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

A/N: Both Althea and Garan had entered the semi-finals for 2024 Character Voting Contest!! It should be ongoing until tomorrow, Dec 22 2024. If you have excess points, do send it our way~

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”We only separated for an hour!” Enok yelled as he gasped for breath, obviously dashing in this direction as soon as he could. ”What in the orcshit kind of trouble did you get into?!”

Raz and Shim were also there, and they surrounded the two of them.

Their arrival gave time for Sahara to go to Helios, though he didn’t have the energy to move. ”...thank you,” he just said with his voice cracking.

”Glad that you found the girl,” Enok said, though with a bit of sarcasm. ”You also found quite the formidable enemies.”

”I went to some people I know, and—”

”This is who you mean by you know people?! Damnit!”

The arrival of three new people took Estra and the others aback for a bit. They frowned. ”Mercenaries?” Estra asked. ”You must be from other territories,” she said. No local mercenary team would dare interfere with her. ”I recommend that you don’t get in our way.”

Enok and the others obviously didn’t want to be in the way. Sadly—

”Sorry, but we got a mission to accomplish.”

This was technically still within their scope of work. After all, the deal was to get him back to his village.

At the same time, because this was beyond their control, their mercenary team might not get punished even if they failed.

At worst, they’d have just wasted their time but, since they already got paid half of the fee (with the rest transferred to their treasury after the mission was completed), then it wouldn’t be too much of a loss.

The system, or at least in relation to particular system buildings, could take the nuances like these in consideration and not give unfair outcomes to mercenaries.

However, regardless of whether or not they’d be penalized, they had their pride as Mercenaries so they ended up helping Helios out anyway.

”Well, take it as you’ve failed,” Estra said and, with her signal, the guards—as well as her friends’ guards—rushed forward to attack.

They immediately surrounded the mercenaries trying to defend Helios and Sahara and, because the mercenaries weren’t weak, there was no need for them to hold back too much.

BANG!

SMACK!

Of course, in order to not cause trouble for their mercenary team, all Enko and the others did was to defend and push back, never to actively hurt people.

This easily put them into positions of defense, pushed back until they received more and more injuries on their bodies.

Sahara sat by Helios amidst all of this, trying to find a way to get him out of the range but the fighting was too intense to do so. Helios struggled to move, but with gritted teeth, he managed to hold her hand.

”Leave… I’ll be fine…” he said. Or at least that was what he wanted to say. Fortunately, Sahara could understand him despite his croaking voice. She shook her head.

”I’ll be with you,” she said, but she was also holding her stomach. ”We’ll be with you…”

No one understood the implications of this and just assumed Sahara meant the other mercenaries when she said ’we’. Regardless, it was a warm moment amidst the intensifying fight surrounding them.

Enok’s eyes twitched when he saw the two sources-of-pain having a moment, but he was punched in the gut and he forgot all about it.

Fortunately, before the mercenaries could get beaten up too badly, a new set of people appeared. A large firewall shot up between Helios’ side and the guards’, forcing everyone to part.

Everyone turned to the newcomers, and each one had varying expressions on their faces.

”What are you doing to my guests?” Otto said as he stepped forward, a frown gracing his handsome face.

Obi was next to him, and he pushed down the firewall he created with a wave of the hand until it completely dissipated, leaving the entire setting clear for everyone to see.

Estra paled, not wanting to encounter him in a situation like this. ”Otto! He’s—”

Otto ignored her and looked at his guards. ”Get a healer right now,” he said, and they immediately scurried away. Meanwhile, Olga got her people to put Helios in a stretcher to bring to the house for better care.

Olga walked over and went to Sahara, who was frozen, and her eyes fixed on Helios as he was being carried away. ”Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

Sahara’s eyes widened and she nodded. She rushed to follow Helios’ side, but then she remembered the servants and the mercenaries.

Fortunately, Olga was observant and had long sent her servants to deal with them as well. The mercenaries weren’t injured too badly, but they came to see how their employer was (and also, maybe, get connected to the Golds by the way).

Similarly, the servants were only hit a few times so they could stand up as well.

It was only Helios who was in such a pitiful state, and Sahara knew they owed him a lot.

The Golds and their guests left, leaving the bullies and the spectators frozen in place. This was especially true for Estra, whose eyes were following Otto the whole time.

Liaroa’s eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at her best friend. ”I guess we did guess correctly: that woman is close with them…” she said, making Estra turn cold.

Liaroa watched her reaction as she held her arm. ”There, there,” she said, her voice deep and convincing. ”I’m sure such poor people wouldn’t get much attention from them. Maybe it is a charity case.

”Why would Otto look at anyone else but you?”

…

While the Golds took their guests to the rooms, the City’s Array Building had begun to churn with activity.

Light force started condensing there, focusing on a teleportation array. Soon, the intricate circular pattern lit up, and silhouettes made of light started to form inside of it.

When the flash of light died down, it revealed about two dozen people and a large amount of boxes and items.

Leading the team was a tall man with white hair. He stood straight and proud, wearing regal clothing. He also emanated of an aura that was indicative of his high level. If low-leveled people were here, they’d automatically bow by instinct just by virtue of his strength.

This was the Bleuelle City Lord, Bleumrick. Along with him was his entourage, the items they bought, as well as new slaves.

There were also a lot of women—most of whom were noble, judging by their appearance—though many had reddish eyes and deep frowns on their faces.

Obviously, a lot of them had been forced here, but they couldn’t do anything against a man with so much power—whether it was in position or by sheer strength.

There were many beautiful women of all shapes and sizes, but there was a particular one that stood out—literally and figuratively.

She was not only tall…, but she had two long ears extending vertically above her head, and a fluffy tail behind her.

Maomao looked at the new strange environment, her rounded eyes pooling with tears. Her soft hand raised above her chest as she held on to a handmade necklace that hung on her neck.

She gripped it tightly, as if feeling each of its crevices and each of its carvings, imagining herself holding to the man who made it.

”Gochi…” she whispered to herself. Where are you?