Chapter 55: The Village of the Guardians

When Ron ended the call, Vivian had already returned to her village.

Just as Vivian had described to Ron earlier, it truly was a quiet and peaceful little village.

Vivian happily visited every household in the village, accompanied by Greila.

She had grown up with the villagers.

The villagers were delighted by her return.

Before long, Vivian came back laden with gifts.

Her return was perfectly timed.

The village of Hovini was holding its annual festival.

Though small, the village was filled with a festive atmosphere.

This was also Vivian’s favorite day.

She joyfully led Greila to the small clearing at the center of the village.

“A huge bonfire will be lit here, and everyone will dance around it,” Vivian explained excitedly, gesturing vividly.

You leapt down from Vivian’s shoulder, landing in the clearing.

An inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over you.

Hovini... Hovini...

It seemed there was a city among those you had conquered bearing that name.

Ron’s memory was quite sharp.

He quickly recalled the details, which helped him understand the true nature of this village.

It was a Guardian Village.

This was one of humanity’s earliest forms of communities built around extraordinary individuals.

Each Guardian Village possessed a special power that could be passed down, and those who inherited it were called Guardians.

Guardians protected ordinary villagers from the threat of monsters, alien races, and disasters.

As Guardian Villages expanded, they eventually formed holy cities centered around divine maidens.

Among the forces Ron had conquered in the resonance ten years ago was the Ambrose Federation, a nation composed of twelve holy cities.

Hovini City was one of those holy cities.

Ron had a deep impression of the divine maidens.

Not only were they beautiful, but each possessed unique abilities beyond traditional magic, providing Ron with considerable support.

For example, the aphrodisiac in Vivian’s hand required the infusion of another divine maiden’s power to be crafted.

As Ron pondered this, he looked at the map he had drawn.

Starting from Lake Lamo, Ron had sketched out the current layout of the magical world and pinpointed Vivian’s approximate location.

If his memory served, Vivian’s village lay within the territory of the Ambrose Federation from those days.

Could it be that Vivian’s village was established by the people of the holy city back then?

---

Come to think of it, the divine maiden’s legacy didn’t rely on bloodline; as long as the people she protected survived, her power would continue to be passed down.

Looking at the tranquil village, you couldn’t help but sigh.

Truly, time changes all things.

Five thousand years later, the once-glorious Hovini City had become a border village.

Ron also instantly understood where Loli’s talent came from.

Hovini City had once been the center of potion-making in the magical world.

“So, are you going to select a new Guardian tonight?” you asked Vivian, looking up.

“What Guardian?” Vivian looked puzzled.

You scraped away the topsoil with your cat’s paw.

A corner of a delicate magical array was revealed to everyone.

The place where the villagers held their ceremony was actually the core array for the divine maiden’s legacy.

“Such a ritual is usually used by Guardian Villages to locate newly born Guardians,” you asked in surprise. “Don’t you know this?”

“We don’t have such strange customs here... This is just the annual festival,” Vivian explained honestly. “The elders say it’s a celebration of the village’s founding anniversary.”

Five thousand years had passed, and even the most important traditions had been forgotten.

You couldn’t help but feel a twinge of melancholy.

At that moment, a commotion arose from the village.

Then, the sound of bells rang out.

“Not good! It’s an enemy attack!” Vivian immediately tensed up.

Just as she had guessed.

When they reached the village entrance, they saw barbarians charging down from the distant mountain peaks.

“Barbarians? They actually came this far?” Greila looked surprised.

The village was still quite a distance from the southern border of the Empire.

“So, what exactly are these barbarians?” you asked, staring at the foes called barbarians from afar. In your understanding, they should be classified as humans.

“You don’t know?” Vivian exclaimed in surprise. “They worship the Barbarian God Aksis, who serves under you.”

“I don’t believe in gods,” you said, speechless. “Where’s this Barbarian God from?”

You paused, then hesitated. “As for Aksis... I do have some memory of him...”

“See? He’s definitely one of your trusted subordinates.”

“Uh... who said that?”

“It’s written in the barbarian chieftain’s texts.” Since the village’s main enemy was these barbarians, Vivian had studied them carefully in Palavi.

You twitched your mouth. “That’s not true...”

Finally, you recalled who Aksis was.

He seemed to be Sara’s fiancé.

---

To gain power, he prayed for your blessing.

In turn, you taught him a set of bird-extraction combat techniques to grow stronger.

His later strength was indeed impressive, though only compared to ordinary people.

Ah, so that’s the Aksis.

Ron finally remembered.

He had quite a deep impression.

At the time, he even felt a little embarrassed, having slept with someone’s fiancé and, driven by ridiculous possessiveness, deprived the other party of an important function.

But later he realized his self-condemnation was unnecessary.

That guy was a battle maniac, willing to trade his wife for training methods without hesitation.

Because of this, Sara completely indulged herself, letting Ron train her as he pleased.

He hadn’t expected that after Ron’s death, the man would claim to have become a Barbarian God...

Ron’s lips twitched awkwardly.

A god without his manhood...

---

“Barbarians again! They’re so arrogant!” Greila said angrily. “What kind of bullshit Barbarian God is that? I bet he’s just a lackey of the Mad Demon King!”

Watching Greila curse, Ron smiled wickedly.

But he quickly suppressed his grin.

The barbarian warriors charged toward them.

Annoyed, Greila tossed a few magic scrolls, instantly blasting the barbarians into disarray.

Yet they still fearlessly pressed on, until they met Vivian’s storm.

The storm, mixed with Loli’s poisonous smoke, surged toward the charging barbarian warriors.

Before long, all the barbarians were poisoned to death.

Looking at the field strewn with barbarian corpses, the crisis seemed to have been temporarily averted.

“Could they be heading for Palavi City?” Vivian examined the bodies and noted they were elite barbarian soldiers.

You stood to the side, shaking your head. “No, they’re coming for this village.”

You noticed the mark on the barbarian warriors’ arms.

It was the blessing power of another holy city.

Symbolizing fearless and valiant warriors.