Upon awakening, it was nearly noon. Looking at the time, I had slept for three hours. Although it wasn't long, I had already regained my energy, feeling as though I was brimming with boundless strength.
The surroundings had been cleaned up, and the flowers, with a few exceptions, had been severely damaged.
Some bricks and stones lay scattered on the ground, while large pits and broken walls had appeared. Repair work was in full swing, and it was expected that by the afternoon, the manor would be nearly restored.
Several beehives had also been destroyed. At this moment, some bees were aimlessly flying about, looking pitiful. Maria, with a pair of tweezers, was desperately trying to save the "lost" bees.
"Brother, look, they're so pitiful," she said.
One bee, with one wing broken and the other fluttering helplessly, was struggling but refused to give up.
"Yes, it is indeed pitiful. Let me take a look," I said.
Watching them, I already knew the fate of these bees.
"I'll help you save them," I added.
Looking at Maria, who seemed unaffected by last night's events and was now concerned about the bees, her sorrowful expression softened my heart. I decided to stay with her and offer my support.
The aftermath of the night's battle had severely disrupted the environment. Some areas were cool and refreshing, while others felt stifling. In such a large space, there were two distinct temperature differences.
I moved to the warmer area and noticed the shattered plants. This confirmed my suspicion— the temperature-regulating plants had been destroyed in the battle and could no longer serve their purpose.
The flowers and plants in the vicinity, now suffering from the deteriorating temperature, were drooping and withered.
The guards had changed shifts again, and their weapons had been replaced with rifles. They were now on high alert, scanning the surroundings. Any sudden movement would trigger an immediate response.
It didn't take long before I saw several technicians already at work, repairing the damaged doors and windows, removing broken items, and preparing to replace them with new ones.
The repairs were nearing completion, and in some areas, it was difficult to tell that anything had been damaged.
After circling the area, I felt both frustrated and angry. Never before had I felt such rage since arriving in this world. Even though the damage was being fixed, it didn't ease my mind.
"The malice in this world is overwhelming!" I thought.
"My strength is still insufficient."
"What about the Divine Kingdom? How can it unleash its power?"
"And why do these monsters keep attacking?"
This holiday had started with multiple attacks, raising my sense of danger. I felt that there had to be some connection between them, and if I didn't uncover it, I wouldn't feel at ease.
The world is vast, and such attacks don't happen without reason. The incident with the merfolk was just bad luck. The second attack by the witches could barely be considered a revenge strike. But the third attack by the demon was no coincidence.
Usually calm, I had never been so desperate to increase my strength, and I also wanted to understand the reason behind the attacks on us... There must be a hidden cause behind these events that I had yet to uncover.
When I returned to the old house, breakfast was already ready.
Today, everyone had woken up a bit later and had missed breakfast. Lunch was prepared by Angela.
The former chef, Brian, was still exchanging culinary techniques in Xiangjiang and hadn't returned. The house was now filled only with close friends.
The old house held a lot of memories. By instinct, I had chosen this place, while the battlefield had been in the new house a little farther away.
During the battle, although intense, it had not reached here, so the house still maintained its original state.
The dishes today weren't numerous, but the portions were ample, and the atmosphere was warm. Everyone ate in silence, almost as if they were channeling their anger through their appetites. The food was so plentiful that it was all finished.
The dogs also lay hunched over their bowls, eating glumly. Their mouths still hurt from the injuries, and their once-beautiful fur had patches missing. This made the dogs, who were particularly concerned with their "appearance," unhappy, and they looked to me for Divine Kingdom spring water to restore them.
"Eat your food," I said, not giving them anything.
"Cough, cough..."
A surprising scene unfolded when Ivy, the foolish dog, choked on her food.
Everyone laughed at her, and the tense atmosphere lightened.
After the meal, we began a family debriefing to review the battle from last night.
"What are your thoughts on last night's battle?" I asked.
The projection screen came to life, showing footage of the battle from start to finish.
"Thoughts?" After a brief silence, the others spoke.
Nicole said, "I think we should have a knife as a backup weapon. After all, a hammer doesn't always work."
Monica added, "Mm, blunt weapons like the steel whip can sometimes be ineffective. A knife is a good suggestion."
"...Why are you both so fixated on hammers and steel whips? Look at Angela. Her sword is beautiful and sharp, and look at Ada— she wielded her knife magnificently last night. With one stroke, she destroyed those bat-like creatures. But you two, swinging a hammer or steel whip... blood was splattered everywhere..."
As I spoke, the video displayed Nicole and Monica using hammers and steel whips to strike down flying enemies, turning them into blood mist.
Both were covered in blood, but remained unfazed.
"...Seeing their stubbornness, everyone fell silent. We continued watching the video, and the final summary followed.
The weapons discussion was swiftly concluded. From the footage, it was evident that our teamwork was decent. Our attacks were clever, and the combinations flowed seamlessly, leaving no room for the enemies to breathe. Unfortunately, our strength was limited, and we didn't fully utilize the weapons to their potential, which made the battle more exhausting than it should have been.
The conclusion: more training to improve combat skills.
Lunch news.
"...The tragedy in the small town— an innocent girl was murdered. After continuous efforts by the police, significant progress has been made..."
"Now, let's watch the detailed report."
The news was directly related to us, but the contents differed greatly from what we knew.
The so-called "detailed report" was a clip from a video, showing the sounds of gunfire and what appeared to be an intense gun battle.
From a distant perspective, it looked blurry, but with the commentator's narration, the public would believe it without question.
The story went as follows: at night, the police surrounded the suspect, who resisted and a battle ensued.
In the end, the brave police, with their fearless, self-sacrificial spirit, defeated the suspect. The criminals were killed on the spot after refusing to surrender.
The town's killers were eliminated, and the young girls could now safely go outside.
At the same time, the police announced the closure of the vampire case! (To be continued...)