Ethan and four others approached the front, using the wagons as cover to examine the darkness and silhouettes on the trees. He noticed that the people behind them started hugging each other, not knowing what was going on.

‘Throw a light over there, Ethan; we need to see something.’ Egor pointed to the light on the wagon.

There were some extra lights on the wagon he was in; Ethan lit them and threw them into the woods, and Ethan signaled to his squad to do the same. As soon as the lights reached the ground close to the forest, all of the soldiers on the wagons looking in the direction of the forest saw orcs and goblins on the trees.

‘Fire!!!’ Egor shouted.

As the soldiers began to pull their triggers, the sounds of whistles were mixed with the screams of the monsters and the lights that came from the rifles flying in the direction of the forest, which gave the monsters a path to follow, making them charge at their position.

‘On the right flank, we have contact.’ A voice came from Ethan's radio.

‘On the left too.’ Another voice came through Egor's radio.

As the monsters were getting closer, Ethan looked around, and an idea came to his mind.

‘Caleb!! Right now, I need the cannon with the explosive here.’ Ethan shouted.

One of the soldiers on Ethan's squad, Caleb, ran to a wagon in the back, crossing the crowd of people that were lying trying to protect the children with their bodies and grabbed a cannon and loaded it with explosive ammo. As he passed the people on the ground once again as fast as possible, he ran to the front again and gave it to Ethan.

‘I will bring you more, sir.’ Caleb spoke as he ran back.

Ethan fired, aiming for the center of the monsters, rushing them without giving it much thought. The projectile traveled quickly, and an explosion immediately followed, engulfing some of the monsters and sending others into a panic.

‘Use the cannons!’ Egor yelled over the radio.

As the orders came over the radio, more explosions began to occur among the monsters. Crashes made them stumble as balls of flames engulfed others, and explosions made them fly, prompting the rest to flee back to the forest.

‘Cease fire.’ Egor's voice could be heard on everyone's radio.

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‘Keep your eyes open; throw lamps as far as you can in all directions to have better vision.’ On the radio, Egor stated.

With the wind blowing toward the forest and only that sound audible with everyone waiting and the darkness surrounding the caravan, the soldiers scurried and began tossing lights around the ring of wagons. The people seated within the circle began to become more composed and mustered the energy to look around.

‘Be on high alert, everyone. I’m going to calm everyone down.’ On the radio, Egor spoke.

‘See, the goddess defended us with her weapons; the feeling that I had to rescue our people in the forest came from her; I feel it.’ Eli extended his hand upward to the sky.

On the duchy, Ariadne was sipping tea and reading some papers as she gazed up at the gloomy night from inside her bedroom. Her heart was filling up like never before, a warm sensation that made her feel needed. With a sigh of relief, she gave a sincere smile while looking out the window.

‘I thought I heard someone calling for me. Strange.’ She sipped a little of the tea.

‘Maybe the people of the duchy are calling your name, their savior, your highness.’ Eliza gave Ariadne a smile.

‘Indeed.’ Standing up, Ariadne made her way to her bed.

‘Good night, your highness.’ The maid got out of the room.

‘Good night, Eliza.’ She laid down on the bed and closed her eyes.

The sun began to shine on the horizon, and as people awoke, they peered over the wagons at the monsters that were lying on the ground in front of the forest. The bodies were left behind as the caravan began to leave.

‘We currently have too many people. For safety and to avoid drawing the kingdom's attention, right now we are moving directly toward the duchy.’ Egor spoke more loudly.

Ethan could hear the murmuring of everyone praying around him while he was in one of the wagons, words of gratitude, and some even crying, thanking the duchess for a safe trip. It made him uncomfortable seeing these people turn the duchess into some kind of god so quickly, but he understood why; their conditions were not the best. The girl from the previous night was sitting next to him, praying.

‘I’m grateful to the goddess for her protection and blessings.’ She blinked, opened her eyes, and turned to face Ethan.

‘Do you genuinely think that the duchess is a goddess?’ Ethan enquired.

‘Yes, when I accepted her in my heart, I was able to use the magic stove; what more could I ask for proof? On her territory, according to the soldiers, there are also more magical things. It's like being rewarded for my faith in her.’ The young lady smiled.

‘The duchess is a great person, but she even has a slave, you know? I don’t think she views herself as a goddess; the duchess just wants to make the duchy strong so that everyone can be safe." Ethan cast a glance at the floor.

‘A Slave? I am sure there is a reason for it.’ The young lady looked at him and put a hand on his knee.

‘He was a prince in Velvent; he now does a lot of things for the duchess, even teaching people how to make these devices.’ He notices her hand, and his eyes widen.

‘See? Everything happens for a reason, and I bet she is treating him very well.’ She gives him a smile while squeezing his knee.

‘I… m sorry; this was our first ge-ge-genuine conversation. My name is E-E-Ethan Aaron, and I serve in the Du-Du-Duchess A-A-rmy as a corporal.’ Ethan stutters every time she squeezes his knee.

‘Ho, that is right; my name is Ruth Abadi. Ah, I almost forgot: this is my sister's husband, my sister, my mother, and my father.’ Ruth points to each and every member of her family while moving her hand to his thigh.

‘What?’ He looked at the family confusedly while blushing.

‘Soldier, don’t be like that; you will make a brave husband. I witnessed what you did and how you led the battle.’ The elderly Shafran laughed,

Ruth looked into Ethan’s eyes and tightened her hold on his thigh again as Ethan gave an awkward laugh. Caleb, who was standing across from Ethan, was grinning while pretending to sleep.

As they continued to travel to the duchy, the caravan began to get attention from local nobles, and from afar, soldiers looked at them. At the same time, previous homeless Chatzi living in the streets of the cities joined in; Eli was the cause of that, traveling ahead of the caravan and preaching for the people on the way to the Chatzi in the slums. The caravan itself never entered or got close to any city, but because of Eli, they knew how and where to join.