Third person POV
Meanwhile, back in Halestone Town in the afternoon, while the army of the Southern Plains was on their way, Russell and his friends had checked in the town's inn and had two rooms for themselves. Russell had just used his Repairs ability to repair his beat-up bus instantly, much to Nathan's shock and chagrin. Before that, however, the town mayor had gifted Russell and his friends some of the town's gemstones from the Jewels Bazaar as tokens of his gratitude. Russell and his friends tried to refuse the expensive offer, but again, the mayor insisted. So, the group accepted it and divided it themselves for each other. And now, as the sun set on the mountainous horizon, Russell, Azalea, John, and Nathan settled down in their room, while the dragon family were winding down in their room. Their rooms are nice and simple, with white curtains and locally-made furniture.
"Well, I had to cancel my other routes for a while," Russell said to his friends while laying down on his soft, comfy bed.
"Yeah, but that was worth it, right?" Nathan replied while looking at photos of his recent takes in this town.
Russell nodded, before taking off his outer business suit and necktie.
John was resting under a desk, and Azalea rested on her bed.
The room had three individual beds other than the essentials like a desk and some wardrobes.
The next morning, while Russell and his friends had a nice breakfast at the inn's private restaurant, the assigned army divisions by George had arrived, with Cassius, Nicholas, and Adrian appearing there with them as well. Arriving in town, the army division, headed by Nicholas, announced to the townspeople and their mayor about the upcoming war with Batela, much to their shock and horror. At the same time, Aren had sent a big portion of his country's army to Halestone Town to seek vengeance against the Southern Plains for foiling their invasion.
And so, upon hearing about the upcoming war from a kitchen boy, Russell and his friends finished their meal and checked out of the inn, rushing to the town plaza to see what was going on. There they were stunned to see Cassius and Adrian. Cassius and Adrian, in turn, were stunned to see them back. Adrian then ran to Russell and hugged him tightly for a bit. "Russell-kun!"
Rai and Ria were happy to see Adrian again.
"Yeah, great to see you again, Adrian-kun," Russell said to Adrian back. "How are you without us?"
"I am doing fine," Adrian happily responded back. "And you?"
"I am doing great, too!"
And then, Nicholas and Cassius came forward to Russell and the others and gave their greetings to them.
"Yes, great to see you again, Cassius-san, Your Highness," Russell said to them in response.
Nathan made a respectful gesture to the crowned prince and one of his royal spies.
"So, is it true that you took down some of Batela's soldiers?" Nicholas asked Russell.
"Batela?" Russell raised his eyebrow in confusion for a bit.
"Yes, that was the country that invaded this town yesterday."
"It was a country west of this country," Cassius added, "and that country was our enemy."
Russell was stunned to hear that. "That one is our enemy?"
"Yes," Adrian chimed in.
"Okay then," Russell replied back, "well, yes, I'm the one who did the bulk of the counterattack against their soldiers."
Nicholas, Adrian, and Cassius were shocked to hear that and asked Russell how did he do that.
"I used my bus to ram them over," Russell happily and confidently responded back, "sometimes crushing most of them under its wheels."
Nathan and the others confirmed it with their eyewitness accounts.
Because of that, Nicholas, Adrian, and Cassius were amazed and dumbfounded at Russell's actions against Batela's soldiers. And now, Russell asked them if they would allow him to participate in the war with his bus. Thinking that would be a very big advantage for them, Nicholas accepted it, much to Russell's enthusiasm.
"Yes, don't worry, I'll do my best in this war," Russell said to them with loyalty.
Adrian felt more inspired by Russell.