The villagers immediately began discussing it in terror, some turning to look at the village chief.
"God, this is too terrifying!"
"We'll all die like this..."
"Village Chief, is all this true?"
"It's all rumors!" The church doors were suddenly pushed open, and a fierce-looking man emerged. He looked toward Igor and shouted, "Where did you hear this?"
"It was Mei..." Igor instinctively wanted to say, "My cousin from Meida told me," but he suddenly remembered that this "distant cousin" had sneaked here after escaping. He quickly raised a hand to cover his mouth.
The fierce-looking man signaled to the officer beside him. Before he could speak, the village chief hurried over, bowing repeatedly with a fawning smile. "Lord Matos, please don't pay those little brats any mind. They always love spouting nonsense to catch the girls' attention.
"I'll have someone teach him a lesson. I guarantee the migration will be completed on schedule."
The fierce-looking man glared at him, but did not pursue the matter further.
Only then did the village chief let out a breath of relief. This was an official lord from Viseu—one word from him could have Igor arrested, or even hanged. Intimidated by the official, the villagers did not dare say anything more. At the village chief's request, they returned to their homes to pack their luggage.
Igor, meanwhile, wore a deeply worried expression. He told everyone he met things like, "Leaving the village is extremely dangerous," and "We might die," but most of the villagers cautiously avoided him.
For one thing, Igor was too young, and his words carried little weight. For another, the migration was meant to deal with those hateful Spaniards. Even if they had to suffer a little, everyone could accept it.
That afternoon, Igor returned home, greeted his mother, grabbed