Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“My farm!” Nolan exclaimed as he clasped the back of his head. “What happened?”

“Oops,” I said, looking at the half-burned down field. A thin trail of smoke rose to the sky as the sun began to set in the horizon.

So, apparently, by forgetting about the torches while fighting Ray and the Miststorm Riders around Wolfwater, I had caused a rather large fire. And when I leapt for Whiteridge, I left the fire burning right next to Nolan’s farm, which ended up spreading to some of his crops.

I scratched the back of my head. “I, uh, will pay you back?”

Nolan sighed. “Thank you, but there’s no need. It’s not your fault that this happened.”

“Well, I still feel bad.” I pursed my lips. He was really one of the most helpful people I had met ever since arriving in Vacuos— he was actually helping me get a Class, when most others turned me down.

Honestly, I had been worried that something could have happened to him, so I left Whiteridge once I had brought Noele back to Nicole and Garron, and quickly returned to Wolfwater. Much to my relief, I found that the [Farmer] had been in Wolfwater when the Miststorm Riders arrived, and even though he wanted to warn me about the impending attack, he couldn’t leave the village to get to me.

It was only when the mist cleared, and it was evident that the [Bandits] had been defeated, could he actually return to his farm.

“Is there really nothing I can do to help?” I offered.

“You saved my wife and my daughter,” Nolan said, turning to me. He smiled and gave me a grateful look. “That is a greater gift than anything else in the world.”

I blinked, then I slowly nodded. “I see.”

—--

Over the next few days, Whiteridge, Wolfwater, and the surrounding villages spent most of their time rebuilding. Some grieved too, while others breathed a sigh of relief. All things considered, the siege didn’t last long, thanks to my help.

If I hadn’t wiped out all of the Miststorm Riders when I did, Noele said that there was a high likelihood that there were going to be tens of thousands of casualties— maybe even more. It was entirely possible that all of Whiteridge would have been razed to the ground, despite the plethora of A-ranks guarding the city.

Those [Bandits] had been just that dangerous.

But the aftermath mattered just as much as the event itself. Noele, Nicole, and Garron didn’t return to Wolfwater until three days later. They had stayed behind to help out where they could, only leaving when they were certain their aid wasn’t needed anymore. Nolan was more than happy to see them once again.

“I’m glad to see you and your mother are safe,” the [Farmer] said to his daughter.

Noele just smiled in response, and Nicole— despite her old age— threw her arms over her husband. The blonde girl flushed in embarrassment as her parents held no reservations in their loving embrace.

“Mama... Papa...” Noele murmured, covering her face.

I just chuckled and shook my head.

Whiteridge itself had taken quite the toll, with plenty of buildings needing to be repaired, and an entire section of the wall requiring reconstruction. But Wolfwater itself had suffered far less damage to its farmlands compared to the surrounding villages. Comparatively, there was much less work for us to do.

But I still helped out where I could. The first thing I needed to do was clear up the charred crops from the field and sweep away the ashes. Nolan was fortunate in that only a single field had been burned down, and most of it had already been harvested. I didn’t want to damage the farmland further, so I took my time cleaning up the barren field.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t clear out all the ash. That had to be washed away by the rain or weather. And when that happened, the soil still couldn’t be tilled just yet, because it might not even be arable land by the end of it.

Nolan knew a [Druid] from a neighboring village who could help out in that regard. But she was mostly busy for now, and he wasn’t in any rush to recultivate the land. Instead, he focused most of his efforts into helping the surrounding communities by redistributing his stored food to those in need.

“Thank you, Melissa,” he said simply in response as he mounted his horse. “Do you bring me any news of import?”

“I do, my liege.” She closed her eyes and bowed low. “I bring you news of the Miststorm Riders.”

He nodded at her. “I take it they have extricated themselves from the Astrad Kingdom?”

While Kallistus himself disapproved of those [Bandits] and their atrocities, he had no choice but to work alongside them with the Sect of Abyssal Thorns. They were supposed to provide a distraction. Divert some of the forces of the Astrad Kingdom away from the front lines. They had been rather effective thus far, but since they were so few in numbers, they couldn’t maintain their presence for long. They would return eventually in the future, but for now, the plan was that they would vanish and ‘attack’ the Kingdom of Kal.

So he expected that answer. He anticipated Melissa to inform him of the Miststorm Riders attacking his own nation. But she shook her head, smiling back at him.

“The Miststorm Riders have been wiped out, my liege. Before they could escape into the Kingdom of Kal, they were defeated at Whiteridge. Now we do not have to worry about an attack on our eastern borders.” She spoke excitedly as Kallistus stared in shock.

“What...?” He looked down at her, wide-eyed. “The Miststorm Riders were defeated? But that’s—” He bit his lower lip and cut himself off.

Melissa nodded with a wide smile. “Perhaps we could even ready a few [Architects] to build a bridge to cross over the Sofron River.”

Kallistus didn’t respond. The Archmage paused, taking notice of the [Hero King]’s odd demeanor.

“Is something the matter, my liege?” she asked.

He closed his eyes. He had planned to excuse himself from the battlefield upon hearing about the Miststorm Riders’ raid on the Kingdom of Kal. But now he had no excuse. He couldn’t just leave his army behind.

“No,” he said, opening his eyes. “The plan remains the same.”

“My liege?” Melissa peered into him, concerned.

He pulled the reins of his horse, turning away from Everton. He started down the dirt path back towards his country as he spoke simply. “I have my own matters to attend to, Melissa. You shall oversee the continued conquest of the Astrad Kingdom while I am gone.”

“But my liege—” she started to protest.

“I shall return, Melissa,” he said, nodding at her reassuringly. “There is no one I can trust but you to handle this for me.”

She blinked a few times, then flushed. The Archmage swept into a deep bow. “As you wish, my liege.”

And with that, the [Hero King] left the battlefield.

MelasD

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