He went back to the inn and gathered his people. Cassius, his wife, and his son had packed their important items and were ready. The hot herbalist girl was waiting in the lobby with a single travel bag and her brother stood beside her.

Adrian walked to the market with them and bought a travel carriage and two strong draft horses. He hired a driver along with them.

"We’re heading to Oresfall," Adrian told the driver.

They loaded into the carriage and began their journey. It was peaceful and they moved at a steady pace for two weeks.

It was night and Adrian sat near a campfire as he took a bite of a chicken leg.

Right at that moment, the system screen appeared in front of him with a huge red warning message.

[Daddy’s Little Angel is in Danger! Forcing Quest Activation!]

[Mandatory Quest: Rush back to Oresfall.]

[Time Limit: 4 Days]

[Rewards: None]

Adrian stared at the floating blue screen. His mind simply went blank.

He sat frozen in the carriage for a few seconds before he slowly looked at the people who were with him. Cassius, Celeste, and their families.

"I have a bad feeling about my territory." Adrian said, his voice coming out flat. "I need to head back right now."

Cassius and Celeste just stared at him, but Adrian did not wait for a reply.

He shoved the carriage door open while it was still moving, and leaned out over the dirt road.

"Do not stop!" Adrian yelled at the driver. "Faster! Get us to the nearest town right now!"

The driver cracked his whip and the horses neighed as they sped up.

Four hours passed which felt more like twelve. The carriage finally entered a bustling trade town and Adrian jumped out before the wheels even stopped spinning.

Skipping the draft horses entirely, he placed fifteen gold coins on the counter.

"War horse," Adrian demanded. "Or the absolute fastest breed you’ve got. You can keep the change."

The stable master scrambled and brought out a massive black stallion.

Adrian threw himself into the saddle, dug his heels in and sped out with his horse out of the town gates.

He rode straight for Oresfall without stopping to eat or sleep.

When the beast finally started slowing down from pure exhaustion, Adrian did not force it to keep going. He rode into the next available town along the main road.

He found the local stables. He sold the exhausted premium horse for dirt cheap just to get it off his hands instantly and used the money along with a bit more from his own pocket to buy a brand new, fully rested horse.

Then he got right back on the road.

He abused this cycle over and over. He rode through day and night as he swapped horses at every single town he passed.

One and a half days later, he finally got close to Oresfall, which was just a few hundred meters in front of him.

Adrian pulled the reins. His horse slowed down and he stared at the entrance of Oresfall.

His stomach dropped instantly.

Oresfall had a defensive wall but no proper gate yet. It just had a massive stone archway that marked the entrance.

Through the opening, he saw the destruction that was caused.

Most of the wooden houses were scorched black. Adrian jumped off his horse and began walking.

His town was wrecked. Houses were burned straight to the ground. Blackened beams stuck out of the dirt like dead trees. The few buildings still standing had massive scorch marks on their walls. Half the town was just gone. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

There were no crowds and the usually busy streets were completely empty.

Adrian walked further in and he saw dark red patched on the dirt, almost like it had soaked in some blood.

His hands started shaking as he took in the sight.

He did not know how to react, and he did not even know what he did wrong.

A man limped out from behind a partially burnt house.

He had a bandage wrapped around his head and soon, the man looked up and spotted him.

"Lord Adrian!" the citizen shouted as he stumbled forward. "You are back! Thank the Goddess you are back!"

Adrian caught the man by the shoulders to keep him from falling. "What happened here?"

"Mercenaries." the man coughed. "A massive group of them came here and attacked us out of nowhere. They just started burning everything and killing anyone in the streets."

"Where is everyone?" Adrian asked as his voice cracked.

"The soldiers are resting behind your mansion." the citizen explained as he pointed a shaking finger towards his mansion, "Most of us are homeless now... the houses are all burnt and everyone is gathered behind your estate."

Adrian let go of the man and began running towards his house.

He did not care about the buildings or Oresfall anymore. He just needed to know if Aria was safe.

He ran through the ruined streets and soon, the massive shape of his renovated mansion finally came into view. Luckily for him, It looked untouched.

He rushed through the front gates and ran straight toward the training field which was behind the mansion.

He stopped suddenly and finally let out a soft sigh.

Aria was there.

She was completely unharmed. She was running across the dirt carrying a small wooden pot in her hands, heading straight toward Claire.

Aria did not notice him yet, and Adrian just followed her from a distance. He walked onto the training ground and took in the horrific scene.

The field was covered in bodies.

Hundreds of townspeople lay on the ground. Most of them were lying on random pieces of torn cloth. The ones who did not have cloth were lying on makeshift mats woven out of large leaves.

Nobody was training. The wooden swords were tossed in a pile. The soldiers Adrian had hired were acting as medics. They were running around with bandages and water buckets and some were pressing clean rags against deep sword wounds.

Claire took the pot from Aria and then, she looked up and saw Adrian standing at the edge of the field.

’He’s here!’