"!!!" The news blew his mind. He suddenly remembered the feeling that confused him back then. He couldnāt help but ask, "Did that happen approximately 5 months ago?"
That was the feeling of losing something that occurred to him out of nowhere.
"You knew about it?" Selena didnāt expect Nathan, who was supposed to be on another continent, would know about it.
Nathan bit his lip with a pained expression. He didnāt know who it was, but he never thought that it would be Sword Saint Sullivan, Noelleās grandfather.
Nathan replied, "Weāll talk later."
Selena nodded in agreement.
Nathan just subtly comforted Noelle. He understood why Noelle had changed. The loss of her grandfather must be severe, so it was best to discuss it later.
Sera and the others eventually arrived. Thanks to Selena, they maintained an appropriate distance so as not to disturb Noelle.
It took her a while to stop crying. She must have been worried that he would also end up dead following her grandfather.
"Welcome back, Nathan." While wiping her tears, Noelle finally greeted him.
"Iām back, Noelle." Nathan just gave her a peck on the forehead. "Letās finish the matter here first, shall we?"
"Mhmm..." She mumbled while nodding.
The general had also come. Even though he had never met Nathan directly, he knew only Nathan could summon beasts.
"Thank you for the help, Mr. Nathan. Without you, the situation would have been more dangerous."
"Itās not a problem. Shall we clean up?"
"Allow my soldiers to do the cleanup. I canāt afford to trouble you again for such a meticulous task. It wonāt take long."
Nathan turned to Selena. Since she had been the one dealing with the matters on this continent, Selena would know the arrangement best.
Selena replied, "Very well. We came here to protect Nathanās disciple, Iris, but itās not like we can come back empty-handed, can we?
"Weāll take all the elite class alien cores. As for the rest, we will give up 40% of the cores. Please distribute it to the soldiers."
"40%?" Russel was surprised by the generosity. The army didnāt do much. Nathan took down four elite class aliens by himself while the other one was taken down by Selena and Noelle.
In addition, Nathanās familiars completely overwhelmed the enemy. His efforts alone should have killed half of them. If they combined it with Selena and the others, they might have killed 90% of the bodies in this place.
So, it wouldnāt be surprising if they only got 10%.
However, Selena chose to be generous this time because she wanted to speed things up.
"Yes. Weāre grateful that this fortress has taken care of Iris. Well, if you feel a bit burdened about it, please finish it quickly."
"Of course." Russel nodded. There was no reason to reject this favor, so he immediately ordered the soldiers to handle the corpses. Of course, several familiars also joined.
Even Nathanās familiars didnāt mind helping so as to give Nathan a private time with his girls.
"Welcome back." Flora and Sera waved their hands at the same time.
"It looks like you are fine. No, maybe you are fatter." Alavenya squinted her eyes.
Selena smiled. "Itās good that youāre fine. Is everyone alright?"
"Iām back, everyone." Nathan nodded. "Everyone is alright. It looks like you guys have gotten much stronger."
"Still not comparable to you, though." Flora shrugged.
"Ahahaha. You are already close to one, so itās fine." Nathan chuckled. "Your progress is definitely beyond anyoneās expectation. Where is Iris?"
"Let me grab her." Alavenya waved her hand before leaping back to the fortress.
"I guess we can talk about your experience over there later." Selena looked around. "Have you returned to the city yet?"
"I got the news from the mayor. So, the rest should be residing in the old house right now. Has our new home been completed yet?"
"80% completed. The domain is well-maintained too. Even though you told us to use the herbs to raise the fund, we never needed it. So, the herbs had been stored properly."
"I see." It was good, considering he brought a lot of knowledge regarding medicine. His domain would definitely become one of the most important places in the world.
"Master!" Iris rushed in panic. She bowed ninety degrees upon arrival. "Welcome back."
Nathan smiled. "It looks like you have gotten stronger, Iris. Youāve worked hard."
"I didnāt want to disappoint you, but compared to you, I couldnāt do anything..." Iris smiled wryly. After witnessing his power, Iris didnāt think she could catch up to him even slightly.
"Well, should I give you special training after weāre back? I do need your help as well later."
"I will!" Irisā face brightened.
"So, you have returned." The Dragon King arrived not long after with Alavenya.
"Elder."
"Just call me Uncle like the others." The Dragon King smiled. He patted Nathanās shoulders. "I know you will eventually surpass me, but to think it will be this fast..."
"Iām quite lucky during my travels."
"Thatās good. You need a lot of luck when traveling to a dangerous place. It looks like I can finally feel assured that my daughter is safe."
"I will do my best to protect her."
The Dragon King chuckled before waving his hand. "Well, thatās all from me. I shouldnāt take up your time. Itās best to spend it with family."
"Thank you for helping Alavenya and the others."
The Dragon King nodded as he walked away. It looked like the Dragon King joined them because of the death of the Sword Saint. Now that Nathan had returned and was even stronger, the Dragon King could finally ease his worries.
Nathan chose to avoid the heavy topic right away after seeing Noelleās condition. It would be better for her to talk about it first before they could finally talk openly about it.
Still, Nathan would get the information from Selena first to understand what was going on.
"Letās go back, shall we?" asked Nathan while stroking Noelleās arm.