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

Meanwhile, the other group of mercenaries—a bigger group with 6 people, all of whom were past level 20—were still running, unaware the other team had fallen not long after they had entered.

Each area had their own strategies. In this one, it was redirecting the enemies into certain open spaces to be able to deal with them more cleanly.

This was especially true when they judged the enemies to be quite strong, and the whole trapping-in-alleys strategy might not work because they’d just get barrelled through. Stronger people could also maximize their equipment, which could pose a bit of danger to them.

In any case, the mercenaries were confused when they kept running into dead ends. They did not know some walls weren’t actually part ’system’ buildings but were temporary construction. Even if they did, who would have the time or energy to determine which one they could destroy?

However, they didn’t think too much of the arrangement not only because they were in a rush, but also because it was a common arrangement in other places, especially villages that didn’t particularly plan where to build their houses.

They knew arrangements like this too well—after all, they always took advantage of these dark nooks and crannies to do their thing, particularly sating an itch by pulling a random woman inside.

They thought that was what they were going to do in this war!

This place was filled with elementalist—though, to their knowledge, still at weak, manageable levels—and rather than intimidated, they lusted for the force.

Not to mention, their side knew that impregnating an elementalist had a high chance of resulting in elementalist offsprings!

It was one of the things promised to them by the Lord and their boss, which was why the mercenaries sent on this mission were actually a lot more than what was usually sent in other village wars.

Each of them had the dream of forming a harem of various elements!

Many had actually vacated a house that would serve as the ’breeding ground’ for elementalists!

Anyway, that dream was put on hold for now, and they just focused on getting deeper into the territory and finding a place to hide. So far, the doors were shut tight but there was someone pointing arrows at them from the windows.

Considering how quickly the enemies were reacting, trying to go in a conflict with these people—regardless of what their levels were—would just delay their escape. In their minds, this was probably the plan, because there was no way mere level 7s or 8s would dare expose themselves like this!

They ran and ran, looking for a place where they could hide and disappear, at least until the beast mob was cleared. As for whether the territory would lose—and therefore they would become slaves—they’d handle that later.

At worst, they’d succumb and serve, entering an alliance with Alterra in the end. They didn’t believe that with their superior levels, they wouldn’t get good treatment even as slaves!

When the time came, then they’d earn their freedom (they heard it was a possibility in Alterra) and they’d handle things from there.

The point was: At least they’ll be alive. They could think of revenge later.

Eventually, they ended up in a park with a lot of open spaces. They wondered where to go next when their instincts flared, immediately feeling the danger.

Woosh!

”AHHH!” one yelled as the large arrow finally destroyed his Class D shield. It already had several arrows—sentries and archers alike—and apparently, this last hit was its breaking point!

”There’s a sentry!!”

”Not just sentries!”

One looked out and saw all the houses had arrows and crossbows directed at them.

Without further ado, they were once again rained down by arrows. This time though, although some still had shields, those could only block one side! They had arrows from all sides trying to kill them.

They could even hear some yells from one of the buildings. ”Shoot! Shoot!”

”This polybolo of yours is too heavy!”

”Just shoot!”

A lot of the people this time were civilians. After all, the battlements occupied most of the guards, so the interior depended on the civilians for the most part. At the very least, they were expected to hold out long enough for a couple of guards assigned there to arrive.

Anyway, each zone would have a group of guards who could handle upper-level enemies, and therefore would be able to reach them fast enough just by sprinting.

The civilians in this area included Troy, Fred, Lulu, and Bull1. They did not live in the area, but according to the plan, the enemies would be lured into open spaces so they didn’t use the buildings as cover and therefore let them waste precious mana, energy, and arrows.

Civilians were allowed to choose which open space to camp in, as long as every area had someone.

There were also others like Thor and Limbo,1 who were refugees from the Heat Wave and had become friends with them. Thor and Limbo were already relatively seasoned elementalists, so they threw attacks on them too.

Thor shot out his electric ’shots’ by mimicking a gun with his hand and shooting small sparks from it. It made the mercenaries shake and cringe. It didn’t do much damage considering the level differences, but it definitely annoyed the heck out of them.

”Damnit!!”

Limbo was hiding in a shrub nearby and placed his hands on the ground, liquifying the soil underneath the mercenaries’ feet.

They sunk until their feet and, considering their strengths, it didn’t trap them for long. They jumped and pushed themselves up after a couple of moments, freeing themselves. However, it was enough for Thor to send them more sparks that actually caused some damage.

The mercenaries naturally didn’t stay standing, though they did have trouble figuring out which way to go. Some jumped in Troy’s direction, another to Thor’s, while the others aimed to find open areas to make a run for it again.

These people ran away even with a few arrows embedded into them, though they definitely wouldn’t be able to go far. Right when the deserters entered an alley, a splash of water was thrown at them.

They only covered themselves just by instinct, and therefore had a delayed reaction when the water transformed into a whip, hitting them smack to the wall.

”Wha—”

The next thing they knew swordsmen appeared in front of them—finishing them off after a few moves.

Back in the park, a level 22 or 23 mercenaries jumped straight to the civilians’ areas, with Troy and the others immediately prepared to run away.

Although these people would get penalized even more for hurting them, they were brainless enough to enter deep into the territory, who knew what other stupid thing they were willing to do to vent?

Anyway, they naturally had hiding spots they could use when this happened, and they rushed to do so the moment the mercenary headed in their direction.

However, before he could jump onto the balcony, a shield suddenly appeared in front of him while he was mid-air.

”Stop right there, jerk,” the new voice said. This was Jake, who controlled his shield to block the mercenary’s path.

A second later, the mercenary was pushed back quickly and he wasn’t able to catch his balance in time before he landed. The next thing he knew his back was stabbed with an earth spike!

”AH!”

He gasped, looking down at his chest. His defensive equipment had apparently given way too, and now he was looking at blood-covered earth that went through his punctured chest.

He groaned, unable to move, his body increasingly aware of the massive blood loss and the pain.

”You people above the level cap sure are arrogant,” Jake said. ”You forgot we could kill you right?”

People beyond the level cap weren’t just penalized, they were also not protected by the rules. Therefore was no problem for Jake and the others—who were also beyond the level cap—to massacre them as needed.

The information released to the public was naturally very downplayed. The average levels these people probably thought they had were off by 5 or more levels (which was already way above average considering the territory had only existed for a year).

They also made sure people outside the guards didn’t know exactly what kind of training they were going through, so it was natural for them to be surprised.

He then turned to Turbo and some other people from his team who had just arrived after taking care of the deserters.

They nodded at each other before disappearing, hunting for the rest of the leaks.

”Time to clean up some rats.”

Some of Alterra’s first citizens

Some of refugees-turned-citizens from the Heat Wave