CHAPTER 337: THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT

Talvern was a modest little town, tucked away on the outer fringes of the Valheim estate. It had a decent population and, for the most part, a slow, comfortable rhythm of life.

People woke with the sun, worked their farms or small trades, and retreated early to bed so they could do it all again the next day.

Normally, by this time of night, Talvern would be blanketed in quiet, doors shut, candles snuffed, streets empty but for the occasional stray cat or the distant hoot of an owl.

Tonight was nothing like that.

Instead, every street was lit up, with lanterns and torches burning bright. Music floated through the air from hastily assembled bands, laughter spilled out from taverns, and a crowd had taken over the cobbled lanes in a joyous, unrestrained celebration.

Men and women danced in the streets, arms around one another, mugs of ale in hand.

Shopkeepers who normally closed by sunset were throwing their doors wide open, setting out tables of hot bread and sweet rolls for anyone to take.

The pubs, seeing the atmosphere, had decided tonight’s drinks were free, their bartenders waving away coin with booming laughs.

In corners of the square, bards plucked their strings and drummers kept the beat while children skipped and twirled, their laughter piercing through the music like little silver bells.

Everywhere you looked, there were smiles, bright, relieved smiles. Some were grinning from ear to ear, others were crying and laughing at once.

The happiness was palpable, almost intoxicating.

And the reason for this sudden transformation?

It had happened just moments ago. Against all odds, the three leaders of the Holy Guard from the Holyfield estate, Julie, Aisha, and Skadi, had arrived in Talvern.

That alone was enough to stir the entire population into the streets.

These three were famous across the continent, names whispered with admiration and awe, heroes that most people would never expect to see in their lifetimes.

But the shock didn’t end there.

Because behind them, rumbling slowly into the town square, came over thirty carriages, and in those carriages were young women and children.

The missing...The taken.

And more than half of them were from Talvern.

When the first mother spotted her little boy’s face peeking out from the back of a wagon, she screamed, a sound of such raw joy that it turned heads all around. Then came the rush. Parents, siblings, grandparents surged forward.

"Maya! Maya!" A man cried, shoving his way through the crowd until he dropped to his knees in front of a wide-eyed little girl.

She froze for a moment, almost as if afraid this was a dream, then launched herself into his arms. The two of them clung to each other, weeping.

"By the gods...you’re safe...you’re safe!"

A mother fell to her knees in front of a carriage, pressing her hands to the face of her daughter.

"They told me you were gone...they told me I’d never—" Her voice broke, and she pulled the girl into a crushing hug. "I’ll never let you go again, do you hear me? Never again."

The air was filled with cries of reunion, voices calling out names, sobs of relief, and laughter that was half-broken by emotion.

And once the first wave of reunions passed, the entire town seemed to erupt into a festival on the spot.

Decorations were hastily strung between lamp posts, musicians struck up louder tunes, and strangers embraced like old friends.

At the very center of this chaos were the three heroines.

Skadi found herself swarmed by a group of giggling young women, all chattering over one another.

"Miss Skadi, may I please shake your hand?"

"Can you sign my glove? Please, it’ll be worth a fortune one day!"

"I heard you fought off two hundred bandits at once! Is that true?"

Skadi, never one to shy away from attention, crossed her arms and smirked.

"Of course it’s true. I’m Skadi Silvermoon, after all. If you want a handshake from the great Skadi, line up properly! It’s a limited-time offer, you know, this will be very valuable in the future."

The girls squealed and scrambled to form an actual queue, much to her satisfaction. She winked at the first in line.

"Alright, you first. Firm grip, none of that limp wrist business. This is a warrior’s handshake."

A few feet away, Aisha was having a completely different experience. She was surrounded by older women, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, most of them crying openly.

"Oh, bless you, bless you, child." One said, cupping Aisha’s cheeks and kissing her forehead.

"You’ve given me back my only daughter." Another wept, throwing her arms around her so tightly Aisha’s eyes widened.

"I...um—"

"Thank you! Thank you so much! May the gods watch over you forever!"

Aisha’s face was red as a tomato as more and more women closed in, hugging her from all sides.

"Ah, p-please, I was just doing my duty, oh! You’re, hugging me...all at once now..." She tried to squirm free but they only held her tighter, sobbing gratitude into her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Julie stood off to the side, trying, unsuccessfully, not to smile as she watched all of this unfold. Her own group of admirers consisted mostly of fathers and older men, offering her handshakes so firm they rattled her bones, thanking her with eyes brimming with emotion.

She kept her composure, but there was a warmth in her expression that she couldn’t quite hide.

For the people of Talvern, this night was nothing short of miraculous.

Only days ago they had been grieving, powerless, watching their pleas to the Valheim family go ignored. The local watch had tried their best, but they lacked the numbers, the resources...the hope.

Now, in the span of a single day, their children had been returned to them, not by the nobility they served, but by a completely different force, one they hadn’t even called for.

And that made them celebrate all the harder.

As the joyful festival went into the night, Julie now stood in the middle of the lively square, her arms folded, watching with a quiet smile as the chaos unfolded around her.

Skadi was in the middle of the crowd, sitting at a rough wooden table with her sleeves rolled up and her grin wide. Five burly men, each with arms like tree trunks, were lined up against her, all straining with both hands locked against hers.

Sweat dripped down their foreheads, faces red with effort. Skadi’s arm didn’t so much as twitch.

"C’mon, boys." She said, a teasing glint in her eye. "Is this the best Talvern’s got? My grandmother pushes harder than this."

With a casual flex, she slammed their joined hands against the table. All five at once. The men groaned, clutching their wrists, while the crowd erupted in cheers and laughter.

Skadi stood, striking a victorious pose with one foot on the table. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win a fair fight against unfair odds!"

Meanwhile, Aisha was having a very different kind of battle. She was being passed around, quite literally, by the neighborhood aunties.

One had her cheeks between her hands, squishing them together. Another was fussing over her hair. A third was hugging her from behind while two more were pressing gifts of baked bread into her arms.

"O-oh, wait, please—!" Aisha’s voice was high and flustered. Her face was crimson as her cheeks were pulled and pinched. "I-I’m not a child, you know—!"

"Hush, dear, let us take care of you." One auntie said warmly.

"You’re far too thin! Look at you, have you been eating enough?" Another asked.

"I-I have! Really—!"

Julie couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, shaking her head. But her amusement softened when she noticed someone approaching from the edge of the crowd.

It was a woman in armor, her stride purposeful, her eyes sharp with a fierce and determined gleam. Her hand rested on the pommel of her sword, and her whole bearing spoke of discipline.

Julie turned to face her, and in that instant, the woman’s demeanor shifted completely.

The intensity in her gaze melted away, replaced with something almost shy. She straightened her posture, then quickly brought her fist to her chest in a crisp salute.

"Greetings, Captain!" She said formally, her voice steady but tinged with awe.

Julie let out a quiet laugh and raised a hand. "Calm down, soldier. There’s no need for that here. We’re not on a battlefield. Be at ease."

The woman’s shoulders relaxed a little, and she exhaled slowly.

"Apologies...it’s just a habit. I’ve gotten used to giving salutations to people who don’t deserve them, greedy nobles, pompous merchants, men who care for nothing but their pockets. People I’ve never respected."

Her eyes lifted to Julie’s with a newfound light.

"But you...giving you a salute feels different. Fresh. Deserved. You’re the leader of the Holy Guard, Julie Nikolaevna Hellbane. Giving you that gesture..." She smiled faintly "...makes me feel like I’m actually doing my duty right. That I’m saluting someone worth it."

Julie’s lips curved in a warm smile. "That’s kind of you to say."

The woman straightened again. "My name is Susan, Captain. Leader of the local law enforcement here in Talvern. And..." She hesitated for a second, a small blush rising on her cheeks. "Also a...rather big fan of yours."

Julie’s brow rose in mild surprise, though the look in Susan’s eyes made it obvious. The admiration there was so open it was almost disarming.

Susan then quickly shook her head.

"I don’t want to disturb your time, so I’ll be brief." She stepped forward and handed Julie a thick stack of papers. "These are the names of all the children recovered, where they’re from, their personal details, and where they’ll be staying for now, as Miss Aisha has already asked me to arrange."

"I’ve also already arranged accommodations for them in the town. I’ve also sent word to neighboring villages and towns about the discovery. They’ll be ready to send families to collect them as soon as possible."

Julie flipped through the papers, scanning the neatly written notes. Everything was perfectly organized, not a single error in sight.

"Good work. You managed this quickly." She nodded.

Susan shook her head modestly, though her smile betrayed her pride. "Not at all, Captain...but hearing that from you, it’s...well, it’s an honor."

Julie’s gaze softened, but then her tone grew more somber.

"There will be children who have no one left. Families who won’t be coming to collect them...or more like no one left to take them."

Susan’s expression dimmed.

"For those..." Julie continued. "...send them to the Holyfield estate. Find Aisha, she’ll arrange for them to be taken into the institutions there. They’ll be cared for properly."

"Yes, ma’am." Susan nodded sharply. "It’ll be done without a hitch."

She then hesitated then, shifting on her feet, as though something was weighing on her mind. Finally, she stepped forward and bowed deeply, her voice ringing with emotion.

"Thank you! Thank you so very much for saving the children of our town!"

Julie blinked, caught off guard. "Ah, there’s no need for all this—"

But Susan shook her head firmly, her voice steady but thick with feeling.

"No, Captain. There is. For months now, we’ve been living in fear. Children taken in broad daylight as if the bandits didn’t care who saw. Caravans attacked, goods stolen, young women dragged away."

"We’ve set up patrols, chased them into the forest, tried every tactic we knew...nothing worked. They know the woods too well. And the forest is far too large for our small force."

Her hands tightened into fists.

"We complained to the Valheim family. We sent word to the local nobles. We begged for help. And do you know what we got?"

"...Nothing. Silence. We were left to watch it happen again and again, powerless."

Susan’s eyes softened, hope shining through.

"But then...you came. The Holy Guard came. And you didn’t just fight the bandits, you brought our children home. You gave us a miracle. And for that..." She bowed her head again, this time even deeper, her voice steady with emotion. "I thank you. Very much."

Julie blinked, taken aback by the sheer sincerity in her tone. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, it was as if the entire celebration had paused.

Almost instinctively, heads began to turn toward her

The crowd fell quieter, and one by one, people began to face her. Not just, Julie, but also Aisha still caught between aunties, and Skadi, mid-boast over her arm-wrestling victory, had both noticed the exchange.

And then, as though guided by some unspoken understanding, the townsfolk began to incline their heads.

Some gave small, respectful bows. Others simply smiled with a deep, grateful warmth in their eyes.

The expressions were different, but the message was the same: thank you.

It hit the three of them all at once.

Julie felt her breath catch in her chest, the weight of so many eyes heavy and yet...strangely comforting.

Beside her, Skadi’s confident grin faltered for just a second, replaced with a rare hint of bashfulness. Aisha, cheeks already pink from the aunties’ fussing, flushed even deeper, her eyes darting away shyly.

The heat rose in Julie’s ears, and though she tried to maintain her usual composure, she could feel the blush creeping up. It was the same for the other two, hard-trained warriors suddenly looking like awkward recruits again.

But beneath the embarrassment, there was something else.

Warmth. Safety...That quiet, unshakable sense of this is why we fight.

This was why they woke before dawn, why they trained until their muscles burned, why they kept pushing their limits, it was for this.

To see the people they swore to protect smiling like this.

To know that their efforts weren’t just victories in battle, but hope made real.

In that moment, all three of them knew: they were doing a good job.

And that knowledge made their hearts feel light, and their spirits unshakably steady...