In the peaceful and tranquil village.
All the villagers, who were greedily enjoying their sweet dreams, were startled awake by this thunderous notification.
Confusion, astonishment...
Two seconds later, candlelight lit up within rows of dim, dark houses.
Clatter, clatter...
Villagers put on their clothes one after another, opened their doors, and took to the streets, still cursing under their breath.
"Who is the bastard doing this?!"
"Playing this kind of prank in the middle of the night? Are you going to let people rest or not?!"
"This is magic! It's a Red Lizard mage!!"
"Damn it! Those guys bully people all day long; I've found them eyesores for a long time..."
In an instant, shouting and cursing rose and fell on the streets, sending the entire village into a fervor.
After cursing for more than a minute, everyone finally calmed down.
"Say, do you think this could be real?"
"Don't talk nonsense. This is definitely a prank! Foreign mages invading? How could something like that happen?!"
"Speaking of which, I've felt very uneasy all day today. I kept feeling like something big was going to happen. I was so agitated just now that I couldn't sleep. Maybe..."
"Don't overthink it, go back to sleep!"
"Well... you guys do what you want. I'll take my wife and kids to that safe house to hide for a bit first."
"Coward! Even if enemies really come knocking, the people from Red Lizard are standing in front. What are you afraid of?"
"Of course I'm afraid of collateral damage! Who knows what those mages might do? Anyway, for me, my life is much more important than dignity or whatever!"
The villagers' reactions varied.
Some believed, some questioned, and some sniffed in disdain.
Weston didn't have the mind to care about these things.
He had already sent out the message. Whether they could save their lives afterwards was entirely up to fate.
Under the moonlight.
Weston led Mavis through the noisy streets, walking slowly toward the guild.
Because the previous sprint and the mass message transmission had consumed a lot of his stamina and magic power, he was walking very slowly at this moment.
It was three minutes later when they stood before the tavern's main door.
Creak—
Weston pushed open the guild tavern's door.
The smell of alcohol and sweat, which hadn't yet dissipated, mixed together and assaulted his face.
He suppressed his discomfort and looked towards the only source of light in the tavern.
By the oil lamp sat the Master, Zeeself.
He was drinking, a rare look of melancholy and tenderness on his face.
Zera was lying quietly in his arms, sleeping very peacefully. She was unconscious to the world, completely unawakened by the mass notification Weston had just sent.
"Weston, Mavis, it's actually you two?"
Looking at the two small figures who pushed the door open and walked in, Zeeself looked stunned.
After a long while, realization dawned on him: "I see... You sent that message just now, right Weston?"
"That's right, I sent it."
Weston nodded and admitted it, his face as gloomy as water.
Zeeself sighed: "I didn't expect your magic to have such an ability. I underestimated you before."
"Master, you moved fast!"
"In such a short time, you actually got dressed so neatly and came to the guild?"
"Or is it..."
Weston's gaze turned to the large number of wine bottles placed on the table.
"Did you know long ago that this would happen tonight?"
Mavis, standing to the side, also immediately realized something was wrong.
Zeeself and Zera didn't live in the guild, so what were this father and daughter doing staying in the guild in the middle of the night?
Also, after Weston sent the mass notification, the village streets were already in chaos. Coupled with the commotion of the two of them entering the guild... why was Zera still sleeping like a dead pig?
There was only one explanation!
Zeeself had known about the impending invasion by Blue Skull for a long time.
He came to the guild to drink because he knew the disparity in strength between the two sides was huge. He was no match for them and would undoubtedly die, so he wanted to spend his last peaceful moments here.
Bringing Zera and putting her into a deep sleep was because he understood that Blue Skull was ruthless. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. He wanted to let her go peacefully.
"No way..."
At this moment, Mavis only felt her hands and feet turn ice cold.
"Weston, you truly are a clever brat. No wonder you could awaken magic at such a young age..."
Zeeself sighed.
"Yes, I knew long ago that this disaster would happen tonight."
"The Master of Blue Skull is an old rival of mine. We clashed many times when we were young. Later, in a certain duel, I lost everything and had to return to Tenrou Island in a sorry state."
"Some time ago, he heard about the reputation of the 'Tenrou Jade' on the island from somewhere, so he sent me a letter wanting me to steal the Tenrou Jade for him."
The Tenrou Jade?!
Their goal was actually this?!
While Weston was dazed, Mavis shouted out: "The Tenrou Jade is a treasure we have guarded for generations! How can we give it to outsiders?!"
Zeeself nodded and said, "Yes, I thought so too, so I refused his request. As for the result... it is what is happening now."
"They want to rob the Tenrou Jade by force?!"
"Most likely more than that!"
Zeeself said, "That guy is an extremely greedy and vile person. If he wants something, he will get it at all costs. And in every operation, he will absolutely rob all the treasures. If he can't take them away, he burns them on the spot. As for the original owners of the treasures, he leaves none alive."
Speaking of this, Zeeself suddenly looked at Zera in his arms.
"I originally planned to hide Zera in the basement, but then I thought, if everyone on the island dies and she is left alive alone, it might be a form of torture. It would be better to let her die peacefully like this."
"But now... there seems to be a third way!"
Zeeself suddenly put Zera down, stood up, walked in front of Weston and Mavis, and knelt down forcefully!
"Weston, and Mavis, can you protect Zera for me and let her continue to live?"
His face was sorrowful, and he was weeping.
His action truly exceeded Weston's expectations.
"Master, you..."
Zeeself continued: "Blue Skull's goal is to destroy Red Lizard and seize the resources on the island at the same time."
"Most people on the island are ordinary folks. The only ones hard to deal with are the mages in the guild."
"In other words, their biggest target is me, the Master of Red Lizard. As long as they don't find me, they definitely won't stop!"
"However, if I stay behind to bring up the rear and lead the guild mages to fight them to the death, the other people on the island can take this opportunity to take refuge in your safe house and save their lives."
"After you sent the alarm to the village, you could have hidden directly, but now you came specially to the guild to tell me about this, wanting me to stay behind and hold them off so Zera could live."
"Am I right?!"