Chapter 60: We strike when the time is right!

"I’m scared, Kanan." Terin, someone who wanted to prove himself as a warrior, said something you wouldn’t expect from him.

"What?" It was a bit surprising to hear him say that. Kanan knew how much Terin wanted to be a warrior, how much he wanted to prove himself worthy of protecting the tribe. Yet now he was scared? That was so unlike him.

"I know what you’re thinking, and it makes sense. But...it’s just that this is serious, you know? Monsters are one thing, but these are people who are trying to kill us. It’s not the same."

Kanan was going to mention that monsters and beasts were completely different creatures, but he decided to keep that information to himself for the time being. Instead, he patted his friend on the shoulder and gave him some words of encouragement.

"You know, Terin, I understand how you feel. I mean, look at me. I became the Village Shaman, a role I didn’t even know existed, and now I have responsibilities that make me extremely valuable to the tribe. That’s a lot of pressure, man."

Terin nodded, understanding Kanan’s situation.

"But because I love our people, I do my best and hope I can fulfil my duty to the absolute best. You’ve worked hard to make it this far; don’t let your fears hold you back, my friend. Besides, if things go well, we’re not even going to fight. "

"Y-Yeah, you’re right! I did work hard for this! I trained, studied, and even killed some monsters!"

Again, Kanan wished to tell him that a beast was nothing in comparison to a monster, but he wasn’t going to ruin Terin’s motivational moment.

"Exactly! Besides, I’m sure you’ll do your best if we do have to fight. Remember, Terin, as a warrior, your duty is to protect our people. This role was given to you by Lord Nemean."

"Lord Nemean," Terin muttered as he looked at the sky. "I won’t disappoint you."

"None of us will."

---

Over the next few hours, Kanan made rounds around the village to check up on people, make sure equipment functioned properly, and used the guard towers to see if he could spot any of their enemies.

The timer on his System updated, now saying "Any time now" instead of an actual number or date. He assumed it didn’t want him to get too reliant on knowing when an enemy would attack, since attacks that aren’t scheduled are random.

’Are formal battles even a thing in this era?’ He knew that in the classical and Medieval eras, wars were fought formally, most of the time, at least. But he didn’t know if such a thing existed in this time.

Night had fallen, and torches were lit throughout the village, keeping the area visible and allowing the warriors to see into the distance.

All of the warriors, guards, and hunters remained on full alert, as an attack was far more likely to come under the cover of night than during the day. Watch posts rotated between them, with some resting while others kept watch. After hours of maintaining this cycle, daylight finally returned.

Kanan didn’t sleep well, even between the lovely breasts of Viola and Glena. With the constant threat of an attack on his mind, it was hard to sleep peacefully.

"Kanan? Are you okay?" Glena asked as she felt him waking up. She was already three months pregnant at this point and was now slightly showing.

Kanan rubbed her belly and gave her a kiss. "I’m fine. Just a bit anxious, that’s all."

"Do you wish to sleep some more? I’m sure the chief wouldn’t mind."

"No, no, it’s fine. I don’t think sleeping will do me any good, if I’m being honest." He got up, put on some clothes, then headed for the door.

"I’ll return when it’s time for lunch."

"Take care." Glena smiled.

When Kanan stepped outside, the first thing that caught his eye was a volley of flaming arrows raining over the sky.

---

[A few days prior]

"W-What is this?!"

The Typhon Tribe managed to make their way to the designated spot where they planned their attack.

Due to the distance while trekking the mountain, they couldn’t really see the changes in the Nemean Tribe, but the moment they got closer, everything changed.

"A wall? W-When did they build a wall?! How did they build a wall?!"

The Typhon Tribe didn’t think too highly of themselves. They knew that the Nemean tribe would be aware of their attack and were preparing countermeasures, but a whole wall, one that they couldn’t even see over unless they were at a certain height, was not what they expected.

"Chief, what do we do?"

Woton studied the wall and everyone around it, taking this time to fully understand what they were up against.

Attacking head-on would be foolish, so he needed to change their plan.

"Tagah, use the spirit of wind and soar into the sky to look above the wall."

"Yes, chief." Tagah’s tattoos glowed, wind swirled around his body, and then he was elevated into the air.

Looking from above, he saw how mobilized the Nemean Tribe was. There were weapons he hadn’t seen before, warriors on top of the wall, more guards than they expected, and even the people were on high alert, only doing necessary tasks before heading back to their homes.

When Tagah came back down, he explained the situation to Chief Woton.

"Hmm. I see. They’re more than prepared. I would expect nothing less from our long-time rivals. However, they underestimate our will to succeed, our will to survive!"

Woton glanced at the village, then a sadistic smirk etched itself across his face. "We wait! Let them feel the weight of our eventual attack. Have them tire themselves out, more than they already are. And when they least expect it, we strike."

And over the course of the next few days, the Typhon Tribe observed, made plans, and prepared for their attack.

Though the Nemean Tribe didn’t slack off or relax, there were a few of them who felt confident that the Typhon Tribe wouldn’t attack them, and that was all Chief Woton needed.

"Telah, release the fire arrows!"