"Grab what you can carry from our home, we are leaving," Drew declared.
Billy's father was bleeding from several wounds on his body. While some parts of his body were red and emitting a lot of heat, there was no sign of burn marks, so Billy couldn't understand why he had so many cuts in his body.
"Leave? To where?" Camilla asked in shock.
"We will accept the offer of the Hammersmith's and work for them…" Drew said while showing an annoyed expression. "The elementalists attacked us with fifty of them, we left ten behind to hold them back, but we don't have enough time and any other choice."
Billy had no idea what was happening, but it seemed that they were going to abandon their home… the entire village would be abandoned. Those elementalist probably were something else since not even when two men in the past lost their limbs made them decide of that.
"It will be better if you help your mother, I will take care of Billy and grab what we will need," Drew said and then took Billy from his mother's arms.
It was the first time that his father held him, but Billy was too old to feel happy for that, and there was no time for sentimentalism. In the end, his father only grabbed some leather and food before leaving the hut. They didn't have all that much, after all.
"Dad…" Billy said.
"Oh? You can speak pretty well for your age," Drew said as they left the hut. "Don't worry, Billy. Life won't be easy, but at least I will give you the chance to fight to change the fate of our tribe."
Once they approached the house of Billy's grandmother, they saw the whole village moving. While it was quite the sight, their numbers didn't even reach the one hundred people mark… it seemed that the tribe was really about to face extinction.
"You will have to leave some herbs behind, Anna," Drew said.
"Not happening… do you have any idea how much work I had to find and cultivate them?" Anna said.
It was the first time Billy heard his grandmother's name, but there was no time to think about that once again. While they were talking, Billy was looking toward the North, and he could see more spots where smoke was rising to the sky, and they were also getting closer to the village. At that point in time, it became obvious for Billy that his new life would be far from peaceful.
In the end, Anna abandoned half of her herbs when she saw a wave of flames approaching the village and putting some of the huts on fire. Not to mention, the place was almost completely desert. Only a few warriors were waiting for Drew in order to stall for more time in case they needed it. However, they soon left the place behind.
Much to Billy's surprise, his whole family could run fast like the wind. Even his grandmother… and those three were carrying all sorts of things. On the other hand, Billy couldn't even leave his eyes open against the wind with their speed.
"Elementalists… what the hell were they?" Billy thought as he frowned.
For some reason, those enemies never appeared while the entire village was running away. Either they just wanted their territory, or they couldn't move that fast. Nevertheless, Billy felt quite troubled while he was thinking that he would never see that hut again… it was small and rough. Still, it had its charms, and it was fairly comfortable. However, what troubled him the most was the fact that his tribe was in war against monsters and other types of creatures, to the point where they were forced to abandon their homes.
In the end, the whole village only stopped moving after one hour. Billy was feeling pretty bad since his body was still weak… but even the bigger kids were no better. Without any other choice, Billy increased his endurance, and that helped a little.
The whole tribe ran for almost six hours and only stopped to rest for a couple of minutes. Fortunately, they arrived at their destination before sunset, but they didn't receive a warm welcome. The next tribe didn't look as rustic as them. The place had actually houses that used stones as a base, and it was pretty significant as well. Not to mention, it wasn't located in the middle of a forest, but in a grassland. Despite that, the place had some walls as well. They were only five meters tall, but they seemed enough to stop some enemies. The real problem where the guards armed with some stone hammers… while they looked human, they were taller and larger than all the warriors of the tribe.
Cless - Lv 42 - 280/1280 EXP
HP: 455/455
MP: 101/101
SP: 423/423
Strength: 210
Speed: 75
Magic: 25
Endurance: 155
Dexterity: 56
Status Points: 00
Billy used Appraisal on them and couldn't help but blink in surprise. They were much stronger than expected… considering their status, they had a strength that went beyond their level as well. Was it because of training or because of their weapon?
"We didn't receive word that all of you would come," One of the five guards, a man who had short black hair, said.
"It was a last minute decision," Drew stepped forward and then said. "We had to abandon our village and decided to accept the offer of your lord."
"After refusing him for so long, you decided to accept it when it is convenient for all of you…" The guard furrowed his eyebrow. "Your tribe isn't the same as it used to be."
Drew's expression darkened, but he didn't do or say anything. While that was just a cheap provocation, the guard was right. In recent years, their tribe had constantly been losing members. Much faster than they could train new warriors. In the last few months, with his new strength, Drew became the leading figure of the tribe, but he couldn't do much else but keep fighting.
"… We don't know if our lord's offer still stands, but you can enter and rest for the night," Cless said.