Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 183: Trouble again? (2)

"I don’t know," Riku admitted. "It looks like we need more information. We’re completely in the dark."

"The shadows in the north lengthen," Sherry muttered, her arms crossed tightly. "He looked at me when he said that."

Before anyone could respond, a low, deep tremor shook the entire longhouse. Mugs rattled on the table. The wooden beams groaned.

Barou burst through the door. "Riku! Outside! Look at the sky!"

They rushed out into the village square. Every villager was standing still, their faces turned upwards in fear and confusion.

The clear blue sky was gone. A thick, unnatural bank of grey fog and swirling black clouds had descended upon Elowen, shrouding the entire valley in a dim, eerie twilight. The air grew cold and heavy.

"What is this?" Lila asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Sherry’s face was pale. "This magic... it feels familiar," she whispered, a look of dawning horror on her face. "It feels like home."

Riku felt it too, a sense of familiarity gained not too long ago. The feeling of being in Dreadspire once again.

Before he could contemplate what was happening, a voice boomed from outside the valley, from within the swirling fog. It was amplified by magic, shaking the very foundations of the village, filled with arrogance and cold, murderous rage.

"I know you are in there, you deceitful little rats!" the voice roared.

"The Battle-mage and the Shadow-weaver who made a fool of my house and kidnapped my attendant!"

"Show yourselves now, or I will flatten this entire pathetic village and everyone in it!"

The furious voice from outside the valley echoed. Each word was a physical blow that shook the very air.

Inside the longhouse, the mugs on the table rattled. The brief moment of camaraderie shattered. Riku and the others rushed out into the village square.

The entire village was already there. Every man, woman, and child stood frozen, their faces turned upwards in fear.

The clear blue sky was gone. A thick, unnatural bank of grey fog and swirling black clouds had descended upon Elowen. It shrouded the entire valley in a dim, eerie twilight. The air grew cold and heavy.

"Stay here!" Riku commanded the villagers. "Get back in your homes! Bar the doors!"

"But Riku—" Lila started to protest, her eyes wide with fear.

"Now, Lila!" Riku said, his voice hard. "This is not a fight for you. Stay inside with the rest of the girls"

He looked at the small group assembled with him. Barou, Lord Arnold, and Lord Gregor. Their faces were a mixture of anger and grim determination. They were the leaders of Elowen. They would face this threat together.

They walked as one to the edge of the village, near the main gate. The fog was thick. It swirled like a living thing. They could just make out dark figures standing on the road beyond.

"This magic..." Sherry whispered, her face pale. "It feels familiar. It feels like home."

Riku felt it too. It was the oppressive, arrogant magic of the northern nobles.

The air outside the valley gates shimmered violently. With a sound like tearing fabric, a dozen figures materialized from thin air. They were clad in the ornate, menacing armor of House Falco. Their polished steel seemed to drink the dim light.

At their lead were several figures Riku recognized immediately.

Rudolf, the Darklord’s aide, stood with a grim expression. His hands were clasped behind his back. Beside him was the Violet Emissary. Her face was an unreadable mask of calmness. She looked like a bored observer.

A stern-looking Marci was there as well. Her earlier cheerfulness was gone. It was replaced with a cold, righteous anger.

But it was the man at the very front who held Riku’s attention. He was tall and powerfully built. His face was contorted with a furious, arrogant rage. This had to be Lord Falco.

Another figure stood beside him. It was a woman clad in dark, flowing robes. Her face was hidden by a deep hood. Riku did not recognize her, but he could feel the immense magical power radiating from her. She was the source of the suffocating fog.

Barou, ignoring Riku’s attempt to hold him back, strode forward from the village gate. His face was a mask of righteous anger. He stood as the chief of his people.

"Who are you to threaten our home?" he boomed, his chief’s voice carrying across the field. "This is Elowen, a village under the protection of the Korvan Crown! State your name and your purpose, or be branded an invader!"

Lord Falco sneered. "The Crown?" He let out a short, ugly laugh. "The King’s reach is short this far north. And his eyes are blind."

He looked past Barou, his gaze sweeping over the small group of leaders. His eyes narrowed.

"I have no business with this pathetic pile of mud and sticks," Falco said, his voice dripping with contempt.

He raised a single hand. Dark, crackling energy gathered in his palm. "I am here for the thieves who hide within it."

A bolt of black lightning, thick as a man’s arm, shot from his hand. It tore through the air with a sound like ripping silk. It moved too fast for anyone to react.

It struck Barou square in the chest.

The chief let out a choked gasp. The sound was swallowed by the crackle of dark energy. He was thrown backward. He landed in a heap on the ground. Smoke rose from a blackened, smoldering hole in his leather tunic. He coughed once. A spray of blood stained his lips.

"FATHER!"

Lila’s scream was filled with agony. Though she was inside the village, the moment she saw her father fall, she rushed out.

"Lila, wait...." Sherry and Lysaria rushed out as well.

Lila stumbled to her father’s side, her face draining of all color. She ignored Lord Falco completely. Her world shrank to the sight of her father’s still form on the ground. She gently rolled him onto his back. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow.

"Father, can you hear me?" she pleaded, her hands hovering over the smoking hole in his tunic, afraid to touch it.