Fruitvale Village remained surrounded at a distance by the Knight regiment.
To avoid interfering with the possible battle between the Mightyenas and the Glooms, the knights chose to surround the village without launching an attack.
Only after the fight between the Mightyenas and the Glooms concluded would they move in to clean up the battlefield, minimizing potential danger.
Though the Mightyenas had already sustained heavy injuries under their earlier assault, if they launched a desperate counterattack in their dying moments, they would still pose a threat to the now-scattered knights.
"Star, Star, Star ~"
In the skies above, several scouting Starly flew toward Fruitvale Village.
As they reached the skies above the village, the Starly were immediately assaulted by a terrible stench.
Their flight wavered in midair, but they braved the smell and began descending, hoping to investigate what was happening within the village.
"Star, Star, Star ~"
Upon seeing the situation below, the Starly were momentarily stunned.
The Mightyenas were lying on the grass, with the Glooms gathered around them, showing no signs of preparing for battle.
More surprisingly, there were humans present as well—something that filled the Starly with confusion.
After finishing their reconnaissance, the Starly wasted no time lingering in the foul-smelling area and flapped their wings to quickly return to the Knights' encampment.
Soon, Vice-captain Todd received a report on the situation in Fruitvale Village, and a giant question mark formed in his mind.
Mightyenas, Glooms, and humans—these three all appearing together, yet with no fighting taking place? Something about that felt wrong to Todd.
However, now that the Mightyenas had gathered in one place, there was no further need to keep the knights spread out.
Under Vice-captain Todd's orders, the knights surrounding the village regrouped and began advancing toward Fruitvale Village.
"What? The Mightyenas and Glooms didn't harm the villagers of Fruitvale Village?"
On the way, Sir Berrin also received news of the situation and frowned deeply. He had a hunch that everything might be connected to that commoner apothecary.
Outside Fruitvale Village—
Even though it was likely that the ones who attacked the Mightyenas were knights from Aspiration City, Aven still issued orders for everyone to remain on alert.
He also gathered all the Glooms that had been scattered, clearly ready to defend the injured Mightyenas to the death.
Sutter and Fessen stood nearby, their expressions conflicted as they looked at Aven.
After spending considerable time with him, they had come to understand his character and knew how much he valued magical beasts.
Though they had said it was all a misunderstanding, they still couldn't be certain what the Knight regiment's stance toward the Mightyenas would be.
Even if the misunderstanding were cleared up, would the knights truly abandon their attack?
And if they insisted on slaying the Mightyenas, what would Aven do in response?
Boom, boom, boom—
Just as the two were lost in worry, they suddenly felt the ground begin to shake.
The sound was all too familiar to them—at least a hundred armored Rhyhorn Knights were approaching the village.
"It really is the knights from Aspiration City."
Upon seeing the knights in the distance, some villagers visibly relaxed, thinking they were finally safe.
Only a handful of villagers still wore anxious expressions, clearly aware of the looming conflict between the knights and the Mightyenas.
Peter glanced at the Mightyena beside him, concern etched on his face as he tightened his grip on the steel pitchfork in his hand.
When Vice-captain Todd arrived and saw the scene before him, he was stunned.
On the grassy field outside the village, about a hundred Glooms were neatly lined up, standing between the knights and the Mightyenas.
Their stance was clear: "If you want to harm the Mightyenas, you'll have to break through our defense first!"
Behind the Glooms, at the village entrance, the villagers—dressed as hunters—held all sorts of weapons, ready to fight alongside the beasts.
Just as Todd was wondering what was going on, the Glooms suddenly parted to form a path, and a young man holding a Petilil stepped forward.
The moment Sir Berrin saw Aven, he immediately recognized him, his brows tightening.
Todd's gaze shifted to the two behind Aven—Sutter and Fessen. As the Vice-captain of Aspiration City, he recognized them at once.
Sutter and Fessen exchanged glances, then quickly rode their armored Rhydons toward the knights to help clear up the misunderstanding.
"Vice-captain Todd," the two greeted simply with a knight's salute.
Todd nodded, then frowned as he looked back toward the village. "What exactly is going on in Fruitvale Village?"
The entire scene was bizarre—those Glooms and Mightyenas seemed to be protecting the village.
This puzzled Todd. How could magical beasts follow a human's commands without magical restraints or gear?
But the words of Sutter and Fessen confirmed his suspicions. During this time, the Glooms and Mightyenas had indeed been protecting the village!
"These Mightyenas belong to Fruitvale Village. Are you asking me to stop attacking them?" Todd asked, his brows furrowed.
Before the Vice-captain could respond, a voice cut in:
"Impossible! Those are Mightyenas that aren't even equipped with magical restraints!"
Everyone turned toward the voice—it was Sir Berrin.
Right now, his mind was a mess, and he couldn't believe that Aven had managed to tame so many Mightyenas!
At the same time, many other nobles' heirs chimed in as well.
Whether or not the Mightyenas were a threat didn't matter—they had long since set their eyes on them as prey.
How could a mere commoner walk off with them so easily?
That's right—Aven was just a commoner!
Seeing this, Sutter and Fessen frowned and looked toward the one with the real authority—Vice-captain Todd.
"Hunting all magical beasts in the territory—that's the city lord's order!" Sir Berrin added.
Todd opened his eyes upon hearing that. It was true: the lady had ordered all magical beasts in the territory to be hunted.
And Todd knew more than anyone else present.
Even if the Glooms and Mightyenas were willing to protect Fruitvale Village now, what would happen when the gray fog reached this place?
All magical beasts without restraints would turn into irrational monsters!
If they didn't eliminate these Glooms and Mightyenas now, they would become part of that uncontrollable threat later!
The knights were already struggling to deal with the beast from the Abyssal cave—if these beasts behind them also lost control, it would be catastrophic for the Knights' Order of Aspiration City!
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Just pretend, City Lord as gender neutral here like Leader or Boss)