"Everyone, in the panic room now!" Eren's father, Erwin, shouted while gesturing with his hands for them to hurry up. As Eren descended the stairs into the panic room, he noticed his father didn't come in yet.
"Father, what are you doing?" Lydia quickly asked. She was a second away from entering the panic room and wouldn't leave without her father in as well.
As for the 2nd daughter, Rayna, she was off in another town; Thick Peach Town to be exact. She was the second oldest at 16 years old. Frederick was the oldest at 18 years old, Rayna, then Lydia who was 15. Then came Cameron who was 13, and finally Eren, who was but 9 years old!
"I can't just leave the commoners clueless! What type of noble would I be to just abandon the ones I govern?!" Erwin replied with a stern attitude. Lydia only looked at him strangely before replying.
"...Y-You would be like most nobles. Most of them abandon their subordinates when they're in danger..." Lydia recalled a few things her father told her. She ultimately wondered why nobles did things like that.
Such deeds had changed the commoners' outlook on nobles since then. It became hard for a noble to convince commoners of anything.
"I'm not like most nobles! We may be poor and I may be weak, but I won't let these commoners die without even knowing what happened. If I don't inform them now, it'll be too late!"
Erwin spoke with urgency as he darted off to the front of the manor. He suddenly drew a glowing yellow magic circle in front of his mouth and began speaking.
Every time he spoke, the magic circle would pulse brightly as if it were alive and Erwin's voice would be amplified to reach the farthest parts of the village.
He knew he may not be able to warn everyone, so he left the rest of the matter in the hands of the big farmers. The ones who had manors comparable to his, as well as wealth comparable to his.
They were each like pseudo-nobles who governed parts of the village. Erwin didn't bother them because he didn't have the wealth and power to do it and because they were peaceful.
Erwin wasted no more time and ran back to the panic room. Everyone was relieved to see that Erwin was fine and impatiently waited for him to reach the panic room. Just as he was about to enter the panic room, the silhouette of a wolf came from behind him.
"Watch out!" Lydia shouted as she pulled out her bow and arrow and shot the silver-colored wolf. Its fur was a shiny silver color and its eyes were a dim gold. Though it was only an Iron-Grade magical beast, that was enough to wipe out the noble family!
The arrow tried to pierce the wolf's eyeball but it failed. The wolf continued its onslaught, trying to rip Erwin into pieces but fortunately, he entered the panic room just in time.
"Phew..." Erwin wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat on the dusty and old stone ground. His limbs were slightly shaking from fear and how close he was to dying just now.
"Thank you, Lydia." Erwin earnestly displayed his gratitude. All of them watched nervously as the silver wolf attacked the thick wooden doors that sealed the panic room shut.
It let out various growls and its attacks grew stronger and stronger, but after seeing no results it eventually gave up and left the manor. It went out to hunt the innocent and defenseless villagers!
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but a feeling of guilt overcame them when they thought of how helpless they all were. Somehow they were a baron family but couldn't even resist an Iron-Grade magical beast?
If any other noble was to hear of such a thing, they'd laugh themselves half to death. Erwin bet that if the king heard of such a thing, he probably revoke Erwin's status as a baron.
Luckily for the family, they were located out at the west border of the Fading Clouds Kingdom. The king would never make such a trip all the way to the border of his kingdom just because of some small issue such as this.
The only person who would do anything about this situation would be the border count. The border count was a woman with long dark purple hair that was separated into two pigtails by small iron rings.
Her eyes were a deep crimson red that would terrify anyone weaker than her. Because she was a Platinum-Grade magician cultivator, she became the west border count.
It was also publicly known that she had some sort of strife with the north border count. It was said that their conflict sparked more than two decades ago...
The rumbling coming from the forest nearby had grown more intense as time went by; Eren and the family grew restless. They just hoped that the border count would come and save them.
Or else they would definitely die!
"Hahahahahaha!" Wicked laughter reverberated from all around the village, send the villagers into confusion and even more panic. They all looked into the sky and saw a young girl who seemed to be a teenager wielding a giant hammer.
The hammer was a bronze color and had a golden luster to it. On one side was a tough flat surface that could mash anyone into bits, while the other side of the hammer was like a floor full of spikes.
Each spike was around two feet long and there were 10 spikes on the hammer! Even the dumbest farmer in the village could tell that the hammer was an absolute killing machine.
Eren immediately recognized that wicked laughter that sent shivers down his spine; he recalled a few memories as well.
'Border Count Faytahlia!' That name instantly appeared in his mind and he ended up saying it out loud as well.
Erwin's face grew stern at his son's words.