Rowan and his soldiers did not return to the village on time.
At this moment, if there were a clock, it would show around 9 PM or even later.
By now, most people might have already retired to their homes.
The villagers stayed outside, waiting for the return of their beloved Lord and his soldiers.
The shadows grew longer as the night deepened, and the cold wind rustled through the trees, but still, the villagers remained steadfast, eyes fixed on the path leading into the village.
After what had happened in the village over the past two days, the villagers had naturally become more reliant on Rowan's presence.
His absence made them extremely worried, while his presence gave them hope of survival.
Meanwhile, at Rowan's place, Riela and Elara sat on a bench outside with a group of other young women, discussing anxiously under the dim glow of lanterns.
Elara and the other women were quite worried.
"My boyfriend is among them. Do you think he'll survive? He told me they'd be back early, but it's already very late, and they're still not back," one of the women said anxiously.
Elara was also concerned.
Although she had no relatives who went to hunt, she was still worried about the overall condition of the other men.
On the other hand, Riela wasn't worried at all.
"I'm sure they'll be back very soon. I know my husband; I trust in his strength and ability to protect his men," Riela consoled them with a smile.
For as long as she had known Rowan, he had never let her down.
The women nodded, but they were still quite worried.
They did not have as much faith as Riela.
"We should discuss other interesting matters to make you guys less worried," she suggested with a smile.
Since no one brought up a topic, Riela introduced hers.
She told them about her tailoring dreams—how she planned to make new and exotic designs.
Women are naturally interested in fashion, so they joined the discussion pretty soon.
One of the women exclaimed, "I would love to wear something colorful for the upcoming festival—if we ever have one again."
Very soon, they became lively, and everyone shared what they wanted to.
Elara spoke about how she had been rearing the livestock.
"The skills Lord Rowan gave me are magical. With them, I can tell if any of the animals are sick, what type of sickness they have, and what to do to make them recover," Elara boasted.
"That is super cool! I'll be doing something similar in the future, but on humans," Riela replied cheerfully.
"You mean you'll be able to heal like Dragun?" the women asked, becoming interested.
"Exactly," Riela replied happily.
The women became really curious.
"How can we awaken magic like you, Riela?" one of them asked.
The others nodded, gazing at Riela, awaiting her response.
"Honestly, I don't know," Riela replied with an embarrassed smile.
She told them the few theories she had heard from Dragun, explaining why she was able to awaken magic in a place .
She even told them that they would be able to use magic with the use of magical medicine—potions.
"Rowan is going to awaken his mana core using the magic medicine I talked about and use magic like me very soon," she revealed.
Her revelation was quite shocking.
"Lord Rowan is super strong even without magic. How powerful would he become if he finally starts using magic?" the women couldn't help but imagine.
Riela and the women continued their discussion.
The women who had been really worried about Rowan and the soldiers forgot their worries and became invested in the conversation.
Other young women around also came to join them, and soon, a group of more than thirty women had gathered, discussing happily.
Laughter echoed through the night as they shared stories and dreams, momentarily pushing aside their anxieties.
While Riela was able to lighten the mood among her friends, it wasn't the same in other households.
Clarissa, Roland's wife, sat outside, holding her peacefully sleeping baby.
"Why isn't he back yet?" she thought aloud.
"He should've been back by now," she continued.
She needed her husband beside her.
She didn't want to experience the disastrous events that took place this morning. She would not be able to bear the loss of her darling husband.
While she was pondering, her baby woke up and started crying, startling her.
Clarissa immediately focused her attention on her baby with all seriousness.
She only calmed down when she realized he was crying because of hunger.
She brought out her breast and breastfed him.
Another hour passed, and the villagers were still worried.
Nevertheless, at that moment, the sound of soldiers marching spread across the silent village.
At first, they were worried, thinking an invasion was taking place.
"Who could it be at this hour?" some whispered, fear creeping into their voices.
"Lord Rowan has returned!"
The worries quickly disappeared when one of the villagers who spotted them alerted in a loud voice.
A collective sigh of relief could be heard in the area.
Riela and the other women exclaimed and went to welcome the men, like the other villagers.
Rowan's mood became quite excited seeing the villagers happily welcoming them.
"Can't believe some sort of bastard is trying hard to ruin this mood," he thought.
The matter of the dark creature was still on his mind.
But he still greeted his people with a smile.
He knew his smile would definitely bring hope to his people.
Riela arrived and went to hug Rowan, excited.
Both of them shared a passionate embrace.
Clarissa rushed to embrace her husband with a relieved expression on her face.
Roland accepted her embrace before holding his baby.
The baby was still awake; his crystal clear and cutely big blue eyes were observing the area with a hint of curiosity.
Roland smiled, seeing his wife and child. They are one of the reasons he fought his hardest.
The other soldiers were also approached by their loved ones—their arrival made them excited as well.
Sadly, a few families couldn't enjoy this luxury of welcoming their loved ones. The families of the soldiers who lost their lives yesterday could only watch with saddened smiles, happy for the other soldiers but sad theirs weren't among them.
Rowan received notifications about their emotions and couldn't help but heave a loud sigh.
[ Seven of your villagers are sad. ]
[ Few of your villagers wish to revive the dead. ]
He looked at the grieving families, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders.
"I will get you very soon," he looked at the sky and swore to himself.
The welcoming party lasted for a few minutes before everyone began departing to their homes.
While everyone returned home, Rowan escorted Riela back home.
"I will be patrolling the village with Blaze tonight," he told her.
Riela nodded and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Be careful, alright?"
After informing her, he called out Blaze, and both of them began their patrol.
The soldiers were extremely exhausted, so none of the guardhouses would be manned tonight.
Rowan planned to dual-wield the tasks of manning the guardhouse and patrolling.
Around midnight, Rowan and Blaze were strolling away from the east guardhouse when Blaze alerted Rowan.
Almost at the same time, Rowan heard the thumping of horses, as well as their neighs.
He frowned and began sprinting back to the guardhouse.
"Who might these people be?" he wondered.