Talia Village was an ordinary village located between the fortress city of Kalinsha and the border Great Wall Defense Line, with a simple wooden fence serving as its defensive line, and scattered wooden houses within the fence.
The construction of each house appeared extremely sturdy, with deep foundations, and most corners used whole logs as pillars.
This architectural style is very common in the Holy Kingdom.
Due to frequent attacks from Demi-human Tribes throughout history, and to ensure that the populace could hold out for some time until army reinforcements arrived when enemies breached the Great Wall Defense Line, all villages within the Holy Kingdom were built with safety as a primary consideration.
Now, this consideration was proving its worth.
A small Demi-human team had attacked the village, and the villagers were currently fighting desperately with the Demi-humans, armed with wooden spears.
The outermost fence had already been breached, which was normal; after all, it was impossible to rely on these wooden structures to block Demi-humans who were either physically robust or agile.
Its purpose was merely to provide the villagers with some negligible defensive capability during an attack, and to buy a little time for the village's elderly, weak women, and children to escape.
Unfortunately, because it was night, the militiaman on duty was assassinated by a Demi-human scout, failing to provide an early warning.
But his final scream still woke everyone in the village.
Bigail focused intently on the Orc in front of him, wary of its attack; the weapon it was using seemed to be a standard Holy Kingdom longsword, a weapon he had also used when he served in the army on the Great Wall.
Now, this weapon appeared in the hands of a Demi-human, and given the animosity between the Holy Kingdom and the Demi-human races, it was unlikely to have been acquired through trade.
This suggests only one possibility: this Orc took the weapon from a Holy Kingdom soldier.
This caused a hint of unease to rise in Bigail's heart.
Perhaps something had happened at the Great Wall!
If that were true, then that child, Greg, had already…
Hoo-ah!!!
Bigail roared, then stepped forward, thrusting the wooden spear in his hand towards the Orc's chest, using this action to interrupt the ominous premonition in his mind.
To ensure sufficient troops for the Great Wall Defense Line, and also to empower its citizens to resist during Demi-human invasions, the Holy Kingdom implemented a national policy of universal militarization.
All citizens of the Holy Kingdom, regardless of gender, must undergo a period of military training once they reach adulthood; it can be said that every adult is a soldier.
As a veteran who had retired from the border Great Wall, Bigail's combat skills were also very proficient, and he showed no signs of panic when facing the Orc.
The spear was blocked by the Orc's longsword before it could strike its target.
However, this Orc was not experienced in using a sword, slowly revealing openings during the continuous attacks; a glint flashed in Bigail's eyes, and the slightly damaged wooden spear swiftly thrust out, directly piercing the Orc's chest.
Roar!
A roar like that of a wounded beast escaped the Orc's mouth; although the wooden spear pierced its superficial skin, it was blocked by its rigid ribs, failing to penetrate its heart.
This was normal; Bigail was, after all, just a human veteran, and his weapon wasn't even made of iron, insufficient to kill a Demi-human whose physical capabilities surpassed his own.
Greatly provoked, the Orc grabbed the front end of the wooden spear with its free arm, then swung the longsword in its hand towards Bigail.
In a critical moment, Bigail decisively abandoned the weapon, retreating deftly; the Orc's sword edge sliced past him, the force of the wind it generated even hitting his face.
Ah!!! *N
At that moment, several human screams suddenly rang out from around them.
Bigail did not turn back, because he knew that his fellow villagers had been killed; he could vaguely discern their identities from the timbre of their voices.
Among these people were Hall, a hot-blooded youth about to come of age and prepare for service, Herman, a veteran who had retired like him, and the introverted Fly.
If they had simply fled, these strong men would certainly have been much faster than the village's elderly, weak women and children; while these Demi-humans were killing other villagers, they would have had a certain probability of escaping.
But without exception, all of them chose to stay and resist the Demi-human team, allowing the other villagers to escape.
"Men of the Holy Kingdom are not cowards!!!"
Bigail retreated to the corner of a house, directly grabbed a hoe that someone had left there, then roared and charged towards the approaching Orc.
The iron tool flashed in the firelight from the burning houses in the village, swinging towards the Orc's neck.
In addition to the longsword, the Orc also held the wooden spear it had used to attack earlier.
That wooden spear, bearing a few gashes, was held above the Orc's head, blocking Bigail's hoe attack, while the longsword in its other hand was already thrusting towards his chest.
This time, Bigail seemed to have no room for resistance!
A cruel smile appeared in the Orc's eyes, as if it had already seen the scene of this human being pierced through the heart.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a dazzling light streaked across the night; the Orc, sensing danger, merely turned its head, and before it could even see what it was, its head was directly shattered the next second.
Splashing blood flew through the air, finally spattering on Bigail's face, making him show an astonished expression.
Boom!
A loud bang came from nearby; the wall of an innocent wooden house was directly smashed with a large hole, and Bigail, looking at the Orc's corpse that had slumped down nearby, couldn't help but look to his left.
He saw that in the darkness of the night, a cavalry team had already rushed into the village, led by an armored Knight holding a silver-white bow; it was clear that the arrow just now had been shot by him.
His armor had no markings belonging to a Holy Kingdom soldier, but the several cavalrymen who followed closely behind him, Bigail was able to discern from their attire that they were members of the Holy Kingdom's Paladin Order.
Baron galloped past Bigail on his horse, quickly putting down his bow and drawing his longsword, its magic-glowing blade particularly striking in the night.
A youth, already stabbed and fallen to the ground by an Orc, stared blankly as the Orc preparing to deliver the fatal blow to him was suddenly cut in half at the waist; its slowly falling upper body no longer concealed the silver-white Knight in the firelight, a scene that was deeply etched in his heart.
"Are you alright?"
Baron asked the youth, thinking he was frightened by the Orc's brutality.
His own village had also been attacked by monsters before, and at that time, he was no different from the youth in front of him, falling to the ground helplessly after resisting, almost being killed by the monster.
Therefore, he could understand the other party's feelings.
But now, he had become a rescuer, just like Sir Baroque once was, a hero who saved the village!
---
A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San