After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 307

Chapter 307: Tracing Scum
If they—the refugees—still had the strength, no doubt quite a few would be approaching actively instead of running to hide like they usually did.

After seeing the direct threats to the people had been dealt with, Garan ordered everyone not to waste too much mana anymore. Hence, except for when the monsters got too close, the soldiers all used their weapons instead.

Anyway, none of them received any experience or copper because the monsters were over 5 levels below them, so it would be a pity to lose a lot of mana from it, not when their journey was probably still long.

They soon took down the dozen or so monsters left, with a few people kicking the monsters for good measure.

Silence passed by this part of the forest, with the two groups awkwardly staring at each other.

When the survivors saw that it was safe, they looked at the soldiers longingly, before dragging their weak feet to them.

Soon after, the soldiers were surrounded by about a hundred people, most eyes now filled with admiration and relief.

The soldiers naturally looked around for family, though to no avail, and they looked at each other in disappointment.

Of course, it would be impolite to show it so openly, so the more friendly soldiers like Luis, Jake, and Sam started to chat with the refugees.

However, as they did so, they couldn’t help but notice the extremely poor conditions the refugees were in.

None of them had a complete dress—there were men who only had pants filled with holes and nothing else. And, without exception, each one was covered in mud, blood, and grime.

They were also extremely thin, their complexion extremely wan and unhealthy.

Garan’s heart dropped.

What about the others?

What about Althea?!

….

While he was in a daze, in a dark mood, and with a very intimidating aura, the survivors were already approaching the others with various emotions.

“Thank you so much!” One sobbed, and another bowed.

Another kowtowed, partly because he lost the feeling in his legs, as well as to express his gratitude.

The soldiers were embarrassed, and they couldn’t help but wave it off. “We’re just doing what we can as fellow Terrans.”

It was just that the confirmation that they were there as allies made a lot of tense shoulders slump in relief, and also even more passionate in interacting with them.

There was also a teenager who looked at them in awe. “Are you soldiers!?” He continued to chatter even before they even answered. “I knew you were going to save us! And what is that magic you did?”

The topic seemed to have triggered a flood of curious questions. “Oh, yes, that’s amazing!”

“Did you get superpowers?”

“Yes, how?”

However, before they could answer, the happy atmosphere was broken by a heart-wrenching wail.

“My son!!! My sooonnnnnn!!!”

It was a middle-aged woman hugging the corpse, letting out guttural cries of despair. Judging by her bloodied but unharmed arms, she had obviously just found his son after rummaging among several corpses.

Looking closer, they could see that it was the corpse of a teenager. They recognized him as the boy who had just been killed when they arrived.

The woman knew this and her head whipped in their direction, red eyes sending accusing glares. “Why did you arrive so late?!

“He didn’t have to die!!!

“What kind of soldiers are youuu!!!!!”

She screamed, but her hold on her son remained and she only buried her head on his face–the only remaining body part intact.

The soldiers—except Garan, who was still in his own world—looked down, ashamed.

If it were others, they wouldn’t feel as guilty. But they were soldiers living with a creed. They couldn’t help blaming themselves.

Had they been faster.

Some people couldn’t take it anymore and just patted the woman’s back in an attempt to calm her. “Come now, you know it’s not their fault…”

“Yes… we’re sorry for your loss. Let’s bury Junior together, okay?”

Of course, they also knew that if it was their relative who died like that, they would feel the same, so they couldn’t condemn the grieving woman for it either.

Anyway, a few others went to comfort the woman, who only wailed in pain, still blaming the soldiers.

The refugees looked at the soldiers embarrassedly. Luis shook his head, silently gesturing that they didn’t mind. He told them to let her vent, they would kill the monsters that would be attracted by the noise.

Some more tactful people stepped forward to change the topic. “Uhmm… you are really soldiers, right?” A person, one who had been quiet all along, asked.

They didn’t wear any uniforms. They just assumed because of their temperament unique to soldiers.

“Well, yes.”

“That’s great!” He paused, hesitated, but pushed through with his request. “My cousin. I have family left in my territory…”

This seemed to have triggered the memory of everyone. After all, they had been too focused on their own survival, how would they even consider others?

Most of these people had formed acquaintances and friendships in the past month.

“Yes, yes! Can you help our territory?! We just escaped but it hasn’t fallen yet!”

“Please!”

“There are thousands of people in the territory! They should still be holding on!”

“Yes, we just happened to be gathering resources on the other side of the territory when they broke in! We could only run as far as we can!”

The soldiers blinked and didn’t answer, only shifting their heads to the captain who, at some point, returned to the present.

Garan was silent and didn’t agree immediately.

But he did not refuse either. One was because of the military creed and the more important one was that their relatives could be there.

After a pause, he looked at the most composed person next to him, a middle-aged old man with a balding head. “Is your village’s name Altera?” He asked.

The man flinched as if thinking of a response, but was scared by Garan’s sharp eyes. He didn’t dare to lie.

“No, I’m sorry.” But he quickly added, “But… I’m sure someone in the territory knows! Our Lord is very powerful! Usually! The monsters that suddenly attacked were abnormal!!

Garan sighed. Regardless of whether it was of duty or one of selfishness, going to their territory was the most practical first step.

He prayed for some good news.

…

On the way to the aforementioned territory, the team effortlessly killed the mobs that attacked them.

It was his team who made all the moves this time, often just using iron swords, but sometimes using elemental skills, all of which earned admiring gazes.

Althea would also be fascinated with those tricks. He was told he was very dashing when using his skills, and he looked forward to her admiring face.

Then, he couldn’t help but continue worrying for his wife.

When he got news of huge amounts of level 5 monsters entering, he immediately checked the mercenary union for the status of her team.

Fortunately, it was as stable as it had been. His wife was so amazing, he believed that she would be fine…

As they walked, he couldn’t help but ask the person next to him.

“What’s the name of your village?”

“Fargo Village.”

Garan’s feet stopped. Fargo…??

His movement naturally made everyone stop as well. The soldiers put up their guards and the refugees shivered.

Garan noticed his gaffe and shook his head. “No, I just remembered something,” he said with that impassive voice of his and just continued walking forward.

Everyone was puzzled, but no one dared to question him.

Garan didn’t care about the stares as his mind churned like crazy at the familiar name.

The criminal group he had been hunting—the people responsible for Althea’s scar—happened to be named the Fargo Group.

‘If it’s the same group…’

His eyes sharpened. If it was the same people…

Then they must be killed!