“My Darling, your food is getting more delicious every day. Did some god bless your hands?”.

The man's voice conveyed a lot of joy and happiness, bringing pieces of food to his mouth, chewing them with real enthusiasm and swallowing them with pleasure.

The man, Alexander Hope, has short brown hair with his bangs pulled up to leave his forehead exposed. Tanned skin suggests that he had often been in the sun for many hours.

The face was adorned with two scars, one exactly under the right eye falling vertically and another diagonally crossing a large part of the face starting from the corner of the eyebrows on the left side, falling diagonally, crossing his lips and ending on the right side of the chin. Hazel eyes with a look which exuded a lot of self-confidence. Currently a smile on the lips and a full mouth.

Height around 1.80 meters, fairly muscular build. Wearing short-sleeved khaki shirts and over them a black leather trench coat currently rolled up. On the lower part of the body were dark elastic pants, black to be exact and black leather boots that reached halfway up his calves.

On one side of the table what appeared to be his sword inside the guard.

“It's true, mom, everything you cook is delicious!”. Christopher exclaimed now while Valentina, with a slight blush, brought her hands to her face, holding her rosy cheeks with them.

“Gosh guys, I love you so much, I love watching you eat what I cook for you” she said blushing, bringing a portion of vegetables to her mouth.

Valentina is an Elf, because of that she is someone who does not eat meat. Her plate was full of vegetables, pasta and fruits “and it is hard for me to cook meat for you, but I do it for you”.

“By the way, my dear” Alexander used a rag to wipe over his mouth, which was covered in sauce. “How did my little one do in his magic training? Were you able to beat Mommy?”.

“I'm not that little, dad, I'm almost an adult” Christopher complained in annoyance, swallowing the food bolus he had recently in his mouth and drinking some water “and no, I didn't beat her, it's impossible to beat mom, she's too strong” he said with a certain air of pride, sticking out his chest and smiling.

“That's right, honey, your mom is very strong!” Valentina mentions with a huge smile and a look of mischief in her eyes “and yes! You'll soon be an adult; you only have ten more years left! -.

Christopher's face turned into one of pure rage. Red with shame, eyes like flames and steam coming out of his ears. Meanwhile, Alexander made a tremendous effort not to vomit everything he had, because he almost spilled everything he had eaten.

“¡HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Alexander couldn't even breathe anymore and had to make another effort to calm down and get some oxygen into his lungs “don't continue honey, don't you realize that he's already a grown man”.

Valentina playfully adopted a surprised expression “What? And I hadn't realized that my baby had grown?”.

Christopher's expression was one of pure anger which only grew.

Alexander now standing hugged Valentina around the waist as she clasped her hands together pretending to be crying. Both of them threw even more fuel on the fire.

“That's right, my dear, he has started to take his first steps towards maturity, and besides” they both looked at their beloved son with an almost mocking smile, something that was already causing a tic in the little one.

“It seems that he has already conquered the heart of one of the village maidens”.

“My little one is quite the Don Juan” and she said it with a terrible performance. Valentina put her hands together in a sign of supplication, directing her attention to her husband “tell me, who is that beautiful lady who is in love with my baby? Tell me! I must know! I must meet her as soon as possible and make sure she is worthy of my baby!”.

Christopher was no longer upset. His attitude had changed completely, now he was bright red in embarrassment, thanking the heavens that none of his friends were present, as they would most likely join his parents and make fun of him.

“Isn't it obvious? Who is the one who always asks to be held? Who is the one who cries when our baby is present and only calms down when our son listens to her? Who is that maiden?” he said out loud.

-Honey, do you mean...-.

Alexander and Valentina looked at Christopher who already had a blue aura of depression over him. "That's right, it's the daughter of my dear and best friend, little sister of our son's best friend, the tender maiden, Diana."

Emerging from Valentina's eyes and running down her cheeks, tears falsely fell “the adorable Diana!” she exclaimed as Christopher's head had imploded, steam of shame coming out in large quantities from his ears “I see, it's true, our son has stolen your heart. I accept her as my baby's future wife”.

"I hate them," I murmured under my breath, quite embarrassed and blushing with shame.

...

Located a few blocks from Christopher's Home, inside a beautiful house. The husband was located at one end, to his right, his beloved and beautiful life partner. To his left, a little girl and at the other end, a boy. Characteristic features of these people were dark hair and piercing black eyes.

This was the Leon family, consisting of four members.

“Achi”.

Diana sneezed tenderly to the side, thus avoiding throwing any saliva into her lunch.

“Diana, are you okay” asked the mother, now thirty years old “have you caught a cold?”.

"No," Diana muttered, looking at her plate, thinking that later she would go with her brother to the Hope family's house to play.

...

Lunch at the Hope family's home was spent with laughter and jokes. Attacking Christopher, continuing with Alexander and ending with Valentina. They really were a happy and quite loving family. All the inhabitants of the village of Gignit considered them very good rulers and loved them.

While they were making fun of Valentina, Christopher looked away for a moment, focusing on a picture near the kitchen. In said picture was what appeared to be a photo of his parents with many of their friends. People of many races could be seen celebrating something.

The appearance of her father in the aforementioned photo made it clear that it was old, from several years in the past, although her mother, being an Elf, had not changed in the slightest.

“So, son? When you and Diana are adults, do you plan to get married?” Alexander asked comically. They were still on the subject of being a man and a maiden.

“Dad” called Christopher with a thick drop of sweat “you know that Diana is only THREE YEARS OLD, right?” veins sprouted on his forehead as he smiled angrily.

Valentina entered the conversation like a smiling white dove, apparently free of any kind of sin “currently yes, but your father said that when BOTH are older, right? we will invite everyone in the town” had cornered him again.

Christopher admitted that his parents are weird and thought of even weirder things, but this amused them. He is aware of Diana's attachment to him, but it is only out of friendship. Like when a small child admires someone older than him, and Christopher saw Diana as a little sister. The aura of sweetness that she emitted caused everyone around her to spoil her. The only living being immune to that aura is her brother, Sebastian.

Alexander and Valentina entered their own fantasy world while Christopher sighed “but I, I want to be like you...” he said in a low voice and with his head down.

“Huh?” the joke and the hubbub had left the place; Christopher had often mentioned wanting to be like his parents. But it was in regards to magic and martial arts skills. They had no idea what he meant by the current "I want to be like you."

"What do you mean, son?" Alexander asked with remarkable curiosity. Both parents leaned forward to see their son, his face sunken in shame.

He frowned, he felt too ashamed, but he had to settle this once and for all.

“I want to start a family with a girl of another race” he pointed to his parents, the greatest examples he knew “just like you and mom, a human and an Elf”.

His own parents were a married couple of different races. His father belonging to the human race and his mother to the Elf race.

Christopher was very proud of his father being a fierce martial artist and his mother being a powerful magician, but there was something that filled him with even more pride and it was simpler than he thought. What filled him with the most pride was simply having parents of different races and it was something he wanted to imitate.

“It makes me very happy to know that my parents are of different races” he smiled somewhat embarrassedly looking at the ground “maybe that explains why I am very good at magic and martial arts”.

Tic, an imperceptible tic took over Valentina's right eye for a brief second.

Alexander carried him “thanks for thinking so highly of us, son, and we were so happy that you are our son”.

Valentina shook her head and any glimmer of thought she had at that moment, completely changing her attitude “then”, she elbowed Alexander and he smiled maliciously “will you marry Selestia?”.

They started attacking him again and making some marriage scenes. Valentina put her hand to her chest pointing at herself with her thumb.

“Well, you are very lucky to have me, son” Valentina said “Selestia is an Elf like me, I will teach you all the techniques to conquer the delicate heart of an Elf maiden”.

A drop of sweat fell down Christopher's face, he finally regretted having mentioned his deepest, most intimate secret.

Alexander had to refuse “!No!” he exclaimed forcefully “I will be the one to teach my son the techniques I have learned to conquer an Elf...”.

The temperature inside the house began to drop when Valentina looked at him with extreme coldness, she opened her mouth and words impregnated with poison came out of it “tell me sweetheart... what is this about you having learned techniques on how to conquer ANOTHER Elf? Maybe, you've been practicing behind my back?. Maybe you... Do you want another Elf?”.

“Eh eh, my honey? I-I didn't say that... I-I'll just tell you everything I did f-for you to agree to be my wife”.

In one moment, all of Valentina's murderous aura had vanished, with a slight blush on her face “oh, how embarrassing” she murmured tenderly “I remember, you had tried really hard. I'm not easy at all”.

Both Alexander and Christopher were sweating nervously “Dad, stop talking nonsense, Mom almost killed you” the little one mentioned it quietly.

“Y-yes” answered the father “we better stop this kind of jokes, I'm sorry".

...

Christopher opened the door to his room and entered. The place was quite tidy. He walked towards his bed, more exactly to one side of the backboard, where a nightstand was standing. Next to it and placed against the wall was his sheathed sword.

The scabbard was made of black leather with a straight line of embroidery on both sides of it. A belt-like strap ran along the top near where the sword was inserted. The blade of the sword could not be seen, but from the shape of the scabbard one could tell that it was a double-edged sword.

The hilt was shaped like a normal silver cross, without many details. The tang was wrapped in hardened brown rubber, giving shape to what was the handle. It seemed to have fingerprints on it, due to the number of times it was used. On the pommel was a metal sphere which served simply as an ornament.

“There it is” he exclaimed with a smile. He picked it up and for a brief moment he intended to put it around his waist, but for some reason he didn't. In the end he opted to put it around his back, he liked the way it looked on him.

Before leaving, he looked out the window. It was a really nice afternoon and the weather was perfect for the townspeople to go out for a stroll around the square. Taking a walk in the square with the pleasant weather and taking into account that due to the number of trees in the place, resting under some shade and eating was not bad at all.

Christopher had planned to do that with his friends one of those days. So, he left the room again, went down the stairs since his room was located on the second floor, passed by without calling his parents who were still in the dining room and went to the front yard to rest under one of the four trees that served as umbrellas in the yard.

“I'll wait for dad here”.

Giving a slight yawn, he prepared to wait for the remaining hour to go to training, although in the end he had to change plans when someone had called him “Christopher” instinctively looked towards the place where he had heard someone calling him, seeing that it was his very dear friends: Sebastian and Mathias.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked and then stood up “there's still some time before training starts”.

“I know, but it seems that this bore is too excited about having his first class that he came looking for me- he gave a sigh, but it wasn't one of boredom or anything like that, rather one of amusement. He couldn't blame his Demi-Human friend because thinking back, he was the same way on his first day.

“What do you think if we start with some fights?” asked Mathias very excitedly clenching his fists, then he opened them again while his nails grew at least three or four centimeters. In this way he showed his claws.

“Mathias, did you at least have some lunch?” Christopher asked with a laugh, that's what these two were like, his best friends. Christopher's group, including him, was made up of six children, they brightened up every day playing, making jokes and even training secretly with each other. Especially these two with whom he shared the secret training sessions.

“They're annoying” Mathias complained, smiling slightly “it's just that I can't wait to fight against Lord Alexander. Is he strong? Have you already defeated him in a practice fight?”.

Sebastian scratched his head a little embarrassed “we are five years old, defeating him is impossible” looking now at Christopher “although you... have managed to corner him a few times” placing his right arm on his left shoulder and with a serious look Sebastian asked something that he and Mathias have been wondering for a while “tell us Christopher, how did you become so strong from one moment to the next?”.

“Maybe I haven't witnessed any of your fights with Lord Alexander” Mathias said as he placed his left hand on his spare shoulder “but when we train in secret you always come out victorious”.

“Not only that” this time Sebastian sharpened his gaze, it demanded sincere answers “you know how to use magic like someone with a little experience, and don't say that you've read it like you always say when we ask you”.

Christopher just sighed with some uneasiness; it wasn't the first time his friends confronted him about this situation. But he has never lied to them about the reason.

“I've never lied to you guys, but I really don't know how to explain it. I just read some magic books and for some reason that I can't understand, I already knew how to do those spells”. That way Christopher also explained that it wasn't that he was able to do it when he read them and understood them. He had to practice for a few days until he was able to do it.

“The same with martial arts and Sebastian, you are a witness”.

Sebastian had to nod with a “your kind of right” while Mathias demanded an explanation. “Do you remember when we started training like a game? At first, we were a mess, including Christopher, that's why you, even though you were also a mess, because you had superior strength you beat us” Mathias nodded

“On one of those days when you couldn't go with us because you had to do some things, Lord Alexander found us training. He liked us doing that so much that he offered to train us. In the first few days, as usual, we were a mess, and I think it was during that time that you learned to read as if by magic”.

Christopher nodded, putting his hand to his chin as if analyzing some facts. "Likewise, I not only read magic books, but also the martial arts books we have in the library, in the same way I was able to learn many things, but it was also necessary for me to practice and train, after a few days I could already fight correctly, although it is still impossible for me to defeat my dad."

“But with your strategies you can face it”.

“I'm sure that between us we can do something, with Christopher creating our strategies, me attacking with my strength and Sebastian attacking him by surprise” at that moment Mathias's ears seemed to move by themselves while his tail danced in the air.

Christopher's eyes glowed darkly, he slowly drew his right arm back and unsheathed his sword. Both boys understood his intentions.

Mathias very seriously adopted an inexperienced fighting stance with his claws already exposed. Christopher with his sword raised, holding it very firmly, gave the impression that he was someone very experienced. Legs apart and the dark glow in his dull eyes, he opened his mouth speaking as if he were some kinds of monster “I must touch your ears...”.

Mathias with a serious look, legs separated and firm, guard up trying to avoid any flank of attack “try it”.

While Sebastian patted his face begging that no one was watching them because he was dying of embarrassment that the reason for this fight was simply Christopher's desire to touch his ears.

...

Alexander left the house, already prepared for his son and friends' training. He headed to the yard and after just a few steps he could see three children. One of them was quite calm, sitting under the shade of a tree supported by its trunk. The calmness he conveyed while the winds blew was completely out of context with the two remaining children.

Mathias on the ground writhing and using all his strength in an attempt to prevent Christopher from reaching his ears. At the other end, Christopher with both arms out in front of him just inches away from being able to touch his friend's ears.

“What are you doing?” Alexander's call had excited them because none of them paid the slightest attention to the Lord who looked at them with giggles.

“We're playing," his son said as naturally as possible.

A large throbbing vein appeared on Mathias' forehead, just above his left eyebrow “nothing like that, get off of me” slowly and making use of his Demi-Human condition he began to gain ground in the struggle and stand up.

“I just need to pet it once and I'll leave you alone” he said again while also sending strength to his hands and feet.

Alexander looked at Sebastian, who waved his hand half-heartedly to indicate, "No way." A thick drop of sweat fell down his neck, smiling and then becoming serious.

“Alright kids, break is over. It's time to train” Sebastian stood up, still holding his sword. Christopher and Mathias stopped playing, the three of them followed the Lord.

They walked through the cobbled streets of the town towards the exit. The town was small, it was made up of a total of one hundred houses surrounded by the central square. A little further on you could see the wall, the only line of defense built to defend the town. It was a wall of rocks and tree trunks which completely surrounded the town in a circular manner.

There is enough space on the walls for the people in charge of surveillance to carry out surveillance of the outside and, if necessary, attack them with a long-range offensive. In this way, they could warn if the town is being threatened by beasts, magical beasts or other people with bad intentions.

The quartet consisting of Alexander and the trio of children headed to the outskirts of the village. Passing through the only entry point which was a gate made of logs tied together and held tightly by a rope to such an extent that there was no space to allow a glimpse of the interior.

The gate is sliding, it was attached to a total of ten small wheels, if you look closely at the bottom, you can see that said gate is on what appears to be a rail which serves to slide it.

Finally, right in the middle of the gate, about 1.90 meters from the ground, there was a sliding slit 40 cm long and 15 cm wide. The slit was used for a first look at potential visitors. As the gate was lower than the walls, the latter being ten meters high and the gate about six meters high, it was common for people to try to invade through this means, as it was designed that way.

Looking from the outside, the gate area seemed to be less guarded than the walls. A few sentries were constantly walking around the walls looking for possible invaders, while the gate seemed to be always unguarded.

The quartet arrived at the gate, greeting the guardians. "Are you leaving the village, Lord Alexander?" asked the first of the two guardians, Tobias. A Beastman belonging to the clan of large canines, the Wolfman, quite strong with a bare torso and a broad back. Although his fur is black, you can easily see a few scars running diagonally across his chest and abdomen.

Iron shoulder pads located on both sides, tied with straps which ran vertically down his wide back, attached to a kind of thick belt around the waist, held by the belt a total of eight small daggers ready to be used located on both the right and left sides. Lowered further, from the belt protruded a kind of cream-colored leather loincloth, it was very well made and covered the front like a triangle with a square tip, in the back it covered it completely while the tail came out from below.

A kind of loose-fitting cloth pants covered his thighs, going down to the shin area which was covered by iron shin guards matching the silver-colored shoulder pads. Both shin guards had a wolf's head engraved on them as a logo.

Finally, going down towards the legs, which were shaped like a wolf, both legs had tightly wrapped black bandages. Below the pads and the metacarpal pad, a kind of plate in the shape of the pads covered it to protect it and prevent it from making direct contact with the ground.

A black patch covering his right eye made it more than obvious how blind he was, perhaps acquired in some fierce battle in the past, leaving him with only a window to the world.

Pointed ears, although only the left one was complete, as the right ear was cut in half. The children, upon seeing this, could briefly feel a pain running down their spines, as if they had been able to feel firsthand the pain that this man had suffered in the past.

As weapons he used two scimitars, the same ones located and held by a black belt on both sides of his hip, due to their size they were without a guard.

His companion, a bald, bearded human with scars on his head. Like his werewolf companion, they were 1.80 meters tall. Naked torso wearing only a leather armor shaped like a sleeveless bulletproof vest, but thinner. A pair of straps went through his dorsal holding the back. On the lower back he had an iron plate covering it. Brown leather gauntlets like the armor, covering the entire right forearm and fist while leaving the palm exposed.

On the left side he had only a white bandage, as his arm had been cut off halfway up the forearm. As a protection, a leather cover, something resembling a glass, fitted completely over the amputated forearm.

On the back, a double-edged sword was carried inside the guard attached to a belt. On one side of the gate rested its respective shield, which has been modified so that the forearm could be attached to it when fighting and defending oneself.

Normal, though thick, pants, metal knee pads, and long leather boots, long to the point of almost reaching the knee pads.

His name is Tadeo, Tobias's eternal companion.

"That's right," Alexander answered to the question the werewolf had asked him earlier.

“Please be very careful Lord Alexander” asked Tadeo, worried about the safety of the Lord and the children “we recently faced a large feathered serpent, we could not finish it off and although it is injured, it will most likely still be in the area-.

"Damn snake," Tobias complained, paying close attention to his right forearm, which had a medium-deep cut. "Luckily, it didn't poison me."

Alexander framed his gaze on the two, scanning with obvious interest the new wounds the guards had. Each one was moderately deep “is that feathered serpent an adult?” both nodded, internally praising Alexander's correct guess.

Alexander was very good at distinguishing the traits of the beasts. He came to the conclusion that the Feathered Serpent they had both faced was an adult due to the size of the wounds the beast had left on them.

The wounds looked like they had been caused by a sharp object, which coincided with the dagger-like tip of the feathered serpent's tail, only adults develop it that way. Alexander, already dismissing the case, simply smiled -don't worry guys, nothing will happen to us-.

Incredibly, the children had lost all trace of concern from their faces after just hearing the adult responsible for their training mention those words.

They left the village, Alexander discreetly looked behind him, managing to see the children looking rather cautious. As mentioned, the children were not afraid because Lord Alexander was with them, but that in no way meant that they should be completely relaxed and let their guard down.

They had to be aware of their surroundings, it was one of the lessons that Alexander had previously passed on to Christopher and Sebastian. While for Mathias it was a basic instinct of his race.

Although they seemed to be walking in a relaxed manner, they were very aware of their surroundings. You could see how Mathias's furry ears reacted to the slightest noise emitted by the surroundings. Sebastian's eyes moved from one side to the other around the right flank, searching for any trace that would allow him to know if any enemy was in the area.

Christopher looked calmer, but no less focused. His eyes covered much of the left flank, doing the same as his friend, searching for any trace that might give away the presence of the enemy.

Alexander couldn't help but feel very happy. The children, despite being only about five years old, were making wonderful progress. Unlike his son, who had already learned quite a bit, Sebastian and Mathias were progressing rapidly in terms of reading and writing. The same was happening with the girls.

“I want to meet that damn snake” Sebastian wished out loud in a sigh while gently caressing the handle of his sword, said wish was shared internally by the other two “I know I can cut it”.

Mathias couldn't help but feel quite curious, he completely put aside his self-imposed mission of capturing sound emissions in search of enemies “Have you already faced any? Is this magical beast strong?”.

-Hmmmm- was heard towards Christopher while with both hands behind his head he looked towards the sky “in fact, we have already seen some when we went out to train with dad, but no adult ones”.

Wagging his tail happily as if to start getting excited, Mathias couldn't help but want to know about this possible enemy “what does a little one look like?”.

“Well... let's say they're not that small” he remembered the first time he came across one of these snakes “the last time we saw one it was very close to us, at least it was about three meters long”.

“I believe it was also about six inches thick” Christopher concluded “or are we wrong, dad?”.

Alexander stopped spying on the children's conversation, pretending to be caught. Without stopping the movement of his legs, he had to correct the boys “in fact, that feathered serpent was entering adulthood, measuring five meters long and thirty centimeters wide”.

“How big is an adult?” Mathias asked, a question that was also of interest to the boys. An adult must be a damn monster.

For a brief moment Alexander had been searching through his memories, trying to recall the day he had hunted an adult feathered snake “as far as I know, the largest adult feathered snake would be about fifteen to twenty meters long and one meters wide, the one I hunted a while back was about seven meters long”.

“Woooow” the three children murmured at the same time while Alexander puffed out his chest with pride.

“Are they dangerous?” Sebastian asked.

“Remember, children, any beast can be potentially dangerous” Alexander wanted to make this very clear, he could not allow his students to joke or underestimate the beasts no matter how harmless they may seem “if you do not know how to attack or defend yourself from them you should simply consider that it will be your end. Always analyze them, looking for what seems to be their weak point or something that puts you at an advantage. To face a feathered serpent you must keep in mind that adults have more ways to attack”.

He continued speaking as they approached their destination.

“Adults use their tails as daggers, don't they?” very good point on Christopher's part.

Alexander was very happy that his son was really informed. Information is of vital importance when facing something. Knowing the characteristics of the opponent would always put one at an advantage against the other. Whether it is a person or a beast.

“Exactly, if the snake manages to impale you with it, you will have no escape and you will be devoured while still alive” the children shuddered “it also has a very powerful venom, it can choose to throw it from a distance or inject you once you have been bitten, in both cases you should be considered dead”.

The children made a mental note of this as Alexander stopped, happily looking at his little apprentices, changing the subject to release the tension generated “we're almost there, guys, how about we do a small heating?” stretching his legs and arms in front of the children, he put his limbs in optimal condition “don't be left behind” and in this way, giving a strong stomp, he ran off at a dizzying speed.

It only took about a second for the three little ones to understand what had happened.

“Reinforcement Magic: Strengthening”.

A faint red glow surrounded both Sebastian and Christopher, the ones responsible for using the magic. Unlike Christopher, Sebastian still didn't know how to use other types of magic. But at least when it comes to Reinforcement Magic, he can use it without any major complications.

At the same time, Mathias had briefly flexed his legs, flying off at high speed. His running speed was such that he easily caught up with Christopher and Sebastian, who, unlike him, had used magic to gain greater momentum and speed.

They kept running like that for about ten more minutes and after the mentioned ten minutes they could faintly hear the sound of running water.

As they advanced the sound grew louder until they stopped in the middle of a clearing. It was a perfect circle of trees and they were in the middle. They looked at the terrain confirming with their eyes that it would be perfect for training as there was not the slightest relief.

For a brief moment they relaxed listening to the melodious flow of the crystalline river following its natural course.

“Where is my dad?” he asked the winds, although he was heard by Sebastian who was looking around “it seems that he hid”.

Mathias took a few steps towards the river, admiring the beautiful seascape. Since the waters were crystal clear, it was quite easy for him to observe the small marine fauna, many small fish and rocks that were used as hiding places for other inhabitants of the water.

But suddenly he managed to pick up a sound that was alien to nature, his furry ears began to move as if they had a life of their own. Suddenly, Mathias, who had been in a crouching position, stood up, something was heading towards them.

“Guys, something is coming...” his attempt to give the full warning was impossible, Alexander fell with an axe kick trying to connect in the Demihuman's head. Before receiving the blow Mathias jumped back revealing his sharp claws, positioning himself on Christopher's right side.

From Alexander's point of view the children were arranged from left to right: Mathias, Christopher and Sebastian.

Christopher and Sebastian unsheathed their swords, Mathias wiggled his fingers releasing some tension from them and Alexander chuckled.

“Hand-to-hand combat, without the use of weapons or magic” Alexander said, taking off the trench coat he had been wearing all this time.

The kids looked at each other and Mathias smiled. "Hand to hand? It's my specialty."

“Mathias, you too, put away your claws” very excited and without complaint he obeyed.

Christopher raised his impeccable guard, worthy of a novice martial arts practitioner. Sebastian did the same. Wanting to copy the style, Mathias tried the same guard, but it left much to be desired.

"So that's how we are." Alexander took one last look at his apprentices as he launched himself towards them.

“Here it comes! Get ready!” Christopher ordered almost by inertia, clenching his teeth. Although they were excited, that didn't mean they were exempt from nervousness.

When Alexander was in front of them, Christopher was the first to attack, attacking with the first punch which was easily dodged. He then grabbed the arm that was passing by his side, spinning around. As he turned around, Alexander threw his son to one side while connecting the kick to the forearms in an X that Sebastian lifted just in time.

Due to the difference in strength, Sebastian was sent back a few meters. Alexander looked at him with laughter as Sebastian was sent back, finding it a bit funny to see the gritted expression on one of his apprentices' faces.

Mathias wasted no time in taking action, stepping to the side of Alexander as he dodged his attack. As soon as he touched the ground with both feet, Mathias used the strength and speed of a Demihuman, attacking again. Although in Alexander's eyes he was still very slow, the Governor stepped aside, thus landing the first blow on one of the children.

He jumped, dodging his son, who returned to attack at full speed. This time, the fight was a bit more interesting, because Christopher is the best among children. Even so, he still had a lot to learn. He blocked his son's attempt at a right hook with his knee, thus giving him a good hook to the little boy's abdomen.

There were two and only one was missing.

Pearly drops of sweat fell down Sebastian's face as he watched his opponent's every move, which was praised by Alexander “you do very well in analyzing your opponent, Sebastian, but you take too long”.

With his superior speed he positioned himself in front of the boy in just the blink of an eye, giving him a light blow to the abdomen.

Although to the child the blow did not seem so “you must remember that your opponent will not be willing to wait until you come up with some plan of attack”.

Alexander lowered his head, watching in slow motion as Christopher passed over him, although the little boy's plan was never to confront his father again but to keep him away from Sebastian. "It's harder than before," Christopher mentioned, Sebastian nodded, agreeing with him completely.

They both watched as Mathias tried to fight Alexander again, the results were more than obvious. With a simple punch he sent the little boy flying towards his friends. Alexander smiled, he would wait a little longer than expected and see if the children came up with a plan.

Rubbing his stomach, Mathias stood up again “he's very strong, ouch, that hit hurt me”.

“Any plans?” Sebastian asked, directing the question to his friend.

Christopher looked very serious as he went through all the possibilities in his head “listen, this is what we're going to do”.

Alexander smiled and let his guard down. He had realized that his son had given some instructions “so you are the one in charge of the attack plan”.

The children looked at each other with great confidence, and without wasting any more time they set off at full speed towards their opponent. The formation was still the same as at the beginning and in the same order. Quickly, as they approached, those on either side of Christopher crossed paths.

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By the time they changed places, only two of them remained: Sebastian was on the river side, stepping in the water, and Mathias was on the trees side, running very close to them to the point that the bushes brushed against his body.

Christopher disappeared.

“He jumped!” Alexander exclaimed, looking away towards the sky and only seeing the white cottonlike clouds that slowly followed their natural course imposed by nature.

He didn't understand and he didn't have time to do so, because the children took advantage of that brief period of time in which he was distracted by attacking him. Sebastian went for him while Mathias, using all his Demihuman strength, made a tremendous jump.

Sebastian attacked Alexander, causing him to dodge and approach the bushes step by step. Sebastian grabbed him by the arm and threw him into the water, landing near the shore.

“HAAAAA” Alexander looked up when he heard Mathias coming down towards him, he could only see Mathias' silhouette approaching. But experience played totally in his favor, he stopped Mathias' attack with his forearm, holding his kick and throwing him into the bushes.

-SPLASH-

He heard a loud stomp towards the water. Smiling, turned around looking towards the stream, all he could see were the remaining waves of the water. It was as if someone had thrown a rock. The last connections had clicked in his brain and he turned around again.

In front of him was his son already throwing a punch, Alexander was so surprised that he was not able to react. Christopher managed to connect the first blow to his father's face making him stumble a few steps back. Now looking ahead at his son while the other two surrounded him as a sign that the plan was a success.

“Just like you said” Sebastian laughed while Mathias raised his hands in happiness “with this at least we were able to hit him”.

“I'll be the next one to strike! So, make a plan for that” Mathias laughed.

"Easier said than done," Christopher complained, proud of himself since the whole distraction worked.

Alexander only understood the plan after receiving the blow - I'm very proud of you guys, you showed that you know how to carry out and follow a good attack plan.

He had understood what it was.

It all started the moment they crossed paths and changed places.

“At that moment I thought Christopher jumped, but he didn't. What he did was position himself behind Mathias and took advantage of the moment when I looked up at the sky to hurry and head towards the trees”.

That was the case, the moment Alexander turned his attention to the sky, Christopher in a single leap headed towards the bushes followed by Mathias.

“The reason why Mathias came so close to the bushes and Sebastian stepped in the water was precisely to mask the sound of your footsteps and so that I wouldn't notice it, when you found a good point of attack Mathias made that big jump which was the signal for the attack to begin”.

If Christopher ran through the bushes, the sound he would make when brushing against them would be very noticeable, causing Alexander to detect him. That is why Sebastian ran through the water and Mathias brushed against the bushes, in this way the noise produced by those two would overshadow the one he made when walking.

-The next phase of the attack was for Sebastian to charge at me, attacking me with punches and kicks in an attempt to get me as close as possible to the bushes, that way Christopher would have a better chance of getting out with just one jump, without needing to take more steps or gain more momentum. That's where the other distractions came in, Mathias falling right from where the sun was shining with a scream so I wouldn't hear Christopher taking position and not realize that Sebastian had thrown a rock into the water”.

Once Alexander had gotten rid of Sebastian by throwing him aside, Sebastian picked up a rock big enough to make quite a noise when it hit the surface of the water. He just waited for the right moment and threw it.

Hearing Mathias give a scream, he had to wait for that brief moment when Alexander would be dazzled by the sun's rays. Then he threw the rock into the water, drawing Alexander's attention, and the plan was fully consummated.

“When I got rid of Mathias, they had to have a way to distract me so that you could attack me from an angle where by the time I realized it, it would be too late. That's where the distraction of the rock came in. I would have been very confident and thought it was you coming out of the water, unfortunately it wasn't like that and by the time I realized it, I no longer had enough time to react”.

He mentally applauded his apprentices; he knew that the children really took their training very seriously. He shouldn't give them too much credit for the moment, since they were only able to finish the plan thanks to him giving them the necessary time to do so. If they were really facing a real enemy, they would be deader.

Still, he must give them some credit for what they accomplished.

“Not bad guys” he congratulated while stretching his neck relieving some tension “but the training still continues”.

They resumed the practice match again.

The little ones received a tremendous beating.

...

A couple of hours passed and the training continued. The sun was still shining brightly, slowly setting towards the horizon.

The children, quite exhausted, had beads of sweat adorning their bodies in masses, falling like drops of water and ending up on the hard ground.

After finishing the practice match, Alexander went on to emphasize the points to be improved. Unlike Mathias who was obviously a beginner, albeit a very strong one, Christopher and Sebastian (especially the former) handled martial arts very well, for someone of their age.

Christopher has a very good defense; he knows how to throw punches. He calculates and reads his opponent's movements; he has good skill when it comes to fighting. But he must apply a greater amount of force to his attacks.

With Sebastian, the case is almost the same. He has good technique, but his punches also lack strength. In addition, his posture seemed to be very rigid and he takes too long to analyze the situation.

Something that Alexander had already noticed. Since he is still a child, he would not be harsh with him, but he did make it clear that this was something that he really needs to correct. He made it clear to him that his enemies would not wait for him to finish putting together an attack plan.

Finally, Mathias, despite it being his first day, the demihuman boy had done very well. He has a lot of energy, he throws punches with enough force and he is fast. But he lacks technique, he still doesn't know how to read or calculate the enemy's movements, in this case the little boy doesn't think much before attacking, which in the future would be fatal for him.

Alexander informed each of them what they needed to improve.

The little ones didn't take it badly at all, especially because Alexander would help them to be better and he only asked them to continue taking the training with enthusiasm and not to feel bad if they had to call their attention to their mistakes.

Right now, start what is called sword training.

“Lord Alexander” Mathias called him “I don't have a sword” he looked to the side towards his friends who had unsheathed their respective swords.

Smiling, he peered into his trench coat, which was neatly folded on a rock, and from it he pulled out a sword identical to the one the children used. It was a medium-length sword, as the children, being small, would not be able to handle a full-sized one.

He handed it to Mathias who, smiling and quite excited, caught it, hugging it as if it were some kinds of toy. He had both eyes closed in excitement, apparently for Mathias being given this sword meant a lot.

He pulled it out after his moment of euphoria passed. Sebastian and Christopher couldn't stop smiling because they wanted to see the face their friend would make when he realized something.

"Huh?" Mathias murmured, now looking at his sword. The shine indicated that it was still a virgin blade, unstained and unused. Using his much more developed sense of smell, he could notice the characteristic new smell coming from the guard.

Although what really caught his attention was something completely unrelated to that.

“Is this sword real?”.

Mathias truly thanked the ruler from the bottom of his heart for the sword he had given him, but he always had in mind that it was a practice sword. With a useless edge. The reality was different.

“What were you thinking, little kitten?”. Christopher couldn't help but want to mess with his friend “Are you afraid of fighting with a real sword?”.

Sebastian seconded him “don't worry, I'll avoid turning you into cat slices” these two were having a lot of fun provoking their friend who hated that. The demihuman held the handle of his sword firmly with one hand.

His face turned into a smile as he shouted at her that he would attack them. "You two..." He jumped and fell forward at the moment when Alexander grabbed him by the tail, falling face first to the ground. ”Lord Alexander, why are you doing that to me?".

“Don't be so hasty, do you at least know how to wield a sword?” the little boy shrugged, his friends burst out laughing again.

The last hour of training went by as normal.

Once again Alexander lined them up, side by side, swinging his sword up and down several times before switching to horizontal slashes. Then he would swing diagonally up and down and down and then change the angle.

He made them repeat the same thing several times. They then began to brandish it with one hand, performing a varied set of possible ways to attack a hand, starting with the right and then moving to the left.

After repeating everything several times, the boys were able to notice something very significant. There is a big difference between using attacks that involve both hands and those that involve only one. There are many points that can be observed, such as: the range of the cut, the style, the form and even the distance that can be covered.

This was only further exacerbated when it came to using their, so to speak, weak arms. This made things even more difficult, with attacks made with the weak arm often lacking strength, speed and even precision. They realized that since all three were right-handed, attacks made with the left hand were useless.

That's why Alexander made them train this way.

“In martial arts, there should not be a strong hand and a weak hand, you should be ambidextrous” the children nodded because the teacher had a very good point. “If you are in the middle of a battle, whether with fists or swords, and your "strong hand" is hurt, what will you do?”.

And with this their brains made the necessary connections to learn a very good lesson. Alexander simply ended with the idea “only death awaits them, because of that they must have «two strong hands», for martial arts it must be natural to throw strong blows with both arms. I'm not telling you to apply this to writing because that is different, but yes for martial arts”.

The children nodded again, every day they learned that in a battle underestimating something, being overconfident or not having complete control even in your limbs could cause your death. It was made clear that this applied to both arms and legs.

Christopher made a mental note of what he had learned recently, as he had not brought with him the notebook he normally used for his notes.

“Okay, get ready because I want to get back to the village before it gets dark” the children nodded in unison. They went to the river to clean their faces because it was really dirty and covered in sweat.

They even dared to drink a little bit of it because it was so clear, it gave the total impression that it was drinkable water.

This almost caused Alexander to suffer a cardiac arrest, claiming that the water, despite being so crystal clear, might not be fit to drink.

By the grace of the Gods, the water turned out to be drinkable and free of any impurities harmful to the body.

Alexander even thanked the heavens out loud because he could not imagine how titanic the reprimand Valentina would give him if the children became ill. Even more so because the town still does not have a doctor to treat and cure them of their illnesses.

They set off towards the village. At first the children walked excitedly and discussed some of the topics of the practice. But little by little the laughter decreased until the three of them remained completely silent and each of them focused only on walking. Alexander glanced behind him, trying to stifle a giggle that had tried to escape from between his lips.

It was funny to see how the little ones were trying so hard just to do the simple action of placing one foot in front of the other and moving forward. They were tired, exhausted and a little sore. Just a few moments ago they were still euphoric and laughing, but they were unable to feel the fatigue that had taken over their little bodies. And now, as all the euphoria and remnants of energy disappeared, they have been feeling it all along.

Alexander wanted to run and get there faster, but his heart took pity on the little ones because they really couldn't take any more.

“I'm very tired” complained Sebastian looking at Christopher's back “carry me” without warning he climbed on his friend's back making him complain with a moan: -nnnn-

"Me too," Mathias followed, climbing in after Sebastian, both with expressions of joy at allowing their trembling legs to rest.

The other side of the coin, a grimace of annoyance was forming on the lips of the third of the children. The only one who did not have the pleasure of allowing himself to rest, even for a moment, was furious, with a smile of pure boredom and evil he picked up a branch that was just within his reach. He was preparing to give a few blows to the heads of the two stowaways on their backs.

Luckily, Alexander transferred Mathias from Christopher's shoulders to his own. The little boy noticed that both Mathias and Sebastian were fast asleep, to the point that thin threads of drool were visible sliding from between their lips.

“Why don't we have one last father-son talk?” Alexander asked, winking at him. “What do you say? I used to train this way”.

Christopher took a last sigh thinking, "Why not?" so he nodded, "Sounds good to me, in fact I still feel some energy”.

“I don't doubt it” his father had immediately seconded him “it is a fact that your energy and magic levels are far above those of someone your age. The same with your level of reasoning, you make very good decisions, son... as if you weren't just a child”.

Christopher couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment from his father who is the person he admires the most.

“You have also acquired a good mastery of martial arts just by observing and informing yourself through books, I have never met anyone so extraordinary” I placed a hand on his head, lightly rubbing his hair, thus leaving it in total disarray “I am so proud of you, son”.

Involuntarily the little boy's eyes had watered, although very slightly.

He was not sad nor did he possess any feeling similar to sadness. Rather, he was happy. Hearing his father mention his pride made him feel so happy and so full that his heart was unable to find another way to express it. Only a timid drop fell to the forest floor and then disappeared forever.

...

Luckily, the terrain they were now travelling through was fairly flat and without many reliefs. Because of that, they were able to reach the outskirts of the village with relative ease. From time to time they had to go around a tree, but nothing more difficult than that.

“Finally,” Christopher murmured happily to himself.

At this point Christopher was so low on energy that he was tempted to ask his father to carry him. He didn't give in to that, he set out to reach the village carrying his friend, a self-imposed training.

Christopher was barely able to stay standing in front of the gate, throwing his friend as if he were a sack of potatoes “wake up, lazybones” due to the impact, Sebastian woke up somewhat sore and with some dried saliva marks adorning his cheeks.

“Huh? What? What?” he seemed to be disoriented until he saw the well-known gate of the town of Gignit in front of him “ah, we're here… take” he searched through his pockets and with a sleepy face he passed some candy to Christopher as payment for the transportation service, only making him even angrier and strangle him by applying a lock to his neck.

Meanwhile Alexander approached the gate looking at the crack “hey, it's me, you can open the gate” immediately after the crack had opened while a pair of blue eyes looked through it.

“Ah, it's you Lord Alexander, we've already opened the door for you” the gate systematically moved aside, revealing two Elves standing at the entrance to the village. Both were wearing clothes and shoes characteristic of a Forest Elf.

Both with ash-colored hair and green eyes. Same physical build and almost the same voice, with this it was confirmed that they are brothers because the similarity of their faces was incredible. Behind them and attached to their backs were long wooden-colored bows, the shape of the bow vaguely reminiscent of a falcon's wing. Also attached to their backs was a quiver, a place where archers keep their arrows. It was green with a metallic finish.

What did differentiate the brothers was that one of them had his ears cut to the point that the length seemed to be that of a human ear. Luckily, now completely healed, his name is UNO. While the other had normal ears and his name is DOS “I see that you have returned from your training... just in case” both Elves became more serious “could it be that a feathered serpent attacked them?”.

“That magical beast again” of the children the only one able to hear what was mentioned was Christopher because unlike him, Mathias was asleep and Sebastian was practically a zombie. Christopher forced himself in an attempt to listen to the conversation of the Elves with his father.

“We were lucky not to encounter that beast, the only ones who saw it and fought with the snake were Tobias and Thaddeus. They managed to scare it away” he again recalled the state of those mentioned. They were able to stop it, but they were also injured. As it had been said, they were lucky not to be poisoned. Alexander continued with his talk “Since you ask me, it means that it has reappeared, right?”.

“Apparently, the snake tried to sneak through the north side of the walls, but was stopped by observers” mentioned UNO.

“Unfortunately, he managed to escape” finished his brother, DOS.

Alexander sighed as he looked towards the horizon. There were only a few centimeters left before the sun finished its work and hid from everyone, giving way to the world of night. The situation was very dangerous, the beast was.

The feathered serpent is a diurnal beast as well as a nocturnal one. If it couldn't get food during the day, it would do so at night. “The bastard magical beast has marked the village as its food source..." said ONE, quite annoyed.

In all the time that little Christopher has been living next to his father, he has never seen him with a look full of annoyance.

Although he also understood his father, this is his town, he built it with everyone's help and now a damn beast came and condemned all its inhabitants to become its dinner if they didn't do something.

Alexander frowned, he no longer seemed upset, but he did denote extreme seriousness. He looked at the guardian brothers who simultaneously clenched their fists tightly.

“First and foremost, I want you to inform everyone in the village that we are under the threat of a very dangerous magical beast and for as long as the subjugation lasts, we will have a curfew” both guards nodded.

“Second, gather a total of fifteen of our fighters and form five teams of three. Make sure that one member of each team is an archer. Search a radius of at least three kilometers around the area, since it's getting dark, the snake should be nearby preparing to return to the village. Don't forget to check that you bring enough medicine in case someone gets poisoned, last but not least... that no one dies. Am I clear”-.

"So it will be done, Lord Alexander," they both exclaimed in unison, turning around and heading in the direction to carry out the Lord of the town's command to the letter.

Christopher was stunned as he looked at his father. What's more, he began to think that up until this very moment he had never seen him giving such precise orders and even more so the others obeying without even complaining. The little boy looked at his father with such admiration, he had never seen this side of him, but now he idolized him even more.

“Very well” said Alexander, already regaining his mood. Now looking at his son who looked back at him with admiration. He decided to talk because he thought his son might be scared “don't worry son, everything will be solved. Even if it doesn't seem like it, those two are people very trained in the art of combat. In addition, they have a lot of experience in these kinds of situations”.

"Has this happened many times before?" Christopher raised an eyebrow at what his father mentioned. "How is it possible that I've never noticed?".

As they walked Alexander laughed mischievously. "It's because I've always made sure that children are not told about the dangers. I don't want you to be scared. In these cases, children are simply made to go to bed earlier."

A vein was throbbing across Christopher's forehead “so this is why Mom made me go to bed earlier... Damn beasts”.

Alexander laughed silently as he walked deeper into the village.

The children who were literally sleeping had finally woken up. Although they knew nothing about the attack, they were struck by the fact that no one was taking a walk or a tour of the square.

“What happened?”, asked Mathias rubbing his eyes like a cat “why is everyone going to sleep already?”.

“Curfew guys, go straight to your houses”. Sebastian and Mathias looked at each other and when they were about to open their mouths and ask a question, a woman appeared behind them.

“There they are, I was looking for them”, a woman approached sweetly in a maternal tone. It was Rachell León, Sebastian's mother, and beside her was little Diana, who hugged her brother, scolding him for having abandoned her all afternoon.

Rachel also brought little Mathias closer to her, caressing his ears causing Mathias to close his eyes and enjoy the caress. “You will stay with us for tonight, little one” Mathias nodded without the slightest hint of opposition.

Rachel turned her gaze in the direction of the ruler.

“Good evening my dear friend” smiled Alexander as the woman smiled back at him “I imagine my dear friend has gone out on a treasure hunt”, he winked at her.

Rachel instantly understood that he had mentioned that last thing in such a way so that the children wouldn't know what was happening.

“Oh!”, she murmured between laughs “that's right, the same thing happens with little Mathias's parents, since we are neighbors they asked me to take care of their child”.

“Don't worry, this will be resolved very soon” Alexander declared as Rachel thanked him, bowed and walked off in the direction of her home.

“Now we must go home”. Alexander took his son by the hand, who, despite being very intelligent, skilled in martial arts and possessing good aptitude for magic, was still a child who liked to go this way with mom and dad.

...

“Mom, we're here”, Christopher was the first to open the door and enter, followed by his father who looked from one side to the other. Unlike his son, Alexander had instantly noticed Valentina's absence inside the house.

“No one is here.” The little boy mentioned, now analyzing the situation “Do you think she has also joined the subjugation teams?”.

Alexander nodded “it must be most likely, your mother surely plans to take care of the Feathered Serpent personally” in this way he could notice how a slight grimace of fear appeared on his little son's face. Although Christopher had proven to be a genius, he was only five years old. It was obvious that he would be worried about his mother's well-being.

Alexander grabbed him by the hand and they both headed for the terrace of the house. “But don't worry, remember that your mother is the strongest magician in our town, that beast won't stand a chance against her”. Alexander really wanted to reassure his frightened son, although what child wouldn't be afraid knowing that his mother might have to fight a dangerous being? “Now, let's go to the terrace and see how they move”.

They climbed the stairs located just to the side of the living room. It was shaped like a spiral. Almost instantly they reached the door that would lead them to the roof.

They went through the door and approached the railing; they could see how the teams that Alexander had previously ordered to be formed were carrying out what seemed to be the final checks.

“There's mom” exclaimed Christopher pointing towards the square where the teams met, although it was a bit far away, they could both see her without any problem “She's carrying a bow. I've never seen mom use one! I'd like to go with them”.

“You will not go” Alexander sentenced-

"Tche, party pooper," Christopher complained.

-HAHAHAHAHAHA, don't be angry. But I can't let you go” he scratched the back of his neck; he knew his son was very strong but he wasn't prepared for something of this magnitude. What kind of father would he be if he sent him? “Look, the attack groups have already formed”.

A total of fifteen people, five humans, five Elves (among them Valentina) who were specialists in combat with bows and arrows and magic. Two Demi-Humans and three Beastmen. The two Demi-Humans were Mathias' parents.

The groups were divided very evenly, in each group there was a human, an Elf and a beastman or demi-human. Christopher managed to identify some acquaintances in the place “there are Mathias's parents”. Two demi-humans belonging to the clan of the big cats, who wore black leather armor.

Both carried double-edged swords.

“There is also Mr. Herman” the Sebastian's father, a human who at first glance seemed to be the same age as Alexander. Bearer of a good physique, black hair and eyes.

On both hands were gauntlets, and on the feet were iron boots, although these were imbued with a rune-based enchantment so that, even though they were made of iron, the wearer would feel as if they were made of some soft material. On one side of the waist was what appeared to be a Katana, a black guard with dragon ornaments running along it.

I also managed to see Tobias and Thaddeus, the same guards from when they left the town, and the Elf brothers UNO and DOS who seemed to be giving some instructions.

Christopher, with his magic perception ability, noticed that all of them could use magic. He caught it just as they used reinforcement magic and each group set off, running and then jumping over the wall that protected them. Each group headed to a different area in the forest.

“They used magic...” he muttered in a low voice looking at her father hoping to see if she had guessed right but he was very serious.

“Also, do you know what kind of magic it was?”.

Christopher smiled, "Of course, Strengthening Magic." He smiled, "It's probably so that he can more quickly cover the search range in the forest."

Alexander nodded again. "Now, let's wait a moment. If we're lucky, they'll find the snake soon and we can see the action even from here."

“How will we be able to see what is happening in the distance?”.

“You'll see, let's just be a little patient... in the meantime, let's talk about whatever...”.

Father and son had a very warm conversation, they talked about everything, Alexander did his best to divert the conversation as much as possible and not to worry him. They talked about magic, martial arts, games, their friends and many other things.

A few hours passed, father and son looked at a clear sky covered in stars. The moon, huge and brighter than ever. For both of them it was a moment of pure relaxation “training is very fun” said Christopher “but it is also fun, it is very relaxing”.

“Sometimes when I'm really tired, I come up here to look at the stars” Alexander commented “it's very relaxing, many times I've fallen asleep and your mom comes to wake me up”.

Christopher seemed hypnotized, staring directly at the moon, until far, far away in the sky and exactly in front of the moon he thought he saw something flying “Huh? What is that?” he asked quietly to himself.

His father had heard him and looked up “what are you referring to...”.

BOOOOM

The sound of what seemed to be an explosion echoed in the distance.

“It's already started” Alexander laughed, inviting his son to approach the rooftop railing. He looked from one side to the other until another explosion echoed. This time they could very clearly see how a faint glow was emitted before the sound reached their ears.

“Don't tell me that's...”.

"Yes," Alexander replied even before his son could ask the question. "They have finally encountered the Feathered Serpent and are now fighting against it."

More explosions occurred, which meant that the battle was going to be fierce. Both of them remained silent, watching, almost hypnotized, the glow resulting from some magical attack launched against the Serpent.

Christopher wanted to know how the battle was going. He opened his mouth with his mind racing “it seems that the fight is very complicated... even with mom participating” the young lord thought about his mother, he felt scared. He wanted to see her, he wanted her to be safe and sound, he wanted the battle to end already.

“It seems so...” short and precise. Alexander was no longer smiling and he didn't take his eyes off the front either.

Alexander started to worry, what his son had said was one hundred and one percent true. The fight against the beast really seemed to be very complicated and that was only taking into account the sound of the explosions and the distant glows that were gradually intensifying. “They began to use more powerful attacks” the lord of Gignit took off and hit the heel of his right leg again continuously and quickly, his nerves were getting on his nerves.

Luckily Christopher was so lost in the distance that he couldn't notice the obvious nervousness on his father's face.

His mind was being occupied by other thoughts. The most obvious was fear, thinking that his mother was seriously injured. "Mom..." he said in an almost inaudible whisper, the boy feared for the safety and integrity of his beloved mother.

His perception of time was deceiving him because he already thought that the battle had lasted an eternity.

It was just fear and adrenaline taking over. He wanted to see his mother safe and sound, to hug her.

Christopher reached out and grabbed the sleeves of his father's trench coat. The father looked at him, noticing his son's watery eyes. The little boy spoke in a voice that was almost broken. "Dad... will my mom be okay?".

The paternal instinct is powerful, he immediately hugged and carried his son, doing everything possible to calm him down “your mom is very strong, an ugly beast won't do anything to her!”. His son still didn't smile “but, uffff... you really stink!” Alexander mocked, making faces of supposed disgust “I'm sorry son, but you need a bath”.

“But dad” she said again with an air of concern.

“No buts, you'll take a good shower right now... think about this” Alexander winked at him and smiled mischievously again “if Selestia sees you all dirty, she'll surely stop liking you”.

His son pouted, at least it helped him greatly reduce his worry. Alexander led him to the bathroom where he could take a good and well-deserved shower, thus removing all the supposed stench and traces of dirt impregnated on his body, which were not so supposed.

“If you need me, call me, son” his father warned “I'll be on the roof watching the moon”.

A big lie, not even his son believed it. What Alexander would do was return to the roof to observe from a distance and analyze what would be the state of the fight.

...

“DAMN IT! WHY ARE THERE FIVE NOW?”.

“BE CAREFUL! THAT ONE CAN THROW FIRE!”.

“HEAL THE WOUNDED”.

“HE CAUSED A FIRE!”.

“DON'T LET THE POISON REACH THEM”.

“AACKKKK, S-SHE STABBED ME WITH HER T-AIL”.

“WE ALREADY GOT RID OF TWO!”.

“LADY VALENTINA, REST FOR A MOMENT”.

“DON'T WORRY! YOU TAKE CARE OF THOSE AND I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE BIGGER ONE”.

...

Christopher felt as if his body was even lighter than before, that's the feeling he got from being so relaxed. Wearing much lighter clothes.

He is still worried about his mother, but at least that worry has diminished considerably. He was confident that his mother and everyone else would return safely.

He wanted to go up the stairs and head back to the roof so he could see everything.

His father stopped him; he had just gotten off the bus intercepting his son “where do you think you're going?”.

“I want to see how it goes...”.

“Well, no, young man” Alexander wagged his finger from left to right while smiling mockingly at him “it's time for you to go to bed, otherwise when mom comes she will scold us both for not finding you asleep”.

“But dad- he complained with an angry look- how do you expect me to sleep at a time like this? While they are fighting, I should at least stay awake and”.

“No buts” his father said, closing his eyes, ending the discussion “It's late, eat something and go straight to bed, I won't accept NO for an answer”.

He had no choice but to obey him, he is a child, he cannot go against his father. They both ate at the same table and went straight to bed.

Christopher seemed to be upset and nervous. The fight against the Feathered Serpent was still going on, he at least wanted to see it from the rooftop.

His father lay down beside him. "I know you're very anxious, son, but please don't worry. You'll see that when you wake up, your mother will be back with everyone else! They might even bring the Serpent's corpse." He ruffled his hair. "I know you'd like to see it. Now just try to sleep."

Alexander left the room.

Christopher sighed, there was no point in being on the roof if he couldn't do anything anyway, and even if he did the tremendous stupidity of going to the battle zone, he would just end up being a real nuisance. If his mother and everyone else were having problems he couldn't imagine what would happen to him.

-“You're right” he told himself “tomorrow everything will be solved” he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Meanwhile, Alexander stood with his arms crossed and sunk in tangible concern. He looked into the distance right at the battle zone, where a fire now illuminated the distant landscape.

...

Slowly the sun took its place as the current ruling star of the skies, the solar rays illuminated the world giving rise to a new day.

(Yawn)

Christopher was quite used to waking up early.

It seemed as if some internal clock forced him to wake up very early. Lazily and still dozing, he raised his body, sitting on the edge of the messy bed “woohoo” he yawned once more, stretching his arms and legs in the process.

Standing up and approaching the window, looking instinctively at the park, he asked some imaginary being: "What's going on?" There was a large crowd of many of the inhabitants in the square.

From a distance, Christopher found it difficult to determine what exactly they were all looking at. He changed into more comfortable clothes, grabbed his sword, which was already his habit, and made a move to put it around his waist, but opted to tie it behind his back.

He went down to the ground floor. “Dad? Mom? Are they here?” Christopher called his parents but apparently, they weren’t in the house. “Most likely the subjugation group has returned.” He spoke to himself again as he left the house, but not before holding a bread roll to eat on the way.

The little lord ran for a short period of time until he reached the place, listening to the astonishment of those present in the most remote part of the spectacle “they are huge, that is why there was so much commotion last night” mentioned a human being who lives in the town.

“But wasn't there just one?” exclaimed another.

“So, there is a possibility that there are more dangerous beasts roaming the forest” this time it was a long-haired rabbit Demi-Human next to her daughter, the girl must be the same age as Christopher.

2Don't worry, the guardians will protect us from any danger”.

As Christopher moved forward, he could hear these comments, some with fear in their voices while others were calm because they trusted their rulers.

He came to the front and could see what the hell had caused such a commotion. He was quite impressed and even had his mouth half open. In front of him were a total of five Feathered Serpents being displayed.

That wasn't what had surprised him.

Starting from the smallest to the largest, the latter was the one that left him with his mouth open “t-is that an adult feathered serpent?”. Christopher muttered in an audible tone, drawing the attention of two beings who had participated in the subjugation “that thing looks more like a Dragon than a snake” they weren't that similar either, but they gave that impression.

The beast still had the shape and head of a feathered snake, what made it look like a dragon were the pair of horns that protruded from its skull, giving the impression that it was a kind of "small" dragon.

“They were very hard” one of the guards who had seen Alexander and the boys off to training the day before said. It was the werewolf, Tobias, who was just standing near Christopher. The little boy could see that blood stains were marring his dark fur.

Christopher looked at those things again, feeling some mental pain at seeing Tobias's state, but his mind was so absorbed in the Serpent that he seemed to have forgotten it very quickly “wasn't it just a feathered serpent? Where did the others come from?”.

Tobias sighed, rubbing his left arm lightly. Christopher could notice a long cut on it that ran completely down his forearm. "There was only one of them, but that damn beast could use magic. It also had the other four at its disposal, and they attacked us by surprise. Luckily, everything went well, although we were all injured."

“WHAT'S MY MOM?!” Now fear flooded his being, he realized he didn't see his mother anywhere. He shook his head from left to right several times until Tobias held him by the shoulders and calmed him down.

“Don't worry, no one has died” with that he pointed to one side, all the participants of the subjugation were lying on the ground very injured, resting under the shade of the trees.

Just by observing them Christopher could see that like Tobias they were all extremely injured and tired, with their clothes covered in blood stains.

“The largest of them all was able to use race magic which consisted of a poisonous breath, but it didn't end there”, Tobias clenched his fist tightly “the wretched thing could also throw fire! That's why it took us so long to finish her. Thank goodness Lady Valentina went with us, and while she fought the largest one, we took care of the others”.

Tobias smiled at the boy so that he would at least put his nervousness aside.

From Christopher's point of view, saying "the biggest" was relative because they were all big. Although there was something that mattered more to him at the moment.

“Have you seen my mom? I don't see her with the others”.

Tobias pointed towards some trees “I think he's there with Lord Alexander”.

Christopher thanked him and left the werewolf. He walked away from all the merriment of the place, going behind the marked trees. He found his father sitting with his legs extended in front of him and leaning his back against the tree, stroking the head of Valentina who was lying down and resting her head on his lap, fast asleep.

He was no longer wearing the Elven armor he usually wears for combat, so that he could rest as comfortably as possible.

At first glance you can notice how the armor is completely stained with blood with holes that seemed to be made by stabbing.

Christopher instantly thought of the Serpent's dagger-like tail, looked at his mother's abdomen and confirmed that she had indeed been stabbed. He felt like saying something, but Alexander prevented him from doing so, as he was aware of his son's presence at all times.

“It's nothing serious” Alexander said as he began to braid his beloved's hair, he loved playing with his wife's beautiful hair.

“One of her friends who went to the subjugation treated her in time, she is out of any danger” the two looked at Valentina's smiling face, she always loved having her hair played with, it relaxes her so much that she even goes so far as to release a few strands of saliva while she relaxes.

“I think we should pamper her a little when she wakes up” Alexander looks at his son “don't you think so?”.

“Yes” Christopher nodded very vigorously “my mom is the best”.

“Well, it's time for me to take a well-deserved rest” he tenderly squeezed his wife's ears, causing her to twitch a little “my love, it's time for you to go home to rest”.

-NNNNN-

Valentina complained.

“I'm very tired”.

Christopher had to do his best to stifle a giggle, when his mom was in a state where she was wavering between being awake and asleep, she tended to say strange things.

“That's why, my love, go sleep at home, here a bug will bite you”.

“I just don't want to...” Valentina complained again without opening his eyes

A heavy drop of sweat fell down Alexander's body. Christopher sighed between laughs. He wanted to make fun of her a little, but it would be too cruel, his mother was very hurt and tired.

“Mom” Christopher call silently “if you do what we ask and go to sleep at home, I promise to take care of your BEAUTIFUL garden for a whole week. What do you say?”-.

“He?” she woke up suddenly looking at both of them. “YES!” she exclaimed happily “I will teach you the proper way to take care of and clean the house of my spirits”.

She couldn't object, as she had already agreed with her father that she should be pampered a little. She stood up and with the help of her son went to the house.

Alexander turned to look at the hunted beasts once more. He wasn't surprised why it had taken them so long. The adult Feathered Serpent is a magical beast capable of throwing fire and poison. Its venom is very potent, they must have had a very difficult time trying not to get hit by the poison.

The inhabitants of Gignit were anxious to know what they would do with the parts of the beast.

Alexander already knew what to do, but first a public congratulations to all the teams.

"Please pay some attention,” The governor's said as the noise suddenly disappeared. The governor's words seemed to be sacred.

“First and foremost,” he pointed towards the teams that were lying under the shade of some trees “our greatest thanks to all who participated, true heroes who protect us”.

Everyone cheered the subjugation participants who waved from their positions. Somewhat blushing, they enjoyed the flattery, which was a real pleasure to receive after risking their lives against strong beasts. It was no wonder, they were always in charge of keeping at bay any threat to the peace of the town that they had worked so hard to build and bring forward.

Everyone was cheering. In front of them were Mathias' parents greeting their parents, Sebastian's father looked at his wife with a smile, mentally greeting her "I'm back, darling," while the wife thanked the heavens that her husband had returned safely.

Tadeo blowing kisses to his Dark Elf girlfriend. Another of the couples in the village made up of a human and an Elf just like the rulers. Tadeo was the guardian of great height, intimidating body, bald and to top it off he was missing an arm which made him look incredibly tough and despite all that he really is a very good person. Kind, hardworking and very cloying with his Elf girlfriend who like all those of her race had her characteristic beauty.

There were the other Elf boys and Elf girls who participated in the mission greeting their friends, at first glance one could notice that they were injured.

“What's next” echoed Alexander's voice “I want to sell these beasts in the city of Napal, we will get a good amount of gold for it, with that gold I plan to build a medical office because we need it so much”.

With what he said many of those present felt total relief, at least that way they would not be depending all the time on pure medicinal herbs, they could have someone who is especially dedicated to being a doctor.

The Elves have a vast knowledge in the use of medicinal herbs based on various species of plants, but those who live in the village were very inclined towards what concerns battles, and due to the way, they lived before arriving in the village they were never able to learn the healing arts.

“Now the big one” he looked away at the large snake that was at least twelve meters long “as you all know, we are a people that obtains its income by hunting and exterminating dangerous beasts and then selling their parts, unfortunately we have no other way to earn a living... unless you want to join us...”.

“NO NO NO NEVER!”.

Nobody approved the idea, if they let him finish Alexander would have said join the empire. But they would have too many differences with them, because their thoughts are Human sovereignty, and those of the people are equality.

Alexander laughed briefly “don't worry it's a joke, or have you forgotten that my wife is a pretty Elf” he stretched his ears while the others laughed.

“What I plan to do with the big one... since it's an adult magical beast, its parts like the horn or its feathers will be very juicy bait to attract at least a couple of dwarves to the village...”.

Little by little everyone understood Alexander's idea.

“We hope that they set up a smithy in the village and that way we can obtain weapons and armor made by dwarven hands”.

There are actually many good mistakes around all empires, but the dwarves are best known for their extremely excellent products.

“Now something that is of vital importance to our people” he became serious, he would leave all jokes aside “we must manage to conquer new horizons of income” this idea caught everyone's attention, really something extremely important and something that many have been wondering about- not to depend solely on the sale of the parts of all the beasts we hunt- he began to walk through the crowd.

“For example,”. Alexander points to one of her friends, John Valencia, Anita's father. -John, you make delicious bread, but at the same time it tastes different from that of other towns and cities”.

John nodded, "that's correct Lord Alexander, it is a fact that I need to replenish my supplies from Napal City, but when I make them, I prepare them using my own recipes, and using ingredients made from the herbs I grow."

They knew what was going on “right! Your breads have a little something extra! If we could sell them in other towns and cities, the income would increase, and you could even open branches in other places,” an idea that had always been of interest to John.

“What do our amazing tailors tell me?” a few girls smiled. “Your clothes are unique and very pretty, you could even create your own brand and if it is accepted in other cities, you could sell it!”.

They hugged each other, they knew that they still had a lot to learn in the art of tailoring, if they could get at least one experienced tailor in town to be interested.

“Now do you understand me?” said Alexander “we must do something more than just hunt beasts!.”

Everyone looked at each other. "Lord Alexander," said an Elf girl, "how about selling the vegetables grown by the village Elves? Because of the way we grow them, they tend to be tastier and more nutritious than those grown elsewhere."

“It's true!.”

“It's much better than the vegetables from the villages that don't have Elves.”

Other people who have tried vegetables before nodded in agreement.

“Anything that can be traded is welcome.” Said Alexander as the others were in high spirits and jubilant.

“Coffee! Clothing, shoes, skin care products for Demihumans! Everything is welcome.” The people jumped in jubilation. They had been given the opportunity to dedicate themselves to something, even those who are not fighters could contribute with some idea to generate income.

Now all that was left was to make the preparations.

On the warriors' side, they analyzed the case of the dwarves: they were beings capable of creating weapons with almost any objects and minerals. Their race magic helped a lot with that, that way the weapons and armor they created were worth so much. They were one of the few non-human beings who were treated well in the Human Empire. Even so, they always preferred to live in their own lands.

“In seven days we will go to Napal village to sell everything we have, so those who want to, during these days can hunt some beasts and earn extra gold coins or prepare their vegetables or some product to sell are welcome to join”.

“WOOOOOOOO.”

Everyone was excited, even all those who had been resting from last night's battle. With that, they could buy a lot of things for themselves. Even those who never went to other villages had the chance to go if they hunted a beast. All the teenagers, both human and demi-human, were excited. They had long wanted an opportunity like this.

This was one of those days when the town was very busy. Everyone was going here and there making the necessary preparations to go hunting or gathering the materials to prepare the products for sale. The latter was the case for John who spent the whole morning searching for a special recipe to add to his breads and coffee.

The Elves who were in charge of the fruits and vegetables were analyzing the best products to sell, they were happy! Their vegetables that they lovingly cultivated would earn them a lot of gold.

In the case of Selestia's parents, who were not dedicated to being warriors or magicians, but that did not mean they did not know how to fight, they decided to write a book of at least twenty pages explaining in the easiest way possible the use and employment of Elemental magic.

Unlike the children of the village, they knew how difficult it was for humble people to learn magic. This book would be very useful to them since they planned to offer it at prices quite accessible to that kind of people.

Other people would prepare sweets, juices or other things.