After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

A blink later, they saw Luis had his sword raised, shielding against another man’s sword. What’s more? The blades were both on fire.

”OH? Same type, eh?” The man said, grinning as he showed off his yellow teeth. Luis almost barfed at his bad breath.

Fortunately, he managed to shakily maintain his defense as the man increased his power.

Swish!

Luis was pushed back further until his back hit a tree. The stranger grinned and increased his fire more, a little bloodthirsty, but paused when he felt a blade on his neck.

”I advise you to back off,” Sammy said, pointing right at the man’s head. He added a wind element and the breeze made the man’s eyebrows rise.

”Eh…”

The three went on a standstill, with tension so palpable the bystanders could almost touch it.

The fighters were prepared to intervene and rescue at a moment’s notice while the civilians shivered in fear, thinking they made a mistake for coming on this journey.

Such a strong enemy was probably not alone, right? They wondered: Were they about to die?

Marco immediately stepped in front of his wife as she tried to hold back her sobs. If a fight happened, he was ready to pull his wife back. Whether or not they’d be heading towards safety, he couldn’t tell, but they certainly wouldn’t be collateral damage so early.

The others were also prepared to escape, though where exactly they should be heading in—they weren’t so certain.

They all watched in tension as the three elementalists maintained an equilibrium of sorts, though one that could explode the moment a little movement was made.

Even Sammy was tense and serious. This guy must have a higher level than him!!

Fortunately, nothing happened as a new voice emerged from the forest. ”Stop it, Ero,” he said, making the man frown but the bloodlust was indeed controlled a bit.

It made Sammy’s eyes narrowed but his attention refused to leave the other fire user.

On the other hand, the rest turned to see the source of the voice. A middle-aged man emerged from the forest with several people. The most notable was that he had a strong aura—relative to theirs, at least—and the people around him were not weak either.

It seemed like more than a handful were beyond level 20!

Who were these people? Were they from towns?

In the end, the man named Ero clicked his tongue before stepping back, looking a lot milder than he was a few seconds prior. ”Yes, milord.”

The Alterran guards did not soften and their weapons remained ready for an attack. It was just that the soldiers faltered a bit when they recognized who the leader was, as well as the couple of people around him.

They were acquaintances! And not the good kind!

Luis and Sammy shared a look, feeling a little heavy to the stomach, already thinking of how to handle this with minimal losses on their side.

Who were these people, you ask? It was people from Guia Village!

Not just people from Guia Village—this was pretty much the ruling party, right? Why were they here?!

The man seemed to have recognized them as well. ”You seem familiar,” he said. Though rather as an inquiry, it sounded more… irksome.

A few other men arrived behind him, immediately glaring. Someone was even gestured to attack at the sight of them. He was held back by his companions, who were also eager to lunge at them but were stopped by their Lord’s calm demeanor.

Sammy and Luis recognized these men as the unlucky few who happened to be fainted and left in the forest back when they were rescuing the goblins.

They spent a lot of money on those sleeping powders from Bart you know, they should be flattered!

Anyway, the two of them noticed that these people had huge scars on their faces, obviously made by beasts.

Uh-oh…

The man being held back struggled. This man was called Roy, a level 18 swordsman.

”They tied us up!” he yelled, earning himself a kick.

”Do you have to announce so loudly?” A bald man said, looking at him badly. He looked even more scary with all the scars he had.

”You were angry at them too, Seto! How could you, a level 24, be pushed around so much by such weaklings?”

He then turned to the lord. ”They humiliated us, milord!”

”Oh calm down. It’s not like you died,” Baltimore said with a mysterious smile. And the men had no choice but to step back.

He looked at Sammy and Luis. ”Where’re the others?” he asked, and this sent alarm bells in both their minds.

”Not with us,” Sammy said and Baltimore’s smile faded.

”I see,” he said, knowing the information from them would be limited. ”There seems to be a territory nearby?” He asked. They had been through a couple of local territories the past few days, and they went East as soon as they found out it was the location of the fog.

”Did you come from there?”

Sammy and Luis struggled a bit. They could tell the Guia Villagers were definitely up to no good.

They were straightforward soldiers, they couldn’t handle guys like Baltimore well! They were just good with fists, which unfortunately was too dangerous to use against this group!

More importantly, they had civilians with them, so they couldn’t fight!

Seeing them reluctant, the lords’ cronies jumped to interrogate them. ”Where are you heading? Why leave?”

”Why so many people?”

”Are you refugees?”

Before they could use this excuse, Baltimore interrupted the questioning. ”No, they are not refugees. Their current states and temperaments don’t fit. It’s more likely they’re just traveling from one territory to another.”

At this, Ero turned and looked badly at them. ”Don’t lie to us. If you do, I don’t know what we’ll do.”

Luis’ eyes twitched, almost jumping to attack the man’s ugly smug face, but he was held down by the arm by his tanned companion. Sammy thought for a while on how to answer.

If they went to Limestone Valley, they would definitely still hear about Alterra anyway. Not to mention, Limestone Valley wouldn’t be able to fight against Guia Village, but Alterra could. So, in the end, he didn’t bother to lie.

”Yes, but we’re heading towards someplace else to settle down,” Sammy said. This made Luis and the others stare at him, but they didn’t interrupt.

Baltimore saw their reaction and smiled, asking the following questions. ”Interesting. What’s the place’s name?”

”Alterra Village.”

”I see,” he paused, ”You don’t mind if we come with you, right?”

This made the Alterrans flinch.

Sammy plastered a smile on his face. ”Sure,” he said. However, as he went to lead the way, he signaled something to Luis with some subtle and obscure gesture only they understood.

Luis excused himself saying he seemed to have dropped something some distance away. As soon as he was sure the coast was clear, he then went someplace to write on an aether letter, directed at the bird holder back in Limestone Valley.

Aether letters could not send to Alterra, but it could still reach the Valley. Hopefully, Victor and the others reacted fast enough. At this, he made his letter look particularly urgent.

/Enemy Alert! Enemy Alert! URGENT! Send a letter to Alterra. Guia Village! Heading towards Alterra now!/

He then returned to the crowd a couple of minutes later holding a stool he sat on when camping. ”Left this behind, hehe,” he said, before joining the crowd as if nothing happened.

Baltimore’s sharp eyes could naturally see that Luis lied, but he didn’t mind much. It just made him more curious about the territory they were heading towards.

”Alterra Village, eh?”