645 Village In Peril
Although he would have wanted his daughter to take advantage of this situation, given her four-star potential, and become the next stronghold leader, considering her young age and the need for a less chaotic environment to develop her strength, he understood that choosing the Leftward Stronghold was the best decision.
Moreover, he understood that Seth would soon be appointed the Rightward Stronghold Leader, so there was no need to rush.
"Since it's like that, while your mother escorts you to the farm, I'll be at the Leftward Stronghold to watch you take your test, okay?" Thak said, looking at Tala.
He then turned to his wife, who had already finished arranging her tulga.
Salia nodded at him with a smile. Okay, it's settled then," she said, agreeing with his words. Shifting her attention to her daughter, she added, "Come on, let's go before we arrive late." Salia beckoned for Tala to follow her, greeted her husband goodbye, and then left through the door toward the farm, with Talia following behind.
Watching them leave, Thak also decided to exit the room.
He prepared to head out to the Village Chief's compound, certain that today would be busy. He sighed deeply, feeling his senses already tingling.
…....….
"Tala!"
"Grim!"
Gorg called out as he quickly approached the group, his sister following behind him.
When he arrived at the group, he greeted the middle-aged woman with long, tied black hair, who seemed to be Tala's mother, before shifting his attention to the man beside Grim. Gorg greeted him as well, despite not knowing who he was.
"This is my elder brother, Gark," Grim quickly introduced his brother, noticing Gorg's confusion.
Gorg nodded in response and introduced the young woman beside him, "This is my sister, Ruby," Gorg said.
Ruby was a tall, slender woman with natural blue hair and eyes. She wore the traditional female tulga attire, but a piece of fabric was tied across her chest instead of a crop top cloth over her shoulder.
Despite this, her well-defined abdominal muscles, various toned muscular outlines, and the cutlass sheathed on her back made it clear that the young woman standing before them was a warrior.
As such, everyone greeted her with respect, and Ruby, in turn, returned their greetings humbly.
Nevertheless, Gark couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when he noticed that his younger brother was right, and Gorg had another sister who was also a warrior. He was sure that their family would find it challenging to lack wealth.
Meanwhile, the other girl was the Village Chief's messenger's daughter, whose mother owned a large shop in the Village Square.
'So lucky,' Gark thought.
"Alright, guys, let's get going, or else we will be late," Gorg urged.
They all nodded in understanding and walked towards the forest.
As they approached the forest, they noticed something strange as soon as they stepped toward the farm. Various warriors who were supposed to guard the Village gates and others who were supposed to ensure the farm was safe and peaceful were all running towards a specific direction.
The scene made them all frown deeply, as it looked like something terrible had happened on the farm, and they were all running away from it.
However, they were sure that wasn't the case.
Ruby immediately caught a warrior who had just run beside her, "What's going on? Where's everyone headed to?" Ruby asked, with a deep frown on her face.
Feeling the strength of the grip around his arm, although her grip was weak, the man quickly understood that Ruby was a warrior.
"What are you still doing here? Quick, we have to leave and protect the Village; it will soon be under attack," the warrior responded.
"Hurry, everyone has been asked to head over to the first border to protect the Village," the warrior added.
He freed his arm from Ruby's grip and immediately shapeshifted into a three-meter-large, four-legged, golden, black-striped beast with incredible agility. He quickly disappeared in the direction the rest of the warriors were heading towards.
Meanwhile, the warrior's words left the group absolutely stunned.
The Village was being attacked!
How could the Village be under attack?
Suddenly, a frightening thought appeared in Ruby's mind.
Ruby turned her attention towards Gorg and the others, "I don't think the test will be taken today anymore, so you all should get back home and rest. I'll cross the river and see what is happening. If the Village is truly under attack, then as a warrior, I have to go and protect it," Ruby said, directing her last words at her brother.
As they witnessed the scene and heard Ruby's voice, they all nodded in understanding, especially Gorg, realizing this was a serious and important matter.
"Be careful, sis," Gorg said with a worried gaze.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of Vylkr vines or threats the Village faced, but he hoped his sister would be okay and return home safely.
"Don't worry, I will make sure that they all return home safely," Salia said, nodding at Ruby as she noticed her uncertain gaze.
Ruby replied, "Thank you," and nodded in gratitude before she turned around and jumped into the sky.
Suddenly, her back glowed with a bright dark light, and a pair of 9-meter-long (29 ft) translucent ebony wings unfolded behind her before she launched forward toward the direction the rest of the warriors were heading.
"Come on, everyone, I promise to get you all home safely, so let's go," Salia instructed with a serious expression.
Whatever the Village was about to face, she could only hope that it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.
Meanwhile, Gorg had only just noticed when his sister disappeared from sight. He quickly began to walk forward to catch up with the others.
….….
Within the first borders of the Village, various warriors and those in their shapeshifting beast forms, capable of flight, hung in the sky. Their weapons were clenched tightly in their grasp as they stared at the countless moving dots far away in the distance, heading towards them.
