Days went by. The training continued and the villagers were getting better. Everything had improved throughout the week, as shoddy weapons were replaced with upgraded ones. Clothes were being made at a rapid pace, so much so that now everyone had a spare change of clothing. Hundreds of arrows were being created every day to provide ammunition to help ward off the beasts that kept on harassing the village, which itself had seen plenty of improvement.

All the houses had doors now. The villagers created the giant gate to maintain safety in a short time, with the water channel finished and pumping fresh water for all of the inhabitants to drink from. There were more decorations going up all over the place, from street lanterns to random fences and even dirt paths to lead to different places. New buildings had been erected thanks to the Wushi, each of them serving a purpose in some shape or another.

A workshop for the fletchers. A lumberyard for the woodworkers. A smithy for those brave enough to go out and mine for ores to bring back for better equipment. All sorts of different kinds of structures were erected that only sped the progress of the village even more, all of which proved useful for everyone within the walls and the newcomers.

The Wushi took a sip of her tea as she looked over the entire area and sighed with joy in her heart. She couldn’t help but be amazed by all the changes made, a good amount of them done without needing any kind of assistance on her behalf. No, the inhabitants were all able to proceed forward with the development all by themselves, something that made her feel pride in her heart.

She took a look at the villagers that were still training, each of them using the old wooden spears for practice as they struck at some random dummies made of packed dirt. She nodded at each of them moving and attacking, the way they kept on twisting their bodies to ensure strikes would hit and avoiding random hits. She couldn’t help but grin at the sight, before turning over to the others that were practicing their archery skills.

For that portion, the young child, no, the Huntress, was teaching them how to improve their skills. That girl was quite impressive for her age, being able to hit her targets at quite the distance. That was something the Wushi had to admit was quite impressive in itself. Even more amazing was the fact that the young child was quite capable of teaching quite well.

She had to admit, of all the things she was expecting, her being tutored on using the bow and arrow was not one of them. However, she was glad she learned, because now she could use those brand new skills to cover some of her deficiencies in battle now. In fact, she would have to admit that she had gotten so much better at ranged combat than before.

After all, previously, she wouldn’t have been able to use the bow at all. She was never able to aim and hit anything substantial, only missing completely or having the arrow drop off and hit the ground in front of her. But now? She could easily hit a tree that was within viewing distance, so long as she had six arrows to ensure she had the capacity to do so.

Though, with the way things were going, she could safely say that now was the best time to go out and head to the tower. After all, the village now had different types of cuisine, ranging from a dessert made with those berries to having portable rations made with the vegetation that were foraged from the nearby area. The food problem had become history thanks to the Huntress growing the food with a minor farm, providing easy access to food and materials.

So she had the portable food problem cleared up. She knew which plants were edible and how to cook the animals properly, though she wasn't as skilled as the butcher yet. That meant she was able to feed herself throughout the journey.

Water was of no issue. The villagers had created a container for her to carry around for storage and an explanation of some of the nearby water sources as well as tips for finding them. After all, hydration was a necessity to keep on living every single day.

So she had food and water sorted out. The shelter was something she could easily take care of thanks to her heavenly powers, which led to the last part: companions.

Most of the villagers she had talked to weren’t willing to go with her. Understandable, as they had found a place where they belong. A home, a place of safety that was becoming more and more beautiful as time went on. Somewhere that they felt at peace and something that they wanted to defend with their life.

So far, she’d only been able to recruit a total of two people. Both of them used bows and arrows as their means of self-defense, something that could help ward off any enemy that tried to rush her. She had yet to discuss this topic with the Huntress, as she had been quite busy training the girl with her divine powers and her hand to hand combat.

She stared as the Huntress helped one of the men aim his bow at the target in front of him. She seemed to be at peace with herself as she guided the man’s arms to get the angle just right. The girl gave him a smile as the arrow landed on its mark, one full of relief and joy at the sight of him doing his best.

Did she… Did she want to take the girl away from this sanctuary?

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That was the question the Wushi asked herself right then and there. To take the Huntress away from a place she found peaceful and enjoyable felt wrong in a way. To force her to undertake a journey to tackle a tyrant was one that was far beyond any other tasks she would ask of others, one that she had to admit was completely wrong for a child to undertake.

But the problem came with the fact that the girl had heavenly powers. She was chosen by the celestial to help in the task. So in essence, she had willingly given up her safety and status to go undertake such a dangerous journey.

That being said, did she have to come along? Maybe.

But the Wushi didn’t want to see her fight. For some bizarre reason, she didn’t want the Huntress to get involved and bloody her hands trying to fight for survival. She wanted her to be happy and enjoy the time she had here, not being forced to fight monster after monster for the sake of the world.

Was that wrong? Was it so bad to have the girl be safe and not use the powers she was gifted to take on such an immense threat?

The Wushi didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to get the Huntress to fight if she couldn’t help it.

She sighed. In any rate, she’d have to go tell the two men that they were to move out tonight. She’d have to collect some rations and water to help them on their journey, long enough until they reached the next point of civilization. Then, they would–

All her thoughts were halted upon the sounds of screams and cries coming from the walls. Everyone stopped training immediately and turned towards the source, before dashing on over. The Huntress seemed shocked and confused, while the Wushi jumped up and headed on over with them.

They weren’t that far. They were only some distance away.

They were too slow.

The wall burst open, launching large pieces of rock throughout the village. The Wushi forced her will upon the incoming projectiles and forced their state to become like mud, making their impact less dangerous. However, she couldn’t say the same for the giant hole that was made, which revealed the giant horde that waited behind the wall.

They started moving in. She forced the world to plug up the hole, only for another one to be made. She grimaced as she tried her best to close the new entrance, but then more started getting burst open.

At this point, she’d be fighting a losing battle. She couldn’t close all of them at once, and unfortunately, she’d have to let the monsters in and deal with the beast that was creating all of the openings in the first place. She could only hope that the villagers were going to be able to deal with the horde as she dealt with the beast outside that was destroying everything.

So, she dashed forward, past the villagers that were setting up their spears and preparing their defenses, past the monsters rushing in towards the people and the homes, towards the holes being made.

However, the beasts weren’t going to simply let her run past. Several of them tried to rush at her, only to meet their end with some well-aimed strikes. She rushed forward and jumped out the holes, before looking around to find the culprit of the mayhem.

She didn’t need to look for long. She found her answer within a few seconds and what she saw made her a bit worried.

Four giants. All of them carrying large weapons, each of them clearly made out of bone and muscle. The brutes seemed to be made out of nothing but muscle and veins as they growled and slammed their instruments of war into the walls, creating more and more holes as they did so. Among them were a horde of those regular beasts that kept swarming into the village and what seemed to be a few monsters in those scaled bone armor as well.

She could feel the sweat pour down her brow. This wasn’t from exhaustion, but of fear and worry. She could feel the situation getting worse and worse as she realized the kind of monsters she’d have to be fighting all at once.

The arrows from the villagers weren’t doing anything at all. In fact, they didn’t even register as distractions for the giants, who kept on moving and fighting despite all the arrows that were beginning to dot their skin. Heck, the fact that they were focusing on the giants was a mistake, as the mob were free to rush in and cause chaos for the villagers.

She could only hope that the people inside would be able to fend off against the monsters. She could only pray that the Huntress would survive and be able to find a way to escape.

But that wasn’t what she needed to be focused on right now. No, her target was taking down those giants, repairing all the damage in the walls to stop the horde from getting in, and taking out the rest of these beasts on this side to provide some relief to the village.

She took a deep breath, before calling upon the earth. She didn’t do anything yet, but she kept the ability in reserve in case. For now, she was going to try to save all the energy she could to take down these monsters, as she needed all of it to repair the walls.

She had to admit the situation wasn’t great. No, more than that, this was horrendous. This was far beyond anything she’s dealt with in this new world. In fact, she’d be hard pressed to say she was confident she could take down all these beasts without a single issue. This was going to be a much harder fight, especially without the use of her heavenly abilities.

None of that could stop the grin that began growing on her face. The life or death situation she faced right now felt invigorating, almost as if this was something she wanted her whole life.

This was it. The chance to redeem herself for the failures of being unable to help with the Mongolian invasion. The opportunity to defend the people from this horde of invaders that deserved nothing more than death.

This was it. The moment to see what she was truly made of.

And with that thought, she rushed into the breach, prepared to wipe out the horde and save the village.