the ground and retreated into the crowd. The middle-aged man who led the group first looked at the armor and weapons on Wayne and George, then hesitated for a few seconds before carefully asking, "Sir, we are all villagers from Lower Valen who have fled here. We have no money and no food. Please don't hurt us."

Wayne looked at the sturdy man who was lifted up by him with one hand and whose cheeks were flushed red. He then looked at the eyes of the civilians around him who were either afraid or worried. He did not continue to embarrass them. With a light push of his right hand, he threw the middle-aged sturdy man two or three meters away, making him fall to the ground.

George frowned and approached Wayne, and asked softly:

"What's wrong? Wayne, what happened?"

Wayne pointed to the books on the ground and the ashes in the fire, shook his head slightly, and said:

"It would be such a waste if they burned it."

George was shocked when he heard the drawings of the Griffin School. He didn't bother to ask Wayne anymore, but began to collect the somewhat tattered and damaged manuscripts on the ground.

Wayne's appearance at this time was that of a disguised human being. He was wearing fine armor, with a shining sword on his waist. He was tall and handsome, and was followed by two people who looked like bodyguards. So the villagers subconsciously thought that he might be a young nobleman from somewhere, and none of them dared to act rashly.

Seeing that all the villagers were silent, Wayne looked at the middle-aged man who was leading the group, frowned, and asked in a dignified manner:

"We saw a green dragon attacking the village, so we came here specifically to deal with it."

"But when we arrived at the village, the green dragon had disappeared, and you villagers seemed to have evacuated in advance, so we found this place."

Hearing that Wayne and his men were warriors who came specifically to deal with the Green Dragon, rather than robbers or villains, the middle-aged man who led the group breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile:

"Sir, I am Jeff, the mayor of Lower Valen Village. I wonder how I can be of service to you."

Wayne raised his head arrogantly, with no expression on his face. He knew that the people of Willen were simple and honest, and he couldn't be too gentle to these unruly people, otherwise, these guys would become more and more demanding and would be very ungrateful.

He raised his voice slightly, imitating the speaking habits of the nobles in Vizima, and said: "Tell me, civilians, how did you find this place? And how did you evacuate the village in advance?"

"Also, why did the green dragon attack you, and where is it now?"

Wayne's series of questions made the village chief Jeff, who was leading the group, a little dazed. However, fearing that Wayne and his companions might harm the villagers, he said with a somewhat conflicted expression: "We don't know what happened. We don't know why the green dragon came to attack our village."

"Last night, after nightfall, the messenger of Lady of the Forest suddenly came to my house to inform me and asked us to take shelter in advance."

"We dared not disobey the Madam's words, so we ran to the elf ruins at night according to the address Madam told us and hid there."

"As for the green dragon you mentioned, we only saw it burning our village from afar when we were fleeing."

"But when running for their lives, no one dared to look at it any longer. In the end, they only saw it flying towards the depths of the swamp."

When Wayne heard that it was Lady of the Forest who notified the villagers to hide in advance, his brows frowned even deeper.

If this is true, then it is obvious that the three old witches knew in advance that the green dragon would attack Valen Village. A fly won't bite an egg without a crack. The reason why the green dragon attacked was most likely caused by these three old witches.

However, since no one saw where the flying dragon flew to, the clue was cut off.

Wayne turned to look at George. The demon hunter from the Griffin School had already collected the manuscripts and was holding one of them with a slightly excited expression. It was obvious that he had found the equipment blueprint he had just seen.

He thought for a moment, then said to the village chief and George, "George, these villagers are staying here without water, food, or heating supplies. They will definitely have a hard time."

"Tell the village chief to send some people back to the village with you. The green dragon there has already flown away and will not come back for the time being."

"After you bring back the necessary supplies, we will set out to the depths of the swamp to look for news about the green dragon."

After hearing this, George looked at Wayne and nodded. He put the collected manuscripts next to Wayne and was about to take his men out.

Borch suddenly winked at Wayne and said, "I'll go out too, Wayne."

"It's no use waiting here. I'll go try to find the green dragon first. If I get any news, I'll come back and let you know."

Perhaps as a fellow dragon, Bolch has an easier way to find the green dragon. Thinking so, Wayne agreed with Bolch's idea.

He turned his head and looked at the village chief Jeff, pretending to be tough and said:

"We have people to deal with the green dragon, but you must follow our orders and not act rashly."

"Now, let your people collect all the elf books here for me. I want to take these things away."

(Thanks to Single Failed, Dragon King, and Red Bianhua for their tips.) (There will be another chapter this afternoon, muah!)

(End of this chapter)