The air in Oakhaven vibrated not with fear, but with exuberant cheers. Villagers, men, women, and children alike, surged towards Rylan, their faces alight with unbridled joy and relief. They embraced each other, wept, and then turned their gazes to him, their new protector, with an almost religious fervor.
"Master Rylan! You saved us! Again!" Elder Kael's voice was thick with emotion as he clasped Rylan's hand, his eyes shining. "No Baron, no Enforcer, can stand against you!"
Rylan accepted their adulation with a calm, almost regal bearing. His spiritual energy, now at Qi Condensation (Mid-Stage), hummed steadily within him, a silent testament to his newfound power. He glanced at Borin and Sylas, still unconscious where they had fallen. They were broken, defeated, and would serve as a powerful message.
"Their guards take them home," Rylan told Kael. "Bind the weapons in a separate bundle. Let four unwounded men carry their leaders. The rest leave first." He waited until the arrangements were clear; a message needed living people able to deliver it.
The villagers quickly obeyed, their actions now infused with a new sense of purpose under Rylan's implicit command.
He recovered the fallen daggers and hammer for practice before returning the remaining weapons. For three days the forms the System had installed were easier to understand than to perform. The dagger projection reached two paces and broke under resistance. The hammer pulse jarred his elbow unless his feet were square. By the third evening he could use both reliably in short bursts, and he had learned to stop before his hands began shaking.
Kael brought a watch rota to the command room and made Rylan name someone for the hours he spent cultivating. The farmers kept control of the harvest; Rylan supplied labor where strength helped and asked before changing work he did not understand. Having people listen to him was useful. Making them stop offering corrections would leave him blind.
Lyra, with her vibrant Minor Mana Affinity, was rapidly becoming an indispensable asset. Her spiritual energy, once wild, was now becoming more controlled, and her Herbal Lore skill allowed her to identify rare spiritual herbs in the surrounding forests, which subtly aided Rylan's cultivation and general well-being. Their dual cultivation sessions were invigorating, her receptive spirit drawing out a potent flow of pure energy.
Lena, whose Minor Healing Affinity had blossomed, was a source of profound restoration. Her unique spiritual energy soothed Rylan's Dantian, accelerating his recovery from any exertion, and even subtly improving the purity of his Qi Condensation essence. Her Medicinal Practices skill was put to use immediately, as she tirelessly tended to the recovering injured villagers, healing them with a speed and efficacy that astounded Master Orrin, the village's traditional healer. Lena's gratitude and adoration for Rylan were boundless, her fear entirely replaced by unwavering trust and a quiet, profound love.
Elara and the village runners marked patrols on a rough map. Rylan checked the nearest ground with his sense, which faded before it reached the next ridge. Traces in exposed rock suggested ore, but neither a usable vein nor ownership. He wrote a question beside that part of the map.
The Baron's response, Rylan knew, would not be long in coming. The humiliation of Kaelen's defeat, and now Borin and Sylas', would fester. The Baron would gather his remaining forces, perhaps even appeal to higher powers within the Jade Empire for aid.