The winter snow continued to fall.
For the villagers living near the Black Forest, they could finally come out and breathe a sigh of relief.
Raul carefully climbed out from the cellar and looked at the house, now more than half collapsed. His face was full of helplessness.
This two-story wooden house had been built with his own hands. More than ten years had passed, and he never thought it would collapse during this winter.
His children also sighed at the sight, patting their elderly father on the shoulder and offering a few words of comfort. Then, they carefully checked the house, just in case any magical beasts were still hiding inside.
"Phew, looks like it's safe," Raul's son said with relief, calling up the women and children who were still in the cellar.
Raul's daughter came over to comfort him as well. "It's okay, once winter passes, we'll rebuild the house."
Hearing the reassurance from his children, Raul nodded helplessly. After a quick cleanup, they hurried to the orchard.
For berry farmers, the orchard was their lifeline. But when they arrived and saw the scene before them, everyone was stunned.
The orchard was no longer just "a mess." Everywhere they looked was covered in thick white snow. The entire orchard had completely disappeared into the frozen wasteland!
Raul felt as though the sky was collapsing. His face turned pale. He had known this winter's beast tide was particularly severe, but he never imagined the orchard would be completely destroyed.
"Father, everything will be okay. It'll be okay..." Raul's daughter wrapped her arms around her father, her voice trembling as she tried to console him.
Raul showed no emotion on his face. Glancing at his son and daughter, he stepped forward and suddenly kicked something hard.
His heart skipped a beat. Carefully brushing away the snow, he uncovered a thick tree trunk, covered in claw marks from magical beasts. With that, any final hope he had was gone.
He slumped to the ground. A tear rolled down from the eyes of Raul. For a berry farmer, losing the orchard truly meant losing everything.
"Let's head back for now. When spring comes, we'll start over," Raul said, his voice dim. But they had no choice but to accept reality.
Scenes like this played out across villages near the Black Forest. In the face of this ferocious beast tide, hardly any orchards remained intact.
Meanwhile, the relocation of the Aspiration Territory's residents had already begun.
The villagers, unaware of what was happening, began moving toward Aspiration City under the Lady's orders.
Raul's family hadn't even had time to fully process their grief when the knights arrived at their door.
When they heard that the beast tide wasn't over yet, they were stunned. Snow had already begun to fall—how could the tide still not be over? Even the massive beast tide from five years ago might not have been worse than this one. So, what scale would the next wave reach?
The lady had ordered everyone to migrate into Aspiration City—this meant the territory had been abandoned. Everyone's mood sank heavily.
'Looks like the other side of the house won't survive either,' Raul thought, standing silently in front of the half-collapsed building.
Soon, the villagers were gathered outside the village. Their faces were uniformly dark, some even streaked with tears—clearly, many were in similar situations.
Not just homes—Stonefall Village itself might be lost.
The old village chief looked out over the snow-covered village, feeling as though the entire world had turned bleak.
Once all the villagers had gathered, the knights quickly led the way, leaving Stonefall Village behind. The villagers followed numbly, the long procession snaking across the snow-covered wasteland.
Raul walked with the group for what felt like forever. Surrounded by endless white, he had no idea how far they had gone or where they were now.
Stonefall Village was a full day's journey from Aspiration City. With the snow slowing them down, there was no way they'd make it today. Perhaps they would travel through the night, or maybe they'd stop and rest at a nearby village.
"We're almost at Fruitvale Village. Everyone, keep up. We'll rest there for the night," a knight leading the group shouted.
Hearing the name "Fruitvale Village," Raul's expression changed. He remembered the young man who had given them hope.
This winter had come especially early, and the snow had fallen especially late. If not for Aven buying their still-unripe berries before winter set in, they might have starved to death in their cellar.
"I wonder how Fruitvale Village is doing now," Raul muttered, a flicker of emotion returning to his otherwise numb face. He stared into the snowy distance, worry creeping into his heart.
It wasn't just the old village chief. The numb faces of other villagers also began to show some life. None of them had forgotten the warmth Aven had brought during this winter—they were all thinking about the boy who had helped them.
"Huh? There's smoke ahead."
A villager suddenly shouted.
Everyone looked up and saw wisps of smoke curling into the sky.
"Looks like we're close. Let's push a little further," said the knight, visibly relieved.
The villagers were stunned for a moment, then broke into smiles. It wasn't just joy at nearing their destination—it was also relief that Fruitvale Village seemed to be safe.
After a bit more walking, just as the outline of the village came into view, several Mightyenas came running toward them.
The villagers instinctively tensed, but seeing people riding the Mightyenas, they relaxed—it seemed they were knights' magical beasts.
But when the Mightyenas arrived, they froze again—because they recognized the riders. They were villagers from Fruitvale Village.
"Uncle Raul, it's so good to see you!" Peter smiled as he looked at the arriving villagers.
"Good, good." Raul nodded repeatedly, visibly relieved. He quickly asked, "Is Fruitvale Village, okay?"
Peter jumped off his Mightyena proudly. "Don't worry, Uncle. Fruitvale Village is completely safe. We drove away all the invading beasts."
"That's good, that's very good."
Raul nodded again and again. The villagers behind him also looked visibly relieved.
However, they didn't catch the meaning behind Peter's words. They assumed it was the knights who had driven away the beasts. It never even crossed their minds that the villagers of Fruitvale Village had done it themselves.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Hey guys, If you like this novel do consider dropping a vote as I'm giving a bonus chapter for getting 100 power stones, 300 power stones, 500, 700. Thank you and Peace out.)