Published: January 12, 2026
As expected of the carapace sub-dragon, the armored lizard’s skin was incredibly tough.
Even the Freshly Forged Wooden Sword, a famed blade bearing the Van seal, wasn’t an easy match.
About the size of a large knife and with sharp cutting power, if we sliced from the relatively softer belly or the base of the legs, the bandits somehow managed to strip the materials despite their limited strength.
With ballistas trained on them, the bandits desperately worked outside the village to skin the beasts.
Even with thirty people, dismantling four or five lizards a day was the best they could manage.
"This won't keep up. We should help before the materials go bad," Ort murmured, scratching his head as he watched from atop the defensive wall.
Reluctantly, from the second day onward, Ort, Dee, Kamushin, and some idle villagers took turns dismantling the creatures.
With more hands and the skinners’ knives replaced by Van-sealed freshly forged kitchen knives, the skinning marathon managed to finish in three days.
That night, our village held a festival for the first time in a while.
A grand carnival.
After all, tens of tons of armored lizard meat would rot in just a few days. Smoking wasn’t feasible, and making jerky had its limits.
So, everyone decided to eat as much as possible together.
Along the main street in front of the lord’s manor, campfires were lit at regular intervals, and long skewers were quickly fashioned to roast portions of meat over the flames.
Not only the subordinates and villagers but also the bandits who had been working hard over the past three days were served some.
Amidst the crackling night fires and the excitement still fresh, Ronda prompted me onto a platform about a meter high.
“Everyone, thanks to you all, our village has grown stronger and more magnificent than before. Though modest, we will hold a carnival using tens of tons of meat. For this occasion, don’t worry about costs; we’ve generously used salt and other seasonings to prepare delicious meat for you. However, alcohol is limited to two cups per person. Please adhere to this and enjoy to your heart’s content. Now, everyone, let us toast to this great victory… Cheers!”
After my speech, I raised a cup filled with delicious water, and thunderous cheers erupted as everyone lifted their glasses.
“Lord Van!”
“We did it!”
“Hey, start grilling the meat! Meat!”
“Finally, some good drink!”
The cheers ended, and the place turned lively like a bustling tavern. Even a beer garden would pale in comparison. The light came only from the campfires and scattered torches, but the villagers’ eyes sparkled with joy at this long-awaited festival.
“To think we can eat so much armored lizard meat!”
“It’s always too expensive, so we usually sell it.”
“This time, even if we eat a lot, there will still be leftovers. Such a waste.”
The adventurers, with mixed expressions, began grilling the meat.
Though protected by a tough carapace, the armored lizard’s meat was said to be rich in fat and delicious. But how does the carapace affect that?
“By the way, we got a ton of armored lizard materials. How much would we get if we sold them?” I asked during the skinning.
Ort gave a dry laugh and raised a finger.
“The adventurers’ guild pays ten gold coins for a normal armored lizard. Merchants buy from there, so the retail price is about twenty gold coins.”
“What? We hunted around forty armored lizards.”
Hearing that, Ort laughed resignedly.
“Normally, a mid-sized or larger operation by the knight order would be required. Between treatment of injuries, weapon and armor repairs, and memorial payments for the dead, there’s barely any profit. This village… no, Lord Van is unusual.”
“No injuries at all. Ah, a bandit hurt his finger during skinning.”
I joked, only to be met with Ort’s sharp gaze.
“Most of the meat will rot, but even so, each lizard would bring no less than six gold coins. If sold to merchants, including transportation costs, that’s around eight gold coins.”