Reincarnated as the favorite of an obsessive goddess: gave me a system-Chapter 44: The night assault.

The silence that followed Kai’s words was heavy, charged with an uncertainty that the night wind of Akhan could not dissipate. Kai remained seated beside her against the cold stone of the wall, feeling the warmth of her hand interlaced with his.

The sky above them was an expanse of dark velvet, dotted with stars that seemed to observe the hunger and fear of mortals with indifference.

Kai stood up, helping Lyla to her feet. His eyes scanned the makeshift camp in the courtyard. The refugees slept fitfully, the sound of a child crying in their dreams drifted from the warehouse. Nearby, Thorne snored rhythmically with his axe resting against his chest, while Allice had simply disappeared.

"You should rest, Lyla," Kai said softly.

"Tomorrow will be a long day. We have to convince the captain to sell us supplies before the mercenaries decide that Akhan is an easier target than our caravan."

"Only if you do too, Kai. Your body is still recovering from what you did against Qaxy. Don’t think I don’t notice how you tense your shoulders when you think I’m not looking."

Kai nodded with a guilty smile and accompanied her to the corner they had reserved for themselves. However, once Lyla’s breathing became steady and deep, Kai sat with his back against the wooden door of the warehouse. He couldn’t sleep, rest simply wouldn’t come.

He thought about everything that was happening, how a simple journey could end like this, revealing the raw reality of things. In the village, this didn’t happen, they were self sufficient and hadn’t even noticed what was going on all this time. He kept brooding until, two hours after midnight, the atmosphere changed. It wasn’t a loud noise, but a shift in the air pressure.

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]

Enemy detected.

Type: Human

Approximate Threat Level: C

Distance: 40 meters and approaching.

From the roof beams, a figure dropped as light as a feather. It was Allice. She crouched beside Kai.

"The silver crows have returned, they’ve jumped the southern wall, taking advantage of the guards’ shift change. Four others are surrounding the warehouse through the side alleys."

Kai tensed. "Are they coming for the refugees?"

"They’re coming for you. And for Lint’s salt," Allice replied, twirling her daggers. "They haven’t forgiven the humiliation at the bridge. But these... They move in an incredible way, they’re nothing like the ones on the bridge or the ones who attacked us during the night. These guys move flawlessly and professionally, I’m sure they’re pretty dangerous."

"Wake Thorne and Mira. Quietly," Kai ordered. "If we try an open confrontation here, the refugees will panic and it will be a massacre."

Allice nodded and vanished. Kai slid toward the corner of the warehouse, pressing his back against the stone wall. Through a small crack in the wood of the side door, he saw a man gliding across the courtyard, moving with impressive agility. He carried a loaded short crossbow and a flask of what looked like flammable oil on his belt. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

When the assassin was less than two meters from the door, Kai acted. He kicked the door, which burst outward, hitting the assassin squarely in the face and sending him reeling back. Before the man could hit the ground, Kai was already upon him. One of his daggers sank into the attacker’s shoulder, preventing him from screaming, while his other hand muffled his mouth.

"Who sent you?" Kai hissed.

The man only emitted a hateful gurgle. Suddenly, his body went into a spasmodic convulsion. Kai released him just in time to see black foam erupting from his mouth. A poison capsule in his teeth. A professional.

"Kai, look up!" Mira’s shout echoed from inside the warehouse.

Three incendiary projectiles crashed through the high windows of the building. The oil ignited instantly upon hitting the refugees’ straw blankets. Chaos erupted. The screams of women and the cries of children filled the air, shattering the peace of the night.

"Roshia, the fire!" Kai roared, re entering the warehouse.

Roshia’s hands moved in complex circles, and snow covered the flames, smothering them before they could spread. Meanwhile, Thorne had planted himself at the main entrance like a wall. An assassin tried to slip between his legs, but Thorne caught him by the neck with one hand and slammed him into the ground with such force that the paving stones cracked.

Allice, for her part, moved across the ceiling, intercepting the crossbowmen trying to fire from the beams. Kai saw her appear behind an assassin, slit his throat without a sound, and leap toward the next before the first body even hit the floor. Her efficiency was terrifying, a dance of death that left a trail of limp bodies in her wake.

Kai saw a group of three attackers heading toward Lyla. She was protecting a group of children with a wind shield, but her mana was not yet at full capacity, and the effort showed on her pale face.

"Don’t even think about it!"

Kai ran at such speed that no one had time to blink. His first strike disarmed the leader of the trio, severing the tendons in his wrists. With a fluid spin, Kai used the pommel of his dagger to strike the temple of the second, knocking him unconscious. The third tried to stab Kai in the back, but Kai ducked, let the sword pass over him, and responded with a kick that broke the attacker’s jaw.

In less than ten minutes, the warehouse fell silent again, except for the refugees’ sobs and the crackle of Roshia’s melting ice.

"Allice, are there any left?"

"I counted ten. Eight dead, one captured by Thorne, and the one you knocked out. The city guards have finally woken up, they’re heading this way."

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]

All enemies have been defeated.

+200 XP.

Level: 30 (550/800)

Kai looked at the man he had knocked out. He was young. Thorne dragged the other survivor by the hair toward the center of the warehouse. The man was wounded, but alive.

Then a voice rang out from the entrance. It was the captain of the Akhan guard, who had just arrived with half a dozen men. Seeing the carnage in the warehouse, he turned pale.

"Kai... I... I’m sorry for the breach in security."

"Save your apologies, captain," Kai said coldly. "Tie those two up or kill them, it doesn’t matter. They’re scum who try to take advantage of others in vulnerable situations. "

After that words, Kai approached Keram, who was clutching his wife and children in a corner. "We leave before dawn tomorrow," Kai told him in a firm but comforting voice. "We won’t wait for them to send more assassins."

During the following hours, everyone worked in silence to secure the caravan. Thorne reinforced the axles of the wagons that had been damaged by the heat of the flames. Mira sharpened her steel tipped arrows, the ones Bram and Grom had specifically designed to penetrate heavy armor. On the other hand, Lint left a large bag of salt for the city in exchange for more supplies.

"This is economic suicide for me," he said as he handed over the bag.

"I know, which is why we’ll compensate you once all of this is settled, I promise," Kai said with a sigh. "I know I’ve been very hard on you these past few days. I understand you’re a merchant and you live off this, it’s not fair for me to force you to give up your cargo. I appreciate that you’re truly cooperating."

The sun began to rise over the walls of Akhan, bathing the town in a golden light that hid the bloodstains on the pavement. The captain of the guard opened the city gates personally, bowing as Valira passed.

"Good luck, Kai!" the captain shouted. "Let’s hope you reach wherever you’re going safely."

Lyla, sitting on the driver’s seat of the first wagon, smiled with a majesty that made the guards instinctively kneel. The caravan finally left Akhan, leaving the town behind to venture into the plain leading toward the border of Terminus.

But Kai knew the night hadn’t truly ended. He was certain that the Silver Crows would keep lurking somewhere, not just to attack them, but to prey on the rest of the poor people who had to abandon their homes just to survive.

"Mira," Kai called.

"Yes, Kai?"

"From now on, I need you to stay as alert as possible, your bow is our greatest asset in the event of a major battle,"

Mira nodded with a small smile.

"I know, I’m sure this bow will make all the difference in any situation."

"That’s right. We may be few in number, but we’re better in every way"

The journey continued, but the group’s dynamic had shifted. The refugees no longer looked at Kai with simple gratitude, they looked at him as a sacred leader. Lyla was beginning to be seen as a saint by everyone, not just because she shared the goddess’s name, but because of her actions, her constant smile, and the way she was always there for everyone.