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

In the end, Ladron and a handful were left behind. The others headed back to the array, but just surrounded it for a while.

They looked back, wondering if this was a trap and if they were going to get pulverized if they stepped inside.

Eagle rolled his eyes. ”Go back home,” he said. ”Don’t overthink it.”

It was an order from a master so they had no choice but to just follow. Although… every one of them shut their eyes closed as they stepped in, half-expecting to die then and there.

Anyway, the Yasof slaves went back, one by one, until only Ladron and a few others were left behind. For the most part, the people chosen were those with nothing to go back to. They had no family or assets back there, so it wouldn’t have mattered where they ended up. Included here were a few people who had been slaves before.

There were two people that Ladron specifically chose to accompany him, however.

This was Laki, the semi-bald huge dude who felt he was going to be a meat shield, and Landi, an effeminate guy with light-colored hair.

Ladron chose them because they were one of the more skilled fighters he had around him at the time. He didn’t know what would happen going forward, but it just seemed like the wisest choice to surround himself with some skilled people.

Anyway, the three of them followed Eagle and the rest of the guards back to the gates. They looked up at the tall wall and at the sentries, shivering a bit as they felt sharp arrows pointed at them.

As they got closer those sentries just felt even more menacing. Not only that, there were also more arrows and bows ready to kill at a moment’s notice.

They gulped. They probably wouldn’t even get past that right?

Had they continued attacking… the losses would’ve been insurmountable. The sacrifices would’ve been unnecessarily large, and they wouldn’t have made a dent on the enemy lines.

Some people actually questioned Ladron for giving up so quickly, now even the biggest fires of rebelliousness were doused with cold water.

Eventually, they safely arrived at the gate and passed the threshold. They felt dazed that they were still alive and uninjured.

Ladron couldn’t help but turn to Eagle. ”Are you really going to let us go like this?”

”You surrendered early before any damage was done. We already got more than enough gold for the trouble.”

This was one of the functions of the bank, in fact. The bank would be unaffected by the penalties in losing wars. In the chance that Alterra lost a war, the bank would keep the economy running and would not have to worry about losing half of its assets to another territory.

Of course, none of the newcomers knew this nor would they understand. Anyway, they were plenty distracted when they turned to look at the territory they entered.

Ladron and the others gaped in awe. It was such a clear and beautiful place! They had never seen streets so wide, and so many trees in the middle of the developed areas.

The liveliness wasn’t something you’d expect from a territory that had just been through a war either.

Speaking of people, those who were around greeted the guards with smiles. Then… they looked at them, immediately recognizing them as outsiders.

”Ohhh? These were from that other village?”

”Yes.”

”So they’re slaves now?”

”Uh-huh.”

The new slaves shivered a little at the interaction. They couldn’t help but look down unconsciously, expecting mockeries and maybe a few punches.

It was pretty normal practice from what they’d seen, and it was a way winning territories showed their power over the one that lost. Even in Yasof, while not encouraged, there were still plenty of men who did it.

”Ehhh, how curious. Must’ve been hard to go to war in the heat of the afternoon,” the locals said and Ladron and the others were a little taken aback.

They lifted their heads to see that many people—whether on street level or in the houses peering out their windows or balconies—were all looking at them in curiosity.

These people knew they were slaves now, yet they didn’t look derisively at them at all. There were also several stalls that were set up in the small plaza they were standing in.

There were queues there so they didn’t recognize it immediately, but these were obviously there even during the war.

These people were so leisurely!

Anyway, the wind changed and they were suddenly downwind from these stalls, and the aroma of the food whiffed up their noses.

Their stomachs growled immediately. They gripped their tummies and paled in embarrassment as well as despair.

They had no money to buy anything anymore. They became slaves so, naturally, whatever they had in their [wallets] was taken by this very territory that had enslaved them.

If they stayed here, would they suffer from this torture every day?

These were definitely good food! But it seemed like they might not be tasting them for a while—if ever at all.

Was this the legendary curse of ’so near yet so far’?!

Unexpectedly, some walking stalls approached their area. They even handed them small snacks, which puzzled them to death. These were small cookies with dollop of red gel-like substance.

They gulped, but they weren’t sure what to do with it so they didn’t dare do anything.

The walking stall owner looked at them in puzzlement. ”Don’t you want to eat?”

”It’s not that… but what is it?” Ladron asked.

”It’s food—cookie with a dollop of gouji fruit jelly!”

”Do you randomly give people—slaves—free food?”

”Not really,” the man said, shrugging. ”It’s your reward for being self-aware.”

New Slaves: ”...”

Many stall owners apparently agreed with him because they followed his generosity. Soon, many of Yasof slaves had a bite or two to enjoy—even if it was literally just two pieces of peanuts or a piece of popcorn or a tiny piece of cracker with a dollop of jam.

They ended up yearning for more, but they didn’t dare ask for it. They could only gulp and taste whatever after taste remained in their mouths, praying they’d be blessed with those little bits of snacks again someday, particularly if they were well-behaved.

In any case, they thought being slaves in this place wasn’t bad at all!