Alterra Village.


    [Your subsidiary village Vismont Village (Lv3) has been taken over by Shrao Village (Lv3).]


    The announcement rang inside Althea''s head, causing her feet to pause.


    "Miss Althea?" Luis asked, concerned. The others also did as well. She shook her head and waved her hand.


    "Go ahead."


    They weren''t able to discuss anymore as soon as the gates opened. They were expecting celebrations—not at their arrival, but overall. This would definitely have been the case, except for a few accidents that happened just before it ended.


    They frowned when they saw that everyone was looking at them seriously. Winona appeared, panting heavily as if she had just run a marathon.


    "Althea" She yelled, coming to hug her, greeting her with red eyes.


    This naturally made Althea very worried. "What''s wrong?" she asked, patting the woman''s back.


    "First of all. Everything is okay," she said, and somehow the serious atmosphere lessened.


    "What happened?"


    "Calm down and come to the hospital with me," she said, practically dragging Althea. The others who were with her were fortunately brought into the loop by people nearby, and many of them also headed to the hospital to see some teammates. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What''s going on?" Althea asked as she followed Winona, her pace following hers.


    "Don''t panic," Winona said.


    "Just say it already!"


    "Well, some people tried to kidnap your children. Ansel, Garan, and the others saved them."


    "WHAT? Are they alright?" Althea exclaimed, her steps immediately hastening to the point that she was already running.


    "Yeah, they''re unharmed," Winona said as she struggled to follow her pace.


    "And Ansel?"


    Winona sneered, but her eyes were a little red at the memory. "In one piece, unfortunately."


    Winona sniffed and wiped her tears as subtly as she could. She then told her of what happened just before the war ended. "The enemies were incredibly sly. They even used a magic weapon to make sure they were not interrupted.


    "Obviously, they stayed with the intent of targeting key people."


    "The old women were lucky and weren''t too hurt, managing to defend themselves. The guards are okay too, though they''re still in the wards. For the most part, it''s credited to your protection charms that they have all their limbs after being beaten up so much.


    "The trespassers were caught by Garan and were now being apprehended. He''s probably with the babies right now though—he refused to place them out of his sight again."


    "As for Ansel… he got injured because… of a bomb which was somehow there."


    She couldn''t even think of where the bomb came from for now—her ears were just ringing to know someone extended their hands to her children!


    She couldn''t imagine what would have happened if the bomb exploded with the babies nearby!


    She arrived at the hospital with a nervous heart—no matter how many times Winona reassured them they''re all fine—and immediately went to one of the private wards.


    The elevator—powered by the hydraulics and pulleys—stopped at the third floor.


    She was guided to the farthest room at the right. The moment she entered the door though, she could hear the familiar smug voice of her brother. "Winona! You''re finally here? You didn''t forget my fruits did you?"


    Winona groaned and her shoulders immediately softened. She was relieved to see him awake and already joking.


    "So, he finally owned it huh?" she couldn''t help but say, giving Winona a look.


    The blonde looked annoyed, "More like he found a slave!"


    Ansel heard their voices and brightened, waving at them with his head when they arrived (because his arms and back were injured).


    "Althea!" he yelled but Garan—who had sensed his wife''s arrival—immediately came to greet her.


    Ansel-looking-for-attention: "..."


    Anyway, the babies'' eyes sparkled at the sight of their mother, immediately extending their little hands.


    "Mwamwahaaa!"


    "Gugmawama…"


    Amusingly, Little Theo was also there, hugging Pepper protectively. His wide eyes were a little red—no doubt from crying—and he looked like an adorable little guard.


    She finally let go of the breath she had been holding, though she couldn''t help but look at her husband, who was surprisingly chill about Theo''s attachment to his daughter.


    Sensing his wife''s look, his jaw tightened. He did not like this at all, but the babies were comfortable with their friends and he, feeling guilty that the breach happened in the first place, adjusted accordingly.


    Althea was just happy her babies were completely unharmed, extending her arms so she could hug them.


    Lola was there as well. It looked like they were confined but didn''t want to be apart from the babies so their teams chose a semi-private ward where Ansel, the old women, and the babies could stay together.


    As they settled, she continued to ask Ansel for the details about what happened. The old women also heard the tale for the nth time, and they just kept feeling guilty.


    "We''re so sorry Miss Althea." Lola said, "If we were a bit stronger."


    "No, it''s not your fault," Althea immediately said, holding the woman''s hand. "It''s ours for being complacent. Let''s just be thankful everyone''s alright."


    Garan looked down, his fist clenched. This was his fault—his oversight. What was the use in making the rest of the territory strong, when his own house ended up being vulnerable?


    "Where did the bomb come from, anyway?" Winona asked Ansel. She was so worried before so she wasn''t able to ask him the question.


    "How would I know?"


    Everyone was confused and puzzled.


    Althea pursed her lips, also confused. She tried to look back, to trace her steps, to determine if there were clues.


    She then remembered that time in the lab where Pepper suddenly appeared in her lab. Her heart turned cold when she thought of the bomb exploding.


    Basing on what they told her, they just got lucky this time.


    She hugged her daughter, her heart wanting to feel her warmth. The baby was unaware of the turmoil she created and just laughed. Suddenly, Meatball was the well-behaved one.


    Althea couldn''t help but smile a bit, gently poking the baby''s nose. "Oh, dear baby…" she said, tone mixed of fondness and exasperation. "What do we do with you?"