Chapter 66

3 weeks later... (March 26)

"Where's Nash?" Aeries asked.

"She's gone again?!" Idris sighed.

"Oi!" They looked on top of the building behind them and there they saw Nash waving her hands.

For the past few days after they arrived, they assisted with the construction of a two-story school, above is a clinic center and below is the school.

"What are you doing there? Come down!" Aeries shouted.

"Okay!" Nash took a step back, and her teammates assumed she was going down the stairs, so they diverted their gazes. "Catch me!"

Nash jumped, shocking her squad mates, but Jaxael managed to catch her. Nash patted his back, "Nice catch."

Nash's hair was already mid-length. Nash's hair is always styled by the town's elderly mothers.

"Where are we going?" Nash asked as she followed her squad.

"We have to gather some herbs," Aidan said, handing Nash a basket.

As they went to the mountains, Nash saw something she saw for the first time, she went close to it.

"Nash, where are you going?" Yjhan asked,

"Look! A sugarcane!"

"Isn't that a small bamboo?" Aidan asked as he went close.

Nash snapped one branch and nibbled on it, "Sweet!"

'It is Bret's birthday today.' Nash remembered.

She kept chewing as she noticed her squadmates staring at her indifferently. "You don't know this?"

"We know but..." Idris looked at her as if she's eating some exotic food.

"Why are you chewing that?" Aeries asked and examined it close. Nash broke it into small pieces and gave it to them, "Remove the outer layer and chew on them."

They followed and chewed on them with disgust. Nash chuckled as she chewed on them.

"I thought it would be hard," Idris whispered.

"It's crunchy..." Aidan murmured.

"Isn't it sweet?" Nash exclaimed.

They nodded and started to walk again, still nibbling on the sugarcane.

[badump]

Nash coughed blood,

"Is this poisonous?" Idris throws the chewed sugarcane.

"Let's go back!" Nash ran back to the Peridot and saw the others were just the same.

"What is it?" Nash asked Raum through her mind.

"They're surrounding the area." Raum informed.

Nash flew up and saw a few wendigoes, trolls and other chimera looking animals.

Nash landed down, "The war must've begun, they are creatures surrounding us!"

"I'll go call the others!" Aidan ran and Idris followed.

Fortunately, there aren't many people in Peridot Village.

"Kawk!" Nash looked above and saw a messenger bird. 'It has the Barcley's Crest.'

Nash opened it and discovered Katherine had sent it. When Yjhan untied the sack tied around the bird's neck and opened it, he discovered two magic stones.

//

I don't know when this will arrive, but today is March 8. We heard that there are creatures surrounding the villages. There are many in the capital as well, I'm in Albite town. Use the magic stone to teleport to the Capital.

//

That was all it was. Yjhan was clutching the magical stone. Idris and Aidan arrived, followed by the villagers.

They are in the center of the village waiting for the creatures to attack.

"We'll depart when we're done here," Yjhan announced.

"There's something flying!" One villager pointed above.

There are mothmans and owl looking ones.

'This will take a while.' Aeries thought as he looked at the mothmans flying.

"They're here."

Squad 15 and village guards are encircling the villagers to protect them. Nash erected a wall that encircles the villager. They've previously planned it, so no one is in a panic.

A wendigo attacked from the left, Aidan slashed its head, and shortly, all the animals attacked from all sides.

Squad 15, as well as the village guards, began to attack with their swords. Nash does not want to use her magic abilities now, preferring to save them for later.

Nash was fighting a troop of wendigos when she heard a scream from the villagers. She beheaded the wendigos and turned around to see a witch on top excavating a hole.

Nash threw her dagger, but the witch dodged it. Nash pulled back her dagger. The witch was riding on a broom flying around the villagers.

"KEKEKEKE"

Nash covered her mouth to avoid laughing, "pfft."

Nash pressed her lips together to keep from giggling; the witch's voice was thin and sounded odd to her.

"Nash! Focus!" Jaxael shouted.

"Yes! Sorry!"

Nash rushes up to the witch. The witch continued to enchant things, causing the ground to turn into small monsters made of land.

"KEKEKE" Nash suppresses her laughter and continues to attack the ground monsters. It never ends which made Nash irritated. Nash forced down the witch causing it to not move as the gravity pulled the witch down.

"You're moving too much, it's annoying!" Nash beheaded the witch as soon as she was close enough

Nash took a look around and noticed a large group of mothmans in front of three village guards.

Nash sighed, 'I told myself not to use it first.'

Nash made a big ball of land using the village's ground and threw it to the Mothmans. The guards looked back looking shocked and saw Nash waving her hands and ran towards another wave of creatures.

"Nash! Look above to see if there is a portal!" Yjhan requested.

Nash finished off the trolls and flew up to inspect the surroundings. Nash watched where the creatures were coming from and followed it until they reached the top of the mountain.

She flew back and announced to Yjhan, "The top of the mountain!"

"Go with Aeries and stop the portal!" Yjhan shout back,

Nash made Aeries float and went towards the top of the mountain. They land behind the portal and look for a big gemstone.

--Flashback--

"A war will break out soon," Yjhan announced to the villagers.

It was the third day of their stay in the village. They planned what they would do if the town was attacked over the course of two days and nights.

"What?!"

Murmurs and whispers began to surround them. They've formed a circle in front of a massive bonfire. They had just finished a banquet.

"A war will broke again sooner than we expected. Please realize that we are informing you this now so that we can be prepared and no one is to be harmed." Yjhan stated.

"Tell us what needs to be done, we're prepared," Upil said, Peridot's head. He's already old, as his hair was now covered in white and gray.

"First and foremost, when the moment comes, we want you all to come to the heart of the village, here, where we are currently sitting." Yjhan patted on the ground, "It's better if you guys are close enough to each other, Nash, here, will build a large wall that surrounds you."

"It will be dark inside, I just wanted to tell you," Nash said, the villager nodded.

"Is that all?" Upil asked.

"Is there someone else who can fight alongside us?" Yjhan asked,

"We can!" 6 men raised their arms.

"We are the village guards, we've spent years defending the town from any hazardous being, so you can count on us," Olga, one of the guards, known for his bald head, stated.

"All 13 of us will surround the wall Nash made, be sure to stay on alert." Yjhan stated.

"Yes!"

"You're only 13... Can you do it? It's not that I'm doubting you, it's just that..." Nash placed her hand on top of the old lady's hand.

"You don't have to worry, ma'am. If we find the portal through which the creatures are delivered, all will be done and no one will come again and you'll be safe." Nash assured her.

"Really?"

"Yes, ma'am. All we have to do is find the person who made the portal."

One middle-aged man raised his hand, "I have something to ask."

"What is it?" Yjhan responded.

"The war is not only happening here, right?"

"That is right, given the distance between the capital and here, it was to be expected that we would be the last to be attacked."

"Do you know who opens the portals?" He asked once again,

"No, but we will do our best to catch them." Aeries said,

"Is it witches who open the portal?"

"That is something we honestly don't know," Aeries answered.

"Uhm... Before coming here, I was from the capital, and my father was one of the knights who fought in the previous war during the emperor's rising." The middle aged man said, "I was born without any abilities, but I was interested in those magical things and portal was one of the things I took an interest in."

"If the portal was made by one or a few highly creatures, then the portal being distributed to towns other than Peridot will be too much for them to handle for a long time,"

"And that is why, we may be late on the war," Kane said, concluding the middle-age man's explanation.

"That is right, because opening a portal consumes energy, especially if you want to construct a portal that encompasses the entire empire." The man added, "Even if they are a few of those who open the portal, it will be impossible for them to open up at once, and so they may utilize a certain trigger that allows the gateway to open,"

"Are you perhaps saying that those who opened the portal are not physically present?" Jaxael asked.

"That is right."