After giving Jack the spare storage ring, Lucius took a casual walk around the farm. The way the place was rapidly transforming into a thriving small community gave him a sense of accomplishment that he had never felt in his previous life. Some latent instincts inside him had been stirred awake, and Lucius felt a strong desire to ensure the well-being of this group of people that he had worked hard to protect and gather together in this place.

For no particular reason, he started walking toward the fields where Mary was raising crops, and spent most of her time lately. Lucius quickly spotted the woman walking down a narrow dirt path between two rows of thick plants. He stepped into the path directly beside hers as he walked into the field toward her.

"Hello again, Mary. These crops seem to have doubled in size since you took them over only a few days ago. How is that possible?"

Mary looked up from her task with a proud smile on her face, releasing the healthy-looking green leaf she had been inspecting from her hand.

"Hello, Lucius. You’re not imagining things—these plants really are growing faster than I ever thought possible. You can thank Nana for that. Apparently, she had been quite the expert gardener in her old life, and she unlocked a few talents related to the growth speed and survival of plant life while helping me seed the second field. Between my healing aura and her ability to rapidly speed up the growth cycle of plants, I think we can solve the communities long-term food problems."

Lucius' eyes widened slightly at the good news. He looked down at the plants with renewed interest after learning that their growth had been affected by magic.

"I don’t know much about plants, but these appear to be no different from normal. Hopefully, this talent of hers can continue to promote growth without causing any unforeseen consequences. That would make all our lives much easier."

"I agree, not only that—"

Mary stopped speaking abruptly, her and Lucius both turning their heads toward the farmhouse where a loud commotion of shouting men could be heard. When Lucius zeroed in on the source of the noise, he saw a large group of uniformed soldiers rushing toward the farmhouse. The two men at lead being familiar faces.

"Looks like Tiber has returned with his men, but... something is wrong. We’d better go and meet them."

Lucius nodded at Mary’s words, and the two made their way back toward the farmhouse where the soldiers were heading. As they got closer, Lucius got a better look at Garrick and Tiber as they rushed forward at the head of the group, their faces solemn and uniforms stained with splattering's of blood.

As his gaze moved over the group of soldiers following behind the two men, Lucius brows furrowed as he saw Roland's unconscious body being carried by four soldiers, each holding one of the large man's limbs. The bald soldier had a vicious wound across his chest and was still losing blood as they hurried toward the farmhouse.

Mary held one hand over her mouth as she noticed the horrifying wounds on the soldier’s chest.

"Oh God, that's Roland!" she whispered beneath her hand, before quickly breaking into a run as she rushed forward to help.

Lucius kept pace with her as they intercepted the men. The two split up as soon as they reached the group—Mary moving toward the injured Roland while Lucius approached Tiber.

Mary began shouting directions as soon as she saw the extent of Roland’s injuries, instructing the soldiers to move him to the kitchen table and for someone to bring her the medical supplies. The soldiers had applied some hasty battlefield bandaging over Roland’s chest, but he needed much more thorough treatment as soon as possible if he was to survive.

Tiber quickly instructed his men to follow Mary’s orders as he stood behind to speak with Lucius, watching the group carrying Roland move toward the farmhouse before turning to face him with a grim expression. Lucius was the first to speak.

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"What exactly did you run into out there? Roland is the last person I expected to see injured so badly—I know how strong his defensive talents are."

Now that they had reached the safety of the human settlement, Tiber put away the shiny longsword he was holding and turned to look back toward the forest they had just passed through, his brows furrowing as he recalled what had just occurred out there.

"We made it out of the city without issue. I let my guard down when the journey was almost over. We were only a few miles away from the farm, beginning to feel relieved that we had made it in one piece. That was when we crossed paths with a giant creature. A wolf, to be precise."

Lucius narrowed his eyes as he listened, a bad feeling beginning to rise up in his chest.

"A wolf? Was it gray, around the size of a small car, with one missing eye?"

Tiber turned back toward Lucius, rubbing his chin as he replied.

"I'm not sure about the eye—it happened too fast, and I couldn’t get a good look. But the creature was about the size you described, with long gray fur. However, much of its fur had been burned off, and its front leg was severely broken when it attacked us. Even so, it was incredibly fast and powerful beyond anything I have faced. To be honest, if it hadn’t already been so injured and weakened before we ran into it, we’d all be dead. We were able to drive it away simply by overwhelming it with our superior numbers, but as you can see from Roland’s condition, we didn’t escape unscathed."

As Lucius listened, the pieces of a puzzle began to connect in his mind. The size and color of the creature, the burn damage on its body, and the fact that it was moving away from the farmhouse when Tiber’s group encountered it painted a picture in his mind of a series of likely events.

"I see. I think I know what you ran into. You probably have Magar to thank for saving your life—he’s likely the one who inflicted those injuries on the wolf."

Lucius proceeded to explain the events of the past few days to Tiber, telling the stern soldier everything he knew about Baba Yaga, the leader’s transformation into the large wolf, and how he, Nicolai, David, and Sarah had made their hasty escape from Baba Yaga's camp.

Tiber grit his teeth as he took in the information, eventually shaking his head with a deep sigh.

"So we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... Forget it—for now, we need to see if Mary needs any help."

Lucius nodded and accompanied Tiber to the farmhouse, stepping into the kitchen where Roland lay unconscious on the large table. From this close Lucius could see that the normally tan man's skin tone had become a sickly pale, and his chest contained four deep lacerations in the shape of a wolf's claws. Mary was in the process of cleaning the terrible wounds on his chest and preparing to sew him up.

"How does it look, Miss Mary? Will he pull through?" Tiber asked without much expression.

Lucius wondered how many times Tiber had stood at the side of a dying comrade before. Mary responded to the soldier's question without looking away from her task, her hands moving swiftly as she prepared her instruments.

"I don't know. I’m not a doctor or even a nurse—just the unlucky fool who keeps unlocking healing talents. I’ll use my Mend Wound ability while I sew up these deep lacerations, and I’ll spend the night by his side so he can benefit from my healing aura. That’s the best I can do."

Tiber looked at his injured friend with a vacant stare and his lips pulled downward in a shallow frown as he responded.

"Thank you, Miss Mary. I’m very grateful for the time and energy you’re dedicating to one of my men."

After speaking to Mary, Tiber turned back to Lucius, allowing the exhaustion he was feeling to show on his face for the first time since arriving as he spoke.

"The journey was exhausting, and as much as I’d like to get to work right away, my men need food and rest. Can you help me get them settled in for the night, please?"

As Tiber was speaking to Lucius, Patrick came down the stairs with an excited expression on his face and a strange-looking medkit in his hands. He rushed up to Mary and interrupted her just as she was moving her needle toward Roland's skin.

"Wait, Mary! Use this! It’s something I’ve been working on—I didn’t expect it to be of use so soon!"

Mary looked up, frustration flashing across her face at the sudden interruption, but she still accepted the medkit from Patrick’s hands with a questioning gaze.

"I’ve been practicing unorthodox inscription methods. One discovery I made was how to inscribe items that are too small to physically etch. Both the needle and thread in this kit have been empowered to promote the healing process. Please give it a try."

As Mary opened the case and retrieved the items inside, Lucius could feel the magical energy radiating from the small tools. He glanced at Patrick, who stood to the side with an eager expression as he watched Mary thread the enchanted needle.

"How is it possible to leave inscriptions on something too small to write on? Actually, never mind that for now." Lucius shook his head slightly before continuing. "Patrick, please help me get these soldiers settled in for the night."