Chapter 36: Emotions and monsters ( XVI )

Rowan had just finished addressing the villagers when three young soldiers sprinted toward him, their faces etched with exhaustion and worry.The three of them came to a halt in front of Rowan and gasped to catch their lost breath.

"What is it?" Rowan asked with a frown.

"Captain Oliver sent us. There is something coming towards our village from the north!" the soldiers reported.

"Something coming towards us? What is it? A monster?" Rowan asked, uncertain about their report, wondering if it was monsters.

"We haven't confirmed yet, but we can describe it for you," one of them answered and began describing the structure they saw.

"A horse-driven carriage," Rowan muttered inaudibly as his mind pictured the perfect imagery of their descriptions.

Carriages are sophisticated structures in the world of Emperor's Domain, only wealthy territories with rich and powerful nobles could own them. Even Glenwood, which is far superior to Winterseed, doesn't possess one.

The sight of one approaching his village set Rowan's mind racing. Was this a sign that a powerful lord had turned his gaze toward their small village? Or perhaps a wealthy noble, intent on exerting their influence and taking what they wanted from the weak?

"How close is it to the village?" He asked the necessary question.

"We can't tell exactly because it was moving really fast. It should have arrived at the north border already," they answered.

"Run back to Captain Oliver and tell him I am on my way right now."

The soldiers nodded and ran back to the north border.

Brandon, Bryce, and Roland exchanged uneasy glances as they stepped closer to Rowan. Despite being part of the oldest people in Winterseed, even they hadn't seen any structure similar to what the soldiers described. In their minds, they pictured a gigantic horse with a strangely shaped hunchback.

The other soldiers around Rowan also became really curious and somewhat scared.

"A box on wheels pulled by horses? What kind of creature is that? What does it even look like?"

"Could it be an evolved monster with the appearance of a horse?"

"Why am I thinking of a horse with a large wooden hunchback?"

Hearing their doubtful comments, Rowan shook his head pitifully and decided to explain the structure of a carriage to them.

As he explained, their eyes widened with interest.

"It is called a carriage? What a cool name."

"If we had one of those in our village, moving harvests from the farm to our houses would be pretty sweet and easy," a farmer said with dreamy eyes.

"With a carriage, we can move more than ten persons at the same time with just two horses?? That is too good to be true. Why haven't I heard about this until now?"

"If it can move more people with fewer horses, then it could be carrying some powerful soldiers to our village as we speak!"

"Oh no. It is an amazing structure, but it is also a weapon in the hands of our enemy. What should we do now?"

"Lord Rowan? What should we do now?"

After hearing Rowan's vivid explanations, they reacted just as Rowan expected. First starting with curiosity and interest, then slowly migrating to thoughts of what or whom might lie within the carriage approaching the village.

Without taking time, Rowan gave a few orders to Bryce, Roland, and the rest of the villagers before taking the horse and riding down to the north border.

---

Oliver stood in front of his soldiers with a brace expression on his face. He clutched his sword and observed the strange structure being dragged by two horses, which was just a few meters away from them.

As Oliver observed the structure, he noticed a strange human figure sitting on its roof. As the structure drew closer, he noticed that it was a man and his mind relaxed a bit, glad it wasn't a monster.

"You are in the territory of Winterseed!!" He quickly yelled at the man on the roof.

"Stop this thing and tell us why you are here!" He continued, but there was no response.

Seeing that there was no response, he turned to the soldiers behind him and gave a quick signal.

The soldiers adhered immediately and lifted their weapons at the carriage, ready to attack if it crossed the border. They were still confused about the strange appearance of it, but they were ready to defend their village.

Suddenly, the horses neighed and came to an abrupt halt just a small distance away from Oliver, who stood in front of the others. The breeze as the horses came to an abrupt stop blew against Oliver's face.

But Oliver kept his stance and pointed his sword at the man on the roof, whose figure became clearer and stranger at the same time. He was a really handsome man with long white hair tied in ponytails, nevertheless, he was sitting in a strange sitting position, and his eyes were closed, seemingly in a sleep-like state.

Seeing him, the soldiers couldn't help but frown and look among themselves, and numerous questions appeared in their minds.

The first was how the horse came to a stop without any movement or instructions from the strange man, and secondly, how he was able to remain calm and stable on the roof of a structure that moved with a speed they hadn't witnessed before.

The appearance of everything in front of them was clouded in mystery.

"You there! Get down and explain yourself. Who are you, and why are you here?" Oliver's voice boomed, cutting through the silence.

But there was no response, not even a slight movement from the horses or the man on the roof.

"Hey you. Stop playing deaf ears and answer me!" Infuriated, Oliver demanded again, and he got the same treatment.

'What the heck is wrong with this guy? Is he even alive?' Oliver pondered.

Oliver turned to look at the horses, they looked as real as they could, he could feel the movement on their faces as they moved, and their eyes, which gazed at the soldiers, looked real as well.

But that man up there, he looked too unreal. Even his handsomeness didn't appear natural, he looked more like a character out of a wonderful painting, and the atmosphere he radiated was impossible as well.

If Oliver wasn't surrounded by soldiers right now who shared the same reactions as him, he would have concluded already that he was in a dream.

As his mind wandered with different thoughts, the man's eyes snapped open, a grin spreading across his face as he stretched and yawned loudly, before giving the soldiers a casual wave. "Wassup, y'all."

....

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