That made sense, but there was still value in letting others hire their services. Someone like Herac got insanely strong on the battlefield, but he still let Lord Ekirenton hire him since he could gain money more easily without doing things he deemed boring.

"Putting that aside, how are you dealing with the problem of the invasion?" Angela asked. "I predicted that it would happen, but I didn't think it would be like that."

"... Did you read the spirits of those guys?" Gaius asked.

"Yes, but I also can take a glimpse at that world when you gain large amounts of experience," Angela explained while looking around. "When you use the system, I can also take a look at the situation, in some aspects that are related to you. Herac's boss predicted the invasion, and I noticed that when he leveled up."

"That asshole… I will make him break his own arm for not informing him beforehand," Gaius said. "Since he likes money so much, I will make him save a lot and give it to me once I have more freedom to do what I want."

"That will be interesting to see," Angela said while smiling. "One last piece of advice before you go. It seems that trouble is brewing further East. That will be your first mystery to unveil."

"I can't imagine how the system or anything related to me would make you aware of something so far away," Gaius said while feeling like frowning.

"I didn't learn that using the normal means, but I can't explain it," Angela said and forced a smile.

Gaius sighed. At least she wasn't pretending that she didn't look suspicious. In any case, in the next moment, Gaius woke up in his bed. It didn't feel like their conversations were getting longer, even with the consecutive level-ups. However, Gaius didn't have time for that. He had to learn about the enemy's actions.

Gaius gave the day off to his summoned minions since he had been pushing them a bit too much. So, he had to wait for the scouts of the village to confirm things.

"It looks like something weird happened yet again on the enemy's territory."

"I had heard of that, but it doesn't look like they lost that many people, and they aren't planning to retreat."

"Well, this is a matter of survival for them, after all. They need this territory to build a more stable source of food for themselves."

Gaius expected as much, but he wanted to hear about the numbers of the enemies. He had killed over sixty in two days. He expected that they had way more than ten times that number if they weren't planning to retreat.

Later that day, after sunset, Zairus had a meeting with everyone who was going to take up arms and fight directly. It looked like they had a bit more than four hundred people on their side, and the enemies definitely were going to attack the day after tomorrow. Their numbers were sixteen hundred.

"... They outnumber us four to one, but they won't show their true strength since they don't know the terrain as much as we do and because weird things keep happening to them," Zairus declared. "Our scouts say that they haven't been sleeping well either, so we should use this to our advantage and take down as many of them on the first day of the fight. That will only increase their problems and our chances of winning."

Aside from that, everyone talked about what else they could do. They hadn't received any answers from Lord Ekirenton until now, so they couldn't count on him. It was a bit too much, but it seemed that they had to rely on grown women as extra archers. Even without much training, they could be useful as long as they fired together a massive barrage. Naturally, the guards and the others fighting at close range would use bows at first as well, but only at the very beginning.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Since that was the case, while she wasn't strong and had never used a weapon in her life, Kaira was selected to use the extra bows as well.

"Don't worry, Gaius," Kaira said while caressing the top of his head and showing a cold smile. "Mama will show the enemies what true terror means for trying to take our homes from us."

Although his mother's words sounded reassuring and scary, Gaius was filled with worry. His father probably could take the hit of an arrow or two, as long as it didn't pierce his skull. However, a single arrow in a bad place, and at the very least, Kaira would end up wounded for life. He couldn't let that happen…

"I wanted to live a good and leisurely life in this world, but I guess that is impossible. It is time to enter murder hobo mode," Gaius thought.

For someone who was given the gift of a second chance, Gaius didn't want to use that gift to take other people's lives. That would be nonsensical unless it was absolutely necessary. Still, it couldn't be helped. Wars exist because one side attacks and the other defends. If only one side attacks, that is a massacre and way worse than wars.

"If the enemies want to see some blood, I guess I will show them some blood," Gaius thought and then shrugged.

When night came, Gaius made his soldiers watch the enemy's camp from afar, and they confirmed that their commander had arrived that day and taken the reins of the whole situation. Not only were the soldiers acting as if the previous attacks never happened, but they had also deployed formations using the tents, the horses, the carriages, and the soldiers where the enemies would have a hard time targeting their supplies and mounts. They would have to zigzag around many times and cross several lines of enemies before reaching those.

Attacking with his current forces was impossible now, but it was fine. Gaius could wait for a bit.

The next day, those who were going to fight were saying some words to their kids. All of the boys who were below ten and all the girls who were below fifteen were going to stay behind since their parents didn't want the battle to take place in their village.

"We will return soon. Don't worry. We won't miss a single day of training, all right?" Zairus said while messing with Gaius' hair.

Gaius just nodded. A child of his age probably would understand what was going on and make a scene, but he was too old for that, and he had his own plans, so there was no need to get emotional.

"We will definitely return," Kaira said while hugging Gaius with all her might. "But if we don't return, you should head west with all the other kids, all right? Don't stop, and don't look back."

Gaius returned the hug and then nodded. That was the biggest death flag that anyone had ever raised in front of him. Still, his head was calm and collected.

Kaira kept hugging Gaius for a while but eventually let him go. The other mothers also acted pretty much the same way as her. So, it took a while for everyone to begin to move.

Gaius watched his parents leave the village, and he waited for a while after they disappeared in the distance, then he headed to the back of his house where the hawk was waiting for him.

Hawk Lv 21 (1550/21,000)

Cost: 6400 mana

Charge: 00

Summoning Bonuses: Luck Lv 21

Health: 230/230

Mana: 85/85

Stamina: 270/270

Strength: 23

Endurance: 23

Adaptability: 12

Magic: 05

Resistance: 12

Wisdom: 05

Dexterity: 25

Perception: 32

Luck: 14

Free points: 00

"You have gotten considerably stronger without me noticing it," Gaius said while patting the animal. "I guess you got some experience during my first attack. Anyway, I will be counting on you this time since we are going to fight for a while."

The hawk squeaked in agreement, and then Gaius jumped on his back. Before long, they were flying and crossing the skies again.

After a couple of minutes, Gaius saw the people in the village setting barricades around the area. They were determined to stay there until the enemies went away or they died. Gaius couldn't help but wonder if he could prevent all deaths on their side. He didn't want to risk his parents getting hurt, and that protection would probably extend to the others in the village that he didn't know of. He had been there for six years, and he only interacted with his parents.

"I guess Angela is an exception…" Gaius thought and then frowned when he saw the enemy's camp approaching.

Just to be sure, Gaius made the hawk fly higher so that no one would notice their approach. It seemed to work since the movements in the enemy's camp didn't change. They were only waiting for the villagers to make a bad move and then take advantage of the situation.