You read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon and I've also activated (date-to-date) subscription model on my Patreon https:///darkshadow6395

  At this moment, the six-thousand-strong force moved like a releide, their bdes cutting down their enemies without hesitation. The weaker ones had no ce to resist— their fates were sealed the moment they crossed paths with this overwhelming force.

  In numbers and strength, these enemies were mere is before the disciplined might of the advang army.

  Within half an hour, the ereet had been purged. Bodies y motionless, blood pooling in the cracks of the stone roads, f small rivulets that reflected the crimson dusk.

  Leading the charge, Fang Lan moved like a storm, sweeping through any remainiance, ensuring not a single hostile force remaianding.

  "Your Majesty, rest assured. General Fang Lan is a veteran in warfare. We need only wait for his report." Qin Lin spoke with a calm smile.

  "Mm." Qin Yi hough a lingering unease g his heart.

  The waiting reminded him of standing outside a room while a loved one gave birth— anxious, uai uo look away.

  Just then, the sound of shuffli drew their attention. Children, huddled in ers and alleyways, peered out at them with wide, curious eyes. They had noticed that Qin Yi and his group had not followed the rest of the army.

  Uhe battle-hardened warriors, these newers did not radiate the same fearsome preseheir expressions were softer, their demeanor almost kind.

  "Uncle, did you e to get rid of the bad people?" A small girl, no older than five or six, hesitantly stepped forward, her voice trembling with both hope and fear.

  Before Qin Yi could answer, an older boy— perhaps ten years old— grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  "Yemuzi, be quiet!" His voice was sharp with panic. Then, without hesitation, he k on the ground, pressing his forehead against the dirt.

  "Five her, sirs! She didn't mean any offense! Please spare her!" His entire body shook, fear gripping him so tightly it ainful to watch.

  pared to powerful shinobi and warlords, they were nothing— rootless leaves drifting in a storm, ants befiants.

  Yemuzi had spoken without thinking, but to the boy, her words could have cost them everything.

  A pair of feet stepped into his line of sight.

  "What's your he boy flinched and slowly looked up. Before him stood a young man, his expressioher cruel nor indifferent but gentle, almost reassuring. His face wasn't much older than his owhere was something about his presehat felt... steady.

  "Sumi." For some reason, the boy found the ce to answer, his voice barely above a whisper.

  "Sumi?" Qin Yi repeated the houghtfully, gng at the others huddled around the boy— equally frightened, equally curious. A small smile tugged at his lips.

  "Do you have a home? Which vilge are you from?"

  Sumi stiffehen shook his head. "No. My parents died in the war long ago."

  "And as for a vilge... No nd cims us. No one wants people like us."

  "I see."

  Qin Yi's gaze darkened slightly. Then, with a quiet sigh, he reached out and ruffled the boy's dirt-covered hair.

  "You've been through a lot."

  Something inside Sumi cracked at those words. His throat tightened, his vision blurred. They—these war orphans, these unwanted childrereated like pests, barely aowledged as human.

  No one had ever spoken to him like this before.

  "T-thank you..." he choked out, trying to hold back tears.

  "I want to build a nation here," Qin Yi tinued, his voice steady. "A home for everyone."

  He paused, then looked directly into Sumi's wide, disbelieving eyes.

  "Would you like to be part of it?"

  Sumi's entire body stiffened.

  There was ion in the man's voio empty words meant to pacify them. Sumi had spent his whole life learning to distinguish between kindness and lies.

  This—this was real.

  "Are you... telling the truth, sir?"

  This time, Yemuzi spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Sumi did not stop her. Instead, he too waited, yearning for a firmation.

  They had no roots. No home. But if... if this man's words were true—

  "Of course it's true." Qin Yi grinned. "My word is my bond. I never lie."

  To their surprise, he even pulled a silly face at Yemuzi, trying to coax a smile.

  "There's o be afraid. The ones fighting ahead are my people. They're making sure the ones who hurt you, who hurt this vilge, ever do so again."

  His voice rose slightly, carrying through the empty streets where weary vilgers still lingered, uain and wary.

  "Ohe battle is over, we will all work together to build a home—ohat belongs to us."

  A flicker of life returo the vilgers' eyes. They turowards him, some filled with doubt, others with hope. For so long, all they had known was suffering.

  Could this truly be real?

  "That's amazing, sir!" Sumi's voice rang out, full of raw excitement.

  Qin Yi smiled. "Don't worry. Soon, you'll have a real home."

  He helped Sumi and Yemuzi to their feet. Their clothes were ragged, their faces smeared with dirt, but beh it all, they had bright eyes and stroures—children who, given the ce, would grow into remarkable people.

  "Qin Lin, do we have any ratio?"

  At his call, Qin Lin stepped forward without hesitatiorieving a small bundle from his pad handing it over.

  Qin Yi pced it in Yemuzi's hands. "Eat. It's been a while since you've had a proper meal, hasn't it?"

  Yemuzi did not move. She simply stared at him, unmoving, silent. Sumi, growing anxious, fidgeted beside her.

  Then, after three long seds, Yemuzi's eyes filled with tears. She let out a wail and sobbed.

  Qin Yi blinked, startled. Then, without hesitation, he k down and embraced her.

  He uood.

  This wasn't just about food. It was about kindness—something they had fotten eveed.

  "It's okay now," he whispered. "Everything will get better."

  "From this moment on, I promise you— no one will suffer alone anymore."

  This was not the empty promise of a ruler. It was a vow, as unshakable as the foundation of a great vilge.

  These children, these lost souls— they were now his people. They mattered.

  Beside him, Yang Yi, Gandalf, and Qin Xiyao silently stepped forward, their own rations to the other children.

  Then, without another word, Qin Yi and his group tinued onward.

  Behind them, Sumi and Yemuzi broke into a run, shouting through the streets.

  "The grown-ups are here to save us!"

  "From now on, we're safe!"

  "Everyone, don't be afraid! They'll stop the bad ohey'll protect us!"

  Their small voices carried through the vilge, igniting something in the hearts of the eople.

  "Are we... really saved?"

  For the first time in a long while, hope blossomed anew.

  (End of Chapter)