BXBX NOVEL Chapter 58: Conquest { XVIII }
The sound of insects chirping and birds singing seized, covering the area with only the sound of their heroic marching.
Rowan and the captains could be seen riding their horses in front, while the soldiers marched uniformly behind them with battle-ready seriousness etched on their faces.
At the last row, two young soldiers could be seen dragging Stanis along the ground. Stanis was already unconscious at this point, having been dragged on the harsh ground for more than an hour.
Rowan wanted to leave Stanis under the control of Brandon as they left for war and deal with him later alongside Oliver when he returned, but the young soldiers refused.
They were all very pissed after hearing that Stanis had the balls to force himself on their beautiful sisters. So, Rowan decided to leave him in their care--they could do anything they wanted as long as he was still alive when they got to Glenwood.
Riding in front of the others, Rowan was greeted with a lot of notifications.
[ Your villager wishes you a great victory ]
[ One hundred of your villagers gather together and pray for your safe return ]
[ Your LOVER prays for your return ]
All the notifications informed him about the current emotional state of his villagers, the last one made him smile as he knew it was about Riela.
As they continued to march forward, Rowan decided to interact with his system. Without hesitating, he called out his character status.
---
RANK: FF-rank
TITLE: Village Head
TERRITORY: FF-rank, Winterseed Village
AREA: 20 square kilometers
POPULATION: 3,000+
RESOURCES: (Click to view all)
Rowan Winterseed
- AGE: 18
- HEALTH: 100%
- POWER: FF-rank
- EVOLUTION POINT: 27,500,000
- SKILLS: SS-rank 100x reward, SS-rank copy, SS-rank eyes of revelation, SS-rank merge, SS-rank beast taming, S-rank Super Voice, C-rank Sword Grandmaster, F-rank Resistance, F-rank Muscle Strengthening, FF-rank night vision
---
Rowan's stats were much better than the last time he viewed them. Although his power hadn't increased because he chose not to raise it, the amount of evolution points and the number of skills he possessed had grown. The amount of resources he possessed had grown as well after purchasing a few from D'andre.
Recalling the last interaction with D'andre, Rowan couldn't help but pray for his safety. If anything should happen to D'andre, he would lose a really important asset for territory development.
"Lord Rowan, you look really tense right now? Is it because this is your first war?" Roland asked from beside him.
Rowan turned to him and shook his head. None of them could see his system, so they immediately assumed he was deep in thought as he stared at empty midair.
Roland nodded his head and continued, "We are getting close to the location we decided on."
"I know," Rowan answered swiftly.
He turned to look at his back and saw the soldiers marching valiantly and fearlessly. Stanis was still being dragged on the ground and was already unconscious.
He returned his gaze to the front and pulled the rein, causing the horse to move faster.
After about three hours of marching through the forest, they finally arrived at their agreed point.
It was already the mid-hours of the afternoon, and the fiery sun had already taken its place in the sky, blasting the earth with its scorching heat.
Rowan, riding in front, lifted his right hand and everyone came to a quick halt.
"This is our major start point, everyone," Rowan began.
The soldiers nodded their heads with fearlessness and readiness in their gazes.
Seeing the readiness, Rowan smiled and proceeded.
He ordered the captains to take fifty men each and march through the forest. This way, Rowan would be left to lead two hundred soldiers -- this was simply his plan to create an illusion in the eyes of Glenwood's army.
Rowan further discussed instructions with the captains and then proceeded to give his usual speech with the amplification of [Super Voice] to boost their motivation.
Nevertheless, as he discussed with them, his eyes caught two figures on horses riding towards them.
"Hmm," he halted his speech and rode his horse forward.
The captains quickly rode and formed a defensive position around him, staring at the figures arriving in front of them.
The horses were still afar, but they didn't let their guard down.
"Lord Rowan, let me kill them if they try to do anything careless," Bryce dragged out his sword and said to Rowan in his usual furious tone.
Rowan nodded. He had already obtained all the information he needed, so there was no need to keep any of Glenwood's people alive.
With Rowan's permission, Bryce gritted his teeth, and his grip on his sword grew tighter--he was ready to engage in battle.
Nevertheless, as the horses rode closer towards them, the faces of a middle-aged man and a young lady appeared in their vision.
"Liara?" Rowan muttered to himself as he quickly realized who the girl was.
She was the same one Elara had been talking about, the one who sacrificed herself for the safe escape of her sisters.
As for the man beside her, Rowan hadn't seen him before. A frown appeared on his face as he immediately assumed he was abducting her.
While Rowan grasped the identity of the young lady, the soldiers did the same. Their eyes widened in shock and happiness at the sight of her face. However, a deep scowl appeared when they gazed upon Ren.
"Look, it's Liara!"
"Liara! I never thought I would see her again, but who is that sick fuck riding with her?"
"Damn, if it's another one like that bastard Stanis, I'll burst his balls myself!"
"Hey, calm down--you've already crushed two balls today!"
The soldiers discussed amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, at the front, Bruce had an emotional breakdown as he saw Liara riding towards them.
"Sister-in-law..." he called out in a low tone.
Rowan looked at Bruce, a middle-aged man with an insanely huge physique, staring at Liara with a look akin to someone on the verge of tears. Only then did Rowan realize Bruce was actually married to her elder sister.
But he didn't focus too much on the realization. They still had to be careful about the man she was with.
Ren and Liara had already spotted the soldiers from afar. At first, they couldn't recognize anyone as they were still far apart. But even so, they kept riding, as long as it wasn't Glenwood's army, they knew they were safe.
As they rode closer, Liara recognized Bruce's face, and her eyes lit up.
"They're from Winterseed! They're my people, we're safe," she said cheerfully.
Hearing her response, Ren felt both excitement and shock. He was excited that Winterseed was already preparing for war but shocked at how quickly they were moving.
"They were supposed to be unaware," he thought inwardly.
Elara and the others shouldn't have reached the village by now, even if they used horses. Plus, Stanis and his men were sent to capture them, making it almost impossible to reach the village and inform them in time.
Also, according to the information they received from Oliver, Winterseed had planned to attack when the soldiers came to collect their weekly harvest from the villagers. This meant they weren't supposed to be attacking today at all.
But now, Winterseed's soldiers were marching toward Glenwood, which meant they had already been informed. How could that be?
Ren had many questions on his mind, but he kept moving forward. He looked at the soldiers and could feel their heated gazes on him, making him realize his precarious situation.
"My name is Ren, and I am not your enemy!" Ren's voice echoed through the forest, causing the soldiers to stiffen, their hands tightening around their weapons.
Rowan watched closely, his eyes narrowing as he gauged Ren's sincerity. He activated his inspection skill to quickly observe his stats. From what the status revealed, Ren held no hostility toward them.
Still, Rowan couldn't judge his character based solely on his stats.
Meanwhile, Liara's eyes darted from the soldiers' cautious stares to Bruce, her expression softening as she laid her eyes on him.
Without hesitation, she slid off her horse and ran toward him, her face glowing with joy and remorse.
Bruce also jumped down from his horse, running toward her with tears streaming from his eyes.
As they neared each other, the tension of the moment melted away. Liara threw her arms around Bruce and tears of joy began to drip from her eyes. Both of them hugged each other tightly, they looked more like father and daughter.
While the two of them embraced, the young soldiers advanced toward Ren with hateful glares on their faces. Despite his claim that he wasn't an enemy, none of them believed him.