Gianna didn't want to see the man anymore. She killed him right away and threw him into the cellar, then moved some stones and dug up dirt to completely bury it.
That made five less of them. Beasts like that deserved to rot in the wild!
Back in the village, she cleaned up the blood on the ground, put the arrow away into her space, and after checking several times to make sure there was no blood on her, she entered the yard where the kids were hiding.
"Dennis, Nori, Xeno—you can come out now."
The three children had heard the fighting outside earlier, but they remembered their mother's words clearly—not to make a sound or come out.
All their nervousness faded instantly.
The three of them rushed out.
"Mom, are you okay?!"
Dennis and Nori circled around Gianna, making sure she wasn't hurt, and then let out a breath of relief.
Xeno held her hand and asked worriedly, "Mom, did those bad guys leave?"
Gianna gave a gentle smile. "They left. I drove them away."
Floyd didn't return to the village until late at night.
The three kids were already asleep. He quietly carried the water into the house.
Gianna came over to help, lowering her voice. "People from Men Village came today."
Floyd was so startled he almost dropped the bucket.
Gianna quickly reassured him. "The kids and I are fine. I scared them off. They saw I could fight, and I told them you'd be back soon, so they gave up."
She had originally planned to keep it from him with the kids' help.
But thinking it over, if Men Village found out five people hadn't returned, they'd probably send more.
So it was better to tell Floyd part of the truth.
Floyd still felt scared even though Gianna stood there safe in front of him. "Gianna, they didn't hurt you, right?"
Gianna saw the worry in his eyes and shook her head slightly. "They didn't hurt me. You know I can fight now. While we were fighting, I heard them say that because Big Tiger went to Men Village and told them, they found out only our family is left in Mud Nest Village. That's when they had bad thoughts about me and the kids."
All four buckets of water were brought into the yard, and after pushing the cart in too, Floyd closed the gate.
He said seriously, "From now on, no matter where we go, we must stick together. Good thing you drove them off today. The consequences would've been unthinkable."
Those people from Men Village were all scum. They deserved to die!
He was so thankful Gianna had changed and become strong.
Gianna heated the food and brought it into the main room. "It's getting colder. Hopefully it snows this winter. As long as the well has water, we won't need to go into the valley."
Floyd agreed.
Maybe it was because he was too tired—he ate and went to bed right after.
Gianna entered her space and found a bag of chips to eat slowly.
After finishing, she also ate two fruits and finally came out satisfied.
She slept in late, until the sun was high.
Since they hadn't planted any crops, there was no farm work. When she woke up, she heard the sound of fists in the yard.
"You're boys. Learning to fight will help you protect yourselves and your mother too."
Gianna leaned on the doorframe, smiling at the heartwarming scene.
The three kids were in horse stance, punching forward in practice.
Floyd looked up at her and said awkwardly, "I made some mixed grain porridge. Go eat a little."
Gianna was surprised.
From what she remembered, Floyd never cooked. At most, he'd help light the fire.
This was the first time he ever cooked on his own.
She walked into the kitchen and really found a bowl of porridge in the pot.
Without hesitation, she picked it up and drank it.
At that moment, Floyd came into the room and asked, "How about we go up the mountain together to chop wood later?"
He didn't feel safe leaving the children at home with Gianna.
But he also worried that Gianna might not want to go.
So he came to talk it over with her.
Compared to the timid and quiet Gianna from before, who could barely say a word, he liked the current Gianna much more.
Gianna knew this winter would be very cold, especially after it snowed, so it was important to gather enough firewood in advance.
She said, "Let's go together later."
The five of them locked the door and went to the back mountain.
After three years of drought, it was rare to see trees still alive.
There was firewood all over the mountain, and Floyd picked the best kind for burning.
The forest wasn't far from the village. While Gianna and Floyd were sawing wood, Xeno suddenly said, "Dad, Mom, someone came to our village."
That made Floyd and Gianna instantly alert.
They quickly looked toward the village.
They happened to see Dahu being carried into the village.
What Gianna had been worried about happened. Sure enough, people from Men Village noticed the five of them hadn't returned and came looking.
"It must be someone from Men Village. What should we do, Floyd?"
Floyd gripped his hatchet tightly. "Gianna, take the kids and find a place to hide. I'll deal with them."
Gianna grabbed Floyd's arm.
There were quite a few people today, and she didn't think Floyd could handle them alone.
She said seriously, "You can't go alone."
Gianna looked around and saw a big pit not far away. She pulled the three kids along and said, "Remember the rule from yesterday? Unless your dad or I call you, don't come out. Don't make any noise either."
She didn't need to say much more.
Dennis said seriously, "Don't worry, Dad, Mom. I'll take care of my brothers."
Gianna gently patted the kids on their heads, helped them hide in the pit, then covered it with the wood they had just chopped. She scattered dry leaves over it.
After doing all that, Gianna picked up an axe.
"Let's go, Floyd."
Floyd stared at her, stunned.
He felt like Gianna was reacting even better than him.
Snapping out of it, he warned her, "Be careful. If we can't beat them, we run, understand?"
In Gianna's mind, there was no such thing as not being able to win.
But she didn't show that in front of Floyd.
She said sweetly, "I'll listen to you."
The two of them hid and counted the people. Including Dahu and his parents, eight people had come.
Gianna lowered her voice and analyzed, "Dahu and his parents aren't a threat. The problem is the other five. They're strong, sharp-eyed, definitely tough ones."
Floyd agreed completely with her.
Just as they were about to rush out, noise came from the village entrance.
"Who came?" Dahu asked.
The Men Village people also looked toward the entrance.
There were men and women, old and young, making quite a scene.
When they saw the Men Village group, they looked frightened.
Floyd said, "They're from the nearby village. They probably heard everyone in our village moved away and came to see if there's anything they could take."
Gianna wasn't in a rush now. "Let's wait and see."