It has been about 4 months since the battle between The Prinny Brigade and our guild Kaiser
Or roughly 1 year 4 months in Parallel's time
A lot of things have happened during that time, one of them being the reconstruction of the village.
Well, it has been upgraded to a town now. The place has gotten really big, many people have come here as it is now a newbie zone too. Of course, growing this much also comes with 'disadvantages', many dared to attempt attacking us, but we have been able to repel everyone and protect this place without much trouble.
We have also been betrayed a couple of times too, but thanks to Eliana's timely response, no major loses happened.
Our reputation as a guild grew battle after battle until we made clear to all opposing sides that if they attacked us, we would obliterate them without mercy.
But thanks to them, our army has grown quite a lot, many newbies that started in the village were worked really hard, many trainers are the Village's residents, so they really suffered a lot. Some got resentful but once we showed what they could do in a battle being a low-level user against the local wolves they changed their minds.
Our newbies started increasing their levels and skills fast, it was quite a sight to see. A bit of pride showed in Kagito's eyes whenever he sees them, heh. That guy had not slacked off too, he shouldn't be any weaker than us when we were his level.
We also helped out in clearing dungeons and, sometimes, we found a mine… those mines are hell, I even died once trying to stop the horde of monsters alongside Isa when we fell into a trap.
Those untraceable traps were the problem, no matter how high your detection skill was, it is impossible to see them unless you searched while looking everywhere, and that would mean the speed of clearing those dungeons were really slow.
But they normally consisted of 4 to 5 floors, once we got to the bottom a mini boss waits with a crystal-like heart that controls the monsters inside the mine, or well, their spawn rate. Though, there are mines in which there are less floors, but the monster residing it are no joke.
Once we defeated those mini bosses, the dungeon became ours. It normally took us nearly two weeks to clear them, but that was thanks to Juran, the man's buffs really helped us out and diminished Peko's workload as she could focus only in attacking while making just a few curses on the monsters. We also took our time with them, as there was no rush in completing them, so if we really wanted, we could complete them a lot faster.
We really needed a cleric, and Juran was perfect to fill that position. He also has a mace that makes Zenith shudder a bit, his offensive power alone is above average, but in a party, he really shines. It is obvious the amount of hard work he put into training.
He also helped us out in the negotiations with Arapi Kingdom, as we had many of their soldiers 'Prisoners'… I say it like that because many stayed here because they liked the place, while some of their families were brought over. They became citizens of Hellish Town and have become guards to secure a stable income, even the houses they made were kept by them.
That was really surprising… of course, I didn't reject it, and instead we were quite happy that we got many guards without the need to seriously train them. We were a bit suspicious at first, but we have already tested their loyalty, and Eliana along with the villagers made a point in watching them closely either way.
But what surprised me the most was that, suddenly, Eren kneeled before me, asking if they could stay here, he himself also wished to do so. But he couldn't help his family come here, once we knew about that I talked about it with Eliana and we used one of the advantages of winning the war.
That is, we 'forced' the members of Prinny Brigade to escort the families here, in fact, that was quite a deal to them, as we were the winners, the systems made them accept most of the demands we could make, but that was the only thing we wanted. While we also wanted to put them down, Tyrfing has shown to a trustable fellow, so we changed our mind looking into the future.
Why you ask, because we wanted to secure a 'healthy' relationship between our guilds, and for a reason, Tyrfing also wanted to do so. She didn't seem to harbor any ill feeling toward us, in fact, I sensed a bit of respect when speaking to us.
Because of this, Eren and many other soldiers pledged their loyalty to us and started living in the town, of course, more than half left to their Kingdom.
Using the system, I made many little houses for newbies that were starting to be able to afford them.
We purchased a Teleportation portal, we couldn't rely on Kagito to teleport us everywhere, even when he trained his Skill every time, the progression of it is rather slow, so we decided to buy that. Of
course, nothing is that convenient, to activate the portal in different places we had to visit it and ask the City Hall to activate the route between places, and there is also the fact that the portal needs Magic Crystal that with each use it gets worn out… it truly made us want to cry a bit, but the fees we put were enough to cover it in the long run. But really, it was kind of sad to see all that gold fly away from our hands.
We also visited Gardan Village that seems to be more prosperous as many players are now approaching the Plains of Gauder to explore, making the place livelier. There is also the reason that in Gardan there aren't many crafters, so many professions came there to start a living. Because of that, Gardan is now known as a little haven for crafters.
Azalea looked the same as always, with her fluttering scarlet hair and eyes color that resembled a forest, but, somehow, she looked a bit anxious. When we tried asking, she just told us not to worry and that she would tell us eventually.
With that, our peaceful life continued, while training our skills more than our levels, I finally went another level in Elemental Enhancing, not only being able to reach the Advanced Level I also could use the blending of two elements to full use.
Normally, the extra bonuses that are given when using three elements with a decent control started appearing when I only used two, and their effect are really good. I smiled when I got to know that, as I my suspicions cleared with it. Just blindly increasing the elements I can blend together was not the correct path, I have to control them thoroughly, bringing the full potential of each. Of course, three-elemental enhancing is still stronger, but the strain is bigger.
Because of my increase in the manipulation of Elemental Enhancing, I was able to keep up with Zenith that constantly grows stronger and stronger.
As I am talking about him, right now I am going towards the house where he and Peko lives, for a reason everyone PMed me to hurry up.
Once I stood in front of the house, I start knocking.
Then, a cheerful Arksen opens the door and says.
"You are late!"
"How come?" I ask as we didn't even appoint to meet up.
"You'll soon know~" He says as he signals me to enter and I see everyone with a happy expression with a lightly embarrassed Peko and Zenith.
Once I am in, everyone greets me, and I ask.
"Then, what was the hurry?"
Everyone looks at each other, then their gaze stopped at Zenith, he stood up and while looking at Peko he says.
"Peko is pregnant"
…
Hmmm?
"Huh!?" At that sudden answer I get greatly surprised, so much that I don't really know what kind of stupid face I am making.
I look at both of them, and Peko smiles at me. Suddenly I am overwhelmed by my emotions, hugging them both.
"Congratulations!" I couldn't help my happiness as I tell them that, these two… it has been more than 3 years since we first met… they surely have grown up.
After that we all start cheering up, it seems Eroda felt something when looking at Peko and asked a cleric to check on her. It seems the due date of birth will be in a few months from now… that's sharp, Warlock!
We talked while having drinks in the table, we decided to have a party in celebration, but just when we are speaking of that, Eliana frowns a little and seems to start communicating with someone, when she stops, her frown is even clearer and Kagito asks.
"What happened? Does someone want to attack us again?"
"No… it's about Gardan, the village has been attacked by an army of Lizards…"
At those words, everyone flinches, and I ask hurriedly "How is the situation?"
"A few downs on the Barbarian's side, but they could somehow repel the attack, it was lucky that an expedition squad was there at the time too"
The atmosphere suddenly turns grim and we immediately go towards Eroda's house.
As we get there, we enter the house and looking at Eroda who seemed to have a pleasant smile change when he saw our agitated faces, he asks.
"What happened?"
"It's Gardan Village, they were attacked by a small army of Lizards, we are going towards there now"
"Okay, I will manage things here, you just go, we will send supplies too"
"We will leave it to you, we have already dispatched a few people to go there" As I say that I signal to Kagito as he places his hands on our shoulder, but before he could use his Skill, Zenith interrupts.
"Peko, you stay" At the serious gaze of Zenith, Peko looks reluctant.
"I will go!"
I understand why Zenith doesn't want Peko to go so I also interfere "Peko, please, stay here and help Eroda"
Peko showing a determined expression isn't shaken at all until a bold Zenith hugs her and says "Please"
She, surprised at that plea of Zenith, reluctantly nods and, while smiling bitterly, she says "You all have to come back safe, promise me"
Arksen smiles and Isa says "Don't worry, I will protect them" while putting her fist in her breastplate.
Like that, we all nod, and I look at Kagito to get ready and go.
With a determined atmosphere, Zenith smiles at her and we appear in Gardan Village that looked a bit torn apart. Many warriors watched us apprehensively, they seemed to be from the expedition squad, as we suddenly appeared as I see Aren coming at us.
"So, you came, follow me, I will take you to Azalea" He says as he waves at us to follow him and I ask.
"How is the current situation?"
At that question, Aren sends a fierce aura and says "Waves of Lizards have come to attack the Village, thankfully some foreigners were here too so we could repel the attacks with minor losses" he grits his teeth at saying 'minor losses'
Anyone would be furious, assessing the current situation, Eliana also asks
"How many waves of attacks had come?"
"Three, but it seems a few more will come"
We narrow our eyes as we hear that three waves have already come, and even more will attack, so we hurry our steps to where Azalea is.
We quickly spot Azalea, as she is on the terrace of a large building with a sharp look onto the Plains of Gauder. Once we enter, she immediately greets us and there is another person alongside her. He seems to be a warrior, maybe from the expedition party
"I am glad you have come so fast, we are in quite a troubling situation"
"Don't worry, we also told some people to come here and Eroda is sending some supplies, now, sorry to so be abrupt, what is happening?" I ask seriously at Azalea who looked to have some idea of what is going on.
The other man also perks up at looking at us, but he stays quiet, then, Azalea closes her eyes for an instant before replying.
"Many waves of attacks have come from Lizard monsters that came from the Plains of Gauder, the only reason I can think of is… Dorek" every word of Azalea feels heavy, a grim expression on her face.
'Dorek…'
While thinking about that familiar name I remember what Aren told me a long time ago.
Gardan, the brother of Azalea, perished when fighting against The Alligator Prince Dorek to protect the village.