Chapter 48: A Village Worth Defending

Words : 1010 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 48: A Village Worth Defending "Amal! Is your leg okay?" Rex came toward Amal while wiping the blue blood off his sword. His strong body was covered in armor, which is now stained with the magical beast’s blood. His messy gray hair stuck to his forehead and he pushed it back with his left hand. "Yeah, I’m fine. You really are a knight, huh? Taking down a Doshaguma all by yourself." Amal answered him with a grin and then gently helped the five-year-old child in his arms to stand. After checking that the boy wasn’t hurt anywhere, Amal patted his brown hair. "That guy over there took care of the monster. You don’t need to be scared anymore. Everything’s okay now, kid." The boy, with a face covered in tears and snot, rubbed his nose roughly with the sleeve of his worn, patched-up clothes. Finally, he managed a smile. "Thank you, mister! Thank you!" Amal picked the child up again and headed back toward the boy’s home. Even though it was still quite a distance away, he could already see the mother standing there, nervously looking in their direction. As soon as the boy noticed her, he jumped out of Amal’s arms and dashed toward her. His mother, seeing him running, rushed forward with joy to meet him. Amal and Rex had come to Lynn’s Village, the closest village to the border and themselves disguised as traveling merchants. But right from the start, their job had stopped being trade or scouting. It had turned into monster hunting. There weren’t many monsters. Just one or two. Most were probably heading toward the forest of magical beast, drawn by its magic circle. Still, a few strange ones had made their way across the wastelands to reach the village. Maybe the monsters saw this place as an easy feeding ground. Whatever the reason, they were drifting toward the village first. Rex is his partner on this mission, he was a knight and the leader of their infiltration team. He didn’t have as much magical power as Captain Dominic back at the fortress, but he could still channel magic into his sword. Rex’s specialty was ice magic. When a monster got hit by his sword, the blue blood around the wound froze, slowing it down. That’s when he would go for the kill and cut off its head. Amal, who was older and no longer active on the front lines, had neither the stamina nor full strength anymore. He also had an old injury on his leg, which made him unsuitable for fighting monsters directly. He felt relieved that Rex had been the one sent with him. When they arrived in the village, it was already under attack. There were injured and dead villagers. The boy from earlier had lost his father in the fields to a monster attack. The villagers had built barricades using wooden fences and were facing off the monsters with all they had—hoes, sickles, and any tool they could use as a weapon. Their determination to survive was clear in their eyes. Amal had avoided the forest of magical beast by taking the long route from the south, and he had placed magical tools given to him by the fortress mages along the eastern side of the village to keep monsters away. His role was also to treat the wounded. Rex had taken the false cargo off their wagon, mounted his horse, and began patrolling the village with his sword at his side. He’d ride out into the wasteland, and the moment he spotted a monster, he would take it down. To the villagers, it no longer mattered whether Amal and Rex were merchants or people from Dalmasca. All that mattered was that these two were helping. Their lives—and their village—were hanging by a thread. It wasn’t long before the messengers came rushing in from other villages and towns farther ahead. They were part of the same infiltration team and had slipped into different places. They brought urgent news—Dalmasca forces were advancing much faster than expected. Without stopping, the messengers whipped their horses and rode west, straight for the fortress. Right now, the only infiltration units that were still left were in Lynn’s Village and the one just before it, Garamsythe Village. But even with that, neither Amal nor Rex could bring themselves to abandon this village, which was still under attack by monsters, and return to the fortress. Thanks to the earlier messengers, they could already read the Dalmasca army’s movements well enough. Amal made up his mind to stay in this village and take responsibility as one of the surviving members of the Dalmasca forces. When they finally saw off the last messenger from Garamsythe Village, Amal turned to Rex and said, "Get back to the fortress quickly. The army’s going to arrive any minute now. It’ll be bad if you get caught." "What about you? And what about the monsters?" "If the army gets here, they’ll handle the monsters. It’ll be fine." "You’re not going to the fortress?" "I’ve got something I need to do." Rex stared straight into Amal’s face with his pale blue eyes. Amal couldn’t hold his gaze and turned his eyes away. "Then I’ll stay here with you. I’ll protect you." Amal looked at Rex in surprise. Rex had a carefree smile on his strong 35 year old face. It was a manly and confident smile, still youthful and almost dazzling. "I don’t know if the people from Dalmasca will trust you or not. But I trust you. So does the captain at the fortress, and so does Shiao Yi. We all trust you. Amal, you’re one of us. And it’s only natural to protect your own." Even at his age, Amal felt a heat rise in his chest, and his eyes began to well with tears. He was a man of Dalmasca, yes—but at that moment, he swore in his heart he would never betray Rosaria. Not even an hour had passed before the vanguard of the army showed up.

Chapter 48: A Village Worth Defending

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