"I will go." Lyra’s voice was barely above a whisper, yet it was enough to be heard by everyone. She stepped out from the crowd, moving like a woman walking towards her fate. Her hands were trembling slightly.

"Don’t be a fool, Lyra," Korin growled, taking a heavy step toward her. "We don’t hand over our own. Not to the Blood-Iron Tribe, not to anyone. We will fight."

"And what if we fight, Korin?!" Lyra shouted, her voice finally breaking as tears spilled over her cheeks. "Malakar is now an A-rank! Do you even understand what that means? He could tear down our entire village with his bare hands! If we fight, he won’t just kill the hunters. He will slaughter everyone here. He will burn the houses with the children inside. He will kill Mira. I can’t let that happen."

Lyra dropped to her knees and bowed before the Elder. Her sobs tore through the quiet night. "I won’t let my daughter die because of my pride. If my life buys this village a future... if my body keeps the monsters away from my little girl... then it is a price I will gladly pay."

Mira ran to her mother, crying out as she threw her tiny arms around Lyra’s neck. "Mommy, no! Don’t go to the bad men! Please!"

Lyra buried her face in Mira’s shoulder, weeping uncontrollably.

I stood there staring at the mother and daughter. The violent surge of Qi in my dantian cooled slowly. I walked forward, my boots squelching softly. I bent down and picked up the blood-stained parchment that the Elder had dropped.

"You aren’t buying them a future, Lyra," I said, looking directly down at her. "If you go to him, you just show him this village is weak. You show him he can take whatever he wants without any consequences. When he gets bored of you, he’ll come right back down this mountain and take the rest."

Lyra looked up at me, her bright green eyes wide and pleading. "Ren, please... he’s an A-rank. Our defensive arrays can’t hold back a monster of that tier. We can’t survive a direct attack. All of us would die."

"Then we don’t let him attack," I replied simply. I turned to Korin and then to the Elder. "They want Lyra delivered to the northern pass by tomorrow. So, we give them a delivery."

Korin frowned, his grip tightening on his spear. "You want to hand her over to Malakar?"

"We build a carriage. We will drape it in black cloth so they can’t see what’s inside." I corrected Korin. "And inside that carriage will be me."

The Elder seemed to catch on to my intentions. "Are you planning to ambush them, Ren?"

"Yes," I nodded. "When we arrive, they’ll be expecting Lyra and a few terrified hunters. They’ll drop their guard and when they open those doors, I’ll be waiting inside."

"The northern pass is a narrow, rocky pass. It completely restricts movement, we can scale the ridges above it using our grapples before your carriage even arrives." Korin said.

"Exactly," I said. "The second I strike their vanguard, you and the archers rain attack on them from the high ground. We trap them in a bottleneck where their superior numbers mean absolutely nothing."

Lyra stood up, carrying Mira. Her eyes were still wide with fear, struggling to accept the reckless plan. "But Ren... even with an ambush, Malakar is still an A-rank. His physical strength alone could crush you."

"I know," I interrupted. They may not know this but I am almost on par with an A-rank now since I reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

"You do your jobs," I told them, locking eyes with Lyra. "And I will do mine. By tomorrow night, Malakar would regret setting his eyes on Lyra."

Korin and the hunters hauled out an old, heavy-duty supply carriage. They draped black cloth over the frame, ensuring there wasn’t a single gap where someone could peek inside.

I spent the night sitting on the floor of my small cabin, legs crossed in the lotus position, ignoring the chaotic activity outside. An A-rank demon would not be a simple fight but defeating him was not impossible. As the sun began to rise outside, I stepped out into the cold morning air prepared for today’s battle.

Korin and twenty of the village’s best archers were already gathered by the gates, dressed in dark leather and loaded with quivers of the newly forged iron arrows.

Korin strapped a massive bundle of javelins to his back and walked over to me. "We’ll be in position on the ridges before you even reach the halfway point," Korin said, his eyes deadly serious now. "Wait for my signal before you open those doors. And Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"Don’t die before we get to shoot something," Korin smirked.

"Just worry about yourself," I shot back.

Korin chuckled and turned to his men. "Move out!". The hunters and Korin left the village to take their ambush positions.

A few moments later, the carriage was ready. The Elder, dressed in his most formal robes, stood by the reins. Three other older men, unarmed and looking appropriately miserable, waited by the wheels.

Lyra approached me, her eyes dark from a sleepless night. She held out a small, leather bundle. "A few minor healing potions. Our local alchemist brewed them this morning." Lyra said.

I took the bundle, slipping it into my coat. "Thank you. We will be back soon."

She looked at the carriage, then back at me. "Ren... why are you doing this? You’re an outsider. You could just leave. Nobody would blame you for leaving."

"I already told you this last time. I don’t leave when people need my help," I said simply. "And I hate people who ruin a perfectly good fish barbecue."

I then felt a tiny tug on my trousers. I looked down to see Mira. She wasn’t crying anymore like before. Her little demon tail swished nervously as she held up her small hand. Resting in her palm was a smooth, perfectly round river stone.

"This is for good luck," Mira whispered, looking up at me with wide, earnest eyes.

I knelt down, bringing myself to her eye level. I gently took the stone from her tiny hand and slipped it into my pocket. "Thank you, Mira."

I stood up, giving Lyra a final nod. "Don’t let her outside today."

I walked over to the carriage, and stepped inside. Through the window, I saw the faces of the villagers watching me. I reached out and pulled the heavy black curtain completely shutting the window.

"Move out," the Elder commanded from the driver’s seat.