The Lucky Little Village

Winter departed and spring arrived, bringing all things back to life.

As the Holy Advent Day celebrations came to a close, the bitter cold that had entrenched itself in the Black Rock Mountain Range for months finally began to recede.

Although a hint of biting spring chill lingered in the air, the snow had already begun to melt, converging into babbling streams that nourished the newly awakened black earth. Even the terrifying beast horde had completely vanished, courtesy of the end of the magical beasts' hibernation period and the reshuffling of ecological niches.

On the mountain road leading to Buena Village, a well-equipped and imposing caravan of carriages was slowly advancing along the muddy path.

The standard of this procession was exceptionally high.

Leading the vanguard were twenty elite private soldiers of the Norent family, clad in heavy silver armor and riding tall steeds. The barding of each warhorse was engraved with a roaring lion's head crest, the symbol of the Lord of the North, Count Gal Norent, known as the Mad Lion of the North.

In the center of the formation was a luxurious carriage drawn by four Horned Scale Horses, beasts with magical bloodlines. The carriage cabin was crafted from black ironwood, its gold trim inlaid with defensive arrays gleaming in the sunlight.

But this was not the most eye-catching part.

Flanking the caravan were four knights wearing pristine white battle robes, their chests adorned with golden cross badges.

They did not ride horses; instead, they rode an even more magnificent magical beast, the Radiant Griffon (juvenile versions, capable only of low-altitude gliding). The aura they exuded was holy and chilling; just a casual sweep of their gaze was enough to make the beasts peeking from the surrounding jungle tremble in fear.

They were the elites of the Inquisition from the Royal Capital's Church Headquarters, the Templar Knights.

How much longer do we have to walk? These country roads are absolutely rotten.

One of the leading holy knights frowned, glancing with disgust at the mud caked on his griffon's claws.

His name was Leo, a peak fifth-tier Templar Knight Commander, and the person in charge of this convenient escort mission.

Lord Leo, once we cross that hillside ahead, we will be at Buena Village.

An old butler from the Norent family beside him quickly offered an apologetic smile. It has truly been hard on you lords. If we hadn't coincidentally met you lords coming to the North to execute a purification mission, we wouldn't have been able to trouble you to pick up my lady along the way...

It is no matter.

Leo waved his hand. Though his tone was reserved, it revealed a condescending arrogance. Count Gal had a life-and-death bond with me during the Abyssal Defense War back in the day. Hearing that his precious daughter was stranded in this remote backwater, as an old comrade-in-arms, I naturally could not stand idly by.

At the mention of the word stranded, the old butler also wore a look of lingering fear and sorrow.

Yes... who could have imagined?

The old butler sighed. Originally, the Lord Count wanted the young lady to lead a team to the outskirts for some tempering, to kill low-tier magical beasts and gain experience. Who knew her luck would be so poor as to run into a massive beast horde rarely seen in ten years.

When the news of Black Rock Village's annihilation and the young lady's disappearance arrived, the Lord Count was so anxious he nearly led his troops to level the entire mountain! Fortunately... fortunately, the gods blessed us. The young lady actually survived such a desperate situation and was saved by that Buena Village.

Hmph, just luck.

Leo snorted lightly, speaking dismissively. I read your so-called survivor report. It said that village was practically unharmed during the beast horde? Not even a single chicken died?

Y-yes. The old butler nodded. That is what the messenger reported.

Absolute nonsense.

Leo sneered in contempt. A mere border village without even a wall, facing the main force of a beast horde that would give even the regular army a headache, how could they be unharmed? In my view, there is only one possibility.

He held up a finger, analyzing with absolute certainty:

That is luck.

Either the main force of the beast horde happened to bypass that village, or its geographical location is special, possessing some natural miasma or terrain that magical beasts detest. The so-called unharmed status is nothing more than them scraping by with their lives.

The several holy knights beside him also nodded in agreement.

The Captain is right. We have seen plenty of these country bumpkin tricks in the royal capital. A little bit of luck is immediately boasted about as a miracle.

I reckon that village is already a pile of ruins by now. It is just that Lady Aria has a tough fate and managed to escape disaster by hiding in a cellar.

When we get there later, everyone remember to turn on your breathing filtration arrays. A village that just experienced a beast horde is definitely full of the stench of corpses and plague. Do not let it soil our holy robes.

Listening to the discussions of these big shots from the royal capital, although the old butler felt something was off in his heart (after all, the messenger had spoken very exaggeratedly, mentioning something about a divine tower standing guard), he did not dare to retort.

After all, this was common sense.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, the only outcome for a feeble village facing a beast horde is destruction. It would be good enough if a few people survived; how could it be completely unharmed?

However...

Leo changed the subject, a charitable expression appearing on his face. Since that village sheltered Gal's daughter, they can be considered to have done a merit. When we arrive shortly, I will represent the Church and reward that village chief with a few bottles of holy water, and conveniently help them purify the plague. This can be considered a blessing they cultivated over several lifetimes.

Naturally! Naturally! The old butler nodded repeatedly.

The caravan continued forward.

As they drew closer and closer to Buena Village, the surrounding scenery began to undergo some subtle changes.

The originally muddy road, covered in broken branches and withered leaves, suddenly became smooth.

The snow by the roadside seemed to have been cleared by some kind of power, revealing a neat gravel roadbed underneath. Furthermore...

Strange.

Leo reined in his griffon, glancing at the surrounding woods in confusion. Did you all feel that?

Feel what? his subordinate asked.

It is too quiet.

Leo narrowed his eyes, resting his hand on the holy sword at his waist. Along this journey, although there were not many magical beasts, we could occasionally hear a few wolf howls or bird calls. But ever since we entered this area... why is there not even the chirping of an insect?

It is as if... all the living creatures in this vicinity have been slaughtered or frightened away by some extremely terrifying existence.

This deathly silence made the battle-hardened holy knight instinctively feel a trace of unease.

But this trace of unease was quickly suppressed by his arrogance.

Heh, it seems the beast horde really did pass through here and ate everything edible.

Leo rationalized to himself. Let's go, speed up. The sooner we pick up the person, the sooner we can leave this wretched place. The magic factors in the air here are too thin; staying too long makes me feel suffocated.

Yes sir!

The team accelerated.

Finally, after crossing the last hillside, the full view of Buena Village was unreservedly revealed to everyone's sight.

We are here! Just ahead is...

The old butler pointed forward, just about to introduce it.

However, his words caught in his throat.

Not only him, but even Leo, who had been nonchalant all along and was preparing to cover his nose and mouth, suddenly widened his eyes at this moment, his jaw almost dropping onto the griffin's back.

"This..."

"What the hell... is this a village?!"

Leo couldn't help but curse out loud.

In his imagination, Buena Village at this time should be a scene of ruins, with charred wood and collapsed fences everywhere, along with ragged, emaciated refugees begging in the mud.

But what on earth was this scene before his eyes?!

On the plains of the valley stood a sturdy city wall up to three meters high, built entirely of solid gray granite! The surface of the wall was as smooth as a mirror, even faintly gleaming with a metallic luster, making it look sturdier than some of the fortresses on the outskirts of the royal capital!

And on top of the city wall, a uniquely shaped high tower stood every few dozen meters.

Floating at the top of the towers were giant purple crystals, slowly rotating in the sunlight and emitting terrifying fluctuations of high-level magic. Even from hundreds of meters away, Leo could feel the prickling sensation of being locked onto by a powerful weapon.

"What kind of towers are those? Magic cannons?!"

A holy knight exclaimed, "Even the royal guard camp in the capital wouldn't be this extravagant with their defensive facilities!"

What was even more outrageous was...

Through the open city gates, they didn't see mud and garbage littering the ground.

Instead, they saw a wide and tidy stone-paved road, lined with festive red lanterns on both sides. The villagers, wearing brand-new cotton clothes, were chatting and laughing on the streets.

In the center of the village, there was even a massive glass greenhouse, where lush green vegetables could be faintly seen inside.

There was no stench of corpses in the air.

Only the smell of... roasted meat and the aroma of wine drifting with the wind.

"Is... is this the refugee village that just went through a beast horde?"

The old butler rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had taken the wrong path or fallen under some kind of illusion. "This looks... even wealthier than our lord's manor!"

Leo's expression turned a bit ugly.

Just a moment ago, he had confidently claimed that they were "just lucky," "barely escaped with their lives," and living in "a pile of ruins." Yet in the blink of an eye, reality slapped him hard in the face.

How was this just good luck?

This was clearly a war fortress armed to the teeth!

The massive contrast, which seemed to mock his ignorance, made the proud holy knight's face flush with embarrassment.

"Ahem!"

Leo coughed dryly, forcing himself to save face. "It seems... it seems the villagers here are quite good at finding joy in hardship. Those towers... are probably some kind of alchemical props meant to scare off wild beasts. They look intimidating, but they likely have no actual combat capabilities."

"Right, right, right! They must be just for show!"

His subordinates quickly agreed. "Country folks, you know, they just love to mess around with these flashy things."

"Let's go! We're going in to take a look!"

Leo waved his hand. "I want to see exactly what kind of mighty figure managed to protect such a place during a beast horde."

In reality, his heart had already started pounding.

The fluctuations emitted by those towers... they didn't look fake no matter how he looked at them.

...

The convoy slowly drove towards the village entrance.

At this time, Da Zhuang and Er Gou, who were on duty under the Mana Watchtower at the village entrance, had long spotted these uninvited guests.

"Er Gou! Look! What a grand display!"

Da Zhuang chewed on an apple in his hand, pointing at the griffins and armored cavalry in the distance. "That's the Lord's banner! And... are those the legendary griffins?"

"It looks like they are here to pick up Miss Aria."

Er Gou glanced over calmly, not showing much awe.

If it were in the past, seeing such important figures would have scared them into kneeling and welcoming them long ago.

But now?

Who were they? They were Lord Lynch's underlings!

Their Lord Lynch was a man who could single-handedly fight a Tier 3 Demonic Bear and casually build such divine towers! In comparison, these few young griffins looked just so-so.

"Should we go inform Brother Lynch?" Da Zhuang asked.

"No need, Brother Lynch is probably at home cooking lunch for his wife right now." Er Gou waved his hand. "Let's stop them and ask first, lest they crash into our defensive array."

As they spoke, the convoy had already arrived under the city gate.

"Halt!"

Riding his griffin, Leo hovered in mid-air, looking down at the two gatekeeping militiamen with the scrutinizing gaze of examining criminals, and shouted loudly:

"I am Leo, the Holy Knight Commander from the Royal Capital Church! Under the orders of Count Gal, I have come to escort Miss Aria back!"

"Tell your village chief... and that so-called savior, to come out and welcome us immediately!"

The oppressive aura of a Tier 5 powerhouse instantly enveloped them.

If it were ordinary people, they would probably have wet themselves in fear by now.

But Da Zhuang and Er Gou just looked at each other.

Welcome?

What a big tone.

"Um... this lord."

Da Zhuang scratched his head and pointed to the mana watchtower above them, which was slowly turning its direction as its crystal began to glow. He reminded him honestly:

"Our village has a rule, all foreign personnel and vehicles must go through the side gate to register and disarm."

"Also... you are flying too high, it's easy to trigger the anti-air alarm."

"I suggest you'd better come down and walk. Otherwise, if you get shot down by the tower... our Brother Lynch said, we won't pay for any damages from the fall."

"What did you say?!"

Leo laughed out of extreme anger.

Asking a dignified Holy Knight Commander like him to dismount? And go through the side gate? And threatening to shoot him down?

Are these country bumpkins crazy?!

"How audacious!"

Leo shouted angrily, preparing to teach these two ignorant militiamen a lesson.

Hum!!!

Right at this moment.

A low humming sound suddenly rang out.

That was the sound of magical energy charging.

Leo abruptly raised his head.

He saw that the tall tower above him, which he had thought was "just for show," was now erupting with a terrifying aura that made his very soul tremble. That massive purple crystal had completely locked onto the center of his forehead. If he dared to use even a sliver of magic...

That prickling threat of death on his back was absolutely not fake!

"This... is this a high-level arcane lock?!"

Cold sweat instantly rolled down Leo's face.

He had only seen this level of locking at the Mage Tower in the royal capital!

What the hell kind of village is this?!

"Don't! Don't open fire! Let's talk this out!"

The Holy Knight Commander, who was majestic a second ago, cowardly controlled his griffin to land on the ground the next second. He even almost sprained his ankle because the griffin hissed in stress and swayed from side to side.

Seeing this lord, who had his nose in the air just a moment ago, instantly become docile, Da Zhuang took a bite of his apple and mumbled indistinctly:

"You should have said so earlier. I told you our village is very strict about rules."

"Wait here, I'll go call Miss Aria now."

Leo stood on the hard stone-paved road, looking at the backs of those two men carrying crude spears and eating apples, and then looked up at the high tower still glaring down at him like a tiger.

He suddenly felt.

His previous conclusion about them being "just lucky"... seemed to have been a bit too hasty.

How was this just good luck.

This place is a damn dragon's pool and tiger's den!