Tonight was bound to be a sleepless night for many people. The seventh day was about to arrive, a few more hours to be precise.
The family of the soldiers did not go to sleep inside the house. They gathered around the portal to wait for their husbands' return. Based on the information Cao Yuntai told them, this morning should be the time.
They did not intend to sleep but wait for their return outside. They should return in three hours and twenty-two minutes. Everyone brought blankets outside to make themselves warm.
Elin who was aware of their circumstance decided to cook for them. It was several pots of soup. She brought the ingredients from the Arkania Continent, including the boar feet.
Because of their circumstance, they had to flee from the Royal Knights and Guardian Knights hence Elin always brought the food ingredient within the storage bag. Thanks to her, these people did not need to worry about the food shortage.
As their leader, Tang Shaoyang joined them. He brought the couch outside to sit, and the table. He sat on the couch as Elin, Delia, Arina, and Selena handed out the soup and a piece of bread. Baking was Elin's specialty, her bread was so good.
After handing out the food, they went back to Tang Shaoyang's side. Of course, they served themselves a bowl of soup and also the bread. After a few days, taking care of the food for them, the four girls including Fan Rui's girlfriend got along with everyone.
"How is it? Have you gotten used to the kitchen tools?" Tang Shaoyang asked Elin. Yes, on the first day, Elin was having trouble cooking and baking with advanced technology.
"I am fine now. Suyin helps and teaches me to use it," Elin smiled as he glanced at the red-haired girl with a smile.
The five women were getting along well, but then Delia's concerned voice entered his ears, "Tang, she keeps looking at us, she hates me," the girl whispered as she glanced to the side.
Tang Shaoyang followed her gaze and realized what she talked about. Indeed, Mu Liqiu was aggressively staring at them.
The old lady had gone crazy because of him. The next day after their confrontation, Mu Liqiu wanted to enter the portal. She screamed that she wanted to be strong and beat him so she could free her daughter.
Everyone listened to the ruckus and now everyone knew their leader's "scandal". Of course, no one dared to gossip about the issue. They were not crazy enough to do that after knowing how scary Tang Shaoyang was.
Of course, she was stopped by Kang Jiayi. Her husband had to pull her back to the house and locked themselves in a room so his wife did not do something crazy like entering the portal.
"Just ignore her, her daughter will persuade her to not hate you later," Tang Shaoyang caressed Delia's long hair.
He had told them about Kang Xue and Zhang Mengyao. The four did not mind that Tang Shaoyang had other women. Of course, Tang Shaoyang also had told them the reason why Mu Liqiu was angry at them.
It was the cultural difference, and he told them that the law also prohibited polygamy before the country was destroyed because of the game. He had told everything to the people who followed him from the Arkania Continent, including the countries and things they had to watch over.
"This is stupid, waiting here will not change the result whether their family is survived or died. They better get a good sleep and wake up later to greet them," Kairu commented while scanning the people who were waiting to sacrifice their resting time.
"You will be living with them from now on, you should change your attitude toward them, Kairu!" Wen, who stood behind the couch, rebuked Kairu. The two beastmen never left Tang Shaoyang's side unless in the house.
As for Tang Shaoyang, he did not care about Kairu's attitude. As long as he did not hurt the others, he did not care. He waved his hand at the Flaming Lion, "You can go rest if you want to, we are safe inside this barrier. You can relax," he pointed at the sky, at the transparent barrier.
Kairu was typically someone who respected someone strong. Especially someone stronger than himself. Tang Shaoyang was sure if Lu An and Zhang Mengyao returned, Kairu would change his view about humans.
The waiting time was pretty tense for everyone. Cao Yuntai and his family were within the crowd, waiting with everyone too. The older man felt responsible since his ex-subordinates joined the empire because of him.
Despite the food and the bonfire, silence accompanied the crowd. Fan Rui was sitting with his girlfriend with a serious expression, affected by the heavy atmosphere.
They got the food, but no one could be happy with what awaited them. The fact that there was a chance that everyone might not return, there was no way they could relax.
An hour after hour passed by, minutes passed by. The atmosphere was getting heavier as time passed by until the last minute arrived. At this time, everyone was standing, waiting for their family's arrival.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
Even Tang Shaoyang was affected by the heavy atmosphere. He could not help but worry for Mengyao and Kang Xue. As the timer ticked off to zero, the original portal disappeared, and a new portal formed.
As soon as the new portal formed, the portal tossed out a group of five. Five men came out with tattered clothes, and they screamed on top of their lungs. They seemed to run from something as they kept waving their hands to the air.
It took them some time to realize they had returned to Earth. As soon as they were aware they had returned, the five men cheered loudly. They hugged each other and jumped out.
Such a return surprised the people who were waiting around the portal. Soon the second group returned. The second group was in much better shape. Soon the third group arrived and the portal kept pushing more people.
Tang Shaoyang stood up and called Cao Yuntai, "Gather the people, count the casualties!" The older man nodded and ran back to the portal. He was familiar with the ex-soldiers, so he could recognize who was missing easily.
Tian Donghai's group came out from the portal. His group was in great shape, even his and his team's armor got a big upgrade. Tian Donghai looked for him and soon spotted him.
The young man was about to rush until he noticed the two beastmen followed him. Tang Shaoyang smiled and walked over. He gave the young man a bear hug, "Good job, you bring your team back alive."
Tian Donghai responded to his hug with a pained grunt. The force behind the hug was unexpectedly strong. It hurt the young man's back, "My back hurt, Boss," the poor young man was pleading for his life.
"Oops, sorry," Tang Shaoyang released the young man. As he released the hug, he spotted Yan Sheng. He did the same to Yang Sheng, hugged him but with a considerate strength.
After Yan Sheng's team, Wei Xi's group came out. This time he hugged him pretty hard. The man kept tapping his arm, "You are killing me, Boss! You are killing me!"
Tang Shaoyang grinned ear to ear as he released the man. The next group was Lu An, the guy did not wait for him to come for him. Lu An dashed toward him and pounced on him, "I miss you, Boss!" The young man's voice was very loud that caused them to become the center of attention.
The four main captains had returned, but he had not seen Zhang Mengyao and Kang Xue yet. He saw Kang Xue's brother, Kang Zian had returned. He immediately looked for his wife and his parents.
This made him worried, Zhang Mengyao was the strongest after him, and Lu An. There was no way she failed in the mission.
But soon he was relieved when he saw the last group come out of the portal. Zhang Mengyao and Kang Xue were in the same group with the other three girls, Li Na, Zi Niu, and Zeng Dongmei.
Zhang Mengyao and Kang Xue smiled widely when they looked at Tang Shaoyang. Tang Shaoyang opened his arm, thinking they would come for a hug. That was what the two girls wanted to do until they noticed four beauties behind him.
"Who are they?" The two girls glared at him.