Chapter 372: The Day When They Would Be Free

Morning came. Or at least, it was what passed for morning in this strange land.

There was no rising sun to greet the new day. The sky above the village remained the same dull gray as always, covered by thick clouds that never moved and never parted. The light that spread across the land was dim and cold, giving everything a quiet, almost lifeless feeling.

The village where no one had ever seen the sun once they were stuck in this place. Even so, the villagers woke up early.

Today was the day. The day they had been preparing for. The day they would fight for their freedom.

One by one, the houses in the village became active. Doors opened, footsteps echoed on wooden floors, and people stepped outside while adjusting their armor or fastening belts.

No one overslept. No one needed to be reminded. Everyone knew what awaited them today.

Soon, people began gathering in the center of the village.

It was the largest open area between the houses, a place where they had often gathered for meetings in the past. But today, the atmosphere was very different.

The air was tense. Most people were determined. All the villagers were present.

Men and women stood together while checking their weapons or quietly talking to one another. Some took deep breaths to calm themselves, while others simply stared ahead with focused expressions.

Slowly, the groups began to form. Four groups of forty people each separated from the crowd and stood in different positions.

They had already been assigned their teams beforehand. The first group stood under the leadership of Roland.

He stood at the front of his group, his tall figure straight and steady. His expression was calm, but the sharpness in his eyes showed that he was completely focused.

The second group gathered around Kael.

Kael rested a large weapon against his shoulder while looking over the people in his team with a confident grin. Unlike Roland’s serious demeanor, Kael seemed almost excited for the coming battle.

The third group stood behind Malphas.

Malphas’s tall, elder figure looked imposing as he quietly observed the villagers assigned to him. A cane was held in his hands. His calm but intimidating presence made many people stand a little straighter.

And finally, the fourth group gathered around Nora. She was also a Transcendent, just like the others.

However, unlike Roland, Kael, or Malphas, she rarely attended their meetings. Most of the time she simply listened to the village elders instead of involving herself directly in discussions.

Amon got to know about her months ago. But he had hardly ever talked to her.

She had long maroon-colored hair. Pointy ears indicating she was an elf. She didn’t particularly like attending meetings or long conversations.

Even now, she stood quietly with her arms crossed, her expression indifferent as she looked over her group.

Near the side of the open area stood a large wooden house.

Inside that house were many weapons. Weapons and armor that had been created, repaired, and reforged over the years.

Swords, spears, axes, shields, armor pieces of different sizes. All of them had been prepared carefully for a day like this.

Two men stood at the entrance of the house. John and Michael. Both of them were the village’s blacksmiths.

Over the years, they had spent countless hours forging and repairing the weapons that the villagers used.

Now they were responsible for distributing them. One by one, villagers stepped forward.

John and Michael handed them weapons suited to them.

A sword here.

A spear there.

Someone received a shield. Another received a piece of armor that had been specially fitted for them.

The sound of metal clinking echoed across the area.

Not far away from the main groups stood the remaining villagers.

They were mostly women, elderly people, and young children.

These people would not be part of the direct battle. Still, they were not left unprotected.

Eight strong fighters had been assigned to stay with them. Their role was simple. If anything went wrong…

If monsters somehow reached the village. They would defend them.

Meanwhile, the weapon distribution continued.

Among the villagers standing in line were Amon and his companions.

Some of them already have weapons. Like Amon, Scarlett and others. So they didn’t took any, but Amon did take some light armor over his black outfit.

He was wearing same black assassin kind of outfit with hood. It was torn here and there but he patched them after coming in this village.

He stood casually with his usual relaxed posture.

Beside him stood Ethan, who looked far more serious than he had the night before. His excitement had been replaced with focused determination.

Scarlett stood quietly near them. All three of them were part of Malphas’s group.

Scarlett’s appearance easily caught attention. She was wearing a tight black leotard beneath her armor.

The suit fit perfectly against her body, giving her movements flexibility while still offering protection.

Over the suit she wore pieces of armor. A polished breastplate covered her huge chest. Metal shoulder guards rested firmly on her shoulders. Strong armored boots protected her legs.

The combination made her look both elegant and intimidating. Her long crimson hair flowed down her back, and her amethyst eyes remained calm as she observed the surroundings.

She looked both beautiful and powerful at the same time. Amon glanced at her briefly before looking forward again.

Julian and Katherine were in the group led by Roland, while Steffeny and Oliver were in Nora’s group.

They were young and inexperienced. But also talented. This would be their first battle and fight against monsters.

Above them, unnoticed by everyone else, Vetaal floated silently in the air.

His form was invisible to the villagers. Like a quiet ghost drifting through the sky, he hovered above the gathering while observing everything below.

His hollow eyes moved across the groups.

The villagers who would be warriors for today. The weapons they held. The tension in the air.

Today would be interesting. Very interesting. Below him, the final weapons were still being handed out.

The preparations for the battle were almost complete.

Vetaal soon looked above at the gray sky. Then with a low and eerie voice he muttered, “Let’s see… what would you do to stop me.”

Soon…

They would begin their march. The fight for escape.

—

[A/N: Hello Guys! Shamele–cough I mean gentle and innocent author is here…Now why am I here? Well actually after a long Slice of life Chapters…we are getting serious. This fight will be long. Anyways that’s not what I came for…My other novel, Extra’s Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch finally got contarct! Haha! Before it was not accepted so I have to delete that book and re upload again. And now it got accepted. So if you guys still haven’t put it in library then add it! From next week I will be doing 2 daily Chapters of it….or at least I will try since smiling death story also have came to important phase of this volume. So need to focus on story. The volume would soon end…I mean after this battle it will end.

Another thing thank you again for continuing to read smiling death and supporting me. Though the novel smiling death is doing bad this month. Not getting many readers. I won’t earn much but I hope new novel will do amazing than this one. I won’t loose hope. Keep supporting me. So I won’t loose the motivation to write it. Now bye bye!]

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