Chapter 99
Before the war between Bern village and the Guuma Goblin clan started, there was a man in his thirties named Fabro among the evacuees from Bern village. He was responsible for escorting the women, children, and elderly from Bern village to Galois, and one of the newcomers to Bern village while Dran had been attending Galois Magic Academy.
Presently, the evacuees of Bern village had settled down in a vacant lot in the suburbs of Galois. After sorting out their belongings, they were resting in a number of sturdy tents.
Fabro swept his gaze across the Bern villagers, finding them surprisingly upbeat despite leaving their familiar village. Then, he turned to the sentry at the makeshift entrance.
「Hey, thanks for staying on the lookout.」
The man Fabro had spoken to was in his sixties, and he sat on a considerably large boulder.
Even though the Bern villagers were not in life-threatening danger right now, there still existed the risk of assailants robbing these villagers of their assets, items which they had brought with them upon leaving their native abode. In order to tackle such a situation, the man had a well-used battle axe gripped in his right hand. Moreover, a wooden stick extended from his right knee downward.
This particular sentry was short, but his entire physique was burly and muscular. His eyes were sharp, peeking out from his overflowing white beard and shaggy hair. He was Gainan, an adventurer who had come to Bern village to retire after he has lost one leg. In this Goblin attack, he had been appointed the guard and leader of the escaping Bern villagers due to his social connections, courage, and knowledge as an ex-adventurer.
「Sentry duty’s nothing much. Though, well, I’m surprised to see everyone’s spirits still up.」
Gainan’s brows knitted and curled like the tip of a brush the moment he heard Fabro’s confused remark. Then, a deep, hearty chortle bubbled from him at the recollection that Fabro was a new resident of Bern village.
「Right, you haven’t lived there for long. Well, those kinds of stuff were common when the former Marquis of Armadia was in good health. Youngsters these days, including you, are probably clueless about such history. This incident might be a little troublesome, but it’s not grave enough for the villagers to give up on the village and their lifestyle thus far. Even if we have to leave the village, we can make whatever reparations we want in the future. The Galois army will make it in time so long as those guys are trapped in the village for a couple of days. That kid Dran also has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, and the forest folks are helping him. I’m pretty sure those Goblins are suffering from the villagers’ vengeance, and their corpses must be piling up.」
「After settling down, I was amazed by that place too. Nonetheless, wouldn’t it be a tough feat? They have five thousand troops. It’s akin to a war. Once a full-out battle starts, what can farmers like us, who’ve only plowed the fields, even do?」
「Heh heh, that’s true of folks outside of Bern village. Don’t worry, you’re not mistaken. Though, those villagers, including myself, are far from ordinary. Common sense doesn’t apply to us. That village is a comforting place to be in. Nobody digs into each other’s past, and they’re very welcoming of anyone who’s willing to work. They’ve even accepted a Lamia and a vampire with open arms. You don’t think of it as a disconcerting place either, do you?」
Fabro nodded gently in response to Gainan’s question. He was the fourth son of a farmer who resided farther south than Galois. Having been born and raised in his hometown until he was seventeen years old, nothing special hadhappened to his life besides him falling in love with the village chief’s daughter and swearing his devotion to her.
However, the village chief had rejected the love between his daughter and Fabro. Instead, the village chief had planned to offer his daughter to a knight who served their lord. When Fabro had found out about this matter, he had eloped with the village chief’s daughter, and the pair had frantically fled from the village they had grown up in. As they had wandered from place to place, they had been blessed with a daughter of their own.
Now that a child had been born, the couple found it hard to continue being on the run from their village without any support. Hence, they finally arrived at Bern village after many days of wandering desperately.
On the periphery of Bern village lurked many demons and fierce animals. In the skies above this place, demonic birds, Gryphons, and Hippogriffs soared. Moreover, flying dragons were not the only creatures dominating the skies. There were even larger dragons, mostly Vajes, that spread their wings above.
Children the age of Fabro’s daughter learned how to wield weapons from soldiers and adults. Hence, many, including Fabro, had thought of these villagers as far too brawny. As for this village, it sure was a horrifying place.
Yet, Fabro and his family had no choice but to live here. Above all, the villagers were kind. Hence, Fabro had set his heart on working hard for his wife and his daughter.
After a month of residence in Bern village, Fabro had slowly grown fond of living there. That was when the bad news of the latest Goblin attack had reached the village.
Just as the notion of finally settling down peacefully in Bern village had taken root in Fabro’s mind, the thought of fleeing with his family had surged within him. His heart had even wavered greatly, almost choosing to remain in the village to fight.
Rationally speaking, it would be best to forsake the village and run away. After all, everyone was at risk of being slaughtered. However, the Bern villagers burned with the spirit of vengeance. Hence, Fabro had been troubled by his own decision. The captain of the soldiers, Baran, the village chief, and the coordinator, Golaon, had probably seen through his thoughts. Hence, Fabro had been entrusted with leading the evacuees this time.
Someone was needed to escort the Bern villagers who could not stay behind to fight to safety in Galois, and this person had to be somebody trustworthy. In this regard, Gainan was a suitable choice, considering the duration of his residence in Bern village and his experiences. On the contrary, the decision to appoint Fabro was rather questionable.
Yet, Fabro knew that he was standing in Galois now because the Bern villagers had a place in his heart.
Evidently, several other newcomers shared similar concerns as Fabro.
These newcomers were convinced of a certain fact. This appointed leaders, including Fabro, simply lacked the courage to deceive or harm the evacuees of Bern village. Moreover, they had not been driven into such a horrible situation to spark such behavior.
If by any chance the village chief had made a misjudgment, any surviving villagers, Gainan, who shared their ideals, as well as Grandma Magul and Baran’s followers, would definitely dish out punishment on anyone who posed a threat.
Fabro had not contemplated that deeply into the matter. However, he knew that being appointed as the escort and guard for the evacuees was a way for him to relieve his guilt. He would also be able to protect his own family. Moreover, he would also be able to return to Bern village with his head held high if the Guuma clan’s troops were successfully driven away.
Even though such a resolution was hard to envision, these Bern villagers did seem capable of forcing the Guuma clan to retreat. If that really happened, Fabro swore to himself inwardly that he would settle down and live with the Bern villagers.
＊
While the evacuees of Bern village had reached Galois for a brief rest, some of the newcomers remained in Bern village, which was under attack by the Guuma clan troops.
One of these newcomers was Venna. She stood on a seamless steel wall, one that would never be found anywhere else in Arkrest Kingdom. In her hand was a short bow that she had just gotten used to wielding.
She had a large and voluptuous body for a woman, along with tanned skin and freckles spotting her cheeks. This girl who was turning nineteen this year had a head of disheveled red hair.
In the past, she had been a farmer’s maid, working and living with him. One day, the farmer’s son had sexually harassed her. She had resisted and ended up severely injuring the farmer’s son. That was when she had fled to Bern village.
Back in her hometown, Venna had seen fierce beasts and demons from afar. However, it was only after her arrival in Bern village that she had been praised for her potential and given a bow and arrows. Ever since then, she had encountered such beasts and demons more frequently, and she had certainly grown more courageous than before.
Yet, the massive number of Goblins of four thousand strong instilled fear in Venna’s heart. Their roars reached her as she stood on the wall, and she could not shake the terror gripping her. Her teeth had started chattering without restraint, causing her ears to ring painfully.
Even though the Goblin soldiers had diminished in numbers, there were still four thousand standing before Venna. They rampaged and bellowed, breaking through the gates and charging into Bern village.
C-Can we really win? There are so many of them!
Her teeth were not the only frantically moving part of her body. Even her heart was racing, and she was drenched in sweat. She docked arrows on her bow with her best effort and fired at the Goblins under her.
Venna could not even spare a glance to confirm if her arrows had hit these Goblins. Rather, she released shot after shot desperately to dispel her fear. As long as she was shooting these arrows, she was still alive.
A steel arrow fired by Venna found its mark between the brows of a Goblin, swooshing past the long and rusty red spear in his hand. His eyes rolled back, and he toppled to the ground.
As Venna fired these arrows, she felt the fear gripping her relax.
An arrow dug deep into a Goblin’s right thigh, causing him to tumble onto the ground dramatically. He let out a cry of misery as his comrade trampled on him. As Venna watched him, his life was wrung out of him like a discarded rag.
If Venna had the time to look around her, she might have been able to calm down a little. After all, the experienced Bern archers beside her were impassively firing arrows at the Goblins.
Being afraid was not a bad thing. However, if one were to be swallowed by fear and lost all faculties except to tremble in fright, that meant a greater risk of death. Hence, the villagers born and raised in Bern village understood that keeping one’s composure, as though one was fearless, meant a higher chance of survival.
Venna reached out to retrieve an arrow from the quiver at her feet. Panic struck her when she realized that she had used up everything. There were no arrows left! Her brain slowly drowned in thoughts of needing to fire the next arrow, and the next, leaving her flustered. At that very moment, a new quiver was offered to her.
Beside Venna, a cowgirl named Mill was hurling rocks from a pile by her feet. The ditsy Mill had her breasts, ones the size of a child’s head, forced into a leather breast pad reinforced with iron plates for this crisis. A long steel club was also leaning against the steel wall.
「Yes, Ms. Venna. You don’t have to panic. You’re fine. There are still tons of new arrows.」
「Y-Yeah, of course. Thanks.」
Venna, who had calmed herself down, noticed that she was not the only one who had run out of arrows. Appointed villagers were running around handing out new arrows and exchanging broken bows with new ones.
Moreover, Venna’s own panting startled her. Her throat was so dry it was starting to feel scratchy. Plonking down on her buttocks to sit down, she raised the leather water bottle at her waist to her mouth.
Even though the Goblins were firing arrows at the Bern villagers, the magic users of Bern village had reinforced the iron wall with wind powers. These threatening arrows were instantly deflected, and none of the Goblin’s shots even grazed the Bern villagers.
Furthermore, the barrier golems Dran had brought and the additional ones created stood alongside the villagers. They were a safety net in the event the wind barrier shattered.
These barrier golems were round and adorable, but the square box on each of their backs possessed enough power for absolute defense against top-level magic. As long as they were activated in time, the villagers would be protected by the barriers produced.
Mill, like Venna, sat down on the floor with the iron wall behind her. She drank from her water bottle as well. Once she noticed that Venna had regained her composure, she started speaking to Venna.
「Ms. Venna, are you all right? You don’t have to be so flustered. This is just the beginning of the battle. If you’re too anxious, you’ll exhaust yourself.」
「Mill, you seem rather relaxed, and you’re not the only one. Everyone’s fighting really calmly. It’s a little unbelievable.」
「Hm… Everyone’s not exactly fearless, but we know that it’s necessary to suppress our fear. So, we’re just really focused. Everyone, myself included, is the same as you. We’re scared too.」
「Really? I wonder. But, yeah, there’s no way everyone’s not afraid.」
Venna took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, confirming that her breathing had evened considerably. She raised the bottle to her lips once more, moistened her mouth, and re-energized herself.
「Thanks, Mill. I’ve calmed down a little.」
Perhaps a little embarrassed, Venna did not wait for Mill’s reply. Instead, she gripped her bow firmly and began firing arrows at the Goblin army swarming her vision as she looked down.
As Mill watched Venna, she reckoned that there was no longer any need to speak to Venna. Mill let out a heavy breath. Heaving up as many rocks as she could, she resumed dropping rocks down on the Goblins.
As the remaining four hundred Goblin archers fended off a rain of arrows, a dazzling white magic light emitted from the gates, radiant enough to blazing sun hanging in the middle of the sky.
In addition to Venna, the villagers—fierce warriors of war in their own right—halted their flurry of arrows and turned their attention to the source of the light. Instantly, they noticed Dran standing right above the gate.
Venna had heard that Dran, who was three years younger than her, was the prodigy of Bern village and a skilled wizard studying at Galois Magic Academy. As if to prove these rumors true, Dran’s whirlwind of magic swirled around Venna, who had lived a life worlds apart from the realm of magic users. Venna, as well as many others, felt their hairs stand at the sight of Dran’s impressive show of magic.
Soon after, the Lamian girl beside Dran named Selina began conjuring magical flames so dense they were visible to the naked eye. Venna felt herself gulping loudly, too immersed in the sight of Dran that she forgot to continue firing her arrows.
Truth be told, Venna had been haunted by the fear of dying in this battle. However, as she stared at the magic glow summoned by Dran and Selina, she was deeply enthralled by its beauty. In an instant, her fear of death melted away.
Dran continued unleashing intense bouts of magic, blows so dense that even those with low sensitivity to magic could detect. In no time, his magic stirred the other magic users scattered along the wall. Magul, Dina, Leisha, Airi, Fio, and even the wood elves burst forth with magic, dealing out magic attacks of their own.
The Goblins, driven by hunger and bloodlust, charged forward fearlessly. Yet, the vortex of magic swirling above them triggered their survival instincts, and they stood rooted to the ground, looking up in despair.
The sight of these Goblins finally reassured Venna, her burgeoning anxiety relieved. The ones who inspired such great fear in the Goblins, the very creatures that terrified her, were her allies. In that case, there was nothing else for her to fear.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Goodbye Dragon Life, Hello Human Life
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
It’s difficult to keep the inmersion on this series after all of the holes left by Alphapolis.