The archers manage to take down the first three werebears, then they rush past the caltrops and straight into the spike barriers. The caltrops didn't even seem to slow them down. The first two werebears are gravely wounded by running into the spike barriers and fall to the ground. There are still eighteen left. The next row of three werebears, rush into the spearmen. Two of them are impaled by spears and slump down. The last one manages to avoid enough spears to get to the villagers who are wielding them. In one strike it sends two men and one woman flying back.
Chris immediately conjures a large spear and thrusts it deep into the werebear. The spear dissipates and the werebear falls to the ground, dead. Fifteen more left.
Five more werebears reach the defensive line and a tough battle follows. Ten more are closing in fast. Chris conjures four large javelins and takes out two of the approaching werebears. The other eight come down hard on the defensive line.
The villagers are fighting valiantly, but more and more are being sent flying back. There are still thirteen ferocious werebears. Some of them are getting slower due to wounds, but most are still in good condition. The battle is not looking good. Chris will probably manage to take them out eventually, but how many villagers will die along the way? The priests are doing their best at healing the villagers that are wounded, but they will soon run out of magic endurance.
Suddenly, a horn is heard in the distance. The archers in the watchtower shout, "Help is here! Harborton is here!".
A small number of people are coming out from the woods. They are running toward the village. Just as Chris begins to make out their appearance, a few of the stop right where they are. The ones that are still running are led by Harold. A few moments later they can hear him yelling something, "Get back! Try to get away from the werebears!".
Chris nods to the main unit commander and he calls out the command, "Fall back everyone! Archers, aim at their feet!".
Chris conjures a large number of arrows and sends them raining down on the werebears. He knows that this won't take them down, but it should keep them busy for a moment.
Just as the last villagers get away from the werebears, several massive bolts of lightning strike down from the sky. Chris realizes that the men who stopped on their way over here were all powerful ranking mages.
Seven werebears are killed by the lightning bolts. The last six are severely injured. Chris conjures four javelins and takes out two of them. Harold and a group of knights engage two more. The villagers rally and charge the last two.
The last six werebears are soon killed. The battle is finally over, but it wasn't easy. Almost every villager has been injured and a few of them are dead. It would have been much worse if Harborton hadn't shown up. The mood is heavy and it takes Chris to start cheering before the others follow suit. "It has been tough. We have paid a heavy price... But most of us are alive and we have saved our village. Be proud, valiant warriors!".
...
The next few days are spent recovering, healing, and repairing damages to the village. After a few days of mourning and recovery, Chris has arranged for a large celebration of life. On the first day, they will hold ceremonial funeral pyres and honor the six villagers that died in the defense. On the second day, they will hold a grand feast to celebrate everyone who fought valiantly and survived and look to a bright future.
The first day went by as planned. The six fallen villagers had fought bravely and would be kept in the hearts of all the other villagers.
The second day started with light-hearted competitions for everyone to enjoy, especially the children of the village. Later in the evening, everyone gathered in the village hall for the great feast. There were whole roasted pigs, lots of sides, fruit, and different types of drinks.
Amelia was still resting in a cottage just a short walk from the village hall. Chris planned to leave the feast early and go check on her. However, before that, he would take a few drinks and celebrate with the villagers.
Chris was sitting next to Thor and the main unit commander whose name was Jack. They had already started toasting with a drink that seemed to be some sort of mead. Thor said, "My Lord, why don't you make a toast?".
Chris nodded and raised his glass, "My valiant warriors and dear villagers, today we celebrate life and look forward to a bright future!".
Everyone joined him and soon they all erupted in cheers.
Chris began telling Thor that he wanted to help out at the smithy, "I want to learn the next level of energy crafting which is to alter existing materials.".
Thor smiled broadly and almost shouted, "You are always welcome!".
Chris stayed for a little while longer and then snuck out as everyone else was busy drinking. He started walking toward the small house Amelia was resting in. Earlier Jack had told him that the cottage was hers, but that she rarely stayed there since she was always at the temple.
Chris got up to Amelia's cottage and knocked lightly on the door, "May I come in?".
Amelia answered sleepily, "Oh Chris, I just had a dream about you. Please come in.".
Chris opened the door to a small corridor. The only light in the corridor came from a door opening a few steps away. He took off his shoes and walked into the room where the light came from. The room was lit by a small light orb created through magic. The light strength and duration could be controlled by the mage who created it.
Amelia sat up in her bed and looked at Chris as he came into the room. She had been asleep until he knocked on her door, but now she felt refreshed and interested in the man standing in front of her. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore, he had probably taken it off for the celebrations.
Amelia only had a nightgown on and she noticed that a shoulder strap was about to fall down. She adjusted it and stood up. Chris gasped as he saw her get up. Her long blonde hair flowed down over her shoulders. She had big violet eyes, that seemed to sparkle in the dark. Her long slender legs were almost entirely visible as her nightgown just barely covered her butt. It was also quite sheer and it seemed that she had nothing on underneath. He could almost see her nipples as they were pointing out slightly. If the light had just been a little stronger.
Amelia walked up to Chris and gave him a passionate kiss. "Welcome home, my big and strong hero. I have missed you a lot.", she then whispered in his left ear.
"Thank you, Amelia. I have missed you too. Do you mean that this is to be our home?", he answered.
"It could be, but that isn't what I meant. I mean that you are home whenever you are in my embrace. Would you not agree?", she answered confidantly.
Chris almost shivered from excitement. "I- I agree", he stuttered.
Amelia started helping him take off his festive clothes. He had been given a set of festive clothes by the villagers. He wanted nothing more than to rip them off, but he felt that he couldn't do that to a gift.
Then she looked at him and asked, "Is there anything I can do to reward my hero?"
With that, a thousand different ideas and images flashed through Chris' mind.