Hearing what Ethan said helped Risa understand what she needed to do next. Risa and Nok looked at each other, then nodded at the same time.

They walked in a different direction to start their training, while Ethan went back to the tribe chief's stilt house to prepare.

Everyone worked in their positions, making sure everything was fine to prevent the worst possible situation.

Ethan didn't know if those outsiders would attack the village again or not, but as a precaution, he chose to order everyone in the village to stay alert for anything that might happen.

If they had been on alert from the beginning, the Blood-Cursed Tribe's village might have been saved.

It could also become valuable experience for them about basic defense strategy, just like Ethan had suggested.

Time kept moving, and without them realizing it, the night grew late, showing signs that an attack could happen.

Ethan was already prepared, and so were Risa and the others.

This was Risa's second time joining the effort to protect her village properly. Nok and the other elders stayed close to her. They swore to protect Risa even if they had to risk their lives.

At first, Ethan doubted they could follow his orders. Besides the fact that he was an outsider, they also didn't seem used to the defensive strategy he suggested.

But Ethan's guess was completely wrong. He clearly saw the teams from the Blood-Cursed Tribe start to move out of the village. Their destination was the locations Ethan had chosen.

They would stand guard there no matter what happened.

The time on Ethan's dashboard showed 11 p.m. It was a very important hour for the Blood-Cursed Tribe to defend their village.

27 bird whistles were finished and had been handed out evenly to all the teams.

Ethan was still in the village, standing beside Risa with his attention focused forward, watching the area outside the village.

"Is everything okay?" Risa asked.

CHIRP!

Ethan didn't need to answer. The bird sound coming from the forest was enough to prove that all the small guard teams were safe.

They blew the whistle once as a sign that they had reached their assigned positions.

Risa smiled. She held her magic staff tightly, her eyes still focused ahead.

"I never thought there would come a time when you would help us."

"This Side-Quest has tied me directly to all of you. No matter what happens, I will protect you," Ethan replied.

Risa already knew Ethan was serious about protecting her, but Nok and the elders did not.

They looked shocked. They never expected Ethan to have such intentions, especially since they knew he was an outsider with no real responsibility toward the tribe.

But Ethan didn't want to give up. He knew what he had to do. He would protect the village even if some of the natives didn't like it.

Not long after, the forest became silent. There were no more whistle sounds.

This made Ethan stay extra alert. He had to understand what was happening.

"Why aren't there any more whistles?" Risa asked, confused.

Ethan stayed silent. He didn't know what was happening to the small teams. But there were only two possibilities.

First, they hadn't found any enemies. And second, the worst one: they were killed before they could blow the whistle.

Even so, Ethan felt it was impossible for the enemies to kill them before they had time to react.

The villagers' average level was 40, while the players on the first floor were weak, around level 30–35.

Logically, that situation shouldn't happen. Ethan stayed positive.

He believed the only reason they hadn't blown their whistles was because there were no enemies near them.

"There's nothing wrong. They just haven't found the enemy," Ethan said.

The explanation was enough for them. They nodded, trusting that Ethan could lead this plan well.

Time passed. Ethan looked at the time on his dashboard. It was now 1 a.m., but there were still no whistle signals.

Risa waited while half-asleep. Nok started to worry. The elders stayed calm since no attack had happened.

"Maybe they aren't going to attack?" Nok asked.

Ethan couldn't sit still. He knew all the positions of the small Blood-Cursed teams. He had to go there himself to check their situation.

He stored Bloodblade Ashura and disabled Ashura Mode. In a second, his appearance changed as he tightly gripped Tempest Reaver. Tempest Mode activated.

[Mode Tempest Activated]

Risa, who had been sleepy, widened her eyes and looked at him. Nok and the elders smiled. They were glad Ethan had started moving.

"Be careful, Ethan."

Ethan nodded. He ran from the village into the forest as fast as lightning. With Tempest Mode, he could reach the forest faster.

It didn't take long for him to arrive in the forest, exactly where the first team was hiding.

When he arrived, he didn't see a single enemy player. When he turned around and looked up, he saw the small team still sitting on the tree branches, waiting.

They were alive and even waved at Ethan. The second possibility was gone. No enemy had attacked them.

It seemed the opposing party wasn't coming tonight.

"No one came. Should we go back?" one team member whispered.

"Stay here until morning. If morning comes and there's still no enemy, then return home."

"I understand."

Ethan nodded. After that, he ran to the second location and checked the situation. No enemies. All three members were alive.

He gave them the same message. Return in the morning if no enemy appeared. They obeyed.

Not only those two spots, but Ethan moved from one point to another, checking and giving instructions.

Meanwhile, Nok waited in the village, curious about what Ethan was doing. Risa was getting bored, and her sleepiness grew heavier.

"Will those outsiders really attack?" Nok asked.

"I don't know. I don't know their habits or strategy. So I can't be sure," one elder replied.

After thirty minutes of checking the forest, Ethan finally returned to the village in a flash of storm wind.

His sudden arrival surprised Nok and the elders. Risa was already asleep in her room because Nok told her to rest.

"How is it?" Nok asked.

"No enemy came near. Looks like I was wrong. They aren't attacking tonight," Ethan answered.

"Then? When will they attack us again?"

"I don't know."

"Did you order all the teams to return?" another elder asked.

Ethan shook his head. He told them what he instructed the teams earlier.

The elders and Nok listened and understood Ethan's reason for keeping the teams in their positions.

"You should rest. I'll stay awake and keep guard tonight," Ethan said.

The elders agreed, but Nok didn't. He wanted to stay awake to help and accompany Ethan, and Ethan didn't mind.

"Are you really okay with choosing our side and becoming their enemy?" Nok asked.

"Outside the Tower, I'm already used to being their enemy. So yeah, I'm fine with it."

"The most important thing is that you learn the basic defense strategy to fight them. If Risa and I leave one day, you can still use this strategy to protect yourselves," Ethan said.

Nok smiled, feeling thankful for Ethan's help, "Thank you for everything, Ethan."

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