“Ah!” Rodius let out a sigh as he stretched his back. He had been hunched up for some time now and felt the need to get some fresh air. A small smile graced his usually fierce face as he thought of his wife. With each passing day, her vitality rose higher and higher. As of now, he felt as if she would awaken the next day at most.
“Chief!” All of a sudden, the familiar voice of his good friend, Charles, reached his ears. Rodius turned around hastily.
“What is it?” As the chief of the village, Rodius handled most of the matters, or oversaw those that he could not directly handle. One of the matters that he directly took care of was its defense. At once, he could tell that something was wrong.
“A massive caravan is heading our way! Our sentinels spotted them form a distance. They should be an hour away by now!” Charles quickly explained the situation.
Rodius’ eyebrows bunched up in a frown as he fell into thought. A caravan? Of traders? Or of some delusional immigrants who thought they could make a living in the Desolate Lands?
“Ready the men. Tell them to meet me at the square.” Rodius ordered sternly and turned around to make his way into his house. He immediately found Darius seated in his room while reading a book.
“Dad?” Darius turned around quickly upon sensing his father.
“Keep an eye on your mother for me. I will be back soon.” Rodius did not pay mind to Darius’ book. The boy had already shown a penchant for being a book worm.
“What’s wrong?” Darius immediately noticed the change in his father’s mood. Why would his father want to leave at this time when his mother would soon be waking up?
“Charles just told me that the sentinels spotted a massive caravan coming this way. I need to go and check it out.” Rodius explained the situation to his son.
“I see. Are you sure you want to go? I can go instead.” Darius offered.
“No, just stay here and watch over Marina. I will be back soon.” Rodius declared and turned around, striding out of the room. When he was out of the house, his figure blurred as he shot towards the town square where the other warriors should have been waiting by now.
He was right, as the moment he landed in the square, he could already see most of the village’s protectors gathered. Young men and women with hardened wills waited for his command. Most of them were warriors, but a few mages were also mixed in between. Maria was also present.
A quick rundown of the situation later, and they were heading out of the village, rushing down the path that led to the village while spreading out.
Rodius stood atop a tall tree that was as tall as two hundred feet. It was one of the tallest around, and with his keen eyesight, he soon spotted the approaching caravan.
‘They are even closer than I thought.’ In fact, as he watched, it seemed as if the caravan was gradually moving faster!
Rodius held his fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle that was so high pitched that it sounded like a normal breeze sweeping through one’s ears. But his people were able to recognize the whistle. Rodius had given the order to confront the caravan.
In the next moment, his figure vanished from the tree top as he rushed straight at the caravan.
.
.
“We’re close!” Elena exclaimed as she stuck her head out of the carriage’s window. Although trees surrounded the entire path, she was able to accurately tell where they were. She had spent her entire childhood in this forest, after all.
Leon hummed and let out a sigh. This had been a supremely boring trip. He did not get to fight anything, and had spent the entire time sitting in the carriage or taking some fresh air at night time. The warriors and mages following him took care of everything that came up.
‘When last did I level up?’ He wondered for a moment. He had not seen a personal level up notification ever since Divinity’s Bout came to an end.
‘There is tension in the air. Balder had said that his sources informed him that the Demons were starting to make moves. War is coming. As much as I hate to say this, I hope the war comes around quickly.’ Leon spoke to himself.
‘Ha! Look at you, once upon a time, we were fighting E rank millipedes together.’ Nedra could not help but reminisce about the past.
Not long ago, they had been weak and battling E rank creatures. While she had once been much stronger than that, it was before her former master had died and she began regressing in strength. Leon had really been a breath of fresh air in her existence, and she was grateful for his presence. He was a true friend and companion to her.
Leon could feel Nedra’s gratitude through their mental link and he smiled but did not say anything. Some things did not need to be said.
The calm atmosphere was suddenly shattered when Leon felt dozens of powerful presences rapidly approaching the caravan. His eyes snapped open wide and his body blurred away, appearing on top of his carriage in the next moment.
The presences did not hide themselves, so he also flared his aura protectively around the caravan. The other warriors and mages in the caravan quickly came out too as all the carriages and wagons came to a complete stop.
Whoosh!
The trees around them shook, and leaves fell down to the ground with the gusts of wind that were generated from the pressure of Leon’s aura. His eyes were firm as he stared ahead, waiting for the foremost person to appear. When the person did, though, he was in for another shock.
“Rodius?”
Leon’s jaw went slack as he stared at the red haired man that he had crossed paths with multiple times in the Tower of Trials.