17 Village(1)

'They're not Qi warriors,' Cale understood why he couldn't perceive anyone in the vicinity. Not so startled anymore, Cale surged Qi into his hand and, using all the possible power, shifted Fenrir's body out of the sight.

'Kids?' Cale saw two teenagers standing in front of him, one of whom was already hurrying off somewhere in the distance.

"Fenrir, don't move", Cale whispered to the beast before covering his own face with Fenrir's white fur, leaving only a miniature hole to be capable of seeing the surroundings.

"Go away!" Leo called from a distance, his eyes gleaming with fear.

"Hey kid, is there maybe a town nearby?" asked Cale after watching the young woman disappear among the trees.

"No, there's nothing here! Get out of here before I take action!" Leo picked up a rock from the ground, ready to throw it forward at any moment.

"Kid, calm down. I didn't come here with any evil intentions, I'm just a passerby looking for a place to stay." Cale said before sheathing his blade back.

"Do not lie to me! Why would a mere passerby wear armor like that?" Leo grunted as he tossed the stone forward. Cale was surprised by the accuracy of the throw for a second before he tilted his head to the side, letting the small stone pass through him.

"Leave!" Leo began to throw every stone that he could find under his feet, while Cale, on other hand, didn't even bother to move. Although the precision of the throws was admirable, the power behind them was lacking.

"Poof...poof" After a few minutes, Leo was already shaking in exhaustion, sweat forming around his body.

"You done?" asked Cale, looking around the perimeter where many rocks were dispersed, 'For a simple human, that was quite impressive,' Cale mused before turning his gaze back to the boy.

"Leo!" a loud shout suddenly rang out from the side as several people rushed towards the commotion. Most of them held rakes in their hands, seemingly preparing for a battle.

'So there really is a village,' Cale thought, glancing in the direction of the advancing group. Although some of them looked quite robust, none of them had Qi in their bodies, reassuring Cale that he was safe.

"Which kingdom are you from! Where are the others?!" the beefy man in the lead was the first to speak up.

"To clear things up from the beginning, I'm just passing through the forest, looking for a place to stay" Cale repeated his words before adding, "Since your group doesn't seem that friendly, I'll leave immediately... But could I at least ask for directions?"

"Are you actually not a warrior? Then why are you wearing such armor?" the person asked, not unexpecting such a response.

"I am a warrior," Cale confirmed the person's words as everyone immediately grabbed their weapons, their eyes filled with fear, "But I don't belong to any kingdom."

"Don't belong to any kingdom?" A sudden realization hit the person as his gaze wandered aft. An old man made his way out of the crowd, glancing towards Cale with a bright smile.

"We're sorry to have misunderstood you as someone else, and we hope you'll forgive us," the old man said in a soft voice, "You said something about directions, right? We have a map of the local lands in our village."

"Dad! What are you doing?!" the brawny man exclaimed in disbelief. No matter the situation, his father always made the best decisions depending on the situation, but bringing an unknown warrior to their village was undoubtedly a terrible idea.

"Believe me, it's for the best" the old man convinced, reassuring everyone present.

'So there really is a village somewhere nearby, quite a strange place' Cale thought before nodding slightly. Even though this kind of invitation seemed rather odd, Cale still needed to know the location of another kingdom. Besides, if something turned out to be shady, which was most likely the case, Cale would just kill everyone in the crowd.

"It's settled then," the old man said with a smile, extending his hand forward in greeting to the warrior, "Aran, nice to meet you."

"Cale" Cale shook Aran's hand without hesitation as he glanced at the people around him who, though still skeptical, also introduced themselves.

Forgetting the names of most of them after only a few seconds, Cale only retained a few, with Leo in particular imprinted in his mind. Albeit faint, Cale still managed to notice a slight contrast between Aran's face and Leo's.

'Is Leo his grandchild?' Cale thought before glancing towards Nok, 'And he has to be the father'

"Before we depart...I'm really curious as to what's on your face," Nok asked with a confused face, eyeing the white fur in Cale's helmet, "Can you even see anything?"

"It's rather embarrassing to say, but it's part of the divine power I wield," Cale replied nonchalantly.

"Divi-divine power?" All the villagers immediately backed away in shock, including the elder who almost fell to the ground after hearing Cale's words.

"Si-sir! We're sorry for treating you so badly!" Aran fell to his knees while putting his hand together. Others didn't gush any nonsense either, but followed Aran's actions and fell onto their joints.

'What's going on here?' Leo and Layla were the only ones who kept standing, confused. Neither of them could understand the current situation, but after seeing Aran's piercing gaze, they both briefly joined the crowd.

"Aran, you are the respective elder of your own village. At least have some respect for yourself," Cale said coldly, rather annoyed at their behavior, "I'm just a simple person like all of you, there's absolutely no need to kneel to someone just because they wield divine power."

Finishing his sentence, Cale promptly took the elder's hand, raising him up off the ground. Throughout all his life, Cale disliked the behavior of those arrogant people who thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they possessed divine powers. However, what he especially hated were those who immediately fell to their knees at the sight of a powerful warrior.

'So my choice wasn't wrong,' Aran smiled graciously before saying, "You're one of the kindest warriors I've ever met in my life, especially for someone with a divine power."

"You overestimate my abilities," Cale said modestly before adding, "Besides, I don't usually like to show my grotesque face, but unfortunately, I lost my mask a few days ago."

"We'll think of something in the village," Aran replied excitedly. Together with his words, all the villagers who were previously kneeling on the ground, immediately stood up, their gazes warm. Even the ever-serious Nok glanced towards Calm with admiration.

'All of them seemed so frightened earlier...I doubt they have any ill intentions,' Cale thought before stepping forth and beginning to follow the elder, soon disappearing into the boundless forest.