A Desperate Dawn

“No.”

“Not here either.”

“And not here…”

Old Jenny’s heart was a tangle of unease. Four hours had passed since Freya had announced her intention to take a stroll, yet she hadn’t returned. Old Jenny had searched every corner of Green Village’s isolation zone, but Freya’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

‘Could it be…’ Her gaze drifted towards the forest, her expression growing heavy. ‘Did she go back?’

It was a possibility. Freya had constantly spoken of returning, perhaps to find Rolan.

What was she to do? What *should* she do?

Should she plead with the guards? But what if they concluded Freya hadn’t gone back, but had instead snuck into the city?

For a moment, Old Jenny was utterly at a loss. She paced back and forth, her steps heavy with indecision.

A patrol of guards passed by her. Noticing Old Jenny’s peculiar behavior, one of them inquired with a hint of suspicion: “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Just clearing my head…” Old Jenny replied humbly. “It’s nothing, I’m just about to rest.”

“Hmm…” The guard’s suspicion deepened slightly. “Where is that white-haired woman who’s always with you?”

“Ah…” Old Jenny stammered. “She, she’s out for a walk… oh, no, she’s resting in her tent.”

Old Jenny’s anxious expression instantly intensified the Guard Captain’s doubts. Without hesitation, he entered their tent to conduct a thorough search.

When he emerged from the tent moments later, the Guard Captain’s face was a mask of grim fury.

The white-haired woman was nowhere to be found. Had she truly snuck into the city?

‘If she had indeed slipped past them and into the city, he would be held accountable!’

‘It mattered little if these villagers perished; *he* would face the Lord’s wrath!’

The Guard Captain seized Old Jenny by her collar, his face stern as he pressed her fiercely: “Tell me the truth, old woman! Where in the hell did that white-haired woman go?!”

“I don’t know…” Old Jenny whispered, her voice hollow and lost. “I don’t even know where my son is… they’re all gone…”

‘What do I care about your son?! I couldn’t give a damn!’

‘The crucial point is: where did that white-haired woman disappear to?!’

“You *really* don’t know, damn it?!”

“I don’t know… I truly don’t know…” Old Jenny’s expression shifted to one of desperate pleading. “Please, help me look for her. I beg you, help me find her!”

The Guard Captain impatiently pushed Old Jenny away, then brought the iron whistle hanging from his chest to his lips.

*Wheeeeeee—*

*Eee! Eee! Eee!*

The long blast followed by three short ones was the city guard’s emergency assembly signal.

The piercing whistle shattered the camp’s tranquility. As if fearing some might not grasp the urgency, the Guard Captain ripped a roar from his throat: “EMERGENCY ASSEMBLY—”

Instantly, a flurry of panicked movements erupted. Guards, whether resting or patrolling, dropped whatever they were doing and swiftly converged.

They formed neat ranks, standing at attention, all eyes silently fixed on their captain, awaiting his command.

“Listen up, everyone! I have an announcement!” The Guard Captain cleared his throat, his voice ringing with forceful emphasis. “A young white-haired woman is missing from Green Village. Lord City Master has made it clear: no villager is to slip into the city. Every single one of you, search diligently! Scour every surrounding area; she absolutely must not be allowed to escape!”

“If that woman isn’t found before dawn…” The Guard Captain’s gaze swept over the villagers of Green Village, his eyes chilling. “Every single person from Green Village will be executed!”

“Wha—”

A single declaration stirred a thousand ripples. The villagers of Green Village could no longer remain still.

Doubt, opposition, lament, confusion, fury…

When facing life and death, no one could remain calm.

“Jenny! Where is that white-haired woman from your house?!” A villager seized Old Jenny by the shoulders, urgently pressing her. “You know, don’t you?! You *must* know!”

“If you don’t speak, we’ll all die! Tell us now!”

“Yes, yes, I don’t want to die…”

“Jenny… we’ve been neighbors for so many years. Please, just tell the guards where that person went.” A village woman wiped away tears. “Our family barely escaped the monsters and diseases; we truly can’t run anymore…”

Faced with such desperate pleas from her once-familiar neighbors and friends, Old Jenny’s body trembled with panic. “I truly don’t know,” she stammered helplessly, “I truly don’t know…”

An hour passed.

“Captain, every corner of the isolation zone has been searched. There’s no sign of the white-haired woman.”

“Keep searching! Expand the perimeter!”

Two hours passed.

“Captain, we’ve questioned many people. Some in the adjacent isolation zone claimed to have seen the white-haired woman evading the guards’ patrol.”

“Damn it…” The Guard Captain clenched his fist, his voice grave. “To think someone actually slipped away! What if she’s already inside the city?”

“Captain,” a guard pointed to the sky. “It’s dawn.”

Dawn pierced through the overcast sky, and the beautiful chimes of a distant church rang out—three resonant tolls that weighed heavily on every heart.

“It’s over…” The Guard Captain’s face was clouded with gloom. He took a deep, shaky breath, then shook his head in resignation.

‘My time as Guard Captain is surely at its end.’

He slowly extended his left hand towards the terrified, panicking villagers of Green Village.

“Everyone, heed my command!” As if to unleash the fury simmering in his chest upon these villagers, the Guard Captain’s voice was as sharp as a winter gale. “Form ranks!”

Every guard from Mondstadt was fully armored and meticulously trained. With synchronized precision, it took mere moments for the villagers of Green Village to be herded and encircled in the center.

Well-equipped guards against unarmed villagers.

The situation was undeniably one-sided, devoid of any suspense.

“It’s over…”

“I don’t want to die…”

“Jenny! Where is that woman from your house?!”

“Jenny…” Roan looked at her with a complicated gaze. “I know you definitely don’t know, right?”

“I truly, truly don’t know…” Old Jenny buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Without a word, Roan stepped forward and embraced her.

Old Jenny’s body trembled, yet she remained still.

In that moment, Roan suddenly felt a strange sense of peace.

‘At least, I’m the one who will stay with her until the very end.’

Ignoring the villagers’ cries, pleas, and accusations, the guards tightened their circle, slowly advancing.

“Listen up, all you villagers in the remaining isolation zones! If anyone from *your* area is missing, you’ll face the same fate!”

The Guard Captain’s roar echoed across the camp outside the city.

“Prepare weapons—” The Guard Captain issued his command without a moment’s delay.

Sharp longswords slid from their scabbards, glinting with a chilling light.

The Guard Captain, with an air of theatrical grandeur, stepped onto a raised spot. His hand slowly lifted, then fell with decisive force.

“Execution—”

As the guards steadily advanced, the villagers could only cling to each other instinctively. Some desperately pushed inward, others collapsed to the ground, abandoning all struggle, while many covered their eyes, weeping uncontrollably.

Old Jenny closed her eyes…

“Wait, wait a minute…” As if seeing something miraculous, Roan suddenly cried out in a frenzy. “They’re here! They’re here! Over there! Right there—”

Unable to suppress their curiosity, everyone turned their gaze towards the forest, even the Guard Captain himself.

From within the forest, two figures slowly emerged.

The morning sun, breaking through, fell upon them, illuminating them perfectly for all to see.

White hair, a woman—the characteristics matched flawlessly.

‘Thank goodness, thank goodness, she didn’t run into the city.’

The Guard Captain patted his chest as if recovering from a near-fatal escape, then issued a new command: “Fall back! Everyone return to your posts!”

Swords slid back into scabbards, and the guards who had encircled the villagers slowly dispersed.

Ignoring the villagers’ subsequent reactions, the Guard Captain led a small group to surround Rolan and Freya. His face stern, he demanded: “What’s going on? Why did this woman leave the isolation zone without permission? And who are you?”

“Her?” Rolan replied, his face etched with exhaustion. He casually fabricated an excuse. “She was abducted by bandits. There are two bandit corpses in the forest behind us; you can go check.”

“Bandits?” The Guard Captain was skeptical. “She was safely in the isolation zone. How could there have been bandits?”

Suddenly, a figure pushed past the guards and rushed towards Rolan. “You’re back!”

“Ahhh, it hurts—” Rolan grimaced. “Mother, you’re pressing on my wound!”

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry.” Old Jenny looked at her son with a pained expression. “How did you get so many injuries again?”

“Couldn’t be helped. It was from dealing with those walking dead.”

“Walking dead?” The Guard Captain stepped closer, studying Rolan’s face intently as if a thought had struck him. “Wait, are you saying you were injured fighting the walking dead?”

“Yes, I killed quite a few, but…” Rolan’s expression turned helpless. “I still couldn’t defeat the largest one.”

“The largest one?”

“A cyan-blue walking dead, imbued with ice properties from water elements. Its attacks included [Ice Breath] and powerful physical strikes, and it was accompanied by countless red walking dead and advanced black walking dead…”

As Rolan recounted his tale with such fluency, the Guard Captain’s unease grew.

This was classified information, impossible for an ordinary person to know unless they had genuinely encountered the walking dead and successfully escaped them. Someone with such capabilities was certainly not simple…

‘Wait a minute, I heard before that an adventurer had cleared a mutated Goblin camp in Loran Forest and rescued many victims.’

‘That person’s appearance…’

“Could it be that you are the one who rescued many victims in Loran Forest back then…” The Guard Captain’s address now carried a hint of respect. “The adventurer, Mr. Rolan?”

‘Adventurer? Mr. Rolan?’

‘What is this nonsense?’

Rolan blinked in confusion, then thought about it. It did sound like him, after all. He cleared his throat, his face adopting a serious expression:

“Indeed, that would be me.”