The journey continued without incident over the next month.
Elara was already entering her fifth month of pregnancy, and Darian was growing impatient as he watched his mother's belly swell.
"Will it be a boy or a girl?"
"Will I be able to train him?"
"What will become of me if he hates me?"
He asked himself these questions and many more.
Putting that aside, the journey had to continue.
Although they were a competent group with capable people, they were no match for the kingdom's army, so their best strategy was to avoid any confrontation and keep moving.
"Lara, Nina! Left flank!" Patrick shouted from the lead carriage.
Both women nocked their arrows and took down two bears that were about to close in.
They were small bears, barely five feet tall, but their agility was formidable.
The bears fell like ragdolls, forcing the carriages to a halt.
"Their fur will provide us with clothing and warmth... and the meat will give us provisions for several days. Make use of the fat, too; it can be used for torches and cooking. Don't waste the bones or tendons: they are good for tools, needles, and rope." Saldry was already sharpening his knives. "This will be hard... Frint Bears with a red stripe on their chest have very tough hides, but it will be worth it."
Thus, he began his work, along with his assistants, Aldry and Lesto.
Aldry was Saldry's son, who had always had the desire to cook like his father. And Lesto, being Aldry's best friend, had taken that path as well.
Together, they were unstoppable in the kitchen.
Aldry always challenged Lesto, and that only made the meals even better.
Now, putting aside the beauty of cooking, there was also the grisly part:
Skinning the beasts and getting their hands covered in blood.
"Phew... I didn't expect the smell to be so strong," Aldry mentioned.
"Yeah, these bears give off something strange," Lesto added.
It was true; these bears had a strong odor, especially around the red stripe.
"Boys..." Saldry interrupted. "What did we discuss? I know you are barely sixteen, but in the kitchen, you have to toughen up. Besides, this is nothing compared to what it was like living in Esperanza and having to eat with that smell."
What seemed like a half-hour job turned into two hours, and since the village needed to make camp anyway, it turned out to be the perfect time to do so.
"Mom, your stories always told me bears were fearsomely huge, but these are tiny..."
"Tiny, but just as strong as a grizzly bear."
"But faster, right?"
"Yes, son. That is a big problem to consider."
"Hmm... Dad will defeat them easily!"
"Yes, it is true. Your father is a very strong man."
Patrick was chatting with his friends about typical adventurer things—warriors, heroes, and the like.
Meanwhile, the archer women were stringing their bows.
The mages cleaned their staves and then covered them with a thick cloth so the crystals wouldn't get damaged.
And the cooks were finishing up with the bears.
The only thing that could be smelled was the aroma of roasting meat.
A smell that, just a moment ago, was unpleasant, now left everyone's mouths watering.
However, something else happened that day.
Patrick managed to hear a sharp whistle in the middle of the night. From that sound, a faint light began to take shape and approach at high speed.
"Fire arrow!" Patrick shouted, springing up and cutting it down before it landed on a tent. "Elara, get in the cave, it's dangerous!"
Elara, trusting her husband, went straight toward the nearby cave.
She was already five months pregnant, so running was difficult for her. However, she had the support of the other children and the people unable to fight.
Now, on the battlefield.
That arrow wasn't the only one. Fifty more were loosed.
"Flow Technique: Great Water Shield!" Zeldric shouted, stopping the rain of projectiles.
"Inverted Wind, Counterattack Technique!" Lancelot launched a gust that sent the arrows back the way they came, with double the power. "Great power of the wind, bring forth the tempest that disrupts the fate of men!"
He continued the chant while generating a powerful whirlwind, exposing several attackers hidden in the trees. It wasn't a particularly destructive spell, but it served as a method of detection.
Patrick immediately launched himself toward the exposed attackers.
He used a sword flow technique he had learned in his youth. He concentrated his mana in his palms and feet while spinning, dodging arrows with precision.
"Wretches! You attacked my people!"
He propelled himself with such force that, to them, it was as if he had vanished. In a single second, their heads ended up rolling in the darkness of the night.
"May the Goddess have mercy on you in the beyond."
He offered a brief prayer and continued his work as a warrior.
He utilized a sword technique called Opid.
It consisted of combining offense and defense into a single attack. Mind you, it consumed an enormous amount of internal mana and demanded extreme concentration.
However, its power was such that it even broke the sound barrier.
In the nearby cave, the children ducked their heads with every sound of swords, wind, water, and arrows that came from outside.
"Mom, what is happening out there! I want to go fight!" Darian grabbed his small wooden sword, determined to go out, but was stopped by his mother.
"Don't you trust your father? You said yourself he is someone strong."
"Mom, I have to go help them!"
"... what if you stay and take care of your little brother or sister?"
"That is...! Yes, I will protect him!" He stood in the middle of the entrance, a little ways back, with his sword in hand, concentrated as a child usually is. "No one will get in here!"
Outside, meanwhile, the three warriors were decimating the bandits.
In barely twenty minutes, everything had been cleaned up, and they had also gained two more carriages loaded with goods.
"That was..." Patrick breathed heavily. "Incredible! Everyone did excellently."
"Especially when you used the Opid against that seven-footer," Hans commented, before looking at Sister Lilyth. "You were very good too; for your age, you are quite competent."
"Show some respect to your elders, young man," Lilyth replied. Although Hans was already around thirty, to her, they were all still immature children. "Besides, I haven't lost my charm yet."
Thus, the village had won once more.
And, of course, young Darian ran straight into his father's arms, ignoring the blood and everything that had occurred minutes before.
To him, his father was his greatest hero, an invincible being.
"Daaaad! I want to learn to do thaaat! Whooooosh! I heard it all!"
Only two months remained before reaching their destination.
Could they settle there?
The only thing known was that this was a strong and united village.
A big family.
So, anything was possible.