Ava felt deeply nervous as a wave of panic began to set in, the fear of the unknown was scary to her.

Although her new life has ‘livened’ up greatly since she left the elven village, she still lived a rather sheltered life in the village previously and she was not used to being threatened at every turn like this, it was a horrible feeling being so powerless and helpless where she had to rely on others repeatedly. 

Ava knew to others she was a child, helpless and needing protection, but to her adult-like mind sometimes she just wanted to grow quickly so she could be of use to those risking their lives to protect her. 

She had a terrible shaking feeling their current crisis was going to be far more threatening than the group of goons who attempted to kidnap her before. 

Although they tried to hide it, she could tell from Arwen and Althaea's reaction to its presence that the magical beast known as ‘The King of the Lake’ was a threat. 

She was unsure exactly how powerful Arwen was but she had a feeling one of the reasons he didn't pressure Kais, and the group of Evergreen clan elves before when she was about to leave with them was due to not being fully confident he could beat them. 

Ava had already learnt by now Druids were granted great power by their gifts but it also made ascending cultivation in the later stages more difficult, there was a cost for their power but it made them almost invincible at their level similar to strong magical beasts.

She knew Arwen was strong but he now faced an opponent who was a strong magical beast that excelled in fighting in its territory. 

He had already left to support the ship's fight against the beast, they already knew he was a Druid and instantly cooperated with him to come up with a plan to hold off the beast. 

The ship was very large, the upper deck was even spacious enough to accomdate Arwen’s goliath-sized bear form if they cleared space for him beforehand.

Therefore at the moment for her safety, it was just her and her Father Xandas locked up in their room both waiting for the problem to be resolved.

It was nerve-racking and mentally draining being cooped up in a closed-up ship cabin all whilst hearing the loud noises of the ongoing battle but being unable to do or see anything. 

She could tell by her father's look of concern he wanted to help their new companions in the battle ahead, after all, that was the man her Father was, he always put himself at the forefront of conflict back at the tribe and risked himself for his fellow tribesmen, as a leader and the strongest warrior in the tribe he always put it upon himself to be the one leading the charge.

Yet now he was hiding alongside her waiting for others to put their lives at risk to resolve a problem they shared, she knew her Father would never leave her alone again, he took his role in protecting her very seriously, especially after the incident in the Inn, he already blamed himself for being too easy to accommodate Althaea’s selfish request but she supposed he felt like he owed her and Arwen for saving both his life and his daughters, from being brought back to the murderers of her mother. 

Xandas knew it was the best outcome, he was the weakest in the group and a powerful Mage like Althaea would be vital to helping the ship ward off the attackers and to minimise the casualties and Arwen was needed to provide the powerhouse needed to go up against the magical beast. 

He felt responsible and no shame in being here defending his daughter, however, he grew concerned over the ones who supported them, it was foolish of him to think he could do anything at all to protect someone who was so much stronger than him but he felt a sense of debt, that his honour demanded him to repay the one who saved his life. 

Nonetheless, it was best Arwen and Althaea defended the upper deck, not allowing any enemies to descend putting Ava in the least amount of danger, after all, there should be no trouble coming soon with those above protecting the lower deck from danger…

“Hmm” Xandas suddenly mumbled before a shocked expression appeared on his face as he shouted, “Ava get down, hide under the bed!”

At that moment when Ava rushed to obey her father's orders without questioning him, the wooden door to their cabin suddenly crumbled into smithereens as a figure quickly emerged shouting.

Xandas responded quickly not even hesitating to parry the swinging sword of his assailant causing his opponent to stagger from overstretching himself, without even stopping to pause Xandas dug his blade into the other's throat ending his life instantly as he fell to the floor lifeless. 

Xandas didn't even get the chance to examine his deceased opponent as another man entered though much more measured than the previous. 

Ava felt shocked by the sight wondering what was going on, she knew from hearing the conversations of the sailors outside the cabin that bandits appeared to be working with the magical beast, seeming as if it was a tamed creature but how could they enter the ship so fast? And how did they get past all the guards on the upper deck? 

Nonetheless, Ava didn't even have the time to think about this thoroughly as her Father was beset by another opponent who swung his weapon swiftly at her Father.

Due to the narrowed space of the cabin, short weapons were far more effective, and the man was already closing in on her Father as he attempted to rush him into the corner giving him less space to manoeuvre. 

However, her Father was an elf and by virtue of his longer lifespan, although he and the opposing man looked similar in age, her Father was far older and seemed both experienced, and stronger than the man.

Despite being cautious and capable in close-quarters fighting, the man soon found himself meeting a similar fate to his counterpart as her Father cleverly baited him to lunge in thinking he had the elf cornered but soon found himself quickly being reversed, her Father sidestepped at a ridiculously tight angle bringing his blade to the others side before he could even blink, the man gurgled in pain as he felt the blade enter deep, he attempted a desperate swing in retaliation but her Father easily batted that away cutting the throat of the man like the last and letting him fall to the ground the life quickly fading from his eyes. 

However, this was not the last as two more entered the room charging at her Father hoping to use their numbers to pressure him. 

Yet her Father was just not one to be trifled with as he fought back again, deflecting attack after attack, he used the tight space to perfectly move around the two men reducing their number advantage and started leaving wound after wound that built up.

The men grew sloppy, and despite the men being warrior cultivators of a similar level to her Father, blood loss still affected them and the pouring life blood from their wounds affected them.

For the first time, Ava realised how strong an elf were compared to the average human counterpart, their cultivation often progressed more slowly but they were far more adept fighters at the same level. 

Soon enough her Father dispatched these two like the last two men, although he began to breathe more deeply compared to the beginning of the confrontation, there was not a wound in sight as he took down four human warriors of a similar cultivation.

However, the bloody air and four dead bodies that littered the room were evidence of the previous battle, Ava began to feel the bile rise in her throat at the scent, the cramped room meant one of the lifeless bodies was near her, staring into the dead eyes of a human was traumatic in itself for one not experienced to such sights. 

Seeing no new emergence of enemies Ava almost breathed a sigh of relief, her Father seemed like he was about to call her out so they could make a move, but that was when a chuckle was heard before a man with a far more intimidating aura than the others emerged from the door. 

“Haha, got to say I had a feeling, even with the Druid and mage distracted those twits can't deal with such a simple task... Good thing I came here myself this time, ya’know back in the day I used to do this much more, but getting old does that…“ the strange man mumbled.

Getting a look at him she saw a middle-aged man, well-dressed, prim and proper like a nobleman. 

However, although he was smiling displaying every bit of the elegance and confidence you'd find in a well-educated man of high standing, he had a strange edge about him, like he was a ravenous wolf among a bunch of sheep.

“So I can’t convince you to step aside after seeing what became of your accomplices?” Her Father said smiling lightly. 

She could tell her Father took this man far more seriously than the others, she knew if they fought it would a hard-drawn out fight with a high risk of threatening injuries even for the victor. 

“Hmm. What about you? I got to say… although I despise my bratty children and grandchildren, or family in general, you see I don’t know how I bred such weakness, anyhow enough about me… in my youth I wouldn’t even hesitate but being old does that to you I guess. That brat behind you is my hope of returning to my former glory now that it’s ruined, I can re build, but it would be too bothersome, now I might have some complaints if that brat is traumatised from her Father being gutted in front of her, so why not move aside, I can assure you this is a losing battle, I have no idea how those outside would treat her, but me? I won’t harm her, in fact I will treat her like my own… children until I deliver her safely of course.” The man gave his best smile after that, she assumed he did his best to look harmless however it just looked as if a shark was trying to act harmless. 

Of course, if she knew that this was the same man who abandoned all of his children to be executed, using their sacrifice to escape safely from the city they set off from she would have a better idea how much those words are actually worth. 

Her Father sighed giving the man his answer.

The man’s smile faltered, “Ah, I talked this long hoping to avoid this, but alas, looks like it’s either you or me.” 

However, soon as he said that a blade followed from behind him straight for her Fathers chest.

Xandas reacted quickly deflecting the attack.

The man snicked, “Looks like my reinforcements have arrived, don’t count on anyone coming to help you, bulk of ships guards is defending the ship whilst we have took over this entire deck, shame this could have all been avoided but looks like…”

At that moment the man deftly dodged as a dagger hit the head of the man who thew the dagger at Xandas previously ending another of the henchmen’s lives. 

“You talk too much” Xandas growled as he prepared for the fight ahead.